While I was stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, my ship was dry docked, so I was a permanent member of the branch on shore.  That made me available to my branch president for spur-of-the-moment assignments.

The Vietnam War was in full swing at the time.  When American servicemen were seriously injured in Vietnam they were evacuated by air to the large military hospital that was located on the base at Yokosuka.  LDS men who arrived there would send word through the hospital chaplain to our branch president that they would like to see members of the Church.  My branch president most often called me and asked me to fulfill the request.  Normally I would get one of my friends, and the two of us would make the visit, administer requested blessings, and provide company and comforts to the injured man.

On one such occasion I was unable to find a companion to go with me, so I went alone.  Upon arriving at the hospital, I found the man’s bed empty, and was informed that he’d just been taken into surgery.  Not wanting him to undergo the surgery without a priesthood blessing, I had the temerity to knock on the operating room door.  I explained who I was and what I wanted, and was admitted to the operating room.  There, with all of the doctors and nurses looking on, I administered a priesthood blessing to the injured man and then sat beside him and held his hand while the operation was performed.

The next day I returned to the hospital to check on the fellow’s well-being.  I found him in his bed, and he wanted to tell me a story.  He said that he’d had a dream while he was in Vietnam.  In the dream he’d been on patrol out in the bush, and was seriously wounded.  He saw himself evacuated by air to a hospital in Japan.  While he was in the operating room a knock had come at the door, a man had entered, given him a priesthood blessing, and then had sat beside him holding his hand while the operation was performed.  “You’re the man I saw in my dream,” he said.

“And I’ll tell you what’s going to happen next.  I’m going to be flown to Bremerton, Washington to a hospital near my home.  When I get there I’m going to call home, but no one will answer.  The second time I call, my sister will answer, but she won’t know who I am.”

The following day I again went to visit the man in the hospital.  His bed was empty again.  I inquired where he was, and was informed that he’d been flown to Bremerton, Washington.

The moral of these stories is that Heavenly Father is aware of each of us, loves us deeply, and usually administers aid through others of His children.  It’s a wonderful feeling to be the answer to someone’s prayer, to be in a position to respond to promptings from the Spirit, and to know that Heavenly Father knows who you are and is willing to use you to bless others.