Local Pages
The Simple Blessings of Unwavering Faith
Not long after a painful divorce, Sister Fineone Fisi’ihoi Mork and her teenage children moved from New Caledonia to New Zealand, hoping for a fresh start.
Managing her household as a single parent was a new challenge for Sister Mork, but she leaned heavily on Heavenly Father for support during this difficult time, knowing her family would be blessed according to their faith and obedience.
Her financial burden was eased when her eldest son, Michael, finished school and began working. Michael took over their rent payments; this allowed Sister Mork to better provide for her other children. She even began saving a deposit for a house. Eventually, she and her son were able to move their family into their own home in Mangere East, South Auckland.
A few years later, it was time for Michael to serve a mission; he was reluctant to leave as he was worried about his mother. How would she be able to cover the mortgage payments for the new house on her limited income? It was a real concern for Sister Mork as well, but she knew it was more important to obey the will of Heavenly Father.
She told her son, “If you’re ready to serve a mission, go. The Lord will look after us.”
A couple of months later, this thought was echoed in the words of a blessing given by the president of the Auckland New Zealand Papatoetoe Stake who set Michael apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Michael was called to serve in the Cote d’Ivoire Abidjan Mission in West Africa.
“I remember very clearly,” said Sister Mork, “President Moroni Westerlund blessed my son to be faithful and diligent, and then he told him, ‘Don’t worry about your mother. The Lord will look after her and bless her with all her needs.’”
The words of that blessing stayed with Sister Mork and often brought her comfort while Michael was away. It was not an easy time. She still had two children in school and barely enough income to cover weekly expenses, but Sister Mork was determined to honour her son’s missionary efforts by staying grateful and faithful. She fulfilled her Church callings, served in the temple as often as she could and payed a full tithe.
‘Somehow we managed to survive week after week.” She also noticed that, despite their financial struggles, her little family seemed happier.
Then one month, Sister Mork’s water bill was unusually high. She couldn’t understand why but did her best to cover that expense. The next month, that bill was even higher. The water bill continued to grow and soon she was falling behind on other financial responsibilities because she was trying to keep up with the water bill.
On a day that Sister Mork will always remember, she put aside her tithing and paid the week’s bills. Then she realized she only had $15 left. Her heart sank. How was she going to feed her family for the rest of the month on $15?
She parked outside the local produce centre and offered a desperate prayer to Heavenly Father before going inside. She bought a few vegetables that were, thankfully, on special. That left $10 to spend in the meat store next door. She hunted for bargains and found two $5 meat packs. While waiting to pay for them, she considered meal ideas that might stretch these meagre rations.
The cashier rang up her order, and when she opened her wallet, Sister Mork froze. Neatly in front of her $10 bill . . . was a $20 bill.
She was so confused that she couldn’t complete the transaction. She apologized to the cashier, left the store and spent time trying to make sense of this extra $20. She checked her receipts to ensure she hadn’t neglected to pay a bill. She checked her tithing was complete and safely put away. She made sure the vegetable store hadn’t given her the wrong change. Having exhausted every other possible explanation, Sister Mork burst into tears. In her heart, she knew this was a miracle.
At home, she told her children about her experience. Still overcome with emotion, she testified to them of the power of faith in God, of His love for each of us and of the blessings that come from obeying His commandments and keeping our covenants with Him.
The family knelt to thank Heavenly Father for looking after them—just as their stake president had promised He would.
That same week, a friend from Church found the source of her increasing water bill: a pipe beneath their house was leaking. This friend—who owned a home maintenance business—fixed the leak, then kindly refused payment for this service.
The water bill returned to normal, Sister Mork got ahead of her finances again, and the remaining months passed peacefully until Michael returned from his mission.