Linda got Baptized!

Good morning! Well, by the time you get this, it will probably be afternoon...

Let's get started shall we. It has been a busy, crazy week. 

On Tuesday, we did a lot of service. We were still waiting for people to come back, so we scheduled a lot of service. For service, we go to places that need volunteers and volunteer. In our case, we also do service for the Laytons too. After service, we had lunch and went contacting. We then took care of some things for the branch and then we had dinner. For dinner, we fed the missionaries! Our dinner cancelled, and the elders were supposed to eat with us, so Sister Bliss and I made dinner for us and the elders. When we were grabbing ingredients from our apartment to take to the Institute to cook, Sister Bliss looked at me and said "Sister, we're feeding the missionaries! We're going to get blessings!" It was fun. We then went and saw Ceidy and then did some training before planning and going to bed. 

On Wednesday, we didn't have District meeting because of the special visitors to the mission. We used that time to train and contact before grabbing a bite to eat with Christina, a member of the branch. We then had lunch and did service for the Laytons. We then had a lesson with Samantha. After that, it was time for Institute dinner! We had dinner and then a former teacher at the Institute (Dr Hegstrom) gave a great presentation on the Church in the Middle East (we were able to stay and see it because Linda was with us). We then had a miracle. Kyle came! He came in late to the presentation. We were so excited to see him again. After the presentation, we invited him to have a lesson and we had a lesson with him. We plan to see him next week. 

On Thursday, I went on an Exchange. Sister Bliss and Sister Hill had a leadership meeting, so Sister Lytle and I got to run around in their area. It was fun. We did service at Roosevelt (have I told you about Roosevelt? It is a community center where we help them put on a lunch for the elderly. We help serve and then wash the dishes. After lunch, while we do dishes, the people who had lunch start dancing. It is so fun to watch these older people do these old dances that they grew up learning when we are going in and out of the kitchen!). We then left to meet with an investigator named Rufus. We then met with another investigator named Arianna. We then went contacting at a strip mall. I ended up inviting a guy in Spanish to come to Church with us. Why do I always have to use my Spanish when I go to their area? :) Anyways, after that, we exchanged back and Sister Bliss and I met with Linda. We prepared for her baptism by writing down what she wanted done and having her try on jumpsuits. It went well. We then had dinner with Ali. We went to Johnny Rockets. Did I tell you about Johnny Rockets? It is a fun diner that looks like it is from the 50s. They have really yummy food and I love their shakes! After dinner, we then met with Colin, a member of the branch (he is preparing to go on a mission). 

On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment and we spent a lot of time taking care of things related to that. We also had lunch with the Sister Hill and Sister Lytle. We went to Olive Garden for soup, salad, and breadsticks. I had Zuppa Toscana! :D We then had weekly planning before going to see Linda. Linda had her baptismal interview and she was feeding us dinner. She passed her interview and fed us and the elders. It was fun. 

On Saturday, we had service and then had to get ready to go see Elder Quentin L Cook! We had to get there early because Sister Bliss was singing a musical number with some other sisters. Elder Cook, Elder Nielson, and Bishop Causse came to speak to us at the meeting. When they arrived, our area seventy stood and told us that Elder Cook, Elder Nielson, and Bishop Causse wanted to meet us and that we all needed to line up and shake their hands! So, I shook hands with them! :D :D :D The meeting was really great. They had a Q&A and then they all gave short testimonies/messages. Elder Cook also left a beautiful apostolic blessing with us that put my heart at ease. We then went contacting at the mall and taught a couple of lessons. We then went to set up for the baptism. President Rogers also wanted to make a last minute change to the program (he wanted to change who was baptizing Linda) so we needed to fix that too. 

On Sunday, we had a great meeting with Bishop Causse. I also saw my friend Bryce from my mission prep class! I was shocked! We talked for a minute and then he went to sit down. We were then going to have Linda's baptism, when someone in the Branch told Bishop Causse about Linda and he wanted to meet her! So, we went with her and stood back while she talked to him. I was so scared she was going to throw me under the bus and tell him that I speak French! D: Thankfully, she didn't. We then had the baptism. It all went well, except for the five seconds of sheer terror when I thought that President Mella and Bishop Causse were going to the baptism! (They didn't come). The baptism itself went really well. :D We then went home and had lunch before meeting with Christina. She is really struggling. Sister Bliss then had a meeting and Sister Lytle and I went contacting. You meet some interesting people when you contact! We then watched the Young Adult Fireside. It was so weird to see BYU Idaho and President Baron conducting and someone I knew in the collegiate singers! It was soooooo weird! After that we had dinner with the Jepsons, did some more contacting, and went home. 

Today, we have been able to get a lot of our P-day errands done already (yay!) and we should have time to relax. For the Zone Activity (we have one every P-day) we are going to play games together. It should be really fun. Also: Jose is supposed to be coming back from his trip this week! We have to move his baptismal date, but he's coming back and he still wants to be baptized! :D 

Love you lots,