We live in rural Kwazulu-Natal. The closest ward of the LDS Church is 150km away, and that’s where we attend. Our son, Liam turned 12 and was due to receive the Aaronic priesthood, but for 6 weeks we weren’t able to get to Church. The adversary somehow seemed to prevent us from going each week. Finally we determined we would go, to ensure that Liam received the priesthood. I told my family that we must always put God first and the rest will be added unto us. Until my husband's next payment was due in (the following week) we had just enough money to get to Church and back.
The night before we were to attend Church, Liam fractured his arm. He was in great pain, but his Dad gave him a priesthood blessing, which took the edge off the pain. There were no doctors’ rooms open in Underberg where we live, and the nearest facility was near Bulwer. It's far away, and in the middle of nowhere. My husband, Eugene didn't realise how far it was and he didn’t put enough petrol in the car. His aim was just to get Liam to the doctor as soon as possible.
As Liam and Eugene got to the hospital the radiologist arrived at the same time. He was supposed to be gone for the night but he decided to come in just at that moment to catch up on his paperwork. I had no airtime for my phone and only data for Whatsapp. Eugene doesn't have WhatsApp on his phone, so I contacted an LDS family to ask them to call Eugene so that I could know what was happening. We are not on medical aid. Not knowing this, our friends sorted out our medical bills and we could still get to Church the next day. They have no idea how much they helped us. The money being used on this trip would have prevented us from getting to Church.
There is nothing and no one for miles, and on the way home, the car ran out of petrol, right next to another car that was parked on the side of the road. They were good Samaritans in the middle of nowhere. They climbed into our car to guard it and the other man took Eugene all the way to Bulwer (30km away) to get petrol and then back again. This was in the dead of night. We finally made it to Church the next day, much to our relief.
In the third hour of Church, we were sitting outside the chapel when our youngest son, Declan, fell flat on his face, cutting it quite badly. Fortunately there is a doctor in our ward. We all rushed Declan to his rooms where he stitched the wound, and we arrived back in time for Liam’s ordination. If we had taken Declan to a hospital, we most likely would have had to wait all afternoon, and Liam would have missed out on his ordination.
Just as the adversary gets involved in delaying temple trips for many members, we can’t help wondering if he didn’t try to delay or prevent Liam’s ordination too. I don't believe in coincidences. The radiologist came back to the doctors’ rooms just when we needed him late at night. The car ran out of petrol in the middle of nowhere, right next to another car. Friends took care of our medical bills, not knowing that if we had paid them, we wouldn’t have enough money to get to Church. There was a doctor at Church who could stitch up Declan’s cut. I am so grateful and so very aware of Heavenly Father's hand in everything that happened. He triumphed over all the things that went wrong. He blessed and helped us, and now Liam holds the priesthood.