The Miracle That Made a Latter-day Saint Baptism Possible in Panama

Have you ever wondered if God really hears the little prayers, the ones that seem too small for him to care about? When Jim Roberts was just 8 years old, shortly after his baptism, he made a promise to Heavenly Father. He told God that one day he would serve a mission. He had just three requests. He wanted to serve in a foreign country. He wanted to learn Spanish. And because he struggled with math, he hoped he wouldn't have to learn a new money system.

Years passed. Jim eventually received his mission call to Panama. About a year into his mission, he suddenly remembered that childhood prayer. He was serving in a foreign country. He had learned Spanish and Panama used currency. While Jim had forgotten that prayer, Heavenly Father hadn't. A short time later, Jim learned another lesson about prayer he would never forget. His second area was Las Mananas, where water was scarce.

Sometimes it only came through the pipes once a week, and even the church's well barely worked. Jim and his companion had been teaching an 81-year-old man named Pedro Chavez. Pedro had gained a testimony of the restored gospel and wanted to be baptized. On the day of the baptism, they began feeling the baptismal font. Then the water stopped. The font had only filled to the first step.

They tried the church as well, but the pump wouldn't work. And so they prayed. Then they went to a nearby neighbor who always seemed to have water. Reluctantly, he agreed to let them use some. For what seemed like hours, the missionaries carried heavy 5gallon buckets nearly 150 yards from the neighbor's house to the church. Finally, the water reached only the second step. Then the neighbor said, "I'm sorry.

No more. It still wasn't enough." Exhausted, they went to a member's home for lunch. Before they ate, they prayed once more. As they were finishing their meal, they heard thunder. The missionaries ran back to the church just as the rain began to pour. Using every bucket they could find, they caught the rainwater running off the church roof and carried it to the baptismal font. When the rain stopped, the water had reached the third step.

It was just enough. That day, Pedro Chavez was baptized. Sometimes we look at all the suffering in the world and wonder why would God care about the little things I ask him for? Yet Jesus taught us to consider the liies of the field. If our father notices the flowers and even the sparrows, how much more does he care for his children? That doesn't mean every prayer is answered the way we hope or according to our timetable.

But it does mean he hears us. He invites us to do our part and then in his own way and in his own time he makes possible things that wouldn't be possible otherwise.