let's start off with a sweet quote from one of my favorite apostles.
"Some might say, 'I know a member of your Church who is a hypocrite. I
could never join a church that had someone like him as a member.'
If you define hypocrite as someone who fails to live up perfectly to
what he or she believes, then we are all hypocrites. None of us is
quite as Christlike as we know we should be. But we earnestly desire
to overcome our faults and the tendency to sin. With our heart and
soul we yearn to become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ." -Elder Holland
I love Elder Holland. He's pretty much the best.
And to carry on from that note, MATT GOT BAPTIZED!! Yes, he was
supposed to get baptized on my birthday, Oct 10th. (Don't worry, he
got the message). Let me explain.
We had our last lesson with him last Thursday and JOKINGLY, my
companion brought up the fact that all he had to do now is get
interviewed and be baptized this Saturday. Matt and his wife, Ashley
both had a good laugh about it then silence filled the room as they
both looked at each other. Matt tends to ponder what we say a lot so I
didn't think anything of it until I heard him say the words, "Alright
let's do it."
What?
We both thought he was kidding, but then Ashley boldly reaffirmed,
"Yeah.. We can fit that in the schedule." I couldn't believe it. So we
returned to our apartment that night and made SO MANY phone calls and
texts. We wanted everyone to know about the baptism and it was one of
the most stressful experiences trying to set up a baptism that is
supposed to happen in the next 36 hours. But it happened.
I gave a short 5 minute talk on baptism and Elder Bunker baptized him.
After everything was done and the closing song was about to begin,
Matt asked if he could bear his testimony. It was powerful. It was
inspiring. He saw how much the Gospel had changed him and his families
life and was so grateful for everything. He shouted me out, by saying,
"Elder Galbraith shared with me a talk called 'The Power of
Gethsemane' and I grew so much more appreciation for Jesus Christ."
He turned and looked at me and he said, "Thank you not only for that
but being apart of this experience with me. And thank you for being so
loving to my family." It touched my heart. I didn't know I was such a
big influence to him. I'm so honored to be able to teach him the
Gospel. And his family is so awesome. Even though 8 kids can get
pretty crazy at times, I love them to death.
I confirmed him a member of the Church in Sacrament Meeting the next
day and I was so scared I wasn't go to be able to say all the right
words correctly. Ironically I messed up on his name the first time,
the easiest part of setting apart someone, but it was still a very
spiritual experience. And later that day he asked for another
conference talk to read. Why can't all investigators be like him?
 |
| This is Matt and we were able to baptize him last Saturday! I love this guy and his family. They want to go to the temple and be sealed together. Such an awesome experience! |
Speaking of Conference, I am so excited for this weekend!!! All the
missionaries are freaking out because we might get 3 new apostles, and
that only adds to the General Conference hype! My goal is to write 3-4
things down from each speaker, which shouldn't be too bad because I
won't have a comfortable, sleep-worthy couch to distract me.
Transfers are this week. I'm pretty sure I will still be here in Canal
Winchester with Elder Bunker tomorrow but we will see. We are supposed
to find out whether or not we will be leaving by the end of today. I
definitely wouldn't mind staying another 6 weeks.
Just got the official word that me and my companion will be
staying for at least the next six weeks. My District Leader (Elder
Brandt) which I am sad about, is getting transferred and one
companionship in our district is becoming a trio. Everyone else is
staying which is great! I love every missionary here (most of the
time) and I'm excited for these next 6 weeks.
We know we are getting transferred or not the day before transfers.
Love you all! Have a good conference weekend! Have a question in mind
and pray about it, and I'm sure you will receive an answer!
Elder G
Sent from my iPad
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