Our Mission! California Oakland/SanFrancisco: But for the Grace of God Go I

Imagine you are from the Philippines and now living in California, were recently taught the gospel and baptized, you and your spouse are 70+ and you have a disabled older child living with you. Then you lose your job. You have no income, no insurance, no benefits, no pension. This is what happened to the Nicomedez family about 5 months ago. We were asked to help them find jobs. But then, what luck, they lost their phone and their car broke down and they couldn't even go buy groceries! So Sister Jerman and I drove down to Pleasanton and met them to give them some job coaching and create resumes for these two wonderful people.

They applied and interviewed for several months, with no luck, but they kept on trying. On Sunday night we received a very satisfying phone call that just thrilled us and confirmed that God is Good! They had interviews with different companies and found jobs. Both Brother and Sister Nicomedez got jobs at Lam Research and Walmart. What a confirmation of the fact that the Lord is looking out for each of us, we just need to persevere and have faith. It was also a great story to end our mission on. A side note, the EQ president, RS president, Ward Employment Specialist, and their ministering Brothers and Sisters were all helping this incredible miracle to come to pass. That's how it should be in every case of unemployment of a ward member. What great examples they are to us.

This past week we trained the senior missionary couple who will replace us at the Employment Center. We attended Zone Conference and served at the Visitor Center for our last time. We also had a great time watching General Conference and feeding missionaries on Saturday and Sunday night. We finished saying some fond goodbyes with our job seekers, our co-volunteers at both the Employment Center and Visitor Center, our beloved missionaries we work with, our senior couples that have become our dear friends, but especially with a couple of people we have come to know and love.

Bill and Lacey have been a big part of our lives here in the mission, we have known them for almost as long as we've served here. Bill is older and is like a brother to me because he is so kind and innocent, even though it's very difficult for him to work. He fell off a ladder a few weeks ago and broke some ribs, (sound familiar?) but he still comes in to apply for jobs and does his best to be self-sufficient by doing odd jobs for friends and neighbors. Lacey is the hardest working homeless person we have ever met. She applied for 5 or 6 jobs a day, day after day for weeks, interviewed and even had work recently, but despite living and sleeping out in the open each night, she attends college classes and wants to date her boyfriend and carry on a "normal" life. The Lord loves these precious people just as much as He loves each one of us. Wow! "But for the Grace of God go I."

All of us can serve God and His children in some way, thus blessing our lives and the lives of those we serve. Let's keep going forward in faith. Even though we may come to an end for a season, God our strength will be, press forward ever, Called to serve our King!

Love,

Elder and Sister Jerman

Our last Zone Conference