Ok so, first of all,
how are you all doing? I hope you all had a fantastic week and that you are all
getting excited for summer vacations and all that jazz :) That should be fun :)
So secondly, yeah it´s
already time for transfers again! It went by WAY too fast this time....I can´t
believe another month and a half has already come and gone....it´s way too
crazy for me. I don´t like it. but yeah so...yesterday we got the call of "los
cambios" at like, 10:30 at night and...I totally knew it...I am being
transfered...I knew it! But I didn´t want it to be true so I tried not to think
about it and I definitely did not say it outloud. I am really sad to be leaving
here...I cried last night ha. But yeah whatever, that´s the life of a
missionary. We are always being transfered and changed. But changes are part of
life in general so, I just have to accept it and move on. But yeah, my daughter
and I will no longer be companions :( We will both have new comps tomorrow...
wish us luck and pray that we can have good companions por favor!
Alright, now, I just
wanted to tell you about the little miracles that I was able to see in this
transfer. You already know who they are haha, yep. They are Luis, Mario and
Cesar!!
So, when we came to
Metepec, President Stellmon told us in a letter that we needed to put a goal as
companions for the baptisms that we wanted to have in this transfer and plans
on how we were going to accomplish it. So my comp and I put the goal of having
three baptisms in this month and half that we had together here. We prayed and
fasted. We looked in the area book and searched for those who had gone to
church in the past, for those who were progressing with the other missionaries
and those who had the most potential to progress and we wrote down their
addresses and went out and looked for them. We found a few and we had a few
options. We invited them all to be baptized and they told us no haha.
We invited a young
woman named Yadis to be baptized and she told us that she would like to but
that it would be mas adelante (sorry for the Spanglish haha) but that she
couldn´t do it now because of her work and she knows she can´t work sundays
because she needs to go to church. She didn´t want to get baptized when she
knows that she won´t be keeping the sabbath day holy so that is why right now
she says she can´t be baptized. So that was her challenge and we continued to
work with her on that but she couldn´t be baptized yet because she didn´t feel
ready.
We also invited
Isabel to be baptized and she said that she wasn´t ready either-that she needed
to learn more before she made the decision. But she isn´t actually progressing
so...we let her go a while ago...
We had actually asked
Luis, Mario and Cesar to be baptized also, like the first week that we got
here, and they told us no at first. Their mom, Lulu, told us yes but she knew
she couldn´t because she isn´t married. So she still has to wait a little while
but she wants to be baptized and she knows that it is true. She is super
awesome! Seriously :) But anyway, then we went back like the next week
and felt that we should ask them again and they told us yes! We got super
excited because we had just fasted about our goal of three baptisms and I think
we had also done the fast as a mission...I can´t remember, but we were so
excited when they told us yes!
Lulu told us that she
just needed to ask permission from her "husband" and she told us that
she would talk to us after and tell us the answer. SO we waited, and we still
went to visit them in the meanwhile, and a few days later she told us that her
husband gave his permission for them to be baptized! :) So we put their
baptismal dates for the 24th of May, they came to church and to baptismal
services and all that and they were (are) golden! But...yeah...here´s the
rough/crazy part. So, we had an appointment with them on Tuesday and when we
went to their house on Tuesday night for said appointment, Lulu told us that
she needed to talk to us and we asked her if it was good or bad and she said,
"pues, yo digo que es malo". (translation, well, I would say that
it´s bad.) Aw man! No! In that moment our hearts sank and we knew that
she was going to tell us something negative about the baptisms of her sons...
so we just waited for the blow to come...and it did. She told us that she was
talking to her husband and he told her that she was being selfish and that it
was unfair for the boys to be baptized when he wasn´t there to see it happen or
participate in the great things that they are experiencing (her husband is in
the military and he is almost never home and he still has two more years before
he is finished). So, she felt guilty and told us about that and we kind of
didn´t know what to say and honestly, we handled it poorly... we didn´t really
testify or anything...she told us that her kids would be baptized but in like
one year when her huscand was able to move closer and be in Puebla so that he
could see it happen. So yeah. One year....that´s a long time....It was a pretty
sad lesson, in more ways than one, and I felt horrible when we left. I felt
heavy and sad...and guilty because the Spirit told me that I needed to say
something...and I didn´t say it when I knew I needed to because the member that
we brought with us (a yong man named Victor that just barely got baptized the
Sunday before we came to the area) kept talking and talking...and we got a
little off topic with his comments and stuff...it was just kind of bad haha.
But yeah so when we were in the house, I felt really bad and I started crying
because I knew that there was something that I needed to say to Lulu to save
her boys. We planned super fast and right after the planning session we called
Lulu but she didn´t answer. We called her like three or four times and the last
time that we called her it said that the line was busy so...we knew that she
was already talking to her husband to tell him that yeah, they weren´t going to
get baptized. I felt horrible. It was seriously like the worst feeling ever
because I had a prompting from the Spirit to say something that could have made
the difference and I didn´t say it... But after the failed phone call, my comp
said a prayer after that for both of us and I was a little bit more
peaceful...but I still felt a little uneasy...but we went to bed.
The next day we went
to our District meeting and it was like, a pure answer to a prayer because
Elder Tanner (our district leader) knew about the situation that had just
happened with Lulu since he called us the night before to see if they were
still good for their interviews (that were planned for Wednesday night, the
same day as the didtrict meeting, if that makes sense. I can´t really speak
well sometimes haha so...sorry...) and we told him what happened. So the class
that he gave was perfect for us and our situation and it animated me to talk to
her and to testify to her and all that that her sons need to be baptized and
that this message of postponing their baptism wasn´t coming from God. It was
literally perfect. There was a part in PME that he shared with us that says
that there are many voices in the world that are competing for your attention
and that if we aren´t careful we could suffocate the voice of the Spirit. So
yeah, that part was awesome and it made me think that there really are a lot of
voices that are trying to get our attention and her attention and that the
voice of her husband was a distraction in this moment because it was like super
random and right before they were supposed to be baptized...they lasted four or
five weeks with their date and then, it just falls in the last week? I don´t
think so.
So that same day,
after the District meeting, we came home, did our studies, ate, did more
studies and worked until eight o´clock at night when we finally were able to
encounter Lulu in her house. (I was freaking out the whole day because I
literally felt tense and anxious and I couldn´t relax all day because I just
needed to talk to her...so I was super happy when she answered the door!) Well,
we were invited in and we taught a quick lesson on the law of chastity with
their whole family and then after the lesson, we talked to them, with all the
kids present this time, about their baptism. We asked them if they wanted to be
baptized and they all told us yes and they told us why they wanted to be
baptized. It was a really amazing, spiritual experience and I was crying
practically the entire lesson...no joke. It was the first time in a while that
I had felt the Spirit so strongly in a lesson and the first time in a long
while that I had actually cried that hard in a lesson. The Spirit truly was
there and he truly testified to those things that my companion and I were
saying. We told them that baptism was not the end, that it was only the
beginning of the race that they are each running. I told them that they were on
one side of the starting line and they were just waiting and waiting and they
were going to wait one year before crossing it...I told them that right now
there are other people crossing the line and passing them because they weren´t
going to take their opportunity to be baptized and that Satan would enter in
and tempt them and tell them, "why would you cross the line now? It´s too
late. There´s already too many people running the race, you don´t have a
chance. You can´t start now. It´s better if you just stay on this side and
watch"...blah blah blah... and we told them that that is what Satan would
try to do to them because one year is a long time and a lot can happen.
We told them firmly
that we knew that now was their time to be baptized and that if they didn´t
take it now, who knows when or if they would ever make the decision. We just
spent the rest of the time testifying to them that we know that this gospel is
true, and that it was their moment. I testified with all of my heart and I
cried (no Heath, my voice did not squeak ridiculously high this time ;) ) and I
told them that I didn´t have a single doubt about the truthfullness of this
gospel. I testified of baptism and the Savior and His atoning sacrifice and of
the great plan of salvation that our Father has for each one of us. It was a
beautiful experience and Lulu started crying as well. After we had finished
testifying and all that Lulu asked us, "Entonces...?" and I said,
"¿Entonces, que?" and she answered me, "Entonces, cuando puedan
tener sus entrevistas?". Oh my gosh. I died inside! I was so happy and I
felt overwhelmed with the Spirit and with gratitude with my Heavenly Father for
always being there for me and for answering my prayers.
With smiles on our
faces, and hearts screaming for joy inside, we told her that we could have the
interviews the next day, Thursday, at five o´clock and she said ok and we were
all happy :) Then to end, Mario said the prayer and it was absolutely beautiful
and very specific! He asked that they would be able to be baptized on Sunday,
May 24th and that their dad would feel very proud that his sons were going to
be baptized. It was beautiful.
When we got home, we
called the District leader and I asked him, " What are you guys doing
tomorrow at 5?" and he said "um...I don´t know." and he said
something else but I can´t remember exactly what it was so I can´t quote it
haha but then I said, "Could you come and interview them?" And he
just started freaking out! "Whoooo!!! Yes! Yes Hermana! Yes!" It was
great haha :) But yeah, they had their interviews on thursday night and....
THEY WERE BAPTIZED en la noche blanca with the whole zone la zona! We baptized
21 people in the whole stake last night. It was beautiful. We are super happy
and I am so grateful. They seriously have been the miracle of my mission so far
and I love them so much. I am really sad that I am being transfered because I
wanted to stay here with them and keep teaching them and animating them to love
the church and the gospel even more and all that but...I know that the Lord
needs me in a different area, with a different companion, and so, even though I
am very very sad to leave, I am willing to accept His will and happily
anticipate what lies ahead.
I just wanted to share
that with you so you could see that miracles truly do happen but that God
answers our prayers and our desires when we act with faith.My companion and I
did everything that we could possible do and when we thought that we were
finished, the Lord proved to us that there was still more that we could do and
we went and we testified and we saved three little precious souls and helped
them cross the starting line of their race to eternal life. I know that this
gospel is true and that our God is a God of miracles and that He hears and
answers every single one of His childrens´ prayers. I know He loves us. I know
that He lives. I know His son, Jesus Christ lives and I know that He is my
Savior. I know that baptism is the key that opens the door to enter the path
that leads to eternal life. I know that with God, I can do all things and I can
conquer Satan and bring eternal happiness to the lives of others. I know this
gospel is true and that this calling as a full-time missionary is sacred and
one of a kind. It is the best decision that I have made up until this point in
my life and I am excited to see what Heavenly Father has in store for me
next.
I love you all and am
so grateful for your prayers and your support and your thoughts as well.You are
all amazing and I hope this week is wonderful for each one of you!
Enjoy the pics! :)
Love always,
Hermana Walker
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| Best Day in Metepec! Hermana Estrada, Luis, Mario, Cesar and Me:) |
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| 21 Baptisms in our Metepec Stake!:) |
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