Gary's Baptism.

Aloha family! So, I am totally going to avoid the topic of Hawaii right now, because you would get nothing but a very long, envious rant...but as for now, I am happy and well and I had an incredible week! Here's the deets:

Between going to the temple on Monday and Saturday, the week was crazy slow and pretty uneventful...but Saturday has ranked to be one of my very favorite days of my entire mission. 

 the morning, we boarded a bus and headed back to my Southport home. It was a very strange mix of emotions, driving past all the sights and streets that I have worked for the past 4 and a half months before Crosby. It was weird, but when we entered the chapel, I had a sweet reunion with the members of Southport that I grew to love. But the best moment, was obviously seeing Gary there. He made it! After a few months of miracles and heartaches, Gary the man finally made it to baptism. Haha it will definitely be a baptism I will never forget too, for a completely different reason! There was a technical difficulty with the font, and we could only get about 2 feet of water in it. So...for the first time I experienced a "sitting baptism". Basically, Gary had to just sit on the font floor and slowly lean back until he was completely under the water and laying on the floor. Haha it was pretty unique, but it totally worked. He went completely under, even though it was awkward. Too legit to quit. Especially with baptisms being in very short supply here in England, this day had already been made one of my favorite memories so far.

After the baptism in the morning, we then traveled back to Crosby for another baptism! It was for Anita, one of the sister's investigators that has been investigating for over 3 years.She pretty much already seemed like a member, but finally made up her mind and gained the confidence to go through with it all the way. The baptismal service was incredibly spiritual, especially with President Ulrich giving a powerhouse talk on the Holy Ghost. At most baptisms, the talks are usually really light and happy and a little fluffy......nope, not this one. This talk was powerful and deep and intense, and we all learned so much more about the Holy Ghost. President Ulrich is pretty much a living Bruce R. McConkie, and I love it.

The thing that made this day the most special though, happened after the baptism. Sister Klingonsmith was able to make it all the way here from Shrewsbury because her companion taught Anita in the past, and the reunion with her was awesome. However afterwards, she asked President Ulrich if he could give her a blessings for more health issues that have just come up, and she asked me to join. So the three of us went into a room....and I experienced the most powerful blessing I have ever experienced in my entire life. Like, Sister Klingonsmith and I walked out of the room and all we could do was look at each other and say..."wow, that just happened." Without getting into the sacred details, I just want to tell you all that I have an even stronger testimony that God is real. He speaks through his chosen and ordained leaders. Angels are literally by our side. Elements obey righteous commands. And the Holy Ghost can empower and sanctify us. I know this to be true, amen.

I love you all, and even though I fight Hawaii trunkiness everyday, I love being a missionary here in England. Transfers are next week, and even though I'm pretty sure I am staying in Crosby, I will let you know the final deets on Monday. Till then, peace out!

Elder BA