60 and baptisms!

note from me :)

on facebook i have received two notes regarding Elder Barron and his friend/investigator Henry. i sent both notes to Elder B this morning so that he could know that Henry was baptized this past week on Sunday. I'm including both notes here to share with you, too.

from Bro. Jeffcoat:

It was a great day. You can call Henry, brother Mayo from now on!!! He also has the Aaronic Priesthood as well!!!! Last week I got a call from Nathan Magnum our old elder's quorum president (now the ward mission leader) asking me to stay close to Henry before his baptism. You know all the wierd things that can happen to people before they are baptised!!!??? So I did with Facebook and a visit last Thursday prior to a baptism interview by the zone leaders. He was feeling some anxiety so I was able to calm him down. Then I saw him on Saturday night and he was happy to see me. He was feeling high anxiety by then. By the time I left him he told me he felt calm and strong! He had fear of the unknown. Besides, there is strength in numbers! His baptism was at 8:00 AM Sunday. He was dunked 4 times by brother Wood! Elder Brimhall talked about baptism and Brother Richardson about the Holy Ghost. I gave the closing prayer (I am the closer!!!???). I stayed with Henry at church until Scarament meeting started at 11:00 AM. I was in the circle for Heny's confirmation. Elder Catenack gave the blessing. Elder Brimhall gave him the Aaronic priesthood after church at 2:00. I am very proud of Henry. He was smiling from ear to ear. The spirit runs very strong with Henry. I think he was very pleased that he found the gospel. I also think he was very pleased at all the effort by the missionaries and the members in his behalf. He never said those last two comments, I could just feel what he was thinking. Oh, I almost forgot. Our bishop came by earlier in the week and gave Henry a quad set of scriptures. Pretty cool!

So Rhonda, the next time you talk to my buddy Taylor (Elder Barron) tell him he did an awesome job! His work here was excellent even if Henry hadn't been baptised! I think Henry has a sphere of influence that runs large in his family. Who knows how many others will be baptised as a result of Henry's baptism?Craigp.s. One thing I didn't mention in my big email was what a blessing it is to work with the missionaries and with the investigators. The rewards are amazing! Nowhere else can a person make such a positive impact on another person's life than to convert them to the gospel!

Now I sound like a full time missionary! But it is true! I never served a mission. I was baptised during my final semester at BYU. I was making good on a promise to Heavenly Father that if I went to BYU, I would find out if the church was true. Well, you know the answer to that one! I think working with themissionaries is my way of giving back to those who gave me that priceless gift of the gospel. (These were my friends I grew up with who never gave up on me!). So tell Elder Barron that it was a pleasure doing missionary work with him. I knew when I was hanging out with the missionaries, I was in good company!

Take care!

Craig

subject: baptism, gift of the holy ghost, and the priesthood

"1-10-'10: it was a long but a very memorable day for me at church today; ward 1 of mv warmly accepted me as a member and i believe that it was the right decision in this stage of my life, i know that through the powers of the holy ghost, elder taylor barron has been or is still an instrument of this event in my life; it was a profound feeling and i am grateful that i opened up my heart and my soul in what God the Father wants me to do; tothis i am a witness in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen."

now from our Elder B :)

Hey Mom,

it has been good to hear that Henry got baptized finally. i heard it first from Bro and Sis Denos who are from mission viejo. they are now going to be in charge of housing and cars for the mission replacing the Pusey's who finish thier mission this transfer. i think you know them, right?

sounds like you are ready to be busy again. i hope that everything continues to go well for you with work and school.

so yes we had leonard's baptism and it was awesome. the Spirit was very strong. i was told day of that i would be speaking on baptism there and i found out during the conducting that i was actually going to speak about the gift of the Holy Ghost. it was a fun time lemme tell ya. it wasnt too bad because i know how to teach those things anyway. President Brady came to the baptism unannounced. he spoke and commited leonard and his wife manuela to read the Book of Mormon together every day. brother buelna baptized leonard and the bishop confirmed him.

leonard said that when he stepped into the water it was cold but when he came up it was warm. he also said after he was confirmed that he felt like jumping up and yelling he was so happy. it was really a great experience.

fran is doing fine now. she has decided to wait until she can be baptized and just meet with the missionaries until then. she came to Church this week and she is over being upset about the situation.

hunter didnt make it to Church this week. i dont know what else to tell them except that the baptism cant happen until they go.

lynne has commited to quit smoking over the next month and then be baptized. i hope she can do it. she doesnt seem to leave her apartment very much and i think she spends alot of time just sitting and smoking. it will be difficult to quit if she has nothing else to do.

lee is still doing fine. we have about 7 or 8 other investigators we are working with right now but nothing exciting has happened yet. we are going to have to move our focus now to helping those investigators become more solid. we have more time available now. everything is going well.

Bro Jeffcoat:
thanks for keeping my family in the loop with henry and his progression. im sure that you know how happy i am that henry has been able to recieve the gospel and choose to have it in his life. you and the other members of the ward were essential to his conversion. i remember thinking that we were very blessed to have such great friends (fellowshippers) to take with us. we always appreciated how flexible you were to henry's schedule (saves the missionaries ALOT of headache). you are a very genuine missionary and henry and i really appreciate that. i am sure that you will continue to be succesful in mission viejo. by the way my area IS on beachfront and very busy. i am having great times in oceanside and had a baptism over here the same weekend as henry's baptism. again, thank you for everything that you have done for us and for henry.

Henry:
Congratulations! i was so happy to hear from Brother Jeffcoat and Brother Denos that you were baptized. it has been an amazing experience for me to see you take hold of the gospel and be so courageous in doing what you know is right. i will remember for the rest of my life the amazing experiences that we had with you. i know that you will, but always remember to stay strong. you will continue to find great blessings in the gospel and for your family and loved ones as you progress. you are a great example and inspiration and i am sure that your family will follow the trail that you are blazing. i certainly love and admire you.

Grandma:
congrats on your recent success in beating andy at a game. i know that those are difficult to come by. i still have never experienced an earthquake but i dont think that i notice them. a couple times people have said that they felt one but i never do. i cant wait to see all the cousings when my mission is over. that will be a great time for sure. i hope that you and Grandpa are doing well.-----Elder Barron--------

Elder Taylor Barron