March 3, 2014

Hola Familia!

This has been another great week! And.......M. J. is getting
baptized March 22! As long as she can stop drinking coffee! tomorrow
we are following up and potentially ridding her house of coffee. :))
she is super excited, ready, and determined to do what she needs to
do. In our lesson I was leading up to invite her to be baptized, and
she just stopped me and told me to invite her to be baptized...Never
had that happen before! That's how excited she is, and we are too!

J. was baptized last Monday by his friend Brandon! So cool to be a part of that and see his growth just in the last few weeks.

Well, we got to be a part of the Gilbert Arizona Temple Dedication yesterday. There were no LDS services in all of AZ, and only temple
worthy members could attend the broadcast of the dedication, It was a weird feeling having to tell investigators they couldn't come to church. :( but the Dedication was so great! President Monson, Eyring
and Elder Callister were all there, and it was definitely a neat/new experience. Something that jumped out to me was a comment made in one
of the talks about how the temple literally gives us an eternal
perspective, and should remind us of the things we need to be doing
(or not doing) everyday. He said that if people from the outside world
were to see through the walls of the temple at what happens inside,
they might very well say "how ridiculous"; but when we enter we
understand the eternal importance of the Lord's House, and if we were
to look through the walls of the temple into the outside world, we
might just as well say to our selves "how ridiculous". I'm grateful
for the knowledge the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ gives me. I am
grateful for the blessings of the temple that allow my family to be
together forever! :)
As for the rest of the week, it was a little slower as far as work
goes. But I went up to Chino Valley for a day with Elder Sutcliffe. He
is a great missionary! I learned a ton and enjoyed going to a new area
with new people I would never see again. I think it helped me be more
bold and confident.
Well, I hope all is going well. I love hearing from you all and your
testimonies and experiences! Sorry this is so short, but we are doing
well and loving the work.

Elder Collin Christensen
edication. It was a