We
finally got authorization to baptize Ken this upcoming Saturday! It's been a
long four months for him and he's been so patient to finally received a signed
letter from the first presidency giving him permission to enter the waters of
baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Everyone in our district is so
excited for him and want to be there to meet him on that special day. We had
President Richards come and interview him and it was such a special experience.
Whenever I've lacked patience out here on the mission or have longed to be
somewhere else, I think back to Ken and how much gratitude he's shown for his
experiences and the great amount of faith he has to continue to press forward.
Although
we had this amazingly wonderful news come to us, we sadly had to cancel
Kiosha's baptism for this past weekend. We were told by her caretaker that her
and other members of her home aren't allowed out or to have anyone come in
until everyone there has gotten the covid booster shot. It's gonna be awhile
'till that happens but until then we will co tune to have lessons with her over
zoom. We did have a zone-wide fast for Dee in the Pearland Ward and also for
Kiosha so we hope things move along smoothly and go well for both of them.
I
had a great experience on exchanges this week. I went to Pearland to be with
another greeny, Elder Tuckett. We were on bikes the whole time and it was
great. There aren't any hills or mountains here in Texas, so the closest thing
I got to experience to the Big Sur day on our coastal bike tours was going up
and down an overpass 2 times. It was super anti-climactic. We had the chance to
talk to Judy who is a nice old lady who is excited to get baptized, but also
loves sharing about the demons she talks to and sees every night. I'm sure the
ammonia and alcohol she douses her mattress with doesn't help with that any.
Luckily, Elder Tuckett and I got her on track by teaching her the Word of
Wisdom and she was very agreeable with everything we taught.
It's
been a long week of contacting and trying to set up lessons and it's gotten
very frustrating at times, but through it all I've been able to remember the
miracles I've seen and also been able to experience many new ones. I know that
as we continue to put our faith in Christ and serve Him, He will help us and
bless us in ways we may not even be able to imagine.
-Elder
Thompson
