This week was GLORIOUS! Goodness!
So I'll start at the end of the week with the baptism of our incredible investigator!! The service was scheduled to start at 10 because the youth were leaving for Orlando for a temple trip at 12:30. So we told A to be here at 9:30 so that he could change, take pictures, and walk through how the baptism was going to go. So we got here about 9:25, the ward mission leader was already here, and the man who baptized him showed up a few minutes later. About ten minutes past 9:30 we start to get a little nervous, so we call A just to make sure he is on his way... No answer... Ten more minutes go by. A few of the ward members begin showing up, even his non member sister came! But still no A... THEN the first counselor in the mission presidency and his wife show up!! But there was still no one to baptize... So we call him again. Still no answer. Now its five past 10 and we are panicking big time. Were they in an accident? Did he change his mind? It was super duper stressful!
All of the sudden the phone starts vibrating in my hand, it was him! "Hello?" "Hey, I saw that you called?" "Yeah, are you on your way?" "We will be soon... the baptism starts at 11, right?" "Umm... no 10..." Silence..."Oh crap, we are on our way!!"
The adversary is so mean!! Making him forget the time of his baptism! But jokes on him because once he got here the service went incredibly. Everything went smoothly. He bore his testimony at the end and it was so powerful!
The next day he was confirmed in sacrament meeting and ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood.
Now what are we going to do? Goodness!
So transfers are here again! I can't believe I have been here for three months! It has definitely flown by! I think it has been my favorite three months of my mission. I love the area, I love my companion, and I feel Heavenly Fathers love every day.
I will live to see another transfer here in Sebring, but Sister Schaumkel will not. :( She has been such a fun companion! We have been through a lot together and I'm grateful for every minute of the craziness that is our life! I am definitely going to miss her. I will be receiving a new companion and from the looks of it, it will either be Sister Yellow or Sister Brown... yeah thats really their names. I know both of them and they are both great!
Since Sister Schaumkel is leaving, and she has been here for every birthday in my ward mission leaders family except Mattmatts, which is in May, we had a surprise early birthday party for Matt yesterday! We had meatballs and rice and cake and it was so much fun. I love this ward so much. They are all so crazy... like so crazy. But I wouldn't have them any other way!
So have any of you seen the Mormon Message "Deep Beauty"? If not, I definitely recommend it. Its like my favorite now. It talks about the true beauty that shines from the inside out. It comes from basically striving each day to be more like our Savior. And that kind of beauty is so much better than anything that the world tries to sell to you.
I was thinking about it, and that concept of deep beauty is what motivated me each and every day to read and pray and strive to improve and live the standards as a teenager. I mean, what teenage girl doesn't want to be beautiful? :) I'm grateful that Heavenly Father taught me about deep beauty at a young age. We have been working really hard to help some of the less-active young women in the ward understand that concept. There are three in particular that are just so good, but they have no support from their families. Someone spoke in general conference once about how if you save a girl you save generations. That is what we are trying to do for these three precious girls.
I testify that the best "beauty tip" is found in the scriptures: Come unto Christ.
In the Personal Progress booklet, in the introduction it says:
"Always use you influence to life and bless your family, other young women, and the young men with whom you associate. Honor womanhood, support the priesthood and cherish faithful motherhood and fatherhood."
That's true beauty.
Just a side-note: we had a combined district meeting this week and the Zone Leaders shared with us something that hit me hard. They said that when the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve met to discuss the lowering of the missionary age, the prophet's first concern was what this change would do to temple marriages. Originally, they had just wanted to lower the age for the young men. But they decided that by lowering the age of young women as well, there would be more temple marriages. His first question was not, "What is it going to do to the number of convert baptisms?" It was "What will it do to temple marriages for these missionaries?" It's neat to think how important that is to the prophet.
They also shared Alma 17:2-3. They pointed out how as these faithful friends and missionaries meet up years later, they don't rejoice because of how many baptisms they had. But they rejoice because they are all "still brethren in the Lord".
I thought it was interesting... But I agree whole-heartedly. We are doing much more than missionary work here.
Well I hope you all have an incredible week! I love you dearly!
Sister Rowland
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