Ana got baptized on Saturday!!! It was a small little service, but I felt the Spirit so strong, and she did too! Ana was crying happy tears while the sister missionaries sand Oh my Father before the baptism and before she went into the water. It was kind of stressful before the baptism because the took place in the Stake Center, the church building that is the 2nd closest, because of the Cultural Celebration for the new temple in Tijuana that was right afterwards. Friday night the font was filled with water, and then about 30 minutes before the baptism someone called saying the font was empty. I about had a heart attack because in the church building in Loma Linda takes about 2 hours to fill the font. By some miracle the pump works faster in the Stake Center, but it was cold water. Like really cold, so we turned on the trickle of hot water and prayed really hard that if we left it going until it was time for her to get into the water, that the water would be warm. I tell you that Heavenly Father answers prayers because when we opened the door to the font, I felt a nice waft of warm air. This baptism taught me that when we follow God's will everything will turn out ok, in fact better than ok. Ana got to go to the temple dedication too! She's so excited and wants her family to listen to us too. We already started teaching some of her kids, there's only one that we haven't met yet. Ana's already part of the choir too! It makes me so happy to see her and her family!
The temple dedication was awesome! President Uchtdorf's talk was fantastic! It was great to be in the temple by extension for a couple hours. Sometimes I really miss the temple, but I know that I'll have all the time in the world to go in a year.
I learned something about missionary work this week. When Hna Gonzalez and I were making the preparations for Ana's baptism, we were super excited because Ana was going to be baptized. Then one night our district leader was saying congratulations and that we were having success, and before this moment I didn't even realize that this baptism meant that I was "having success" I was only thinking about Ana and her family. This taught me that when we stop thinking about ourselves and really serve others with the intent to help them, that's when we become instruments in Heavenly Father's hands and we can bring to pass His work. I'm so grateful for this gospel and the opportunity I have to devote my time to just sharing it.
I love y'all!
Hermana Stevenson
The temple dedication was awesome! President Uchtdorf's talk was fantastic! It was great to be in the temple by extension for a couple hours. Sometimes I really miss the temple, but I know that I'll have all the time in the world to go in a year.
I learned something about missionary work this week. When Hna Gonzalez and I were making the preparations for Ana's baptism, we were super excited because Ana was going to be baptized. Then one night our district leader was saying congratulations and that we were having success, and before this moment I didn't even realize that this baptism meant that I was "having success" I was only thinking about Ana and her family. This taught me that when we stop thinking about ourselves and really serve others with the intent to help them, that's when we become instruments in Heavenly Father's hands and we can bring to pass His work. I'm so grateful for this gospel and the opportunity I have to devote my time to just sharing it.
I love y'all!
Hermana Stevenson