No I haven't been transferred to a Spanish area, but me and Sister Crane meet alot of people on the street who only speak Spanish, so we decided to try and learn as much as we can! We memorized 2 Nephi 31:20 yesterday and it was so much fun! Pretty sure we sound super weird trying to talk with Spanish accents and stuff, but we're having fun with it. Nacho Libre style.
So this week was awesome!! Rudy got baptized!! My first baptism :) It was amazing! But wow, it was so crazy getting everything ready for it! We finally thought we had everything all ready to go, and then showed up to discover that Rudy didn't have white underwear or a towel....shooot dang. We proceeded to drive to Target at less the desireable speeds, sprint to the boys section, grab the first pair of white underwear we could find and a towel. We made it back to the church just in time to hand him the goods. Talk about a heart attack! He got dressed and came out into the hall way to take pictures with us and OD. OD is an amazing new convert who just got the priesthood a couple Sundays back and Rudy asked him to baptize him. It was incredible. Even though, it was a crazy busy day, the spirit in the room was so peaceful and Rudy was SO happy. I also got the opportunity to play violin while he was getting dressed which was a great experience :) The Gospel really has the power to change people and it is the greatest thing to see in the whole world.
We also got to go to the temple with some investigators and recent converts earlier in the day to let them walk around the grounds and feel the incredible spirit that is there. Our newest investigator Darrell was loving every minute of it. He kept feeling his heart saying that he felt so good and that today was the best day ever. We taught him for the first time earlier in the week about the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he said right after we taught him that he felt the spirit and felt joy and peace in his heart. He asked if he could come to the temple with us the next day, and also to church. It was such a neat experience!
We met with Kendra again and talked to her about prophets. She asked a lot of good questions again and we watched the Mormon Message from President Monson "Dare to Stand Alone" with her. She loved it! Watch it if you haven't yet! President Monson is so amazing, AND we get to hear from him and the rest of the apostles in like 3 weeks!! Pretty sure General Conference weekend is going to be my favorite weekend of my mission.
Sunday was crazy busy also, but such an amazing day. I spoke in sacrament about how the Book of Mormon has played a role in my life. Singles wards are interesting because there are only about 30 people there on a given Sunday, so there aren't a lot of announcements, the sacrament only takes about 5 minutes, and that leaves a whopping 15-20 minutes for each of the speakers. Luckily I was last and the people before me liked to talk :) I also had the greatest topic and I am starting to get more comfortable with saying what is in my heart and not getting too nervous. The Book of Mormon though...seriously a life changer. It is the EVIDENCE that this church is true! It is Christ's church and contains the fullness of His gospel. By reading it every day, we really can learn to change our behavior and become more Christ like every day. The power of the Word of God has more influence then the sword! I love it so much. I never really realized how important the Book of Mormon was until I came out here. I know without a doubt that it is the word of God, and that the reason it took so much effort to bring it to us, to hide it, to translate it, to hide it again, then to eventually print millions and millions of copies, is because it has the power to change people! To make them want to be better and come unto Christ. It gives us confidence and trust in the Savior as we learn more about Him and how much He cares for each one of His children. We've just got to read it :) Like as much as we can...
Anyways, after church we had a St. Patricks day party thing as a ward and somehow the word got out that I play celtic music on the fiddle.....yep, I played some gigs while people ate green food and corned beef. It's a singles ward, so of course I played the song Wedding Reel, especially for them.
And lastly, we had an amazing fireside last night called Why I believe. People who were recently baptized have the opportunity to tell their story about why they believe what they believe, and every missionary brings as many investigators as they can. It was so incredibly powerful. I also played violin with Sister Stinnett as she sang "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul." I've never been so close to crying during a performance as I was while she sang. The words of that song, combined with her voice.. oh my goodness I wish you all could have been there. We recorded it on my camera while we were practicing, so i"ll see if I can put it on the computer somehow.
I'm also really hoping we can record a few songs today, apparently a member in Anthem has a recording studio in their house.. so we'll see what we can do! Look out for a Sister Stinnett on American Idol though.. in about 18 months of course.
All in all, it was a week full of miracles! I also had my first exchange on Tuesday, with a brand new missionary in my area. I was the designated driver so I had to learn real fast where everyone lives. It was interesting.. but we talked to so many awesome people and had some amazing lessons! The Lord watches over everything that we do, as long as we are being obedient and trusting in Him. Love you all and have a great week!!
Sister Kraus
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