Wednesday was a pretty crazy day. There was a typhoon. It was not very bad, and as missionaries, unless it is really bad, we still go outside. Many people on the roads warned us that that was a really bad idea. The weather was really not a big deal except for like a 10 minute period. Sister Vandegrift and I were riding to a recent convert's house in the middle of a more rural area that is a bit farther away from the church. All of a sudden, the winds got so bad we could hardly ride. These ladies at a noodle shop on the corner motioned for us to come in and take cover. The wind was blowing so hard, Sister Vandegrift went out into the road to rescue this woman who had stopped her scooter but was getting pushed up against a car by the wind. It was really bad. I called the recent convert and told her that we were so close to her house but we couldn't make it. She was completely shocked that we were trying to come and told us that the winds were only going to get worse and worse. At that point, the winds were really bad, and we were far from the church. I was getting nervous, and I didn't know what to do, so I called my zone leaders and told them, “I’m not sure what to do. We are in the middle of nowhere, and if we get on our bikes, I am pretty sure we will get blown over. And apparently it is only supposed to get worse from here on out.” My zone leader was nice but basically told me he had no idea what to do. I told him we would figure it out. At that point, the wind had subsided a little bit so we decided to get as far as we could. We started biking, and by the grace of God, the winds and rain were not that bad all the way to the church. They only got weaker and weaker as the night went on. We had English class, and there was practically no one there. However, a couple of people still came.
I am switching the basket on our spare bike. I felt very handy. I was using tools.
On Tuesday, we got good news about Liu Yu Chow (the 18 year old girl I told you about last week)! Her dad said she could get baptized a few weeks earlier than her 18th birthday. He said she could get baptized on Saturday! We were very excited.
I called the ward correlator and told him the good news. On Thursday, I called the ward correlator to make sure plans were all getting underway. He said he was surprised the Bishop hadn't called me because the Bishop wanted to push it to Sunday night. I called the Bishop, and he was so worried that no one could come to the baptism because it was on Saturday during a holiday. He said he could come, but he didn't know if as many people as would want to come could come. He wasn't mad but was very concerned and kept telling me that I didn't need to worry about her getting confirmed the same like we do with other investigators because she has been coming to church for so long. I told him that I totally understood, but I didn't know if we could switch it because this was the day that she had been arranging with her family (her father was coming up from out of town). For the first time ever, I could honestly say that I had absolutely NOTHING to do with the choosing of a baptismal date. I seriously did not give a suggestion or push; she just worked it out with her family. The Bishop was so concerned by this he almost seemed on the verge of tears. I told him I would talk to them. I talked to her uncle who called the Bishop. They worked it out and switched it to Sunday night. It was a very stressful hour of trying to figure it all out.
Sunday night actually worked out really well. She will have to get confirmed next week, but there were a lot more people who were able to attend. I felt bad that there was so much confusion, but I have been telling the ward correlator for a while that nothing was set in stone till we had her dad's permission but that her extended family wanted this date so that her uncle could baptize her before going to Australia. It worked out ok in the end. I just felt bad that it was so disorganized for a while.
So, I really like cleaning. It helps relax me. Sister Vandegrift thought I looked funny and wanted to take a picture of me.
The baptism was lovely. Her mom and dad both came and her grandma and grandpa. A lot of ward members came. It is actually a huge miracle because on Saturday she got really sick and on Sunday morning she was feeling really sick and had a fever. She started to feel better and even though she didn't feel great at the baptism, she didn't feel horrible. After she changed, we couldn’t' find the hair dryer that is at the church. Everyone was running around frantically trying to find it and was so worried because she had wet hair and had a cold. Thankfully, the bishop came to the rescue when he pulled it out of the back of the closet. She really is such a sweet girl who has a really strong testimony. What a powerful example of enduring to the end. She had every reason to stop coming to church and not make the gospel a priority, but she knew it was true and she knew it was important, so she never gave up.
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