Washingtonians Say the Darndest Things

I know I say this a lot but time is insane. Its the last week of my 9th transfer! How is that possible? Anyway. We went on another two exchanges and had a normal week. Lots of funny moments happened this week with my favorite being the result of this emails title. 

Tuesday I stayed in Elma with Sister Humphreys and it was way great! At the end of knocking (very last door) we met this guy and began introducing ourselves "Hi we're missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ..." he cut us of and finished our sentence, "of Latter-day Saints. One moment..." He walked off and Sister Humphreys and I looked at each other a little concerned expecting him to come back out and 'bash' (missionary term for saying really mean and 99% of the time incorrect 100% of the time out of context things about the church and our beliefs). After saying a quick little prayer in my heart that we'd find a way to avoid being yelled at we here him tell someone else to turn the tv off and come say hi to us. A young teen boy returns with him to the door. Instead of bashing us he introduces us and informs us this kid is the son of a family friend who is involved in the young men's presidency in a ward an hour away and is visiting. It was hilarious. Instead of bringing out his bible to tear us down he brought out a mormon! Very unexpected. We then hold a conversation with this guy for a good bit as he teaches us about how we can't trust an english bible because its been changed and tells us we need to get a Hebrew bible. It was a lot more entertaining to us than what I can put into words within a short limited time.

I had an intense study on Alma 50:1-12 on Friday it was amazing! I wish I had enough time to share it with you but I'd encourage you to go read those verses and ask how we can apply that to our lives in a personal/spiritual perspective. (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/50?lang=eng) I found it is the perfect map to how we can protect ourselves from the negativity and decline of the world's standard and the influences they attempt to have on all around.

Saturday we had a really funny experience while tracting. We knocked into this guy that told us he'd been baptized at 15 but wasn't a member any more. He went one for 3 or so minutes about how he's never seen the same missionaries twice and how every new set seems to be prettier and prettier. He then looks into my eyes and exclaims how gorgeous and brown they are and does the same to Sister Brewster. Then he how old we are we tell him 22 and 23 so he asks if we have any "suitors" at home. I reply no but that I have plenty of time for that later and he looks at me very seriously and very concerned and tells me "no you don't" It was the funniest thing ever! Apparently I'm already an old maid! Well darn. I can't count the number of jokes we've made from that one comment. I love Washington. The people here say the greatest things!

Well loved ones I'm out of time (shocker) so here are some pictures and until next week...

LOVE YOU! and read Alma 50!

Sorry this is a lame week

Well this will be a short one. Sorry about that. I'm about out of time and I'm so tired my brain isn't funtioning.

We went to the beach last Monday for zone activity so that was way fun! After the beach we went home and Sister Brewster got really sick so we ended up staying in and helping her recover for a day. Now we're both trying to be better at drinking water. We also have an emergency gatorade haha. We had exchanges on Wednesday in which I took over the area with Sister Lee. It was a day of miracles and funny experiences. We discovered I have a hidden scale of being able to break into apartments with a credit card... Seriously people it was way too easy, please us the deadbolt as well. 

Here's the story behind that. We were pulling out of our parking lot and as we did we say a lady trying to open a window from the outside so we asked if she needed help. Her baby and 11 year old were sitting on the sidewalk and it was a really hot day (no surprise there). After the maintenance person tried opening windows unsuccessfully and was discussing kicking in the door I randomly felt like I should try the classic credit card trick. So I pulled out my wallet and got a card. The maintenance guy (he knows us pretty well) cracks up and says, "please tell me you don't know how to do that..." I shrugged and slid the card in. It literally took me less than 30 seconds. (Definitely guided by the spirit but still someone practiced would have just as easy a time. So lock your bolts) It was really funny as we all stood there mind blown that that had really just happened but the lady was able to get her kids into a cooler place without having her door kicked in. The power of God is great!

Zone conference was really great and different. Sister Brewster and I gave a training on using the pamphlets that give a short overview of the lessons we teach. Hours of preparation later it was over and my legs eventually stopped shaking. That was probably the most terrifying thing I've done on my mission...

Another great exchange on Friday resulted in proof that you can talk to a random 20 people anywhere!

Anyway I'm out of time so here are some pictures and yeah talk to you next week!

Exchanges, Baptisms, Firesides, and Snakes

Well this was a busy week! I went on my first excange as an STL which was fun because I went with Sister Wilson! I love her! We started our missions at the same time and were both in Olympia so it was a blast! She's such a great missionary. It was cool getting to see the growth we've both had this past year. 

Saturday was a crazy day! First thing in the morning we drove to Bremerton for a baptism of a lady I had been privileged to work with. Her name is Lian Digiovani, she's been taught by missionaries on and off for the past five years and she got baptized on Saturday! It was such a sweet baptism. After Lian's baptism we returned to Elma to prepare for Tyler's baptism. Tyler is an outstanding kid who referred himself on mormon.org and within 13 days of us teaching him was baptized! He leaves for basic training in a week and had a testimony of the restoration before we even taught him about it so he didn't want to wait a day longer than he had to. His baptism was packed full of members! He had the bishop baptize him, the stake president and ward mission leader speaking, as well as President and Sister Blatter in attendance. There were so many people there weren't enough chairs so we had to pull more out and line them against the walls in crammed spots. It was great! He was beaming! Such a young kid and he found the truth with nothing but his faith and the spirit's guidance. Such a beautiful gift to be able to witness this miracle. The following day Tyler was confirmed a member and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. On top of that Tyler was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood and got his temple recommend all within less than 24 hours of being baptized. He really is outstanding! By the grace of God he found the truth.

Sunday afternoon I held snakes at a members house! It was a lot of fun. I couldn't stop laughing at Sister Brewster freaking out! It was just the funniest thing ever! But she conquered her fear and held them! She hasn't yet held his tarantula but I think she'll get there.

Sunday night we had a Why I Believe Fireside! It was so fun! It was in OLYMPIA!!! I got to see my family! It was so wonderful. The wonderful Christina spoke at the fireside about grace and its amazing power. She continues to change my life every day! There aren't words to express what she means to me. It was such a gift to see her. On top of seeing the wonderful Christina I saw even more of my OLY family! The Libbys, Sister Burnette, Sister Moe, Makayla Snyder, so many people that own my heart! Ah! It just made my week!

Well that's about it for the happenings of the week so let me share with you my insight for the week :) It goes right along with Christina's talk at the fireside. Its about grace and the atonement of Jesus Christ. A thought someone shared with me in an email was "the atonement isn't about instant perfection, its about constant progression" We all fall short at various moments in our lives. It isn't about the fall at all its about the rise. 

"It isn't about the fall at all its about the rise." Lets look at this sentence for a minute. We are all here on the Earth as a result of Adam and Eve partaking of the fruit and "falling". We can focus on that if we want but what does that do for us? It creates resentment and bitterness. But if instead of focusing on the fall of our first parents we put our sights on the Resurrection of our Savior we can fill our lives with hope and joy. Its the same within our personal lives. If we focus on our fall we develop emotions of bitterness and resentment towards ourselves. As an alternative we can focus on our rise. Through our Lord and Savior we can rise above our stumbling blocks and overcome the frailties of being human. Our Savior atoned for all our sins. He has paid the price in full with His blood and life. Through His mercy and grace we are set free. BUT we all have the tendency to hold fast to our sins and chains. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ our chains can be removed but He won't rip them out of our arms. We must focus on the rise to overcome the fall. THAT's what it means in 2 Nephi 25:23 when it says, "it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." All we must do is live the best lives we can, keep the commandments, LOVE our brothers and sisters, LOVE our Heavenly Father and Savior, and LOVE ourselves enough to let our chains fall to the ground and rise above the fall. As one of my favorite songs says, "My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood His mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace." The price has been paid in full why try to pay for it again. Its a life long process of letting go of our chains but its worth it. I know we can all access God's grace and as we open our eyes we'll realize its right in front of us, there for the taking.

"For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."         2 Nephi 25:23

Until Next week my you feel grace in everyday and KNOW that our Redeemer lives.

Love,

Check your speed, Zonkeys, and MLC

I really should make a list of the happenings.I can never remember what's happened. 

Lets see:

Monday - Pday

Tuesday - Surprise study

Wednesday - District Meeting (HTBT training #4)

Thursday - no clue

Friday - MLC (missionary leadership council)

Saturday - 4th of July

Sunday - Fasting miracles

This week was pretty busy and crazy. P-day was very uneventful. Tuesday we drove an hour to surprise study the sisters in Adna. It was a great experience. I learned so much from each one of the sisters who shared their studies. Its so true that when you listen to someone's testimony it kindles your faith even more. It helped me come to love companion study even more. One the way there and back I kept a tally record of how many times TiWi told Sister Brewster to check her speed ( she's a speed demon haha). Before the end of the night she 22 check your speeds. It was the funniest thing. I love Sister Brewster. I'm never board. She's the best.

I gave my 4th training on How to Begin Teaching in a district meeting Wednesday. Apparently I had missed something the first 3 times I'd give a training on the same topic. This time was really great though because I decided to approach it from acompletely different direction and I used the scriptures to present the entire 25 minute training. Because it was the scriptures it went well and we were all taught something.

Friday we drove to Lacey and caught a ride with some sisters the rest of the way to Tacoma to MLC which was amazing. It was so powerful. i was surprised the things we discussed there. It was a legitimate counsil. We talked about things from how we could encourage cleaner apartments to church attendance pre-baptism requirements. It was an amazingly spiritual even to watch how such young children like ourselves were able to discuss with the spirit so strongly present. We were then given some very powerful trainings on a few topics which will be relayed again at zone meeting this week to all missionaries. It was just so powerful. I can't wait for more MLCs! Afterwards we ate lunch and Sister Blatter made me take a picture with the AP's because she thought our height difference was hilarious and "precious" (see http://calledtoservewa-tac.blogspot.com/for picture). It was just a good day.

Saturday was a fun day. We started the day with a great lesson with the wonderful Tyler who is quickly progressing towards baptism. He's really outstanding. So prepared. At 5 we had a sisters activity in which we chilled and watched "Meet the Mormons" and ate ice cream and drank red, white, and blue Jones sodas. Lots of fun.

Sunday was amazing. The entire ward had a fast to help us find a family with 4 baptismal age individuals who speak english, live with in our ward boundaries, and will be baptized on 7.25.15 Bishop Brulotte talked about this at the beginning of sacrament meeting and you could just feel the spirit so strong and the unity within all the members. During testimonies a member from Virginia shared her testimony about how she knew we would find this family because they are out there. She said she'd be calling to check in and see how it goes and she would be joining in praying for them to be found! It was amazing and continued into Relief Society when the sister that was teaching announced that if anyone had been holding onto friends waiting for the right missionaries that we'd arrived and they should hand them over. All the women gushed with excitement about Tyler's baptism and everyone is just on fire it was so amazing!

Well that's about it for now! I hope you all are doing well! Until next week read the Book of Mormon!

Love you all!

Boarding On Spectacular

As Tom sat on the train, anxious and apprehensive about what he might soon have to face, the man who sat next to him turned and said, "Son you seem nervous and worried. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Tom could not hold it back. He had to tell someone. He had to have a friend to share his deep fear even if it were just a stranger. "Mister" he said, "I just got out of prison. I won't make excuses, but one thing really haunts me about the mess I've made of my life and that's the way I broke my parents' hearts. They're old now and have lived in shame for all these years I have been in jail. I do still love them and want to go home now that I'm out. I know you must thing that it takes a lot of guts for me to come home after all I have done to them. Well, I feel the same way about it."

Tom paused a few seconds in his story. He looked out at the bleak, bare trees and thought of his tree, the one in his back yard. It was winter now and there was not a thing to be seen on the brittle branches, not even snow. 

"I wrote Mom and Dad and asked if I could come home. I wouldn't let them visit me in that crummy jail and so I haven't seen them for a long time. I was just too ashamed to let them come see me in there." Tom appreciated the way the man just sat there and listened. He couldn't tell whether he was shocked of sympathetic, but he was listening, and Tom felt he had to talk to someone to take up these last few minutes of agony.

"I told them they did not have to let me come home if they were too ashamed of me. You see, Mister, we live right by the railroad tracks and all the trains pass by our back yard as they come in. There's a big mapple tree that hangs over our fence and into the railroad lot. Well, I asked them to tie a ribbion in that ol' tree if they were willing to let me get off." Tom let the alternative go unstated, but his pause spoke it all the louder.

"We're about there now, and I'm scared to look. O can't blame them if they leave the tree bare. I don't deserve to have a home and the swell Mom and Dad I hurt so deeply."

He started to choke up and looked down to hide his shame. Neither spoke at all for sometime and then the train began to slow down for the next station; it was Tom's hometown. A few tense momnets passed and then the man next to Tom nudged him gently and said, "I think you can look now, Son."

Tom struggled to look up. There was the tree, his tree, marvelously ablazed with hundreds of ribbons; red ones, blue ones, yellow, orange, and green. "I'll see you, Mister." Tom whispered, "I'm going home."

        -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well this week was great! Started with an amazing transfer meeting that was very spiritual and just amazing. I love transfer meetings and I'm already guaranteed to be at the next one seeing as my new companion only has 5 weeks left of her mission! One of my favorite take aways was about sacrifice. An elder in his final testimony shared how sacrifice came from two latin roots (that I can't spell). One root meant 'sacred', while the other meant 'to make'. This really hit me. While out on my mission I've had a good number of people ask me what I sacrificed to come out on the Lord's errand. I didn't ever feel like I had sacrificed anything. I knew I'd given things up but it never really seemed like something difficult (though that's not speaking of in the moment of giving them up...) As I sat in the meeting I realized, a mission becomes a sacrifice when it becomes something sacred to you. That's where I'm at. My mission is a sacred time the Lord has allowed me to be able to experience. I love this gospel. 

This past week the weather was killer. I've never felt so hot and sweaty before and it was really gross but I loved it! Everyone was complaining about the humidity but I didn't think it was humid. People thought I was crazy until I told them I grew up in Missouri. We did a lot of knocking and walking. I've got a real good tan on my arms and the best missionary tan lines. (Sister Brewster died laughing when she saw the distinct difference in colour from literally right above my knees and my lower leg.) There were moments the heat felt unbearable but those were very few especially once I thought of why I was here, then the heat didn't seem so bad. I love being a missionary!

Sister Brewster is great! She loves to laugh and really loves the gospel. She is from Pheonix, AZ and she's just great!

You know what else is great? Elma is great! The members are so supportive. They heard we'd set a goal to find a family with 4 who were 8 and old to teach and baptize and they got so excited that they announced it in relief society! Now the whole ward is praying for it. They are so great! The people are so nice. We just randomly walked into their food bank and asked what we could do to help and now we'll be going back on a weekly bases to help! All the volunteers (minus us) are over 60, they're so cute and loving! it really is a picture-esque small town, like the kind you'd see in the movies. 

Elma is full of miracles! Every day. So a little geographical comment. Elma is even further south than Olympia and is very small town and boonie. Its very tiny. We actually don't even have much of the town Elma that we cover. We mostly have a town called Montesano and another called Satsop. There's so tiny but they are proof that no matter where you are miracles happen. 

Saturday during knocking we met this guy that was just all over the place with his thoughts and ended by asking us where God was in his divorce. Poor guy. As we left his door we walked by his garage where he was grilling and he invited us to have some grilled chicken. (We had literally just had dinner an hour before) We tried to politely decline but it didn't work (the poor guy was so lonely) so after we knocked the last few doors we returned and ate some chicken in his front yard with his tailgate as a table. Weirdest moment of my mission yet... (maybe, probably not actually). It was all fine and dandy until he asked told us we were beautiful (seriously missions are great for yourself esteem, ... sometimes...) He proceeded to tell us we were beautiful boarding on spectacular. That was our cue to leave but he was a really nice guy. Seriously missions are all about doing everything we're raised being told not to do. Like walking up and talking to strangers, going into random people's houses, walking on streets with no sidewalk in the dark, and eating chicken with a random stranger. I love missionary life. Its such a joy!

Saturday we got to witness an Elma miracle when a potential investigator called and asked if he could get a ride to church! He showed up to church in full suit attire (jacket and all). In sunday school Brother White asked what brought him to church and he told us all he'd found mormon.org online and started looking at the site, requested a Book of Mormon and knew this was the right place! He's amazing! We tried to catch him before he left church but we got held up with other people stopping us to talk. Brother Jones (the member that gave Tyler a ride to church) called us after he'd dropped Tyler off. He told us Tyler had talked to him the whole way and wanted to know how he could be baptized! WHAT?! So cool! Of course we texted Tyler right away and set up a lesson for that night. During knocking he called and told us his grandparents didn't want us to come to their house and asked if we could meet elsewhere. We of course made that happen. Before he hung up he told us that he didn't understand his grandparents problem (he's a teenager haha) because he had been reading the Book of Mormon and knew it was true. He told us he knew Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and knew the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was truly God's church back on the Earth. (And this is before he'd been taught the full message about the restoration!!!) At 7:15 we were all in the Jones family home teaching the restoration. It was a great lesson and Tyler told us he'd read the whole Bible before and loved the Book of Mormon too. It was mind blowing! He is so amazing and prepared! He's getting ready to go off to boot camp for the army and he wants to be baptized before he leaves! He's working towards the date of July 10th! Seriously I feel like he's teaching us! We used the restoration pamphlet to teach and when we asked him what he saw (we showed him the cover which is a picture of Jesus holding a lamb) he told us he saw proof that God is our loving Heavenly Father. What?! I LOVE THE MISSIONARY LIFE!!! Its such a blessing to witness God at work!

      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alrighty, now to address that story that I included at the beginning. This was a story shared during sacrament meeting and I just love this story! We can all place ourselves in the position of Tom. Instead of prison just think about the foolish things we all do in our lives here on Earth. Our purpose on Earth is to prepare to be comfortable when we come home. There's an important thing we must involve in our lives to be able to be comfortable when we inevitably go home. Grace! That's been the theme of my week. There's a great talk that I want you all to check out that addresses Grace in far better words than I could. (https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-is-sufficient/) Grace doesn't make up where we fall short. Grace is there the whole time. Its there to help us every step of the way!

***Shout out to some great people! Happy Birthday to my old(literally)er brother, Christian, you're a great brother! Happy Birthday to my wonderful Grandma who is as young as ever! Love you Backa (July 1st)! Happy Birthday to one of my favoritest companions ever, Sister Baldwin (July 2nd)! ***

Transferred Say What?!

Well as you can see from my email title I am leaving Tacoma after only 6 short weeks. Its funny how the spirit works when logistically you know you're companion has been there longer and it would make sense for her to leave and yet you know you're the one that will be saying goodbye. Any yet you deny it right up until the phone call comes. Its a funny story (well to me it is) how our call came in. Sister Baldwin and I were street contacting and as we were walking we passed some members who randomly bought us slurpees. So now we're walking down the street looking for people to talk to with blue tongues and slurpees in hand. We felt weird. I get halfway through my slurpee and am experience sugar overload. We're walking and talking. Sister Baldwin felt very anxious for this transfer call and I kept telling her it wouldn't come until late tonight. Just as she says, "I wish they would call and get it over with!" the phone began to ring! I pull it out of my pocket and the caller I.D. says President Blatter. We both look at each other and voice "Oh no". I answer tell President we're on a busy street and to hold tight for 30 seconds. We run down a dead end road and put the phone on speaker and tell him we're good to go. He proceeds to tell us Sister Baldwin would be staying in Chambers Creek to train a new missionary! I was so excited and then I realized that meant I would be leaving. I waited to here what President said. He informed me I would be going back to the southern conference of the mission! Yay south! He also informed me I'd be doing the one thing I told God I really never wanted to do killing a missionary (in missionary vocabulary "killing" means you serving with a missionary their last 6 weeks before they go home.)

 

Something I've been praying for was a chance to experience the Atonement on a new level. I can definitely testify prayers are answered. I know this coming transfer is going to be amazing. I know that I will be coming to know my Savior and His atonement in a new way as I serve as a Sister Training Leader and work with some near by sisters to help encourage them and all grow together. I have no clue what I'm doing but as a good Bonjovi song says, I'm 'living on a prayer'. God definitely doesn't call the qualified but He'll never give me anything that I can't do if I rely on Him.

 

Sorry my email is pretty short today I'm just out of words. I haven't started packing so I'm mentally prepping myself for that.... yeah. That'll be fun. Anyway I guess I'll leave you with my testimony. I know our Savior lives. I know He has a perfect plan for us. I know that we will all meet obstacles and hard times in our lives but as we rely on Him there is NOTHING we can't overcome no matter how impossible it may seem at first.

 

Oh! I lied sorry! I forgot we went to Zion's camp this week! It was way fun! I'll include pictures because I actually took a bunch this time round. Looking at it now I find it amusingly obvious that God was preparing me for the tasks ahead. The theme of every activity we did was how we can't do things by ourselves. We have to rely on our companion and work in unity. But the even bigger overall theme was relying and trusting in God. My favorite activity both times we went was the trust fall. Maybe I'm crazy but there's something freeing about climbing up on a post closing your eyes and falling backwards. Both times I've done it now I've pictured all the things I feel have held me back and then I've just fallen. There of course are nine sisters behind you to catch you but they are there to represent our Savior. Its very freeing picturing yourself falling into your Saviors arms. I love being a missionary its amazing! I'll send pictures in a separate email so stay tuned!

 

I'll let you know how the sticks treat me when I email you from Elma next week!

'Til next week! Keep on praying!

Love,
-- 

Sister Jones

 

P.S. Here's my new mailing address! 822 E. Pioneer Ave. Apt. 315 Montesano, WA 98563

Baptisms, Miracles, and funness!

Well! I swear as soon as I start typing my mind goes blank...

Lets start with Monday after emailing. Because we're in the central zones we live right by the mission office so every Monday after emailing we go hang out at the office with President and Sister Blatter and the senior missionaries there. While there last week Sister Blatter asked us if we had set appointment from 7 to 9 on Tuesday night. We said no and she told us to pray and find some because she would be coming out with us. Turns out people from Salt Lake were coming to evaluate the mission and some of the companionships in the Tacoma area were going to be evaluated on our teaching and planning.

Lots of prayer and phone calls, texts, and visits later we have some miracle set appointments including an appointment with a lady who had been impossible to contact the 5 times before. A prompting from the spirit led us to try calling her one more time and she answered telling us she wanted to tour the church.

Tuesday night we are waiting at the church 10 minutes after the set time we text her and she says she's on her way. She ends up getting lost and needing directions. 35 minutes after the set appointment she arrives! Our schedules all thrown off but that's the life of missionaries. I've learned to just roll with it. We're on God's time not ours. 45 minutes later Shaquana is on date for baptism! It was so amazing! Sister Baldwin and I are working on "the Fear of God and not the fear of man." In this we are working to be bold and blunt with out invitations and not letting fear of rejection keep us from extending the vital invitation of baptism. When we said it the look on her face made us expect a no to come out of her mouth. As she spoke our surprise (and I think to her's as well) she said yes! The amazing thing was she didn't just say yes once she repeated it sounding more sure each time she said it. I LOVE THIS WORK! Its so obvious this is the Lord's work. I love the path that our Loving Father has shown me in that I know without a doubt baptism is the only way to return home to Him. I know this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the only church on the Earth that has the authority given from God to perform this sacred ordinance. I know this church was brought back to the earth because of the pure love God has for each and every single one of us.

Speaking of this amazing ordinance, Lee got baptized! It was amazing! Words can never describe baptisms. Each one is so powerful and so unique. Lee asked me to speak on the Holy Spirit.

​

I want to share something I found as I studied the subject. "The Holy Ghost is manifested to men on the earth both as the power of the Holy Ghost and as the gift of the Holy Ghost. The power can come upon one before baptism and is the convincing witness that the gospel is true. By the power of the Holy Ghost a person receives a testimony of Jesus Christ and of His work and the work of His servants upon the earth. The gift can come only after proper and authorized baptism and is conferred by the laying on of hands, as in Acts 8:12–25 and Moro. 2. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the right to have, whenever one is worthy, the companionship of the Holy Ghost. For those who receive this gift, the Holy Ghost acts as a cleansing agent to purify them and sanctify them from all sin." This is an excerpt from the "Holy Ghost" definition found in the Bible dictionary (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/holy-ghost?lang=eng&letter=h). This is what my talk was centered on. I'm sharing with you a different perspective than what I shared on Saturday. As missionaries we share the important message that the gospel that Jesus Christ Himself taught and established as a church on the Earth when He was here, has been brought back to the Earth in the exactness. Often times when we share this with people (on the street, at the door, in their homes) we tell them what time means. That because of this restoration we are able to be baptized by proper authority and receive the Holy Ghost into our lives at all times. Quite often they respond that they already have the spirit in their lives. This is why I love this definition. It strengthened my testimony in the knowledge that yes everyone has the 'Light of Christ (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bd/light-of-christ?lang=eng&letter=l) in their lives and can feel the power of the Holy Ghost testify of truths they find but it also emphasized the importance of the work I've been blessed to be a part of. By merely experiencing the power of the Holy Ghost on occasion we cannot progress. We must have the gift of the Holy Ghost in our lives. This can only be given after baptism performed by the proper authority and they the laying on of hands also done with that proper authority. It was a great testimony builder.

Anyway Lee's baptism was amazing! She was so excited before hand the building could barely contain it. She informed everyone she loves the Book of Mormon so much that she's a "Book of Mormon junkie" haha! I love seeing the happiness that comes into peoples lives as they become converted to the truth of the restored gospel! Its amazing. I know from personal experience and also from watching others the knowledge of this truth, the full knowledge that is only found in the true church of Jesus Christ, brings with it the greatest happiness we can experience in our lives.The baptism was beautiful. The spirit was so strong and the happiness of everyone in the room was overwhelming.

Funny moment in preparing for the baptism. The baptism fonts usually take 90 minutes of so to fill. (They're pretty big) So yeah we turn the water on and start setting everything else up. The waters filling steady but wasn't very high so we went to make the programs. 40 or so minutes after starting the font we get this strong feeling we need to go check on it. We go into the overflow where its at and its WAY too full and the water is ICE COLD! (See the picture below...)

​
Luckily we still have plenty of time to drain and refill the font now that we know it fills way fast. So for about 15 minutes we try fishing the plug out with an untwisted hanger. Just at the point we're on the phone with a member calling for help (since we can't go in) I finally hook the plug and it starts draining so Sister Baldwin tells the member never mind. Two minutes later the plug slips and I have to fish it out again (now picture this I have one foot on the side with the railing and the other foot on the opposite ledge as I go fishing for the plug) I finally manage to pull the plug completely out and the fiasco is adverted! Thank goodness! Definite blessings.

Last thing to share for the week. During our traditional 5 to 7 knocking session we knock into this door and this older gentleman answers. He's very closed off when we begin testifying of the message we share. We don't get any futher than telling him we share a message about Jesus Christ when he cuts us off and tells us we believe in a different Jesus. Then his phone rings so he goes to answer it. Sister Baldwin and I can't help but smile at each other as we know what's about to come out of our mouths next. When he returns we ask him what he means by that. He tells us we believe in a different Jesus. Then came one of my favorite things. We simply tell him "We believe in the Jesus Christ who came to Earth as a humble infant, who grew and lived as an example to all those who lived and will live, who then suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross to pay for our sins. Who then rose three days later to break the bands of death so we could all live again with our loving Father in Heaven." we then kindly posed the question, "What Jesus do you believe in?" It was so amazing such a simple testimony of our Savior broke down the walls and the closed off gentleman became much kinder and told us what we were doing was so important. While he didn't want to learn more he was left with a new perspective. That's what I want to share with you all. You don't have to be wearing the name tag to be a missionary. You don't have to wear the name tag to bear witness of our Savior. So that's my challenge for you. This week look and pray for the opportunity to share a simple witness of our Savior and touch the lives of others. Then tell me what happens :)

Until next week! I love you and leave with you my testimony of our Savior and His works. I know the Book of Mormon is His word as every page testifies of Him and His life. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint is God's Kingdom brought back to the Earth I invite each of you to gain that testimony for yourselves with the promise that it will bring true unfilitered happiness into your lives beyond anything you've experienced. I know my Savior lives and leave that with you in His name. Amen.