We had another baptism this week! Yesterday,
Elizabeth was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints. Her non-member family was able to come to the service
and stayed for Church as well, so that was also really good. Her mom is
leaving soon, but it sounds like her 17 year old sister is going to stay,
so we’ll be visiting her now, too.

We also did a couple services this week. One was clearing out sand and
rocks from in front of a newly constructed house. One of our investigators
lives there. Her daughter was baptized a while back, but she hasn’t been
baptized yet because she has to work Sundays. She wants to join the Church,
though, and become a member, so we’re going to talk with our leaders to see
what we can do.

The other service was moving bricks from the ground up to the third floor
of this member’s house. The bricks here aren’t very big, so we were
throwing them to each other. We threw them from the ground to the first
floor. From the first floor to the first floor a ways away to get them
ready to throw to the second floor. Then from the first floor to the second
floor. Then from the second floor, we handed them up to the third
floor/roof. It’s a roof right now, but they’re going to build a wall on it
with these bricks we moved so it’s going to be the third/fourth floor
(depending on whether you count the ground as floor 1 or 0).

One night this week we were in the far end of our area, and at that hour,
the buses have usually stopped passing by. We were waiting on the corner
where the bus passes, but I told my companion that usually they don’t come
this late and that we’d probably have to spend the extra money and take a
taxi home. But I decided to pray and ask for some way to get home, not
specifically a bus, but a member to pass by or something so that we could
get back. I was hesitant at first, though. I didn’t want to ask for a way
to get home. I was afraid to ask because I didn’t think I’d get an answer.
But I decided to do it, and I prayed and asked. Within probably a minute or
minute and a half, a bus came. The Lord does answer our prayers. I then
gave a prayer of gratitude for this blessing and for this chance to
strengthen my faith. Man, who knew the buses would be teaching me so much
here?

The work goes on, but it still needs help. Talk to your friends and family
about the Gospel.

‘Consider that you are invited to a friend’s house for breakfast. On the
table you see a large pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice from which
your host fills his glass. But he offers you none. Finally, you ask, ‘Could
I have a glass of orange juice?’

He replies, ‘Oh, I am sorry. I was afraid you might not like orange juice,
and I didn’t want to offend you by offering you something you didn’t
desire.’

Now, that sounds absurd, but it is not too different from the way we
hesitate to offer up something far sweeter than orange juice. I have often
worried how I would answer some friend about my hesitancy when I meet him
beyond the veil…

As I heard this story, I flinched that one day some friend might ask me,
‘Why have you kept this Book of Mormon, with its message of truth and
salvation, a secret?’

My reply, ‘I was afraid I would damage our friendship,’ will not be very
satisfying to either me or my friend.

Brothers and sisters, I pray that we may put our fears and our hesitancy
behind us and no more keep secret the great treasure that is ours.’
(‘Sharing the Gospel,’ Richard C. Oaks, October 2010)

Thanks for your letters, prayers, and love. Have a great week!

-Elder Kehoe