“Thank You for Coming to Look for Me”

By Ruth Latimer

Two young women stood before the audience at a youth conference in Santiago, Chile. One, Beatriz Aravena, had been fellowshipped by her Mutual class years earlier and had returned to full activity in the Church. The other, Brenda Acevedo, had been the president of the class that encouraged Beatriz to return to Church.

“One day about five years ago,” said Beatriz, “a group of girls came to my house. I was surprised to see them because it was such a cold day. They brought me a basket of cookies and a letter. I’ve kept that letter ever since. This is what it says:

“‘Dear Beatriz,

“‘We would like to tell you that we are Beehives and we have a special mission to fulfill—to be young women who look for the truth, try to live it, and help others know about it.

“‘In our class, you will make new friends you will learn to like. Remember that you were chosen by Heavenly Father to live in these times and in this place.

“‘We hope you have enjoyed our message. We hope to see you in Mutual where you will learn and have fun and good times. We meet on Wednesdays at 7:30 P.M. and on Sundays at 9:30 A.M.

“‘Sincerely,

“‘The Beehive class

“‘ Brenda Acevedo, Yendery de la Barra, Macarena Tello, and Sister Patricia Grandón’”

“That was a special day for me,” continued Beatriz, “because I was waiting and hoping for someone to be concerned about me and to come looking for me. Because of those girls and their letter, I am here today.” Turning to Brenda, she said, “Thank you for coming to look for me. Thanks to you, I have learned that I am a special daughter of Heavenly Father and that I need to endure to the end.”

Then Brenda addressed the group, telling her side of the story:

“In 1994 I was president of the Beehive class in our ward. We had a class meeting and decided to go find the girls who were not attending church. We made a list and thought about giving these girls some cookies. We went to work and made the cookies at my house and put them in baskets we had made ourselves. Then we made a card for each girl and went out to find them. It was a very cold winter day, but we were filled with courage and love.

“The girls we visited were very pleased to see us and made us welcome. One of them said, ‘Thank you, but I am not interested in coming back to church.’ So we went on our way.

“But one girl, Beatriz Aravena, was very happy to see us; we could see in her eyes the gratitude she felt for our visit. We invited her to Mutual, and she didn’t say no. We were happy because we felt the Lord was blessing us.

“For a few times, we went to get Beatriz and took her with us to our meetings and activities. Soon she began to feel strong enough to come on her own. Since then, she has been active in the Church. She is participating in seminary and is a very faithful girl. She started a great work, and now—thanks to her perseverance—she has brought the gospel to her parents and to all her family. Her brother is now serving a full-time mission in Osorno, Chile.

“Thanks to the help of Heavenly Father and to a little time and dedication, today we are enjoying the harvest—the fruit of this simple activity.”

Illustrated by Sam Lawlor