WUDDDDD-UP!?
You guys...
Placentia Young Single Adult Ward is AWESOME!!
This week has been so much fun! I love missionary work in this area!! It's so radd!!
Ok so check it. Lemme break it down like a fraction
Saturday we had a baptism!!
Her name is Darlene Barnette. We taught her 3 days this past week, the rest of what she needs to know and she is so solid! Her parents are divorced. Lives with her mom now but it moving to her dad's house for school this week. Her whole family is completely Anti-mormon and she was too until her boyfriend(a member) started working on her and she came to know that it was true. Within a couple of weeks she read until she finished the book of Alma and told us she can't put it down. We challenged her to tell her friends and family and invite them to the baptism to feel the spirit. She was so scared, but she said she'd pray and do it. So she told one of her best friends she's had for 9 years and he is the son of a pastor and he told her that because of her decision she will "Burn in eternal torment" and dis-friended her. She gained confidence in this. She said,"If I can tell him, I can tell my mom." So she told her mom and her mom threw all this anti mormon stuff at her and told her she wasn't happy and you know what Darlene did? Bore her testimony!! She told her mom that she used to be anti mormon too, but by the spirit and power of God that she knows that this is the truth. She even invited her mom to take the discussions right then and there! Isn't that awesome!? She has soo much faith! Her baptism was soo spiritual and powerful! And a way sweet part of all this is she lives in the Yorba Linda 3rd ward boundaries and she is best friends with a family I love in that ward! The Valdez family! So every lesson was over there! It was soo cool to see them again! They were pretty stoked to see me again which felt awesome. But at her baptism you could just feel the spirit so strongly. You knew how much it meant to her just by the feeling in the room, then when she got baptized, as soon as she came out of the water she just started balling! It was so powerful! Then she bore her testimony once she got dressed and came out and just told a little bit about her story to everyone and told everyone how true the church was and how much it means to her to get baptized. SO COOL! Brother Valdez confirmed her the next day and late last night she headed of to Florida! She's so solid. I'm so glad I had a hand in teaching her.
She had to get confirmed in the Yorba Linda 3rd ward yesterday because it was at an earlier time cuz she had to leave that afternoon to go somewhere, so we got to go to my old ward! It was so crazy to see everyone! The ward is the exact same! haha I was kinda surprised because one of the most excited people to see me was Derek Lasley (the guy we baptized when I was there) he came running up after sacrament with his girlfriend Melissa and they were just like,"Elder Keyes its so good to see you!! What are you doing here!" and were just talking my ear off. The coolest part was Derek is like a complete new person. You can just see in his face what the gospel has done to him. His countenance has changed sooo much from the time I first met him. He has so much confidence and there is just this happiness to him. He wouldn't stop smiling! haha So that was way awesome!
Then we went to Pysaw (my ward) at 1. Oh my gosh. Haha the singles ward is crazy! It's not like the one back home in north ogden! There's no cliques. Everyone is tight with everyone and you definitely have the crazy people. Everyone is way cool and down to earth there! It's cool cuz we get to work with everyone and see them a ton because they are always coming to lessons with us and we see them when we drop by institute and stuff so I'm already close with some people in the ward. They're so awesome! I love em already!
K so we have some other investigators that are super solid too! This guy named Orien is way tight! He has a baptismal date for the 24th of this month. He came to church on sunday, has come 3 times in the past, and he loves meeting with us! We have like 3 appointments lined up this week. He's such a cool dude!
We also have a guy named Brandon Ford. He was just a potential but we went and taught him for the first time and he's such a legit guy! He's kinda been taught sort of a first lesson, but he is a tangent guy, but he loves cinema so we showed him the Restoration video and he absolutely loved it! He was like,"It's like Deja vu. Joseph was asking the same questions I"m asking. I need to give this my all and try to find out if this is true. When can I meet with you guys again?" He's such a cool kid. He's 22. He's black. He was raised in foster homes. I think he looks a lot like Drake (the rapper). He loves us too. Its awesome, singles are so much more open than family wards. All the people we taught in famliy wards were like already set in their ways and they had a religion already, but singles are still figuring out who they are and are searching for the truth. It's the coolest thing I swear.
The ward is amazing at missionary work too. Everyone has friends that they are working with to bring to the gospel. It's the first time I've ever seen so many people in one ward actually doing missionary work. Crazy.
Elder Bartholomew is awesome! We get along way well. We pretty much just sing all day as we're driving everywhere. We'll go from singing blues to death metal breakdowns and just make up words and make fun of stuff. It's hilarious! He's such a cool kid. Insane on the guitar too! It'll be an awesome transfer with him. Everyone loves him.
You guys. This week was awesome. haha I absolutely love being a zone leader and being in this area! In our zone we had 3 baptisms this last weekend! And the areas are doing so well! President told Elder Bartholomew and I in an e-mail that he wants our zone to be the example for the rest of the mission to pattern after and that we need to talk with each other and with the Lord so that we can do everything we can to lift our zone an even greater level so that the rest of the mission sees this zone and wants to pattern their own work after the work we're doing. Nuts right?? We have some heavy responsiblities up her in the north east half of the mission. It's so much fun though.
Ok sorry this e-mail is huge, but I just can't deny how stoked I am! haha for the first time on my mission I finally have a normal companion that I can rely on. We're obedient, we're working hard, and we're leading the other missionaries of our zone. All we do now is sit back and watch as the Lord prepares opporunities that will change not only our lives, but the lives of all those around us.
I love you guys! I miss you! Thank you for your e-mails! Keep em coming!
Elder Keyes
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