Worth the Wait
July 1, 2013
The worth of souls IS great in the sight of God, but you know what? The value doesn’t diminish with time. God didn’t make time to distance His children from Him, give His children an excuse, nor to diminish the value of their fight. This life is a race, but it’s not based on time. This is what I’ve learned this week.
Time: I’ll talk about later. Stephan (formerly known as Estéfano... hhehehe, so maybe we’ve been calling him the wrong name this whooooole time. WHY didn’t anyone correct us? Oh yeah, because we’re both not Brazilians, so maybe they thought it was just because of our accent. And that actually makes sense because Sister Céspedes is from Bolivia) finally took the plunge!!!!!!!!!!!! The priesthood blessing helped, and he was getting better with his nervous attacks; but then he started getting worse. He forgot to take his medicine at the right hour and didn’t go last Sunday. I almost gave up, frustrated that we have wasted almost 3 months |
with this kid; but Sister Céspedes saved me from doing anything drastic. We didn’t even get to talk much with him this past week; and I thought, “There’s no way to save this baptismal date. It’s THURSDAY, and the baptism is marked for SUNDAY. But no. We pulled in the big guns. First, we called in the fairy dusters: the Niterói sisters. DIVISIONS always end in miracles. Second, we asked the help of the members. We filled his house with the most rambunctious teens we could scrounge up and bombarded that place with, “Hey! We heard you’re getting’ baptized. That’s great!! Can I baptize you? Can I sing? Can I make a cake?” I have to give it to them. It was the trick. And we only needed 2 of my favorites, Daniel and Gabriel.
Sister Céspedes followed up with the tactics that Elder Mimary told us, which was to open up the mom before she shuts her shell. Sister Céspedes talked with the mom about how it’s not about the waiting to get better in order to get baptized, but it’s to get baptized to be cured. Because, AFTER baptism, Stephan will receive the Holy Ghost; and THIS blessing is FOREVER. The companionship of the Holy Ghost is the BEST guide, who comforts, warns, guides, and testifies. It was going so well SHE even wanted these blessings in her life! Then the Spirit told Sister Céspedes to turn to Stephan. And wait. In that moment, he asked, “So, how will this baptism thing happen?” Ladies and gentlemen, two dreams came true that night: First, Stephan felt the desire to be baptized without a drop of fear. Second, the experience gave Sister Rodrigues a chance to “baptize.” [Not really baptize. She just demonstrated the process.] Right there, Sister Rodrigues showed
Sister Céspedes followed up with the tactics that Elder Mimary told us, which was to open up the mom before she shuts her shell. Sister Céspedes talked with the mom about how it’s not about the waiting to get better in order to get baptized, but it’s to get baptized to be cured. Because, AFTER baptism, Stephan will receive the Holy Ghost; and THIS blessing is FOREVER. The companionship of the Holy Ghost is the BEST guide, who comforts, warns, guides, and testifies. It was going so well SHE even wanted these blessings in her life! Then the Spirit told Sister Céspedes to turn to Stephan. And wait. In that moment, he asked, “So, how will this baptism thing happen?” Ladies and gentlemen, two dreams came true that night: First, Stephan felt the desire to be baptized without a drop of fear. Second, the experience gave Sister Rodrigues a chance to “baptize.” [Not really baptize. She just demonstrated the process.] Right there, Sister Rodrigues showed
how it would go down and “baptized” Sister Césedes, showing Stephan how he should plug his nose (I almost forgot the word “plug”) and everything.
It was going to be more than a while before other missionaries would have the patience and faith necessary to persistently work with Stephan. Once again, Sister Céspedes said, “It’s either the 30th or NEVER.” Because it’s TRUE! Sister Céspedes understands. She had to wait 2 years before some missionaries noticed that this kid in the Primary isn’t a member. If the missionaries and her grandma didn’t convince her mom to sign the baptism… ficha [record], she believes she would have had to wait much longer. Time, yet again, curse you. |