For the past few weeks, my zone has been serving at a food bank near by. It was a lot of fun and we met so many awesome people that work there. It is at a christian church but is not associated with the church. We served every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. This Tuesday, a few of us showed up and the doors were locked (They are never locked) so we knocked and one of the owners, Frank, opened the door and asked what we wanted. We told him that we were there to help and he said that they were not able to accept our help anymore. Luckily Elder and Sister Nelson (The old missionary couple) were there and wanted to talk to the pastor that told us not to come back. When we talked with the pasture, he said that they were very grateful for our service but the reason that we couldn't help anymore was because of our name tags. It was crushing to have the opportunity to serve Got by serving others be taken away from me because of who i am and what i believe. The news of what happened ended up spreading to all the missionaries (My plan to stay hidden and unknown by most missionaries didn't exactly happen. Most people know my name now because we were the main companionship involved with the meeting with the pastor other than the Nelsons).
So The rest of the week was alright. We didn't have any service and hardly any lessons. We did finish teaching both Megan and Kevin though!
Saturday! That was a great day :) So we had a car because it was crazy and busy so the STLs lent us their car for the day. It was weird getting to drive a car after 2 months, but it was really nice to have! We got a lot done that morning and late afternoon. So at 1:00 we had a baptism for Megan and Kevin. There were so many people that were there! Half of them were missionaries and non-members. I gave the talk on baptism and i was scared out of my mind. What made it worse was that right as i was about to start my talk, President and Sister Mendenhall walk in.... O_O I honestly wanted to cry because i was so scared to talk. At first i was struggling hardcore with even getting my words out, BUT... i lived through it and everyone, especially the hardcore Catholics and the other non-members, told me how wonderful it was and how they could tell it was really from my heart and lead by the spirit. so i guess it was a good thing that i spoke. One of the members, Megan's friend Ali (The one who introduced her to us), came up to me after the meeting and said that she was trying her hardest not to cry (because she didn't want to mess up her makeup) so her and her husband started counting the number of times i said the word "um" ... they counted 26... 
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Megan was baptized first and then Kevin and we noticed that the water was not filled very high so it was hard but both of them made it with only one try. The joy that i felt as they walked into the font - "dont know if im elated or gassy, but im somewhere in that zone" (Anna from Frozen). and when they came out of the water -"They were perfect. They were perfection!" (Olan Rogers [Idk what video] I changed the words slightly) But seriously i can't describe the feelings of joy that i had during those few minutes.
As we were waiting for them to come back into the room, we sang songs about Christ. When Kevin walked in we were singing Praise to the Man and i got so emotional. Images and memories from the beginning flashed through my mind. The first time i met him, the first lesson with him, the first time he came to church, the last lesson, his interview for baptism, when he walked in the room in his white jumpsuit, his steps into the font, and then coming out of the water. The same images came to my mind when i saw Megan walk in. They have come so far from that first day! They have really changed and i got to be a part of those changes. I got to see and feel the Lord work through me to reach them. Sister Nelson gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and she would ask us all questions and the non-members were the main people answering and it was really cool! So something different happened. Usually they would get confirmed on Sunday at church but they got confirmed after the talk because one of the guys confirming wouldnt be there on Sunday but it was really a cool experience. Speaking of Sunday, during the sacrament, I was reading the hymn we had just sung and i looked up at the perfect moment just as Sister Thaler was passing the bread to Megan. Megan, with a huge smile on her face, was able to partake of the sacrament finally. She has wanted to partake of it ever since we started teaching her. In the first lesson she practically told us that she wanted to be baptized and wanted it to be on March 28th so that by Easter she could partake of the sacrament. Of course General Conference ends up being on Easter so that isnt going to happen, but she was just filled with joy!
So we did not watch the Womens Conference on Saturday. Megan was having a social at her house at 6 so we went there and talked with her parents and her non-member friends instead. we will hopefully watch the meeting this week with the Nelsons because they didnt watch it either.
So we got to find out who was being transferred Saturday night. and honestly i was super nervous and scared. In the past, trainers and greenies have been transferred after only the first 6 weeks so there was a possibility that one would leave. Also 8 areas got closed today and we were sure that ours would be one of them because it is so small. Luckily we are both staying in this area! i think that the two baptisms on Saturday helped with the decision in keeping us here :)
Man, This was a great weekend!
Now we are starting from 0. We dont have and investigators, potentials or even referrals. We are going to be doing a lot of tracting (something that i haven't really don't at all yet) but it will be good for us.
I Love you all! Have a most wonderful week and a great holiday weekend with Conference! Oh also have a great holiday weekend with Easter. HAPPY CONFERENCE AND HAPPY EASTER!
Love,
Sister Smithson
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