I am Still Learning

Dear family,

This week has been one of my best since arriving in Livermore. We have learned a few lessons this week. The biggest one is that the Spirit can be felt anywhere, including a dusty couch in the drive way.

We had decided to contact an old referral we had received four weeks ago. We weren't even sure if the person actually existed. Luckily, Ivan (the referral) was home. We then proceeded to teach him the message of the restoration. It is amazing how in a thirty minute lesson someone can go from no knowledge of the church to accepting a baptismal date. I guess I already gave it away, but as we began teaching him, he felt the Spirit. He even offered the closing prayer. After his prayer we invited him to be baptized. He asked us how and what it mean to be baptized. We quietly explained to him. He then told us that he would like to be baptized. It has been a while since we had someone accept a baptismal date like that. I had forgotten what it felt like. My heart pounds and my hands get sweaty. I pray as hard as I can. It is a feeling that you can't really know until you have done it. A year ago, I couldn't imagine inviting someone to being baptized after meeting them twenty minutes before, but we did. It's amazing how effectively the Spirit can work in the hearts of people. I feel blessed to be able to witness it.

Also, as I have mentioned before, we are now living in our own apartment. It is a lot easier to study now. It used to be a sisters apartment, needless to say, it is nice. We have a fireplace that you can hang stockings on and lots of windows. It feels a lot more like a townhouse than an apartment. Sometimes I feel spoiled.

Not too spoiled, we still have bicycles, but now live within our proselyting area. This is a huge change for the better. It saves us a lot of work and makes our commute back to the apartment at night much quicker. I sometimes neglect to mention how beautiful Livermore is. My favorite are the nights when we ride home through a wine vineyard. It's a really cool experience, especially in the fall.

We are still focusing on finding, but now have someone that is taking all of the steps to progress towards baptism. It feel much more comfortable now. I know how to organize my day better now that we have someone to focus on making daily contact with.

Love,

Elder Badger