Baptism in Smithfield

Hey everyone! Wow, what a good week that Elder Ankney and I had. We saw a lot of great things happen this week! :D

Sawyer is doing awesome! He is still solid for May 23rd but he leaves to California to go to Disneyland with his girlfriend (who is active in the church and we found Sawyer through her) on Friday. It is a good thing that we have iPads because we will be having Skype lessons with him. It is so great to be part of this great work of salvation and to see how fast everything is changing. The Lord is definitely hastening His work! D&C 88:73

Shy is doing super well. She is getting a little excited for Hawaii and we will be also having Skype lessons with her when she is in Hawaii. Yay for serving in a YSA stake! Teaching the majority of our YSA people through Skype because they are at home in a different state. :) 

We also have seen something really cool happen this week. One family that Elder Ankney and I are teaching has been coming to church three weeks in a row! The family consists of a husband and a wife. The wife, Anne, took her name off the record because a bishop asked her to (I got so pissed when I heard about that) and the husband, Dave, is not a member (his brother is a Catholic priest so he asks a bunch of questions concerning to apostasy) but the great thing is that they both are attending church. Everything has been going super well with them. :) 

Elder Ankney had a really interesting lesson with Tristen Wiser (the 19 years old man that we are helping to get the Priesthood). He is a smart kid. The only reason why he has been held back (gospel-wise) is because of his autism. But he is very high-functioning so it is really fun to teach him. Last lesson we had with him, we talked about the Plan of Salvation. In the beginning, we asked him what he knew about the Plan of Salvation. In 10 minutes, he went over the entire Plan of Salvation and it was good! We were shocked the entire time. We had to do something quick but we ended up deciding to go "deeper" in the Plan of Salvation, which is ALWAYS fun!!!!! We read the last six verses in Abraham 3 and we had a great hour-long discussion of the Pre-Earth Life. I actually learned some things from Tristan. He has a lot of great comments. 

And finally, I try to save the best for last. :) Last Saturday, Vivianne Soffe was able to enter into the waters of baptism and was baptized by his grandfather. It was an amazing thing to witness. The baptismal service was fantastic and the family was super happy about everything. The family is doing very well. I am so grateful to be a part of their great journey. I love being able to see people I teach to follow Jesus Christ's example and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood. It is an amazing thing! 

Everything in Smithfield is going wonderful. I am highly enjoying my time as a missionary here in Smithfield. I am loving it! I love the Gospel so much and and I am so grateful to be part of His church here on Earth. I know that when we strive to live the Gospel, we will get blessings. Heavenly Father is always trying to find excuses to bless us. I know that He loves us so much!

I love you all and stay strong! Keep up the great work over there in Saudi! I love you all! Love, Elder McGrath

Vivianne's baptism