Monday, May 26, 2014

Planting seeds!


     Hello Everyone! I am so grateful for this week in which I've had! Over the past couple of months our area has struggled, even though we have been working very hard, the baptisms had just stopped! We had been teaching great people but it just wasn't their time to accept the gospel yet. Seeds have been planted and I'm sure the harvest here in our area may come months or years down the road. I have been so blessed to see the hand of the Lord in His work. I have been blessed to see how much He truly wants to be a part of our lives. He gives us exactly what we need at the right moment so that we may grow and learn. 
     I think the greatest lesson I have been learning over the past couple of weeks has been patience. I have prayed hard and sincerely at night for the answer to come of a prepared person to show up right in our path that would accept the invitation of baptism! Someone that would be so excited they would want to go fill the font that very instant and be baptized by proper authority and immersion! The answer didn't come that way.  The Lord has helped us to see that we must rely on Him at all times, and that His purposes are higher than ours. The Lord pushed us through it and has helped us to grow spiritually.  
     This week, after having seen another baptism fall through, we prayed that the Lord would help us know who it was that we could help more fully accept our Savior Jesus Christ into their lives. We have been teaching a group of five girls ranging from the ages of 9-18. As we have taught them they have made some great changes in their lives. They have really enjoyed church but their parents have been holding them back from being baptized. As we went over this past week we had a distinct impression that Brenda the 18 year old was ready to be baptized! We told her how we felt and she was a bit surprised! She said she wasn't sure. We promised her that evening if she came to church on Sunday and watched a baptism that she could catch the spirit of it and that she would know for herself that her Heavenly Father wanted her to be baptized. Sunday came and Brenda came to one of the 'child of record' baptisms in the ward. As she watched, the spirit entered the room and you could literally see something change in her face! There was a light that  wasn't there before. As we left the baptism, she was very happy with what she had felt. We had to leave right after church to head to a meeting in Fresno, so we told her to text us about how she felt. As we got into our meeting, we received a text from her telling us that she had made up her mind and wants to be baptized this upcoming Sunday! 
     I am so grateful to represent Our Savior Jesus Christ. 
I am grateful that the Lord has answered our prayers and has helped us to find one of his daughters prepared to receive the gospel! I love this work! I hope that each of you trust in the promises that the Lord has given you! He will follow through! Love you all, have a great week!! 

Elder Tanner Aiken

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