Weddings, baptisms, and haircuts

My quilt! :D (Made with love by Granna Williams!)

Our apartment!

Hey everyone!

Things have been CRAZY here! My one baptism has now become TWO baptisms and a WEDDING!

Ice Scraping! Every morning! And guess what?
I LOVE the FREAKING COLD!

Here's the story:

S--- was getting set to be baptized, but in our next lesson about Temples with him and his wife A---, they asked if they could be married in the temple if they weren't married legally...

Both me and Elder M--- just about cried.

You see, they had told us that they were married, but it turns out that they CONSIDERED themselves married and that they weren't LEGALLY MARRIED.

When we calmly told them that they would have to be legally married to proceed with the baptism, A--- (the wife) started crying, and saying that they couldn't do it.

When we asked why, she said that they didn't have any money.

We told her that the wedding would be free, and completely provided for by the Church.

She then said that her one and only relative, her grandmother, lived in Florida, and would not be able to afford a plane ticket to see the wedding. She refused to be married without her grandmother.

Me and Elder M--- stopped for a bit so that the spirit could guide our next words, and then we told her that she would have to receive the answer to this problem herself from God. She hadn't prayed up to this point, but she promised that she would pray to know what to do.

The next day she greeted us, and told us to "get in gear for a wedding"! She said that she had received an answer, not only that she needed to get legally married, but that she should be baptized, and that she should work towards being married in the Temple next year. S--- and A--- both then asked to have the wedding, and the baptism on the same day, and we said that we could do that.

So! Now after only a couple of weeks, I'm staring down planning a wedding, AND two baptisms!

I can't tell you how happy I am. For once, I can honestly say that I've "Done some good in the world today". I've been able to be an instrument in God's hands and even if I never got another baptism, I will still feel like I served a successful mission, because God, through me, has made an impact in the lives of these two wonderful people.

My hair before getting it cut...

So, as far as everything else goes, things have been both busy, and productive. We now have five investigators who come each week to Church, and we have taught a LOT of lessons. Everyone knows who us missionaries are here in town, but they all also know that they can trust us, and if they ever need anything, they can "Just ask the missionaries! They can help you!"

My hair AFTER getting it cut. (Today)

Oh, we also get fed by members EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. The ward LOVES us missionaries, and we certainly won't starve out here. We spend WAY under our budget because the members give us tons of food. I now have about $200 dollars on my card, and I'm only given $80 per two weeks. I also wanted to let Mom and Dad know, that I eat EVERYTHING the members serve me!

I now actually quite enjoy Lasagna. :)

Our district pet! He was next to a trash can with a tear under his arm. We patched him up with plastic wrap, and placed him in our living room. :)

I love and miss you all, but I'm safe in the knowledge that you'll all be there when I get back, so I'm far from trunky. (Which is good because I've only been out a month. ;) )

Please continue to write me! Letters are the best gift ever get from home here in the mission field, and I treasure each one!

Love you all!
-Kep