This week was boring....
except for the fact that NESLON GOT BAPTIZED!!! It was such a surprise and such
a miracle. We had been teaching him for a week and he mentioned some things
about wanting to be baptized but he also said that he has a super risky surgery
coming up next week. We went over to see him on Friday and asked him if he sincerely
had a desire to be baptized. He said that he had prayed about it and had
received an answer. He said he just feels so comfortable and peaceful about
everything and he knows that he needs to get baptized. The spirit was so strong
in that lesson! We called President Berry and got permission to baptize him on Sunday evening and he gave us the green
light. We reviewed the interview questions with him Friday, got him interviewed
Saturday, and Baptized him Sunday! It was so incredible.
I know it was meant to be too because I kept praying about it asking if this is
really what we should do and everytime I did I got the answer as yes. So we met
him 1 1/2 weeks ago and baptized him yesterday. Pretty cool :) I know that
there truly ispower in the Spirit. When the Spirit speaks to you, there is no denying it. Nelson is so solid though. He is the father of a recent convert which is how we met him. I just hope heat everything goes well with his surgery this week.
We also went on a temple tour with Rabecca this week. We got to see the temple at night. It is such an amazing place. I couldn't tell you enough how much I love the temple! And to be able to bring people who are learning about the church to the temple is even better because you get to share that great feeling with others. With the temple tour, we had a member couple take us. They also invited their friend Gabby. Gabby's looking for a church and when we shared with her the Restoration and gave her a tour of the temple grounds, she was so excited! She said she will be to church next week. Unfortunately she lives out of our area. But that's still okay because it's all the same team.
I also had a few funny experiences this week. The first one we were talking to people on the street and ran into this guy named Haden. He came from Australia so he had an awesome accent. We walked up to him and realized how funny the situation looked, this Australian guy, who was holding a baby in a backpack looking thing where the baby is strapped to his chest, had a baby binky in his mouth and was holding a hose spraying his lawn all while taking a selfie. It was at that exact moment that we decided to walk up and talk with him. It was so funny. It was probably the hardest I've ever laughed on the inside...if that's even a thing haha. Another story, we ran into some kids playing basketball. They started talking trash on us trying to get us to come play so I put my stuff down and went over there. At first I was a little humble with them just going slow. Then one of them wanted to play me one-on-one. I honestly felt like uncle drew even though I'm not even that old haha. Long story short, I beat him and then ended up teaching all of the kids a lesson on the Restoration and Jesus Christ. It was super funny because one of the little black kids was like, "Ooo you just got crossed up by Jesus!" Idk why everyone I play basketball with calls me Jesus. I mean if Jesus came down and played basketball with us, I'm sure he would beat all of us!
Clermont has been a little rough for me starting out but now I am starting to see the blessings from all the work that's been done here. It is such a privilege to be part in such an enormous change in someone's life. There is no greater joy that I will ever have than knowing that I have been worthy enough to have the spirit work through me and change someone's eternal journey! As the scriptures say, "great shall be your joy if you shall bring save it be one soul unto Christ." This is such a true statement!
Hope your weeks weren't as boring as mine. Because if they were then you are living a pretty good life. This was one of the most productive weeks of my mission and I would relive this week in a heartbeat if I could! Love you all and remember to be that change in someone else's life.
Elder Goff
