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| Jairo's Baptism |
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two days in San Juan! We were sitting in the office on Monday, when all of a sudden some guy came up to the window of the mission office and said that he wanted to talk to President Monestel. So we let him in, and President Monestel took him to his office. After they talked for a while,President came out and said, "Elder Payne and Elder Parrish, this is Jairo. He just barely moved into your area, and is going to be baptized tomorrow at 4:00 pm. Please prepare his baptismal service." Needless to say we were way surprised! We started talking to Jairo for a few minutes to get to know him and it turns out that he had gone to church for over two years in a different part of Managua, but had just barely overcome a lot and was now eligible for baptism.
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| Carlos' Baptism |
The second miracle came later that night while we were teaching one of our investigators named Carlos. Carlos had a baptismal date for the following Saturday and was really excited. I was secretely bummed out because I knew I had transfers and wasn't going to be able to see his baptism. Well, we told him that there was a man named Jairo that was gettitng baptized the next day and that he was invited to see the baptism. He then said, "Wait...can I get baptized tomorrow too? Tomorrow is the only day my mom would be able to come see my baptism." We of course said YES!! So, we started preparing TWO baptismal services for the next day. These were 2 baptisms that a day earlier we didn't even know that we were going to have!
Tuesday, we had the baptismal services, and they went great. I never expected to have 2 baptisms the DAY before I had transfers! Jairo got baptized at 4:00 pm and Carlos got baptized at 6:00 pm. There were quite a few ward members that showed up to both baptisms to support them. I never got to know Jairo that well, but Elder Payne and Elder Pinto (oh yeah, Elder Pinto, my old companion, got moved back to San Juan and is now Elder Payne's new companion) will be able to help him keep progressing.
I'm about 95% sure that Carlos will be a future missionary. He's incredibly smart and has a huge desire to keep learning more and progressing in the church. I really enjoyed teaching Carlos, because he was one of those investigators that always kept the commitments we gave him, and always had great questions and a desire to learn. The whole time we were teaching him he was willing to get baptized, but he kept saying that he wanted to learn more before he got baptized. We helped him understand the baptismal requirements found in D&C 20:37, and after that he was more than willing to be baptized, even if he didn't know everything yet.
On Wednesday we had transfers! I was called to be one of the zone leaders in Granada with my new companion Elder Franco. Elder Franco is from Argentina and has been a zone leader here in Granada for about 5 months now. It should be pretty fun being a zone leader. I am super happy that I got to come back to Granada! I was only here for a month last time with Elder Chacaj, but I have a feeling that I'll be here a while now. I enjoyed my time in the office, but I was definitely ready to get back out into the field! The good thing is that Elder Payne and I were able to baptize 5 people in our 7 weeks together! I think this transfer will be a good one! I feel blessed to be a zone leader of Zone Granada because it always has been one of the best zones in the mission, and the missionaries have a lot of success. It is a great place for missionary work with a LOT of people who are ready to accept the gospel.
This upcoming Saturday, we have a baptism of a 60 year old man named Julio Cesar which we are really excited for! I'm excited for my new area, companion, and new responsibilities. I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for me here! I'm sorry I couldn't send pictures this week. Somewhere in the process of transfers I lost my USB cable that attaches to my camera so I can upload pictures. So this week I'll have to buy a new cable!
I miss and love you all!
Happy Valentine's Day!
