Together forever

Since I was a child, my dream has been to have a happy and perfect life; to live with my

mom and dad, my siblings too, and to make everything super beautiful and every moment

unforgettable. That we visit the beach, a park, and walk together, go to church together and attend

the temple as a family. But sadly, thirteen years of my life were lost in that thought. When I

turned two, my father moved to the capital to find a better job, leaving us in Barahona. I know it

was for a good cause, but to live 13 years seeing your dad just once a week, it’s a little hard. By

that time, my father had not accepted the Gospel in his life and could not enjoy the blessings of it,

so we prayed and tried to make him accept the Gospel, through his faith. It was difficult, he did

not understand, but the things of the world for him were easy. My parents, also, tried to divorce

because of disagreements, both economic and social, and that was a big blow to us, their children,

and my mother had no job, she only took care of us and gave us the best education. Also, from

time to time, we began to fear him; it was this kind of fear that you find hard to accept and it

hurts but at the same time it intimidated you and you could not see him in the face, he was always

complaining and that’s why we were afraid of him.

But I am very grateful to my Heavenly Father for how blessed we are His children. 5

years later, my father could understand that he could obtain happiness in the Restored Gospel. He

repented and understood what the purpose of each of us here was. We understood, in a family

council, why it was so hard. My mother raised us into the Gospel, and therefore, we were good

children. In 2012, at the last family council we had, our plans set out a wonderful idea: Families

need to be together, we will all move in together. We were very happy and that dream that I had

since I was a child, could come true.

 Many times we think that minimal acts of love or work can change the way of life of

many people. Yes, it can. So we need to know what source to go to solve any problems. My

parents, they could split up and for us, their children, it could be very frustrating. We could suffer

from depression or have other problems because of the lack of that love or understanding. Think

about how your children might be affected by those little things that invade your thoughts and

how you react to them. Help each other and communicate.

In 2013, we moved in together and it really is different, the lifestyle we have since then.

Although some problems still, our prayers were answered with the passage of time. My dream

came true. My father accepted the Gospel and understood the Salvation Plan. My mother got a

steady job. My older brother had the opportunity to fulfill his dreams, my sisters alike. And we

had peace, love and all that a united family can have. We created a Christ-centered home.

Families can be together forever. I love it. I know that despite all the difficulties we had in

the past, these things would not have changed without us all being together. The Heavenly Father

loves us so much that he allowed everything to be fixed, and blessed us so much.