“But I’m Hungry!” Ensign, January 2019
Latter-day Saint Voices
But I’m Hungry!
Illustration by Allen Garns
One rainy day on my mission in Colombia, my companion and I had an hour left before we had to be home. We were hungry and tired from walking all day. We hadn’t found anyone to teach.
We also had no money with us, and we hadn’t gone grocery shopping. We knew we would get home and have nothing to eat. I tried to push away these negative thoughts and focus on the work.
“Look what I found!” My companion suddenly exclaimed.
She had found some money on the ground. From the expression on her face, I could tell she was thinking what I was. We could buy something to eat!
But after a moment, my companion said, “No, this money is not ours!”
“But I’m hungry!” I thought.
“Whoever it belongs to, we’re not going to find them at this time of night,” I told her.
She suggested that we pray. I knew that was right, but a part of me thought it was crazy. We had worked hard all day long. We were hungry. Maybe finding the money was a blessing for our service.
Then I remembered my mother. When I was young, she taught my sisters and me to always be honest. She was an example to us and prayed that we would have courage to be honest. I knew that if she were there, she would be sad if I did not make the right decision.
So we prayed. We asked Heavenly Father to help us find the owner. Several minutes later, a young man came along, searching for something. He had tears in his eyes and looked upset. My companion and I went up to him and found out that we had what he was looking for.
We returned his money to him, and he thanked us repeatedly. He said he needed it to pay for college. Without it, he would lose his enrollment. My eyes filled with tears, and I repented of my previous desires to spend the money. We got his contact information, and we were able to teach him and five other people. That night I thanked my companion for her good example.
I know that God blesses us when we are honest. We didn’t have anything to eat that night, but I do not remember going to bed hungry. Finding the money was a blessing, after all.