April 18th will be a good day....

To my wonderful family and friends,

Out of all the weeks I have been here in Keighley this week probably has been the most eventful. We taught and scheduled two people for baptism; Aladar and David. Let me explain in more detail:

About a week ago Sister Arrive and I were going to go by a AUF in Keighley. We knocked on the door and it clearly wasn't the guy we were looking for. He is Slovak and speaks very little English. We explained that we were volunteers for our church and he then said, "Volunteers?" He explained he needed help with painting so we offered to help. We called him the following day to ask him if he needed us but he said he didn't need our help anymore. We asked if we still could come over and he said yes. Aladar is a father to five children and a wife, who doesn't speak much English. We taught Aladar Monday, 23 March, with Slovak pamphlets and the Slovak Book of Mormon. Surprisingly he understood most all we taught him. We scheduled Aladar, to be baptized, for the 18 of April. He accepted and Sister Arrive and I were excited. Since then we haven't been able to see Aladar. We have made appointments with him but his son is ill and he is always going to the hospital with him. Sister Arrive and I are hoping and praying that we will be able to see Aladar.

The next miracle. David. Now you might remember me, two-three weeks ago, talking about a man named David. (We were flogged buy a girl named Georga and decided to go to see David. Within a week David read 18 chapters of the Book of Mormon.) On Tuesday night we finally were able to meet with David at the church. We gave David a chapel tour and taught him the first lesson. Along with the first lesson we watched the Restoration DVD. The spirit was strong as we scheduled David for baptism on the 18th of April. Due to David's schedule we haven't been able to see David since that night but Sister Arrive and I are hoping and praying that we can see David twice this week.

Now to my family and friends who may be thinking why would a missionary schedule someone for baptism on the first lesson? I thought the same thing. I in fact was pretty against it at the beginning of my mission. President Pilkington and the Assistants established how important it is to schedule someone for baptism on the first lesson because - 

#1- It fulfills your purpose as a missionary (Invite others to come unto Christ...baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost...)

#2- It establish, to the investigator, our purpose and expectations as missionaries

#3- It helps missionaries see who really has the intent of wanting to learn about the Gospel and follow Jesus Christ's example

Yes I am scared to invite people to be baptized on the first lesson but I have learned my roll as a missionary. Right now Aladar and David are a bit far from baptism but I have faith in Heavenly Father that it will all work out! :)

Wednesday and Thursday Sister Arrive and I went on another exchange. I really enjoy going on exchanges because I learn so much from the Sisters. I love applying

what I learn from the Sisters. Sister Lee and Sister Gilbert are really good sisters. The both of them are good teachers. I feel the spirit really strong when they teach. I need to apply the spirit more by sharing more testimony as I teach and find. I learned that from the exchanges with Sister Lee and Sister Gilbert.

This week I was reading in Alma 22 when Aaron was teaching Lamoni's father. He taught him about the creation and about Jesus Christ. In verse 15 the king asks Aaron what he can do to have eternal life and Aaron's response was in verse 16 which says, "If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yes, if thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope thou desirest." That last part struck me. ..."then shalt thou receive the hope thou desirest." Everyone on this earth desires HOPE. I have came in contact with so many people here in England who feel hopeless. The Gospel of Jesus Christ provides that HOPE that people are seeking. Hope is something only Jesus Christ can offer. That is why it is so important that the church has missionaries all over the world! To provide hope for those that are desiring hope. I love you all so much have a fantastic week! :)

Sister Garrett