Heavenly Father Blesses His Missionaries!

Doctor, Elder Manzione, and companion, Elder Hale in Romanian hospital

I debated at one point whether or not to put this story on my blog. I did not want to worry you mothers out there. However, I decided that it was important to let you know that we feel so strongly that Heavenly Father is watching out for our missionaries and that miracles truly do happen.

A few weeks ago, on a cold, dark night, Elder Manzione was hit by a car. He and his companion, Elder Hale, had been walking through the crosswalk, already having passed the lane of traffic that had stopped for them. Elder Manzione was about to step into the lane where the tramvai tracks run, when a car raced through that lane, impatient to stop behind the waiting cars, and hit Elder Manzione. Elder Hale, a step or two behind Elder Manizione, yelled to him quickly, and as Elder Manzione turned to face the car, the car ran straight into him. Elder Manzione's face was smashed into the windshield we believe, and his body was carried several feet before he rolled to the ground and the car sped off.

Elder Manzione was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Elder Hale followed in a police car some time later (he wasn't allowed to travel with his companion.) President Lundberg and the assistants headed immediately to the hospital as well.

X-rays were taken that night, and we were told that Elder Manzione had only a broken nose. He also had a few cuts on his face and legs. Elder Hale said that he was totally surprised that Elder Manzione didn't have every bone in his body broken, with the way the car hit him and at such speed.

Now, the first part of the miracle is this. A few days before the accident, President Lundberg had received an email from our son who works at the MTC. He said, "Dad, remind the missionaries how many people pray for them everyday. The whole MTC prays for the missionaries, the temples throughout the world pray daily for them, the church members everywhere, and of course, their own families." So families out there. know that the Lord intervenes and is watching over your missionaries. We have felt the Lord's hand several times in Elder Manzione's situation.

Elder Manzione was released the next day. He came to the Mission Home along with his companion for a couple days. On Saturday night, Elder Manzione said he was ready to go home. He went to church on Sunday, and to the internet cafe on Monday, but by Monday afternoon, started to not feel so good. He was extremely tired and had a dull headache.

I made many calls that afternoon to the doctor here, our church doctor in Germany, and the doctors in Salt Lake were also brought into the picture. We all felt there was more that needed checking. President Lundberg went late that night (after all our many conference calls and conversations) and brought Elder Manzione back to the mission home for a few hours and then put him on a plane to go to Frankfurt, Germany. One of our senior missionaries, Elder Hanson, accompanied him.

Tests were done in Germany and more fractures were found in Elder Manzione's face. Surgery was performed the next day. All went well.

The day after surgery, while lying in his hospital bed, Elder Manzione placed two Books of Mormon. There was a doctor from Korea that listened to Elder Manzione's message, and the mission office in Frankfurt happened to have a Korean Book of Mormon. Also, there was a cleaning lady from Romania who also listened to the message and took of Book of Mormon. This past Sunday, Elder Manzione was released from the hospital and needed to stay a few more days in Germany for follow-up doctor appointments. While waiting, he was able to go teach another Romanian that is living in Germany.

President Lundberg and I have checked on him every day or two throughout this ordeal. Last night, the news was that all looked well and Elder Manzione will be returning to us in the next couple days. He sounds great and is excited to return to Romania. We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father who looked out for this faithful missionary. And, we are so proud of Elder Manzione. We have not heard one negative word out of him through this whole situation. With both eyes swollen shut, and a black and blue face, he always had a smile and kind words of gratitude. There has been no bitterness about his situation at all.

I'm sure the people who listened to this young man must have felt something different. I'm sure they wondered how could a twenty year old that had just had plates and screws put into his face want to talk. They had to have recognized the power of the message that Elder Manzione shared. Thanks for being such a great example to all of us, Elder Manzione. We love you and look forward to having you back with us. You are our miracle!

(I should have posted this on the miracle blog, but I wanted to make sure that you all saw it. Several of the daily miracles that happen in this mission are being posted on: romaniamissionmiracles.blogspot.com You can click up in the left hand corner of this blog to get there, or go directly to it. )