What a miracle week this has been! Kim Tran was baptized
on Saturday, and what a sight it was to watch her be cleansed of her sins and be
sanctified by the Holy Ghost. I will try and attach some pictures to show. Here
is her story -
Kim was found by Sister Thompson and Sister Manaso at a
bus stop one day. She took a card, and the Spirit touched her heart and made her
curious as to what they were doing. She immediately began meeting with them.
After the first week, she had a baptismal date. Then, as Satan began to tempt
her, she dropped her date and stopped meeting with the missionaries. The week
before I got here, she came to church, and the Spirit touched her so strongly in
church that her desire to be baptized was back. So her date was set for December
28th. There was still much work to be done, however. When I got here, we began
teaching her the rest of the commandments, and she was SO prepared. She could
not wait to get into the waters of baptism. Prompted by the Spirit, Sister
Manaso and I wanted to get the Massimiliano family involved. They have been less
active for about 7 years, and missionaries in the past 4 years have never been
able to get into their home. After a quick visit and dinner, they were involved
deeply with Kim. They basically adopted her as one of their own. They have a son
about Kim's age, and they became great friends immediately. Her parents are not
here, so Brother and Sister Massimiliano became her adopted parents here in BC.
We were very excited to watch the friendship grow, bringing them ALL closer to
Christ. As we taught Kim, the Massimiliano family was also getting taught,
rekindling that testimony they have, but couldn't find over the past few years.
To make a long story short, Kim got her baptismal interview by our zone leaders
last Monday, and the Massimiliano family was there giving her a ride to the
church. So, as Kim was getting interviewed, we all spoke and became very close.
That night, the Spirit was literally screaming to me to call Bishop and ask him
what Brother Massimiliano could do to be a part of the baptism. Even if it was
just a prayer. Sister Massimiliano was going to sing, so that was already taken
care of. Well, after calling Bishop, he said let me make a phone call and get
back to you. About 15 minutes later, Bishop called. He said "Sisters, I have
prayed about it, and I feel okay giving Brother Massimiliano permission to
baptize Kim on Saturday" My heart stopped as so many thoughts ran through my
mind. This was a miracle in and of itself. He said he had already talked to him,
and that Brother Massimiliano got VERY emotional on the other line, and
graciously accepted the invitation. So, a man who had not been to church in
years, was now going to perform his first baptism in 19 years (since he baptized
his two sons). The baptism came, and everything went smoothly. When Kim got
finished changing afterward, she looked at Sister Manaso and I and said, "I
cannot stop shaking. I feel clean. I want to be better." The next day after the
confirmation, she said, "I can feel the Holy Ghost. I want to know more about
Jesus Christ. I want to change!" I went up to Brother Massimiliano after the
baptism, and with tears in his eyes, he simply said, "Thank you".
Brothers and Sisters - THAT is the cleansing power of
the Atonement. That is what the Savior came here to the world for each of us to
feel. As read in Alma 36, the Savior can literally make our joy as exquisite as
our pains. Kim and Brother Massimiliano have both had a great deal of pain in
their souls the past few years. But through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, each of
those were able to be relieved. Brother Massimiliano and his family will be
taking the new member lessons with Kim, so that each of them can be re-taught
and brought back home to their Father in Heaven one day. What a blessed
experience this was. I am eternally grateful to my father in Heaven for allowing
me to be a small part of this experience. Kim and Nick (the son) are dating, and
Nick has now come back to the church for the first time in MANY years. Kim is
preparing to go do baptisms for the dead in the Temple in a couple weeks, and
Nick is working on becoming worthy to enter into the Temple next year. Brothers
and Sisters - how grateful I am for the Atonement. Without that sacred act from
the Savior, I would not be who I am. We could not change or progress in this
life. I cannot wait to one day meet my Savior and personally thank Him face to
face, as a man speaketh to his friend, and Praise His name for eternity.
This week's challenge is to simply reach out to those
who do not yet know the Savior. Whether they be less-active, inactive,
non-members, or even active members who could use a bit of a boost. I will
forever emphasize the importance of missionary work, because our entrance into
the Celestial Kingdom is partially dependent on it. However, I just plead with
my Heavenly Father that each of you reading this will feel of that same urgency
to share the Gospel. This is the way, and there is NO other way, whereby man can
be saved! Only through Jesus Christ! PLEASE - invite EVERYBODY to come back home
to our Father in Heaven. For one day we will be held accountable for those we
might have helped, but didn't.
I love you all so much. Thank you for the wonderful
packages and letters for Christmas! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas and
will have a wonderful new year this week. I Plead with you, that as you make new
years' resolutions, that many of them will involve missionary work and bringing
others closer to Christ. To begin 2014, why not give a gift back to the Savior
for all He has done for us? Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Sister Biggs
