Hey everyone!
Everyone's dying to know just as much as I'm dying to say who my
new companion is. Ladies and gentleman, I introduce to you, Elder Derek
Wood of Beaverton, Oregon! I failed to get a picture of the two of us,
sorry about that. Next week. The next day after emails last week was
weird without Elder Allred. I was missing my better half. The next
morning at transfers I went into the leadership training meeting and sat
right in front of Elder Wood. I leaned over to him and whispered
"You're coming to Surprise." He laughed and we continued with our
meeting. We move into the chapel and lo and behold, my new companion.
Other than that, not a whole lot of changes to the zone. Elder
Trussell's companion Elder Fluckiger moved across the hall of their
apartment to be with Elder Robinson, and Elder Jones came down from
Sedona to be with Elder Trussell. I'm pumped for this next transfer.
Missionaries have been working hard, and already there were four
baptisms in the zone this past weekend alone, but more to come on that.
Elder Wood is a stud. He's been out for 13 months, and is my first
companion from the beautiful Pacific Northwest. When people ask if we
live close to each other, we have to explain that we live on other ends
of the states. He's a huge Ducks fan, which is good considering how well
I hear they're doing. We pretty much laugh the whole time we're driving
around, throwing jokes out here and there. Our first night together, I
saw what kind of teacher he was: awesome. He knows the scriptures so
well, and he uses them. We had another lesson with Sarah and her family
and it went really well. That morning we were in a district meeting and
talked about the importance of our investigators praying. We both agreed
that it needed to happen that night with Sarah and her family. In the
actual lesson, we invited Sarah to say the closing prayer. She was a
little hesitant, but then said she'd do it...but she didn't know what to
say what she was feeling. I always love it when people pray for the
first time. It's often some of the most sincere prayers I've ever heard.
It was the same case here. She prayed and it was great. She gave thanks
for her family and for their health. She thanked her Heavenly Father
for being able to work doing what she loves. Toward the end of her
prayer, she asked specifically to know if baptism was what she needed to
do. After it was over, she commented on how she felt a little bit
better. Nothing overly exciting, but better. It was great to see how
Elder Wood and I had a goal for the lesson and how we worked toward it.
This past weekend was full of very spiritually rewarding
experiences involving baptisms. We attended four baptismal services. The
first one was the stake baptisms. An eight year old boy named Xander
was baptized by his father. You might know him. It was Wes! I baptized
Wes just over a month ago. He received the priesthood and he baptized
his son on Saturday. I snapped a picture with the family (Amber wasn't
able to make it because of work). Elder Wood and I stood as witnesses.
You could tell how nervous Wes was and I don't blame him! I've been a
member of the church for my whole life and didn't personally baptize
anyone until I was twenty years old. He's been a baptized member of the
church for a month and now he was baptizing his son! It was a great
feeling to stand at waters' edge and see this happen. In a month their
ten year old Gabriel will be baptized too, completing the family. Their
two youngest kinds will be baptized when they turn eight.
We went back into Peoria, Elder Wood's last area, for the baptism
of an investigator he had taught. It was a father returning to activity
baptizing his son. We came back to Surprise for the baptism of a family
in the Estrella branch for the Spanish Elders. It was the family where I
ate menudo a few months ago. I had helped them paint the walls of one
of their rooms a few weeks ago, and I immediately loved that family. Mom
and dad and their eight year old son were all baptized. Their 15 year
old daughter chose not to be baptized with them, but she came to support
them. The whole time she was in tears. I know the Spirit touched her
heart. I firmly believe that she could be baptized by the end of the
month. Their family just seemed to have a glow about them when they came
up out of the water. I loved the service because it was all in Spanish.
We sang the hymns in Spanish, I didn't understand a word of any of the
talks but I just sat back and felt the Spirit the whole time.
An hour after the Spanish baptismal service was a baptism for our
sisters. They've been teaching a man named Rocky and he was so excited
to be baptized. He only has one leg, his right leg. He's in wheelchair
but is one of the funniest people I've met in a while. He had just had
surgery on his other foot, and had it covered in a plastic bag for his
baptism. To ensure safety, the sisters asked if we would dress in white
and be in the font to assist the man who was baptizing Rocky. We said
we'd be glad to. The service itself was one of the most humble I've ever
attended. There couldn't have been more than ten or twelve people
there. The talks were short and sweet, and Sis Falke played a musical
number on the violin that was so beautiful to listen to. She played an
arrangement of one of my favorite hymns, "Lead, Kindly Light," with "O
My Father." It nearly brought me to tears. The time came when we were to
help Rocky be baptized. The four of us in the font was a tight fit, but
it worked. I stood to his right, Wood behind him, and the brother from
their ward to his left. He was baptized and he was so happy. The easy
part was over, now we had to get him out. He tried stepping up the
steps, but the plastic bag on his foot kept slipping. He sat on the
steps, and tried scooting himself up. One of us at the top tried to lift
him, but we needed another person. His brother came to help us, and he
was eventually lifted into his wheelchair. Altogether it probably took
about four or five minutes to get out of the font and Rocky was
chuckling for most of it.
I had a great week. With a new companion and with all of these
baptisms plus more to come, it's looking to be a great holiday season.
Already the work seems to be turning around in the area. Elder Wood is
the man and I'm eager to see what's in store for us. I hope everyone's
doing well and I can't wait to hear from you. Write back soon, take care
and be good.
Much love,
Elder Eric James Turner
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| Xander's baptism |
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