4/18 Yesterday I had two of the most incredible experiences I have ever had my whole mission! The first one happened in the Hospitalet stake conference. It was super good to see all of the members and people I got to know in my second area of Vilafranca. Right as the conference was starting, Monica and her kids walked in and sat in the front. Monika is an investigator who Elder Jonson and I found and taught a year ago. She progressed a ton, and her son Esteban was just about to be baptized when I was transferred to Burgos. Well in the middle of the meeting, the stake president invited a few people up to bear their testimonies, one of which was Esteban! He is only 9 years old, and bore the most beautiful testimony I have ever heard, encouraging all of the members to invite their friends to church and thanking the first missionaries who came into their home and helped them find the gospel. I always thought that I had left Vilafranca without making that much of a difference, but when I heard this 9 year old's testimony, I almost cried. After the conference, Monika and Esteban came to greet me with the biggest grin on their faces. We spoke for a while, and I came to find out that ever since they have been baptized they have done a ton of work with family history and have a super strong testimony of it. That was definitely one of the most emotional experiences I have had!
After the conference, to make a long story short, Tortosa had a potential baptism in the chapel in Barcelona. After waiting around for a while, Dani, the investigator who was going to be baptized, told us he was on his way. Unfortunately, due to other people pressuring him and telling him not to get baptized, he came not so sure that he was going to do it. Despite that fact, I felt impressed to send the zone leaders a text telling them to fill the font. Dani came, we gave him a tour of the beautiful chapel in Barcelona 1 and then I did the interview. The interview went very well. I helped him understand that Satan was trying really hard to stop him from getting baptized, and shared a few scriptures that helped him. After the interview, despite the fact that he passed with flying colors, he made it clear that he wasn't going to be baptized that day. However, I still felt the distinct impression that he should see the baptismal font full of water all ready to go. So Elder Barton, he and I went in to look over the water. He went down the stairs and felt the water. We must have been in there talking with him for over 30 minutes. The spirit was so strong as we sat there staring over the waters of baptism in silence for what seemed to be an eternity, and he admitted that right then he had received an answer that he needed to be baptized. He commented that he really wanted to "get dressed in white and get baptized". The only thing that was stopping him is that his wife is totally against him being baptized, and he doesn't want to cause problems. We agreed that he would talk with her and fix everything so that he could get baptized next week. It was a very spiritual experience, and I believe whole heartedly that he will be baptized next weekend.
If there is one thing I learned from my experience with Dani this week, it's that we can always receive answers to any question as long as we are willing to show that we have real intent. Dani had been praying, reading and going to church, but still claimed he hadn't received anything telling him he needed to be baptized. It wasn't until he was practically in the font that he received the spiritual confirmation he was looking for. I remember Elder Bednar saying that circumstances like that are a perfect example of the water parting when your feet are wet. When we show by our works that we are willing to do whatever it takes to get an answer, God will always give us that answer. Sometimes, the answer doesn't come until after the trial of our faith. Just as Ether 12:6 says, we can't expect to receive a testimony until after the trial of our faith. God will always answer us, but it's up to us if we are willing to act in order to receive it.
No comments:
Post a Comment