9 Months!

Tom got baptized on Thursday! It was such a strange baptism. The person who gave the talk on the Holy Ghost might have included some speculative (probably false) doctrine, and then the guy who confirmed him was very......intense. But, he was baptized and that's what's important! He and his wife Stephanie are so happy! And in a year they will be able to go together to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity! That is the sweetest part of missionary work. Having someone join the church is pretty cool, but that's only the beginning. It is only the gate that gets them onto the path that leads them back to Heavenly Father. There will be many challenges along the way, but God also has so many other blessings in store for them as they remain faithful to the covenants they have made. The end goal for every convert is not just baptism, but for them to eventually make it to the temple and there receive the blessings of eternity :)

President Wilson left us this past Friday :( He and Sister Wilson are now back in Utah without the huge stress and responsibility of looking after our mission. They both served with all their heart and I will miss them a lot. It will be an adjustment getting used to a new mission president, but I know that the mantle of leadership is now with President and Sister Layton and that they too will serve the mission well. Tom's baptism was the night before the Wilsons left, and we decided to invite them. We told them "You're probably going to be very busy the night right before you leave, but we also know that there is no better way to end your mission than with a baptism!" And guess what? They came!!! I think it was such a tender mercy for them to be there (we never have baptisms on Thursday evening, they are almost always on Saturdays) but everything worked out for them to be able to attend the baptism right before they left. It was also a tender mercy for me to be able to see them on the last night of their mission. President Wilson looked quite emotional as he said goodbye for the last time. They are both such wonderful people and I love them so much!!

Funny enough that same day was also my 9 month mark! 

Crazy right?! When did I get to be this old as a missionary! I feel like I was just in the MTC wondering how long 18 months was going to feel like. Well, if the next 9 months are anything like these first 9 months, the rest of my mission is going to fly by!
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Happy 4th of July!

Love,

Sister Daelemans