3 Baptisms! - WEEK 15

I think each week I spend out on my mission becomes my new favorite haha. This one really reminded me of why I'm here and why I've chosen to serve. I've been so humbled and remembered how important this work is and how it's my joy! Also shed quite a few tears of joy over the last several days :,)

We did most of our finding this week in person! The YSA elders, Sister Pocock, and I went downtown and around to the college campuses and met dozens of new people! It was so much fun to have that many conversations, share some light, and teach our special message about Jesus Christ. We have so many return appointments next week with the people we talked to! Back home, I probably would've been kinda scared to randomly walk up to someone and start talking to them about the gospel, but there's something about wearing this missionary tag that makes it so fun and awesome!! :))

We got a new elder in the YSA ward! His name is Elder Gee and he's also from Washington. That makes 3 of us YSA missionaries who are from there since Elder Hart is from Vancouver. Funny story- when we first met him and introduced ourselves, he said "oh you're the cookie dealer right??" Apparently the missionaries in his last area told him that and so did the Senior couples in the mission office since I've made them cookies before.

Last Wednesday for P day, we went bowling with our district! Our elders got really good at doing trick shots and even got a few strikes while laying down. Then we went to Andrew's house for dinner and made smores. Elder Gee and Elder Wilstead had a bunch of handstand and back flip competitions. That night, we all went to Institute and Jackson and his friend Cole came too! They sat in the very front of the chapel and asked a ton of great questions. Afterward, we had a huge game of volleyball and a mini concert of everyone jamming out together on the piano and their guitars.

On Thursday I got to go on an exchange with the amazing Hermana Harris!! We went to work with the Prov missionaries who all speak Spanish. We got to teach a lot of lessons and talk with people in my mission language and it was a blast!! We even got to teach a language class to a few dozen people who only speak Spanish, recently moved to the US, and are all trying to learn English! They were all so sweet. That was one of my favorite days :,))

On Friday we went to breakfast with Elder Hart, Elder Gee, and Mckensey- a girl we started teaching not too long ago! Toward the end of our meal, the people at the table next to us got up, smiled at us, put a folded up piece of paper on our table, then walked out really fast. We were confused at first but then unfolded the paper and noticed it was the receipt for all of our meals combined. They had paid for the entire thing which was almost $100 and they'd left a super sweet note on the back, thanking us for our willingness to serve the Lord. It made us cry because we were able to feel God's love so strongly through their small act of kindness and generosity. It was also an incredible reminder that what we're doing is so important, and people notice!

A hand of the Lord moment: we met Jace a few days ago who's a student at Lipscomb and Sister Pocock and I randomly both had a really strong feeling that we should give him a call. So we did and had the most amazing conversation with him. We taught the restoration and invited him to read the Book of Mormon! He said our lesson was exactly what he needed. We were so thankful we followed the Holy Ghost's prompting!

On Saturday and Sunday we had the opportunity to see 3 people we love get baptized! Adam was baptized on Saturday morning and it was so incredible. Seeing him so happy brought me to tears. We got to meet his family and friends who came to celebrate with him. Adam bore his testimony at the end of his baptism and said how excited he is to share the light of the gospel with others, just like how Sister Pocock and I have shared it with him. Missionary work truly does start a chain of disciples of Christ. By helping just one soul find God's plan for them, it'll impact generations. Emmanuel, who was being taught by E. Wilstead and E. Johnston, was baptized later in the afternoon and that service was equally as wonderful to see! The speakers and musical numbers were perfect.

That night we met up with our YSA elders and had chic-fil-a and dominos. Played some basketball in our church clothes and I'm sad to say that Elder Gee absolutely demolished me. I got swatted several times haha RIP. Opposition in all things. We had a ton of fun though and the elders are all studs.

Eli was baptized on Sunday after church :))) He asked me if I'd speak at his baptism and I was so honored :,)) I was expecting there to be a decent amount of people there, like there'd been at the 2 baptisms the day before but there ended up being waaaaaay more. So many of his loved ones and our ward members came to support him! We had to move everyone from the relief society room to the chapel and still everyone could barely fit! There must've been more than a hundred people, plus those who joined the zoom meeting. President and Sister Weaver came as well and it was great to see them. I was really stressed about my talk because I didn't expect that many people to be there, but it ended up going really well. I was able to bear my testimony on the gift and power of the Holy Ghost and how it has changed my life. That night the elders, Sister Pocock, and I all made pan-sized chocolate chip banana pancakes at the church with Eli and celebrated with him!

Being able to witness 3 children of God make covenants with their Heavenly Father, enter the waters of baptism, and receive the Holy Ghost was one of the most beautiful things I've been able to be a part of. 3 new members of our ward. 3 inspiring individuals who chose to follow the example of Jesus Christ and take steps to bring them close to Him. I am so thankful to be a missionary and have the opportunity to help guide people like Adam, Emmanuel, and Eli to those paths.

I had the opportunity to teach a training on increasing our faith to baptize at district council on Monday. The assistants to the president and our zone leaders were there too! We talked about the importance of our callings, goal setting, faith, and how we need to rely on God in all things. Something I absolutely love that Elder Wilstead said was "get on your knees and pray like everything depends on God, then get up and work like everything depends on you." He'll give us strength in all things. The discussions we had were amazing and the spirit was so present in the room. After the training, we all knelt down together and each companionship prayed for their people and those who need help. We said an individual and specific prayer for each and every child of God we are teaching. About halfway through the time we were all praying, miracles started happening. Each of our phones got bombarded with many messages, all from the people we had been praying for!! For example, E. Fine and E. Ballard got a text from two of the people they had prayed for, and one of them hadn't talked to them in weeks. E. Wilstead got a message from one of his non member friends back home saying he wants to be baptized, people who had previously told E. Gee and E. Hart they wanted nothing to do with the church had texted them saying they want to meet with missionaries again, and we got a phone call from one of the girls we've been trying to figure out how to help. All 14 of us were in tears by the end and we could feel God's love so strongly. "Have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, NAY." Everyone (even the AP's!!) said this was the best district council they'd been to on their entire mission.

Monday night for FHE we played a sick game of ultimate Frisbee at the parthenon and got a bunch of random people around the park to play with us! We were all there long after dark and by the end, we could barely see the Frisbee and people started running into each other haha.

Tuesday morning we met with Mckensey, E. Hart, and E. Gee again and had an amazing lesson with her. She wants to be baptized but is afraid her family will disown her. We each bore our testimony that God has prepared a way for her, He knows her and her circumstances perfectly, and He loves her beyond measure. She said she'll be baptized this Sunday if God tells her it's right. We all cried tears of joy during her lesson. Tuesday night we got ice cream with our friend Avery and Abbey from the ward. She's moving out of her college dorm this weekend so we won't be able to teach her anymore :( but she'll be meeting with missionaries back home!

Also got an email about starting my visa paperwork for Costa Rica… so we'll see what happens with that!

I'm sorry this email and all my emails are ridiculously long but real quick I want to share a scripture that one of my best friends shared with me this week. It's Ecclesiastes 3:11 and it says, "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time…" I know that Heavenly Father will make something beautiful out of each one of us. His love is perfect. His plans for our lives are perfect. He will provide a way to do all things according to His will. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become perfected and become something beautiful. Not in the eyes of the world- but in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. I testify that He knows you and loves you. He's proud of you, no matter how imperfect or far from Him you may feel. Look to Him in all things. Take the hand of the Savior and He will guide you.

Love yall so much

- Adam's baptism

- Eli's baptism

- Emmanuel's baptism

- E. Wilstead & E. Gee handstand competition

- breakfast with mckensey!

- avery & abbey :)

- ultimate Frisbee @ the Parthenon

- our district placed bets on who was taller. Those who voted for elder gee won haha

- smores @ andrew's house

- luna <3 Andrew's dog

- the kind family that paid for our breakfast left this note :,)