Hey!!
This week was a great last week in Kasoa but I am definitely sad to leave this place and all the members here that have loved and cared for me so much!! I am also very sad to leave those that I have been able to teach and am currently teaching who are/were so prepared to receive the true restored gospel. I have loved every moment of serving in this area and the last 5 and a half months have truly flown by. I will be now serving in an area called Alajo. The area will be back in the city and I am pretty sure that it will be my last area on my mission which is crazy!!
This week was also a great week of teaching. We have been working closely with 5 different people who are all so prepared and ready to be baptized. They just have a few things to work on before that happens. However I have great faith that they will be baptized in the month of February. Their names are Bernard (60 something), Elizabeth(19), Augustina(33), her daughter Lillian( 14), and Edward(30). Each of these people are wonderful people who have loved the gospel so much.
This week on Thursday we taught Edward, he knows the church is true, the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is a true prophet. However, he feels like he needs to learn the Book of Mormon all the way before he can get baptized. We told him that his testimony and desire is what will bring him to be baptized and that we feel that he is ready. He said he wanted to wait until April to be baptized but we extended February 16th and told him to pray over it that day and that on Saturday we would come and see what his answer was. Well when we went on Saturday he told us that God confirmed to him that February 16th is the right day so he accepted. We were super happy about that and for him.
Also, Bro Bernard is the miracle man who I taught in October and then didn’t hear from him for a long time and now he has come full circle. He came to church last week, came to midweek on Wednesday and came again to church on Sunday. He is progressing so well and is set to be baptized on the 9th of February. I will be super sad to miss his baptism as he has been searching for the truth so long and I have seen him come full circle but I am super happy for him and his decision and he will help this ward so much in the future.
Sister Elizabeth is a 19 year old girl who we started teaching 3 weeks ago. She was also a referral from the members. She came to church 2 times and loved it so much that she was set to baptize yesterday after church but sickness came over her in the morning and she was not able to be baptized. However, we still have great hope for her as we visited her yesterday after church and made sure everything was ok. We know that she will be the example for the rest of her family and that one day she will bring them all to church with her.
Augustina and her daughter Lillian are some of my favorite people that I have met in this area and I will be so sad to leave them. They were given to us as a referral around the beginning of December. Since day 1, they have loved the teachings and loved the church. Augustina has been constantly thrown challenges all along the way as people verbally abuse her for coming to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, telling her that we drink blood, worship spirits and everything to get her to leave the church. She has been strong all throughout and is such a great woman. She is just dealing with one small problem that will be fixed very soon and so she and her daughter should get baptized together at the end of February of the beginning of March. Lillian her daughter is also very great and it is cool to see them so happy at church every week. Yesterday she asked me " is it really good to get baptized into the church?" I said, "Lillian do you trust me?" She answered, "yes I really do, I always trust in you." I then promised her that If she did get baptized and endured to the end then it would be the best decision of her life.
It is really cool how many relationships can be made in such short amounts of time. It is probably my favorite thing about my mission, creating relationships and everlasting friendships with the people that I am teaching. All because of the gospel, friendships and trust can be made in just a couple hours of gospel lessons.
Well I really do love my mission and am having a great time out here!! Love you so much! Til next week!
-Elder Shirley
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