Little Rachael

As Assistant Area Auditors for the Fiji Suva Mission, we travel around to a different church unit each week, working with bishops, branch presidents, and clerks.  We sincerely thank them for all they are doing, and leave them with tools to make their financial record keeping process easier.  It's a positive experience, the meetings are short, and we leave them with a bag of candy. What could be better?

Well, last Sunday as we walked into a church building, a little girl grabbed my hand and introduced herself as Rachael.  She tightly gripped my hand and told me that she was eight years old.  As she lead me into the chapel and sat very close to me, I looked around to try to spot her parents to make sure they didn't mind, however I couldn't tell to whom she might belong.  She told me that she liked school, especially English, and that she had no brothers or sisters, "just some cousins."  We sang the opening song together, pointing to each word and musical note. Then suddenly she looked up at me with her beautiful dark eyes and asked, "Is your mother dead?"  I hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Yes Rachael, she is."  She searched my face for a moment, then said, "I'm cold."  Although the room was warm, I immediately knew that she was asking me to hug her, as a mother would.

So there we sat, through the church meeting, hugging each other tightly - one small girl deeply missing her mother, and one big girl deeply missing her mother, and being grateful for the opportunity to love this little soul. At the end of the meeting, I found a small key fob and gave it to her.  She said, "I will remember you."  Rachael, your mother remembers you.  Your Heavenly Father remembers you.  And little Rachael, I will always remember you.