7.10.17 Andy's Baptism

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had such a great week! I have loved hearing about all your fun 4th of July celebrations. For our Fourth of July we got to go to the Presidents house for a barbecue and games. It's always so much fun! We had a finding goal the week before of 400 new investigators all invited to baptism as a mission. We were the lucky zone that got to film the video with President. I hope you enjoy it! On the actual 4th of July we got to go on exchanges with two amazing sisters. Ironically enough the sister I was with was actually from Canada. She loved getting to celebrate the 4th here. While we were together we got to go to her area and have a pass of lesson with..........? You guessed it! Sister Von Sayvoe!! It was so fun to see her teach. She is such an amazing missionary. I am so proud of her. She has done so well. I was even more excited to get to go to Andy's baptism this last Saturday! Yep, Andy got baptized! We are so excited for him. He is going to go to the temple for the first time to do baptisms tomorrow, too! That's pretty fast but he has friends that came into town from Georgia for the baptism and they really want to be there for these big events. It was so fun having them all there because we got to hear Andy's conversion story from another perspective. So, a couple of years ago, one of the young women invited her friend named Monica to girl’s camp. Monica had a great time but never came to another activity again. Flash forward a couple of years the missionaries were over at that young woman's house. They asked who they could teach and she instantly thought of Monica. She told them she had given her a copy of the Book of Mormon but hadn't heard anything since. The missionaries went over and were greeted by Monica's father, Andy who politely said they weren't interested. When Monica heard what was going on she ran to talk to the missionaries and told them she had been reading the Book of Mormon. She began meeting with the missionaries and got baptized. She is now serving a mission in California. As time went on some tragic unexpected life events lead Andy to begin on a soul searching journey. Though he wasn't a member of the church, the ward reached out to him in such love. It left a huge impact on Andy and he, as well, began to investigate. His daughter Monica was so excited to be able to Skype him for his special day. I am so grateful to have been a part of this amazing day. It is so incredible to see how one small act can make a huge impact on the rest of someone's life. I have truly seen that through my mission, there have been times where I might have felt someone wasn't interested but if we feel the prompting we just need to act on it. I can't imagine how the course of events would have changed if that young woman would have never invited Monica to girls camp. I know that Heavenly Father has an amazing plan and time table for each of us. I invite each of you to think of a friend you might have felt you should reach out to. Take the opportunity to invite them to something. I promise you it will change the life of generations. I know that the Lord will be with us and fill our mouths with the words to speak. Just as it says in D&C 84:85 ".....and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man." I absolutely know that this is the Lord's work. I am so grateful to be a part of it. I know that the gospel is true and that Jesus Christ truly is our Lord and Savior. I leave that with you in the name of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen Sincerely, Sister Goudy