We got to go to the zoo last Monday, and it was so great to wear jeans for a day and have fun with a member in our ward and four little kids!
Today was the week of miracles. I wrote to my family last week that we finally set a date with Jerry to be baptized...in the upcoming weekend! And we sure did. Saturday April 28, Jerry Hicks was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I laughed when I read my sister's email because she said she could guarantee that we would have at least one hitch during the process. The adversary always throws more opposition before such a great miracle.
One of our "hitches" came in the form of a lizard.
We got to the church 2 hours early to fill up the font and we opened the door and there was a LIZARD in the baptismal font. No big deal, right? Wrong! Sister Jensen and I are terrified of bugs! All the Elders laughed at us later, saying they would have just scooped up the slimy thing and carried it out. Yeah right! They were just talking tough. It took us a solid 20 minutes to maneuver the little salamander out of the font and into the grass outside. Our tools? 1 bowl, 1 poster, 1 flat dishwasher rubber mat (yes we got really creative), and one dinner tray. But we were determined to get Jerry's font filled, so we were SO brave and we got the thing out! (And took a few pictures.)
Jerry's baptism was perfect. He bore his testimony at the end and it was so powerful! It sounded like the testimony of an apostle. "I KNOW this Church is true. I KNOW Joseph Smith was a prophet. I KNOW Jesus Christ is our Savior." He glowed that day with more happiness than I have ever seen in him, except maybe the following day when he was confirmed.
The miracles didn't stop there. Meet Thea. She's a media referral, meaning she got in touch with missionaries online and they sent her info to the mission office. Get this....by the time we contacted her, she already had been reading the Book of Mormon, had received ALL the lessons (online), had all Anti-Mormon lit thrown at her, and picked a baptism date because she knows this is the true Gospel! She came to Jerry's baptism and afterwards we sat down with her. It was kind of awkward because we really didn't know what to say to someone who is so ready! We told her what she needs to do to prepare for her baptism, and she is thrilled. She wanted to know about all the Relief Society activities, she came to church yesterday, and she just wants more! She has been a strong Christian her entire life. She grew up in Alabama and came to Tennessee to sing country music. She was inches away from signing on with some major producers (she's REALLY talented) but the Lord led her to the Gospel instead. She said that the Book of Mormon contains the answers to ALL the questions she's ever had! She finally feels complete and we are so excited to help her prepare to make a covenant with Heavenly Father next month!
After that, we went outside to the warm night air.....and there were fireflies!! This may be the greatest miracle for Sister Nordstrom. Ever since I got to Tennessee I started asking EVERYONE about when the lightning bugs will come out and looking anxiously for my first glimpse of "glow-bum bugs." I held one in my hand! They were all over the area where our church building is but nowhere else! I took it as a sign that Heavenly Father gave us these miracles, and His hand is in everything. Just as fireflies give additional light to the night, these two people and all those involved in bringing them closer to Christ are like additional lights turned on in darkness.
Yesterday Sister Jensen, our ward mission leader Brother Dearden, and I spoke in Sacrament meeting. I talked about the Doctrine of Christ as it relates to our missionary purpose, Sister Jensen talked more about missionary work and its importance, and Brother Dearden brought it to the member level. We had more "spiritual fireflies" in church! We had so many nonmembers come to church, and even more less-active members, who got to be present when Jerry was confirmed a member of the Church and given the gift of the Holy Ghost.
It really has been the perfect weekend. It's not that we had been doing something wrong before, it's that we have finally been doing the RIGHT thing LONG enough. I'm grateful for the fireflies in my life, like my family, my mission president, my companion, friends back home who send uplifting letters, the Book of Mormon, fasting, prayer, and especially my Savior. What are your "fireflies?"
