She has been my friend since the first time I met her because - As I was walking through the parking lot into the church building for the first time after moving to Yucaipa, Denise walked up to me, asked me if I was new or visiting, welcomed me to the ward and said, "Oh, it will be so nice to serve with you sometime"; and she meant it. Within a few short weeks we were both called to be counselors in the Primary presidency. Her knowledge and testimony were indispensable to me.
Right now, she is the Activities Committee Leader and I serve on her committee. She also serves in the Primary - because she wants to. She serves on the Stake Relief Society board. She has the Spanish speaking missionaries over for dinner every Sunday Night and makes sure they are fed during the week by calling around to other members of the Stake that might not know the missionaries don't have dinner appointments. She takes care of her friend, who is dying, every Thursday. She is going to be a grandma for the first time at the end of the year. She is never grumpy, never says a bad word about anybody, and is strong but kind and sweet, too.
What I Love Best about her is that she is Always Right.
Today, Denise learned that her husbands cancer is back. This is Carlos.
He is kind, gentle, sweet, good to the core, and serves diligently & consistently. They have 6 children. The two oldest are married, the two middle are in college, the second to last passed away when he was only a few days old, and the youngest, who is Cameron's age, is still at home.
I Love the Zuniga Family! My heart is heavy and I am very tempted to cry, "Why does this have to happen to Denise and Carlos?!". But, I know better. Instead, I know that the question to ask is, "'How' can I best help Denise?" And, I know that I can say, "Just you watch 'How' my friend gets through this!" I expect to be amazed by her strength.
Most importantly, I know that although their Faith is going to be greatly tried over the next while, not only are they up to the challenge, but they will be even Greater than they already are at the end of this challenge. I have no doubt that the Lord is with them and also has the greatest confidence in them to make it through this time.
So, my prayer for them is that they will have continual Peace to abide with them, that their doctors will be inspired to know the best route to take to care for Carlos, and that I will know how I can help, in my little way, fill their needs throughout all of this.
Yes, this is my prayer for them - because they are my Friends, and I Love Them So.
