Do They Come in Rainbow?

Ummmmm...hi.

Roni is 100% against pictures,
so we just took one with
 President Hillyer
for posterity's sake.

RONI GOT BAPTIZED. FOR REALSIES. THIS IS THE GREATEST. I AM SO HAPPY IN CASE YOU COULDN'T ALREADY TELL BY MY ALL CAPS. She had been way nervous for the actual water dunking part (understandable, if I were blind and afraid of water already I would probably be pretty nervous too), but it went great! The coolest part was her confirmation on Sunday though. She's been coming to church and studying the scriptures for so long it almost felt like she was already a member, so her baptism was just the last technicality. She took the sacrament for the first time this Sunday though and that, THAT made me so happy. I literally couldn't stop smiling all through sacrament meeting.

So obviously, Roni's baptism was the ultimate highlight of the week, but on top of that it's been a pretty awesome week. We were at the church on Saturday and we saw Brent and his family heading in to the church. We thought we would need to go unlock the door for them, but as we were walking up Brent called out, "I have a key." You better believe Brent has a key to the building. He's not only a member of the church now, but he has a KEY TO THE BUILDING. That made me way happy too.

At the end of the last lesson we had with Roni before her baptism, we all took turns saying things about the gospel that we "know for sure." (It was a non-threatening way to have everybody bear their testimony) I said I know for sure that Heavenly Father loves me and loves everybody. S Woolsey said she knew for sure that He hears and answers and prayers. Roni said she knows for sure that He's there. S Roughley (the branch relief society president) said she knows for sure that He and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.

I know for sure that Heavenly Father is there, and that he loves us. I know for sure that he heard Joseph Smith's prayer in 1820 and answered his prayer when he appeared to him in that grove of trees. I know for SURE.

I literally can hardly even remember anything else that's happened this week. My mind is consumed with being happy for Roni and Brent haha

Let me just share with you guys that missions are stressful. You're praying and thinking about so many people and wanting them to have the gospel in their lives so bad because you know how happy it will make them, but then you're stuck in your own little 19-year-old mind that hasn't really experienced much of life yet trying to figure out how to help all these people having grown-up real life problems. Life is crazy. People have all sorts of crazy things happening in their lives all the time. And I'm supposed to somehow help them know how to sort out the crazy. Let me tell you what, I HAVE NO IDEA.

But I know Heavenly Father does.

I know he knows perfectly. And I know he loves all these people enough to help me help them figure it out. I pray all the time that I'll know what to do to help people accept the gospel. All I know is that living the gospel, obeying the commandments, doing our best, and repenting when we don't do our best (which is basically all the time) is what's gonna make it all work.

Peace and Blessings

Sister Hepworth

 P.S. When Roni came out of the changing room with the baptismal jumpsuit-thing on, that she has previously referred to as a "parachute," she said, "Ya know what? I ROCK this. I think I should get one for myself. Does it come in rainbow?" We'll check for ya Roni, but my first guess is probs not.

A sister in my district had a portable table tennis thing, so for district lunch we played some hard-core table tennis. We didn't have enough paddles, so we just used hymn books haha
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I bet not very many other missionaries get to take pictures with a giant sausage statue.

Probably one of my top 5 favorite pictures ever taken on my mission. Just look at that giant sausage. Just look at it. If you're not laughing, you should get your humor checked.