I cant Believe that I have been gone for a Month! Crazy how time flies.So Saturday (10/20/12) was my first baptism. I had to fill in for one of the speakers last minute.... YIKES! totally not my thing, i got all nervous and was really having a hard time with that, but the spirit took over and the words that i said, and i couldn't even tell you what exactly i said, but they were perfect because they were from my heart and the spirit helped me to express them just perfectly...the spirit was so strong. This mission is totally going to make me learn how to do without my crutch of having a prepared speech, whether i like it or not. It'll be good for me though.
Adrienne (new convert) was so ready to be baptized or the term the other missionaries use is "Elect", so she was so elect when my comp and the sister before me statrted teaching her she told them that she wanted to be baptized that first lesson and before that she had read the Book of Mormon and prayed about it and knew that she belonged as a member of the church! how great is that! Anyway, so she is baptized and the Suwanee ward has completely adopted her and she feels very much a part of this ward. She has such a charitable heart and i know she will make a great addition to our growing LDS family! I tried to download pics but i guess i brought the wrong cable, and i cant download with the sd card cuz these computers dont have a slot for it.... sorry
We have another baptism lined up for the 27th for a man named Kevin Nevin. he is a very knowlageable man, and has been a member of just about every church imaginable, so he knows so much, and has some pretty far out ideas, but he is great, he has a very kind heart and we believe that he is ready for baptism. So the 27th it is! we are so excited for him, and his roommate who just recieved his priesthood is acutally performing the baptism, it is going to be a pretty special baptism.
I am still pretty shy, i still have a hard tim talking to people on the streets and in the parks, and i have had a hard time teaching the lessons to our investigators. Actually, we taught the Plan of Salvation lesson to Timothy on Tuesday and i was really nervous and i pretty much cried through the whole thing. i was SO embarrassed and after the lesson Timothy turned to me and basically said, i don't know what you are going through, but Christ will help you with what ever you are dealing with, just trust him. I am supposed to be the one teaching and bringing comfort through the message of the atonement, but i was the one who was taught this day. This man is another one of our elect investigators and he already believes so many of the same things that we do. He is so ready to be baptized, and we did get a soft commitment from him, just no specific date. we aren't worried though, because like i said, he is elect.
So after this lesson i walked back into the classroom (we taught the lesson at the church) where we had left our stuff and just broke down and cried right there in front of my companion, as if i wasn't already embarrassed by my horrible teaching experience, this just made it worse! My comp is so good though, she just hugged me and told me that i was allowed to be overwhelmed. she reassured me that i didn't do as bad as i thought. We met up with the zone leaders for lunch and planned the joint lesson that we would teach with the them later that night. after lunch we had another teaching apointment with a recent convert, Sarah. This lesson went considerably better and the spirit was so strong as we told and testified of the restoration. it was great!
About 7:00 pm we met again with the Zone Leaders and taught the Lavoie (La-voy) Family. we taught them about the law of tithing, and they made it very clear that, that was not something that they could do if they were to be baptized because they just don't have the money to give and they really didn't see how it would be possible for them to pay tithing. This is going to be a very hard thing for them to do, it is going to require great faith on their part, both Elder Edmonds, and Thompson bore testimony of tithing, then Sister Berrett added hers. The whole time i was fighting an internal battle of whether or not i should share mine, i was worried that i would overdo it, but i finally, at the last minute jumped in with my testimony and then at the end, we all were silent for about a minute and the spirit was overwhelming. Then something miracoulous happened, their daughter who was sitting on the couch listening quietly, borke the silence and began singing with the primary CD that she had turned on earilier in the lesson and the song that had been playing at that very moment was perfect. She began singing "i will go i will do, the things the lord commands, i know the lord provides a was, he wants me to obey....." We all looked at each other with knowing glances then we closed with a prayer, said good bye to the family and left. we got outside and were all so happy with the way that ended, that we were all sort of speechless. we could not have ended that lesson more perfectly if we had planned it. The Lord definatly works in mysterious ways and he has his hand in all that we do. What a miracle!
i love this work, and i am shown every day how important it is. My testimony of my Savior grows each time i share it with our investigators. I am humbled each day to know that i have the great responsibility of representing Jesus Christ. I am really an ordinary person, no one of great consequence and i realize i will probably never go on to do great and extraordinary things, but i do have something that is extraordinary and that will change lives, and I can simply share it, by doing this, i am doing something extraordinary. I have been blessed beyond explanation just to have been born into the gospel, and i would be doing a great dishonor to my Father if i weren't to share it with His children.
He helps me to do this work, i know this, because i am in no way capable to do this on my own. I have been blessed to see miracles on my behalf, as He has strengthened me and made me equal to this great challenge and equally great work!
Words do not exist that can give expression to my true feelings and convictions for this work. For sure, it is the hardest work i have had to do and i am sure that there will be many more challenges yet to face, but i know that my Father is ALWAYS here to back me up. I love my Heavenly Father and regardless of the reservations that is have, i will go, i will do, the things the lord commands, i KNOW the lord provides a way, and he wants me to obey, so i will go and do the things he commands. I can not say it enough, I LOVE this work and this gospel. Not that i am thinking about coming home already, but when i do get home, i am excited to work with whatever ward, with their missionary efforts... this is so much fun!!!
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