This week was absolutely amazing. We had the fabulous opportunity and privilege to witness the baptisms of Benito and Griselda Carreon. It has been so nice to be a part of their conversion. I have seen them grow so much in the time that I have been here, and now they have officially made those covenants with God that will give them eternal life and salvation. They are truly my favorite people that I have had the opportunity to teach the Gospel to on my mission. The Spirit was really strong at their baptismal service, and many people thanked us for the talks that we gave. In my talk, I showed my pillow that I received at my baptism and read the scripture, Alma 37:37, that was on it. As I looked over at all of the people as I was speaking, especially at Benito, Griselda, and little Julietta, I could feel, in a smaller measure, God's love for them and how happy He was that they have chosen to follow Jesus Christ and that they chose to return to live in His presence. Afterwards, a member from the stake high council gave them the famous picture of Jesus coming in the Millennium.
Last night, we had the chance to visit them and give them a present that the stake provided for them, and the picture of Jesus was hanging prominently over their fireplace! We talked about the temple and how they will be able to go there in a year. There's a part of me that wants them to go in exactly a year, right away, but there's another part of me that wants them to wait until after I get home so we could all go there and see. Either way, I'm so happy that they are going to go. When we were about to leave, we all said a kneeling prayer and Benito said it. He said the most heartfelt prayer I have ever heard, and he thanked Heavenly Father for sending him and his family the missionaries so that they could know the truth. Little Julietta kept looking up at us and smiling, and I just kept visualizing all of them in the Celestial Room. Needless to say, it was a great night.
On a different note, Elder Gaylor hit a parked car on his bike on Wednesday and flew on top of the roof. He was adjusting his pedal and he didn't look up in time. His bike dented pretty badly, and there were a few nicks and scratches on the car, but we got it all figured out and the church is taking care of it.
Also, Elder Sebaske got transferred to Oxnard and we had to wake up at 5 in the morning to clean everything and move to the other apartment. I saw Elder Navarrete there, and he was telling me how everything changed up in Atascadero. Carolann I guess now has a baptismal date, and Jr., the old man, has been going to church and is working his way to the temple. Sister Robaschotty, the lady I did service for and got reactivated, bore her testimony at church and she was saying how she "Knows the church is true" and she told everyone to give the missionaries referrals! I'm super glad I was able to hear about that, and it makes me feel that all the work I did up there was not forgotten. It has really been a great week and I've felt a lot of joy.
Also! On Thursday we had a church tour with Mike and Gayle, two investigators that called a bishop in the other ward and self-referred the missionaries to come over...(pictured) and the spirit was so strong. We all knelt in the chapel after it was done, and we committed them to be baptized on April 26th. We were going to say April 12th, but he said no because that was the day the Titanic sunk. ;) He's a pretty funny guy. They are a work in progress, they went to another church yesterday, but we'll work with them. I'll keep you posted.
I love you all so much! Thanks for all you do for me. Thanks for the prayers, the loves, and the letters. I'll talk to you next week! Happy St. Patrick's Day! (I'm wearing a green tie by the way)
Love,
Elder Harper
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