Bautismo de Nora

25 Aug 2009

Dear Family,

I am pleased to anounce that Nora Goldenstein was baptized this Sunday. But, I´m sorry that I´m not yet able to send a photo. We went to the zoo for a zone activity and I didn´t bring the adaptor to transfer the memory card to the computer. Her story is begins when she married David Goldenstein, a partially active member of Moreno 1. They went on their honeymoon and then moved into a house here in Moreno 2. The two of them decided to visit church about two months ago and met Elder Wall and Elder Callejas, but they weren´t sure if Nora was a member or not. When they were walking around one day, Nora and David were riding around on a motorcycle (David is a policeman that rides around on motorcylces all day), stopped and asked when the missionaries were going to come by. So, that is how it all started.

They began coming to church nearly every week and Nora began growing in interest. She is a school teacher, so she read every homework assignment we gave her (the pamphlets and chapters in the Book of Mormon). As I have before told, her major difficulty (and it is still a major difficulty) is praying before others.

Her baptism went fairly well, but it was really stressful. Here in Moreno 2, the water heater is located too far away from the baptismal font. There is hot water in the kitchen, but as the water moves through the frigid underground pipes to the baptismal font, it comes out a bit cold. We spent a fair amount of time Saturday trying to figure out a way to fix it. In the end, Hermana Días told us that she could bring a 50L pot to heat water in and throw in with the rest of the water. So, we spent all of the church meeting heating up the water in the pot twice. In the end, we were able to get the water to be a bearable temperature.

The baptismal service occured right after sacrament meeting. We had to change all of our plans because every person we assigned to give a talk or a welcoming didn´t attend. David baptized Nora and it was a very special event to witness. What warmed my heart even more was when we sang “Haz tú lo justo” (“Do What is Right”) for her and she began to cry. She indicated that that is one of her favorite hymns, of the few she knows.

Before church, I was feeling a bit down because nearly all of our plans and appointments on friday and saturday fell through and when I called on Sunday morning for a few people to come, they said they didn´t want us to come accompany us because they didn´t want to go to the first classes. Saying that usually means that they aren´t going to come. But, many people got to church on their own.

Ramona and Lurdes came. Lurdes during the week sent us a message (she works in the capital from monday to saturday, so we can´t teach her during the week) asking why she couldn´t be baptized sooner. We let her know that it is a requirement in the mission to attend church 3 times to show that they will continue. Church wasn´t quite all she was expecting. She felt a bit like I felt the first time I went to the temple, a little uncomfortable and a little doubtful. One of the problems is that this ward isn´t the most open and warm to newcomers. After church, she was with her aunt Ramona, who will be baptized this Saturday, and wondering whether or not to stay for the baptism. She was praying and found a pieces of paper on the floor. It said “Jesucristo me ama” (“Jesus Christ loves me”). She decided that she would stay. She absolutely loved the baptism and decided that is what she wants and believes that it is all true. After the baptism, she asked me if I would be the one to baptize her, which made me feel honored.

This Sunday, Alvaro, also came. He is a fourteen year old kid that was about to be baptized 2-3 months ago, but his non-member parents talked him out of it, saying that being baptized isn´t a game and that they would be more strict with him afterwards. During my time here in Moreno, he wasn´t coming to church on Sunday (but would come Saturday to play soccer with the other youth). We stopped passing by as often and his Mom realized how good this Gospel is for him and told us not to stop passing by because we were helping him. To our surprise, he came to church again this Sunday. And to our greater surprise, he asked us when he could be baptized. In priesthood class, they were talking about the responsibilities of the priesthood and about the Duty to God award. Alvaro realized that he can´t really do anything in the church without first being baptized and became really excited. We had interviews with President Benton yesterday and he gave his permission to baptize him this Saturday (on part so that we can reach the goal of 200 baptisms in this transfer, the which ends this Sunday). We feel that he has had a true change of heart and is ready again to be baptized. His Mom is also now showing interest. The only problem is that Alvaro´s father doesn´t want her to go too much.

And we had one more person come to church on their own. While doing our contacts, we found a woman talking with another. We “interrupted” and she asked if someone had given us her direction. She wanted to know how we found her. We found out that she is the inactive sister of the Bishop in Jardines, another ward in the stake of Moreno. She moved here 5 months ago and what is even better, she has a 9 year old son. So, we have begun to teach Hernan. She is the one I called Sunday morning. But, she arrived for Sacrament meeting and then stayed for the baptism and liked it. We are planning on the 12th of September for him as well, but Patricia, his Mom thinks that is too soon.

Well, it is my time to go. I hope that all goes well with you all. I love your letters. And I hope that you enjoy the start of School Jessica and Jonathan. And before I go, I can´t forget. Happy Birthday Dad! Thanks for being such a good example in my life.

With love,
Elder Drake Ranquist