I heard from E.Quintana that Maria was getting baptized this saturday and that she wanted me there for it. I didn't really do anything about it right away because I figured it was best that I waited until correlation for ideas on who could give me a ride to Kalamazoo. We had 2 lessons scheduled though on accident right before correlation that would make us way late for the meeting. We went to the first one and we had to sprint on our bikes to be 5 minutes late to the second one. We had it planned to be at the public library and we walked all around the library and couldn't find him for once. And so we decided to head out to correlation.
The second we stepped outside of the library The bus pulled right up. We ran and I waved it down and it stopped and gave us the time we needed to unlock our bikes and put them on the bus. If we didn't make that bus that would have probably caused me to not be able to go the baptism. It was a miracle in it's self that I was able to come to the baptism.
With Maria joining the church this week I am pretty sure I can accomplish my goal of helping 20 people join the church, but it is still gonna be pretty difficult, How many people do you know got 4 baptims in less than 12 weeks start to finish? (not all one miracle super prepared family either) I think about it so much! I pray about it like 30 times a day. But as of yesterday I now have 4 people on date, it's just a matter of getting them there.
Maria's baptism was awesome! I heard parts of the story that I had never heard before. She told us about before I knocked on her door. She saw us walking down the street and she kept telling her son to stay away from the door so she wouldn't have to answer it. SHe told him that several times. But I came and knocked on the door and he ran up and lifted the curtain up from behind the glass door and I waved at him (like I usually do when I see people peek from their windows and try and hide and be sneaky so I don't see them). Maria thought "great.... Now I have to talk to them...."
she prepared a statement on how she is Catholic and not interested but when she opened the door we were glowing. We radiated something she wanted and we helped her see there was things that she didn't know so even though she prepared to shut us down it didn't work and she accepted =p. As she walked away the verse of scripture was brought to her mind from Heb 3:7,15 (or Psalms 95:8-10, or Jacob 6:6 as she later found out it was a combination of such).
You have heard the rest of her story though. But to add more to what I said in the past... Before the baptism I talked to her and she told me that she posted on facebook that she was being baptized and invited others to it, all she got persecuted hard online for it. She got a email the night before she was baptized from a friend that was full of anti literature. It really got to her and she knelt down and prayed about it. She layed awake most of the night because of it. She decided she would pray about it in the morning.
She woke up and all of her worries about the anti was gone, and she realized how stupid it all was and how not true it was, Maria thought of all of the changes and all of the love she felt from God as she followed our teachings and the power of God that did many miracles to help her get to where she is. She knew Satan had his one last struggles to try and derail her, but she didn't give in. I have never taught anyone who was persecuted more than her to try and stop her from joining.
I arrived and saw that she was in a White dress, the very thing she wore in her dream and watched her walk into the font with E. Quintana (who she always told that he looked very familiar to her). I got to see her vision fulfilled, in the very font that she dreamed of.
I gave my departing testimony at Zone Conference this last week. We get our transfer calls this week, it will be my last t-call, I have so much I need to do and learn still! We get 2 p-days this week =p I am pretty sure my companion will be transferred.
Yesterday I took a RM who used to be the Assistant to President like 10 months back, he is back in the area until the week I go home, for work. So we took him out teaching and for a first in a long time actually learned from a "trade off" I haven't learned anything about missionary work from tradeoffs in the past few months, I tend to teach more than I learn (and I try hard to learn from them!!! I am not just prideful and unteachable), It was healthy =p. He had a mind like I do in finding truth from every one and he had some awesome insights!
I have a investigator who is dying to be baptized but we have to keep rescheduling his appointments... He would be baptized tomorrow if he could, but we haven't even hit a commandment yet. He came to church yesterday.
We have another lady who I door knocked into my first day here, we have been teaching her in her fellowshippers home, she loves her fellowshipper! She came to church yesterday too and should be coming to a "empty nesters" event at the church where they feed me (=p) and share messages and have fun. SHe hasn't accepted a date yet but I am certain she will join before I leave.
Another couple are also doing well, I believe they can join before I leave too, they love us like family! The only problem there is our lessons have been WHAKO and I have been fighting 4 people trying to keep us on track and not speculating about other worlds and who lives on them and Jesus visiting them and...and... If we can get them to live the Word of WIsdom and truly repent they already have been taught these things are true and they both agreed to being baptized. I believe they can make it before I go, IF SATAN STOPS GETTING US TO WASTE TIME IN OUR LESSONS WITH THEM!! I am so fired up about that last lesson.
And a lady From Kalamazoo should join this transfer, They are trying to get her husband to be worthy to baptize her and they are both working on the word of wisdom together, from the sounds of it they are really pumped about it too.
Sorry I am out of time and I realized I didn't write any good stories, but all I can think about is my goal and doing the Most good that I can before I can't do this full time.
Well I gotta go,
Bye I love you
Bye I love you
Have a good day!
--Elder Truman Rex Crockett
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