"We want to prepare for baptism"

Well hello there!

 

New Years Eve we got a text from Wendy (she's the one who sent you a video on thanksgiving). We haven't taught them anything. We mainly just pop in for a moment, hear how they are doing, help with anything we can, and go on. We've spent a lot of holidays with them and i love them. Their oldest daughter is a member and she's preparing for a mission. They have a 14 year old daughter as well. Ok so Wendy texts us and says how we've been such an inspiration to them. It was very sweet but it came out of no where. It seemed there was something else going on her mind. I asked what provoked such a complement and she asked if we were sitting down. We were playing a game new years eve night (we had to be in the apartment by 6pm). She said "Donnie and I want to prepare for baptism". GAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! ... that's really what i put in the response back to her. hahaha. So excited. They've always been so supportive of Katie's involvement in the church but had a wall up for themselves. There were those moments when I thought they had a testimony but they weren't open about it. So we knew they'd get baptized at some point but we didn't think it'd be this soon. So we went over Thursday evening and taught them and their  younger daughter the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They know a lot about the church.... but then again they don't. They haven't had the lessons so they know a lot of details that members tend to bring up but they haven't seen the big picture... which is what the lessons do. We talked about how Christ set up the church when he was on the earth with 12 apostles. and how that has been restored. there are 12 apostles on the earth today. Wendy says with a smile "oh! i hadn't thought of that." The spirit was so strong. i love teaching the restoration because i can see it through someone else's eyes and my testimony strengthens. Donnie has a baptism date set for the end of February. He likes to have goals so he can prepare. Wendy and Julia are waiting to set a date.

 

The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored.... restored! not changed, not reformed, not adjusted, restored! It's the same thing that Christ set up on the earth. That means we have the Priesthood.

 

There was a baby blessing on sunday. There must have been 25 men in that circle. it was huge! and i'm pretty sure most, if not all, of them were family members. in the blessing for this baby boy, the dad said something like "you are surrounded by righteous men that hold the priesthood." and it hit me so hard! The power to act in God's name is on the earth AND there are men who are worthy to use it. I thought I saw my own future child's baby blessing. The feelings that I had were gratitude that it could happen.

 

New years day we went hiking on Cheyenne Mountain as a district. there's a flag at the top. i saw it one day (it's in our area) and i said "we have to get up there". so we convinced the elders to come with us and we did it! there's no trail at all. extremely sharp rocks. i climbed up a little part and it looked like i had taken a rasp to be my finger tips. but it was so much fun. we wrote our names in a notebook that was left in a peanut butter jar. super fun . :)

 

I'm feeling a lot more hope for the future recently. http://www.lds.org/ensign/2010/01/the-best-is-yet-to-be?lang=eng I'm learning to take what was good from the past and hope for that in the future, prepare for it, plan for it, but to leave the ashes in the past. to leave it on the dung heap as elder Holland put it  and to leave it there. i'm starting to feel like i'm worth what i would hope my life would be. so i'm doing good. :)

 

I love you all!

 

Sister Cornelsen