Hello family!
Can nobody wait a few more months before they go to the other side? I had been hoping to see grandpa Val and grandpa Allgood both, but they just decided to head on out. I'm grateful to hear that grandpa's passing was good and that Grandma Allgood was there to show him the way. He was always a fighter though, so she might of had to drag him a little bit too haha. I'm sorry to hear about Sister Hansen passing away too. I didn't know her as much as I know President Hansen, but love them both. I will try and find a way to send President Hansen an email. Tell grandma Chelle that I'm praying for her too =)
Our week was pretty cool down here! I was sick again, with a really bad fever on Saturday night, but I think I just sweat it out. I had to get up and change my sheets in the middle of the night because of how sick I was, but I am feeling much better now =) I've also been taking medicine round the clock to help fight it. I also received a blessing from the other missionaries, so no worries!
I also got the package that the Sandersons sent me! It was amazing! There was all kinds of good stuff, but my favorite thing would have to be the family picture. It even had the Sanderson touch because everyone was making a funny face haha. I keep it on my desk where I can see it while I'm studying =) It makes me miss home, but also reminds me that home isn't even that far away!
We had our interviews with President Castro this week too! It was fantastic! Every time I talk to President Castro, I can just feel the Holy Ghost and know that he is guided by Him. He talked to me about my family, then asked me to tell him 4 things: 3 good things that I'm doing, and one challenge that I'm dealing with. I was the first to be interviewed, so I wasn't really prepared. I have the list at home, and have forgotten one of the three good things, but remember the rest:
1. I am praying deeper than I have before. I feel like I'm really talking to Heavenly Father and know that He is listening.
2. I am repenting in the moment. That was the advice of Elder Klebingat
And my challenge is that I'm not exercising in the mornings. I am getting up on time and everything, but I'm not exercising. He told me that I need to exercise so that I don't have problems with my knees when I get home. President explained about how muscles and cartilage work, then told me that my brain would also be able to work a lot faster. He also told me that my immune system will be strengthened and that I will have more energy. I will definitely follow his advice =)
Lastly, here is our group of miracles from the week:
We had a very productive Saturday which included me having to pull someone out of the baptismal font by force. Yes, by force. Usually, you have to pull them IN by force, not out. (just kidding, it's always them entering by their own free will of course) But this guy was determined to get baptized that second. The only problem: there was about 4 inches of water in the font, not nearly enough to baptize him. He hadn't been interviewed for his baptism yet, and he wasn't even in baptismal clothing, but he didn't seem to understand why that matters. So, he starts to enter into the water and I grab his sleeve and say, "no, you can't get baptized right now, it will have to be tonight after we fill the font up." To which he replies, "no, there is enough water here already and I want to get baptized right now," and then proceeds to enter into the font. I grab his arm this time and once again say no. He continues into the water, so what did I do? I stepped down into the font and lifted him out of the font by his arms. It was nuts! I have never heard about anyone doing that haha. He then looked at me and said, "I don't want to get baptized anymore," and leaves the church.
However, that wasn't the end of his adventure. We've already been teaching him for a number of weeks, but hasn't gotten baptized yet because of timing issues or problems with commandments. We went to his house yesterday afternoon because he hadn't come to church for the first time in like four weeks. When we got there, he once again informed us that he didn't want to get baptized. When we asked why, he simply replied, "because." I asked if we could simply leave a message with him and he agreed. We read Alma 7:10-16 with him and explained about the love that Jesus Christ has for him and how baptism should be his way of showing his love for Jesus Christ. We showed him a picture of Jesus Christ getting baptized and he asked us how we know that that is how the baptism works, so we turned to 3 Nephi 11:16-24ish which show Christ teaching the Nephites about baptism. He then said he wanted to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, not in the name of the Son (people have a lot of problems with that here) and so we explained that the Savior taught in John 3:5 that baptism has two parts: water and the Spirit. He gets the water part in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but the confirmation ends by saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." He asked to once again be baptized and we baptized him yesterday night!!!! It was a fight, but that's how it always goes =)
Love you all! Remember how much the Savior loves you and that He is ALWAYS by our side, even if we don't want Him to be, He's there =)
Elder Sanderson
P.s mom, please send me an email for President Hansen if you can, I tried to find it, but couldn't.
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