Guess what everybody??!!!
We are having two baptisms this Saturday. We have been working with Roxy and Iris and they are both going to be baptized at five this Saturday. I am so excited.
Roxy is so prepared and she loves the gospel. It is weird because she was like a total party girl and now she gave up drinking, coffee, and she committed to live the Law of Chastity. I am so glad that she has progressed so much. She came to church last week and she loved it. Her three year old girl was crying because she didn't want to go home and she loved her classes so much. Roxy also came to a Noche de Hogar and it was really fun.
Iris also came to church for the first time this week and she loved it and the people just loved her. You have to know Iris. She is the funniest, most energetic, black lady and she just brings a smile everywhere she goes. I am so happy that I have had the opportunity to work with her. Her son Xavier, who is 8, also loved. He said "Man, church was so cool." We have not taught him much because Iris is already a handful but we will focus on him soon and then he should be able to get baptized in a few weeks.
We had a lesson with Iris on Monday that was amazing. Normally she is very difficult to teach because she always acts like a child and goofs around and jokes. This time she broke down and really shared everything with us. She knows the Book of Mormon is true and that this is God’s church. She knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet. She understands the Restoration. She knows all this but her family does not like the Mormon Church and she says that her mom is very Baptist and she knows that her family will reject her if she joins the church. We shared some scriptures and lots of testimony and the spirit was strong. She was almost in tears but she didn’t feel like she had the strength to follow God at this time. She didn’t want to sacrifice her family. I shared the story of Christian Johnson who left Denmark and his family (at least I hope it was him. At this point in the lesson I was really wishing that I had all the details about him because I kind of had to just guess on the details.) I told her of how glad I am that my ancestors had the strength to give up everything so that I could have the truth now. Even though I probably told his story a little bit wrong the spirit was really strong. Elder Daniele also told a similar story about how his father was rejected from his family when he joined the church but now within fifteen years their hearts softened and many of them joined the church. We promised Iris that she has the strength to do it. She didn’t seem convinced.
The next day we shared with her the story of Jonah and the whale and how we can’t really run from God’s will and she told us that she was willing to be baptized and rely on God to help her family. We were not sure if she would rather do it this week or next week and we gave her the option of putting of her baptism but she wanted to do it this week and so we are excited to have her baptized this Saturday. It truly was a miracle what happened here because on Monday she was not willing to be baptized at all the next day she didn’t even want to put it back a week. I know that God is performing miracles in my mission.
We have a lot of other people that are also right close to being baptized. I will give you the update on them next week but it is crazy to see how many miracles are happening every day.
I had the opportunity to see some of the people I knew from Pasadena at the Noche de Hogar on Monday and also after zone conference last week. I saw my favorite family, the Salazar-Jimenez family, and all their kids. They are the family that I kept sending you pictures of in Pasadena. They told me that the divorce is almost done so that they can get married and Jose Salazar will be able to get baptized. They are so cool and when I saw them all the kids ran up to me and told me they loved me and I that they missed me so bad and I was almost crying because it felt so good. It was so cool because when I was in Pasadena, I loved them so much but I couldn’t speak to them because my Spanish was so bad but now when I see them I can talk. They told me about Elder Trappett, he finished his mission and is working at Subway in Idaho. He told them that I was his favorite companion and I loved being his companion so much also.
Also, I saw Santo Lerdo, who was the coolest member ever and I totally loved talking to him. He said he prayed for me a ton to learn Spanish and he said “I guess it worked.” I also, saw other members and one person we taught named Yoni Castro asked me to baptize him in the future. Seeing all those members at the Noche de Hogar was like how I imagine heaven. We get to see all the people we love and we will be so exceedingly happy to see each other and know that we are still firm in the faith. I have never been so happy in my life as this night at the Noche de Hogar and also at the zone conference when I got to see some of my favorite members. The relationships I have developed are the best. I love my mission.
I have become very passionate about my mission now that I am not distracted by my past life. My mission is shaping my identity. The Lord will shape me into the person I need to be. I love my mission!!! I know that what I am a part of is changing lives and I know that the savior loves his children and wants them back. How grateful I am to be a part of it.
I love you all
Elder Bernard
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment