Branch Baptisms

This week was awesome!! It was a week of baptisms for the branch. Through the amazing process of “going to the rescue” we have been able to see more and more families come together. I'm sending a picture of us with a family, whose little boy was baptized this past Saturday. The Dads name is Juan Carlos. He recently came back to the church after being less active for years, and separating from his wife and doing dumb things that he shouldn’t have done- and when he came back- he REALLY came back. He started reading everything he could get his hands on, and watching all the church videos that we had, and was recently called to be YM President and has been working really hard to get the YM active. And he has been praying that his wife would come back to him. We had visited her once when she rolled into town a month or two ago, she had on heavy makeup, immodest clothing, and kept on saying that she didn’t want to be with her husband, she just wanted to be by her kids. And then we couldn’t find her after that.

Then, it was so awesome to see, that when I went with Hna Payton (a new missionary I did divisions with. She is just so excited to work!)  to visit them- that she had come back, and she looked like a normal, happy person. She is ready to try and put her family back together, and they both supported their son (Juan Carlos Jr.) in getting baptized.

That same day, Samantha was baptized as well. Her family has been inactive for a long time, but the missionaries have always visited them, so they still know a lot about the church. Her mom still isn’t too interested in coming back, but it was so cool to see her at her daughter’s baptism. Samantha is so excited about everything, and she wants to be my best friend. (a.k.a. she goes through all my stuff all the time and clings to me glue.)

Then, later that afternoon, Adriana was baptized, whose family is working to come back as well. (Shes the one who was sitting on the bench with me in the blue dress in that picture I sent last week.) Shes an incredible little girl...  when she shared her testimony she said that "she felt that she had been touched by God" and then she proceeded to invite her family to join her up front and then shared a very dramatic and very cute testimony.

It was such a good day, a day where families seemed more united, and their children, who should have been baptized when they turned 8, were finally able to make promises to their Heavenly Father and  get the blessings that we all so desperately need

We also have been working with a less active family who have already started to progress so much. They started doing their family prayers and scripture study, and they have plans for an awesome FHE tonight. I love them so much…. And their son isn’t baptized either, so hopefully I'll be sending some more baptism pictures soon! (The Dad drives a MotoTaxi, so that’s where all the pictures of that come into play….)

Things here are good. Changes are coming up next week. But Hna Robinson and I are pretty sure that we are staying together (but throwing some prayers our way for a 4th change wouldn’t hurt at all…. Please and thankyou).  I love you all so much and hope that things are good back home!! Have a great week!

Love,
Hna Leavitt

Juan Carlos and Juan Carlos Jr

The Valley from Aplao