January 23, 2012

Hello from Northern Mexico!

This has been an awesome week. On Saturday I was able to attend the baptism of two boys (Kenneth and Kevin Ewing) back in Hesperia! This was a baptism we set up when I was there. It is cool to see that things that we worked on months ago are coming to fruition. It was a very spiritual experience.  Their dad who had been less active was able to baptize them. It was a sweet experience for that family, and I feel it will bless them for years to come. It was great to be one of the few assisting in the confirmation given by the Bishop. It was also such a blessing to see everyone from the Arrowhead Ward. I have some friends there that I will have for the rest of my life. I hope I can continue to gain friends and build relationships like those throughout my mission. We had Stake Conference on Sunday and we were able to be Instructed via satellite by Elder L. Tom Perry. It is cool to see how the Apostles give specific instruction and inspired guidance for each area. This broadcast went out to all of Southern California. This morning we had a "district breakfast" over at the Lake Arrowhead Missionaries' apartment. We bought a lot of food and the six of us ate it all. :) I was surprised we did, though knowing missionaries I shouldn't be.:) I hesitate to put this part in the email but I do so anyway. :) while we were there a couple of raccoons were participating in an intricate part of life right on the doorstep (I will leave that up to interpretation:). Just one of the many things you see while here in this vast wilderness. The Zone Conference we had on Thursday was one I will never forget. There were car inspections and Elder Brown and I came prepared. This inspection is also a competition and they pick the cleanest car out of the two zones, and guess what.... WE WON!!! We cleaned, we came, and we conquered. Elder Brown says that he can now leave his mission happy.:) Hopefully President Godwin was paying attention as to give him more of an incentive to keep me in car areas. :) It did help that our Branch Mission Leader Bro. Scullin owns a car wash and we get free washes and vacuuming.:) But despite how glorious that victory was the real victory was knowing that I helped in some way assisting two more into the waters of baptism. I hope to continue working, having success, and maybe having a little bit of fun on the side. :) Thanks for reading about my simple joys of being a missionary.