Rapheal's baptism
Hello from The Copperbelt! I am currently in Kitwe which is about an hour away because we are having an activity with all the sisters in our zone! I am really really excited to be with all the sisters and get to know them even better. I am not sure how much time I will have so this week will be short. We are talking about stress management today...I guess a lot of the sisters struggle with it but I think it will be great because we all get stressed, especially on missions!! Anyways this week was the best!!!!
I am going to start with Sunday because RAPHEAL GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!! It was one of the best moments of my life and probably the best of my mission. It was honestly the most surreal moment of my life as well. I have always dreamed about serving a mission and doing all the things that missionaries do but as I was standing there waiting for our picture to be taken, I couldn't believe it!! I have seen so many pictures of missionaries with their investigators in white clothes ready for baptism but I never imagined myself there. It was the best feeling in the world. And not because we got a baptism. I think so often as missionaries we measure our success by baptisms but there is so much more than that. If felt sooooo amazing because I felt so blessed to have been able to be a part of a miracle. It is something else to realize that you were an instrument in the hand of the lord in helping someone come unto Christ. I have felt so much gratitude and love for my savior and the covenants I have made at baptism while on my mission and I was able to help someone else come to know these things too. I know that it was only because of the Spirit that he was able to make this important choice. Sister Motsi and I are far, far, far from perfect! We make plenty of mistakes and are still learning but because we were guided by the Spirit and taught with the Spirit, Rapheal's heart was changed. The Spirit is key to everything we do and I am so grateful that Rapheal had the faith to follow those promptings he received and the faith he was able to develop to enter the waters of baptism. His baptismal service was incredible and I had to fight back the tears and the Spirit was so strong there!! We had some branch members give talks and then he was baptized. I couldn't help but think back to my own baptism. Its crazy to think that we were baptized at only 8 years old but I am so grateful I could make those covenants at that time and as I have strived to do my part, I have been blessed beyond what I could imagine. I am so proud of Rapheal but this is not the end. Our work is not over. We must continue to help him learn and grow in the gospel. The doctrine of Jesus Christ doesn't end at baptism and confirmation. We have to endure to the end. I know that Rapheal will be an incredible member of this church and will have a great influence on everyone around him and so I pray that he will continue building on his faith and obey the commandments of God. We have talked a lot about eternal families with him and he really wants to get married and start his family. I can already see him going to the temple...I hope we can help him prepare for the upcoming temple trip but it is really difficult with passports and birth certificates and everything. Anyways after the baptism, Rapheal gave the sweetest testimony. Ahhhh I just wish you all could meet him! He is usually so quiet and shy but he gave a powerful testimony. The gospel of Jesus Christ really does transform people and make them such amazing people. Those who are already great, become even better. Anyways yesterday was amazing and the whole day I was filled with the best feeling and so much joy!! We did a lot of finding so we knocked a lot of houses but it was fun!! I love contacting and meeting new people. We stopped at this one house and I was so excited because they fit what we call the "ideal contact" which means they have a car and a family. So we go inside their house and turns out he is a pastor of a Pentecostal church. We went there to teach them but instead Sister Motsi and I got taught!! haha he was going off about all this stuff and he even pulled out this book called Kingdom of Cults that talked about our church. He was showing us the stuff in there and it started to make me mad because it was all this false doctrine. As my frustration started to build, I began to pray to know what I could say or do. At that time I had this overwhelming sense of sorrow for this man. He could know the truth yet he was so stubborn and found information from the wrong source. I also felt so much love for all the missionaries around the world!! I felt so intimidated by this 50 year old man who has been a pastor for years. Here I am just a young 19 year old girl with a simple testimony but I have been called by a prophet of God to proclaim the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to heavenly Father's children. It is a terrifying thing that we do. But I felt so much love for the missionaries around the world who do this every single day. This was a huge testimony to me that this the one and true church on this earth. This is the Lord's work and how blessed am I and every other missionary to be a part of it. how blessed are you to be members of this church. I hope we all will never take for granted this amazing gift that we have!!
I look like a giant...hahaha
Brother Nonde and Rapheal
The bus ride to lusaka
I love these girls!!!!
Sister Hirwa, Sister Ratema, Sister Motsi and me at the grand opening of Pizza Hut!!!!!
Sister Adrianamamojisoa and Sister Mbele
Party of 4
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