3rd Transfer with Elder Blandon & First Baptism

Hola familia y Amigos

FIRST OFF HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

I LOVE YOU MOM I HOPE THAT YOU HAVE AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Thanks to all of you who wrote and emailed this week. It was great to hear from all of you and to feel your love and support. I want you to know that I love you all too and that I know the Lord will bless you for your love and your support.

Well the big news that you are all dying to hear is whether I got transferred this week. When we have transfers here in Puerto Rico, we are notified Saturday night if we are going to be transferred. Then on Wednesday we all go to a meeting in San Juan where we trade companions and have a meeting with the President.

Well Saturday was an amazing day because we had our 1st baptism since I have been here in San Sebastian. But it was also really nice because that night we got a call from the zone leaders and they told us that we would both be staying in San Sebastian for a 3rd transfer together. It was great news to hear because we have done a lot of great work together and we have a bunch of investigators who are progressing greatly. Neither one of us wanted to leave and we were blessed with the opportunity to stay here and work together.

So . . . to answer all of your questions, no I am not going to be transferred this transfer. I get to stay in San Sebastian and serve the Lord's children here! I can't wait. This transfer is going to be amazing. So yeah . . . same address just in case any of you want to write ;)

OK, so now onto the good stuff. Saturday we had the opportunity to see our two favorite little investigators enter the waters of baptism and be baptized in the same manner, and with the same authority, that our Savior was baptized with. It was such a special day and I am not even sure that the description that I will attempt to give will even come close to giving it justice. I had the opportunity to baptize Wilton but the most amazing part of that day was to see those kids dressed in white. To see the light in their eyes and to think about the huge step that they were taking in their eternal progression and their journey back to our Heavenly Father. I had the privilege to baptize Wilton and, like I said in my other emails, these kids are so shy! But Wilton was really excited to be baptized. He walked into the font and as I started the ordinance, he started to go down. It was funny and it was really neat.

It was amazing though to see the smiles on their faces that day. I know that this is the is the Church of Jesus Christ and it was amazing to be taken on the journey with these kids to the waters of baptism. Every thing that happened along the journey, the way we found them, all the deadlines we had to meet, and the baptism and confirmation, everything was a miracle and I could see the hand of the Lord in every step of the way. It was such a blessing to be apart of the baptism, but it was also a really humbling experience to know that we did nothing to make this baptism happen. But in fact it was the hand of the Lord the whole time. What a blessing it was to be apart of this experience it is something that I will never forget.

The confirmation went well. As you know for convert baptisms we hold the confirmation on Sunday during Sacrament Meeting and it was a little scary for us when they showed up half an hour late to church. But again we had another miracle and they were able to make the journey from the home to the church and later in the day the kids were able to be confirmed, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. What a blessing it was to participate in this! I know that my description did not do justice to the feelings of the day and I hope that you will forgive me. I will send you the pictures and it will all make sense!

So other then that we actually had a really eventful week. This week we had the opportunity to teach an amazing family. The mom's name is Mary and I am not sure what the other names of the family are, but our experience with them has been amazing. We contacted them earlier in the week and the mom said missionaries helped her paint like 20 years ago. She said she wanted to learn more so she invited us back later in the week. We came back and she was kind of hesitant to listen to our messages. She said that she was already meeting with missionaries from another church and she didn't want to get confused. We told her that we respect that but somehow we ended up teaching her the first lesson. I honestly don't know how we did it. But all of the sudden they brought out chairs for us and we sat there and gave her the first lesson.

From the minute we ended the hymn the spirit was way strong and her countenance changed. She wasn't hesitant anymore but in fact she was really interested. The lesson went well and it was one of the best lessons that we have taught together. Not because we are great teachers, but because the spirit was so strong. And because the spirit was directing the lesson, we talked about the Book of Mormon and her husband loved it. She took a copy and wouldn't let go. We were both really excited and couldn't wait to go back. But what was really neat about this experience is that the spirit changed everything. We asked what she thought about the lesson and she said that she loved it. That she has never felt that warmth before in a religious setting. I know for a fact that isn't an accident or a coincidence. The influence of the spirit is real. I know it is.

But as the scriptures say, there is opposition in all things. This week we went to the house of one of our most promising investigators and she opened the door and came out to talk to us. We asked if she was reading the Book of Mormon and she said "a little, but I am reading this book about religions too." Sure enough, she pulled out an anti-Mormon book and my companion started to read it to make sure it was what we thought it was. I read along too and as soon as I started to read I could just feel darkness and anger. A totally different feeling from when I read the Book of Mormon in the morning. It's sad that there are people in the world that have to go out of their way to destroy the faith of others. But how great it is to know that Jesus Christ has restored His gospel once again on the earth and His power and authority is here.

It was a great week this week and I look forward to another great week of work in the Lord's service this week. Thanks again for all that you do for me. Grandma and grandpa the pictures and the books were amazing. Thank you so much. Wilton and Myra absolutely loved the book. I told them that they had grandparents in Utah now too, and they loved that. Thank you for all that you two do for me. You are amazing.

Good luck this week and never forget who you are and what you stand for.

This is the Church of Jesus Christ! He is at the head and He directs His church through His servants the prophets in our days. How blessed we are to have been given the gift of the gospel and what a blessing it is to be able to serve him! I love you and I miss you all, but there is no where in the world that I would rather be. Have a fantastic week!