Miracle

Hello everyone,

I would describe this past week with the word "miracle".  With all that has been happening at home which I am sure many of you have heard about, it has been amazing to see the Lord's tender mercies come in many various forms.  I am also now with Elder Pierce who is a great missionary and we have been having a great time so far.  Rather than go through the whole week I will describe just a couple of experiences.

On Thursday following dinner I felt impressed to go down a specific road to visit a potential investigator family.  On the way a man in a truck stopped and asked if we wanted a ride.  We didn't but we did get to talk.  The Spirit worked on him to tell us that he was actually an inactive member and explained his whole story about how he felt forced into the church.  This led to us being able to share a powerful testimony about how now he has the chance to choose for himself to join the church, and he can do that by reading the Book of Mormon.  In the end he said that he didn't know why he felt prompted to stop, but that we gave him the best reason he has yet been offered to read the Book of Mormon.  He then accepted a copy, had us sign and put our emails into it, and then promised in a sincere way that he will read it.  He is a tourist and we won't see him again in all probability, but it was an amazing experience.

Another experience like this happened again on Sunday.  It was very windy and our moral was fairly low, but we went out anyway not knowing quite sure of what we were going to do.  We ran into a couple near the church whose car had died on them. At first they acted weird towards us, but over time they softened up, talked about how they always loved the people they see in our church, found ways we connected to them personally, and said that they want a church that expects people to actually change and repent.  I think that we can answer that request. In the end they made us promise to drop by their home this upcoming week and we are super excited to go on over.

These kind of experiences are just a taste of what true missionary work is like.  Often times the Lord will put people in our way who are ready, we just need the faith to go out and work.  As long as we rely on the Lord and not our own wisdom, new paths open up and the work of the Lord progresses, not just for others but for ourselves as well. This is why it is important to always fulfill your callings,
especially home teaching.  In the end it all leads to the same source and that source is what grants to us Salvation.  Thank you for all of the support and love,

Elder Baxter

With Elder Pierce

Circles in the Sand