The Lord Placed Him in Our Path

By Joni Larsen Marshall

We need to share the gospel with those we come in contact with because we never know who is prepared to hear our message.

It was a warm, sunny day in Shìlín, Taipei, Taiwan, and my companion, Sister Verhagen, and I were riding our bikes to visit a member. As usual, the traffic was congested and busy. Cars, motor scooters, and bikes filled the streets, heading in many directions.

I rode, as I always did, close to the shoulder of the road so other vehicles could pass by. Suddenly, I crashed and was thrown to the ground. After looking up, I saw a man who kept repeating he was sorry. Apparently, he had been in his parked car on the side of the road. When he opened his door to get out, I crashed into it. I did not see him, and he did not see me.

When I looked down at my right leg, I saw the point of impact. My leg had a large indentation and was swollen and blue. An ambulance that had been close behind us stopped, examined me, and took me directly to the hospital. My leg was examined and X-rayed to see if it was broken. The man with whom I had been in the accident also came to the hospital to see if I was OK.

While waiting for the results of the X-ray, Sister Verhagen and I talked to the man, Chung Wei. He repeatedly asked me how I was and apologized for the situation. I apologized too and told him I was happy that only my leg was injured.

We learned that Chung Wei was a college student studying the violin. After talking with him for a while, we said, “We don’t want to pressure you, but if you’d like to hear our message, we’d love to schedule a time for you to meet with the elders.” He paused for a moment and then agreed. We exchanged information and set a time for him to meet with the elders.

The results of my X-ray came back. Luckily, my leg was not broken. It just hurt a lot and looked ugly.

Later that week Elder Criddle told me that he and his companion had met with Chung Wei. The lesson had gone well. A couple weeks later I found out that he had attended church twice and was planning to be baptized. I was so happy and excited.

On April 27, 2002, Chung Wei was baptized, the newest member of the Tien Mu Ward. I was not able to attend his baptism because I was transferred, but I heard the baptism went well.

Later I saw the missionary, Elder Packer, who had given Chung Wei his baptismal interview. Elder Packer asked him why he started hearing the discussions and decided to be baptized. Chung Wei told him he was impressed by Sister Verhagen’s and my attitude toward him. Since we were kind to him and not angry because of the accident, he said he knew this must be the true Church. Later, during the discussions, he was able to feel the Spirit and build his testimony.

I am so grateful Chung Wei was prepared. I’m happy he followed the promptings of the Spirit, was baptized, and now has the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I didn’t know Heavenly Father was placing Chung Wei in my path that day. I didn’t know he was prepared to hear the gospel. But I do know we always need to be disciples of Christ and try to act as He would act. I know we need to share the gospel with those we come in contact with because we never know whom the Lord has prepared to hear the gospel.

Illustration by Dan Burr