"But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."  1 Nephi 1:20.

I love this scripture.  It's at the beginning of the Book of Mormon, a history of a family, chosen by God, to leave Jerusalem and travel to the Americas.  Over the years they are tried, tested, taken captive, liberated, etc.  Some of their brethren fall away.  Some are converted and end up being very faithful to the Lord.  The Book of Mormon is full of the tender mercies  of the are Lord.  They are for all of us who follow Him.  He will be with us.  He will send us little blessings.  This happened to us here in Santiago a few weeks ago.

In this picture there are 8 men who served as branch president (minister) of this congregation in the past.  There is also the current branch president on the far right.  These men all served without pay, while earning a living to take care of their families, often without much support (because the branch was small), some without much time as a member of the church sort of flying by the seat of their pants.  Hno. Obando is on the far left.  He is 84 years old.  He was one of the first. The reason this was a tender mercy is that 2 of the 9 hadn't been to church for years.  Four of the nine have had challenges the past few years that have made them less active.  This historic day, the Lord truly blessed us to have all of these great men together on the same day.  If we had planned it, it probably couldn't have happened.  But the Lord made it happen.

It was a beautiful day with a beautiful spirit.  Many hearts were gladdened to see old friends, old mentors.  So grateful to Heavenly Father for helping it all come together.