About 10 years before Doug and Carolyn Thurman's mission, their son married a woman who was not a member of the Church. Their son was not active at the time.
When the Thurmans received a call to serve in the employment resource center in Independence, Missouri, USA, they began to see small changes in their daughter-in-law.
"She decided to quit smoking, so when we would call them every few weeks, she would give us an update and remind us to pray for her," Carolyn says. "But we still had no indication that she would be receptive to the missionaries."
Shortly before the Thurmans returned home, their son started going to church, and his wife and their three children agreed to attend as well. Soon, the entire family began meeting with the missionaries, and less than a month after the Thurmans returned home, their daughter-in-law and three grandchildren decided to be baptized.
"I was able to baptize all four of them," says Doug. "We had been praying for a long time for a miracle, and I think it was another blessing from the Lord for our serving a mission."