Week 48 - I Cannot Express the Smallest Part of What I Feel!!

Wow, where do I even begin with this week?

This was one of the happiest most joyful weeks of my whole mission, because....

ALBIE GOT BAPTIZED!!!!

It was one of the most special days I've ever been a part of. There was such a strong spirit of joy and peace the whole week leading up to his baptism day, and that spirit just got stronger when Saturday finally came around.

But before I get into all the baptism details I'll tell you about the rest of the week, 'cause it was all super amazing!

On Monday night, we had an incredible experience going to the Constants' home, one of the families in the branch. There was another family from the branch (the Princes) AND our three friends Richardson, Isneider, and Miradelson as well for a family home evening! It was like we were dreaming the entire time-- this is the kind of FHE missionaries wish for!! We had a really good time, our friends seem to be loosening up with us a little bit too and joking with us, which is super fun because Soeur Christianson and I basically are obsessed with all the people we're teaching and think they're the most incredible humans on the planet hahaha :)

On Tuesday, it rained ALL day! Doing door to door contacting in the rain is one of my favorite things, it makes me feel so alive and happy to be where I am :) We met this really cool young guy from Dominica like Albie, and we're SUPER excited to hopefully teach him with Albie!!

That night we also went to Albie's restuarant to eat with him and Sister Layne (her and Elder Layne are the senior couple). It was a blast chatting with him, talking about his baptism, and again feeling just how ready he is. 

On Wednesday we saw our friend Junie. She recently got to move into a new home with her three kids, and we're really happy for her. Before they were in a really tight place with hardly any place to move, but now the kids have plenty of place to run around and play (which they used well during the lesson! Her little two year old son crawled around roaring like a lion with no pants for the first few minutes hahaha ) Junie continues to be absolutely incredible, she's working on being able to come to church and hopefully can come this Sunday!! We think once she's able to come to church, she and her two kids will be baptized in just a few weeks!!! <3 

Thursday we had a great day. We did some contacting that morning, saw our friend Alex (who is also incredible and accepted to be baptized once he knows a little more and feels a confirmation that it's true!!). We are super excited about him as well. I look at him and see a future stake president-- he seems like a wonderful leader and we really think he'd be a huge blessing to the church here in Guadeloupe!

We also had a super happy moment that night-- we were contacting by Albie's neighborhood when Albie happens to ride past on his bike, THEN we run into Albie's cousin, and THEN we run into his dad!! It was like wave after wave of happiness haha :)

On Friday we had another AWESOME lesson with Albie, Sister Layne, and President Eclar (one of the counselors in the mission presidency). It was POWERFUL. We talked about the priesthood, and President Eclar shared some really wonderful thoughts about serving with love as a future priesthood holder and following the example of Christ in all things. I about burst into tears about 2000 times during that lesson (and ACTUALLY did once or twice haha).

And now, we are finally to Saturday, BAPTISM DAY!!! We woke up, the sun was shining and the birds were singing (and the sweat was drippin)-- we were excited and ready to go!!!

That morning we did some contacting, and then got to the church to start filling up the font, cleaning things up, setting up chairs, and just making sure everything was good to go. If you've ever wondered what the most beautiful sound in a mission is, it's the sound of the font filling up in the church! We spent a good amount of time just staring at the water, so excited for Albie to get there!!

When he got there and changed into his jumpsuit, we took tons of pictures and then sat down and got ready for the meeting to start!! Then about 10 minutes before, we get a call from one of the members who had locked the car keys inside the car and wouldn't be able to make it to the baptism!! Haha so we scrambled and asked Sister Layne if she'd be willing to do it, and luckily she's an angel and ended up giving an INCREDIBLE talk that really, really touched Albie. President Eclar also gave a really great talk about the Holy Ghost. Then, we all walked into the "font room" to watch the baptism!! Soeur Christianson and I sat there holding hands and basically crying all over each other as Albie got into the water. As soon as him and Elder Peterson were both in, it literally started DUMPING rain, which about matched how many tears we were shedding ourselves hahaha. As Albie was baptized, it seriously felt like slow motion. And as he rose out of the water, the rain suddenly stopped. It was like an incredible sign from heaven that Albie had made the right choice, and like Heavenly Father was crying just as much as we were (if not more).

We waited for Albie to change and gave him the firmest handshakes we could when he walked out haha! He was literally glowing inside and out with happiness, and Soeur Christianson and I were exploding with joy as well. We went back in and listened to a few testimonies. Albie bore his, and the waterworks started again when he talked about how thankful he is for the "sister missionaries" who helped him get back on the right path.

Life is so full of joy!! I can't even express the happiness I felt that day.

His confirmation on Sunday was just as wonderful. I are so thankful for the miracles we saw this week and for all the wonderful, rich experiences I get to have here :)

I love you all lots! I wish you a week full of joy and peace as well!

XOXO,

Soeur Gardner