Hermana Warburton: Surprises and Miracles

Wow! What a crazy week! A week full of surprises!

Surprise numero 1: We found a new family that is awesome! Actually the mom in this family reminds me a lot of my own mom! :) She is young, married, and has 2 sons. She is really interested in the church, because she wants her 2 sons to be good people with good morals. She even cried in the lesson, because she wanted so badly the best for her sons. We taught her about the basics of the Gospel, and about God. It was so neat to find a family that was accepting, and wanted us to teach them! :)

Surprise numero 2: AMALIA GOT BAPTIZED!! rememeber the familia amalia? the cute 60 year old lady with lots of grandchildren and 3 daugthers? Ya well, she got baptized, and its a crazy story how this all happend!!

Last week she had her baptismal interview and we were planning on having her be baptized the next saturday (5 de marzo). but when we talked to her tuesday, she said she couldnt be baptized saturday, because she had the high school graduation of her daughter to attend. so we decided on the next saturday (12 de marzo) for her baptism. We taught her throughout the week, and her mom from another province in ecuador was staying with them.. and other family members too. so the week was a little crazy at the house of amalia!

On saturday, we passed by the house of amalia at 7pm, to teach her a lesson. when we stopped by she told us that her daughter karla was going out of town for the rest of the whole month, and that she wanted to get baptized now! I was like... uh ah! what? .. can we do that? Amalia really wanted ALL of her daughters and mom to attend the baptism, and this weekend was the only weekend that all of them would be home.....

So we made a few phone calls.... and decided that amalia could be baptized the next day!!! Sunday the 6 de Marzo! So after running around like chickens with our heads cut off for about an hour and a half, we organzied the baptism, and got someone to make a cake, and people to help us get this ready!

On Sunday we talked to Amalia before her baptism and she told us her testimony of the Gospel. She told us that at first, she never wanted to enter a Mormon Church, because they only believe in Jose Smith, and dont believe in Jesuscristo. But one day she went to the LDS church with her neighbor Miriam (who is a member), and found that the Church was ALL about Jesuscristo, and only taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As she met with the missionaries she learned more and more, and learned that Jose Smith was a prophet, called to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ on earth once more. Amalia told us that it was not US (THE MISSIONARIES) that "convinced" her that this was true. She said that she has felt that this is true, and that is why she wanted to be baptized. even her mom told her to be sure about it, and her mom disapproved of the decision. but amalia felt that it was true. She felt that it is true, and while we as missionaries were there to help her, we were did not convert her, but the Spirit did.

Wow. We felt so happy and proud of Amalia. After a few more hours of running around,(like crazy missionaries) and getting everything set up.. at 5:30pm , amalia had her baptism! :) and it was really nice. her cute neighbor miriam who brought her to the church and has fellowshipped her all the way spoke, and it was so sweet. my companion and i sang a song too! also amalia gave her testimony after and it was so sweet! :)

After we had cake and cookies and candy.. and it was so neat because all of amalia`s daughters and grandchildren were there... and they are not members, so they got to see a baptism for the first time!!

and to add to the craziness... we had a fireside that night too! right after the baptism with the missionaries and members in the stake... AND! amalia bore her testimony at the fireside too! :) i was so proud of her! what a great woman.

i love amalia and her family so much. they truly are amazing people. amalia has taught me so much about love and service to her family. she takes care of all her little tiny, crazy, grandchildren everyday, and she can barely walk with 2 operated knees. she is so loving and happy. she has such a great faith. she knows that God really does answer and listen to her prayers. every time she prays, i know she is praying to her Heavenly Father. She expresses her thoughts and feelings so simply and beautifully. i love this great hermana!

And i truly witnessed a miracle this week. The fact that we were able to organize a baptism in 1 DAY was a miracle. im really not sure how we did it and how everything work out so nicely. we really didnt even have a problem. I know that God was helping us and watching over us every step of the way.

I know this church is true and that God has a plan for every one of His children. We are truly children of God, with a divine nature and purpose. This life was not meant to be easy, but thanks to our hard times, we can learn and grow. we can become better. Thanks to Jesucristo, we can become better everyday, and realize our divine potential. How great we are loved! We may not see it in the moment, but i know that the plan of God is perfect, and when we trust in Him, and follow His path, we will be blessed! :)

¡Les amo!

con mucho amor,

Hermana Warburton