Connecticut

When I was 10 years old, my little sister Elise, who was 4, had a strange encounter with a stranger.  The stranger told her that if she went into the bushes and showed him her bum she could have whatever she wanted.

Scary, huh?

Elise, being smart, said she needed to go home and ask her mom first.  So she did.  My mom freaked out, as any reasonable mother would.  Then we spent weeks trying to figure out who the stranger was, if he lived around here, and if he would be harming children in the area.

Turns out he was a teenage cousin of someone who lived in the area, and he was just a weirdo. He didn't really mean harm, he was just being stupid. Either way, we never saw nor heard from him again.

One thing I really remember about experience was that I was terrified.  Before we found out who it was, I remember telling Eric that I wasn't ever going to go outside ever again.

Eric told me I was being stupid.  He didn't use those words, but that's what he was saying.  He then went on to explain to me that Heavenly Father has a plan for everyone, and sometimes that plan includes terrible things.  He said if it was in my plan for me to be molested by a stranger, that even if I stayed in the house for the rest of my life, it would happen.

Kind of graphic and horrible for a 12 year old to tell a 10 year old, but I knew what he was saying.  We can't live in fear of what might happen. We need to be brave, strong, trust in the Lord and follow the Spirit.

The world is getting more wicked as time goes on. It's been foretold.  I'm not surprised. I am absolutely disgusted, but I'm not surprised.  Living in fear isn't going to help the situation.  I need to strengthen my testimony, and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and in doing so I'll always be right where I am meant to be.

I can't imagine the pain that the victims in Connecticut are going through, but I pray that they will find peace and know that their angels are now freed from the evils that surround us.  They will be reunited again, sooner than they might think.