Two beautiful baptisms!

       Hello my dear family and friends. This week was another week of great miracles. I am just in awe. I bore my testimony in fast meeting yesterday and couldn’t hold back the tears. God has been so good to me. At the beginning of my mission and throughout, the Lord has asked me to make sacrifices. Some have been harder than others, one definitely more than the rest. As I sat in sacrament yesterday I pondered the week and this past year. I felt a special spirit come over me. I know that those sacrifices have brought the blessings. “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven….” I know this to be true. Throughout our earthly existence God will have us sacrifice. At times having to sacrifice things we have yearned for all our lives, but the blessings come in return and how great they are.

       On Wednesday we were on tracting split out in the North Bend area. I was with Elder Bybee, truly one of the most amazing people I have ever met! We will be best friends forever. We have been great friends since he came out but it's amazing how spiritual experiences bring us so much closer. We were out knocking doors for a brief 60 minute time period we had. We were running from apartment to apartment just pleading with God we could find a soul to teach. The last door we knocked on before having to leave were to young boys. Josh and Brenden. They were the two nicest kids I had ever met. Usually when kids are under eighteen we don’t teach them, we usually just give them a Book of Mormon to give to their parents and leave. As we were beginning to turn around and walk off the step I had this prompting we should teach them. So I turned back to the boys and asked if we could teach them and they agreed. We asked the boys what their religious background was and they said, “We don’t really go to church. Our mom is an alcoholic and left us, she is unemployed and living in Bellevue. My Dad broke his back a few months back, we watched him get really skinny and pale. He was really addicted to pain killers but we helped him through. He is getting a lot better now. We believe in God but our parents don’t really take us to church.” I fought back tears. We taught them about baptism and how they could come unto Christ. Their faces lit up. They said, “We would love to be baptized.” The lesson we had with them was one of the most tender of all my life. The thing that hurt me most was when Josh, the older boy, ended the lesson with a prayer. He is maybe 13. “God, thank you for coming to us today. Please help my mom, help her stop drinking so she can come back. And please help my Dad stay healthy. We pray that we can have enough money to pay the rent so we can keep this house, and hopefully enough money to put food on the table…” Elder Bybee and I wept with those boys as we said goodbye. We told them that we loved them and that God would help them through. I look at these two boys, both no older than 14. How tough this world can be. What rich blessings we all enjoy. How grateful I am for God. I will spend my life serving kids like this. Oh what a blessed man I am.

      The second story this week is again of God's tender mercies in all our lives. This time was a tracting blitz with the Elders on Mercer Island. I went with Elder Biraiti. A true humble saint. We knocked on the door of a sweet Russian woman named Gerin. Right when she answered the door she said, I am not a believer. I couldn’t help but look at this sweet lady, weathered by life, and think how desperately God wanted her back. How bad He wanted her to enter in that gate back to him. We replied, “We meet many people in this world daily who don’t believe in God, but I promise that God has sent us here to tell you that he lives! He lives and we can help you know.” With a slight smile she said “Ok, I'll listen.” It's amazing to look in the eyes of people, if we will only look long enough to see that they are a child of God, a child just as important to God as our ownselves, God will fill your soul with charity. As I looked at her my heart opened and I felt God explain her day to my soul. “Gerin, we know that God sent us here today. You have had a rough day. We are representatives of Christ! We want to help.” Tears streamed down her face. She said “This world is unfair! How can their be a God.” She then explained her horrible day. We taught her of the Book of Mormon! That it was written to convince us that God does live and that Jesus is the Christ! We bore simple testimonies that Christ was sent to help all that is unfair about life, be alright. I paused for a minute, I didn’t know where else to go. This thought came into my mind, have her pray. “Gerin have you prayed before?” “No I never have.” We taught her how to pray. She then said the most humble prayer I have ever heard. She ended her prayer and stared at the ground. We then asked “What did you feel as you prayed.” After another long pause she said, “I felt warm.” I KNOW THAT GOD LIVES!!!  He saw this sweet woman, searching her whole life for the truth. He touched her soul forever that day.

       The final experience of the week was the baptism of Ivan and Jesus. This has been a wonderful week, teaching them and preparing them for baptism. Ivan is the husband and father of Chelsie and the kids who were baptized last month. 

       Ivan was not able to be around his wife for the past few weeks, because a misunderstanding. The court lifted the order early and their family was reunited! This family is the most amazing family that I have ever taught. The spirit that has been with us as we taught this family this week, has been so powerful. God has prepared Ivan and Jesus for the gospel! Chelsie and Ivan now yearn to go to the temple together. I asked Ivan how he felt as we walked out of the font. He said “ As I was brought out of the font, I felt something leave me! I feel clean!” Their smiles were amazing. They pratically ran to the building as we got out of the car to head to the baptism! What a tender week.

       This week has touched my soul forever. How blessed we all are! I love this life and this work. I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for all I have!! I love you all! Be safe and have an amazing week!!

Love,

Elder Aiken