Edgar and Louis got baptized this week! It was awesome. The baptismal service was held on Saturday morning at 9:30. It was really stressful organizing everything and making sure everything would run smoothly. We made a ton of phone calls reminding members and investigators of the baptism, and we had a pretty decent amount of people show up. Two of our investigators, two recent converts, and a handful of nonmembers were there, which is great. I didn't do any baptisms this time around; Elder Wheeler baptized Edgar(he won the coin toss) and the bishop baptized Louis. We spent so much time planning and running around that when the time came to watch a video while the baptismal candidates changed back into dry clothes, I found myself with a TV, a DvD player, a group of people watching me, all by myself, with no video! I scrambled for The Restoration, which I thought might be in Elder Wheeler's backpack, to no avail. So I ran across the building to the library, looked frantically for The Restoration, and then grabbed Finding Faith in Christ instead. I ran back and we watched a few minutes of the video.
By this point, I hadn't felt the spirit of this monumental event as much as I should have, because I was so concerned that it would be a great experience for Edgar and Louis. I made a last-minute change to the program and had one of the youth play a musical number on the piano. We had presented the idea to him a few days before, but I wasn't sure if we would have him play. He did play, beautifully. He played a rendition of "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" that brought the Spirit powerfully into the room. Now I could feel the Spirit and be at peace as I contemplated the meaning behind that hymn. After the baptismal service, we enjoyed refreshments that had been prepared by Edgar's mom. She brought a ton of good food, and all by herself. I hope she'll start taking the lessons soon, wink wink. The time after the baptismal service was a great time for Edgar's parents to get to know the members of the ward. Edgar's dad got to know the bishop pretty well, so I'm hoping that some good seeds were planted there.
On Sunday, I confirmed Edgar and the Bishop confirmed Louis. That was the first time I had performed that ordinance, and it was pretty cool. It wasn't as nerve-racking as I thought it would be. Sometimes I think that speaking what the Lord would have me speak in a blessing is scary. But then I realize that I'm trying to speak what the Lord would have me speak every day in all of my conversations. As I contemplate all that had to happen for Louis and Edgar to be baptized, I realized how little Elder Wheeler and I were needed. The work is done by the Godhead. Edgar decided that he wanted to be baptized, got permission from his parents, and then asked to be taught by us. That's a miracle. His parents, who aren't of our faith, were completely supportive. God prepared them to be loving parents. All we did was pick up the wheat.
When we found Louis, it was my first week in Ajax. We were about to knock on Louis' door. His wife had just walked inside and if we had knocked, his wife would have answered. As we were walking down his driveway, suddenly man pulled over his SUV, jumped out, and started talking to us. We had a great conversation with this man, and he even came to church that week. After he left, Elder Wheeler went to talk to a woman walking her dog while I went to knock on Louis' door, fully expecting to talk to the woman I saw walk into his house 10 minutes earlier. Louis answered. Had his wife answered the door, I never would have met Louis. He would have never been baptized. It was all a series of miracles. There's nothing that I could have done to make that happen. I'm learning more and more that God's hand is in this great work.
It's good to here that the church is doing a media blitz back home. Of course it is best if the members open their mouths to share the Gospel, but if we are to share the Gospel with every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, mass media is the way to go. There are a few thousand members of the church in Toronto. But there are 2.5 million people living in it's city limits. There's no way we could talk to everyone even with concerted efforts from members and missionaries. I'm glad that the church is doing so much with modern technology. I invite people to go to mormon.org every day and I am confident that those that visit the website have a positive experience with it.
Have a great week!
--Elder Wade
