I think this is starting week 4. I know I have a daily planner aqui, mas I still can't keep tract of the weeks. Its great when MerLee sends me letters that include Taylor's weekly letters; its great to hear what else is going on in the world.
So, the exciting news of this week: *drumroll*
Saturday Fev. 26th Sister Gale, Sister Hislop, the Oakdale branch and myself, are fixing to have a baptism! awesome, I know.
totally was a miracle too. so here is the story.
Last monday after we finished up our dia de preparacao, we stopped by city hall to visit Jeanette Swallow. We've been having the thoughts to go and visit her the last few weeks but hadnt been able to catch her. Before I came to Oakdale, the sisters had been meeting with her (she had been dropped before from the teaching pool and recently picked up again) and she was dead set against baptism. She didnt understand proper authority or believe she needed it again. They had commited her to pray about baptism. Well, when we came in, she was beaming and told us that she had recieved her answer. She is such a great woman; she has such strenght and a love for the Lord. When we went over last night to do the last lesson for preparing for baptism, she was teaching us. I am so grateful to have met her and for her to be part of the itsy bitsy branch of Oakdale. We need people like her in order for the church to grow here. Gwen was supposed to be getting baptised this weekend too; she knows its the right thing but wants confirmation from the Lord that it is the right thing for her. she is also very worried how that will be concerning her family. On saturday we had a great lesson with her, and the gave the closing prayer. it was so powerful. immediately after she began to testify of how she knew that this was all true; she had always wondered why we didnt have a modern prophet and how she was just like joseph, wanting to know which church was true. We are truly seeing the vision of the south being fulfilled. Thisi is what Spencer W. Kimball said (talk given by Elder Vaughn j. Featherstone in april 1984) "Make no small plans: they have no magic to stir man's souls' this is the vision I have for the South. I belive that one day the South will baptize more people in to the church than all other English speaking missions in the world together. There are great hosts of marvelous Baptists, and members of the chruch of Christ, Methodists and Catholicis who are honrable people, and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love him. As they see their church veering off to the right or to the left of those basic teachings, they will begin to search for the truth. And as pivotal teachers come into the church and have influence, we will see the times when we will baptize hindereds and thousands, tens of thousands. In your day you will see a million memebers of the church in the South. there will be temples plural in the Southern States..." What a great call I have to serve wtih these marvelous people! I am honestly seeing this happen in people. Yes it is hard sometimes, but we have a unique message different from others; that the Church Christ established has been restored! that there is a living prophet! I think often people get distracted by our nickname of "Mormon" and think its just another church, not what it really is. Let's not be mormons, lets be Latter Day Saints!
We have been meeting some really interesting people that I hope we'll be able to help. I keep praying that I can be courageous enough to listen to promptings and not cast them aside thinking, oh thats just me, not the Lord. We learn in Moroni that if it "inviteth and enticeth to do good, then it is of God." dont worry about it, just do it! my trainer, sister Hislop is a great example to me of that. she talks with everyone. Im grateful to have such a go getter to train me!
I also wonder about the day that I get to go to Brazil....I still can't always imagine myself there and it does scare me, but I know its the place I need to be, someday. :) Im trying to do the best I can with the hour of study that I have. Every day I pray that I can learn and understand, and that if I am not using my hour as efficent as I can, that the Lord will reveal to me a better way. I pray to be able to be prepared for my brazilerios.
Thanks for the letters everyone, its always exciting to get some mail, especially unexpected!
I try to write back as soon as I can, but with short time its hard, but I will!
Love ya'll,
God bless,
Sister Smith
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