Sister Marli MacLay: "Do I have to get baptized in Midland water?"

We also went and volunteered at a luau at a memory care home and the activities directors are my favorites

Highlight of this week was definitely Cedric. So that's what this whole email is going to be about.

Two things you need to know first:

-Cedric is hilarious and has the best laugh.

-Midland water is hecka gross and you're not supposed to drink it.

So we had a super good lesson with Cedric on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When we taught him the Plan of Salvation, he told us how it made him want to repent. So we focused on that during our lesson and how the first fruits of repentance is baptism (Moroni 8:25). Of course, we stressed more how it has to be done by someone holding the priesthood authority. We talked a ton about the gift of the Holy Ghost. When we asked him how this gift could help him in enduring to the end, he said, "it can help me stay on the path and continue to make covenants with God." We hadn't even mentioned anything about the covenant path to this mans yet. The spirit was so so strong, and that's the best time to invite someone to be baptized...so here's how that went:

Me: "Cedric, you've already been able to see how the gospel and Christ's church have blessed your life. We want to invite you to get on the path. Will you follow Christ's example and prepare to be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority on August 24th?"

Cedric: "Does it have to be in Midland water?"

And then we all laughed for a really long time and Cedric was crying at his own joke. Hilarity.

Buuuut eventually we brought it back and Cedric said that's definitely a desire he has. We invited him to pray about it and he said he would!

The next day, my comp was feeling a little down on herself so we turned to adjusting to missionary life(; it talks about using your strengths in creative ways this week...so I had her list out her strengths and then we brainstormed creative things to do. One thing we came up with was "heart-attacking" his door (but not really cuz that's weird) for her strength of loving the people. So we wrote out a bunch of scriptures and gospel quotes and brought pictures of Jesus and the temple. soooo we tried to be sneaky sneaks but he caught us after we hung it all up on his door. Buuuut then we got to talking and he said he didn't know about being baptized because he was afraid that if he got baptized without his family, he wouldn't get to be with them in the Celstial Kingdom. And then he was also concerned that this baptism would erase his first baptism.

Aren't those the most pure concerns you've ever heard??

So since it was almost 9pm we scheduled a lesson for the following day and address his concerns. It was sick.

And then yesterday we watched the Restoration movie with him and Brother and Sister Fishburn after church. That movie gets me. The spirit was soooo strong. It just makes me want to tell the world about the Restoration. But I started with Cedric and bore my testimony to him and was crying like a baby the whole time I did. We were about to end when he said, "wait, before we say the closing prayer, can I get baptized September 2nd?" He told us how it would be meaningful because that's his sister's birthday and also theres people he'd like to be there that couldn't on the 24th.

SOOOO YUP! We are so pumped about Cedric. The spirit is working with him so much and the members have been soooo great fellowshipping him. He's already apart of the family here.

Like Alma, I sometimes wish I could teach every person on this earth about this happy message. But, the way the Lord has organized is so we minister to people one by one. So for now, I'll just share a portion of my simple testimony with y'all.

I know that Jesus Christ lives. That he is the Only Begotten Son of the Father and the Redeemer of the world. I know we are all children of a Heavenly Father who loves us infinitely and perfectly, and created a plan for us to be able to become like Him, and that Christ makes the whole plan possible. I know Christ suffered and overcame physical and spiritual death so we could return to live with them as an eternal family. I know that Christ restored his church on the earth through Joseph Smith, and that anyone can come to know this through the Book of Mormon, which truly is another testament of Jesus Christ.

The church is true my doods.

Love y'all.

Sister MacLay

Elder nutz took some spicy volleyball pics. Ft. Elder Zuloga who is the nicest lil bean from Venezuela. (I almost used his insulin pen to write my name on my cup this week lol)