So this week has been utter madness. Yesterday, we we headed out to find a lone less-active member who lives in the tiny town of Hastings. We went from wow-this-is-a-bit-far to um-we-might-have-just-left-
But all the madness is fine because Jaime and Sierra got baptized this Saturday! Which was just incredible. This is the first time anyone I have taught has progressed all the way to baptism. Getting ready for it was utterly crazy though. I was reminding myself constantly that today's trials will be tomorrow's blessings (and tomorrow's funny stories) so now that it's past, I can laugh at everything that happened.
President Herrington (who is a counselor in the mission presidency and who had conducted Jaime's interview) had warned all of us that the week before baptism is usually pretty tough. Jaime was working on quitting smoking and wasn't anticipating anything to be harder than that. But the next day, two people proposed to her out of the blue, which I thought was really hilarious. We'd decided to hold this baptism at the church instead of the beach, which was a lot better based on the weather reports and the health of Jaime's parents, but we first had to scrub the baptismal font for a few hours before we had it sparkling clean again. It was slightly tough to find baptismal clothes for both Jaime and Sierra, though we managed fine in the end. More distressing though, was the news that the entire bishopric was out of town that day, so we asked the high priest group leader, the elders quorum president, and a bunch of other group leaders with no success. So slightly frazzled, we called up President Herrington (who used to be the stake president and could technically preside) and he gave us a definite maybe. So the day of the baptism, in the midst of making a few dozen cookies and trying to convince our speaker that he didn't need ten powerpoint slides for his 3-5 minute talk, President Herrington called and told us that not only was he coming; the entire mission presidency (plus Sister Craig) was coming too! It was great to have them, but we were a little stressed about getting everything perfect, especially since this was the first baptism I have ever put on. By the way, none of this is me complaining about a hard week, but it's funny to see how hard Satan was trying to foil Jaime's baptism and how beautifully it went in the end. Jaime and Sierra were both so happy and beaming. Sierra told me that she'd finally received her answer that this was the right thing for her and how glad she was that she'd taken this step of faith. We had to stall a little bit during the service while we waited for Jaime's parents and sister to make it (they'd driven all the way from Daytona!) but they got there in the nick of time and had a wonderful experience. And while it seemed like the entire ward was out of town/working/had family visiting, everyone's plans suddenly fell through and they showed up to the baptism instead! It was a bit of a trial of faith to see 5:00 roll around and there are 3 people present, but by 5:15 there are 30. It was just miracle after miracle. The Spirit was so strong through the whole thing and it was just perfect. They were so happy and their family was happy to see them happy. Bishop Marsh confirmed both of them in sacrament meeting the next day. Jaime is getting called as a visiting teacher (she requested it) and Sierra is started her Personal Progress and making plans to serve a mission in between school (she wants to become a lawyer). Another miracle: our ward had no Mia Maids at all, but with Sierra and Crystal getting baptized, we now have two! We've gotta find and teach some deacon-age boys now.
I received some interesting insight this week: both Jaime and Sierra have told me how strongly they felt impressed by the Spirit in sacrament meeting. Jaime said several times how real and sincere everyone was, especially when they bore their testimonies. They weren't pretending to be perfect in front of the rest of the congregation, but they were really striving to live the principles and commandments they spoke about. Each time Jaime took me aside to tell me something amazing she'd felt, I'd think something like "Well, I don't see what was so special; it was just a regular meeting. All the speakers were good, for sure, and I learned something valuable, but it wasn't the most spiritual experience I've ever had." (I'm not proud of that thought.) But for Jaime and Sierra, church really WAS the most spiritual experience they've ever had before. It made me realize that out here on a mission and having attended church my whole life, I am immersed enough in the Spirit that I can sort of take it for granted when it is present. I can feel the difference instantly when it is gone, but the people I meet out here don't know that different. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we know that difference and it is incredible.
That's about it for this week! Also, transfers next week, so we'll see where I go!
Love everyone,
Sister Nielsen
Pictures: At the baptism!
Sierra dyed Sister Shumway's hair last P-day
The font really did look a lot better afterwards
Also, quotable quotes by Sierra immediately following her baptism: "Wow, I really do feel clean! Thought you guys were kidding about that."
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