I served a mission for my church in the Porto, Portugal mission. It was a really great experience and I will always be grateful for the chance I had to serve full-time with the people there.
Some of the areas I served in weren't great. Run down apartment complexes, shanties...slums. But while I served there I didn't recognize the dangers of those areas, I only saw the humility of the people and the general friendliness that they showed my companion and me.
In daylight hours, I never gave a second thought about being in some of those areas. And honestly, I didn't really think twice about being there at night either unless a member warned us of places to avoid at night or if my companion would start acting a bit nervous.
After a late appointment one night in an area of Porto that was set off the beaten path a bit at the haphazard clapboard home of a gypsy family, my companion and I set off for the bus stop that was quite a ways away from where we were.
It was dark and there wasn't much light to guide us as we followed the narrow cobblestone road toward the more inhabited part of the area.
I heard a noise and looked behind us and saw a German shepherd come out of the darkness and start walking beside us. It didn't give us more than a quick glance, but it kept right by our side and walked with us toward through the almost deserted street.
A few hundred yards later we passed a bar where a lot of rough looking Portuguese men had stumbled out and were loudly taunting one another, singing, and showing obvious signs of having had too much to drink.
My companion and I kept walking confidently forward, our canine companion at our side. The dog stayed next to us as we past the men and ignored them when they tried to call him over.
When we were far enough past the bar that the men were no longer a threat, the dog took a long look at us and quickly darted up a side street.
We were close to the bus stop and the area was safer.
We never saw the dog again. And didn't actually give much more thought about the dog until two weeks later.
Two weeks after this situation my companion got a letter from her dad. He said that he had been at work and suddenly had the feeling that he should pray for our safety. He knelt right at his desk and prayed with all his heart, not knowing why he was praying. Only knowing that he must pray.
My companion and I immediately thought of the dog. If the dog hadn't appeared to be walking with us when we walked past the drunken men in that bad area of town, there is no saying what might have happened. It was just the right deterrent to keep the men from making unwanted advances. The dog acted like it belonged to us. It acted as though it was our protector. And after the letter, we felt strongly that he was indeed that.
Prayers are answered in ways we don't really expect. There was no flash of lightning. No flaming sword of righteousness. Just a dog.
But never 'just' a dog to me.
Protector, yes. Guardian, definitely. But most of all, an answer to prayer.
1 comment:
Sunday we had Regional Conference via satellite for the county. Elder Gerald N. Lund spoke about prayers being answered and the love Heavenly Father has for us. Gave examples of ways He has shown some people His love through answered prayer. Last night I thought of that in relation to this post of yours. Found it interesting that the dog was a German Shepherd. Probably could have been any kind of dog, but the dog was the very breed that you have always loved. Just found it to be interesting.
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