HEY GUYS,
So this week has been such a sweet week... but I don't really know why.. its just been jam packed with stuff for us to do. As many of you know we were planning to have a baptism this past week. Well we had 4 candidates all lined out of baptism that we have been teaching for my 6 weeks that I have been here in Kenema. I tell you it really wore us out as to be able to see them and to still be teaching all the other people that came to church..... Church well we had 22 investigators at church the previous week!! So we had to make a point to see them all to help them progress. Anyway as Saturday the day of baptism approached we were wondering on how we were going to have the water to fill the font up.. so we worked with members and with our branch mission leader and our plan was Friday night we would all get buckets and fill the font up from a local running tap. well the tap ended up not running that night and no members showed up!!!!!!! AAAHHHHH see frustration in Elder Hales.. so frantically we called our branch president and let him know about the problem ( cause the ordnance needs to be done in water) he informed us of a local water side that previous missionaries had baptized in. I was relieved to know that water was still available somewhere... the day of the baptism went really well. We opened the service at the chapel and then started to walk to the water side I didn't know exactly where it was and neither did my companion... so as we were walking after 20 minutes I started questioning and our candidates said " don't worry Elder Hales we're almost there" haha I was being worired too much. I thought to myself what a conversion it takes for these people to do this and walk 45 mins to get baptized and another 45 mins back!!!! what I couldn't believe it!! once at the water side there was a crowd of people around of about 60-70 people they were washing clothes and swimming and being really noisy upon our arrival but our elders quorum president went and asked and told all to be quiet for what we were doing...... so here we are at the river tons of people around and then our baptismal candidates change into their whites... listen to all the whispering going on... the spirit was so strong. as they entered the water the white just gleamed against the mercy green water. as the prayer was said what a sweet feeling as a missionary to hear the member pronounce the pray with power and authority for all to hear, and to see the fruits of our labor as missionaries to be tools in the hand of the lord!! during our walk back brother Joseph (one of the candidates) came to me and said Elder Hales your next goal is to help me obtain the priesthood and to help prepare me for a mission to share this message with others... tears filled my eyes as he bore his testimony to me and told me these things..... what a sweet sweet Saturday in Kenema Sierra Leone! I love my mission and couldn't have asked the Lord to give me a greater opprotunity to serve I just pray that I can become the missionary and saint that the Lord expects of me! I know this church is true and I know that the gospel can and will bless lives more than they will ever know if they truly follow the council of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I have seen it in a poverty stricken area and will never deny what I have seen and know to be true!!
ELDER DILLON VERN HALES SIERRA LEONE FREETOWN MISSION
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