Baptism and Tranfers

Oct 7, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

Well, greetings from the cutest little quaint town that is Purranque, Chile, where it is finally the beginning of summer, the trees are starting to bloom and I left for the first time in MONTHS without thick tights (and had to come back an hour later to put them back on..)

This week was the baptism of Gladys, and every moment it was a reminder of what a miracle it had been. Little recap on the story of Gladys: Gladys is a gem, bubbly, loves to make us food, fiercely loyal to her family, cuts hair, is about 50 years old. And rocks her glittery makeup. Her daughter has been a member for ten years, and is serving her mission in Columbia. In the words of the sister who gave a talk in her baptism: "this is a testimony of the faith of your daughter, because six months ago, you did not even want to see a mormon. You were SO angry with all of us!" 

Simply, the Lord changed her heart. He put us here in the right time and at the right place. Gladys was SO nervous on Saturday, because she had finally decided WHO was going to baptize her (that had been a huge issue) and quit smoking (one of the reasons she has been investigating for 14 years) 

But you know what happened? She entered the font, shaking from nerves, and excited (after two baptisms)....Radiant. Glowing. She grasped us two, held us close and said "thank you. Thank you for bringing me here." 

I squeezed her tight and asked "How did you feel??"

With tears in her eyes and a smile smudged with her wet makeup she said "I thought I was just going to get wet. But it was so beautiful that I wanted to cry." She stopped, looked at us and just radiated in the moment.

In her words the next day in her confirmation: "It was the best thing I have ever done."

And I don’t think for one moment that this was anything other than a blessing for her daughter serving her mission. My favorite part is that she showed us a picture of her daughter when she found out her mom was going to get baptized--crying and crying tears of joy. And in exactly one year, when her daughter gets home, they are going to go to the temple together and get sealed, along with Gladys’s husband who passed away two years ago.Gladys, 

The branch president and his wife (we are chile-ing it up...with the signs that they always make for photos here hahaha)

But for the not-so-great news...we got a call on Sunday and Hermana Mahterian is leaving me. NOoooooo!!! we are going to have to drown our sorrows in the sahnenuess ice cream here. I am going to miss her guts..but I still have my papitas (who, by the way, made hermana mahterian and I PIZZAS today as a surprise because hermana Mahterian was sick and in bed. They are the most christlike people in the planet. I am straight up convinced that they are perfect. because they are.)

Love you all!!

 Hermana Monroe

 

oh, and we went to the beach!!! I was so excited, I might have cried to see the ocean for the first time in months. Above photo is with the sister AP's