Dear family and friends

I cannot describe how incredible this weekend was. I had the chance to be a part of two baptisms. Suzanne was baptized on Saturday and Bronson Luce, a young man I taught in Running Springs, asked if I could baptize him on Sunday. Suzanne's baptism will be a cherished memory for the rest of my life. The entire program ran perfectly including a talk on baptism given by her three children Taylor, Riley, and Bryce. The only thing that went wrong is that the Big Bear building does not have a working water heater at the moment. :( The water was cold. When Suzanne and I stepped into the font both of us reacted to the cold water. She said " wow it is cold," and I replied "don't worry it will be worth it." After we were dried off and in our seats, Sister Jo Ann Holm gave an amazing talk about the The Gift of the Holy Ghost. During her talk Sister Holm asked Suzanne how she was feeling. Suzanne replied saying "There is just so much happiness, so much joy." The spirit was a lot stronger than I had anticipated. After the service I asked "did you enjoy your baptism." She said "yes, It was so worth it." As I have thought about, that my mind was brought back to my home, where a picture of Christ is displayed with the words "I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it." The sacrifices we make to follow Jesus Christ are so small compared with what he has in store for us. Bronson's baptism was an amazing experience as well. In April I had the opportunity to baptize his mom. He too has finally decided to take that step. It was great to see everyone in Running Springs again. I keep telling them that they won't see me again, and I am always happy to be wrong. When the baptism was finished his mother was in tears. I hope Bronson remembers the spirit that he felt for the rest of his life. On a complete side note there was a lady at the baptism that I tracted into seven months ago! She is now investigating the church! It is cool to see how even the planting of the smallest seed can grow immensely down the road. Something else happened this last week that is worth mentioning. Before the baptisms we picked up a two week missionary from Rancho Cucamonga named David Kaufusie. He wanted to give mission life a try, and they chose Elder DeVaney and I to be the missionaries to show him the ropes. It is times like these that I wonder if President Godwin knows what he is doing. :) He is Tongan! We have had so much fun these last five days. I now have a Tongan name. It is "pālangivai". It means White Water!! :) I think you can figure out why this is my Tongan name. :) Well Until next week. I love my mission, and I'm sure Nate will love his too!