Hola del este!
LUIS MENDEZ GOT BAPTIZED!
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| Before the baptism on Sunday! :) |
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| Making 7-layer dip and teaching Luis with Hna. Ortiz. Now he has been baptized! :) |
One more soul has been brought through the gate into the straight and narrow way! Luis is happy. So is his fiancé, Hna. Ortiz, a member. :) Our Ward Mission Leader and Luis' good friend, Hno. Aparicio, recently came back from a trip to Peru. They wanted to surprise him by asking him to baptize Luis just minutes before, and he was surprised but happy to baptize his friend. Luis invited his non-member family, including his mom and two sisters, so that was great! Before the ordinance of the baptism, I gave a short talk on what Luis has done to prepare for his baptism, what it means and blessings of peace, love, and the promise to live with God that he will receive if he remains faithful. Standing up in front of everyone, I was grateful for how the Spanish was flowing and that I was able to take part in seeing conversion take place in this man's life. (There were only a few glitches in the service, like waiting for the bishop to come downstairs to conduct and then awkwardly searching for the key to the front doors of the font!) They had people over to Luis' parents' home for Peruvian-style chicken and Mexican tacos at his parents' house afterward! I am excited for Luis to have an eternal family! It is a weird transition for me from planning for him as an investigator and teaching him and now basically turning him on to the ward and trusting him to keep progressing on his own.
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Hermana. Almanzar took us for a crazy ride
to go teaching with us on Thursday.
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Hna. Ortiz' 8-year-old son, Benjamin, was also baptized the on Saturday! We didn't teach Benjamin, but we helped out at the baptismal service by translating into English/ Spanish for his fathers' family and Sis. Haycock spoke. We talked to their non-member friends afterward too.
On Tuesday I reached my one-year "Jersaversary!" Maybe that means I'm an official "Jersey girl" now? Hmmm... The snow has melted but we can't quite say that it feels like spring yet. We had kind of a crazy week! On Thursday and Friday, we went to 8-hour Leadership Trainings in Morristown for all of the new missionaries and trainers. The first day, Sister Haycock and I gave a 10-minute training on "following up" on the commitments we leave with the people we teach. We also "mediated" in the missionary role plays to support and give suggestions for effective teaching. They didn't need our help as much the second day, so we skipped out for some of the time to do our weekly planning.
Our Peruvian investigator, Rosario, is getting baptized this Saturday!! She's a bit shy, so she told us that she prefers not to do it after church on Sunday when there will be a ton of people there. She is amazing! She attended Luis' baptism and went yesterday and we also had a lesson with her and a Peruvian couple in our ward who has a daughter on a mission. Rosario announced to them at the that she wants to be baptized and asked Hermano Ordonez to baptize her. They were thrilled and the Spirit was so strong!
Hermana De Los Santos, our Dominican investigator, is still planning on being baptized this week too, we just don't know what day will work for her yet! We'll keep praying that it goes through! She has been working towards this on and off for years!
If all goes well, we should have 3 confirmations in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday! That will double the amount I've seen so far in my mission. And then I'll be transferred two days later. I have no idea where to! Missionary life is crazy. I feel the Spirit so much and I am grateful for the calling I have and the opportunity to influence people's lives as I try to be worthy to let God work through me. 3 Nephi12:20.
Love,
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