My First Baptism

WHAT A WEEK.

Okay.

So the baptism of Jose Luis was Saturday. Can you say opposition? He got baptized in the middle of the 2 sessions of conference. We arranged with a member to bring their laptop so that I and Sister Jacoboski could connect to the wifi and watch conference in English. The member dropped off the laptop, we turned it on and... bam. We didn't have the password. We tried calling him for the first 30 min of conference without an answer. Finally we got the password and then we couldn't connect to the wifi. We tried for about an hour to get it going. Finally we gave up and I watched the last 30 minutes in Portuguese, not really retaining anything. I wanted to cry. I have never felt before in my life that I had needed conference as much as I felt coming up on this weekend. Then it was time to prepare for the baptism of Jose Luis. In our frenzy of trying to get conference working and the first baptism for my companion and I of our missions, someone forgot to start filling the font...............

So with buckets in hand, we frantically filled them in sinks and the hose outside to speed up the long process of filling the font. But it worked! And Jose Luis was baptized. During this time, someone came and fixed the satellite and hooked up a tv so I could watch conference in English. The Saturday afternoon conference was for me. I know it was. I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to listen to the words of the Prophet and Apostles. I'm looking forward to the Ensign so I can read the session I missed. I learned so much from conference. Elder Scott's talk was the one that hit me the hardest, but as well President Uchtdorf's address Sunday morning. He said that there really are no endings, only temporary interruptions. I know that's the case with Chelsea and I. Not an ending, but a temporary interruption and I will see her again soon. If you missed conference, go watch it. I know the Lord has words meant just for you. I know He had words for me, and I am so so so grateful for them: https://www.lds.org/general-conference/sessions/2014/04?cid=HPSU040614654&lang=eng

I'm starting my 6th transfer! I'm staying in Bebedouro with Sister Soares. I know that I learned so much from serving in California, but I needed to learn a lot from Brazil as well. I think that one of the biggest things I am learning here is truly giving my time to the Lord. A lot more is required of me here and at first it was a struggle to give all that was required, but now I am learning to find joy in it. I know that when we truly give our will to the Lord, we find the most joy in our lives. It may be a struggle at first, but I know it is worth all the effort.

On a less serious note, I finally can kind of roll my r's. I literally screamed when it happened. My companion and Sister Jales just laughed at me. I still have a long way to go, but it is amazing how much I have learned.

LOVE YOU ALL :)

 

Sister Shipp