Faith isnt a friend of Fear, & Blanquitas Baptism! :)

Hola,

Hmmm... where to even begin?! This week was kind of a blur with a whole bunch of random thrown inbetween. But obviously the best part was Blanquitas Baptism!!! Whoo finalmente! Oh yeah, and Mothers Day was good also, to talk with my family on Skype.

If you remember from emails before, the process for Blanquita wasnt a quick or easy one. Her husband was gone because he is a Solder (that doesnt look right, but I honestly dont remember how to spell it, it is a person in the Army, it is Soldado in Spanish). So first they had to get married, and yadda yadda, a million other details.

But the day finally came for Blanquita! (If you remember her son Aldo was the first baptism I was blessed to be a part of when I came here. And her four other children were baptized before.) Ah the day of the baptism was just one crazy thing after another. And it was a long story but we didnt know if the baptism was going to happen on Saturday due to schedule isses and blah. So my companion said do we fill the font or wait for an official yes or what? And I said fill that puppy up! Faith first, miracles second. A baptism was going down! And then after we made the decision to do all that we could with our part to make the baptism happen that day, then we got the phone call with in minutes that it was happening!

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With other baptisms I was in the crowd, watching in a chair in front of the font with everyone else. But with Blanquita I was waiting at the door at the top of the stairs for when she exited the font with a towel and a hug. And it was such a sweet experience. I gave her a hug when she came out of the font, and she began to cry. She had waited so long for this day. And in that moment, all the sweat, tears, and work was worth it. She said "The best, right?!" She said "Que rico, no?!" People here say que rico when they have a good experience or food that they like, and they say no after alot of things as if for you to agree with them in a form of a question.

And a missionary I am well aware that the baptisms arent about ME. The work isnt about ME. It isnt for Melanie to be completely comfy cosy in all that she does. The work is hard, and the no"s come fast and frequently. But when the yes comes, it makes it worth it. And as I think yay me, look how hard I have worked. God has always been working on their hearts longer and harder. So it is my job to find the people where their will meets Gods will, and that is the miracles.

Okay, love you all tons, keep up your own personal missionary work as well. How long has it been since you shared your testimony with someone? How long has it been since you have invited someone to join you in the happiness of the gospel? What are you waiting for? Push your fears aside, and fill that font!

Love Always,

                    Hermana Smith    

Here is a picture of me, Blanquita, and my current companion Hermana Lopez. It was hard with the baptism clothes because Blanquita is SUPER small, and we only had one dress as an option to use. So I took a white mens church tie, and tied it tight around her waist with a bow in the back, and folded the extra length part of her dress over the tie. So it just ended up being a shorter dress, so she didnt completely drown in all of that extra fabric.

And here is a photo of Adolfo, Aldo, Hermana Juarez, Me, Marta with Gorda, Adolfo and Blanquita. It was a Sunday after church. It is the best when the people you work with make the choice to come to church and learn more of what God has to offer for them in thier lives.