Family!! 

The cheesecakes look so good! I bet they were a hit! I have been missing dads cheesecakes a lot. Yesterday we were at a meal apt and they brought cheesecake from Walmart and it wasn’t the same ha-ha dads is just too hard to beat.

           So this week was amazing! Damien got baptized!! It was a bumpy ride to get there but he made it through. This past week when we went to go see him and help him prepare for his interview for baptism, we went over the interview questions and found out he hadn’t been keeping the law of Chasity. So we retaught it to him and we thought he had to be living the law of Chasity for a week so we had to change his baptismal date for the 13th. He was sad about that but said he was going to work really hard to make sure he could be baptized. That night we were telling our zone leaders about it and how his interview was going to have to wait, but they said that he didn’t have to be living it for a week that he just had to commit to never do it again and that he can still be baptized on the 6th. So we called him and told him and he said he still wanted to do the 13th. We were bummed but we felt that he still needed to have his baptismal interview the next day so we went ahead with the initial plan.

Damien before baptism

The next day the zone leaders came to interview him. It was a long interview, about an hour but when he came out we asked him, “so how did it go?” He said "well let’s just say on Saturday I will be under water." We were sooo happy. The elder who interviewed him, Elder Hymas said that it was a really powerful interview and that the spirit was really strong. He said they talked about how he was ready and how we aren’t going to be perfect or know everything before we get baptized and as we make that step, the blessings will follow. He then shared some scriptures with him and asked to pray to know if he should be baptized on the 6th or the 13^th. After the prayer he was in tears and said he knew he needed to be baptized on the 6^th. We were so excited and happy for him but the challenges didn't stop there. That was on Thursday. On Friday we went to go see him and get him pumped up for baptism and teach him about missionary work. He was so excited to get baptized. So Saturday was baptism day. It was a crazy day for us because we had lots of appointments and things like that. Finally we make it to the church at 7 to start filling the font and getting things ready because his baptism was at 8. At 7:30 we texted him and asked him if he was on his way and if he was excited and he texted us back and said "I don’t know. I am having second thoughts." We texted back and asked "What do you mean?!" and he said he felt rushed. After he said that we tried calling him but he wouldn’t answer. So with 20 min till his baptism and people arriving we rush over to his house and talk to him. He said he didn’t feel ready and so we asked him, "Do you know where those thoughts are coming from?" "They are from Satan" We told him that Satan didn’t want him to get baptized and he was going to try everything to stop him. We told him all of the blessings God has given him like getting Sundays off at work, finally, so he can be baptized and confirmed the next day. He then started to realize that he was ready and that this is something Heavenly Father wanted to do. So he grabbed his stuff and we escorted him to his baptism. 

            So we get to the church and he gets ready. He was still a little nervous and tense all through the talks and everything. But the best part was when he got into the water and was baptized. The smile on his face was priceless. It was worth more than anything in the world. He was smiling from ear to ear. The spirit was so strong. After his baptism, he changed and came back smiling and laughing just like at the temple. He was just so happy! After the welcome to the ward and all that, we went up to congratulate him and he was in tears. He said he made the first step and he was so happy and he said that he knew God was happy. It was amazing. His baptism was so powerful. 

            The next day was Sunday and he was confirmed. That was just as powerful if not more as the baptism. His blessing was beautiful and promised a temple marriage. He was in tears after. That whole Sunday he was just so happy and loved church. He is learning so much and so fast. We love him to death! He is amazing. The cool part is while we were teaching him, he was telling his mom who is in Jamaica, what he has been learning. He told her about his baptism and she said that she wants to be baptized. So we are getting missionaries in Jamaica to get in contact with her. He loves sharing the gospel with his family and friends! He doesn’t have custody of his daughter yet but he will. He is super close :)

            Jamie and Tony is a different story. Last Sunday we went and saw them. We gave Jesse a priesthood blessing and it was great and powerful. Well the next day they all got super sick. They were sick up until Wednesday. On Thursday we finally got to see them for like 10 min. They have been trying to catch up with a bunch of stuff so they didn’t have a whole lot of time but it was good and we invited them to the baptism and said they would go and that they were set for church. Well they couldn’t make it to the baptism which was a bummer and on Sunday when we went to go round them up for church, they didn’t answer at all. We tried calling and texting them, to no avail. After church we went over to see them to ask them what happened. When we pulled up they were just getting in the car to go somewhere and when they saw us they didn’t look to happy and they were really standoffish and weird. They just said for us to come and see them this Wednesday. We will see how that goes. We were really sad because they are amazing but we think they have just forgotten why they started investigating the church. We have been praying for them super hard because we don’t want to have to drop them. We will see how it goes on Wednesday! 

             This week we went to go see sister Boga our less active and she gave us a big pep talk. One thing she said was be the kind of tree that has strong roots. She was talking about how important it is to have those strong roots. We need to be strong in the gospel and in our testimonies because that’s the first thing Satan attacks is the roots. She said we don’t pull weeds because we are afraid of the weeds effecting the top of the plant, we pull the weeds to protect the roots. We need to have those strong roots so when the devil sends forth his mighty winds we will be able to with stand it. 

She also told us before we started visiting her that she was thinking about taking her name out of the church. She had been thinking about it a lot but since we started visiting her, she says she doesn’t think about it anymore. She says she thinks a lot about going back to church she said that she never lets anyone really into her house. But she always lets us in because we bring the spirit in her home and she says that we have made such a huge difference in her life. It was amazing! She is the best! :) 

Sister King and I were like Sister's!

            Okay, MRI results. The doctor told me I for sure don’t have what dad has, but that my SI joints aren’t healthy. There has been changes to them because my SI joints are degrading and that’s where my pain in coming from. She also thinks that it might have something to do with muscular stuff so yup! There isn’t much they can do. So everything is at a standstill until I go home. Just something I am going to have to deal with.

Gonna miss Sister King!

            Oh, and transfers! So I am staying and Sister King is transferring :( But I am excited to see who my new comp will be!! It will be an exciting week!! :) 

            I love you all lots!! Have a good week!