Monday, July 28, 2014

July 28, 2014

Well, this is probably the last group email, next week I´ll probably be lazy and not write anyone...
This week has been a hardworking, busy week, just the way I like it. ;) Last monday, we had a baptism, and he was very excited, but didn´t want a lot of people to come to see his baptism, which was good, because it was at a somewhat inconvenient time for everyone, so there weren´t lots of people. Then, we talked to another investigator about baptism on Tuesday, and she decided that she needed to be baptized, and felt like she should saturday. So we prepared everything and planned her baptism the same time as a baptism of the elders who share the ward with us. The other girl who got baptized by the other elders is the granddaughter of a recent convert of mine from this area, so it was neat to see her whole family there and more and more of this family coming into the church. I´ve been to 4 baptisms in this ward of people from this family, so it´s always been cool to see the progression through this rock solid family who always comes to church and all the ward activities. Saturday was a good day, and both baptisms went smoothly. Then sunday after church, we were talking to an investigator that we´ve been teaching for a long time and has been to church plenty, but had always asked for more time whenever we mentioned baptism. We set a lesson with her for last night, and we went with a member to visit her. We talked and she said that she knew what we were teaching is right and that she knows that she needs to be baptized, but was hesitating about being baptized because of what her friends and family would say against the church. We all testified to her about the importance of doing what God asks us to do, and not listening to the other people who criticize the church. It was a really good lesson and at the end, she said that we were right and agreed to be baptized and said that it was important that I would be there for her baptism, so we planned the baptism for this saturday at 4:00pm. It was neat to see how the spirit touched her and she was able to see and commit to doing something that I know will be hard for her, because many people don´t understand why she is leaving her old church and joining the mormons, but I admire her faith and her desire to keep going doing what she knows is true. My last baptism I will see will be one of the last miracles I get to see as a missionary, the joy of a person changing their life to live the gospel and obey the commandments of God.
I know that this work is true, and I know that if we let it, the gospel of Jesus Christ will change our lives and our attitudes about everything. I will never be the same from this point of my life on, and I am grateful for every experience that I´ve been blessed to have on my mission..
Including some weird experiences like having a staring contest with a goat that just randomly roams through our area and fights with dogs sometimes... ;)
Love,
Elder Ward