Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Baptisms, 4th of July and another transfer in Paradise.

Hey y'all! This past week was so awesome, probably one of the best ones since being back. I'm just going to have to jump right into all the highlights!

First highlight was going on exchanges with Elder Davis (blonde one) on Tuesday. We had a blast together in Slidell and we accomplished a lot together. My favorite from the exchange was probably when we tracted into this lady R______. She is a young single mother, with one daughter. I was just so happy/loopy from being out in the sun so she probably wondered why I was so excited and happy when she opened the door. Regardless, we had a fantastic lesson with her where we explained out purpose, shared the Book of Mormon with her and invited her to read it. The Elders are going back to check up on her this week, I hope it goes well. She was so sweet and sincere. The whole exchange was really great. We reminisced on the good times in the MTC and back when we first came out. Crazy to see how far we have come.

Jacob got baptized!!!!! Saturday was a great day for us here in Waveland. There were a lot of people that showed up to support and Jacob's parents even came. It was a great service and full of the spirit. Elder Crisp spoke on baptism and I spoke on the Holy Ghost at his baptism. Pres. Naylor, the Elder's Quorum President, baptized him and all was well. He said he felt so happy and loved. It was a long time coming but the day finally came. I am so happy I was here to witness it. On Sunday, Bro. Sones confirmed him in sacrament and later Bro. Ginn conferred the Aaronic Priesthood on him. Jacob was happy, the ward made him feel welcome and it made for a great weekend. It is so great to see how much he has grown spiritually and God has blessed me in being able to teach him and see this growth in one of his amazing children. Jacob is awesome, we are so happy! :)

Meeting with B______ and A______ is still going great! (k_____ is out of town with her Dad for 2 weeks) This past week we started reading the Book of Mormon together with them. It was so great to see how they were able to apply Nephi's struggles and experiences to their own lives. The scriptures can help us in our day to day lives. Whether we are reading about some brother's that don't like their younger brother or the struggles a family faces as they leave their home land. The spirit can teach us individually. 

The 4th of July was yesterday and we got our transfer calls. Elder Crisp and I are staying together in the 'Promised Land' one more transfer together. We were pretty happy to here that. The Sister's that are in our ward are leaving though and so we will be taking over their area We now will cover the whole ward... lots of work, lots of area and lots of fun! It'll be sad to see them go. It was a good 4th of July though. We helped the sisters's move some stuff out of their apartment in the morning, went fishing with Brittany and Angel in the afternoon (we got lots of sun), had a blast at the Sones' house for dinnner and ended the night at the Naylor's with B_____ and A____. The Sones' had all their kids at the house, so it was tons of fun. Reminded me of home with all the cousins and family gatherings. We even had a little water balloon fight, Elder Crisp and I got em good. At the Naylor's, we had a good lesson with B______ and A____. We watched a short movie on Jesus Christ with them. Elder Crisp and I had been prompted earlier to give them blessings, so we also decided to offer those. It ended up being a testimony builder for us because later they texted us and told us how much it helped them. So grateful we had listened to that prompting and were able to help them. :)

With the 4th of July, Baptisms and Birthdays, July is going to be such a great month!! Birthday month is underway. I am excited to be staying with Elder Crisp another transfer and to be able to witness these baptisms that we have coming up. I continue to count my many blessing: Knee surgery success, coming back to the field, getting sent to Waveland, having such great companions, catching a red fish, being able to help my District members, seeing Jacob get baptized, baptisms to come... the list continues to go on. And probably the biggest blessing, besides my Savior, is my Family. I love y'all, thanks so much for supporting me here. I am truly happy and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Even though I may want to just pick up the phone and call y'all, I know I am where I am supposed to be and doing the things the Lord would have me do as one of his disciples. Have a great week y'all! Can't wait for another transfer in Paradise! :)

Love,
Elder Rankin :)
 






 

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