What a story I'll remember for the rest of my life.
Last September, I discovered that my favorite scriptures were gone. I couldn't find them anywhere.
As I back tracked to when I had them last, it was at a baptism at beginning of August.
I go lots of baptisms with my calling as Primary President and I always have loads of items to bring to each of the baptisms.
That is the last time I remember seeing. I still to this day have no idea what happened to them.
After discovering they were gone, I went through thick and thin searching leaders in the stake to help me find the building cleaner. I finally got a hold of them, they made it clear to me that they take everything to DI, about every couple months. I gave them the details of my scriptures and they don't recall seeing them.
Derek made phone calls to each of his customers that bought small white hondas from them during that time. All of them said, they never saw them.
The scriptures had my patriarchal blessing, letters from grandparents, all my scripture markings from my mission, they were sacred to me.
I was devastated for months. Anytime I was in our church building, I'd search lost and found, even when I was in other buildings, I'd look around.
Of course, my family and I prayed and prayed and prayed.
After all these months, nothing.
Then on June 10th, ten months after losing them I got a text from an old cousin of mine, Josh Phair.
He text me asking if he had the right cell number for his cousin Mandy Phair. I told him yes.
He went on to say that a lady named Wendy had contacted him telling him that she found some scriptures that belonged to an Amanda Jane Phair. She's had them for months but can't seem to get in touch with me.
Here's the story....
It turns out, Wendy Neville was in Provo for a wedding and stopped by D.I. to kill some time.
She saw this displayed leather quad scriptures and briefly looked in them. She told me how beautifully marked they were and saw a patriarchal blessing tucked inside as well. She didn't read any of the letters nor the blessing but knew these were very sacred and special to someone.
She thought either this person has died and someone just got rid of all my stuff or this person has left the church.
She bought the scriptures and went on her way back to Layton.
She found me on Facebook and sent me a private message that was sent to my "other" folder.
There is an "other" folder?
I had never opened that folder before and never knew it even existed.
She sent me that email back in September or October and never heard back.
During that time, the scriptures sat soundly on her shelf.
Time and time passed with no reply to her email on facebook.
She was teaching a lesson at church on the scriptures and as she was preparing her lesson, she again saw my scriptures sitting on her shelf. She felt strongly that she needs to continue finding this person who these scriptures belong to and took it to the next level.
She went back on my facebook and found two "friends" with my same last name, one being my cousin Josh. In May, she contacted Josh but didn't hear back from him until June 10th. He confirmed to her that he was my cousin and that he would find my number.
He found my number, gave it to her and that's when I got the wonderful phone call from Wendy.
You know what's beautiful about all of this? This has been a huge testimony builder to my family and I.
Emma and I were JUST having a conversation the night before after attending a "Baptismal Preview" that she came to with me.
While leaving the Stake Center she asked, "Mom, have you found your scriptures yet?"
I told her that I hadn't. I told her that I still pray to find them but sometimes Heavenly Father doesn't always answer our prayers the way WE want Him to.
He knows where they are and you just never know He has in store.
Maybe they landed in the hands of someone that really needed them more then me.
Maybe some day they will come back to me. He knows.
Then the next day happened.
What a beautiful miracle.
I hope that this is an experience my children will always remember.
Heavenly Father does answer prayers. He does care about things that are important to us and He is mindful of us.
He made it so my special scriptures landed in the hands of someone so wonderful, it was just going to take time getting us connected. :)
He is mindful of even the smaller things that are important to us.
Look at the notes that Emma and Thomas wrote to Wendy. :)
Oh how wonderful it is to have them back.
My case, mission badge, and mini hymnbook are gone, but my scriptures were most important to have. :)
Thank you, Wendy Neville.
