Got One

Hey Everyone!!!

That's so crazy that Kate's in Vanuatu now! I'm pretty excited to hear all of her stories so you'll have to be sure to send me her emails and some of her pictures! I can't believe that summer is already over and that it's already time for school to start again! It was so weird to see everyone up here go back to school since this was the first time I haven't had to go to school at the end of the summer!!! But anyways I hope school's going good for all of the kids! I can't believe that Lizzy's a big 9th grader and that she'll be in high school next year and driving!! That's a pretty scary thought if you ask me... 

So this week has been a little bit hectic to say the least... We had Sister Olson's baptism on Saturday and it really was so amazing!! We spent most of the time Saturday getting everything ready like making the programs, cleaning the building, filling the font, and I even did some decorating to make it look nice and pretty (you should be proud!) Just to give a little bit of a refresher, we started teaching sister Olson the very first week I got to Kenai. What really has amazed me the most is the complete change that she has made since we first met her. It was SO COOL to be able to be there step by step and to see the complete transformation she made as she grew closer to her Heavenly Father and accepted the gospel. When her step-son Leif baptized her I had never felt the spirit so strong! I had goosebumps all over and I've even have to say I got a little teary eyed haha! It was just amazing to see all of your work finally pay off especially after all of the ups and downs we have had. She asked me to confirm her so I was lucky enough to do that yesterday! I had never done this before so I was a little bit nervous but it was amazing to be able to give someone one of the most valuable and precious gifts they can ever receive in this life! Even though this is a huge step in the right direction for her, her journey is just beginning! The point of a missionary isn't to baptize people. Its to get them to the temple so that they can make those sacred covenants with their Heavenly Father and be sealed together as a family for time and all eternity. The Temple is the goal!

Another family we've been working with is the Demello family. Sister Demello called us one day and said that her and her family have been inactive for a while now but that they wanted to come back and needed our help to do it and that they had a daughter that needed to be baptized! Can't get any better for a missionary right? They've had a rough couple of years but it has been so cool to work with them and to help them come back to Christ! In just the two weeks that they've been coming back to church and taking the lessons their lives have done a complete 180! It just goes to show how much the gospel really does bless our lives and how Heavenly Father really wants to help us! All we have to do is to show him our willingness to do whatever he asks. 

Hope everything is going great in the land down south!!

Love you guys!

-Elder Brown