Baptism Yesterday

About a year ago E came to church with A.  She said she had driven by the church for many years and told herself that she needed to come back and the day she dropped in  was the day to do that.  

  She started coming to Provident Living Classes and to church. She is very talented and was willing to share her knowledge and talents in teaching the sisters how to use what they grew in their gardens.  It was great to get to know her better and fun to watch her testimony of the gospel grow.

  This year she was able to plant a garden and grow the things that she had taught the sisters how to use during the classes she taught.

  Her daughters N and M were baptized yesterday..  There was only one  empty chair in the room and people were standing at each door. 

  Their grandfather who is a temple worker performed the baptism.  He is a brother to Kee G..  He said they were thinking about moving back to Tuba.

  The sister-in-law gave a talk on the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Alex T. welcomed them into the ward after bearing his testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and  sharing his story of why he knows the Book of Mormon is true.

  It was a wonderful experience to be a part of and to see how many hearts were touched.

  Today in both Sacraments the youth spoke of their experiences at the Youth Conference in Flagstaff.  The Spirit was strong as they shared of the "tender mercies" of the Lord and how it has affected their testimony of the gospel.  

  Both the youth and the older members who served in Leadership positions were uplifted and fortified by the many spiritual experiences they had during the week.  I hope this can be just the beginning of future conferences that can be held for the youth in this area.

  The gardens are growing and so are the opportunities to share the gospel as we work beside the participants.  We have noticed that the gardens are having positive side affects on the neighbors.  We can see gardens popping up near the Church gardens.  It is as if the people are finding hope in what can be done, by watching their neighbor's gardens grow successfully.  This in turn provides opportunities to visit about the Church and the gospel.

  Ammon set such a great example of serving and trusting the Lord to provide the teaching moment.  We can learn a lot from  him.  He came to serve and was prepared to do whatever he was asked.

     It is so great to be a part of this work in this part of the vineyard.

Sister Olson