Andrew's Baptism!

Hi Mom,

We had a slow week, but a really busy Sunday. We didn't get a chance to watch the Christmas Devotional, but I heard that President Durrant said a prayer, so that was great!

On Tuesday, we found a fantastic new investigator that is very humble and interested in our message. I asked him the question of how Jesus Christ has played a role in his life, and the answer that he gave us was that he grew up Catholic believing in Jesus Christ, but as he got older he began to realize that the Catholics worship idols, so he stopped going. He got married and him and his wife tried finding a church to attend, but never really had one they attended regularly. A few years ago his wife was diagnosed with cancer. He had a really hard time with that, and out of desperation they started going to church again. He said that they tried everything, and they found hope that she would be healed in that church. She passed away a year ago, and he was very sad. He was expecting and hoping that someone from his church would come and comfort him, or come and help him, and no one did. So he again stopped going to church. Since then he hasn't been back. We taught him many things to help him, and we hope that he accepts all of it. I am looking forward to teaching him!

We also had our follow-up training meeting, which will help me to be a better trainer. This week, we have also began to use the He is the Gift video a lot in our missionary work. When we go door to door, we have a portable dvd player that we use with the He is the Gift video, and we ask everyone if they want to watch it. We have watched it many times on the doorstep. We have a great lesson tonight that has come from it, so hopefully he is interested.

Yesterday was one of the busiest Sundays of my mission. We started at 9 in the morning making the programs for Andrew's baptism. Then after that, we had to go make copies in the library, and that took us about an hour. Then we had church, and it was Sacrament meeting, so I bore my testimony. Afterwards in Priesthood we showed everyone the He is the Gift video and invited them all to get more involved with this initiative. We then went with the young men to show them another video to help motivate them. After church we finished folding the programs, got Andrew's size for the jumpsuit, and talked to several people about the font. After all of that we went and ate dinner, and then came back to set up for the baptism.

The baptism was great! There was a lot of support from the ward even though they don't speak English. Andrew asked me to baptize him, and I was so grateful to be able to do that for him. I think we might have made history baptizing the first English speaker into a Spanish ward. The program and talks were in English and Spanish, so it was all a little jumbled, and it was fun to hear the Bishop and our ward mission leader speaking English. The baptism was scheduled for 5:00 and we started it at 5:40, because we were on Hispanic time, but that was the only bad part.

When performing the ordinance I had to baptize him twice, because his leg came out of the water. It was kind of awkward, because the witnesses didn't see it, but the Bishopric did. So we started leaving, and as we were walking through the door we heard the Bishopric telling us to come back, so we did it again. After the baptism as we were changing, Andrew was telling me how happy he was. He was uncertain before the baptism, but afterwards, he knew it was the right thing to do. He kept telling me that it was just another step, and that there is so much more ahead, and he is exactly right. He also told me that he had been thinking a lot about baptizing his son. I am so happy for him, and he is on the right track. He is probably the best convert I have had, because he is so willing to act. He will make a great member.

I love this work, and I am so grateful that I have the privilege of helping people come unto Christ. I hope that I can continue to see that, and I am glad that I still have another 6 months to serve!

I did get the Christmas package, and I love the CD from Alex Boye! Thank you so much! I do have a tree in this apartment. My President also asked me to tell you that if you haven't sent the Christmas packages yet, you should send them to the mission office 13747 Montfort Dr. #120 Dallas, TX 75240 United States.

I love y'all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Kyle

Hi Dad,

This was a bit of an up and down week, but yesterday, it was so great to witness Andrew's baptism. He has progressed so much, and he is willing to progress much more. He will be such a great member. Now the challenge will be for us to find a way for him to be involved in this ward even though there is the language barrier. I don't think that bothers him too much though.

 

1. How did the baptism go?  Tell us everything.

The baptism was so good! We got there at 4:00 to set up, and we set up about 40 chairs, filled up the font, got the piano ready, and got dressed. We were already to go about 5:00, but there weren't very many people there, so we waited. Our ward mission leader didn't start until 5:40, which was pretty late, but the program was only about 30 minutes so it wasn't too bad. By the time we started, however, there were people putting up more chairs in the back, so that was great. The conductor spoke a little in English and Spanish, and then we had a member give his talk in both English and Spanish. After that we performed the baptism twice (his leg came up the first time) and while we were changing, the zone leaders had a message that they shared. We then closed the meeting with a few thoughts from our Bishop in English, which he actually did a pretty good job. I thought. We then had desert afterwards to celebrate. Everyone congratulated Andrew on his decision, and he seemed very happy. Baptisms are great, but when they are over, I always feel so relieved.

2. How is the new companion?

He is doing well. He is struggling a lot with the Spanish, and I need to do a better job speaking in Spanish. But it is coming slowly.

3. How is the family that you are teaching - are they still planning on getting married. 

They are in no man's land right now. They want to be baptized, but they keep waiting for their parents to come. The problem with that is the parents keep changing the date. They have changed it three times now, so we will see how it goes.

4. How is the work going?

Great! It is about the same as always. We find really good people, and then we see if they are going to progress. It is going well in this ward.

5. How are the members - are they working with you and helping you?

They are great at supporting us in ward activities, and in fellowshipping our investigators, and they are great at feeding us. The only thing I think they can improve in is inviting everyone to hear from the missionaries.

6. Do you get I pads next month?  And do you need money for them?

We will have to buy them, but the mission is thinking it will be in February or later.

7. Do you have fun with your District and Zone?

Yes, we have a great time on Preparation days and through out the week as well.

8. Tell us a good spiritual experience from the last little while.

One spiritual experience that I had this week, came in a very simple way. We were contacting using the new He is the Gift video which we play on a portable DVD player. We have had a couple of good experiences, but there was one this last week that was the best one we have had. We knocked on his door, and he told us he was busy, and he couldn't let us in, but we were persistent, and we asked him if we could just show him the movie right there on the door step. He accepted, and he loved the video. The spirit was so strong and we were able to testify of Jesus Christ there on his door step. The spirit softened his heart and we have an appointment with him tonight. He started out by saying he was busy, and he ended by saying he was very interested in our message. I know that the Spirit changes people, and that I can't do anything with out his help.

9.  What advice would you give to the Priests and Laurels? I am teaching them this month.

I could tell them so many different things, but I think that something that they all struggle with, because it was something I struggled with, is prioritizing your time. I would tell them to avoid wasting time. We should all be anxiously engaged in a good cause. Just imagine how different your life would be if you replaced an hour of watching TV with an hour of developing your talents, or growing spiritually. Fill your lives with the Spirit. The Spirit is what makes us happy, and it helps us so much in our lives. Make sure that your first priority is God, then your family. And start now to be better in prioritizing your time. Don't wait. Do everything you can to come closer to your Savior Jesus Christ.

I love you Dad! Thank you so much for helping me in my life, and thank you for all the BYU updates. I like having a quarterback with the last name Stewart, that is exciting. I hope you have a great week!

Love, Kyle