What a Wonderful week this one has been. There were so many blessings that filled the week that my companion and I were surprised by. We were stuck babysitting for most of the week which was beyond frustrating. But, we had to keep our heads up and really try to push with our proselyting efforts when the moment was granted for us to get out. Because of the efforts which we laid forth, we received so many miracles. Let me list a few...
We knew there was a young woman named Surprise that lived in the Branch that has been going to church for some time but never has been baptized. Seeing that my companion and I don't really associate with the Young Woman all that much, we really had no idea which girl was Surprise. But the problem was, we didn't know her name was Surprise. We thought her name was Noel. We just knew that it was the Daughter of the Relief Society 1st Counselor. So we took the Young Woman President out with us and said, "Let's visit Noel!" So, we kept walking and we passed the Counselor's house. My companion and I were confused and wondered, "Where the heck is Sister Willson leading us?" We asked her and she said, "We are going to Noel." We were really confused at this point so we decided to follow. We eventually came to Noel, a Young Woman in the Branch we had never met with or talked to who had been going to church for about 4 months. Her brother was a member and so is her uncle. So we taught her and gave her a date for the 16th of January and she is more than ready for that one. Now that my companion and I have regrouped, we decided that we should visit the girl we thought was Noel. So we did that as well. Turns out this girl, who is Surprise, had been going to church for a year but had never been taught. So we began teaching her with her mom and now she has a date for the 16th of January and is well on her way.
On the 2nd of January, we had a baptism of Moses and George (we thought his name was Josh the whole time till it came to filling out the baptismal record. I guess they thought we were calling him George the whole time too...) We came to the chapel and we waited for two hours and the water never was flowing. So, we faced a predicament. We could go to another chapel and wait for two hours to have that font fill... or we go to the nearby beach. We thought about it, thought about the time, the transportation and ultimately came to the conclusion that the best decision was to go to the beach. It still felt a little uneasy with my companion and I so I took a quick moment to find somewhere quiet to pray to know which was the best option. Knowing that Revelation comes not from questions but proposals, I told the Lord what we thought was the best option and asked to see if that was right. The answer I got was very distinct. The words that came to me were, "The reason for Fonts is for convenience. If it becomes less convenient to use a font then to go to a beach, then it's fine." So, off we went and performed the baptism at the beach. A very cool experience. Probably won't do it again. The waves disturbed mid ordinance.
Another experience was at Doe Community. We were having nine people planned for baptism for this upcoming Saturday. There were two of them that still needed to be taught lesson 5. So we held them after church. It was Daniel and Grace that stayed, and Melody (Grace's Sister) joined. We had planned not to teach Melody because she was not able to be taught Lesson 4. We taught all of them Lesson 5 but as I looked at Melody near the end, I had the feeling that we should still baptize Melody. So, after the lesson, we held Melody afterwards and started asking her questions. She had been coming to church for over a year now and in Young Woman's and Investigator class was taught Lesson 4. She understood everything we talked to her about from the Law of Chastity to the Word of Wisdom. My companion and I agreed that she was prepared. I'm grateful for listening to that small feeling because it will allow Grace and Melody to be baptized together after waiting for baptism for such a long time.
Lastly, we visited with Moses and Emma to talk to them about baptism. Moses has been doing excellent with his drinking problem and we invited them to be baptized on the 16th of January. They told us they couldn't becauses they didn't have the money for their Marriage Certificate. They needed 50 dollars. So, as a Christmas gift, Elder Verdoni and I gave them 25 dollars each. We knew they had the desire, and were spiritually ready, but just lacked the funds to get their marriage recognized. So we were willing to step in and help with that one. Definitely drew upon some inspiration from a past Treadway experience. They were so happy and grateful for that and are going to be baptized on the 16th. This week was full of trials but also miracles. Truly, I've been able to see the Lord's hand in the work as Verdoni and I try our best. We both haven't felt happier in our whole mission. We are continuing to work hard and please the Lord. I love you all and hope you had an enjoyable New Years.
Love
Elder Treadway
