Crystal's Baptism!

                                                               February 10, 2014

Hey Family!!!

I want to start off this email by wishing Dad and Grandpa a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!! Love you so much!!!! Second, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!! I love each of you so much and am so grateful for you!!! MUAH!!!!! Big Squeeze!!! Haha!

This past week was another super crazy week but so full of miracles! We met with Crystal and Brother Dayton every day this past week leading up to her baptism. It was a hard week for her.... there were a lot of family and friends that had a lot of negative things to say and questioned her decision to be baptized but she was so strong. I have learned soooo much from her and Brother Dayton and their love and trust to follow God's will. I wish I had more time to talk more in depth but Crystal is just so neat!! Although I already have a strong testimony of this church and gospel, witnessing someone like Crystal, who has been feed as much anti-material you can imagine, put her full trust in God's will and follow the spirit in being baptized just reconfirms to me of how true this is. I love these moments on the mission where you can see God manifesting His truths to people.... it's so powerful. On Saturday, the day before her baptism, she was struggling (not with her testimony but with emotions of family and friends) and we were praying hard to know what we needed to talk about in our lesson with her. We felt like we needed to watch the Restoration video with her so we sat down and watched it. She cried through it and when it finished she just started bearing her testimony of how she knows this is true. She was just so overjoyed and overwhelmed with the spirit as she saw that Joseph Smith also went through a lot of tribulation for what he knew to be true.... there were a lot of people that thought he was crazy... but just like him, Crystal could not deny the truth and that the spirit had testified of it. It was such a beautiful lesson and it really turned her whole day around to prepare for her baptism in the morning.  Once again, I love being used as a tool in God's hands to help people!!!

Sunday was such a beautiful, miracle-filled day as well :) Crystal's baptism was at 7:30 a.m. (early day for us missionaries!) and it was a PACKED house! We were all so wonderfully surprised!! Crystal's mom came and she cried through the first hymn... although I know this is the right path to happiness, it killed me to see a mother in pain like that.... Brother Dayton's family flew in from Provo for the baptism and the whole baptismal program was just BEAUTIFUL!!!! Crystal was so happy and just glowing!! Brother Dayton's family invited me to come over for Sunday dinners whenever I want to when I return to B.Y.U. It was sweet of them :) I guess I'll be seeing them next February in Utah at the temple anyway!! ;) I’m so exciting :) 

To make Sunday even better, Ed was ordained to the Priesthood! =D He was beaming and smiling ear to ear. :) :) Brother Dayton is actually his home teacher and ordained him. Like I said, it was such a miracle-filled day. :) 

Crazy miracle... so we had actually been thinking of dropping Jesse and Meradith... long story... haha but we had a lesson with them yesterday that changed everything. At the beginning we emphasized the importance of being as honest as they could so we could best help them, and then we went through the baptismal questions to get a good understanding of where they are at. Meradith was so filled with the spirit, she told us that she knew this was Christ's one and only true church and that it has brought her so much closer to Jesus Christ. She said, “I will go the whole nine yards to be a member.” She said that the sacrifice that Christ made for us was so much bigger than any sacrifice we could ever make and so she was more than willing to do so. She then literally BEGGED us to be baptized... haha! Jesse says that he isn't ready, but we are planning on having a baptismal interview for Meradith tomorrow and have her baptism… ANOTHER baptism this Saturday!! ah!! So crazy..... hahahaha Please keep her and Jesse in your prayers.

This morning we had District P-day at the Daytona Beach! It's just right off of Dunlawton Ave. and Atlantic Ave. if you want to look it up online. I've been there before...it was so fun! Sis. Bracken and I, along with the Sister Training Leaders walked over to a pier and took pictures. It was beautiful! We saw a lot of jellyfish and a Samoan elder actually CAUGHT a big bird!!!! He was just holding it in his hands and the bird was just chillin' there.. hahaha pretty crazy. Anyway, we had to get up at 4:45 this morning to go to the beach.... and after an early morning from the baptism yesterday I'm exhausted..... So I'm going to go take a nap =D haha yay for P-day! 

Please stay close to the Lord and remember Him in all that you do. He is there just waiting for you to learn more of Him and how much He truly does love you. Follow God's will and you conquer. I love you!!!!!! 

Love,

Sister Kirkham