“Our Lord Loved Them and Was with Them”

In 2013, Julián Antonio Flores and his counselors in the leadership of the León Ward in Nicaragua participated in activities designed to help the young people in their area “live righteously in the world.” They also taught them “how to recognize those things that can harm the eternity that our Heavenly Father promises them.”

Speaking of a day they spent at the beach, one local leader said, “We saw how the youth were opening their hearts, sharing their fears, their questions, and their devotion to God on high. There were moments of laughter and crying, but love flowed everywhere.”

That day, the León youth promised their Heavenly Father that they would improve. “We left that morning with some troubled youth,” the same member said, “and returned with youth who were committed to being better, to hold fast to Christ with a conviction that without Him, they could not overcome the evils of this world.”

That same year, the León Ward Relief Society experienced the Spirit guiding their efforts to minister to sisters in the ward. “It was a winter night when we arrived to visit a sister at her home,” one member said, “however, signs of approaching rains made us anxious[,] and we quickly shared the message that we brought, finished, and while we were saying goodbye it started to rain.” The sister they were visiting asked them to come back inside.

“We felt something inside our heart that whispered, ‘Sisters! This is your chance,’” the member said. The group returned inside and again shared a song, along with a prayer and a message. While the rain fell for a long time, “we had an amazing moment with all of the sister’s family,” the member said. The rain lasted longer than they expected, “nevertheless, now we understand that this was the Lord’s desire. This family was less active and needed to know that our Lord loved them and was with them.”

Other wards in the León Stake found similar ways to minister to one another. In 2013, the Villa Universitaria Ward helped Benita Lucia Campos receive the blessings of the temple before she passed away from terminal illness. Lucia was “a very dynamic person, always at church activities[,] and [she] animated all the sisters in the Relief Society.”

Lucia returned to active participation in her ward in 2011 after a long period away from the Church. She was afraid to attend the temple because she knew she needed to make some changes in her life to do so. Her bishop knew she was running out of time and invited her to make the necessary adjustments.

Lucia made the changes, and in August 2013 she received her endowments at the newly dedicated Tegucigalpa Honduras Temple. Later that year, Lucia passed away. Her courageous example motivated her fellow León Saints to do more temple work.