The Blains' England Manchester Mission: Royal Doulton Robin & True Charity

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? . . ." Psalms 8:4

" . . . God is mindful of every people whatsoever land they may be in . . . " Alma 26:37

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father." ". . . ye are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29&31

We had a crisis of sorts this week as my son and his roommate ended up on the streets, homeless and cold in the dead of winter as snow was piling ever higher and all the shelters were full to capacity. A daughter took her brother in, along with his friend, and their 28-year-old cat. An elderly lady across the street from the place they'd been evicted allowed them to put their few meager belongings on her front porch until they could find another place to live. They had been trying to find a place to live during the Christmas holidays and we'd loaned them the small amount needed to procure one place, which fell through, leaving them without enough to secure another rental. Money that was supposed to have come in, didn't come on time, which left them with no place to go.

The daughter who took them in has little money of her own to feed any extra mouths. She has struggled financially for years and has very little to share. She has had poor health and many challenges, yet she took them in. Charity never faileth and prayers are answered.

My prayers had turned to just leaving the situation fully in the Lord's hands. I had no choice with me being in England and my son in Utah. In my prayers I mentioned to Heavenly Father that I knew he took care and was aware of even a tiny sparrow, so could he please watch over my son in the same way? Peace was in my heart that all would be okay, though I had to work to keep the images of my son shivering on a doorstep or trudging through the snow looking for warmth and food somewhere.

Thus, we have been blessed and are grateful for how our family is watched over and blessed while we are on this mission.

Below, I share the little bird that was given to us just last week by a wonderful woman who has just lost her son in December because he chose assisted death in Switzerland rather than to live with a debilitating form of M.S. This little Robin is a symbol for me that God does watch over us and through others he blesses our lives. It will always be a precious treasure to us also because of the memories of the courageous, generous, charitable, faithful, tender-hearted woman who gave it to us with her love. I cannot imagine reaching out to others only weeks after her son's death (which she attended and knew of almost a year before he followed through with it).