A lot happened this week. Yesterday Monica got baptized! =)
Don´t know if you remember Monica. She has been ready for baptism since she stopped drinking coffee two weeks ago and told us last Sunday that she wanted to change the day of her baptism so that her boyfriend could come. So she was baptized yesterday. We almost couldn´t baptize her. it wasn´t due to a problem she has with the gospel or anything. We didn´t have any water in the church! yep. scared us half to death. We got to the church turned on the boiler and everything was all fine and dandy. after sacrament meeting we went to turn on the water like we´ve done in the past. and nothing. we went into the bathroom and tried using the sink. nothing. the first thing that came to my mind was "someone does not want this to happen." I said a silent prayer in that moment and really it was something beautiful. We started thinking of ways to fix everything. We called the members of our district and asked them to start filling the font in there church. we talked to the bishop and his counselors and they told us to look for the custodian of the church. as luck would have it, he didn´t come that day. So we continued to pray. I thought that maybe someone had forgotten to pay the water for the church. then, out of the blue, water started filling the font. someone had shut off the water and Hermano Capetillo opened it in from up on the roof. It was literally a miracle. Usually it takes hours to fill the font. yet we had sufficient to baptize Monica in exactly the right moment. I can´t explain it better than this. Trust in the Lord and miracles will happen.
The pictures you see there is of Monica and her family and her boyfriend. the kids who are a tad older are her children. They have a baptismal date for this Saturday. We pray for them to receive their personal answers (James chapter 1:5) and to know of the truth of this church and be baptized.
Felipe came to church with us! he is seriously one of the coolest people i have met in my life. I just feel happy around him. You know what he told/asked me in one class? he commented "this class has a lot of higher doctrine, right? looks like I´ve got a lot of reading to do." Sweet! he is an incredible man. One of the things that surprised us Sunday is that he came to church in a suit. There are members of our church that come to church in jeans but he came in a suit on a hot day. Can you say "de oro" ? I feel as though he has been prepared since.... well forever! His baptismal date is the 27 of this month. Of course we are praying for him to follow what he feels and keep his commitments with us but more importantly with the Lord.
Miracles happen if you look for them. We didn´t have anyone to teach a month ago. and now.....it all has to do with faith. We need to keep on finding more, exercising prayers and faith. Will you join us in praying that we can find more families to teach?
Our Mission President, Del Valle is incredible. I love that man and i know he needs our support. We always pray for him to continue helping us in this work by his leadership.
I love you all. You are always in my prayers.
Elder Ben Williams
Dear Ben,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading of your miracle baptism and the Lord's hand in making it happen. Prayer really works and He is involved in every part of this great
Kingdom building process. I wanted to share my own experience in the temple recently. It was truly another miracle in my eyes.
The Lord’s Comfort
I learned first hand of the Lord’s comfort in the work we are doing here in the temple. I was assigned to be an escort for an own endowment. It was my first time serving as an Own Endowment Attendant.
I was told to wait for this sister by the front desk. As the time passed for her to arrive, I got concerned. I peeked out the curtain and as I did, I saw a small group of
people by the flagpole in front of the temple. An elderly brother dropped his temple bag and was beginning to fall over. A younger brother (who turned out to be this man’s son), ran to his aid. The brother in trouble, was laid down on the bench.
I rushed to the front desk and asked the brother there to call for help. He called 911 and then motioned for me to go to the office to ask for Security. I went to the office and told them there was a problem. By the time I got back to the front desk, Security was already outside.
The brother at the front desk was being given information by the 911 call. Not long after that happened, the mother and the Own Endowment Sister came into the temple. The mother asked me if I would get her daughter started on her Initiatory and I agreed. The mother left to be with her father-in-law.
The Own Endowment sister, Britnee, was crying. This was not the way she thought she would spend her day in the temple, I am sure. I gave Britnee a big hug and she melted in my arms. I told her there was no better place for this to happen because everyone loved her here.
We proceeded to the Bride’s Room and got her dressed for her Initiatory. After we finished we found Britnee’s mother waiting in the Bride’s Room. Sister Hales met them in the Instruction Room and then we met in the Chapel.
I sat and watched as the whole family, including Britnee’s husband to be, rejoiced together again. I was so surprised to see Britnee’s Grandfather in the Chapel. It was thought that he had a stroke but then he must have recovered enough to be there for his beautiful Granddaughter.
My favorite part in the Endowment Session was watching this groom-to-be watch his future bride with the most loving glances. What had started out to be a very difficult time turned into a magnificent spiritual experience.
The Celestial Room was never brighter with more hope than ever for Eternal Happiness. The Temple is indeed a source of abundant blessings.
Joyce Cory
A grateful temple worker
Postscript……The day I got home from this experience, I received a message from a young girl I taught as a Sunbeam and a Beehive. She had married out of the temple and I wondered if she would become active again. Lauren sent me a message to ask a favor. She was living in Las Vegas again and was teaching the Activity Days in Primary. I was so happy to read this and know she was not only attending church again but serving in the church.
Lauren asked me to share some of the special experiences I have had in the temple. I was so grateful that I had just had one of the most spiritual experiences to share. Lauren told me she and her husband are working on being sealed and hope to be able to do it before her husband is deployed. What a great ending to an amazing day.
I love the temple!!