Life is so great! Cool news: we got an update on our iPads so we can now
email from them :) It's pretty exciting. The iPads are definitely hastening
tools!
My past few emails have been super deep, I feel, so I'll focus on the funny
and happy and weird moments that occurred this week!
First off, we had an INCREDIBLE day on Tuesday! We picked up 3 new
investigators and had 5 lessons (3 of which were with members present). Do
you remember the man, Kenny, I talked about last week? We met him on the
street? Well, we had another lesson with him and it was so powerful! We also
have been doing what it says in the mission handbook and "encouraging
members and investigators to develop friendships..." Basically, Sis. Zenger
and I have strategically been choosing female members to go to our male
investigators' lessons and so far it seems to be working well...haha but
seriously, it's been awesome :) Our members have really helped this week,
and it's been a huge testimony to me that this work of salvation is for
everyone, both members and missionaries.
I invite all members to go out with the missionaries to lessons!
Missionaries come and go, but members in a ward are pretty solid, so it's so
important and vital that investigators have a solid friend.
We're all brothers and sisters, children of God - get over the cliques and
the nerves and act like it! Help those who are trying to change their life
:)
And if you're not a member, then I invite you to meet with missionaries and
become a member. I don't know much, but I DO know this Gospel is so true, so
real, and so right. There is no sacrifice too big to enter into the "kingdom
of God," or the Celestial Kingdom.
So, moving on, the next day, Wednesday, I woke up at about 4:30am and ended
up running to the toilet to throw up! That day and Thursday, too, I felt so
nauseous and gross. The funny thing was that my usual companion, Sister
Zenger, went to a missionary leadership training those 2 days and I was with
Sister Timmons, who also ended up getting sick. The good thing is that I am
better now! I got a blessing and somehow was able to not throw up during our
lessons, so tender mercy
:)
And Ben got baptized!!!! It was so spiritual and amazing :) Ben's nonmember
dad came and absolutely loved it! The funny thing about the baptism, though,
was that he ended up getting baptized 4 times! It was déjàvu, because each
time he entered the water and came up, him and Jeff (a recent convert who
was able to baptize him) would just smile and hug, and then Bishop Pierce
would tell the witnesses, "No, the wording was wrong" and Jeff would baptize
him again, and they would smile and hug, and Bishop Pierce told the
witnesses, "No, the wording was wrong," and again he'd go under the water,
and then him and Jeff would hug, and Bishop would tell them again...haha it
made the baptism rather humorous.
The fourth time Jeff said the wording to the ordinance correctly, and Ben
was baptized, and they hugged, and he was just BEAMING :) It was the coolest
thing. When our bishop welcomed him into the ward after, he told us that the
reason why the wording has to be exact is because it is, for one, an
ordinance - the sacred act that shows you are making a covenant (or promise)
with God - and also because it is symbolic of the perfecting, completely
cleansing power of the Atonement. The wording has to be perfect because the
Atonement is all-encompassing and makes us perfect. It is so special and
sacred.
Then I really understood, and Jeff, and Ben, and even Ben's dad. The Spirit
was definitely there.
And yesterday he was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost in
church. Ben's dad came for that as well :) He wants to look into the church,
now, but first he is going on a 6-week expedition to Mt.
Kilimanjaro in Africa! He is an avid, and I mean AVID, backpacker and
canyoneer. I am so excited for him to be taught and receive a remission of
his sins and the Spirit to be with him always!
Okay, so we had several weird contacting things happen to us...1. This man
we met downtown kept asking me, "You smoke weed, don't you? Admit it! You
totally smoke weed!" And I kept saying no and then he would say to me again,
"Nah, I don't believe you - don't lie to me! You smoke weed, huh?" I almost
said I did just to get him to go away! But not really, I would never admit
I've done something I haven't done.
Then his friend next to him said, "You know what? She is a servant of God.
Of course she doesn't smoke weed! Leave her alone!" And they walked off.
Yup. That was odd.
And 2. We were contacting on a random street and this young man walked by
and said to us, "you're gorgeous!" BUT, it ended up being pretty cool
because we were able to then talk about the Light of Christ and how each
person has it, but that we were specially called to be servants of The Lord.
He ended up being super interested in coming to church and asked for the
address! It was just such a neat experience that came out of an odd contact.
Finally, 3. There is an avocado tree right in the middle of downtown!
We we're walking down the street to an appointment and an avocado fell on my
head! I looked up and this tree is FULL of delicious California avocados!
So...we might just go back and bring a bag to pick some avocados :)
Life is good, life is happy, life is amazing, life is incredible :) I love
being out here!
Hope you have a wonderful week! I love you all so very much!!
With love,
Sister Nikole Decker
Ben on the left, Jeff is the redhead on the right. So happy for him!
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