How great shall be your joy

5/31  We had a great week this week! We worked hard to prepare Sandra, Gloria, and Ana for their baptism, and it all paid off. Although everyone got there late, the baptism was great! The spirit was so strong, and afterwards the 7 year old daughter kept asking when she could get baptized. This is a wonderful family that we have really come to love in the past few weeks. It's incredible how fast you can get to know people and grow to love them while teaching them the everlasting gospel. The message we carry truly is a message of love and happiness.

Even after the three baptisms, our area is still full of potential! We have been looking at our teaching records, and it looks like there is potential to see another 3 baptisms in the coming month. Two of those baptisms are for sure going to happen. The work here in Valencia is moving forward at a fast pace. It is such a privilege be able to be here and witness it progress seemingly on its own.

Elder Lightfoot and I are working well together. We seem to compliment each other very well. Where one of us is weak, the other is strong. We are working hard, and finding joy in the work. We are really excited to receive 2 new missionaries here and to see the work progress even more with their help and inspiration.

This week, the privilege of taking part in three baptisms really taught me about the reality of the joy that missionary work brings. As missionaries, we are so blessed to be able to take part in the saving of souls. Sometimes it is easy to forget about how much of a blessing it truly is when our visits fall through, or when we are rejected in the streets, but the truth is all of the good things we see as missionaries far outweigh the bad. It's like Doctrine and Covenants says in section 18 verses 15-16: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" Those verses explain perfectly the lesson I learned this week. I am so thankful for the wonderful opportunity to be a missionary and to have taken part in teaching that wonderful family!

¡Un abrazo querido amigo!