WEEK 58

I'd like to start by continuing where I left off from last week's e-mail. I mentioned about Wayne's baptism & the testimony building events that led up to his baptism day. However, I didn't have time to write any of those events/happenings.
One of the things that happened the weekend before Wayne's baptism was that he got sick. Saturday & Sunday caught him with a sore/itchy throat, and the next thing you know, He was down on Monday with a cold, fever & cough. He missed work for a few days & we couldn't meet with him on Wednesday because he was too sick. We still had several lesson topics to teach him before his Baptism interview on Friday night. Thursday found him still very sick and depressed. He was about to postpone his baptism date but changed his mind when he realized that this was a single event prepared for him. He initially thought that there would be a line of people to be baptized and you just joined the crowd so they wouldn't notice if he wasn't there. But after I explained to him over the phone that this was HIS baptism & that it is a special day prepared for him, we started to talk about how his baptism day was still possible and that this little trial of being sick was an opportunity for him to exercise his faith in the Lord. He confirmed that he knew before he was sick that Mar 1 was the right day for him to be baptized. he felt good about it. But when he got sick and depressed for the last few days, he started to doubt. We reminded him of his testimony, and pointed out to him a chance to exercise his faith. We talked about a priesthood blessing and how it works according to our faith. Wayne agreed to receive a blessing from the Elders that night, & the next day he was SO much better!
So Friday evening we taught him the remaining lesson topics before he did his baptism interview. All went well Friday night & on Saturday, Wayne was baptized. He described to the Elders after his baptism a feeling of great joy and in his own words: "I feel something in my chest, but I can't explain that feeling...it feels good!" After his baptism, Wayne shared his testimony at the end of the baptism service. He is usually VERY nervous about speaking in front of a lot of people, but he did wonderfully well! He shared about his journey in learning about the gospel. He even made us laugh =) Next month in April, Wayne will speak at the "Why I Believe" fireside. We are so excited for him!

Well, this week is transfers again....and my new companion is...*drum roll*.....................Sister Leung from Hong Kong! yay! Remember Sister Leung?! She was my companion back in Danville during Oct-Nov. She celebrated my birthday with me that transfer =D Well, we're back together again..hehe...but this time we are at the VC serving in the Chinese branch! It'll be cool cuz she speaks Cantonese, so we can communicate better with those Cantonese speakers all over this bay area ;-) I guess my Chinese accent will now be enhanced to a mix of Taiwan,TianJing,& Hong Kong! Aren't you excited to hear me speak Chinese when I return home? haha...nobody will understand what I'm saying unless they've been to Taiwan,TianJing and HongKong!

Ok, I'm glad I got to write a little more today. It's been great writing to you. I love you so much & pray for each of you everyday!