Greetings,
Ok, I probably
should have told you earlier, but p-day is on Wednesday this week
because transfers are tomorrow. I hope you guys didn't worry too much
that I didn't write on a Monday, but you are probably at the cabin
anyways. Transfers, yeah, we are getting 35 new missionaries in our
mission (13 sisters, 12 elders, 10 visa waiters) so after transfers
60 percent of all companionships will be training. It is pretty crazy. I
hope my companions don't change but who knows. I will most likely be
staying in Xenia for a little while so I probably won't get transferred
but I won't know if I need to pack my bags until we get transfer calls
later today.
The weather today is crazy awesome. After lots of rain,
today is cloudy, dry, and in the lower 70's. It feels like a spring day
in Utah.
Ok, so we had a few baptisms last week. I
was privileged to baptize the youngest 2; Daviana who is 11, and Deisha
who is 12. I also confirmed Daviana in sacrament meeting on Sunday. I
did have to baptize Daviana twice because her legs came out of the water
but that was it. My first baptisms!!! We were also able to put Keilah
on date the same day! She will be baptized on the 15th of August. I will
probably send you guys the program from the baptism/s. It was so
awesome!!! It also feels great to have that stress gone that was there
prior to the baptism, making sure that it would actually happen.
Oh by the way, happy pioneer day! which is non-existent out here.
There
are two people I would like to tell you about this week and that is
Keilah and Conrad. Conrad is a member but he was baptized about a year
ago or so and will be leaving on his mission in the next month to
England. He no longer has a family. What I mean by this is that his
father, brothers, and even his sister have no interest in seeing him
again because he has decided to join the church and serve a mission. He
has given everything, everything for this glorious gospel. His father
doesn't even know where he is serving a mission because it has been
months since they have spoken to each other.
Keilah decided to tell her father, who is a Baptist preacher that
she was going to be baptized. After a lot of yelling she was kicked out
of the house. Later that night she was almost kidnapped after going to
the local video store while staying with a friend. Because of this, her
father allowed her to come home (the Lord works in mysterious ways).
However, he warned her that if she was baptized she would no longer be
welcome at home. She will be baptized on the 15th and give up even her
family for what she knows to be true.
One of the greatest testimonies of the truthfulness of this gospel
is what the people are sacrificing for it. I can not imagine, or don't
know that I would be able to sacrifice my family if I was in their
shoes. It is also crazy to see the opposition that Satan is using in the
family to try and destroy missionary work, but like I have previously
described, not even the destruction of the home is stopping this great
work from progressing. There is honestly no reason why people should get
so upset that their children are joining another Christian religion
that teaches them to come closer to Christ.
I know it is true and that it is worth giving everything for. "Shall we not go forth in so great a cause" Yes we shall!
Have a great week, I am jealous that I am not enjoying a week at the ranch, after all I do want to be a cowboy.
Love you all,
Elder Beutler
