#BLESSED

OUR INVESTIGATOR WAS BAPTIZED!!!!!!!! Ahhhh so exciting! We have been able to see the lord's hand in our lives since we started teaching her & I'm so grateful that I could be a part of her journey into the gospel. 

That happened on Saturday though, so let me rewind to the beginning of the week . 

July 27th After emailing, we ran to the bus station to catch a bus to a member's house for dinner. But the bus ended up leaving 4 minutes early so we didn't make it in time & missed the bus. And it was the last bus for the night. So we called the member to let her know & she was a little (lot) mad at us & we were a little (lot) sad because she cooks really well. So instead of that, we ate toast at our flat. 

July 28th Today was a normal day. We have no solid investigators except Carol (the one that was baptised), so we spent the whole day finding. Then we had a Skype lesson with Carol at Lesley's house. Because we found out Carol was going to be baptised the first of August on Sunday, we had to cram the last lessons into 3 shorter lessons. Kinda stressful, but I've grown to love technology because of it. 

July 29th Today was nearly the same as Tuesday. We found all day & had a Skype lesson with Carol. In the middle of our day we met the elders at the chapel to work on a musical number for the baptism. It went kinda well. I pretty much turned into 'Drill Sergeant Sister Johannes' because nobody knew what to do & I ended up (nicely) ordering everyone around. 

July 30th Today we had to wake up at 5:20 am so we could take a bus to Northampton for Zone training meeting. Sister Yucra Laura & I were the only sisters at the chapel for nearly an hour so we made all the elders give us advice on our investigators. Elder McAvoy is a champ. He gave us the best advice. After zone meeting, he made me commit to reading a talk about happiness because he thinks I'm depressed. I'm not though! I just love all of my investigators so much, so when we have to drop them or something bad happens in their life, I get really sad for them. 

During the meeting we talked about D&C 121:34-46. These scripture start off by saying that many are called but few are chosen. As missionaries & as members of the church, we are all called to the work of the Lord. But it's our own works & desires that determine if we are chosen. It truly is our choice if we want to be chosen. Something that was hard for me when I first started my mission was forgetting myself in the work. I was constantly focused on how my family & friends were doing back home, and not enough on the people I was serving. Obviously it's okay to think about our families, but it's when we let things from home distract us from our purpose as missionaries that it becomes a problem. Another problem that can keep us from being chosen is being prideful. As missionaries, we have a very sacred calling & with this calling comes great responsibility. But pride destroys a missionary. It's when we are humble & teachable that the spirit can work with us & lead us to the people who are prepared to receive our message.  

July 31st We had no appointments today, so we found all day long. We met with the elders at the chapel in the evening to practice our song a few more times & make sure everything was good for the baptism tomorrow. Then we ate dinner, planned, & made cookies at the same time & I ended up burning half the cookies. Obviously I'm not very good at multitasking. 

August 1st We woke up & had to leave for the chapel early because the elders told us the font was broken. So when we got there we found out the drain doesn't work & neither does the water heater for the font. So we ended up having to fill it with cold water & carry buckets of water from the sink & dump it into the font. When Carol showed up we told her the dilemma & she said it was okay if she was baptized in cold water. So it was definitely a day none of us will forget. The baptismal service was beautiful & our song sounded kind of good! After the baptism, Carol told us that all she wanted to do was share her testimony with everyone. It's been such an amazing experience watching Carol progress I the gospel. She has been such a great example to me & my testimony has grown so much since our first lesson with her. I definitely feel blessed to have been used as an instrument in the Lord's hands as we have helped prepare her for baptism. 

Thanks to everyone who has written me emails & letters! I couldn't be more grateful to be surrounded by so much love, both at home & in England. I love you all!!!   

Sister Sydney Johannes