WASHINGTON D.C. SOUTH MISSION: Saturday Baptisms

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Saturday Baptisms

Here it is Saturday again. Boy, did this week go fast. We've been told that transfer week is always the busiest week, and it's living up to it's reputation. We had a long list of Baptisms for today and most of them fell at 5:00. We attended one at 11:30 in the Annandale Stake,Springfield ward. This was for a Bro. David Young. This sweet gentleman is a very special person. He and his wife are really wonderful together and take care of each other's special needs. He was so excited to be baptized. He said he had never been under water before and so he was a bit nervous about that, but did great. Elders Gannaway and Gifford taught the lessons to him and Elder Gifford performed the baptism. This was fun for us because both speakers, Clark Cordner and David Tyler were sons of friends of ours from Las Vegas. It really is a small world in the church. Elder Robbins and Elder Hill were the witnesses.

We had a couple of hours between baptisms and got President to run me over to the church book store here. It is a couple of blocks from the temple and the drive is really pretty. It is a nice bookstore and has all the great Deseret Book materials. Yeah! good to know there is one here.

We then went to a baptism for Sister Donna Sun. This was a youngChinese girl. She came to America to work for a Chinese family as a nanny. When the Elders were tracting, the family was not interested but she was. This was really one of the tenderest girls I have ever met. She came an hour early and started crying with excitement and emotion. She cried through the whole thing and was just overwhelmed with the spirit. What a wonderful thing to witness. Elder Lieppman performed the baptism and Elder Tye gave a great talk on the Holy Ghost. When explaining about when and where the Holy Ghost stays with you, he said, "The Holy Ghost is a perfect gentleman". What a great description. They are really exceptional Elders. It was obvious that she loved them and they her.

On Sunday we attended the Annandale Ward for church. We are trying to get around and visit as many wards as we can so we can meet all the leaders and offer our assistance in anyway they would like us to assist. This is a very special ward. President Albright"s Executive Sec and Stake Clerk (who were the Jorgenson Brothers) grew up in this ward. And our dear friends, Mike and Sara Newman have a brother in the ward. Again, what a small world.

After the baptism, we drove to Annandale for a dinner appointment at the Ward's home. Their home is in a lovely town home. It is the beautiful old town style with the colonial architecture that is so beautiful. They are such a classy couple and their home reflected their style and grace. We had a lovely time. We enjoyed the company of Pres. Burton, (Winnie is out of town), Elder and Sister Rich (who serve over the temple visitor center), The Wards, and us. We laughed and talked from 6:30 to 10:00 and really enjoyed a relaxing evening together.

1 comment:

provobaileysAugust 23, 2009 at 7:37 PM
Way to go Elders. So nice to see the work is going forward so quickly. Hard working missionaries with testimonies that never falter. I really miss the time in my life when I could focus with out distraction on sharing the Gospel with others. The fearless sharing of the truth is something missionaries around the world have. God Bless Them. I admire that Elder Gifford. The trials he has overcome and the testimony that he has is amazing to me. I know he should look up to me (his aunt) but, it is so the other way around. I look up to him and pray my son can be just like him.
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Stephanie Smith Fireside

Last Sunday evening we were privileged to attend a fireside in the mission. It was held at a beautiful old chapel in McLean. One of the pictures shows the inside of the chapel and the wood beams on the very steep-pitched ceiling of the room. The gym is under the chapel in the basement. I have never seen a floorplan like this one. Very unique. This fireside hosted Sister Stephanie Smith. Her story was in the Ensign sometime in the last year. She has a remarkable conversion story. She has held very high government positions and at one time was 5th in command at the CIA. She said something at the first of her talk that I wrote down: she said, "I've been on some remarkable adventures. But no adventure in my lifetime has been as extraordinary and life-changing as my path to conversion and baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints. She then told about her introduction to the church. She was at a time in her life with tremendous worldly success achieved after clawing her way to the top without any regard for others, and she felt her life was shattering into a million pieces. At this time she turned to a colleague she admired who was a member of the church. He told her two things. That her Heavenly Father knew her by name and loved her and that Heavenly Father had a plan for her success. The next day he sent her a map to the temple visitor center. She told how when the missionary sisters came to her door, she didn't think she could relate to these young women. The first thing they did was ask if they could sing to her. They sang,"I am a Child of God." That was the beginning of her conversion, a long a beautiful story. You can read it on the web at Meridian Magazine. Her testimony was a real inspiration to me. There were over 350 people there and she does a great missionary work speaking to investigators. What a blessing to have heard her and felt her spirit.

Chelsea Our recent Convert

We have met the sweetest young sister. Chelsea is amazing. She joined the church during the last year and has an incredible testimony also. She never misses any missionary function and we were able to take her with us to the Stephanie Smith Fireside. She also came to the mission home a few weeks ago and we had family night. She gave the lesson and is was unbelievable. She is hoping to go on a mission next year. What a great young woman. This is a picture of her with Elders Ganaway and Gifford.