Well I haven't written a group email for two weeks now.
Sorry. The first week it was because their was absolutely nothing to say and
the next week it was because we went to the zoo for P-day and we didn't have
much time to email. But the zoo was really fun! Some members in the White Oak
ward took us and the elders. The Elders in our ward are hilarious and so fun to
hang out with!
But you will never guess what has happened in the last two
weeks: we found a new investigator, taught him all the lessons, and...
HE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!
Oh Yeah! Boo-Yah!
Let me explain. First of all the whole thing was a huge
miracle!! (obviously). Sister Garlick and I were working really hard and trying
our best to do what we were supposed to do and be good missionaries. And the
Lord blessed us. At zone meeting this month, we set our goals for the month.
Sister Garlick and I set a goal for 1 baptism/confirmation for the month of
August even though we had no idea how that would ever happen. But the Lord has
His plan.
In our mission we have this thing called "Power
Hour" where from 6-7pm Monday-Friday, we just go finding. It is a full
hour set aside for finding new investigators. Sister Garlick and I have done it
a few times, but a lot of times other things come up, so we don't do it as much
as we should. However, about two weeks ago, we decided that we should do it.
Sister Garlick was reading a paper that talked about how power hour works and
noticed that it says to start power hour by going to a member's house, sharing
a quick message with them, and then having the head of the household say a
prayer and specifically ask for us to find those who are prepared to receive
the gospel. So that night we went to Happy and Michael's house. Michael said
the prayer -- the first time that we have ever heard him say a prayer. We ended
up going to visit an inactive recent convert in the singles ward who we have been
trying to meet with FOREVER and so we didn't actually go finding that night.
However, the Lord still blessed us and answered Michael's prayer. That night
while we were planning, some elders from another ward called us with a
referral. They told us that their area had just been combined and they were
going through the other area's area book and just calling all of the former
investigators in there. They called this guy name Marcus. He didn't answer, but
called the elders back a few hours later and said that he was glad they called
because he has been trying to get baptized since last summer. The elders found
out that he lived in our area now, so they handed him off to us. We were really
excited and called him right then and set up an appointment for the next
day.
Pretty much what happened last summer was that Marcus met
with the missionaries and took all of the lessons. He had a baptismal date, but
something else was going on that night and it got cancelled. Then that happened
a second time. And then both of the elders got transferred and nobody got in
touch with Marcus after that. But he kept reading the Book of Mormon and going
to church when he could. He is 18 and his mom lives in our ward. He was in the
other ward last summer because he was with his dad. By the time we met him, he
had been coming to our ward for a few weeks -- he had actually sat in front of
Sister Garlick and I in sacrament meeting the Sunday before. Everybody
recognized him and remembered him coming, but we all thought that he was a
member.
So we retaught him all of the lessons and he got baptized on
Saturday! He is really awesome and a great kid. He was so excited to get
baptized and was beaming at the baptism and on Sunday when he got confirmed!
Also, he has a 14 year old sister who has sat in on a couple of lessons and we
are going to start formally teaching her the lessons this week. She has already
started reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church with Marcus and is
really excited to learn more.
Besides that we have an awesome new investigator in the
singes ward and everything is going really well. Sister Garlick and I have a
had a great last two weeks. We have been working really hard and have been
really dilligent about planning and setting inspired goals and that has made a
huge difference. We've been looking forward to transfers this week and wanted
to go out with a bang. Transfers happen Thursday. We already know what is
happening because we met with President Pingree last week, but I will just wait
to tell you until next week after it officially happens, in case anything
changes. The Lord is good. His work is rolling forward! All is Well!
Love,
Sister Sylvester
Sister Sylvester and Sister Garlick's 1st Baptism!
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