Surprise!! A Baptism!

HI FAMILY!

Sister B has been sick, so the nurse had us staying indoors... which stunk because we had to cancel a bunch of our lessons with our solid investigators!! And I felt like I was going insane... because she would just sleep all day so I would be going crazy in my own thoughts... you know it's easy to not go crazy when you are busy all the time, and you don't have time to think... but I had a LOT of time to think... it... wasn't fun!! :( 

BUT!!!! It got even crazier! 

We finally got Sister B out of bed and we did a service project for a less active... well we were outside for about an hour and Sister B got heat stroke!! Can you believe it!? I didn't even know that could happen! BUT!! It did!! :( So the nurse told us to stay inside for 3 days!!!!! AAHH!! And poor Sister B was just puking... like crazy :(

Anyway, here I am going nuts, when I get a call from the zone leaders! "Sister Collings!! You must have been praying REALLY hard for a baptism, because you have one scheduled for tomorrow!!" uhhh what? haha turns out... that a couple that met in a homeless shelter, and fell in love... because they had both just gotten rid of brain tumors!! They took the lessons in Santa Barbara, and.. they went on their honeymoon to Santa Maria... and they were staying in a motel... so we had to teach them lessons in a motel. (Ask me after the mission all the details.. because it's so hard to explain everything we went through)  BUT! we were able to get Daniel baptized the next day.... IT WAS INSANE!!! Daniel is so amazing! He was in a homeless shelter and the girl that was taking care of him was a member of the church, and they started dating!!  Daniel has a broken back, and a broken neck, and he got all of his teeth pulled. He got married and he stopped smoking and doing drugs, so that he could get baptized!! Isn't that inspiring!? My favorite part of the whole baptism was when he came out of the water... he finally looked like he wasn't in pain anymore. 

I had been praying so hard that we could have a baptism this transfer because I wanted Sister B to feel the drive that comes from seeing someone we have taught enter the waters of baptism!!!  Holy smokes... It brings me to tears to think about this experience....  That God saw the work we were doing, and even though we were staying in, our hearts were in the right place. And because we had been praying for a baptism, He gave us one!! I have seen such a difference in Sister B... it's incredible. She has that drive to keep working.  AND SHE GOT A PRIESTHOOD BLESSING!  And now she feels so much better! Isn't that just special! I cannot describe in words how blessed I feel that God did that for us... 

I feel so blessed to be a missionary! I feel my love for my Savior growing more and more each and every day!! And I'll be honest, I HATE emailing, because I cannot put into words everything that I am going through out here.

I have learned so much about myself, and about the gospel, it blows my mind. Just like dad was saying, most of the time when you have been through trials, it's because Satan is trying to beat you down because he knows something really special is about to happen!! Something special did happen and I thank my Heavenly Father so much for letting me and Sister B be a part of that miracle! Especially because of how low our teaching pool had been, and how rough a go we have had with our investigators that question EVERYTHING!! And bible bash... huff.

Isn't Heavenly Father amazing!? The most incredible part of it is that I KNOW, without a doubt, that Heavenly Father is aware of me... The craziest part of the whole story is that the Elders in the 3rd ward were teaching them... and then they switched motels into OUR ward... So we got to finish it all up. Blows my mind.

Conman I love you... ya punk :)

DAD!! I told all the missionaries here that you are a converting machine!! They are all impressed!! Which reminds me, I met a missionary that knows you, and you set him apart! He's in my district, Elder Potter :)

AND!!! I met a missionary that knows Joe Kelsey!! :) their dads played football together! The elders name is Elder Martin. He was like "I'm from Beaver!!!!" hahah! I know Beaver!! :)

-LOVE YOU ALL!!

 LOVE SISTER COLLINGS!! :