The Lord is truly aware of all of His children

This week went by pretty fast. Before we know it the Transfer will be over. It is crazy how fast time flies on the mission when you lose yourself in the work. The week came with its struggles and challenges, as they all do, but it was also filled with blessings and tender mercies from the Lord. We continue to work hard in our area of San Fernando to bring others unto Christ through the waters of baptism. Thanks for all of your support and prayers for us here. We see answers to prayers, both ours and yours I'm sure, each day. The Lord is truly aware of us and all of his children.

We had the great blessing to witness two baptisms this weekend. One was the baptism of an entire family, mom, dad, and 3 girls, in the Chaguanas branch. Sister Taufu'i taught them while she was in that area, but they have been receiving the lessons for quite a while from different missionaries. Their family was remodeling the mission home, so that is how they came in contact with the church. President and Sister Mehr have taught them in their home on many occasions as well. So, finally they made the decision to be baptized. We got permission to go to it; what a beautiful, spiritual experience that was! I sent some of the pictures I took of them and the sisters who taught them. Another cool thing was that a senior couple that went home a year or so ago, who worked with them when they were here as well, were able to be back visiting this weekend and so the husband was able to baptize this family. It was very special.

The second baptism was here in San Fernando. It the mother of a long time member of our ward. She has been coming to church and activities off and on for years, but never met with the missionaries. Her son, wanted to wait to have them teach her when she was ready to be baptized. He and his friend/home teaching companion have been teaching her, and just a couple of weeks ago, he approached the Elders in his area, and told them that she was ready to be baptized! So, they "taught" her the lessons, she already knew everything, and she was baptized this Saturday. She invited the entire ward as well as many family members and friends. It was cool to see her enthusiasm and excitement to make this step. She was truly prepared! She chose her own date, made her own baptism programs, organized all the food that was to be served after, invited everyone she knows, and pulled together a wonderful baptismal service. The spirit was very strong as we watched her son baptize her! 

The last event of this week was the "Men can Cook, Too" activity that the Elders Quorum put on for the relief society sisters and the rest of the ward. They cooked a fancy dinner and served it out to us while wearing cute chef's hats and aprons. There was a great turnout of members and nonmembers, though none of Sister Taufu'i and my investigators could make it. The ward here is very strong, but can still do better and grow stronger, which I believe that it is. 

Love,

Sister Bratt

Easter Message

The Monday after Easter is a holiday here, so things were closed. We moved our P-day to today. Glad to hear that you had a good Easter. We did here too, even though it was different than I'm used to. What better way to spend it than in the service of the Lord? It really helped me to remember the true meaning of the season. I was thinking about how we didn't have any Easter egg hunt or things like that, but I realized that the hunt we did go on was one of a much greater value and importance; a hunt for souls to save. It was cool to think of it that way and to remember that the message we bring to people is only possible through what Christ did so many years ago just for us. I am grateful for this special Easter that I have had, for it truly was a once in a lifetime opportunity. (btw, we didn't color eggs either. we were going to, but then we realized that all the eggs here are brown...haha!)

Love,
Sister Bratt

Conference, Car Trouble and a Soggy Phone

This week was a good one. We really enjoyed watching all 6 sessions of Conference here at the church via satellite. We didn't have any investigators come which was sad, because we know they would have loved it. We will have to share with them what they missed out on. There weren't very many members there either, the most came on Sunday morning. They do have the ability to watch it online at home, so we hope that those who didn't come to the church were watching it at home. I for one learned so much from the talks that were given! How special was that to have all the women from 8 and up involved in the women's conference! 

Today was a crazy p-day. We had the intention to get going early and get things done so that we could do a bit of clothes shopping after. But, when we went to start the car it wouldn't start. The engine kept turning over. So, we walked to an email shop while we waited for Brother Kotiah to come. He works on all the mission cars here in Trinidad. So we got part of our email time then, but had to walk back to meet him, so now we are finishing up. It turns out that the battery had dried up...who knew that could happen!....I guess more people should, because it would have saved us a lot of trouble if we had been checking it. So he switched us batteries until he can get us a new one and got some battery water to fill it with for the time being. THEN, sister Taufu'i accidentally dropped our phone in the sink while the water is running, so it won't turn on. It is weird not having a phone or knowing what time it is....I forgot to find where I have my extra watch, the one I was using started losing time. So, today has been an adventure! But, hopefully we can still get everything done and have time to relax. :)

Love,
Sister Bratt