Baptisms!

Hello!!

How is everyone?! So this week has been another great one!! This weekend, one my investigator's, Eric, was baptized!! We met him on chat, referred the local missionaries to him, and he has totally accepted the Gospel!  We have been talking to him for the past few weeks and we were able to go to his baptism on Saturday!  It was such a wonderful experience to see someone take the step to follow Christ and always remember Him.  Eric was SO happy and had the biggest smile on his face!  It was cool to get to meet him in person as well. I knew his voice, but not his face.  When I first met him I wasn't sure it was him, then he spoke, and I thought "Ah, yep! It's him!" 

Eric, his wife, and the missionaries!

A funny from the week:

After the baptism, we had some desserts and we were all talking in the kitchen.  After a while, everyone had left except the Elders (Elder Choe & Elder Brooks) and Sister Mathias and I.  We said bye to them, but I needed to use the restroom before we left so we walked over to the restroom.  In this building it has the baptismal font and a men's dressing room with a bathroom connected on one side and it has a women's dressing room and a bathroom connected on the other side.  I used the restroom, washed my hands, and as I was drying them I saw the sign next to the door that said "Dressing Room".  I was curious and decided to open the door.  However, right at that same moment, Elder Choe was coming in through the dressing room door from the baptismal font side...so when I opened the door we came face to face with each other and we both started screaming!  Hahah   He jumped back, I closed the door, and then, once I realized who it was, I just started laughing.  I opened the door and Elder Choe was cracking up.   Turns out, he had come in to lock all of the doors and didn't realize we were in there. Annnd all the while, Sister Mathias was using the restroom. Hahaha 

Keith and the missionaries :)

Also, Keith, who we took an investigator lesson with was baptized on Saturday too!!  We only get to go to one investigator lesson baptism per transfer and we chose him! :)  So it was double awesome on Saturday getting to go to two baptisms!!  The member who was present for that tour with Keith was Brother Taylor and I just fell in love with him!  He's in his 70s or 80s and he is so sweet!  Sister Mathias and I sat next to him during the baptism and, right after Keith was baptized, he leaned over and said "It's something so simple, but it means so much".  And you know, that is so true!  It's a very simple process to be baptized, but it is essential to be able to live with our Heavenly Father again!  I could really feel the Spirit that was present in the room and I could feel God's love for Keith.  Such an incredible experience! 

Brother Taylor....one of my new favorite people!

There's a story that I heard from another Sister in the mission a few days ago that I would like to share.  I think it's from a General Conference talk, but it's about a little girl who received a bead kit for her birthday.  She was so excited to use it and her mother suggested she make a bracelet for her aunt, who was known to be more on the grumpy side.  This little girl worked so hard and strung each bead very carefully and neatly tied it all together so that it would be perfect.  She was so proud and couldn't wait to give this gift to someone she loved!  She ran over to her aunt and presented her with the gift. The aunt held it up, looked at it, shrugged, and gave it back. The little girl was devastated and ran away with tears in her eyes. 

I wanted to share this story because it applies to principles of the Gospel.  Jesus Christ gave us the gift of the Atonement, the gift to repent and be completely cleansed of our sins, and we need to accept this gift!  So many times people think that God has bigger problems to worry about than our own or that He doesn't want or need to hear our prayers....this is not true!  God sent His Son to earth to prepare a way for us to be able to repent and draw strength from Him.  We need to be humble and willing to receive this gift and trust in our Heavenly Father.   Not using the Atonement in our lives is letting a precious gift that has already been given to us go to waste.  We are supposed to live and learn on this earth and be HAPPY!  And there is a way prepared by Christ for us to do that :)

I also wanted to share that we individually never know who we can touch as we share our own light with others :) I had an experience the other day with someone who I have been teaching almost my whole mission....she is amazing, but has made some decisions in her life that have negatively affected her.  She has had ups and downs, but I have been able to help her, pray with her, and just be a friend to her.   It's amazing to see how much simple actions on our part can help someone understand that God is a loving Heavenly Father and is watching over them.   So many times she has told me that she has been able to feel God's love through me.   It literally made me tear up and I know that as we strive to be tools in God's hands, we can do so much good.   Never underestimate the power you individually have to affect someone's life for the better. :)

Also, shout out to Miss Kailey!  My previous companion and I gave her and her family a tour of Temple Square about a month ago and she saw my blog and wrote me the sweetest letter!   You are great!!

I love you all!!

Sister Asay