What an eventful week! So many things happened. We had Multizone (where President and the APs come from Riverside to give us trainings for a full day), I went on splits for the first time (where the companionship splits off and goes teaching with a member each. Double the work gets done!), and Sarah Stark was baptized!!
Planning a baptism is one of the most stressful parts of the mission. Satan just is kind of really rude and doesn't like it when people decide to follow the example of Jesus Christ, so he messes things up a lot. But Sarah is so strong. She recognized that the crazy things that were happening to her was just Satan trying to get a her, and she never hesitated to pray for comfort and strength. She'd remind herself of the truthfulness of what she was doing and everything was okay. She is so amazing.
Planning a baptism is one of the most stressful parts of the mission. Satan just is kind of really rude and doesn't like it when people decide to follow the example of Jesus Christ, so he messes things up a lot. But Sarah is so strong. She recognized that the crazy things that were happening to her was just Satan trying to get a her, and she never hesitated to pray for comfort and strength. She'd remind herself of the truthfulness of what she was doing and everything was okay. She is so amazing.
baptismal fonts take quite a while to fill up. Sister Cozzens and I were there almost 2 hours early and the font was barely full enough by the time we were ready to begin. Sarah came into the room just beaming with joy. She was so excited and was so ready. I had butterflies in my tummy but was also so peaceful. It was an interesting feeling. I just felt content, and I knew that this was what Heavenly Father had been planning for Sarah her whole life. We sang a few songs (I conducted and had no idea what I was doing so Sister Cozzens nodded her head on the down beat for me out in the congregation), heard a few talks and finally it was time. She was baptized. It was so amazing. I couldn't stop smiling the rest of the evening. Her best friend in the ward, Sister Formica, helped her out of the font and into the dressing room and we could hear her just shout for joy. How beautiful!
She came back out and the bishop welcomed her into the ward. She had the same twinkle in her eye she always had, but there was definitely something different about her. She receives the gift of the Holy Ghost next Sunday, and after that everything will fall into place:) She's already preparing to take names to be baptized for at the temple and is planning on receiving her endowment as soon as she can. She loves her Father in Heaven and wants to do everything she can to be the best she can be and to follow in the example of her Savior, Jesus Christ. Sarah is such an amazing woman and I am eternally grateful to have been one of the missionaries to bring her to the waters of baptism. What a humbling experience.
My family writes to me every week. Apparently my little brother has been doing some missionary work on his own! What I've noticed is that being an example, being Christ-like and being an all around decent human, is what gets people interested in this gospel. It's what sparked the interest in Sarah, it's what is making it easy for my baby brother to find missionary opportunities. Be the good in the world!
She came back out and the bishop welcomed her into the ward. She had the same twinkle in her eye she always had, but there was definitely something different about her. She receives the gift of the Holy Ghost next Sunday, and after that everything will fall into place:) She's already preparing to take names to be baptized for at the temple and is planning on receiving her endowment as soon as she can. She loves her Father in Heaven and wants to do everything she can to be the best she can be and to follow in the example of her Savior, Jesus Christ. Sarah is such an amazing woman and I am eternally grateful to have been one of the missionaries to bring her to the waters of baptism. What a humbling experience.
My family writes to me every week. Apparently my little brother has been doing some missionary work on his own! What I've noticed is that being an example, being Christ-like and being an all around decent human, is what gets people interested in this gospel. It's what sparked the interest in Sarah, it's what is making it easy for my baby brother to find missionary opportunities. Be the good in the world!
This happened in front of our apartment complex: we were driving home from dinner Saturday night, and all of a sudden Sister Cozzens shouts, "There's a car on fire!" The car in front of us had burst into flames. The driver pulls over as do we. A field separates our car from his. He steps out of the car and he's obviously in shock because he stands there not knowing what to do. Sister Roberts gets out of our car and runs to the field, "Get away from the car!" He starts walking toward us which prompts us to get back in our car and lock the doors. We call 911 and wait for the firetrucks to arrive. It started small, but eventually kept growing until parts of the car started to explode. The man was uninjured, as far as we could tell, and we drove away when he was safely in the hands of the fire fighters.
Sister Cozzens has been out on her mission for 9 months now! It's all downhill from here, which is kind of a sad thing. Not long ago we met an RM at a burger joint and he gave us advice that he had discovered, something that was too late for him to do, something that said would've changed his life: "Don't go home." After serving for so long, coming home is a nice thought, but you have work to do! More people to find! Sister Cozzens doesn't like thinking about going home, and was actually hoping that at this General Conference they'd announce that Sisters would be able to serve for 2 years. I'm still a baby missionary and there are days where I miss my family more that anything. But I'm here to help people prepare their families. I'm going to have my family for eternity, but there are so many people out here in California that have no idea how amazing the gospel of Jesus Christ is. I want everyone to know about eternal families. It has brought me so much joy to know that as I keep the sacred covenants I've made with my Heavenly Father, I will be able to be with my mom, my dad, my favorite baby brother forever. I love them so much. I'm so grateful for my Savior for providing the way for all of us to live again.
Stay firm in the faith.
Sister Turner
It is not our abilities that show who we truly are; it is our choices. - Albus Dumbledore.
Stay firm in the faith.
Sister Turner
It is not our abilities that show who we truly are; it is our choices. - Albus Dumbledore.