Brayan's Baptism

 Helloooo everyone!! Happy Monday!

BRAYAN WAS BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!!! He and the other Hermanas' friend, Alfredo, were baptized and then confirmed during church yesterday. The baptismal service was so beautiful and I feel so grateful to be a part of Brayan's conversion story. He has so much faith and has been so willing and ready to hear what we have had to say from the very start.

When we asked Brayan if he'd like us to bring any specific treat for his baptism, he decided on manzanas (apples). Definitely not the request we expected haha:) It was cute how easy it was to please him.

On Thursday we had a mission tour (basically a cool zone conference) with Elder and Sister Bragg! We got to drive to Santa Barbara for that, which was awesome because Santa Barbara is GORGEOUS. Elder Bragg is in the 70 and he's over our mission. If you remember the general conference talk, "Christlike Poise," it's by him and it's one of my favs ever. He and his wife shared some amazing insights and the Spirit was so strong in that meeting. Right after, we had a mini MLC with them and it was so good!

We had our first in-person lesson with a friend named Eddy this week and he is SO cool!!! He was found through Facebook a little while ago and we had a video call lesson with him, but this week he met us at the church and we taught him about the restoration of the gospel! We gave him a church tour and he talked about how good and peaceful he felt during it. THEN on Saturday he came to Brayan's baptism! And after, he texted us and told us how much he loved it and asked what you have to do to be baptized! He's progressing so well and I'm super excited for him! Just pray he can make it to church this next Sunday.

We had a few good meals with members this week. I'm so grateful to our stake president for passing a sign-up sheet in the English ward for the Spanish-speaking missionaries, because it definitely helps us get fed a lot more than we normally would be haha. He said that it's because his daughter is serving Spanish-speaking in Texas and hardly gets fed so he wanted to do us all a favor! Member meals are the best so moral of the story is: feed the missionaries! ;)

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

I just want to share a quick thought from our zone conference from Elder Bragg. One of his main themes was "conquer the morning."

We talked a lot about the importance of starting off our day on the right foot. We want to be spiritually prepared for the rest of the day, and if we want that, we need to be INTENTIONAL with the way we spend our time.

President Holland once said, "You make or break your mission every morning."

I have been realizing how important it is to the Lord that I start my day with Him in mind. If I prepare myself early on, I can be more receptive to the Spirit's guidance instead of missing impressions throughout the day.

Ways missionaries and EVERYONE can conquer the morning:

 - more intentional prayers

 - praying for people by name

 - having personal study time (focusing on the scriptures)

 - sharing things you learn and impressions you have with others!

 - writing down goals for the day

My invitation for all of you is to CONQUER THE MORNING! If we find a way to prepare more intentionally for the day, even if it's something simple, God will be able to work with us.

I love you all!

-Hermana DeMordaunt