"I Made it!"

We had a pretty good week! Not much to report again. We are so busy just doing normal things, Visitors' Center, meetings, teaching the people we have been teaching.. We haven't seen any huge changes or new people lately! But that's okay! We are teaching and safe and busy and happy and healthy. :))

Gaby and Andrew got married on Tuesday in San Francisco! Then her baptism went perfectly on Friday! We had a great turn out, Andrew came, she was glowing and BEAUTIFUL. Seeing her standing there in the pure water, wearing all white, beaming with a smile.... its hard to explain the emotion! Its like everything that has happened with her, all the trials she has overcome, watching her grow and learn and change, floods your mind all at once. I just sighed like Wow. She is really here. She is here and ready and willing. As she came up out of the water, she cried. As she walked up the stairs, she looked at me and said, "I made it." OH MY HEART. I gave her a huge hug that got me sopping wet but I didn't care one bit. AH! I just think of how happy I was, how happy she was, Imagine how happy Heavenly Father was!!! This is one of His children! I am so grateful that He allows us to participate in this beautiful work, so we can get a tiny little glimpse into the joy He feels as one of His children come into the waters of baptism.

Ben is doing great! He is reading and coming to church and praying. His baptism is on Saturday!!!! He was on the fence for a while there, but he is fully on board now. We invited him to pray and ask God if he should be baptized. He feels good about it :)

Tiffany is doing great! She is seriously like a member, she just isn't baptized, YET! We decided to set a baptismal date for June 15 and work towards that, fasting and praying, and showing the Lord that we want this! We know that when He sees our faith, He will soften her mom's heart and she can get baptized!

With Anezi, I think the reason we were there teaching him kind of got lost. It turned into more of like a feel-good Christian experience for him, more than the fact that he needs to find out if this is true for himself. So we re-established expectations and tried to make it more clear. I think he understood better and said he would read and pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. If he is sincere, I know the Lord will answer His prayer!

We are still teaching the lady from Mongolia named Javzaa. She is wonderful! We are trying to find Mongolian translator headset so she can come to church. I mean she could come, but she wouldn't understand anything. We still teach her over the phone with a translator haha it is quite the experience!! She always gives us these delicious grapefruit candies. But one time, she asked us something in Mongolian and I nodded my head yes because I had no idea what she was saying and she ran in the kitchen and brought out this weirdest food and luckily told us to take it home to eat later.. PHEW! That was a close one. We taught her about modern day prophets and I asked what it meant to her and she said (this is all through translation of course) that she thought we should have prophets today so it makes sense! WHOO HOO!! That concept is something a lot of people struggle with and I'm just like why wouldn't you want a prophet? Why wouldn't you want extra guidance? Why wouldn't you want a trustworthy, humble, powerful, righteous leader to look towards? I understand that it is different and new to some people, but it is a HUGE blessing that I have come to be very grateful for as I watch people reject President Monson!

Tristan is doing awesome. He taught Priesthood this week, is giving a talk next week, getting his home teaching done, and working towards his patriarchal blessing! At the lessons, he teaches US! To prepare for his mission! Awesome.

David might go to the San Leandro ward because they moved :(

The Visitors' Center is pretty busy! I have gotten more bold, realizing that a lot of people hurry through or are in a rush, so you just have to say the most important things before they leave! If they come in and you lolly gag around, you will never get to mention Jesus Christ or invite them to know more! They are out the door before you know it. SO you have to look them straight in the eyes and say, "Thanks for coming in today. I know you are in a rush. This is a beautiful place where you can feel peace. Our message is centered on Jesus Christ. If you dont have time now, will you please leave your information so we can share more with you? I have come so much closer to God and I am happier because of it!" Something like that. They can feel the Spirit! They can feel the truth! If they say no, at least I invited them! They had a choice. It is not our job to convert people. It is our job to INVITE. Who cares if they say no? Their loss. So dont be sad when you invite someone to something and they decline you. Its called agency, You did your part! :)

Sister Benosa and I are still waking up at 5 to read the Book of Mormon! We are in Helaman! I love it. It starts my day off right and I know it seems impossible, but I have MORE energy! The Lord sees our efforts and is blessing us immensely! I have come to love the Book of Mormon, the teachings it contains, and the prophets it testifies of. I have felt closer to the Savior as I have read its pages.

Transfer calls are on Saturday so I will find out if I am staying or going! I have been here since December so who knows?! I know that the Lord will place me wherever He needs me. I am praying that I will be willing and humble and trusting enough to obey!

The following thoughts and quotes are from an AWESOME talk "That I Might Draw All Men Unto Me" by Elder Renlund:

“The greater the distance between the giver and the receiver, the more the receiver develops a sense of entitlement.” Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, are the ultimate Givers. The more we distance ourselves from Them, the more entitled we feel. We feel that God has an obligation to fix things—and fix them right now! The closer we are to Jesus Christ in the thoughts and intents of our hearts, the more we appreciate His innocent suffering, the more grateful we are for grace and forgiveness, and the more we want to repent and become like Him.

This statement comes from an Apostle of the Lord: The best way I know of to draw closer to God is to prepare conscientiously and partake worthily of the sacrament each week. Elder Renlund shares this beautiful story. A lady accidentally got skipped and didn't partake of the sacrament. When the Bishop found out, she was invited into a classroom. A priesthood holder came in. He knelt down, blessed some bread, and handed her a piece. She ate it. He knelt down again and blessed some water and handed her a small cup. She drank it. Thereafter, Diane had two thoughts in rapid succession: First, “Oh, he [the priesthood holder] did this just for me.” And then, “Oh, He [the Savior] did this just for me.” The sacrament truly helps us know our Savior. He invites us: No matter where you stand in your relationship to God, I invite you to draw nearer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, the Ultimate Benefactors and Givers of all that is good.

I LOVE this! I know that as I humble ourselves and partake of the sacrament worthily each week, we will draw closer to the Savior. I have seen this beautiful miracle take place in not only my life, but in the lives of those around me!

Have a wonderful week! Yay for summer!

Always,

Sister Brinton