Latter-day Saint Voices

Employment: A Lot of Faith, a Little Furniture

Lenine Santiago Duarte Nazareno, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Illustration by Allen Garns

When my wife and I married, I was unemployed. We had very little furniture, but we had a lot of love and a lot of faith.

When I finally got a job, it required me to work Sunday afternoons. I had promised the Lord that I wouldn’t work on His day. But I was still responsible for providing for my family. Even so, the promise I’d made didn’t leave my mind.

My answer came the next Sunday while singing “Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning” (Hymns, no. 280) and realizing the importance of the Sabbath day. After learning that negotiating a new schedule wouldn’t be an option, I quit my job. We went on with life, believing that the Lord would take care of us. My wife worked to support us, and we had our first daughter, Saria. Meanwhile, I took a course in electronic mechanics, utilizing the Perpetual Education Fund. Still no job came.

My wife had to return to work three months after Saria was born, but Saria missed her desperately. We prayed to know what to do and decided to have her leave work. It seemed imprudent, but we felt it was what we were supposed to do. We had four months of unemployment insurance for me to find some work, and at a providential time I obtained some temporary employment.

When our second daughter, Amanda, was born, I finally obtained a technical apprenticeship, but things remained difficult. We still had little furniture and no stable work. I took the professional self-sufficiency course offered by the Church twice. I did my best, although the little I earned hardly covered our basic necessities.

Fifteen months after I started my apprenticeship, I got my current job. I am now a technician in electrical energy measurement at a large shopping center. I work Monday through Friday, which I consider to be a miracle in this industry. All my other colleagues work Sundays and holidays. We have a health plan and furniture! I know that the Lord and the Perpetual Education Fund got me here. I know that if we do our part, the Lord will always do His, and we will be able to remain self-sufficient.