Missionary Slim and the Triple Baptism (Week 6 in Pennsylvania, Week 6 in Lebanon, PA)

As with every week, this one was one of many ups and downs. Take this past Tuesday as an example: It was an exchange. Elder Rowzee and I were together again. It was great to be back with my old MTC companion, and together, we planned to baptize the entire area, all in one day. Unfortunately, the best laid plans never really work out. Our first idea was to tract in the richer neighborhood over on the west end of our area. This was a lovely neighborhood of newer houses which more than likely had families living in them. And, as we all know, every missionary loves to baptize families! Alas, door after door didn't answer. During the whole time we were there, not a single person answered the door. Numerous people were outside gardening (it was a very nice day, fortunately), but none of them wanted to listen to us. No luck.

Then, we went to our first appointment. Fell. Second. Fell. Third. Fell. Fourth and Fifth... Yep. Fell. I was pretty disappointed, and especially sad because I was hoping Elder Rowzee and I would be able to have a lesson together and I could see how much he had improved since the MTC. Sadly, we didn't get the chance. We even had a guy cuss us off his porch with the threat of sicking his dogs on us! Needless to say, when we got back to the apartment, we were relieved that the day was over.

 Don't worry though! That was the only even remotely bad day out of the entire week. The rest of the week was pretty fantastic. I think that was in part because of all the lessons we had with John. John is the chain-smoking investigator. We've been able to visit with him every day this week, and we've seen the change it's had. He went from saying "I don't think I can quit these smokes" to "I know I can do this!" He seems to be happier, and even though his life is rough. Another thing about him - He's always asking us if we have any 'new recruits', as in new investigators. It wasn't until this week that I learned what exactly he meant by that. He's asking us if we've found any new female recruits. He's really wanting us to find him his true love and baptize her so he can get together with her! Part of me hopes we can, because I know nothing will make him happier than a righteous wife.

We also got to visit Jamie, who we haven't seen in forever! He's really taken a step back. He doesn't really want to investigate the church anymore. We were just a little bit frustrated, but fortunately the Spirit was able to direct our conversation. We severely emphasized that ours was the only true church of Christ with the true authority to perform the ordinances. We encouraged him to read the Book of Mormon to know if what we said was true. Before we talked, he didn't really realize how important the Book of Mormon was to his conversion, but now he does. He told us he's going to really study it this next week, pray about it, and then get back to us. So, we won't be seeing Jamie until a week from Wednesday, but hopefully he gets his answer.

There is another interesting person who we've been talking to. Her name is Andrea. Her mom is a minister and her dad is that guy I talked about last time who was going on about how we need to tell the Pope about the priesthood (we still haven't been able to meet with him since then). Andrea really wants to know about other churches, but doesn't seem to be interested in changing her own beliefs. Again, we emphasized the Book of Mormon and how essential it is to conversion. She also promised to find out for herself if it is true.

We taught some pretty interesting new people too. There was this girl named Xylina who we tracted into last week. We knock on her door. She opens it, wearing just enough clothing. She explained that she is an 'exotic dancer.' Elder Nelson and I start talking to her about the Gospel, Jesus Christ, and our message, and as we talked, we could see how self-conscious she was. She really expressed a desire to repent, but at the same time said that she wasn't on the best of terms with Jesus and didn't feel like changing. We set up an appointment for Saturday. When we came back, she was wearing more clothes (thankfully), and asked a lot of really good questions, such as "If there was a prophet before, why isn't there one now?" and "Why doesn't God talk to us personally?" It's obvious that she's in darkness about a lot of things, but she really wants to learn more and come more into the light.

And the most exciting thing from this week: The baptism of the three Galloway girls! Samata, Ashley, and Ashanti were all baptized this past Sunday! But, before I get to that, I need to talk about the events leading up.

So he could baptize his daughters, Darren Galloway was conferred the priesthood this past Sunday, so to prepare him for that, we taught him about it. We focused on the scriptures and read to him from D&C 13, D&C 20, D&C 84, and D&C 121. If you want to know how the priesthood works, read those sections. They really put everything into focus and show you what the responsibilities of priesthood holders are, how they should exercise their priesthood, and what blessings they and the people they serve can get.

The ordination itself was pretty unique though. In fact, Darren almost didn't get it. That morning, I went on exchange with one of our zone leaders, Elder Scoble, so his companion, Elder Gerratt, could come here. You see, Elder Gerratt was the one who baptized Darren, and the counselor in our mission presidency encouraged him to confer the priesthood on him. Darren had it rough, though. He works night-shift, and this past Sunday, he didn't even get off work until fifteen minutes before church started. Elder Nelson and Elder Gerratt, upon seeing Darren and Maria weren't at church, rushed over to their home. They rang the doorbell, sang songs outside, but nothing they tried worked - Darren was sound asleep. Before they left Darren's house, the elders said a prayer, and with faith (more with despair that the baptism wouldn't be happening). But, as soon as they got back to the church, they got a text from Maria saying they'll be able to make it back in time for the 3rd hour of church, meaning he would be able to get the priesthood after all!

With that small issue out of the way, the baptism went through without a hitch. (Well, the refreshments never did make it to the church, but that's such a small thing to worry about) The three girls were super excited to be baptized, Darren, though super nervous, was able to perform the ordinance, the service was wonderful, and incredibly spiritual. Many of the ward members came (much to Samanta's dismay; she didn't want anyone to be there), and the support was incredible! The girls will be confirmed the coming Sunday, and I'll be privileged to do one of the confirmations. I'm stoked about that.

So, overall, the week has been a good one. This past transfer has been great. Yes, I've made it through the first 6 week section of my mission (for those of you who don't know, every six weeks is called a transfer, because missionaries spend time in areas 6 weeks at a time. Sometimes they move after those 6 weeks, usually they stay). I've also officially been a missionary for 2 months, and in that time I've seen a lot of blessings and miracles. Again, thanks for all of the support which all of you show me. It really does make a difference.

Best wishes! Elder Anderson