Adams Baptism Day

Yes, Adam was baptized on Sunday, Aug. 23. It was a wonderful day for he and his family, (and us.) Adam is 9 years old and did not get baptized when he was eight because his Dad and Mom were going thru a divorce and remarriage. They asked us to teach Adam as a convert about a month ago. We have been going to his house every Monday night and teaching his whole family. That consists of Dad, new Mom of about one month and five siblings. Three siblings which are from his real Dad, and two siblings which he inherited from his new mom. We have learned to love and enjoy the family very much, but they are struggling in their bonding.

They came to church yesterday, even though Laura, the new mom was not feeling well at all. She had to sit out on the couch during church and spent the rest of the time out in their surburban with the motor running and air conditioning going. She was not able to see the baptism because she was feeling so bad. Elder Whiting baptized Adam, I played the piano and gave the talk on Baptism. Karl Garst gave the other talk and his Dad gave the closing prayer through his tears. It was a great experience and the spirit was strong. Ennis, the Dad asked if we would come back and teach them some more. Since we already have an appointment tonight, we are going back next week. They are a sweet family and we are praying that they make it together.

This past week was zone conferences and interviews with the president. We loved the meetings and the spirit we felt. It is such a privilege to be a missionary. It is such a witness of the Holy Ghost and the reality of our spiritual nature. President Smith gave us encouragement and told us how appreciated we were. We had felt pretty wasted in our area. As a matter of fact, our District leader wrote our area on the board, (with the others,) and accidently left out the "L". It read "Suphur Springs." We laughd about that and said it was a good name for it. Since then we have lovingly referred to it has "Suffer Springs." But now we repent and are trying to do better.

We have three new teaching appointments this week. one of them is a referral from the Bishop, a less active girl who is dating a non member who wants to hear the lessons, Eric. The next one is a referral from another area of Texas, who is a friend of a member. The last one is the mother of someone who is a less active member. We are hoping to see some success with some of these. We need prayers so that the spirit can guide us and help us as we teach them.

We have found some success as we have been helping a couple of less actives. Cory seems to be very appreciative and is reading the Book of Mormon with us. J R is coming around slowly, he has not been back to church, though. He is not thrilled with the members in Sulphur Springs. He also wants to get married very badly again, to someone who lives in Texas. He has a deep testimony, but does not have the deep commitment to the church.

We are also still teaching Ephren Espinoza. We have gone clear back to the creation of the world. He has believed in Scientology, just because no one had ever taught him about the creation and the things of God. We are now teaching him of the New Testament and about the life of Jesus Christ. Then we will show him the movie on the Restoration. At that point we should be able to move on with the lessons. Ephren is going into the Navy and we are hoping to get him baptized before he leaves; that is if he and his wife cooperate.

Yesterday in our Sulphur Springs Branch, we thought we felt a turning point with them. Many of them had been to the Temple the day before and there was a different feeling in our meetings. We hope that it was real and not imagined. They seemed more open and committed to helping us and each other. We hope it continues.

We are loving our mission. Even though we have difficult days, we feel the spirit very strongly. We know that Heavenly Father is directing this work and are so grateful for the many things he does for us. We are learning to love the people and enjoy their families.

On Saturday we met Christy and Boyd in Greenville for dinner. It was Christy's birthday and we celebrated. We found an IHOP and spent about two hours together. They are growing and loving their membership in the church. They are also very commited and attend all of their meetings. We are so proud of them.