Tuesday, July 14, 2015

To the temple!

Hey guys,

I'm doing way good in the heat over here. I'm only soaking wet always, so it's no big deal. Last week was awesome, we went to the temple on Friday and again on Saturday with our recent converts. Friday was our stakes fill the temple day and so most of the ward was going down to do a session in the morning. The Kress's weren't scheduled to do baptisms until later in the afternoon, and the only ride we could find was with people who were going down early. So we called our new mission president and asked him if we could just do a session with the ward since we were going to be there early anyways. I guess the rule is that you can only do a session if you have a convert who is receiving theirs for the first time. We figured we have a new president so what the heck why not ask? He said we could join them in the session which was awesome, I've been dying to get in there for months! It was a blessing! Plus, it was Elder Murdocks birthday so I don't think he could've gotten a better gift. When the Kress's came down they were able to watch ordinances in the baptistery and participate in some confirmations. They loved it! He said he knew he was taking part in something special. He and his wife have been doing better than ever, not only has their spiritual and emotional life improved, but he continues to gain health and strength, and his right leg which was a stump due total loss of circulation has been miraculously healed! He took the word of wisdom to heart and stopped drinking soda and milk and started eating healthier. He's lost like 20 pounds! What do ya know, the Lord knows how we should take care of our bodies. The next day we went down again with the other ward for a youth trip, and our convert Dixie Acord did baptisms. She was glowing! I love seeing people in their temple whites, they are so clean and pure, just as God sees them. It was a great experience for all of us. Sunday we were fasting as a district in order to find people to teach. Later in the day the stake president a called us and and told us he just met with a man who wants to take the discussions and be baptized! His wife is a member and he's ready to join. We called him and he said he knows almost everything about the church already and knows it is right. Does it get any easier than that? The Lord certainly heard our pleas and showed us immediately who is ready to embrace the gospel. We hope and pray that we can only keep finding them! We have a baptism scheduled for the 25th this month for Dixies little sister Emilie. She is doing so well and the gospel has already changed her persona. You can just tell when people have been reading the Book of Mormon, they are different. It's the most powerful book on the planet. In other news, we got into a doorstep bible bash the other day. This guy was pretty antagonistic and just wanted to prove us wrong, which of course the bible will never do if understood correctly haha. We bore powerful witness and he said he would read the Book of Mormon so that he would know for certain it is wrong. I hope the spirit just brings him low and opens his heart! It was kind of exciting though, got my blood pumping. Turns out I know the bible pretty well now. But what president Shumway said is so true, with over 32,000 Christian denominations, the bible is not common ground. It is a battleground! When left to lean to our own understanding, we have nothing! Even with the word of God right in front of us. The spirit of revelation is the teacher, testifier, and truth weilder. And it is flooding the earth today through priesthood power and the testimonies of the saints. I've gotta go eat lunch with the Bird family, keep the faith!

Elder Hakes

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