Hello everyone!
So this week we had an absolute MIRACLE happen. And i still cant believe that it actually happened!
So we have been working a lot with an hermana named Yesenia. Ive written about her before - she was a reference from a member from another ward, who called us telling us that Yesenias husband had left her and that she really felt like she was ready to accept the gospel. Yesenia is 42, and has three kids Luis (23) Jason (19) and Fabian (10). This was when hermana chatwin and i were companions, so we went and she was super nice with us and loved hearing what we had to say. But for some reason we didnt think she was going to progress. But we kept going with her and little by little she started accepting more and more. And she started telling us how much she loved us coming over, and she was reading what we left her and all these things, and we didnt even know it! Then she went to see general conference, and after that started coming to church! We were super surprised that she was actually progressing. And then she told us that she felt that all of this was true, but she had a little fear to change because of her family who is pretty much against the church. But she always said how much she liked the church and how good she felt about everything. We had a baptismal date for her, but it got pushed back because she wanted to wait to get baptized with her kids, who hadnt gone to church as much with her. So we pushed it back, but that is when alllll of the trials came. She started feeling more fear and just wanted to wait forever to take the step of baptism. This was when i was with hermana castro. We fought so hard to help her have faith and trust in the Lord that everything would be okay, but she just kept letting fear take over. So she kept on saying she just wanted to wait and wait. But we knew that the longer she waited the harder it would get, especially because she had already recieved an answer from the Holy Ghost that this is what God wanted her to do. So we kept going with her and everything and we invited her to ponder about being baptized the 23 of may. She said that she would like to, but that she was afraid. She would always say, ¨I am completely sure that i want to be baptized, but im scared.¨ which is so frusterating to hear! But she said she would think about it and call her friend, Patricia, who is the member who told us to go visit her. Now through this whole process her friend had not been helping very much, because she never wanted to make yesenia feel pressured. But what yesenia desperately needed was the support of her friend! But her friend was scared to pressure her - so basically this situation was full of fear on both sides.
So on saturday morning, the 23rd, we just felt so strongly that yesenia should get baptized that day. So we called Patricia, the friend, to try to get her to call her and give her support. Patricia was very hesitant, because she was saying how she didnt want to pressure her friend and how we should wait and all these things. But hermana soto was awesome and was saying how Yesenia had already recieved her answer and so she should not wait. We were talking to Patricia for a good 20 minutes on the phone. We invited Patricia to say a prayer, and then to call Yesenia and help her make a decision. So after we hung up with patricia, we got on our knees and said a prayer together. Hermana soto said the prayer, asking God to help yesenia feel ready and to bless patricia with the words to help her decide. It was an extremely spiritual experience. Then after that prayer, we stayed on our knees and prayed silently for about a half hour, praying fervently and with all the faith we could muster that Yesenia would feel ready. Then, finally, patricia called us back. And this is what happened: Yesenia told her that she was scared to get baptized. So patricia said, ¨Do you have a testimony?¨ - ¨Yes.¨ ¨Do you know that all of these things are true?¨ - ¨Yes.¨ ¨Do you want to get baptized?¨ - ¨Yes.¨ ¨Then what are you waiting for!!¨ And yesenia said that she was scared because of her family. So patricia said, ¨Yesenia, your family isnt even going to know if you get baptized today!¨ and yesenia said, ¨Your right...ok then i want to get baptized today!¨
It was SUCH a miracle! We were so happy, just jumping up and down happy. I had been waiting sooo long for yesenia to take this step. And i seriously worried that she would never take this step. And it was all because of the phone call from her friend that she was able to feel that support and make the decision.
But it didnt end there! There was a ton of things getting in the way of the baptism that day, of course, like Patricias husband who was going to baptize yesenia was in San Jose without a phone and all of these crazy things, but we knew that God would let everything work out if it was his will! So we made a bunch of calls and got everything ready, and miraculously everything worked out!
The best part was how happy yesenia was. She kept saying, ¨I never knew i would be this happy.¨ And that is the most important thing. I just loved seeing her happiness, because she is seriously so important to me! It was funny because as we were taking a picture together, she said, ¨Hermana Geis really fought for me.¨ And its true - i was never going to give up on her. Now we just have to fight even harder to help her stay active and go to the temple and everything else.
After the baptism i was feeling a little sad, because i never want the priviledge of being on a mission to end. But it doesnt have to end - because we are supposed to be missionaries for our entire lives.There is a talk by Jeffrey R Holland that is absolutely amazing, where he talks about Peter and the apostles after Christs death. Its called ¨The First Commandment.¨ He says that Christ was telling them, as they were returning to their old life as fisherman, ¨Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish?.What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do.¨ And then he says, I include in that call to fixed faithfulness every returned missionary who ever stood in a baptismal font and with arm to the square said, “Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ.”
That commission was to have changed your convert forever, but it was surely supposed to have changed you forever as well¨
So as he said, what God needs is disciples. And he needs them forever. So that is what i hope to be.
I love you all. Believe in miracles! And believe that this is the truth, no matter how hard it sometimes may be to keep going.
Hermana Geis
