ST. GEORGE — Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sent across the globe to share their faith with others in an effort to bring them into the fold and help them draw closer to God. However, for a pair of missionaries in St. George last month, they played a part to helping someone avoid meeting their maker due to a medical episode.

It was a mid-July afternoon when Sisters Emily Hale, of northern California, and Jessie Lee, of New Zealand, were in the neighborhood of the Rincon Del Sol apartments on their way to meet with someone.

“We were just out doing our normal thing,” Hale said. “We were on our way to meet somebody we hoped to introduce ourselves to when we noticed that a women was sitting there and that she might have needed some help. So we decided to introduce ourselves and see if there was anything we could do for her.”

The woman the missionaries came across was 62-year-old Dara Knibbs, who was sitting outside her apartment at the time. Prior to making it outside, she had discovered she had been stung by an insect — possibly a wasp — at least six times and was experiencing an allergic reaction.

Just before heading outdoors, Knibbs was having difficultly breathing, grabbed her emergency medical bag and used an inhaler she hoped would open her airways. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much improvement.

“That’s when I looked up and saw the sister missionaries,” Knibbs said as she recounted the incident. Though initially tempted to tell the two young women that she was fine, she felt she was on the verge of an emergency. “I not OK — I’m going to need help,” she said.

“It was getting difficult for me to speak,” Knibbs said. “I could only get a couple words out at a time.”

Knibbs managed to tell the missionaries she needed to contact 911 and go to the emergency room.

“When we showed up she was coughing and was not able to speak, her throat was closing up,” Lee said. “We were able to call (911) and kind of help her stay calm when we talked to the operator. They were able to help us get through the whole situation with her.”

After calling 911, Hale said they noticed Knibbs’ condition was getting worse and mentioned it to the 911 operator. The operators suggested using an EpiPen to help counter her allergic reaction.

Due to her being unable to speak, Knibbs switched to using sign language to communicate with the missionaries who relayed needed information to the 911 operator.

“Neither of us know sign language or understand it, but for some reason that day we could understand what she was saying and she told to us she had an EpiPen,” Hale said of herself and Lee.

They located an EpiPen in Knibb’s medical bag and used it, yet it appeared to have little impact at the time. When she looked at the device later, Knibbs said she realized it was expired by six months.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the missionaries stayed with Knibbs and did their best to help keep her calm until the ambulance arrived and medics began to treat her. From there, Knibbs was taken to St. George Regional Hospital for care and released a few hours later.

Looking back on the incident, Knibbs said she felt it was an example of God watching over her and was grateful the missionaries were there to help her. As for the missionaries not knowing sign language, Knibbs saw that as another sign of divine intervention.

“I tend to do that (sign) when I have a difficult time speaking — I just start signing,” she said, adding, “God will watch over you and take care of you … He knows each and everyone of us.”

Knibbs is a member of the LDS church and mentioned attending a local deaf branch when possible because of the hearing loss she said she has experienced in recent years.

While Knibbs said she has a support network of neighbors around her who help her due to various health issues, the missionaries were in the right place at the right time.

As for the missionaries, once Knibbs was taken care of, they went back to their calling.

“Right afterward, when they (the medics) were able to make sure she was OK, we asked if there was anything else we could do,” Hale said. “They thanked us for what we had done, and then immediately we slid right next door. (Knibbs’) neighbor was actually the person we were hoping to meet that day.”

The experience was “pretty exciting,” Hale added, noting that as LDS missionaries they get to speak to others about the hope and light the gospel of Jesus Christ has brought into their own lives and how it can touch the lives of those they meet.

“That day, not only did we get to bring that hope and spirit into her life, we were also able to help her physically,” she said. “We tend to deal more with the spiritual matters and help people build a relationship with God, but that day it was pretty awesome to protect her from meeting God.”

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