January 13, 2014 - Carmen

A 'golden' baptism

Whats Up Everyone!
This week was full of some exciting news! Hermana Dulce got baptized on Saturday night and was confirmed a member of the church on Sunday morning! Oorah! The first baptism that I have had since October! She was super prepared already and had such a strong desire to be baptized. It almost felt like we weren't even the ones teaching her anything. She already knew everything we taught her and went he question came up to ask her to be baptized, she happily accepted! Ah! It was such a cool experience to finally see her step into that covenant with God. So many people were there! The room was super small, but we managed to fit a bunch of people in it to watch her be baptized. I honestly think the entire ward was there for it. It was pretty cool to watch. Elder Gray was the one who baptized her. Believe it or not, he has only done the ordinance twice in the mission... I happily gave him the chance to do this one haha. So he did it, and did a great job with it too. No problems. Hermano Colby (from Utah) confirmed her on Sunday and you could just see the excitement on her face after the confirmation. She was super excited to finally be a member. She is such a blessing to the both of us, her and her entire family are. 
On top of that, we had a part member family that showed up to the baptism. The mother was baptized about a month ago by the sister missionaries, but she had a daughter who was an active Jehovah witness that's 15 years old. She came up to us after the baptism and told us that she wanted to be baptized! What in the....! It was insane! She told us that she wants us to meet with her every night at about 7 to start teaching her so that she can be baptized in two weeks! Crazy right?  So we plan to teach her every night when we have time and get her ready to be baptized in two weeks. Her name is Joanna Elizabeth. Shes super cool!

Elder Proctor welding?

Apart from that,. we literally have a baptism set up for every weekend until valentines day.... that's never happened before. We are going to be baptizing every single week until then if everything goes to plan. How awesome is that!

I am doing good though here. I really love the area if you cant tell. We always have something to do. I wish the time would pick up a little faster though. Days still seem to take forever, but weeks fly by like its no big deal. That's my only complaint, that and the heat. If those would work to my favor, then life would be perfect.  I don't really need a whole lot because we are in a pretty decent area where I can get the things I need. 

I am doing good here. No complaints. This area is really a goldmine of baptisms just waiting to happen. We are having so much success here and we are loving every minute of it. The people are a lot nicer than Tobasco and I have had a lot more fun being a missionary in this area. I have mentioned to president that I would like to stay here as long as I possibly can. I just don't want to be transferred right as everything gets going for me. Not many missionaries have the ability to say that they've been in three areas in six months. I surely can. I cannot wait for the day that I get to see you all again. I miss you all so much. But I know, that for the next 18 months, I need to do this. Whether I complain or not, I need to do this. For myself and for the people that are here for me to find. I know it. I've seen miracles happen, a lot of which happened this week alone.

I want you all to know that I love you so much. More than anything in this world. I pray for each and every one of you each and everyday. Know that. I am so happy to be able to be a part of such a strong family. Thank you! 

Kia Kaha- Elder Proctor

PS- HAPPY 16th BIRTHDAY KEATON! You are such a stud! I wish I could be there to wish you a happy birthday in person, but I will definitely be thinking about you this coming Sunday! DONT START DATING YET! I HAVE TO APPROVE FIRST! Nah, im kiddin. Do what you want. Be smart though! Good luck with all your games this week. Knock em dead, cross em up, and show em what ya got. Thats all I gotta say. "Show em how bad ¨us proctors¨ can be on the court!" -Glory Road Happy Birthday bud. I love ya.