Miracle Baptism

People are looking for the truth in their lives, they are just waiting. The Magtangob Family just got baptized this week along with Jonalyn and they were some of the most prepared people I have ever met.

Let's start with Jonalyn. 

Jonalyn and her family were found just by walking down the street and getting the prompting to stop and talk to the person selling snacks on the side of the road. After getting to know him, he said we could go in and teach his family. At first they were a little hesitant but as we got to know them better we became like family. They slowly started to read the Book of Mormon, go to church and pray to God. They started developing many friendships at church and the members took them in as one of their own. One of the biggest pushes for her to get baptized was studying the Book of Mormon. Before her baptism she finished 2nd Nephi... which if you've ever read the Book of Mormon you know how challenging it can be to get through those Isaiah chapters. Her memory is remarkable. We would ask them how their reading was and they would give a detailed report on every single verse that she read. I still remember the day when she came to church for the third time and said that they felt like the gospel that was taught here was truth. She was going to wait to be baptized July 20th, but she said she just could not wait any longer. At her baptism her testimony was so pure full of the spirit. She is going to be a strong member of the church. Next week is her sisters baptism, and soon after that their parents will be baptized. This family is a miracle.

The Magtangob Family is another miracle. This family had been looking for the true church their entire lives. They used to go to a lot of different churches but they felt like each time they went, there was something missing still. They never had their children baptized because it just never felt right. God had been preparing this family for so long. Joan (the father) and Janet (the mother) decided that they wanted to find a church for good for their children to be raised. As they pondered and searched a thought entered Janet's mind to talk to Sister Mahinay because of her kindness and her family. Sister Mahinay asked if she wanted to meet with the missionaries and they happily agreed. We met with them and they instantly decided to come to church to try out our message. At the first visit, they told us that they felt like this church is what they have been looking for all this time. Every single question they asked us were golden questions: how do we know if a church is true, why are there so many religions, what happens if a baby dies without baptism, etc. All questions that we have answers to. This family supports each other in every aspect of the work and they are the cutest family I have seen. At their baptism their testimonies were the most precious things I have ever heard, I couldn't even hold back my tears of joy. Their youngest son Kennedy wrote down his testimony, but half way through he put his paper down and started speaking from the heart. I looked over at his parents tearing up. They are looking forward to be sealed in the temple as a family next year.

One of the most tender moments of the baptism was seeing how the members embraced these newly baptized people into their community. Throughout the week we invited as many people as we could to the baptism and we set up for all the auxiliaries to give welcoming remarks and present a little gift. The welcoming remarks started with a deacon welcoming Francois into Young Men organization. Then it was followed by the Young Women organization, Primary, Relief Society, and Elder Quorum. Missionary work is beautiful when the members and the missionaries are unified.

I love missionary work and I love seeing people change through applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Cadayong