Fatima is baptized! <3 Wonderful day!
This is Fatima and her husband Luis, the man that baptized her is standing on the left. His name is Luis too. Haha we need new names in Portugal. Love them so much!
Sister Ribiero did Fatima's hair to prepare for the baptism. It was so fun.
THE BEAUTIFUL FATIMA
THAT WAS BAPTIZED!
Us with Fatima's Jehovahs Witness Bibles that she gave us.
Our goals to teach Fatima the rest of the lessons before her baptism.
We went to pizza after the baptism to celebrate!
From our Prep-Day today! We visited a famous castleeeee called Castelo de Mouro.
Oh the beauty!
Me with a cool flower.
Burger King after a longs days work.
We are funny.
I love small European cars! Cute!
Me
During a division this week with Sister Anaya, we found this giant box. We came up with an awesome idea to take it home and to scare our greenies. Haha...In the end our plan was foiled, but we had fun giggling and stuffing the giant box into our car.
Entitled, "The Box Adventure"
Oh the beauty!
I am loving serving with Sister Ribiero!
My Letter Home:
So we have been teaching Fátima for a while. Me and Sister Aiono
knocked on her door and she let us in. It was sooo nice because she lives in
the same street as the chapel and it’s really easy to help her get to church.
She seemed like a person with struggles who needed help, and
she does not have a lot friends to help her out. Basically her main friends were
missionaries from the Jehovah’s Witness church. They visited her every week and
sometimes helped her out. She had been studying with them for OVER 30 YEARS and
she had still not been baptized. She really wanted to be baptized but they kept
telling her that she wasn’t ready. We came into her life like a ray of
sunshine. She lovesss us a lot. We would do service for her and walk with her
to church. She really liked church and was amazed that we invited her to be baptized
in the first lesson. She continued to come to church to prepare for her baptism
but heard something about tithing and got scared. She still didn’t have a
testimony that this church is true. She was still meeting with the Jehovah’s
Witnesses. She had one foot in our church and one foot in theirs. She decided
she didn’t want to get baptized in our church. It was just too complicated.
The End.
JUST KIDDING!
Sooo when I had to have my surgery, we lost contact with her for
a few weeks. When we finally came back, we called her up and she was soooo
happy to hear from us! She was so concerned that we hadn’t been passing by or
calling. We invited her to church and she came in her Sunday best! That week
our Mission President planned a "consecrated P-day" that would end at
2 o clock and we would spend the rest of the P-day studying how we could help
people accept the baptismal invite for next Sunday. I was without hope. We hadn’t
been in our area for a while and we didn’t have anyone that seemed to have a
lot of potential for the next Sunday. I remember being in our apartment and
realizing that there was soooo much more that I could be doing. I needed to
change a few things. So I went in a room alone and prayed. I prayed with allll
my heart, asking the Lord to forgive me. I am not a perfect person and in many
ways I waste the precious time that God has given me as a missionary. I asked
Him to help me be better and to illuminate what we would have to do in order to
baptize this Sunday. I remember very clearly that after the prayer I heard the
voice of the Spirit say to me "Call Fátima. And call Maria Amélia".
Maria Amélia is a very sweet old lady that was baptized a few weeks ago. She is
sooo full of testimony and fire for this gospel. She is already doing all her
family history work to take to the temple. So after this prayer I called for
Fátima. She didn’t answer. Then I called Maria. I told her our situation, that
we had a friend that we wanted to help enter the waters of baptism. Maria met
Fátima at church and really liked her. She said she would be happy to pass by
with us. So we planned to pass by. We didn’t know if Fátima would be there or
not. But we went. And she was there! We had a wonderfullll lesson and Maria
bore a beautiful testimony. She testified of the changes that happened in her
life and how she is a happier person. Then she said "I want you to have
all that I have". Then we challenged Fátima to be baptized that Sunday, a
week later. She was a little blown away. She didn’t seem to believe it was
possible. But in the middle of the lesson a friend of hers called and she
answered. She said "Yeah, I’m going to stop meeting with Jehovah’s
Witnesses. I’m going to be baptized in a church on my street." WE STARTED
FREAKING OUT!!!!!!!
Long story short, she wrote a letter to the JW church asking to
be released and to not have the visits anymore. Then she asked US to deliver
the letter! Soooo, we did! We just gave it to the greeter at the JW church. We
know that the leader got it. It must have been a strange sight!
She was baptized on Saturday and confirmed on Sunday. The water
was cold, but she was dead set on being baptized. It was a miracle that all
this happened. She is a completely different person. At church she was talking
to everyone and thanking everyone. I love her so much and I’m so glad we had
this chance to fight for her salvation!
I know our Mission President is inspired. It was all because of
that study he asked of us. I thank God for giving us inspired leaders to help
us build the kingdom of God on the earth!
Sister Barron
