We have had an absolutely amazing week, but I'm going to have to keep this really short:
Tracy was baptized! She's seriously the sweetest person I've ever met. I'm so happy for her! I'm really glad Sister Sandoval and I were able to make it to her baptism!
Dena is doing great! We have an amazing member named Grace who has become her best friend in the ward. Grace drove us all to the temple yesterday! Dena is still looking for her answer about whether or not she should
be baptized. We're doing all that we can to help her! She just needs to open her eyes and see that God has been giving her an answer. She always feels happy when she does anything related to the gospel, whether it's going to church, reading the Book of Mormon, meeting with us, praying...anything! She's come such a long way!
So when we first got to this area, a member told us she had a friend who wanted to meet with us. We were finally able to meet with him! His name is Joshua. He had a crazy experience 4 or 5 months ago- he was speeding (a LOT) and ended up rolling his car 10 times. He had several other people in his car. Miraculously, no one was harmed but him, and he only broke one rib. That broken rib left a scar in the shape of a cross. He had an out-of-body experience where he saw a man sitting on a throne and a woman standing on the right side of the man. Joshua told us he communicated with the man through his heart and thoughts while he was standing in front of him and he felt overwhelming love. I'm guessing this happened while he was clinically dead for a time. He said when he came back, he saw the spirits of his friends going back into their bodies. This experience made Joshua realize that he is here for a reason! He asked us to teach him about the Restoration. As we taught him, he took everything in! He really understands the importance of the Priesthood and accepted the invitation to be baptized! This is amazing, because he told us he was just baptized last week. He really wants to find the truth! He's going out of town in the middle of April, so we're trying to figure out if he should be baptized before he leaves or if he should continue investigating at his new area. Joshua's prayer at the end of the lesson was honestly the most sincere prayer I have ever heard in my life. It's so wonderful to see God's hand in his life!
We found a new investigator named Arthur and, like Joshua, he really wants to find the truth. He said he's been baptized 3 or 4 times but still feels like something is missing. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation and it was soooo neat because although he had never heard of God's plan of happiness for us in the way we presented it, it's what he came to believe after thinking and pondering about it by himself all his life. My favorite part was when we taught him about the three degrees of glory. In his own thinking, he was stuck on the concept of heaven and hell. He had never heard anything other than it but the concept made no sense to him. He really hoped he would get to go to heaven! He was really doubtful because of the guilt from his sins that weighed him down. We taught him about repentance and the Atonement and he was so happy to learn that he could be clean and live with God again! It's what he'd always hoped for, but he didn't know if it was possible. Arthur is going to be baptized on April 23!
I know that God is our loving Heavenly Father. He allows us to have challenges and trials, whatever they may be, so we can learn from them and have joy as we live now and also joy for eternity. He loves us and He wants us to return to Him, so he sent His perfect son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, to perform the Atonement and make up the difference we could not pay by ourselves. The Book of Mormon testifies it! Read it! If you've already read it, read it again! If you've never read it before and don't have a copy, email me and I'll send one to you :)
I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
Sister Bedont
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