letter 09/29/09

I have a couple cool stories for you. So I'll do those first and then I'll go and answer some stuff from your email.
So yesterday my comp was sick and we had three really important appointments we couldn't cancel. So I took my comp over to a members house and then picked up their son and he was my companion for the day and it was so much fun. We had three amazing appointments and I just want to tell you how much I love the people up here. I'm sorry to say this but I don't think I can handle coming home yet. I think I might ask President if I can extend for one more transfer. I just love the people that much up here. OK, so just kidding, I wont ask to extend but I hope you do understand how hard it really will be for me to come home with these amazing people I’m teaching as well as the members.
I would have to say this is my favorite area of my mission. OK, so I said that I had a few stories for you so you better strap yourself to the chair or something cuz they are just that great. So I’m not sure if I have told you but we have two baptisms on the 10th of October and I am so excited and I really hope that I get to stay to see them happen. One of them is an 80-year-old lady who is so sweet and she has been through a lot in order to get baptized so I really hope it does go through. The other is a 23-year-old girl who has been on dialysis for the past two years and she has tubes in her chest that run straight to her heart and if they get wet she will die. We have been on the phone with doctors in the area and with our mission president to find our what there is to do for her. I just hope that she has the chance to be baptized. I would feel so horrible if she couldn't. I really think my heart would break if she didn’t get that chance.
Yesterday we had an appointment with one of our investigators named Ashley. Her 15-year-old sister and her whole family has been baptized but she never got to before they went inactive. Yesterday when we had our appointment we taught her about the kingdoms of glory and then asked her what she would do to get to the top one. She answered and said "anything". So I asked if she had gotten an answer to her prayers and she said she thought so and then she explained exactly what she felt, and do you know what she felt? THE SPIRIT! She did have her prayers answered and so I told her and her mom, who was sitting in on the lesson, that now that you have had that witness from our Father in Heaven you need to be baptized. And in order to do that since she is not 18 she has to have permission from her mom and dad so I’m just praying my guts out that her mom and dad will let her be baptized. She is also one of the investigators that I have such a love for. Just seeing the hard life she has been living and then to see her want to do what is right and be baptized is so amazing and I have such admiration to her. I hope I will be here to see her baptized as well.
The next appointment was with a lady who we have taught for quite a while and never really gotten anywhere. Last night we were teaching about the fourth article of faith and we were just going to go over the first two and leave baptism and the Holy Ghost for next time. While reading it to her the part about baptism just jumped out of the page at me and I knew I needed to talk about it. That’s when the spirit literally took over. I have no idea what was even said by me, or the spirit, all I remember is finally talking about a right or a wrong way to baptize and she told how she was baptized into the catholic church so it was by sprinkling and then she said I don’t really know why all these different churches baptize differently. I asked if we could read when Christ was baptized and I pointed out how he was baptized by immersion and her eyes just lit up and she was so shocked that she had never caught that before. I asked her, if she found out through prayer if all that we had taught was true would she be baptized by immersion into our church and she said "yes, ya I think I really would do that". Then it hit me to ask her if she already knew if it was true. So I asked her and she said ya I believe everything you have taught me so far. Come to find out she hasn't prayed about it yet so I challenged her to pray right after we left and that she would get an answer to her prayers and when she did would she be baptized and she said yes. So those are my two amazing stories for you and I think it took like forever to tell them so my bad but I wanted you to know everything that happened.
Well I’m very sorry but I think I have used up all my time telling you about my amazing stories but I do love you and can't wait to see you in 11 weeks. Wow that is crazy:)
I will gladly take your challenge and I will sing at least one more time before I come home. I really hope that my new comp can sing so I don't have to do a solo for you. I sure do love ya.
Talk to you again next week. Oh and next week is transfers so I will be emailing on Tuesday so please let everyone know.
Love Elder Joshua Pehrson