I met Carol more than twenty years ago. She was a young mother of six, a grade I teacher in a Pilot Elementary School, and . . . nursing an equally young husband suffering from lymphatic cancer. Our lives became entwined when I became the Beehive teacher of her two beautiful daughters Bambi and Kay and later on my husband became her bishop when they moved into our ward. Through the years I was assigned as her Visiting Teacher, called as her Secretary when she was the Stake Relief Society President and when Fe had to move to Cebu, I was given the task to be her counselor.
How she managed to raise half a dozen children (single handedly – after the death of her husband) not included are relatives who stay with her intermittently, the forty grade I students under her and a large Stake Relief Society Organization is beyond me and this she did with fervor, faith and so much love. She was such a powerful speaker that she was constantly invited to be a speaker and/or resource person in church/school/community activities.
Carol was foremost a mother. Her children, like yours and mine, suffered illnesses, were rebellious at times and sometimes she did not have enough to feed them (subsisting on a teacher’s meager pay). She once said that the bananas at the back of her house had never been as fruitful as in her time of need. However, she constantly remembered her dying husband’s lesson. “You need to pay tithing now more than ever”. Even if the last money in her purse was her tithe she would willingly give it to her bishop.
On one such occassion I was made an instrument as she exercised her faithfulness. It was payday, and I felt impressed to buy a few groceries for her. I brought a few kilos of rice, canned goods and a dozen eggs to her house. She expressed her gratitude, but it was much later on that I understood the lesson of the experience. The lesson of faith was for her as much as it was for me.
In a Relief Society class she said that ‘she was on her knees and fervently praying, asking Heavenly Father as to how she would feed her family that evening. Upon opening her eyes, she heard me calling out for her’. I realized that that impression was not just a whim in the wind but that my Father in Heaven was communicating to me, was talking to me!! and He knew of Carol’s need even before she even asked of it.
So many have been blessed by the lessons she contantly shared and by rising above her trials she was a source of strength and inspiration. Today three of her four daughters served full-time mission, Kay – a gifted musician graduated with a double degree from BYU, Hawaii (Literature and piano) and son Joseph is now serving mission.
Hi! Thanks for sharing with me this article you wrote about My Mom. She is truly a source of great strength and example to us. Until now looking back I am still amazed at the Lords blessings and mercy towards our family and specially towards my mother during those difficult times. My memories are not all of the hardships we encountered,I truly did enjoy my childhood and growing up years. I appreciate all the blessings and challenges that came our way. And I totally agree that it’s through prayers and paying of tithes that all our financial challenges will be solved. Thanks for being one of those angels that came to our lives during those challenging times and for the comfort you gave to my mother.
As her counselor in the stake primary organization, and a friend, I have been greatly blessed with her powerful influence, her testimony and dedication to the gospel cause.