The big story of the week is Alicia's baptism! So, I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned her but I've known her for a long long time! It's a bit of a long story but basically we went over to try to teach her boyfriend who spoke Spanish but wasn't interested and we ended up having a few lessons with her! Her boyfriend wasn't always there so we passed her to the sisters who started teaching her. But we would stop by every once in a while to visit and to read from the scriptures with her because she was going through a really rough time. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and was in a lot of pain and suffering. So if we were in the area we would stop by and share a thought with her.
To summarize 5 months into a few sentences she had a few surgeries and had one lung removed and 5 ribs. She spent a lot of time in the hospital and we lost contact for a little bit, then we got a random phone call in December and she said that she was getting baptized and that she wanted me to baptize her!
So I was honored and she said that her baptism was on my birthday! So we were super excited until she got pneumonia earlier that week in her one remaining lung! She spent the whole week in the hospital and we had to postpone the baptism.
This is when it gets good. So when she got out of the hospital we scheduled the baptism. So when the day arrives and we drive down to Alexandria and we get to the building, the water heater and furnace are both broken!
Then Alicia arrives and tells us that that very day she broke one of her few remaining ribs! So she looks like she's on deaths doorstep and I literally thought that I might be the cause of her death if I dunked her in that freezing cold water! So she asked me for a blessing before we began and one of the promised blessings indicated by the spirit was that she would be able to recover from her baptism. A strange blessing but it sure comforted me!
So we got the towels ready and all the space heaters we could find and decided to brave the font! As soon as I stepped in my foot went numb hahaha. It was sooooo cold. I thought I was going to kill her!! As soon as her foot hit the water she just started cussing all the way into the font. Asking why it was so cold, I slowly lead her down one step at a time reminding her to pray and to be brave.
At the second to last step she stopped and said "I need to cough." the cough that followed sounded like the final breath leaving her body. I told her that she just needed to make it down one more step and then turn around. She replied "Let's do this." With so much determination it gave me chills! So I baptized her and it all worked out! Definitely a baptism I'll never forget.
Today we went to the temple. I received some very needed guidance and inspiration. My life is about to get a lot harder. But I take comfort knowing that I am on the path that the Lord has set for me. I love you all! Christ lives and this is his church!
Keep praying :)
Elder Brunsdale
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