Apr 11, 2011

Hola!

Well this past week has been full of amazing experiences and events! Let me just tell you right away that this Saturday we have 2 baptisms for 13 year old Jessica and 12 year old Lauren! THEN on May 7th we have a baptism for 9 year Aly! AND as of yesterday, we have 18 year old Josiah on May 14th!!! Hahah it is crazy awesome! :) OH and we have a spanish investigator Felix, which is so cool cause I convinced my comp that we can learn spanish now! Haha, it was a really cool lesson course we have a member translate everything we say cause all we know is "nosotros padre celestial" Our Heavenly Father. Haha. We're still working on it...

My comp and the previous sister had been working with a lot of these investigators before I came in and ever since I came in, we have met with them and invited them to be baptized! Well minus the 2 girls on this saturday. I feel so privileged to be apart of this incredible work, to see how they have changed in just a short amount of time and I have instantly loved each one of them too. They are all individually so unique and have these incredible testimonies that I look to as an example in my own life.

Teaching Aly this past week has been so fun. When we taught her the plan of salvation, she kind of knew about it cause her older sister Amber got baptized in March and she was around. But at the end of the lesson, she was so excited that all her scars will be gone once she gets to celestial kingdom. She asked us if we grow in heaven because on her birthday she wants to celebrate with Jesus! Hahah. It was awesome and such a fun thought! :) Ever since that lesson, she just keeps saying how excited she is to go to the celestial kingdom and will be trying her best to get there. So incredible that a 9 year old truly understands the purpose of life more than I ever did.

Josiah was by far the best thing this week. He has been coming to church for 10 months and had some major concerns. Last sunday we text him (YEAH! WE CAN TEXT! HA!) and asked how his reading was coming. He said he wasnt reading and didnt really want to read without his girlfriend (shes a member in the ward). So we fasted and prayed about him. Well on Friday I had a huge prompting to text him again about how his week was, thats all. He responded with "been reading. I am at page 270. Found some answers and a kick in the butt in 2 Nehpi. I have lots of things highlighted for you to use for people like me" Haha AWESOME! We were stoked, saying way to go and praising him. He responded with "I am happier, nicole is happier with me and we have been happier together. Thank you for the book" Haha so cool. On Sunday for our lesson with him, his eyes were BEAMING. He shared all his fav scriptures that he had highlighted and color coordinated. His eyes were teary eyed when he talked bout his love for the scriptures. He was at page 340 by Sunday. He accepted the invitation to be baptized and he had a HUGE smiled across his face as did Nicole and their whole family.

Although this success right from the beginning is very uncommon, I know that the Lord has placed me here for a reason. I am so grateful to be out here, meeting the amazing ward members and seeing all these changes happen. Meeting the members in the ward has been by far the most valuable part of all of this too because everyone that is going to be baptized are all member referrals. I have a HUGE testimony of members getting to know the missionaries, by having them in their home for dinner and even just to be taught themselves by the missionaries. So many of us tend to forget how blessed we are to have the gospel apart of our lives so naturally. Just like Pres Uchtdorf said in General Conference, it is a message of Joy and gladness. Umm....AMEN!!! :)

This week was a little rough, I got sick on Tues night after a dinner at a members home and just had to lay in bed for 2 hours til daily planning. Then my comp got sick on thurs with the same thing. Thankfully we both got over it and are feeling MUCH better!! :) I am just so impressed with all the wonderful things that are happening out here. I love being a missionary!! :) It is very hard, but a member in our ward told me that it doesnt matter that I am the "perfect missionary" because I am out here serving the Lord and His children.

I am so blessed to have this gospel and to be out telling others about how much I love it. Thank you for the support that you all send me, I feel so lucky to have people at home who really do care and support me! I love you all and hope that you feel the spirit more from my experiences and try to share it by example or with words :)

Love,

Sistaaa Steph Larson