Do you know what I'm thankful for? Members who feed us copious amounts of food during the holidays! Since Thursday, our fridge has been packed with Thanksgiving leftovers and all sorts of goodies. You may laugh at this, but I really am seriously thankful for this. Knowing that we have good food to come home to is a big deal for us. And it sure saves me a lot of money. This week was just a really fun time to spend with members and non-members alike. Elder Nordine and I are really becoming good friends with a lot of people in the ward.
But even more than turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, I am grateful for baptisms! Saturday was such a special day for both Kim and Bri as well as I. It's been a long time coming for their family, and I'm happy to say that everything went so well. Beforehand, I was super nervous and worried that not very many people would show up, but we ended up having a good turnout. You see, Kim and Bri still don't know very many people in the ward, so we had trouble finding people to come to the baptism. But after a lot of prayers and many phone calls, we were able to get the relief society president, Bishop, and a few other members there. When it came time for me to baptize them, only Bri had to be immersed more than once. Not that it's a bad thing, because that's why we have witnesses, but I just think it's funny that none of the baptisms I've been a part of have gone perfectly. A toe or a knee or something always comes up or something similar. In Bri's case the water was just a little bit too shallow so I had to really push her down under causing her knee to come up. But as she came out of the water, she slipped and fell back in (or in other words, I dropped her). Bri was such a champ about it, though, and she just laughed it off and let me do it again. After the program was over, she made fun of me and said that I did okay for my first baptisms. Don't worry, we're pals :)
Almost just as cool as the baptism was an experience that Kim had the day before her baptism. I've told y'all before about how Heavenly Father has been removing the obstacles in Kim and Bri's way so that they could be baptized, but there was just one more left before Saturday. Recently Kim informed us that she got a job as a bartender to help pay some bills and keep the family on their feet. She could still get baptized because she doesn't drink herself, but both Elder Nordine and I felt like it wouldn't be the best environment for her to be in. But of course a job is a job, so we told her to pray about it and look for other options. Right before the baptism, Kim told me that she had gotten fired from her job. Instinctively I offered my condolences, but secretly I was happy that she didn't have to work their anymore. But to my pleasant surprise, she told me that she had been praying and praying and praying about it and that for the week leading up to the baptism she had this battle going on inside of her. She asked God to take care of the situation for her so she could do what he wanted her to do. On Friday as she walked into work, the manager informed her that she was getting fired because she didn't drink with everyone else. Instead of being sad about it, Kim was instantly happy because she knew that Heavenly Father had taken care of it for her and that she didn't have to feel worried anymore. Isn't that awesome??
So life is good right now. It's always hard to teach a lot of lessons during the week of Thanksgiving and other holidays, but we still taught some good lessons. Our next investigator that's closest to baptism is Ruben, and he's now come to church two weeks in a row now. His wife, who's a member, came to church with him yesterday for the first time since she was 10 years old. To make a long story short, her family quit going to church when she was 10, but ever since she's felt this pull to come back to the Mormon church. For over 30 years now she's gone to church after church with Ruben, but has always felt that something's missing. Just recently, they met some members of the church who referred us to them. They've been going through a lot of rough things lately, including false abuse charges against Erin (Ruben's wife) that has caused their adopted son to be put in a foster home. Gosh, it's just absolutely devastating. But the cool part is that they recognize that they've come in contact with us right at this time for a reason. It's no coincidence. Ruben has accepted to be baptized when he knows that it's true.
The Coxes are doing just okay right now. They still haven't quit their addictions, so we're going to have to move their baptismal date to a later time. We haven't been seeing them as much lately, which concerns me, but I think they'll be okay. They're just very busy and they're having a hard time acting on their faith. They know that God can help them quit tobacco, but at the same time they don't. You know what I'm saying? It's just tough to help somebody realize that. Hopefully we'll see them tomorrow.
I'm out of time, but there's so many other miracles I wanted to share with you! Well, I guess I'll have to write 'em in my journal for a later time. Thanks for the advice, Mom :) Y'all take care now, ya hear?
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