July 6, 2010

My Dear Family,

This week has been the most awesome week EVER! I am so happy and I am so thrilled to be writing to you!

Last Monday Liliana told us that her and her sons did not want to be baptized this last weekend, and we were heartbroken. We went home and cried and prayed and looked for bed bugs and killed them to get our anger and sadness out. Then we prayed some more and we put our faith and trust into the Lord's hands.....

The next morning we got a call from a ward member telling us that Liliana was getting baptized on Friday and that we needed to get the program and everything ready. We just assumed that this ward member was still on the schedule from Sunday, and that she was confused because it was supposed to be on Sunday... so we didn't think too much of it.
That night we went over to her house to teach her family again, and she told us that she had decided the night before that she was going to get baptized, but that she wanted to change it to Friday!!!!!!! The member had a feeling to call Liliana that night, and so she did, and this member had no idea what was going on. She just listened to a prompting from the Lord. Therefore, she was able to address Liliana's concern, (Which had to do with the behavior of the other Colombian family...who are members...and how they just accepted so much help from the church...so she didn't want to just join so that the church would think that they had to help her family) and she decided to be baptized!

So, on Friday night was the baptism and it was the most amazing experience in my life so far!!!!!! I was the one to go in the font with her, and I had her towel, and after she came out of the water, I stood there with her at the top of the stairs hugging her as her 3 sons were baptized. After each one was baptized they each turned and looked at their Mom with such a look of happiness and made excited gestures, and had big smiles, and I was filled with the spirit. It was such a phenomenal thing to witness. I am so lucky to be here and to feel this. After it was over we went into the bathroom where Liliana changed her clothes, and I just cried with joy. (Kinda dramatic I know...but this is truly how I felt. I was overwhelmed by the strong presence of the Spirit, and the purest of all pure joys that I have ever felt)

The next day we went to the beach for the activity with the ward and it was a BLAST! I loved it! It was beautiful and fun, and I got to watch Liliana and her sons play in the water with the cute other Colombian family and all the other ward members. It was great.

Then yesterday we could not e-mail cuz the Libraries were all closed, but the day was awesome! We went out to eat with the Little Chiapanecos and it was so fun to see them in a very touristy and Floridian place! They were so out of the element! It was fun and there was a live band playing Eric Clapton songs including but not limited to "Layla" and I thought of Mally Mae. Then we went over to the Colombians house for a celebration for the baptism and FHE, and the little 3 year old boy who they call Negrito turned on a Michael Jackson music video and started copying all of the Michael Jackson moves EXACTLY!!!!!!! It was the most cute and the funniest thing that I have ever seen! It was so much fun and I was so happy! If only Michael Jackson had known the kinds of cultural barriers he is breaking haha!!!! They know NO english and have been here for about 1 month! It is super classic!

I love it here and I love my mission! I am so happy and the bed bugs are all leaving I think! Yes we found more last week, but I think that the treatments are working and I hate them...but not even they can pull me down now! I am loving life and I am so happy! Life is the BEST!

I love you all and I hope that you are incredibly happy and that the 4th was a blast! I love you with my whole heart!

Love, Jenna