Oct 24, 2011
Hey family,
Oh my word this week has been filled with so much emotion. I can't wait to tell you all of these miracles in person! It's hard for me to describe myself and express the joy i have over an email, but I'll do my best. This week has been the crowning event of my mission so far. Oh and i'm staying for another transfer! Rochester is home away from home.
It's killing me that i can't say their names over email--it's a new rule. I'll use fake names for the email.
This last Saturday Rochester 2nd Ward had two baptisms. Amanda and Nathan, were baptized into the church. It has been an amazing experience being able to witness and experience a true conversion. From the start, they both had very little knowledge of the gospel. I would say the best part of this whole miracle would be David, the father. He has accepted to be baptized and believes that this church will help unify their family. The whole entire family came to the baptism, They have 4 kids total, a 10 year old girl, 4 year old boy and 2 year old boy. It was amazing to see! The ward was very supportive and the attendance was great at the baptism. The whole entire Relief society room was filled.
I had the opportunity to baptize Nathan, and Brother Darsow baptized Amanda. The spirit was there, and it's something i will never be able to deny. I asked Nathan how he felt afterwards. He gave the usual response, "cold and happy!". I then confirmed Amanda and Bishop confirmed Nathan. It was another powerful experience. Amanda was so grateful that she shared the powerful influence of peace she had with us after the baptism. The church is true!
Alright, now what really touched me this week was David's progression. Last Monday we taught David with Amanda and Nathan. We originally prepared a lesson to prepare Amanda and Nathan for baptism but David surprised us and came down and sat in on the discussion. We of course being some what intelligent, geared the lesson toward him. We introduced the Book of Mormon, and gave a short Restoration lesson. David was rather quiet but you could tell he was feeling the spirit. I then extended a baptismal invite during the end of the lesson. He said yes! Amazing! The spirit was ultra strong and for the first time on my mission i felt the spirit of unity coming together with a family. Yeah it's true, i haven't baptized a complete family yet. Later that week we had a church tour for David. We invited the Buman family (Elder Quorum president) and Brother Darsow who has met David before. We set up pictures and used the building as a visual aid to teach about the restoration.
So let me explain what this church tour consists of. On this church tour, we start in the fourier and talk about the spirit and have a little mini lesson on the Holy Spirit. Then we go into the chapel and testify of the sacrament and talk about how God is our loving Heavenly Father and that he sent his Only Begotten Son to be the ultimate resource. Then we talk about prophets and show various pictures of prophets in the Old Testament. Then we take them through the gym and have them realize the distinction of the light vs the darkness and what happens to the world when evil men reject the prophets. Then we have a room full of light with Christ and his earthly ministry and then show a clip of the Restoration. Then we have a room set up with all the modern Apostles and Prophets today with a big picture of Christ in the middle. The spirit was there and David felt the love and peace of our message. David then came to me after the tour and said "I'm 99% sure that I'll be baptized, i just have to tell my family." Ahh! He then told us his reading in the Book of Mormon was coming along great. He said "I usually have a hard time retaining what i read, but the book of Mormon is different-- it makes sense." That is another testimony to me that the Book of Mormon is true. This experience has truly changed my mission and faith. I'll never forget this last weekend of miracles.
I can't believe Tanner will be receiving his mission call soon! I think he's going to Jacksonville Florida- that's my number 1 guess. Out of country would be Argentina. I'm flipping out and i'll be thinking of Tanner this week!
Elder Potter and I are staying for another transfer together. I'm so happy! We both wanted to stay and be here for David’s baptism which should be next month.
We woke up at 6 to go on a 5 mile run with one of our members. It about killed me! The weather is still reasonable here, and I’m still trying to stay in shape--it's difficult.
I love you all and hope everything is going well.
Elder Browning
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