Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5
Take two missionaries, both with different languages as their native tongue, add a family that cannot speak English; mix them up with the Holy Ghost helping the missionaries teach and the family to learn, bearing witness of truth, and what do you get? Souls being saved through baptism!! The only explanation that this family could understand what they'd been taught is a modern-day miracle happened giving them the gift of tongues and the ability to understand. The knowledge of God's Plan of Happiness and the Savior's Atonement within that plan is the best gift that can be given or received.
The baptism finally happening was a miracle in and of itself as there were many obstacles placed in our path towards accomplishing that goal. First, they all got sick, but recovered enough for the last lessons. Next, on Sunday, when baptisms are usually announced so ward members can attend, it was announced the baptism was cancelled. Because of the language barrier, the mother told us she'd be out of town looking for a place to live.
On Wednesday we found out the family would be in town for baptism. The Elders called everyone they could think of for rides for the family to their baptism. There weren't enough people who usually provide rides in town to assist that night. When they did find rides, those fell through the last minute and only part of the family showed up for the baptism. Finally, Elder Blain had to send a taxi to get the rest of the family.
Earlier, the counselor in the Bishopric and the Elders Quorum President had gone to the church to fill the font the night of the baptism and found the water ice cold! They were distraught trying to solve the problem when we arrived to set up the room in preparation for the baptism.night of the baptism. The building was freezing cold because the heat could not be turned or it would rob any warm water that might come in to the font. It seemed it would be an unpleasant way to introduce this family into membership in the Church, but with quick prayers, eventually the water problem was solved and by the time they showed up to dress for baptism, the water had warmed enough to not shock them as they were immersed. We did tell them about how the ice was broken in the rivers to baptize people in the early days, which may or may not have been all that encouraging. They kept smiling bravely as they shivered awaiting their baptisms.
Trying to establish some sense of a baptismal service and invite the Spirit into the middle of the chaos, I searched throughout the building for a CD player. Finding one, I then discovered a CD without a case that just happened to have Primary songs on it! It had been tossed on the counter in the library and was lying on top of a bunch of materials that had been strewn haphazordly about (another tiny miracle that there was music available?).
The only people at this baptism were some of the family members, a young man (a best friend of one of the boys who got baptized), a counselor from the Bishopric, the Elders Quorum president, one ward member, and the missionaries. We wished ward members could have witnessed this beautiful event, but felt that the room was filled with others we could not see. It also just so happened (another miracle) that the best friend spoke perfect English and was able to interpret the talk I gave to review what the family needed to understand about their baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
Take two missionaries, both with different languages as their native tongue, add a family that cannot speak English; mix them up with the Holy Ghost helping the missionaries teach and the family to learn, bearing witness of truth, and what do you get? Souls being saved through baptism!! The only explanation that this family could understand what they'd been taught is a modern-day miracle happened giving them the gift of tongues and the ability to understand. The knowledge of God's Plan of Happiness and the Savior's Atonement within that plan is the best gift that can be given or received.
The baptism finally happening was a miracle in and of itself as there were many obstacles placed in our path towards accomplishing that goal. First, they all got sick, but recovered enough for the last lessons. Next, on Sunday, when baptisms are usually announced so ward members can attend, it was announced the baptism was cancelled. Because of the language barrier, the mother told us she'd be out of town looking for a place to live.
On Wednesday we found out the family would be in town for baptism. The Elders called everyone they could think of for rides for the family to their baptism. There weren't enough people who usually provide rides in town to assist that night. When they did find rides, those fell through the last minute and only part of the family showed up for the baptism. Finally, Elder Blain had to send a taxi to get the rest of the family.
Earlier, the counselor in the Bishopric and the Elders Quorum President had gone to the church to fill the font the night of the baptism and found the water ice cold! They were distraught trying to solve the problem when we arrived to set up the room in preparation for the baptism.night of the baptism. The building was freezing cold because the heat could not be turned or it would rob any warm water that might come in to the font. It seemed it would be an unpleasant way to introduce this family into membership in the Church, but with quick prayers, eventually the water problem was solved and by the time they showed up to dress for baptism, the water had warmed enough to not shock them as they were immersed. We did tell them about how the ice was broken in the rivers to baptize people in the early days, which may or may not have been all that encouraging. They kept smiling bravely as they shivered awaiting their baptisms.
Waiting for the water to warm and people to arrive. |
The only people at this baptism were some of the family members, a young man (a best friend of one of the boys who got baptized), a counselor from the Bishopric, the Elders Quorum president, one ward member, and the missionaries. We wished ward members could have witnessed this beautiful event, but felt that the room was filled with others we could not see. It also just so happened (another miracle) that the best friend spoke perfect English and was able to interpret the talk I gave to review what the family needed to understand about their baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost.
The mother of the young man on the left and her 16-year-old daughter will be baptized in the future. |
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