I added a few more people to this e-mail than usual because of an awesome experience I had this past week. Last week I told you a little about Andres. Andres just turned 18 years old and he has been taking the lessons from the missionaries since he was 13 but his mom is Catholic and wouldn't let him get baptized in the Church. With our recent boundary changes in our ward, Andres belonged to the other ward but now is in ours. There was a little miscommunication with the other missionaries about him. So we had no clue about Andres and him talking with the missionaries. About 2 weeks ago we were waiting out front of the church and Andres walked up to us and told us he was an investigator in our church (at this time we had no clue who he was). So obviously we were a little confused but he wanted us to come over and talk to him. We set a date to go over to his house on Friday. Well Thursday night he gave us a call and told us he wanted to be baptized.... He came to church the next Sunday and we set a date for him to get baptized on the 16th.
He had an interview with the Bishop this past Wednesday and asked the Bishop if he could get baptized this past Saturday because he didn't want to delay the day of his repentance... How awesome is that. He is SUCH a stud and a blessing for us to be able to run into him. So we basically had a surprise baptism that we needed to get ready in 3 days.
All went well during the baptism minus the font overflowing while we went to lunch.... oops. We were in a panic to sweep all the water out the back door of the church but all went well. Simple and spiritual with a few of the members there.
Andres asked me to give him the Holy Ghost Sunday morning in church.... What an AMAZING experience that was. I really wish I could explain in words how it felt to give someone the Holy Ghost. It's one thing to be able to baptize someone but giving Andres the Holy Ghost was by far the greatest feeling I have had on my mission. I fasted the day before to be able to say all the correct things for my first time doing this ordinance (in Spanish I might add haha). But ya, I just wanted to let all of you know how much the Lord blessed us with Andres and also for me with the opportunidad to give Andres the Holy Ghost in Sacrament Meeting.
Our family who have fechas (on date for baptism) were struggling this past week. The daughter and the mom know
they want to get baptized. The dad has a little more doubts. So on Saturday
we had a cita with them and the Spirit was so strong, my comp crying,
the family crying. We asked them ONE last time to pray as a family that
night when we left to see if they should really get baptized the 30th of November
and if the church was true. The next day they weren't able to come to
church but they gave us a call in the middle of church. The dad called
us and was super super happy and said ¨Elders, I got my answer.. I'm
getting baptized on the 30th!!!!¨..... How amazing is that.... hahah I
love it. We had a really good week. and I can tell the Lord is really
blessing us....
The garbageman here in Chile are still on strike.... you can imagine the smell of 3 weeks of trash piled up in
the street.... It's horrible.... Welcome to Chile hahaha. Nah but I'm
loving life. We're getting blessed. I'm being obedient and my patience is
getting better... I think. I miss you all so much but don't worry about
me. I'm happy. These past 7 and a half months have flown by. I'm excited
to see what's ahead of me. There is nothing like the mission.
Elder Paxman
3 comments:
Such awesome news!! I can only imagine what it would feel like to give someone such a sweet gift as the Holy Ghost, and I'm excited for your baptisms on the 16th. I love the pictures. It looks like a beautiful country, but I can really see how the Church would be a bright spot there. Keep up the good work! Hard to believe you've been gone over 7 months.
You never know what is going to happen next on a mission. I had to laugh about the overflowing font because I remember when that happened to two of the Elders in our ward in Wales. They were soooo distraught, but worked like crazy to get as much as possible cleaned up before the baptism. The carpet was still soggy, but the baptism went well. What great blessings coming to you in your service. I'm so glad you are taking this tremendous responsibility seriously and that your dedication is being rewarded. There is nothing like being guided by the Holy Ghost.
What a great blessing to have a baptism just fall into your lap!! I loved looking at the pictures. You live in amazing landscape. Such extremes...desert and dry to snow on the high peaks. The city looks very poor, but I hope the people will warm up the message of hope that you bring. I love, Mason.
G-Pa
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