Baptismal Olympics!

Exchanges with Elders Murphy & Wadsworth
Hello everyone! Man, was it a week to remember or what. The awkward thing is I can’t remember a lot of what happened, but believe me, it was awesome. You can take my word for it. 

The Baptism
I was lucky enough to go back to Phoenix for a bit, we got to go see Ryan Shea’s baptism, he is the husband of Heather Shae who got baptized a few weeks ago. Elder Gardea and I found their family a few months ago, so we got permission to go to the baptism and it was awesome! Funny story time first: He asked Brother Thrasher to do the baptism, so Sister Thrasher was sitting on the row behind them when the service started. Sister Thrasher went up to give the opening prayer, leaving her young child alone on that row. Her son saw his opportunity. Without hesitating he made a mad dash for the hallway, with no one to slow him down. His dad saw it coming, and in a white jumpsuit, literally hurdled the row of chairs and literally SAT on the kid right before he could make it past the final chair. It was like a slow-motion movie. I was very impressed and had to contain myself while the prayer was being said. Hence the title “Baptismal Olympics”.

Anyways, the baptism was so awesome, got to see lots of old friends and it was a good time. Other than that this week was pretty chill! We put out investigator Noel on date for baptism on the 14th of April! We are really excited, our zone has about 15 people that are planning on being baptized that day, and 20-30 in the month of April. It should be pretty busy :) Noel made it to church yesterday which was really cool, that is something she has struggled with for a long time! 

We had a really cool contact with this girl named Karina, she was having a really rough day and we knocked on her door, she answered, and we talked with her and shared a message on repentance, and the healing power that comes through Jesus Christ. Her eyes lit up and she told us afterwards that she felt so much better, and it was such a good experience for her! She read a little bit of the Book of Mormon after our appointment, but decided that she didn’t want to meet up with us, which was sad. But, I think it was super awesome that we could make a positive impact on her day! I know that is the essence of our lives. Things don't always happen the way we want, but if our efforts make seemingly small, positive impacts on those around us, all of our efforts are worth it! Look for those opportunities this week! 

Also, general conference is this weekend and I am so HYPED!! If you don't know what that is, check out LDS.org, especially on Saturday and Sunday. Basically, our prophet and other chosen servants of God will speak to us and help us improve to deal with everyday challenges. Tune in, it’ll be sweet! Have a good week everyone!
Elder Trevor Barlow
Arizona Tempe Mission

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