Never Alone
By Renan Apolonio de Sá Silva, Pernambuco, Brazil
The sick man was a stranger to me but not to Heavenly Father.
W e six Brazilian missionaries
had just landed in Argentina
and were awaiting flights to our
missions. As soon as we entered
the waiting area for our departing
flights, we wanted to take photo-
graphs of the airport runway with
the city in the distance. While the
other five went to take pictures, I
stayed nearby watching our luggage.
After they returned, I looked
around and saw a place from which
I wished to take a picture. “I’ll be
right back,” I told the others.
After I had taken the picture,
I heard someone call, “Elder.” I
quickly looked around but did not
see anyone. Then the call came a
second time: “Elder.”
When I looked around again, I
saw an old man seated on a nearby
bench. When I approached him, he
said, “Elder, I would like to receive a
COMPOSITE PHOTOGRAPH FROM ADOBE STOCK AND JANAE BINGHAM
priesthood blessing for the sick.”
His request startled me. A man I
had never met had asked me for a
blessing on my first day in a coun-
try where I could hardly speak the
language.
In fumbling Spanish, I asked him
several questions: “Do you have
faith? Do you believe in the power
of the priesthood? Do you know The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints?”
Somewhat confused by my ques-
tions, he responded, “I am a mem-
ber of the Church, Elder. I am from
Salta, in the north. I am alone, I am
ill, and I need a blessing.”
I went to get the other mission-
aries. We introduced ourselves and
visited with the man for a minute.
Then my companion and I took him
to the restroom, where we gave him
a blessing.
On that occasion, I had no time to
think much about what the man had
said to me other than that he needed
a blessing. But later, his words “I am
alone” deeply touched my heart. He
felt alone, but he had a Heavenly
Father who knew where he was and
that he was ill. Rather than forsake
him, Heavenly Father sent mission-
aries to comfort him, give him a
blessing, and remind him that he
was not alone.
That experience strengthened my
testimony that we have a Heavenly
Father who knows us and will never
forsake us. ◼
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