Week 63: The Baptism Must Go On!

We got transfer news last night and I'll be staying here in Del Rio for another transfer with Elder Christensen! Everyone was saying I was going to get transferred but I proved them wrong haha. I am pretty surprised I'm staying though. After next transfer I will have been here for 6 months. I'm so excited to see what we can accomplish in this next transfer!

Tanya and her boys got baptized on Saturday but there's a twist... we had a member pick up a baptismal suit for her from Uvalde the night before and she didn't have a chance to try it on until right before the baptism and it didn't fit. So we were scrambling to find something white that she could wear and about 45 minutes later we finally found something! Tanya told us that she could wait to get baptized but we were not gonna let that happen. Then Sunday morning rolls around and she texts us and says she's throwing up so she won't make it to church to be confirmed. So they're getting confirmed next Sunday. The baptism was so special though. After Jesus and Joseph were baptized they couldn't stop talking about how warm and good they felt inside. Joseph said, "It feels like I was born again!" hahaha. We were like, "Hmmm interesting... probably cause you were" haha. It was adorable. 

We started meeting with someone named Josue and he is so prepared for the gospel! He said he recognized a noticeable difference in his life after he started reading the Book of Mormon. He also told us his friend Ian in high school gave him a Book of Mormon and said that no matter where he is the Book of Mormon will help him with whatever he's going through. That had a big impact on him and now he's loving the Book of Mormon and everything we teach him. Every time we teach a new gospel principle he says, "That makes so much sense" or "That's what I've been needing to hear for a long time". The spirit is so strong in our lessons with him. Unfortunately his in-laws don't approve of him meeting with us and got mad when they found his Book of Mormon. That kinda brought him down but he said he's going to continue to meet with us.

We also started teaching a guy named Daniel and he came to church yesterday! He's been searching for the truth for a long time and has gone through a lot of ups and downs with his faith. He told us that he feels like this might be the missing piece in his life though! 

Remember how we were supposed to preach at the Baptist church? Well Paul (the pastor there) had to go out of town for a family emergency so we didn't get to go this week. Hopefully soon though!

Oh and good news! We stopped by Angelica and Everardo and they said they'll try out church again and keep meeting!!

These past couple weeks I have been able to testify of God's love and mercy to people I've met for the first time. I don't know these people's backgrounds, mistakes they've made, or weaknesses they have but I could feel the love that God has for them and I know that God is using me to tell them that message. Through these experiences I have seen my perspective change and my love increase for all those around me. 

We are all children of a loving Heavenly Father and he wants you to talk to him! Tell Him everything you're going through, tell Him what you need help with, tell Him your success and failures. He is there for you. 

- Elder Christensen

Pictures

☆ The baptism!!

☆ Daniel and his WWE belts

☆ Me and Regal!

☆ We got a flat tire on our way to Eagle Pass today