I learned a lot about my companion Sister Evans this week. First, some hidden talents. She knows ASL (American Sign Language) which is pretty neat, and she is also a master violinist! I also leaned that she is an incredibly brave soul, which I discovered because we had to go through some mildly challenging things yesterday.
The most exciting thing of the week is that Melissa got baptized! It was such an amazing baptismal service! And it was definitely one of those moments where everything falls apart before it comes together. Here's how it all went down. The end of last week we talked to Melissa and her mom, and our ward mission leader, and planned out the whole baptismal service. Great! But then in the middle of the week we found out that our mission president wants to change convert baptismal services to be shorter and simpler, so that the Spirit can be stronger! It was an inspired idea! It really was. But that also required changing a bunch of things last minute. But we switched things around, and figured out the program and all was good. We even coordinated with a member who printed the programs off for us in advance so it wouldn't have to be last minute, and said she would bring them with her to the service on Saturday. Great! Everything was set!.....Again! ...........But then on Friday, the day before the baptism, God told us we needed to change it. Again. When God speaks to us sometimes it is through the still quiet voice of the spirit, and sometimes there is a constant nagging voice, and then sometimes there is a loud shouting voice. The voice I heard was a nagging voice, and it was saying: "You need a musical number. You NEED a musical number." And then another thought. "Ask Sister Smith to bear her testimony. ASK SISTER SMITH TO BEAR HER TESTIMONY" It started as a nagging voice, but I was kind of ignoring it because the program was already set and the programs printed, so then it turned into the shouting voice so I was like "OK I GET THE MESSAGE!" Don't ignore those promptings people, because ignoring the Spirit when it's trying to tell you something is no bueno. So I turned to my lovely companion, the beautiful and talented Sister Evans and said "My sweet companion, how would you like to play the violin at Melissa's baptism tomorrow?" She agreed (after much coxing on my part) and I volunteered one of the elders to play piano with her. (Excellent leadership skills = volunteering other people to do things.) Then we miraculously found a violin to borrow from a member and had them practice the song "I Stand All Amazed" the night before. Miracles happen when you are on the Lord's errand! Then we asked Sister Smith, Melissa's mom, to bear her testimony. She seemed very unsure, but we didn't pressure her, we just asked her to consider it and pray about it and let us know the next day. The next day rolled around. We showed up early at the church to get everything set up. Pretty much everyone else showed up late and it was absolute chaos. The member who was supposed to bring the programs had missed her alarm and so couldn't get there before we had to start. (That ended up being ok because with all the last minute changes we had made, the printed program wouldn't have even matched the actual program.) As soon as we started the service though, all the chaos ended, and the Spirit was there so strongly. I have to say, God really knows what he's doing. :) Sister Smith had agreed just minutes before the baptism that she would bear her testimony at the end of the program. It was short and simple, but it was so powerful to see her testify to her daughter and the other members of her family who were there (some of whom aren't members) the truth and power of the Gospel. And Sister Evans did so great with the violin, she is a pro! Anyways, it was great and made my heart happy! :D
Well that was a long story. With a happy ending!!
This story has a happy ending too, so don't freak out. Last night we had to go to the ER because Sister Evans started having a terrible pain in her side. Like, felt like she was being stabbed with a knife pain. So we drove to the hospital and spent lots of time getting her tested for various things and waiting FOREVER for nurses to come check on her and bring back her test results (I don't know what people do when they're actually dying, because everything in the hospital moves so slowly.) We found out that she had an ovarian cyst that had ruptured, which caused a lot of pain but won't cause any permanent damage. She will be ok! She is on antibiotics and pain meds now, and we're going to be taking it easy for the next two days. It was actually kind of funny, because they led us to this little hospital bed surrounded by curtains, and there was no chair, so we both just sat on the bed together. But we were super tired, so we took turns lying down and taking naps. I also might have been singing Girls Camp songs to myself.....I was really tired so I don't remember but that is what Sister Evans told me this morning, haha. Anyway, she is so very brave because she was really in a lot of pain and we had no idea what was wrong for the longest time, but she didn't panic at all and was very positive given the situation! She is awesome!
I know the Gospel is true! I see the power of God in my life and in other people's lives every day! There truly are miracles all around us if we just look for them :)
Much Love,
Sister Daelemans
