I love this area so much.
Monday night we taught A., who is living with his girlfriend. We taught him about the plan that God has for him, and that Heavenly Father wants him to have an eternal family. We taught him that by living with his girlfriend he was breaking the commandments of God and might not receive an answer to his prayers till they stop living together. They said they would discuss it together, hopefully tonight we can get some good news from that.
Tuesday we taught N., who did great and was still looking good for Saturday. Wednesday we took E. a large print bible. She didn't have time to meet because all her extended family is in town for a funeral, but she was very excited to get another book of scripture she can read. She is struggling with her life right now, and the gospel is what she needs, and she knows it. We taught a couple less actives , then taught N. again. We had found out on the Sunday before that she wanted to get baptized, and Wednesday she told us what helped her make that decision. She had taken our invitation and was praying about a date to be baptized. She works at a restaurant as a waitress, and at a calm time of the day, a group of guys were seated in an area that was not currently in use due to the calm time of day. She thought it was weird... But went over and did her job anyway. She started talking to them, and it turns out all three of them were returned missionaries that served where she was from in the Philippines. They told her that if she found what she believes to be the true religion, why wait, don't postpone salvation. So she decided to get baptized as soon as possible.
Thursday we started exchanges, and elder A., the District leader's companion, came to my area with me. It was a good day, we talked to a lot of people. Thursday night N. got interviewed for baptism and we showed her the font and told her and her husband R. everything that would happen. Then we taught D. B. and C.. D. and B. are doing great. B. has stopped drinking alcohol, coffee, and smoking cigarettes. They are both looking solid for the 14th! C. does not have the priesthood yet so he won't be able to baptize them but we want to get them all to the point at which they can be sealed in the temple for time and all eternity
Friday we ended exchanges early so we could get back together for weekly planning. After planning we had lunch with our MLS couple, then put together the baptismal Program for N.'s baptism. Then we taught N. about a couple more things to get her completely ready, which she was! Friday night we swung by a less active who apparently has a a non member daughter that lives with him every other weekend. We taught her and put her on date. Not sure how solid she will be just because she is one of those people with an "I don't know" "I don't care" attitudes about everything. But we do our best to teach her.
Saturday N. got baptized! It was neat to see not only her joy but the joy of her husband R. in coming back to the gospel and being able to perform that ordinance for her. It was also great to see all the ward members that showed up to support them. It's such an important thing. After dinner we taught KD and T. They have now been taught everything and we are just still waiting to get news in whether or not the mom can leave the new hospital to come to the baptism. After that we went to B.'s house to share a message but when we got there he said they didn't have time for a message cuz he had a friend over, but he asked if we could leave them with a prayer. We said we could but we wanted to share a quick video with them first. We shared a video and then found out that B.'s friend C. wasn't a member. So we taught him a bit about the restoration, invited him to be baptized, set a date, and invited him to come to church. He said he would if B. went, and B. said he would like to go.
Sunday N. was confirmed a member and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. We weren't able to make it to B.'s Ward because of the confirmation, but we had texted the ward mission leader and told him to look out for B. and C. He texted us after church and said that B. never showed up, but C. came on his own and stayed for all three hours! Impressive. We taught him Sunday night and he said he loved the feeling there and that's why he stayed the whole time. He said he had been to a bunch of different churches, but only in the LDS church had he felt the spirit, and not just feelings of 'excitement' with the pastor shouting at you and with rock bands playing. We finished teaching him about the restoration, and he said he believes it and they it makes sense. He's at a time in his life where he needs the gospel to change his life and turn it in the right direction. Elaine didn't make it to church. We are always disappointed when that happens, cuz we will have to push the date back to the 21st. All in all it was a good day and a stellar week.
Hope erryone has a good one.
Love
-Elder Ray
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| Elder Fehoko and Seth, Richard, Nancy, Elder Manarin who got to help teach Nancy cuz he speaks Tagalog, and Elder Brink got to come to the baptism because he taught her once. |
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