June 9, 2014

Guess what! We had a BAPTISM this week! Freddy H. was baptized this last Saturday and then confirmed yesterday :D He is super excellent and was so ready that we moved his baptismal service to be two weeks earlier than anticipated. He is a super sweet guy from the Dominican Republic, and he is loving everything about the Church. He was familiar with it before, but was found by the missionaries again and he's now baptized a member!

Above everything else, I can say that his conversion and this miracle was all by the Lord's power. We prayed for it, and we worked for it, but the years of preparation and guidance that the Lord brought him through to arrive at this point were beyond us. I've learned a bunch of things from teaching Hermano Hernandez and guiding him towards a new life. What an excellent path and a joyous result! :D

We are well on our way to our June goal as a Mission. As of last night, ten people had been baptized this month. We are shooting for 100 in our Mission! I honestly believe we can achieve it. The greatest principles at work here are faith and unity. The ever-applicable example of the oxen yolked together is here seen at its best. The 207 missionaries of the Washington Seattle Mission need to be unified as ONE to reach these goals. "If ye are not one, ye are not mine," the Lord affirms. The only way to accomplish this goal will be to have unity, and no factions among us.

Our faith will grow as we report and hear of miracles, and our confidence will wax strong before God as we are righteous - consistent patterns of obedience over a long period of time. The Elders and Sisters here are all doing so well! We are working well and going to invite as much power as possible to realize this miracle.

There are several people we are focusing on. One of them we met with yesterday, and he's wading through some deep life trials. Today I was studying and pondering about what we could teach him, and Elder Lutes and I concluded that the best thing we could do is teach the Atonement. We mentioned its power to him before, but we want to really show him how grace works in life. We are going to focus on helping him receive a testimony of the Redeemer, and start him on the path to a lightened burden and peace :)

The other family is having extreme problems with their children, and the family is breaking apart. The oldest child plans on leaving home and never coming back as soon as 18 rolls around, two months from now. We've only got two months to save their world!! :D We talked with the mother last night, and promised her that they can have peace in their home. We admitted that her kids probably won't want to hear from us now, but that as parents, they can begin to set an example of peace and righteousness, together. We told her that there's enough warfare outside the wall of the home, and that God provides a way to make the home a bunker and a refuge for family members. I hope and pray that we can unite them and leave them with a newfound peace and charity in their family life.

That's most of what's going on with the main people we're focused on. In general, we try to squeeze ourselves into people's busy lives and teach everybody we possibly can!

I am seeking more of the vital revelation in my life to nourish and strengthen my testimony. I am trying to look more diligently unto Christ, and he won't ever let me down. How grateful I am for an exemplary life that I can strive to follow in my own. I know that Christ lives.

Love,

Elder Talbot