Greg's Baptism and the 4th of July

I don't even know where to begin...

 

This has been an amazing week. We set a personal record for lessons taught in this area and we were able to teach a few new investigators who want to be baptized! Monday morning a member that we're close with texted us and wanted us to teach one of her friends in her home that night - that's a rare occurrence, so we were happy to oblige. We were able to have several lessons and answer many of her questions over the course of the week; this week she'll be bringing her whole family to the lessons so they can go through it all together. It's been great to see her "get it" and understand what baptism and the Lord's church can really do for her. This week I've been letting Elder Palmer take the lead in preparation for my leaving and he's been doing great; the lessons these week have been smooth and well-taught with him taking the reins.

 

The 4th was a lot of fun! We had to be with a member by 6:00pm and home by 9/9:30, so we went to a members home for a 4th of July party and watched the fireworks from their rooftop deck. The family (the Geists) invited the Moultons over as well, so it was fun to all be together the day before Greg's baptism. President Ahlander also let us watch some certain movies, such as "The Prince of Egypt", "The Best Two Years", "The RM", "17 Miracles", and get this: "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Frozen". We only had time for "The Prince of Egypt" and "The Best Two Years" though, but it still made for a great holiday.

 

Greg's baptism on Saturday was incredible. He was so prepared, it wasn't even funny - he's been waiting for this day for a couple of weeks, and his family has been waiting for a couple of years. It's been such an honor to be able to teach him and his family and to see the subtle transformation take place. His two older children that are out of state came into town for the baptism and came to church for the confirmation. His oldest son and his wife bore powerful testimony during the meeting and we watched from the back of the chapel as the ward swarmed them after the closing prayer. It felt so good to see the members wrap their arms around the Moultons and congratulate them. All day long I kept thinking about Dani's (Greg's wife) testimony and the way that she ended it, talking about how they're headed for the temple as a family and that she can't wait. The greatest joy I've ever felt comes from the knowledge that the families I've been blessed to work with will soon make covenants in the temple, sealing them together as a family for eternity. All I wanted to accomplish as a missionary is to provide for a family what missionaries provided for mine several years ago - I'm incredibly grateful that I've been able to see that come to pass.

 

I've been making a serious effort to ignore the clock, and I feel like it's been working. This doesn't feel like the last week. People keep saying it, I know that it is, but it sincerely feels like any other week. I don't know when it's planning on sinking in, but I'm not looking forward to it. I'll just keep working until they tell me it's time; I won't let up until then. I'll be able to email again next week, so this isn't the end - I love you so much and I'm excited to tell you these things in person.

 

Jesse 

 

Greg Moulton's baptism

Mission-mobil break-in. Nice...