Sister Lillie Haggard: March 21, 2016

This week passed by so fast. Sister Garcia was transferred and will be companions with Sister Conde in the very interior lots of trees. They are two very very different people and so that should be interesting :) My new companion will be Sister Rodriguiz who was Sister Trainadora but was released for her last two transfers of her mission.

Luis and Aline got married. We got permission to go to their reception at the fancy restaurant that´s right next to the temple. We ate a ton of food and it was fun.

Luis was baptized. It was very very tense because in reality Luis lives in another mission interlagos that borders our mission and we share a chapel with them. However, Luis has been frequenting our ward for years and we had permission, but there was confusion and the Presidents of the mission said that Luis would be baptized in the other ward the night before so Sunday we explained to Luis. But Luis was upset and said he would only be baptized in our ward and that he was so upset maybe he wouldn´t be baptized and we talked to the bishop and everybody was talking to everybody and the stake president talked to the mission presidents and in the end it worked out and Luis was baptized! Really this experience showed me how much the enemy works to keep people from the path. The baptism of Luis was so crucial! It´s salvation! and in one year their family can be sealed in the temple for eternity and their baby boy Hector will grow up in the church. I´m so grateful it worked out because it was really very close.

Also Gladies was baptized. Her baptism was also very special because she has known the church for more than 20 years. More than 20 years! All of her children have been baptized but she never accepted. When I arrived at every lesson she always said she would not and never would be baptized. But we are stubborn. Because Gladies knew everything already, was already visiting the church every time we taught Gladies it was really just with the Holy Ghost and the Book of Mormon testifying over and over again about baptism. Testifying over and over again about Jesus Christ and his example for us and the blessing of baptism in His church. And inviting over and over again to pray to God for an answer. And it worked out :) It was also very special because in my first area Maria Rosa I met her daughter who is a member there (she always cooked very well for us) and it was so special and gratifying to know we helped baptize her mom. Missionary work really does not have an end how many missionaries helped Luis and Gladies get to this point? Every missionary and member plays a role in missionary work and I know that this is the Lord´s Work and He is preparing His children for the Restored Gospel.

Sister Haggard