WASHINGTON D.C. SOUTH MISSION: BAPTISM OF JOE GREGORY Jan 31, 2010

Monday, February 22, 2010

BAPTISM OF JOE GREGORY Jan 31, 2010

Elders Ray and Hall, Joseph Gregory and Stake Pres. Gerard

Joe Gregory and all of his family that came to see him baptized with the elders.

The celebration after the service.

The outside of the Scots Run Chapel

The beautiful chapel

This was a special baptism. It had snowed so much and church had been cancelled. In fact 42 stake conferences were cancelled the week before and now church was cancelled again due to all the snow in the parking lots and no where to park and very icy roads. So the McLean Stake decided to hold this baptism anyway. This was because Joe had invited his family from North Carolina and they had driven all night thru the blizzard to get here. His parents, siblings and even an uncle and their family had come for the service. With that much family support the baptism was postponed from Sat evening to Sun morning. It was held in the beautiful old Scots Run Chapel at 9:00 am. And so it was a very special meeting because they had the sacrament served since it was Sunday and most of the ward had turned out to support Joe. And afterwards they had refreshments that had been prepared for the evening before. So it was a unique baptism, but the spirit was very strong and everyone really felt it.

Joseph was a member referral by a friend of his, Sis. Lisa Chapman.

Elder Hall performed the baptism and Elder Ray gave a talk on Baptism.

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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.