I am so sorry.
I truly do feel bad for my lack of updates the past few months, especially with all of the blessings I've received. Today I'll repent and try to make restitution.
Each P-Day in Corona was stressful for me to write weekly letters because there wasn't as much work to talk about. In Hemet just about every day I say "I can't wait to write home about this" so when Monday rolls along it's too stressful to try to "update" because there is SO much to talk about. But that's blessed stress if you ask me.
I am going to update you on only two of our investigating families this week. There is at least 4 or 5 others I could talk about who were miracles just the same, but this week I want to focus on Ashley and Travis and the Gonzalez family because this week, I, like Nephi, "pray[ed] continually for them by day, and mine eyes water[ed] my pillow by night because of them; and I cr[ied] unto my God in faith, and I know that He [did] hear my cr[ies] and... consecrate my prayers".
Ashley and Travis are a young couple who have been through a lot. If you saw them walking down the street at first glance you'd judge them. You'd judge them by their skin of tattoos and facial piercings. But at second glace, you'd begin to repent because you would see that they are a lovely couple who have put everything they have into their newborn son Abel.
A little over a month ago, the elders OYM'd them in a parking lot and to their surprise, Travis was an inactive member with a non member girlfriend who had just had a baby. They were wanting to get involved in a church so their son would be raised the way God intended.
Luckily for us, they live in our area so the elders had to hand them over. :)
By the time I arrived in Hemet, they had already been taught the restoration. Before I was able to meet them, all I kept hearing was how humble and sweet they are and how precious baby Abel is. The only concern was that they were not married which is a requirement if you are living with someone, before baptism. Well, that or being separated, which was not an option in this case.
The day I met them was the day I became obsessed with them. Everything I had heard was truer than true and it has only gotten better.
When you're a missionary and you find a concern and then the first thing you should do is resolve it, naturally. Which is exactly what we did. We taught and testified of the importance of not having sexual relationships outside the bonds of marriage and how when we are sealed in the temple, not only are we sealed to our spouse, but our children as well.
Pure bliss.
Then we said "Ashley before you are baptized you must be married..." and with a smirk on her face she turned and looked at Travis. Bashfully, he said they had full intent of getting married before the baby came, but that it just didn't happen.
And then Ashley says "I've been trying to get him to marry me for the past 2 years!"
Haha we all laughed and then Travis said that they looked into it all and that they just want a courthouse wedding first so that they can all have the same last name and the cost of that will be $136.
Once he said that, I sort of interrupted and said "woah wait what!? $136? Oh do I have exciting news for you! You guys only have to pay for the $90 license and Bishop can marry you for free!"
They. Were. So. Excited.
So instead of starting with a baptismal date, we set a marriage date and Ashley was being all funny about it and kept saying "Don't look at me! I'd marry you tomorrow! This is your thing".
Travis decided to do it the weekend he got paid, which was about 3 weeks away.
Then WE were excited.
Next we got into the baptismal date, and Travis says "well, why not just do it the next day? Can we do that?"
"YES! Yes, we can do that!!"
So on Friday Ahsley was interviewed.
On Saturday they were married in Bishop's office.
And yesterday Ashley was baptized.
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| Travis, Abel, Ashley, Nat and Sister Olsen |
There is so much joy that comes from watching someone covenant with the Lord through baptism. But there is "exceedingly great joy" when that ordinance makes them one step closer to being an eternal family.
After the baptism Travis said "This is my first Father's Day and I don't think there will be a better one."
I love them. Sincerely love them and am so excited for them.
It's not always like that, you know. People will meet with us and receive all the lessons, if not most. They'll come to church 3 times. They'll repent and change their lives...
And then they'll move. Or...
He won't marry her. Or...
He gets offended. Or...
He goes to jail.
Seriously…all of that has happened this past month. So the feelings we have for those who endure and enter through the gate that leads to the most sacred and eternal blessings of them all, is indescribable.
They're miracles. That's what they are...miracles.
And every day we see miracles.
Such as the Gonzalez family...
Now I know that I wrote about them before and that I am going to repeat myself, but bear with me. I just want you to really remember what they mean to me.
When I first got here in hemet, Sister Olsen and I were spending the day visiting part member families with very little luck. It was late afternoon, probably 100 degress, when again we knock with no answer. As we walk back to the car, Sister olsen stops for a second, looks at me and with a little hesitation says "Do you want to just tract this street?"
NO. I really didn't want to. I was a sweaty, hot and tired mess and I honestly thought it would be a waste of time, but the street wasn't very long so I followed behind my faithful companion to the next house. We knock and to my surprise the door opened and sweet Maria Gonzalez welcomed us in to leave a blessing with her family.
She gathered her 3 children, 2 who are of age of accountability, and we start talking. It was more of a "let's chat and become friends" rather than a "what needs can we include in this blessing" kind of thing. We fell in love with them really quick, so we were excited to invite them to baptism after the blessing. The spirit was SO strong as we extended the invitation and they all agreed that was something they wanted to do.
There was a pause for a moment, then Maria turns to her children and goes off in Spanish (for the most part she has her children translate for her) and they looked at her and kept saying "Si!Si!" then looked at us and said "Our mom told us that this isn't something we are going to do and then never go to church again, this is something we will do for the rest of our lives."
Remember?
I thought the room was going to expload there was so much spirit. They became our miracle family. We offered to have the Spanish elders come teach, but Maria said she understands English and wants us to teach them... This seriously might have been the best day of my life.
As we taught them we loved them more and more. They are beyond elect.
But we had a concern. The same concern we had with Ashley…were Maria and Felipe actually married??
Apparently that's a frequent problem we have here in Hemet USA.
Sister Olsen and I prayed for a way that they could all be sealed together, for all eternity. And like we all know, God heard and answered our prayers.
The Law of Chastity was the 3rd lesson we taught and because of the little children that were present, we handed Maria the pamphlet and said that we weren't going to go into too much detail so she should read it on her own that night.
We turn to the children and say, "the law of chastity is pretty much that we don't want to have babies until after we're married."
In unison they quickly look at their mom, giggle, then look back at us and say "our mom and dad aren't married". Then the youngest says "I thought we have babies and then get married!" :)
We all awkwardly laughed and then Sister Olsen and I began to testify of eternal families. As we talked with Maria she told us how they've been together for 15 years, but the last couple of years she feels like she's the only one putting in any effort. She still really wants to get baptized but doesn't want to separate (for the kids) and doesn't want to get married just to get divorced.
We offered the only other solution we could think of and that was if her boyfriend also took the lessons then maybe he would put in more effort for his eternal family. She agreed.
This part I am going to have to sum up really quick. And to me it's the best part because it's the part in missionary work when we truly feel God's love for His children. Through lots of meetings and some disappointing phone calls, we decided with the Spanish Elders, that it would be best for the boyfriend and his future family to be baptized in the Spanish ward. It was hard to let them go especially with all the lessons taught and just 8 days before the children's baptisms.
But, I am not here for numbers or my own glory. I am here so that families will one day be glorified with our Heavenly Father.
I cried the whole day they officially weren't "ours" but I am so grateful that in a few weeks, the Gonzalez family will be baptized and begin the journey to the temple.
This is why we are here, to find the lost, teach the elect and baptize the repentant. This is the work of the Lord, the holiest work I will do, and there are no more important 18 months of my life.
This is HIS work and HIS glory. It was for this purpose the Savior came to earth and gave His life and was resurrected, so we could open the possibilities and promises of eternal life. How grateful I am to be called to this great and most sacred work.
I know that my Redeemer lives.
I know the truth has been restored.
I know we are the children of a loving Heavenly Father.
And I know one day we will live with Him again.
I know these things to be true and I know you can too. Do the work. Have the faith and trust in your Father who wants you to feel the exceedingly great joy of the gospel. I so testify, humbly, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Sister Nelson
(email received June 16, 2014)
