Three.

9/29/14

Well. You could say it was a pretty great week. And then you'd have to reevaluate and say that it was the best week ever. I am still reeling from how many miracles we saw this week. And yes. OUR FAMILY GOT BAPTIZED. Oh, it was so wonderful. So absolutely perfect. I will start from the beginning of the week. This week was just as bit crazy as it was perfect. We ran around the whole week trying to get everything ready for Saturday. It's not everyday that an entire family gets baptized so we wanted to make sure it was perfect. We planned the program, planned the food for the lunch afterwards, and wanted to make sure that our family was ready for this day. And by John, we did it. And by we did it, I mean Heavenly Father did it because there's no way it would have all gone so well if it was just two girls from America trying to do all of this. There were all sorts of little miracles all week long that prepared us for the baptism. For example, one day, all of our plans fell through. So we decided to get more things ready for the baptism. We got on a bus to head to a store and we ran into an inactive that I've been trying to work with since I got here. Total miracle. By the time Friday came around everything had been done except for getting clothes to our family and the people that would be baptizing them. There, we ran into a little bit of a problem. We had clothes for all the family. And for the missionary that was baptizing the Son and the Mom. But for the member baptizing the Dad, we could not find any clothes. It was a panic time. And then, miraculously right before we left the building we found more clothes and more sizes and were able to find something to work for the member. Saturday morning we were as pumped as we could be. Everything just fell into place. Here, we do baptisms in a sauna. They have a pool we use there. We met our cute family at a bus stop and all went together to the sauna. The elders helped us so much to keep everything going. Our family changed into their whites and we had a wonderful program before the baptism. My companion plays the flute and so the missionaries did a musical number to Be Still My Soul. The program itself was a miracle because our ward mission leader was supposed to conduct but then got called into work. So we got the first counselor to conduct. We found out later that the first counselor got a call right after we did to leave town to visit relatives. But he chose to stay because, as he said, "It's not everyday a family joins the church." The baptism was perfect. Even though during the baptism one of the primary kids accidentally switched on the jets in the pool and it started to fill with more water. Haha. Our lives. The Dad was baptized first. Then the Mom. And then they stood together and watched their son be baptized. After, they all stood together and gave each other a hug. I will never forget their smiles or the sight of them all standing there together in white, just glowing with happiness and sopping wet. After the baptism, we had a couple more talks. One from one of the primary kids. He did so well. He even had visual aids. Haha. What a champ. And one from our branch president. Our branch president is a senior missionary from America. He's also a convert and he talked about how as he watched the family be baptized today he remembered his own baptism 40 years ago and was filled with joy seeing them come into the gospel. Afterwards, we had a lunch at the branch. It was beautiful. White tablecloths and lots of Armenian food. The next day was wonderful too. They all came to church and received the Holy Ghost. My favorite part was when the Son received the Holy Ghost. In his blessing he was told that he will have the opportunity to be a missionary. And that's when it really hit me how amazing my life is. How blessed I am to know these people and to have had the opportunity to teach them and see them come into the gospel. The gospel is never ending. This 11-year boy that we taught will some day go on a mission and teach others and more people will come into this gospel. The ripple effect of missionary work is mind blowing. The Mom said the closing prayer and in it she said, "Please let all people on earth find this church." It was perfect. We also found out from the Mom that the night before the baptism they too had received a call from relatives inviting them to go out of town the next morning. They thought about it and then said no because they knew their baptism was more important. So cool. The Mom and the First Counselor both talked about choices. And how everyday we have choices put in front of us and then it's up to us to do what's right. And that's basically what the gospel is. Consistently making the right choices. And we mess up. A lot. And that's okay. Because we get up the next day and try again. The scripture on the baptismal program was Isaiah 41:10 

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

We have no need to fear. Everyday we have the opportunity to realize that God is with us. We have the opportunity to push back darkness. And on September 27, 2014 in Lipetsk, Russia a little darkness was pushed back by a family who made a choice to follow the Savior. And I'm just the happiest girl in all the world that I got to see it. I love you all! Have great week! Love, Sister Harris