Hola familia!

This week was awesome! We had a Baptism on Saturday. Our young friend finally got Baptized. This marks my second Baptism in the Mission. We could not have had this special occasion without the help of the Holy Ghost, because He is the one who converts the soul to become more like Jesus Christ. The process of conversion doesn’t happen right away.  It takes time.  This is one of the reasons we teach 5 or more lessons and encourage individuals to pray and ask God in the name of Jesus Christ if Baptism is the right thing to do and if it’s something they really want.

On Sunday, our new convert received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. It’s such a cool experience to see someone so young choose to follow Jesus.  Teaching Damion was special to me. While teaching him the Plan of Salvation, he always was very enthusiastic and loved learning.  At the end of every lesson. he would ask “Can I get baptized now?” 

His baptism was a special occasion for sure! His Grandmother was teary-eyed as she enjoyed watching her grandson making covenants with God.  Also, I think she enjoyed the feelings of peace and love that the Holy Ghost brought as the ordinance was performed. Right before his baptism he said: “When am I getting baptized? Can I get baptized today?”  And after his baptism, he said: “I feel happy I got baptized.”

As children of our Heavenly Father, we have privileges.  One such blessing is the opportunity to bless and receive blessings through the priesthood.  My companion and I had the opportunity to give Damion a blessing so he could be successful in school.  I could see that he and his Grandmorther were very happy. 

My desire for Damion is for him to be happy and to prepare himself to go on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints one day.  To do so, he has to stay committed to going to church every Sunday.  He has told me multiple times: “I want to be a missionary just like you Elder Baldwin.”  I feel he is a promising child for the future of the Church. 

Both of us are children of God.  We help each other grow and learn a bit more each day.  As a missionary, I am mentoring many who are younger than me and I encourage them to go on missions as well.

Learning about the Savior in my youth was a great blessing.  One important principle I learned back when I was in Primary was to come unto Jesus Christ by following the prophet here on earth. The Primary song “Follow the prophet” teaches us that all of us can follow the prophet and come unto the Savior by reading and studying our scriptures each day and praying. One of my favorite scriptures is Alma 37: 36-37:

“Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

This is such a powerful scripture because it talks about the power of prayer. We all need blessings in our lives and to receive these blessings, we must pray for them. Before I came out to serve, I prayed to the Lord often to be blessed and to have a good experience.  He has answered my prayers and I have loved every experience in mission so far. I can say that choosing to come out on a mission has blessed my life forever.

This week we had a mission tour by Elder Alonzo of the Quorum of the Seventy. It was a blast!! He encouraged us to stay on the path and to continue our missions. I felt like I connected with what he shared very well, and I enjoyed the strong spirit of the meeting.

 We also saw the Eclipse (Blood Moon). It was super cool and amazing to see how the moon can change colors! The moon was red, which I really don’t see too often.  Did any of you get to see the Eclipse? 

Thanks for all the support and kindness that has been given to me. I am grateful for each one of you too. Love you all and have a great Spiritual Week!

ELDER BALDWIN