Mysterious Ways

I've been wanting to post about this for a while, but keep forgetting. This is our family journal and this is an important event, so the story is long. But I found this photo on my phone so thought I would post about it today.


Track back 4 1/2 years. Dave is a dental officer stationed with a combat support hospital in Iraq. We had been in Germany 4 weeks when he deployed so rather than spend the holidays in Germany I flew home with the kids. Right around Christmas they had what is called a mass casualty in Mosul so all the wounded were sent to the hospital. Dave was assigned to triage the wounded, who would get care, who was too far gone, etc. He triaged a soldier who was badly burned and hurt who said he was LDS and would like a priesthood blessing.

In our church the men hold priesthood and are able to administer blessings of healing when asked or needed. It is a wonderful, thing to receive a priesthood blessing especially in a time of need.


Of course Dave administered a blessing to him, and then went on with his duties as triage officer. This was a really difficult event for my husband, he doesn't talk about it much. I was at home in Vancouver with my family. He was able to get a short phone call off to me to assure me he was fine before they cut off the phone lines and also before I heard about it on the news-it was about 5 in the morning when he woke me up with a phone call. Literally minutes later my dad saw details about the bombing on the news. He then sent a detailed email regarding his feelings, the smell of his hands and how he had administered to this man who he didn't know. We knew how blessed we were because many families never got a phone call to reassure them that their loved ones weren't injured for a week. Or worse were getting phone calls saying they were injured.


My brother Rick was the Elders Quorum president in his ward, and a lady in his ward had a sister living with her while her husband was deployed. She received a phone call like that Your husband has been injured, he's badly burned we don't know anything else. End of phone call, and it would be weeks before she heard anything else from the military. Rick mentioned this to me, and I noticed the connection-Dave had given a blessing to a burn victim, so quickly emailed Dave and asked if he remembered the soldier's last name and it was her husband. Dave emailed her, reassuring her that her husband would be okay, he was injured but would heal, etc. I knew the Lord was working through us at that time.


Fast forward 4 years, we are sitting at our ward Christmas party next to a family who is visiting their mom who is in our ward. We had met before, she knew my brother Rick, all those small mormon connections that you figure out when you first meet people. They live in Tacoma and her husband is in the army stationed at Ft. Lewis. So our husbands start doing the introductions...where have you been stationed, what is your MOS (your job in the military) etc. Her husband is enlisted and as a rule enlisted soldiers do not have much respect for medical soldiers -they aren't real army- but he askes politely if Dave ever served a combat tour which he replies yes. Can you see where this is going??


They figure out that they both served in Mosul at the same time but at different bases. Dave says he was the assitant branch leader for the Mosul branch and the man says, I was injured in the DFAC bombing and I have always wondered who gave me a blessing, that it was such a comfort and asks if Dave would know who it was. Dave says it was him and the man jumps up and rushes around the table to give him a big hug. Meanwhile, his wife starts crying, saying she has also always wondered because of the letter she received and what a comfort it was for her in that time of need in their life.


Again we see the Lord working through us, for us. What a wonderful thing to meet these people, to know you have this small connection. And we were both so thankful that we were there, doing what is right able to bless the lives of others in small ways and feeling blessed ourselves.

And look they even match!