Hayley got baptized!
This is Hayley. She's one of the greatest kids in the whole world.
Story of my life.
Hayley's friends, Peter, Caroline (the little one), and Aubyn. Peter and Aubyn go to school with Hayley, they've been an awesome help! There are only about 5 members of the church in their whole high school. I'm glad 2 of them are Peter and Aubyn, they're good kids, too.
Ranch and broccoli? Mm...
Hayley's mom (Mia), Hayley, and Helen
Quick note regarding Helen: This is the Helen who is my Calvin. (I cannot really explain, but some of you out there will understand.)
What a cool day.
I gave a talk for Hayley's baptism about the Holy Ghost. I couldn't think straight all week... every time I sat down to write the talk it just left my head and I had to do something else. So I had a few notes, but nothing real. Just before my talk I realized I'd left the notes I did make on my desk at home. Sheesh. I stood up, and explained that I had left all my notes at home, but not to worry. I already had the gift of the Holy Ghost, and I've been promised that he would bring all things to my remembrance, so we should all be just fine. And I gave a short talk about the Holy Ghost. Several people afterward commented on what a great talk it was and how impressed they were that I did that without anything. But they missed the point. I didn't give that talk. I was just the voice box that the Spirit was using.
Yesterday evening we went to dinner at a member's house with one of our investigators. We'd had a really intense lesson with her the day before, so we knew that the lesson needed to be small or she'd be totally overwhelmed. We both prayed and thought, and prayed and read... NOTHING came to mind. Finally dinner was over and we still didn't have anything. I looked at Sister Arnold with a question on my face, she looks back at me and says, "do you know what we're teaching yet?" that means she doesn't either... dang. So I said one more prayer in my heart, "ok Heavenly Father, thou hast said that I will be given the words in the very hour... it's the very minute. What are we going to teach?" And then I sat on the sofa while everyone else was getting situated I hear in my head, "Give me some assurance." Here's the funny thing about that: Give me some assurance is a hand-written note that I put in the margin of one of the miracles Christ performed in the New Testament. I had written that note probably 10 years earlier in institute. But I knew exactly where it was at. It's the story about the man bringing his boy to the Savior to be healed. It's the story about "help thou mine unbelief." So we read that story and talked about it... here's the part I forgot: I'd forgotten that the story is also about fasting and prayer. (Mark 9:17-29,,, I think it's through 29). Read it, it's cool. Given words in the very minute... just like He promised. Again with the "good lesson" and all that, and I think, "Now I know that man is nothing, which thing I had never supposed." Like Moses said. And I know that I didn't teach that lesson, I was just the voice box again. And that's kind of cool.
