A long awaited baptism!

2/15  This week was marvelous! We finally saw the baptism we have been waiting for ever since I got here. We have been working super hard with Ferran and his family, and it finally paid off. He was so prepared. The service was incredible! We literally didn't have to do anything to prepare for it. The ward did all the work together with the family. All we did was fill the font with hot water, and they did the rest. It was so great to see the ward take charge and prepare everything. Although the service was in Catalan, there was a great spirit there, and you could tell that it was a moment the family had been waiting for for a long time. Now all we need is to help the other son make the decision to get baptized!

We also saw a huge miracle thanks to Elder Cullimore's ability to recognize spiritual promptings. We were knocking a building one day, and had almost made it to the bottom when a young woman passed us on the stairs and walked into a door on a floor we had already knocked. At first we didn't think anything of it, but a few floors later, Elder Cullimore said he thought we should go knock her door. So we did. We didn't know what floor it was or what door it was, but we took our best guess and knocked it. The young woman that passed us on the stairs answered the door, and was really nice and open with us. She knew a little bit about Mormon missionaries, and told us we could pass by any day after 5. She was super nice, and we think she has a ton of potential. That was an incredible experience to take part in.

The main thing I learned this week is that the spirit is the true teacher. As missionaries and members, our only job is to invite the spirit into our lessons, and the truth is, he does the rest. There's a scripture that I love in 2 Nephi 33:1 that says: "And now I, Nephi, cannot write all the things which were taught among my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like unto speaking; for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men." When we truly testify by the power of the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost carries it to the hearts of those we teach. His role in this mortal life is to testify of truth, and the feelings people get from the Holy Ghost can't be denied. I have seen so many times in my mission where the entire attitude of the investigator changes when we testify and invite the spirit. I know the spirit teaches, and without the spirit, even the most logical explanation won't find place in the hearts of those we teach.

Ferran was baptized by his father

Ferran and his family