Great Experience

Ok, so I have never shared anything before on this blog. I've thought of things that I might be able to say from time to time, but nothing ever struck me as that important before until I received great news last night around 11 p.m.

I was working on a homework assignment that Caitlin had been helping me on for a while before (thanks a million Caitlin.) I was just going down the home stretch with the project when I got a call all of a sudden from a number I knew was from Mexico. I answered having in my mind who it might be, and it was her. Juanita. Juanita was a lady I found with my companion in Playa del Carmen our first week in that area. We were knocking doors and she came out rather immodestly dressed. We stayed outside of her house and did a quick five minute run down of the restoration pamphlet while we were still standing. We set up a return appointment for later that week. As we were leaving I told my companion that if she didn't read it when we returned, we weren't going to even bother trying to get her to read it more. She was a 24 year old single mother with an 8 year old son. We had learned from other stories that situations as such are usually not worth it.

Well, we returned on the appointment date and set up some chairs outside of her house (even in the 115 degree heat) and talked to her about the pamphlet. She had read it. We were surprised, we didn't think she would read it, let alone understand what it was saying. She shared with us her favorite parts and told us that it made sense to her. We asked her if she prayed about it and she said no, and that she was embarrassed to pray. It took some convincing but we had her pray to end our lesson that day. We invited her to pray about it as well by the next time we came by to see if she received an answer that it was true.

When we returned the next time she had prayed about it, and received an answer that it was true. We wanted her to come to church with us the following sunday, she said she would. We came by sunday to remind her of church later that day, and she said she would be there, but was very short with us because her sister was there. Apparently her sister doesn't want anything to do with the church, and was pretty anti-us at the time.

She didn't end up going to church that day, but we continued to visit her the next week. She continued to understand the doctrine we taught her, and was more and more interested. She was able to come the next sunday, and the following sunday after that, and the next. The rule for baptizing people was that they had to be in church at least three times before they got baptized. One of those times was April General Conference 2008, which was all the way in Cancun, and not expected that any investigators come. But she did, and she loved it.

We baptized her the following saturday after General conference, and we received permission to do it in the ocean, which was a great experience. One that I will always remember.

Juanita and her son Pedro Pablo. Tania and Maria. Maria wasn't baptized until a couple months after.

The reason I wanted to share that story was because she called me last night very late wanting to tell me that she had gone through the temple and taken out her endowments. She was so excited talking about it, and cried a lot of the time while telling me about how she felt. She said how she felt complete, and that she had finally accomplished a huge milestone in the church. She was debating or not whether to call me because of the time, but she said she couldn't help it and wanted to call me anyway. It was the best news i've received since i've been back from the mission. It was a sobering experience as far as remembering the importance of the temple. It was sort of a reversal of teacher and student between she and I. I was really glad she called, and help me realize how important it is to be worthy to be able to attend the temple, and attend it regularly.

Juanita, and two other ladies (mother and daughter) I baptized, Tania, and Maria, also went through the temple yesterday and all took out their endowments. It's been such a blessing to be able to feel the joy and love from God by hearing of these stories. I am so grateful for the experience I had on the mission, and I will never regret anything about it. I feel so blessed, and so loved by my Heavenly Father, and my family for the life that I have.

I have all of you to thank for that.