November 2, 2011

Halloween costumes.....we switched name tags!

New England lighthouse and museum

Our most recent baptism!

What a roller coaster week with ups and downs. We even had snow which is not very common here this time of year. It has been good and hard, but worth it. First, I will give the news about transfers. The only change is with my companion, Elder Barnhurst. Elder Barnhurst is going home and the trunky bugger has been counting down forever! Ha Ha! I will be getting a "greenie" in his place from Park City, Utah. The changes will be good because I was feeling like I was just on a plateau for a while. I will continue to be diligent and help others follow the mission plan.

Next, I will talk about the snow storm that hit us and shut down the mission, except for me. I think my companion was going to kill me when the mission told us we couldn't drive but we went out anyway (walking) in the cool freezing rain! It was good fun, anyway I have been out in worse weather. The mission got shut down because Boston and any where close by didn't have any power. In New London, we only got rain and a couple of inches of snow, but 30 minutes north got 1 1/2 feet of snow! It didn't really stop us or put a damper on things...we just continued.

We had a Halloween party at the church and had some investigators come, which was really good. Elder Barnhurst and I switched name tags ...we came dressed as one another! Ha Ha! A couple of members gave us a ton of candy...so we gave it out to all the kids. They loved us! We hung out and socialized with the members. It was really fun!

The last story is about our baptism this week. We had these golden investigators that were scheduled for baptism. Well, we all know that Satan is really good at what he does, so he put a few roadblocks in the way. After their baptismal interviews, the decision was made that a couple of the family members were not quite ready for baptism because they still had a few issues that needed to be resolved. The family was very upset about this. In fact, they called me and yelled at me and said that we are just men and can't tell them when someone can and can't get baptized. I mean they were really upset! Oh my gosh! This happened Wednesday and the baptisms were scheduled for Saturday. A baptism requires a lot of preparation. We have to plan the program which includes music and talks. Anyway, we just continued to prepare for the baptism and had the district fast and pray for them. We had an appointment scheduled with the family on Friday to try to explain the doctrine to them. We were prepared to get yelled at again, but guess what? We started out with a prayer and they understood and accepted that some family members needed more time. The family members that were ready for baptism went a head and got baptized! It turned out wonderful and they were so happy! I have such a testimony of fasting and praying! I was so content and no one could ruin my week after that! After the baptism, my companion was just done. He turned the switch and he was done with his mission! I have just tried to keep plugging along. I love him so much and he is one of my best friends!

Peace and Blessings! Have a magical day!

Elder Phillips