Yesterday we had the baptism of an older woman that we have been teaching named Martha. She has been wonderful from the start, always very open and excited to have us over. We have high hopes that over the course of the next couple weeks her husband (who usually is in D.F. living with his mom to take care of her) and her son (who is often there who just has a couple struggles with the law of chastity), and her two grandkids (who usually leave on the weekends to be with the mom) can all get baptized too. They are truly a wonderful family.
The baptism was very special. Martha has a phobia of water very very deeply-rooted (even taking showers makes her extremely nervous), but she battled against that to get baptized. She got in the water ok, but the instant that she was submerged the trauma all came and scared her to bits. Thank heavens Elder Fjerstad managed to get her all the way under the first time and we didn't have to repeat the ordinance. Even though after about 10 seconds of trembling she was fine, I was very impacted. It was not easy for her to get baptized and she knew that she was going to be scared out of her mind, but she did it anyway. I want to be as dedicated to doing this work as she was to getting baptized. So that it doesn't matter what fear or pain or temptation I have thrown at me, I continue strong and faithful with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. That I am willing to even be bruised and beaten, if it is the Lord's will.
That is, after all, what Christ did. His complete submission led Him to bleed from every pore in Gethsemane. Though he knew beforehand that the Lord's will involved that, he drank from the cup. I want to be more like that.
Our work with the ward is going very very well. We have been spending a lot of time visiting the ward council in their homes to inspire/help/serve them so that they can be a little more self-sufficient in sharing the Gospel. And we are receiving a lot of support with the investigators. We continue finding new investigators and we continue bringing people to church. They really aren't a lot of people, but they are really really good people that are progressing.
Elder Fjerstad and I are doing well. We are looking for ways to find more investigators and to help them begin progressing as well. We have been working so much with the ward that we have neglected a little our own efforts, and we will be getting better in that. We have a lot of work to do.
Love you all! Have a great week! :D
Love,
Elder Kennington
Preguntas Bien Rapidito
Q: Do people put up Christmas lights on the outsides of their homes there?
A: If they can afford them, yep! The Christmas Spirit here takes more form in fun breads, stories, banners, and the like. :)
Q: With no Thanksgiving holiday sandwiched in between Halloween and Christmas, when do you start seeing Christmas filling the stores, streets and homes?
A: We started seeing Christmas right after Halloween. I think I have officially become one of those people that starts celebrating Christmas obscenely early. I love Christmas so much!!
Q: How are the three sisters (Giselle and her sisters) and their mother doing?
A: They are doing great! In the last two baptismal services Giselle gave a talk, and Abigail (the youngest) said one of the prayers. We couldn't talk her into sharing a scripture... :) Catherine (the middle one) is doing ok. SHe started working Sundays, and we haven't seen her a lot. From what we see and know she is doing well. :) Hortencia is doing ok. She really really really really wants to get baptized, but her husband hasn't changed a bit. When people ask why she hasn't been baptized she says that she is Fiona and that her ogre is back home. :P :)
Helped the Elders out a lot with these investigators. They were the last members of a family that hadn't been baptized. Apparently they asked me to baptized them because Gollum sounds the same in Spanish as he does in English... Celeste and Marina. They are really good. Their mom is a powerhouse recent convert of the elders. :)
An awesome recent convert couple from another ward that helps us out a lot. Hermano Lopez. He is hilarious. And has a sweet ponytail. I want one. :):):)
Baptism of Martha. Left of her is her husband (Rogelio) and her son (Noe)
This is what happens after a week full of very hard work... :)
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