"We are divine enough to ask, and we are important enough to receive"

My mom was video taped 3 weeks before she passed away telling her life story, I am so grateful to my beautiful niece Melia who did this! What a gift she has given to our family with mom telling her life story herself to us!

There were so many great stories she told about everything leading up to leaving my dad and finally landing in Utah with 6 girls in tow. We were staying with my Uncle Teiko and his very large family and mom knew she had to make our time there short. Our first Sunday in the 18th ward in the avenues of SLC, she found herself in a Sunday School class where she was asked to introduce herself. She proceeded to tell the ward who she was and, that she was recently separated. She told them she had 6 kids and needed a rental house in the area.

In a couple of days she was making breakfast for us and there was a knock at the door. When she opened the door there was a member of the bishopric standing there, he hands my mom a huge skeleton key and says, "welcome home" and puts it in her hand. He then took us across the street to 137 2nd Avenue, it was the old governors mansion complete with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, library, living room and dining room! Mom was blown away, and as she watched her girls running around excited about their new home she instantly felt sad. She KNEW this was way over her teenie, tiny budget. She told the gentleman thank you but this wouldn't work for them, confused he looked at her and asked why not? She replied I cannot afford this home, he asked her if she could afford $70.00 a month? Mom was shocked and said yes but, I cannot afford the electric, water and gas too. He told her electric and water was $30.00 more a month and gas was a whopping $7.00 a month. Grand total of monthly rent and utilities...(WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT)...$107.00!!!!!!!!!
What an amazing blessing, apparently mom and us girls danced around the house and we were so excited to have our own place.

Word got around quickly that the lady with 6 kids had a house but no furniture. In one week, truck after truck from family and ward members pulled up with beds, living room furniture, kitchen items and more for us. In less than a month we were a fully stocked and functioning home with everything we needed. Funny thing about this story and so many more I will tell is this, although we were "poor" in some ways we were the richest people I knew. Another funny fact: I never knew I was poor? LOL!

Lesson learned here is this...ASK and you shall receive as the Lord sees fit! This was mom's BIG THING...she asked Heavenly Father daily, hourly, by the minute and second for blessings...she would then reciprocate those pleadings with a lifetime of service (that's the secret, you have got to give back more than you receive.) ASK and it shall be given you...in many ways.

 

This is my Uncle Teiko and Auntie Maka and their children standing in front of our home that was

once occupied by the governor of Utah.