On Thursday we got to meet our new Mission President! He brought his wife and two daughters so we got to get to know them a little bit as well. They are SO young! We walked into the building and President Passey was standing right there talking to someone and I thought he was just a missionary! So they have a 14 year old daughter, 16 year old son, a son that is serving a mission in Florida, and a daughter that is married. They are from Denton Texas and they are so stoked to be here! It was a lot of fun but kind of weird. It will take some time to get used to saying President Passey instead of President Killpack.
The fourth was a weird day. So we usually do weekly planning on Fridays and that takes up a lot of time. And we knew that a lot of the people we visit weren't going to be home so we were a little worried about what we would do with our time. We ended up having dinner at one of our members homes. We love them SO much! They are always so willing to help us out and make sure we have what we need. They had asked us about 2 weeks ago what we were doing for the fourth and just invited us then to go spend it with their family! So sweet! We had such a blast. The only bummer was that we had to go in at 8 just to make sure we were all safe so we didn't end up getting to see any fireworks. Totally lame. But it rained a little that day so I was more grateful for that haha.
And now... the long awaited for news... Sean's Baptism! It was so great! He was so excited! His mom gave a talk about baptism and then a member of the branch that came with us to visit him a lot talked about the gift of the holy ghost. They were both really great, spiritual talks. When it came time for the baptism, it took three tries to get him fully submerged. But he was such a trooper and was just as excited. He made a joke later that he must have just been so dirty that it took 3 times to wash him clean. We gave him some time after to bear his testimony and as I've said before, sometimes we are a little worried about whether he will take something seriously or not. But it was incredible. He gave such a spiritual testimony and Sister Blackford and i were both about in tears. We went to visit them later and he was just so happy. He was talking about how he just felt so great and that it was incredible to finally feel like he was part of something and to have such a big church family now. At the time, his dad also shared a story with us about something that had been happening for the past couple days. So they had gone camping with family and while they were out, all of Sean's brothers and sisters kept offering him beer. He said normally he was the one that was the party animal and was always drinking. But this time when they offered it to him, he said "I don't do that anymore". And they said that all day they just kept trying to get him to drink and he never once gave in or budged on his decision. Not even a little. We are so excited for him. He was given the gift of the holy ghost on Sunday and had an interview with our Branch President after about receiving the priesthood. When he came out, Sean came over and told us that President Arbizo had given him a challenge to prepare and go to the temple in a year. Sean is so excited for that new goal he has. He was telling us about how he will never slow down. How he plans on going to the temple but not stopping there. He says "I've got my wings and now I am going to fly!" I am just so incredibly grateful and humbled that I was able to be a part of this change and watch as he totally changed his life around for something he knows is right. I can't wait to see how much more the blessings of the gospel will change his life. I love this work!
So as you can tell, it is Tuesday instead of Monday! We had transfers this week and Sister Blackford went to Deming New Mexico! Sister Aleman came here and we are so excited to serve together! She is fluent in Spanish so i am excited to have her help me out! haha
Well I love ya'll so much! Have a good week and remember who you are!
Hermana Lundquist