We were caught off guard this week as we walked into our appointment with Natividad. We sat down and before we could even say a prayer the first thing she said to us was, "I am going to be baptized on the 30th of July!" We were both ecstatic of course and asked her, "So what happened?" She told us how she'd been studying The Book of Mormon earnestly and sincerely for the first time and how she'd been praying that week to know if it was true. She woke up in the middle of the night the day before our appointment with her mind filled with what she'd been reading from The Book of Mormon. She said she felt inspired to pray and she rolled out of bed and began to pray. After about 30 minutes of prayer on her knees she said that she felt the spirit powerfully witnessing to her that what she'd been reading was true and that it was time for her to be baptized. She sobbed. It was a really sweet experience. I'm looking forward to her baptism.
Josselyn got baptized and confirmed this weekend! Woo! She is the girl who prayed and made a promise with God and got her residency in the US. I attached a picture of us with her parents at the baptism.
She's the girl in the middle with wet hair (we took the picture after the baptism because she was embarrassed about having to wear a 'fat white jumpsuit' that didn't fit her and didn't want picture of her in it.) The baptism was sweet and the members of the branch were really supportive of her. It was good to see them extend a hand and open their hearts to receive her into the branch.
We have a lot of work going on right now in our area and several more baptisms for the upcoming 2 or 3 weeks. We were teaching Maria this week and had left her an assignment to read and think about the application of 1 Nephi 8, Lehi's Vision. I was really impressed at how well she understood it and the conclusions and insights that she took from it. We just let the scriptures and the spirit do all the work and all we did was facilitate the teaching moment. I explained to her that just like Lehi did I feel a strong desire to share the fruit of tree of life with others and that that was why we were teaching her, so that she could enter the path through the waters of baptism. She really liked the application and she felt the spirit really strongly. She said that she's been praying and knows that what she's read in The Book of Mormon is true and that she wants to be baptized someday. She will be baptized in coming weeks.
I am soaking in every moment and taking of advantage of every opportunity. I want to be able to finish my mission strong and have no regrets and about how I served or what I did. I know that through our hard work and obedience that God is blessing us abundantly insomuch that we are privileged to see the fruit of the harvest. I love this work and know it to be the work of God.
with much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
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