December 30, 2013

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