Blessings and Miracles
I don't even know where to start.
I was patient all day as I waited for our neighbor friend to stop by and start the excavating. He came over in the early afternoon. After surveying the situation, he decided it wasn't safe to bring in heavy equipment to dig out the yard. By law, you can't dig with machinery within 2' of a cable or pipeline. He did suggest that we rent a pipe locator since none of the location companies that came out did water lines. He wished us luck and left.
I was so upset and frustrated. We had absolutely no idea in a 30' yard, where the break in the line actually was. We had started the day before, but didn't even come close to where we needed to be and I just had a feeling we started in the wrong place.
Today, instead of letting my anger get the best of me, I gathered Shelbie and Spencer, (Sam was at work) and said we were going to call down the powers of Heaven to help us decide where to start digging. Even if I had $5000, it was clear an excavator was not going to be helpful. I asked Spencer to offer the prayer as we knelt in the living room. He gave a beautiful prayer of faith. We talked about how we needed to combine our faith and no one could be fearful or discouraged. I instructed them that together, we would decide each step to take and each of us needed to be tuned in to hear the spirit.
We went outside and looked over the yard. I immediately had a strong feeling we had started digging in the wrong place the night before and I needed to remove the bush at the corner of the house. We also decided to first go rent the pipe locator. So, I ran down to the rental place and picked up the locator except...there was a part missing. Shocker! As I stood there while the clerk tried to figure out what we could do, the spirit spoke to me..."You need to have faith." They said it was no big deal and I could use any piece of metal, like a screw driver to ground the wires on the machine. They gave me further instructions and I was headed back home.
At home, the machine didn't work at all! It showed that there was pipe on every sq. inch of the yard. Again, I had the feeling..."You don't need a pipe locator, take out that bush." At this moment, my Bishop pulled up and said that some ward members had wanted to help me pay for work to be done and he handed me $1200.00!!! The plumber had told me if I did all the hand digging, he could probably replace all the pipe for about $1000. I couldn't even believe it and broke down in tears. I could manage $1000 and wasn't worried about that too much but it is such an amazing miracle and I feel so indebted to those members.
The Bishop asked what my plan was and I simply said, "I don't know. I am waiting to be led by the spirit." He wished me luck and told me to call him when I had determined what to do and he could round up some people to help.
I had to run to a quick appointment and told the kids to keep praying and we would make a plan as soon as I got back. Not even 20 minutes later, when I returned, Shelbie came running to meet my car in the driveway, "We found it!!" Her and Ashtin and decided to try to make divining rods to witch for water. There was absolutely no doubt that worked!!! They tracked the water line from the street, all the way to the house. Right under the bush, those metal rods crossed in an undeniable way.
"Guys, This is where we dig!!"
It was nearly impossible to get that bush out. The trunk was a solid 8" in diameter and roots were huge and deep. Cassidy had her brother come over to help. All of us took turns hacking away at the roots of that bush while someone was in the hole. I knew we had to get that bush out.
We started out with so much energy. It was about 4 pm. We could not get the bush out so we dug in front of it. We didn't stop digging. We took turns digging and every 15 minutes, we traded out to give the one digging a break. This is where I need to add that Spencer woke up feeling very poorly. He was having a very difficult time breathing and couldn't even get up the stairs without stopping to rest! I made him go to the doctor this morning because I was really worried. He has been having heart and breathing problems for several days. Despite his weakness, he worked so incredibly hard. Even Ashtin, Shelbie and Cass were digging. (Cass has been really sick the past few days with a migraine that wouldn't let up. Sam gave her a blessing last night and today, she could help dig!)
Sam got home at 6:30 and took over while we all tried to catch our breath. It was so hard. Soooo hard. That ground is solid clay! A few feet down, they had used that area a concrete wash out from the foundation so we were digging through concrete in places! We continued to rotate and take turns digging. We were down 7 1/2' and still no sign of a water line. By now, the boys were totally wasted. I jumped down in the very small hole and started digging with my hands, lifting huge mounds of clay to the ground above. I was exhausted. Sam pulled me out of the hole and I just became overwhelmed. The yard, the sidewalk...all of us were a total mess. Mud and dirt everywhere.
I ran to the garage and sat in front of my car and sobbed. I felt so bad my boys were straining their health way too much and everyone was trying so hard. I was just discouraged. Spencer came in and sat with me while I cried. He went back to check on Sam and I said a prayer. "We have done all we can do. We need help. I don't know what to do next." It was dark and cold and starting to rain.
I went back out to the yard and the kids had some renewed energy and they said, "Mom, we've got this. We won't quit til we figure this out."
All about the same time, Sam decided to start digging back towards the house under where the stubborn bush had been, with a tiny little garden trowel. Shelbie stepped inside and there, she too said a prayer, the very same prayer I had given myself in private just minutes before. She came out and tears were streaming down her face, "Mom, I'm so overwhelmed with the spirit." I hugged her and a moment later, walked back to the hole. Not even 2 minutes later, Sam screamed from the hole, 7' down..."WATER!! WE HAVE WATER!!" I just burst into tears. Spencer grabbed a bucket and braced himself against the walls of the hole while Sam filled a bucket with mud and lifted it out of the hole to empty it.
We didn't exactly get to the pipe but we are definitely right there. The rain and driving winds prevented us to do it safely. I was getting really nervous the hole was going to collapse because we had dug so far under the opening. We covered the hole with wood and went inside to pray as a family in gratitude for getting this far.
I knew we couldn't sneak the water on for all of us to shower. We are losing water at a rate of one gallon per minute. It was nearly 10pm by the time we called it quits so I decided to rent the cheapest hotel I could so we could all go shower. I got the Motel 6 for $50 and here we are, hanging here until everyone gets cleaned up, then we will go back home and get some sleep.
Here are some pictures to prove that this is really happening!
We aren't out of the woods yet but this was the first big step to solving this problem. Tomorrow, we will work on it a little more to expose the actual pipe. Monday I will call the plumber to come back and direct us from here. He did say if we could expose the pipe, he has equipment to lay a new line out to the street, under the ground.
It has been the most incredible adventure in faith. I have no words to describe my gratitude to my Father in Heaven, my Savior, the Holy Ghost, my kids, the ward members who so generously gave. I have no words to describe the mercy I have felt. I"m so proud of my kids. All of them. My boys worked so hard even though they felt so sick. I know that we were watched over so closely by throngs of Angels and a loving Father. As I dug and mud was flinging around in my face and my hair and tears were streaming down my face, I couldn't help but think of my grandparents. I felt them close. I felt the strength and love of my two grandfathers. I realized how much I missed them.
There is no doubt I was lifted in incredible ways today. There is no way I had the energy or the strength and stamina to do what I did, for my kids to do what they did. I'm so proud of them. My boys have chosen such beautiful daughters of God to marry and I'm so happy to have them join our family someday.
If those who gave money to our cause are reading this, please know that I am so incredibly grateful.
I was patient all day as I waited for our neighbor friend to stop by and start the excavating. He came over in the early afternoon. After surveying the situation, he decided it wasn't safe to bring in heavy equipment to dig out the yard. By law, you can't dig with machinery within 2' of a cable or pipeline. He did suggest that we rent a pipe locator since none of the location companies that came out did water lines. He wished us luck and left.
I was so upset and frustrated. We had absolutely no idea in a 30' yard, where the break in the line actually was. We had started the day before, but didn't even come close to where we needed to be and I just had a feeling we started in the wrong place.
Today, instead of letting my anger get the best of me, I gathered Shelbie and Spencer, (Sam was at work) and said we were going to call down the powers of Heaven to help us decide where to start digging. Even if I had $5000, it was clear an excavator was not going to be helpful. I asked Spencer to offer the prayer as we knelt in the living room. He gave a beautiful prayer of faith. We talked about how we needed to combine our faith and no one could be fearful or discouraged. I instructed them that together, we would decide each step to take and each of us needed to be tuned in to hear the spirit.
We went outside and looked over the yard. I immediately had a strong feeling we had started digging in the wrong place the night before and I needed to remove the bush at the corner of the house. We also decided to first go rent the pipe locator. So, I ran down to the rental place and picked up the locator except...there was a part missing. Shocker! As I stood there while the clerk tried to figure out what we could do, the spirit spoke to me..."You need to have faith." They said it was no big deal and I could use any piece of metal, like a screw driver to ground the wires on the machine. They gave me further instructions and I was headed back home.
At home, the machine didn't work at all! It showed that there was pipe on every sq. inch of the yard. Again, I had the feeling..."You don't need a pipe locator, take out that bush." At this moment, my Bishop pulled up and said that some ward members had wanted to help me pay for work to be done and he handed me $1200.00!!! The plumber had told me if I did all the hand digging, he could probably replace all the pipe for about $1000. I couldn't even believe it and broke down in tears. I could manage $1000 and wasn't worried about that too much but it is such an amazing miracle and I feel so indebted to those members.
The Bishop asked what my plan was and I simply said, "I don't know. I am waiting to be led by the spirit." He wished me luck and told me to call him when I had determined what to do and he could round up some people to help.
I had to run to a quick appointment and told the kids to keep praying and we would make a plan as soon as I got back. Not even 20 minutes later, when I returned, Shelbie came running to meet my car in the driveway, "We found it!!" Her and Ashtin and decided to try to make divining rods to witch for water. There was absolutely no doubt that worked!!! They tracked the water line from the street, all the way to the house. Right under the bush, those metal rods crossed in an undeniable way.
"Guys, This is where we dig!!"
It was nearly impossible to get that bush out. The trunk was a solid 8" in diameter and roots were huge and deep. Cassidy had her brother come over to help. All of us took turns hacking away at the roots of that bush while someone was in the hole. I knew we had to get that bush out.
We started out with so much energy. It was about 4 pm. We could not get the bush out so we dug in front of it. We didn't stop digging. We took turns digging and every 15 minutes, we traded out to give the one digging a break. This is where I need to add that Spencer woke up feeling very poorly. He was having a very difficult time breathing and couldn't even get up the stairs without stopping to rest! I made him go to the doctor this morning because I was really worried. He has been having heart and breathing problems for several days. Despite his weakness, he worked so incredibly hard. Even Ashtin, Shelbie and Cass were digging. (Cass has been really sick the past few days with a migraine that wouldn't let up. Sam gave her a blessing last night and today, she could help dig!)
Sam got home at 6:30 and took over while we all tried to catch our breath. It was so hard. Soooo hard. That ground is solid clay! A few feet down, they had used that area a concrete wash out from the foundation so we were digging through concrete in places! We continued to rotate and take turns digging. We were down 7 1/2' and still no sign of a water line. By now, the boys were totally wasted. I jumped down in the very small hole and started digging with my hands, lifting huge mounds of clay to the ground above. I was exhausted. Sam pulled me out of the hole and I just became overwhelmed. The yard, the sidewalk...all of us were a total mess. Mud and dirt everywhere.
I ran to the garage and sat in front of my car and sobbed. I felt so bad my boys were straining their health way too much and everyone was trying so hard. I was just discouraged. Spencer came in and sat with me while I cried. He went back to check on Sam and I said a prayer. "We have done all we can do. We need help. I don't know what to do next." It was dark and cold and starting to rain.
I went back out to the yard and the kids had some renewed energy and they said, "Mom, we've got this. We won't quit til we figure this out."
All about the same time, Sam decided to start digging back towards the house under where the stubborn bush had been, with a tiny little garden trowel. Shelbie stepped inside and there, she too said a prayer, the very same prayer I had given myself in private just minutes before. She came out and tears were streaming down her face, "Mom, I'm so overwhelmed with the spirit." I hugged her and a moment later, walked back to the hole. Not even 2 minutes later, Sam screamed from the hole, 7' down..."WATER!! WE HAVE WATER!!" I just burst into tears. Spencer grabbed a bucket and braced himself against the walls of the hole while Sam filled a bucket with mud and lifted it out of the hole to empty it.
We didn't exactly get to the pipe but we are definitely right there. The rain and driving winds prevented us to do it safely. I was getting really nervous the hole was going to collapse because we had dug so far under the opening. We covered the hole with wood and went inside to pray as a family in gratitude for getting this far.
I knew we couldn't sneak the water on for all of us to shower. We are losing water at a rate of one gallon per minute. It was nearly 10pm by the time we called it quits so I decided to rent the cheapest hotel I could so we could all go shower. I got the Motel 6 for $50 and here we are, hanging here until everyone gets cleaned up, then we will go back home and get some sleep.
Here are some pictures to prove that this is really happening!
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| This is how far Spencer and I got after 3 hours of digging. Sam had just gotten home after being at work since 4:00 this morning!! He jumped in to relieve us for a minute. |
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| Spencer, Ashtin and Sam and that stupid bush! |
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| This is where we had started digging on Thursday night. The wrong place. |
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| This doesn't really show the perspective well but Sam is down in that little hole about 7' |
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| Spencer is standing on a ledge about 2' down to help haul up the bucket Sam was filling with clay |
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| There is the problem, all that water bubbling up after having the water on for less than 2 minutes. |
It has been the most incredible adventure in faith. I have no words to describe my gratitude to my Father in Heaven, my Savior, the Holy Ghost, my kids, the ward members who so generously gave. I have no words to describe the mercy I have felt. I"m so proud of my kids. All of them. My boys worked so hard even though they felt so sick. I know that we were watched over so closely by throngs of Angels and a loving Father. As I dug and mud was flinging around in my face and my hair and tears were streaming down my face, I couldn't help but think of my grandparents. I felt them close. I felt the strength and love of my two grandfathers. I realized how much I missed them.
There is no doubt I was lifted in incredible ways today. There is no way I had the energy or the strength and stamina to do what I did, for my kids to do what they did. I'm so proud of them. My boys have chosen such beautiful daughters of God to marry and I'm so happy to have them join our family someday.
If those who gave money to our cause are reading this, please know that I am so incredibly grateful.
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