Hello everyone back in...wherever you are!
I
bet that you all want to know how the baptism went.
It.was.beautiful.!!! I can't even tell you how much I loved it.
Originally when we asked Sister Hodge to get baptized, we told her about
the cleansing effect that it had. It will wipe away all of her guilt
and sorrow from the past mistakes that she has made. She wanted that
feeling more than anything. And I know that she felt it! When she came
up out of the water, she was beaming. She hugged Brother Hodge and just
stood there and cried in his arms. I KNOW that she felt it. She felt the
power of God just as it says in D&C 84:20. I am so so so happy for
her! She was just beaming the rest of the program. We had cute kids sing
I am a Child of God, and then another adorable 4 year old boy sing
"Popcorn Popping" with the hand motions and all. It was so good! The
spirit was so strong in every aspect of the program. I wish that you all
could have been there to witness her baptism. President and Sister
Collins came to it and they told us afterwards that it was one of the
best baptisms that they had ever been to. It really was amazing. If
you don't believe me....I don't know what you can do...so just believe
me! haha. :) When she was
confirmed the next day, she couldn't hold back her smile. You could tell
that she could truly feel the difference that this big step in her life
had made for her. Ah! I am just so happy for them. Today is their
anniversary..that means that in a year from now, on their anniversary,
they can go to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity! That
is what missionary work is all about.
Funniest joke of the
week: "Knock, Knock," "Who's there?" "Boo" "Boo who?" " Why were you
crying the WHOLE day????!" -Carter, 7 yrs old. (Wanda's son)
I
bet that you all want to know how the baptism went.
It.was.beautiful.!!! I can't even tell you how much I loved it.
Originally when we asked Sister Hodge to get baptized, we told her about
the cleansing effect that it had. It will wipe away all of her guilt
and sorrow from the past mistakes that she has made. She wanted that
feeling more than anything. And I know that she felt it! When she came
up out of the water, she was beaming. She hugged Brother Hodge and just
stood there and cried in his arms. I KNOW that she felt it. She felt the
power of God just as it says in D&C 84:20. I am so so so happy for
her! She was just beaming the rest of the program. We had cute kids sing
I am a Child of God, and then another adorable 4 year old boy sing
"Popcorn Popping" with the hand motions and all. It was so good! The
spirit was so strong in every aspect of the program. I wish that you all
could have been there to witness her baptism. President and Sister
Collins came to it and they told us afterwards that it was one of the
best baptisms that they had ever been to. It really was amazing. If
you don't believe me....I don't know what you can do...so just believe
me! haha. :) When she was
confirmed the next day, she couldn't hold back her smile. You could tell
that she could truly feel the difference that this big step in her life
had made for her. Ah! I am just so happy for them. Today is their
anniversary..that means that in a year from now, on their anniversary,
they can go to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity! That
is what missionary work is all about.
Then this week Wanda and her son Andrew and Carter
came to church! :) Carter is just a hoot. He is 7 years old and he says
some of the funniest things. We were at dinner with them on Friday night
and he was making us laugh so hard! The joke from the beginning of this
letter was one of his classics from this week. Best thing ever. Then
later that day, he wanted us to come outside and see his secret garden.
So we went into the back yard and walk over to the side of the house
and he yells "SERIOUSLY DOGS?!? Seriously." You can see the the dogs had
messed around in his greenery. Then he tells us "Turn around! Forget
that you saw anything!!" So we turned around, and he fixed it and had us
look at it again. But he is just so funny. Then later at dinner he said
"Mom do we have dessert?" She said "No, the chocolate chip pancakes
were enough" and he said "Seriously Mom??" and She said "Seriously,
Carter." bahaha. I don't know. Maybe these aren't funny to you, but we
were laughing so hard. You might just have to know Carter better to
understand. But her other son Andrew is so interested in learning. We
were teaching the Plan of Salvation and he was listening to us. When we
got to the kingdoms of glory, we talked about how he could be with his
mom forever. And he kept on asking, "forever? really?" And then he
started crying because he was so happy to hear that. He is 13 and he has
the sweetest heart. So he is a new investigator too! I just love Wanda
and her family. She is amazing! She was helping us teach her
children about the kingdoms of glory. She was relating the different
kingdoms to ice cream. She explained it that the in Telestial they only
have vanilla ice cream. In the Terrestrial they have vanilla with
chocolate topping. But in the Celestial they have every single ice cream
flavor and topping. She is just too amazing. She is practically already
a member. She knows enough to be! I am so proud of her progress. She is
SET for June 1st :D Missionary work is just so great!!
I was at Testimony meeting yesterday and Brother
Lykins gave a beautiful testimony. I have been having a difficult week
and felt that I was not adequate to be a missionary. I had felt that I
was not living up to what my Father in Heaven expected of me, but he
answered my prayers. He talked about a dog sled team and how the dogs
are each placed in a very specific place to pull the sled best.
Although it may seem that the two dogs at the front are the best and
fastest because they are recognized more, that is not the case. They
would not succeed as a back runner dog. They could not turn the sled
fast enough if they were in any other dogs position. And as well, the
dogs at the back of the pack would not do well in the front. Each dog
that is there is there for a specific reason. He related that to how the
church runs. Although people serving as bishops or as stake presidents
may get more recognition and such, they are no better at pulling the
sled as the people who work in primary classes teaching the 6 year olds.
We all have a very unique and specific role in moving the work of the
Lord forward. It helped me to not beat myself up about not being where I
thought I needed to be. Heavenly Father knows each of us and he knows
where we need to be right now. As Sister Collins said it "It's not about
you. It is about where you can bless the lives of others best."
So keep your head high and don't compare yourself to others! Just focus
on your job and continue with faith. I have learned now more than ever
that I am not in control. That even though I think I know best, I never
do.
I am still
loving missionary work! It is the hardest thing that I have ever had to
do in my life, but it is all worth it. I know that the work may be
difficult, but the rewards will be ever lasting! I will be going on 8
exchanges this transfer. With Sister Cordner's new position as Sister
Training Leader, she is pretty much like a Zone Leader mixed with a
District Leader. We get to go on 2 exchanges with every companionship in
2 zones. It is going to be a lot of hard work! I will need all of the
strength I can get!! But with the Savior, all is possible.
I
don't have much more time. But I am so grateful for this time that I
have to serve my Savior Jesus Christ. Although it is the hardest thing I
have ever done, He knows how it feels. He is right beside me pulling me
through. Without Him, I wouldn't be here.
I send my love from Indiana!!
Sister Emilee Farr
No comments:
Post a Comment