We had a couple of really cool things this week. First, we set a baptismal date with one of our investigators, Steve!!! He is a very awesome guy. He's homeless but basically he's always known that he should be a mormon. He's gotten into some pretty rough stuff in his life and he loves talking to us all about those things... but what's great is that we can always bring it back to the Gospel because one of the amazing things about the Gospel is that it can answer almost any question!(Maybe not, "What color of shirt should I wear today but you know what I mean! :P) But we had a lesson with him at the church and weren't even planning on inviting him during the lesson but then suddenly our lesson went to the topic of baptism, we taught him more about it, read Mosiah 18:8-10 and Elder Lemon just invited him! We set a date for Jan. 30th! It was awesome! He's really progressing well. We want to bring him to the temple for the Christmas season sometime this week!
On Friday, Elder Lawrence, from the quorum of the seventy, came to our mission. It was like jumping into a pool of knowledge and of the spirit! I learned SO MUCH! The coolest part was probably when we decided as a mission to set a goal for how many baptisms we wanted to get in the next year. We are going to try to get 400 baptisms as a mission over the course of this year. This will take a lot of hard work on our part but we just felt the spirit testify so powerfully to us that this is what will push us and help us truly accomplish God's will for our area. So, will you all pray that those four-hundred souls here in the bay area my be prepared to receive the missionaries when they come knocking? I know that this is possible but it will take our hard work and everyone's prayers. Thank you!!
Baptism is such a powerful covenant. Just think about it for a second. We are inviting them to take upon themselves the name of Christ so, in a sense everything that they do from that point on should have Christ's stamp of approval on it. This makes me evaluate the covenant that I make every week when I partake of the sacrament. Is everything I do in accordance with what Christ would have me do? The idea that I want to apply to my missionary work and my life is this. I want to focus less on using the Sabbath to prepare for my week and more on using my week to prepare for the Sabbath. I invite you all to think about what you have covenanted to do when you were baptized and strive to truly "take upon yourselves the name of Christ" in every little action, word and even thought.
You are all amazing individuals, filled with amazing potential. I love you all so much. Have a wonderful, spirit filled week!
With Love,
Elder Barnett
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