My Birthday Week!

Hey Fam and Friends!!  

I hope y'all had a wonderful week! We did here in Guatemala! Things are going so well here in my area and I feel like I have so much to write today. Here's what we did:

1. Baptism of Blanca!!!  Yay! Remember Blanca, the lady I wrote about last week? In the end, everything turned out really well with Blanca's Baptism! The other Hermanas in the ward also baptized a family in the same service. There were of course the usual disasters -- this time the disaster was that Blanca went missing. She was supposed to be waiting for us at 2pm for her baptism at 3pm, but we didn't actually find her until almost 4pm. I didn't even panic though, it always passes like that ha-ha. Goodness. And it was all OK because even though we got to the church an hour late, the service hadn't started yet. Normal. But it was a really nice service with her and the family. She was so excited and a little nervous to be getting baptized. Actually baptizing her was a little hard for the elder baptizing her because she cant walk very well because shes had 2 toes amputated. Every time the Elder tried to dunk her, her 3-toed foot would pop out of the water. In the end, the Elder had to stand on this gross foot with his own foot! He was pretty grossed out, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right? Ahhh, but finally, Hermana Blanca is baptized!!

2. My birthday week!! I had a wonderful few days celebrating my birthday. I didn't expect so much attention, gifts, and cake. I got an awesome package from my family and from Hilly! Most of the sister missionaries in my zone got me earrings! I have like 10 new pairs of earrings ha-ha and I love earrings! We ate cake as a zone, and also with a family that we are working with. My birthday was really fun and I was more than happy about how it turned out.

3. 1.5 Baptisms for next weekend!  Ha-ha. So we are seeing miracles here in our area, people are coming out of the woodwork ready to be baptized. One lady, Hermana Roselia, has been going to church for a year but couldn't get baptized because her "husband" wouldn't marry her. I didn't even know about her, but we just randomly passed by them one day and started chatting with the hermana, and she told us they had just gotten married!!! So we are prepping her to be baptized this coming Saturday! We are so grateful to all the missionaries who have worked with this lady for the past few years, preparing her for baptism.  

The .5 we may or may not have is a guy named Amilcar. I think Ive mentioned him before. This guy is really special. He used to drink and be involved in some bad stuff, but he really wants to turn his life around, and hes been to church 3 times, is reading the Book of Mormon, and is totally ready to get baptized. But he has been pretty hesitant to set a baptismal date. We weren't really sure what his deal was, but we really had been feeling like he had some serious past sins and just needed to talk to an elder (a guy) about them. On Sunday we had a lesson with him and had the opportunity to explain to him that some sins require a confession, and that an Elder has the authority to help him with his problems and help him to know how he can fully repent and change and leave these things behind. I just felt so happy to be explaining this to him! He was so happy and relieved, it was like he had been wanting to confess his sins to someone but didn't know how to go about it, and all the sudden we had the information he needed. Every investigator is different with different needs, but I really love getting to help just a little in helping people to understand the power of the Atonement, and the opportunity we have to be free of all our sins. For some investigators, this is the best news they've ever heard. It is such a miracle that we can let go of all our sins and totally change. I am so grateful for the Atonement and how much I have been able to use it in my life. I know that we can change only through Jesus Christ. I know that He understands us perfectly, and knows exactly how we personally need to make changes in our lives. I know that the Gospel is true and perfect, and only through it can we become who God wants us to be. I love the Gospel and I love being a missionary!

Have a wonderful week! Thanks for everything!

Love, Hermana Gilland