One More Miracle

Hola Family and Friends!

I thank you so much for your prayers for me this last week, they honestly brought me home. Although I am home, I still wanted to share this one last miracle with you. And here it is: So on Tuesday morning all of the missionaries finishing their missions and I went to the airport in Mendoza for a flight from Mendoza to Buenos Aires, from there we were going to be given transport to a different airport in Buenos Aires where we would wait all day for our flight to leave at 9:00 that evening. There was just one tiny little problem...The finance secretary, bless his sweet little heart, had forgotten to purchase me a ticket for the morning flight. I had a ticket from Buenos Aires home, just not from Mendoza to Buenos Aires... *sighs... yeah. So when all the other missionaries flew out from Mendoza, I was put on a wait list for a flight at 12:50 and for a flight at 5:00. President Goates felt so bad for this whole situation that he let me come back to the mission home with him and Hermana Goates, and while I elevated and iced my knee I got to talk to my mom - that was a nice blessing that came out of this situation:) Then at 12:50 we returned to the airport, I didn't get the waitlist, so we went back to the mission home. Thankfully, when the 5:00 flight came around there was one person that didn't show, so I got the seat!! YAY! Now, before boarding the plane, I triple, quadruple checked with the finance secretary (bless his sweet little heart) to make sure that someone would be at the airport in Buenos Aires to transfer me to the other international airport in Buenos Aires to make my next flight. He reassured me that he would call and take care of everything. So I got on the plane! It landed in Buenos Aires at about 6:30 in the evening, after getting my bags I went out to meet the person who was gonna take me to the other airport. Guess what happened? Yup! No one was there!!! AHHHHHH!!!! I was so scared out of my mind! I had no phone, no idea what President Goates number was (so if I even had a phone I couldn't call), didn't know if I should take a taxi, didn't know if the person was running late - yup! I also was aware that it was about a 1 hour drive to get to the other airport and that once I got to the other airport I would still have to check in and go through security before I could board the plane, needless to say, I was completely desperate! I was praying fervently, trying to not be too scared, and finally at about 7:10 I decided to take a leap of faith and jump in a cab. - Yes, a foreign, 19-year old, white girl jumped into a cab in Argentina - oh yeah, speaking only Spanish - THE GIFT OF TONGUES IS REAL! Thankfully, the man driving the taxi was a very, very nice man. I informed him of when my next flight was and he was glad to get me there as fast as he could (for a little extra money, obviously, but thankfully I'd had some extra with me to give). Anyways during this cab ride he wanted to know about the church, so I shared the basics with him and we had a good talk...in Spanish! (at the end he even gave me his number so I could give it as a referral!) During this whole ride though, I was very worried because of this reason: I don't think I would know how to work my way around an airport in English, let alone in Spanish! So I kindly asked the nice cab driver (Micheal) if he knew what I was suppose to do when I got there. And wow! He was so nice! When we got there he got out of the cab, took my luggage, and took me up to check in right away to get me where I needed to be - How nice! Then he left. There was only one problem, the lady checking me in informed me that I was in the wrong terminal, I needed to be on THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE END of the airport! AHHH!! My flight was boarding in 15 minutes, I hadn't checked in, gone through security, and I was in the wrong place. So I took my luggage and tried my best to run (it was a limp run - with around 100lbs of luggage dragging behind me). When I arrived in the part of the airport that I thought was the right place, it was completely empty. My heart dropped! There was a worker near by, so I asked her where Delta was and she told me it was where I had just come from - yeah, I knew that wasn't right so I decided just to give up and ask her for a phone to call my parents to get the number for my mission President and go from there. She didn't have one. But she pointed me to a terminal that was just a little ways away and said I could try there. I had a little hope left in me, so I decided to try my best. I walked as fast as I could (I couldn't run anymore) to try to get to this terminal on time. As I was walk-limping and losing hope I heard the most relieving thing in the world! I heard someone say "Hermana!" I looked up and I saw a man! I didn't know who he was, and he didn't have a name-tag, but relief filled my heart when I saw him! He told me that he had been waiting for me, and was beginning to wonder if I wasn't going to make it. I asked him if he had been at the other airport too, and he said no just this one. He took me to check-in (right to the front of the line), got my bags checked and my tickets, then he took me to the gate that I needed to enter. I thanked him with all the energy that I had (which wasn't very much) and then he was off. Thankfully I made it through security and arrived at the boarding area just as all the other missionaries were boarding the plane. Wow. I still stand in awe just thinking of every tender mercy that God blessed me with during that time. He was in every detail, protecting me every step of the way. I was lost and scared, but was blessed with people, who acted as angels to guide my way, to help ensure my safe arrival at the boarding area of the airplane. I was blessed with strength in the language, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and in every way you could think of along the way. It was an incredible blessing. I know that God was protecting me and helping me get home safely. I'm so grateful for the cab driver, that "third Nephite" (what I like to call the man in the airport), and Heavenly Father and my Savior for every detail and tender mercy they blessed me with in getting me home safely. Thank you all so much for your prayers.

We will try to keep you updated along the way as we find out more information about my recovery process. We went to the doctor today, but don't really know too much, because I need to get an MRI before they can do anything else.

I love you all. I loved every minute of my mission and don't regret one second of it. I hope to be able to recover well enough to return - I hope that it is in God's will for me to return to the mission field. I know which ever way this goes, He will be with me and He will continue to lead me and guide me. I know that God has great love for each of us. We are His children. He is our Father. He will guide us. How wonderful of a blessing is that?! If we let Him, He will guide our way back home, and shape us into the people that He knows we have the potential to become. I love and like you all. Thank you for everything.

Con mucho amor,

Raquel Anderson