Thanks for all of your wonderful letters and emails! I love receiving them! Sorry that I haven't been very good at responding to them, things are super busy here and writing is at the bottom of my priority list. Sorry. Please know that even if I don't respond to all of your letters, I'm so thankful for them and that I am thinking about you.
This week was another amazing week! We were blessed with many miracles here at the temple. Everyday my testimony is strengthened in the fact that the temple really is the House of the Lord. There is so much peace and joy that comes from the temple. I love it!
One of the highlights of the week and actually of my mission was on Wednesday night. The youth from the San Pedro ward in St. David came up and it was amazing! Among them were our investigators Jesse, Nat, and Hazel. It was so so so cool! I loved it! The expressions on their faces were priceless as we walked through the temple. They were so happy and in awe. They really knew that they were walking on sacred ground. It was beautiful!
As we were walking through, I thought a lot about the video that we watch before going into the temple. In it, Elder Holland says something to the effect of "Heaven wouldn't be heaven without my family." That is definitely true but I was also thinking that heaven wouldn't be heaven without my investigators. The experiences of being able to walk through the Lord's house with our investigators and afterwards talking about their goals of going into the temple again is priceless. It has really put things into perspective for me. We all know that baptism isn't the end, rather it is the beginning. These experiences here have really solidified that truth to me. Everyone needs the blessings of the temple and it is our job to make sure that they have the chance.
After we walked through the temple with the youth we all went to the reception room to eat cookies and talk. My companions and I split up so that we could talk to as many kids as possible. I was sitting at a table with some of the youth and I noticed that there was a kid that I didn't know so I started to talk to him. He proceeded to tell me that he almost got baptized last year but at the last minute his grandma said he couldn't be and so he was waiting until he turned 18. I asked when that would be and he said May 13th! I said something like "well Matt, now is the time" and it was so cool because all of the kids at the table were so excited and agreed! So when we get back to St. David we'll teach him and get him baptized so that he can come back to the temple and receive those blessings that he needs!
Also on Wednesday, the De La Cruz family came to the temple. They're the inactive family that we've been working closely with and they just came to church for the first time in 5 or 6 years! It was so cool to see them there. Afterwords we went to speak with the family. Hermano De La Cruz was just crying because he recognized the blessings that he's been missing out on the past few years. He's committed to changing and coming back to the temple! There are so many wonderful blessings that are coming from the open house!
On Saturday we had a tender mercy. We found out that Jesse would be coming to the temple again that day so we raced to the temple but we thought that we had missed him. Sister Mackay and I were pretty bummed because we wanted to see him one last time before his baptism. Well he showed up about 8 hrs after we expected him! We didn't miss him and got to see him one last time before the baptism! It was cool because we were able to help calm his nerves. So yesterday Jesse, his mom Angela, and his brother Dillon were all baptized!!!!!! We're so so happy!
The ward really has rallied around them and helped them to make this transition. Afterwards we were talking to lots of people on the phone about it and they said that it was amazing. So many people came! All but 5 pews in the chapel were full of people that attended that baptismal service! So cool! Apparently lots of people took pictures so we're really excited to see them. I just love this family and am so happy for them. It doesn't matter if we were there or not, it just mattered that they were able to make that covenant with our Heavenly Father. After they were baptized we were talking to Angela on the phone and she said that we need to plan a date for her to go to the temple a year from now. She said that the only excuse for Sister Mackay and I not going is if we're in labor which will definitely not be the case. I love how she has a vision of how baptism is not the end. Sometime this week she will also be bringing up some of her nonmember friends to go to the open house! This family is amazing!
Yesterday we also had another amazing experience. President planned a special Sacrament Meeting for us sisters. We've all been pretty warn out and this was just the boost we needed. We started out by having questions answered. After that we sang a hymn and he and the man over the open house blessed and passed the sacrament to us. We were then able to have a testimony meeting which really boosted all of us. We all were able to bear our testimonies and get the strength from the spirit and each other that we all have desperately needed. It was amazing! Oh, speaking of testimonies... on Thursday at zone conference President called 2 elders and myself up to bear our testimonies. He said now we would like to hear testimonies from "Elder..., Elder... (I can't remember who), and Sister Anderson - the younger." Some things never die. It was a great experience to be able to bear pure testimony from my heart of what I know is true.
Well, I hope that you all have a great week! Thanks for all of your love, support, letters, and prayers! I love you all! The Church is definitely true!
Love, Hermana Anderson - the younger
ps I'll talk to you on Sunday!
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