This week was some kind of adventure!!! Yes sir. My favorite part of the week is when we were riding our bikes and some hispanol yelled, "ANDALE GORDITAS!!!" (meaning hurry up you little fatties!) I just felt right back at home in Mexico.
I was at the mission office last Wednesday for a training, and after a break I came back to sit in my seat and a very large statured man by the name of Elder Linder was standing beside my chair. He said, "Sister Marshall, do you want to get out of here?" I just said, "You know, don't tell anyone I said this but yes, I do." Then he said, "Well how do you feel about going to the Provo MTC this friday at 11 am?" I told him I would feel good about it, but then I asked him why I was going. He replied, "Just to go and pick up your visa so you can finally get out of here Wednesday morning." I just smerked and said, "I'll be there!"
My companion didn't asked me what he said for about 20 minutes, then she finally was like, "so what did Brother Linder want?" I just said, "To inform me that I was going to Spain." She almost screamed in the middle of the training.
So pretty sweet yeah, I'll be getting outta here wednesday. Something crazy though, a couple weeks back we were teaching this amazing man who wanted to get baptized on Feburary 25th. After this amazing lesson we had one night I came home and just kneeled down and asked that Heavenly Father would be so kind to let me at least stay until the 25th so I could be here for his baptism.... What do you know. This weekend we had the baptism of 23 year old Antonio Cruz and I got my visa. The Lord is so merciful.
A couple nights before his baptism we were teaching him about the plan of salvation, and at the end of the lesson he said the sweetest prayer. He just said, "thank you that the sisters could come again and teach me that my life could be so much better than I ever imagined." Saturday morning we had his baptism at 11 am. He came alone and had no support, his girlfriend is baptized but super antimormon because of her 4 roommates she lives with and are all horrible examples. She kept telling him not to get baptized, he has no family here, and all his roommates are super catholic and never say one word to us when we are there. But, luckily his girlfriends aunt is active in the church and in our ward. She came to be his support and you could tell he was so grateful! Our ward mission leader gave the talk and just mentioned the great privlage it is to make this promise with the Lord and to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Antonio just started crying, man crying though, you know, just like a tear here and there. Then we the missionaries did a special musical and he just looked so happy and so ready! He jumped right in the water and literally came out of the water glowing and glisening. Afterward we went to eat and he said the food on the prayer. He just said, "Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this opportunity to be this clean. I can't even describe it but I just feel so good and so happy." During the time we sat there eating dinner with him he told us how many bad example every single mormon friend has been to him, but then he said, you know what, it doesn't matter cause I make my own choices and this is the best choice I could ever make. It just made me so sad, because how many times are we bad examples? Which too often turns somebody away from the light and life and joy the gospel brings. Our example is everything, never be afriad to just be who you are, tell people you went to church on the weekend and how great it was and what you learned, just love being a follower of Christ and be an example of the believers. It's the least we could do for the Savior who did everything for us.
I am so grateful I was able to be here for his baptism. It was definitely one of the high-lights of my life. The other day I just mentioned to him so you going on a mission next? He just said, oh sister, step by step.... I have to start with baptism! But I seriously have no doubt he will go! I have it perfectly planned out that his farewell will be the week after my homecoming!
But this girl has got to go get packing some bags. Thanks so much for ALL your emails. I seriously am working hard on getting letters back to you... I am just seriously lacking on TIME!!! It's just slipping through my fingers.
Remember that time I served 2 1/2 months of my mission in Rose Park, Utah? BEST THING OF MY LIFE. I am so grateful for this opportunity that Lord so sneakily placed in my life. 73 visas came in for missionaries going to spain, and only 6 of them were already in the field. Meaning, those 67 other missionaries will not get this experience I had. My favorite part about it is that I can come visit them all the time after my mission! Those times in life when sometimes we can't ever see what good will come out of the experience we are having, just keep the faith and have patience, never doubt the goodness of the Lord. He so merciful and loving and every single thing he does is for our benefit and our growth.
Peace and love from SLC for the last time!
Love La Gordita Hermana Marshall
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