Week 17: A Luvlee Day
Dear Loved Ones,
My first baptism in Kansouri! I keep rolling up to an area when someone is already on date to be baptized (shout out to Taylor Fish!) and get to take credit for it without doing a whole lot. Luvlee's baptism took some small miracles. It was scheduled for 6 PM Saturday and at 6:05 PM, we remembered (or rather, were reminded) that we need Luvlee's parents' permission to baptize her. Both parents. Her parents are divorced and her mom signed for her, but her dad lives out in New Mexico in the middle of a Native American reservation. Which means he doesn't have great cell service. Everyone was already there, the font was filled, the chapel was full, and Sister Crandall was trying to get a hold of a man who had the power to stop the whole thing.
Miracle number one: We got a hold of him.
Miracle number two: He said yes! And then proceeded to thank her profusely for teaching his daughter. I'm so happy this all worked out. Luvlee is moving to New Mexico to live with him soon and if she didn't get baptized now, she could've ended up never having a connection to the church again, since I've heard the nearest church is an hour away. This is beautiful!
In other news, I had my first exchange this week. I didn't get left in an area for exchanges in Boise until my very last week of the second transfer. But here I had to run the area all on my lonesome having only been here two weeks. I managed to run it well enough that I didn't burn the entire state of Kansas down.
I'm so happy here. Mission culture bogs me down more than a little, but I'm in a great area teaching people I feel a lot of compassion for. I'm happy to be here!
I want to say a quick word of thanks to all the many people who prayed and fasted for me to be able to serve a mission. In particular, I want to give a shout out to my next door neighbor Jim and his wife Sue, who supported me through a particularly difficult time, when I was being stalled to serve a second time. Sue, you did no live to see me get on a mission, but I know you are watching over me.
I've attached a picture of Luvlee's baptism below. That's my companion beside me and Luvlee's mother in the red, along with another missionary who previously taught Luvlee.
This week's tip:
I have a goal for how many baptisms I want to be instrumental in as a missionary. That number is eight. But I've also decided that I don't want to turn anybody into a number's game. I cringe when people brag about the number of people they baptized, or stress about not having any upcoming baptisms, or push people to be baptized before they know anything about the church. I know someone who converted 79 people in Zimbabwe and another person who converted 0 in Lithuania. Sharing the gospel shouldn't just be about baptisms. Missionaries should serve people who have been converted already, as well as lifelong members who have a lot of needs. What use is a religion that neglects its active members?
I am teaching a man who doesn't come to church much because he has Knight in Shining Armor Syndrome and he's always helping someone out of an emergency on Sundays. I don't believe that's his excuse-he's a man of integrity and if he had no interest in the church he would just stop meeting with us-but he legitimately has people he has to take care of every week and he's doing more good that way than he usually would be in church. I would prefer him to be at church, of course, but he is living a life of Christian service even when he's not there.
Your tip this week is to treasure baptisms, but to look beyond them and make sure the church is meeting people's needs before and after they convert.
Sincerely,
Sister Smith
My first baptism in Kansouri! I keep rolling up to an area when someone is already on date to be baptized (shout out to Taylor Fish!) and get to take credit for it without doing a whole lot. Luvlee's baptism took some small miracles. It was scheduled for 6 PM Saturday and at 6:05 PM, we remembered (or rather, were reminded) that we need Luvlee's parents' permission to baptize her. Both parents. Her parents are divorced and her mom signed for her, but her dad lives out in New Mexico in the middle of a Native American reservation. Which means he doesn't have great cell service. Everyone was already there, the font was filled, the chapel was full, and Sister Crandall was trying to get a hold of a man who had the power to stop the whole thing.
Miracle number one: We got a hold of him.
Miracle number two: He said yes! And then proceeded to thank her profusely for teaching his daughter. I'm so happy this all worked out. Luvlee is moving to New Mexico to live with him soon and if she didn't get baptized now, she could've ended up never having a connection to the church again, since I've heard the nearest church is an hour away. This is beautiful!
In other news, I had my first exchange this week. I didn't get left in an area for exchanges in Boise until my very last week of the second transfer. But here I had to run the area all on my lonesome having only been here two weeks. I managed to run it well enough that I didn't burn the entire state of Kansas down.
I'm so happy here. Mission culture bogs me down more than a little, but I'm in a great area teaching people I feel a lot of compassion for. I'm happy to be here!
I want to say a quick word of thanks to all the many people who prayed and fasted for me to be able to serve a mission. In particular, I want to give a shout out to my next door neighbor Jim and his wife Sue, who supported me through a particularly difficult time, when I was being stalled to serve a second time. Sue, you did no live to see me get on a mission, but I know you are watching over me.
I've attached a picture of Luvlee's baptism below. That's my companion beside me and Luvlee's mother in the red, along with another missionary who previously taught Luvlee.
This week's tip:
I have a goal for how many baptisms I want to be instrumental in as a missionary. That number is eight. But I've also decided that I don't want to turn anybody into a number's game. I cringe when people brag about the number of people they baptized, or stress about not having any upcoming baptisms, or push people to be baptized before they know anything about the church. I know someone who converted 79 people in Zimbabwe and another person who converted 0 in Lithuania. Sharing the gospel shouldn't just be about baptisms. Missionaries should serve people who have been converted already, as well as lifelong members who have a lot of needs. What use is a religion that neglects its active members?
I am teaching a man who doesn't come to church much because he has Knight in Shining Armor Syndrome and he's always helping someone out of an emergency on Sundays. I don't believe that's his excuse-he's a man of integrity and if he had no interest in the church he would just stop meeting with us-but he legitimately has people he has to take care of every week and he's doing more good that way than he usually would be in church. I would prefer him to be at church, of course, but he is living a life of Christian service even when he's not there.
Your tip this week is to treasure baptisms, but to look beyond them and make sure the church is meeting people's needs before and after they convert.
Sincerely,
Sister Smith
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