Story of the Polka Dot Bag

So many of you have already heard this story but I wanted to post it, cuz it is definitely blogable material and to share it with those of you who may have not heard the story. This bag is my temple bag. (I got it from a friend in my parents ward, cute Wendy Bench.)
When we went to Cancun, JJ's parents took his car as a favor for us. I left my temple bag in the front seat of the car, not a smart thing to do but I didn’t even think to take it out. Inside the bag were temple clothes given to me by my late Grandma Sara. The temple packet had an embroidered picture of the Porto Alegre temple on it. My grandma was the temple matron there and while she was down there she got those packets for her grandchildren. What a treasure. I love my Grandma so much and am so grateful for her love and wonderful example. I loved the thought of having my Grandma so close every time I go to the temple. Anywho, so the bag was inside JJ’s car. On the Saturday after our wedding, Debi took the car up to work. In broad daylight, JJ’s car got broken into. And guess what the dirty thief took? My temple bag. Nothing else was even touched, the car stereo, JJ's super nice leather interior :), CDs,..nothin!
We found out the very same night because JJ had to call his dad for something. When Dale told us, I was so sad. I started crying. It made me sick to think of what happened to the bag and all those things my Grandma gave me. Sure, I could buy those things but they were definitely not replaceable. JJ suggested we say a prayer, so we knelt down and offered up a heartfelt prayer. JJ prayed that whoever took the bag would either return it to the place they found it or somehow it could be recovered. I (as well as JJ, Debi, and Dale) was so sick about it.
Fast forward to Tuesday, a week after our wedding, on our way home from Cancun we had a layover in Texas. While we were there, I turned my phone back on and listened to a message on my voice mail. I wish I could have seen my face, I think I even grabbed JJ’s arm when I heard the message from my old ward secretary, Bro. Ken Larsen, telling me my temple bag had been found! What the? How the? Who the? I immediately called him back and he said that “some sweet old lady” found it across the street from Harmons. (near Debi’s work) My temple recommend had been inside one of the pockets and she found my old singles ward and returned it to the ward house. Wow. I was amazed and felt so grateful my bag had been recovered. I knew it had to be by divine intervention. I knew Heavenly Father had heard our prayer. It gets better….
The next day, JJ and I picked up the temple bag from Bro Larsen’s house. Taped on the outside of the bag was a note that said, “Happy Easter! Your bag was found about 7:30 pm last evening on Woodland Ave just across from Harmons Brickyard. I’m a sister from Wilford 1^st ward. Have a happy life.” I seriously couldn’t believe it, everything was still perfectly intact, temple packet and all. It didn’t even look like anything had been touched! I tried to get Bro Larsen to tell me the name of the lady so I could contact her. He said that she wouldn’t leave her name but she was very sweet. I knew there had to be some way to thank her. I took the bag home to my parents house and my mom read the note and said, “Do you know who’s stake that is? That is Grandma’s old stake! Grandpa Finn was the stake President in that stake! I bet they know Grandma and Grandpa!” The story just kept getting better. I know Grandma was helping me. We told JJ’s parents that we retrieved the bag and everything was in it (Debi felt so bad about it) and they suggested we go to that ward the next Sunday and bear our testimonies. We did just that. Both JJ and I talked about the power of prayer. The Lord heard our prayers. It seemed like such a small thing....He is involved in the details of our lives. I have no doubt Grandma Sara helped with that one! After the meeting we thought we would hear from the lady who found it. She never came up to us, however, some people did remember Grandma Sara and Grandpa Finn. Then this old guy comes up to JJ and says, I know who found your bag. Her name is Elsie Sentker and she isn’t here at church. She isn’t very active but I am her home teacher and neighbor. JJ got her address and we decided to go thank her in person. We drove to her house and knocked on her door. She immediately invited us in without even knowing us. I gave her a hug and said, You don’t know who I am but I am gonna give you a big hug! She hugged me back and said, Well okay! Then we explained to her the story of the temple bag. We told her how we had prayed about it, JJ’s family was praying about it, my family was praying about it and quite literally she was an answer to our prayers. She said when she saw it, she knew there was something special in it. Something precious. She told us how she was coming home from work and “for some reason,” took a different route than she usually takes. She saw a bag with a little white slipper hanging out of it. She pulled her car over and picked it up. Inside she found my temple recommend and from that tracked down my old ward house. AMAZING! We sat chatting for a while about the temple bag, our recent wedding, honeymoon, her marriage, her late husband, etc. I asked her if we could come visit her again, she agreed. As we were about to leave, she says, “Oh wait, I have something for you.” She shuffles back to the kitchen and we hear a bunch of clinking and drawers opening. I thought she was going to offer us some stale cookies or candy (like my own Grandma always had). Then she comes out with two little blue flower vases and told us how she got these as a wedding present at her wedding and she wanted us to have them. What a neat treasure!

I was so impressed by her. She is such a sweet woman and an answer to many prayers! JJ pointed out how the Lord uses “everyday people” to be instruments. Here is this woman, who isn’t active in the church but lets the home teachers come visit her. She is a genuinely good person. What a testimony builder. I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father. As JJ says, Heavenly Father shows us the power of prayer through a broken window. How neat. I kept the note she gave me and will always have it in my temple bag as a reminder. The blue vases are sitting out on our bookshelf also as a reminder of the love our Heavenly Father has for us, sweet Elsie, the power of prayer, and the tender mercies in our lives. I love it.