Anton's Baptism

This was a good week... a big highlight was Anton's baptism. He was ready. After he passed his interview last week, we sat down and had a really spiritual lesson on prayer. The kind of lesson where you just feel God's love and you just want to connect with Him. We set personal goals on how we would change our prayers so we could have more meaningful experiences. Anton then said the closing prayer and you could tell something had changed for the better. It was awesome! 

His baptism was two days later (this past Sunday) and it was great. There was a good amount of people that came. Anton was ready. He was baptized, and then after he changed his clothes he stood and gave a humble testimony about how he'd been wanting this for a long time. How being close to God isn't easy, but lately somehow he's found the strength to do what he's needed to do. He's seen a difference in his life. He bore testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. It was so awesome! 

Another awesome thing was that the drain in the baptismal font wasn't working. So we, along with two other missionaries, a member named Amon, and then Anton, decided we had to empty the font by hand. We found a bunch of buckets and started hauling the water out of the font into the church's kitchen, and we dumped the water out the window in the kitchen. It was crazy! There was so much water. We probably dumped around 150 buckets full of water. It was hard work, but it was so much fun also. Anton was glowing with peace and joy as he helped empty the font. He really earned his baptism :) We laughed the whole time. It was something I wish everyone could experience... voluntarily doing grueling physical labor (kind of) alongside those we love under the light of our brother having just entered the waters of baptism. It was so happy and it felt good and satisfying. We all got a little wet. :)

Another highlight was something I actually wasn't there for. The Sister AP's went out with us for one more day after I last wrote, and something really cool happened! There's this man named Dr. C who I called last week--he had met with missionaries before but stopped for some reason. Well I set up an appointment and then Sister Pinkston went to it with Sister Kubota. They came back and told me a little about his story, and I am way excited to start teaching him. He is a heart surgeon by trade, a Harvard graduate actually. He was raised Buddhist. Sister Pinkston says he is a sweet man. They shared about eternal marriage/eternal families, and about a living-day prophet. He said, "Why haven't I heard this before?!" He accepted a baptismal date! I'm excited; I get to meet him soon. Great things are ahead. 

One amazing and very relevant thing about Jesus Christ is that he is full of second chances. It is never too late. His arms are opened wide, and He will take you as you are and will lift you up no matter where you are coming from. He is full of second chances, with healing in His wings. I testify of the power He has to heal our hearts. He lives. I feel it every time I search to feel it, every time I pray. 

Sister Gopinath