An Unforgettable Moment in Zoetermeer

Renco, Marissa, and Amere van Geel – August 2010

(Written by Elder Bell) Probably the most memorable moment of my mission is an amazing miracle that happened in Zoetermeer on my last transfer. The day before I was transferred to the city my companion, Elder Bastian, and Elder Weatherston, his companion at the time, received a call from a member family saying that they had a family of five for us to teach. Of course, we were both very excited, but we didn’t realize what a miracle the Lord really had in store. The first lesson we could see how much this family, the Van Geels, had been prepared by the Lord. They had just barely gotten kicked out of their house because of debts incurred by paying for their daughter’s 8-month stay in the ICU. Ray, the father, said that a few days before we had met them, he and his wife, Marissa, had had a huge fight and he had stormed out of the house afterwards, fuming. At the time he prayed and told God that he couldn’t do it alone anymore and needed help. A few days later they got in contact with the member family, the Tetteros and they said that they felt that she had something that could help.

We set a baptismal date with them the first appointment for six weeks away. It was amazing how quickly the Spirit gave them witness of the truthfulness of the gospel. They were willing to give up smoking and anything else necessary to achieve their goal. The members grew closer to them and so did we. We looked forward to visiting them every time. One memorable Sunday was when Ray got up and bore his testimony that he knew that he had found the way back to God and Jesus Christ. Finally the day came for their baptism and they shone with joy. It was truly a day I’ll never forget.