Livin Dominican: The light in her eyes

What a week! I am pleased to announce that transfers came and went and I am still in Puerto Plata with Hermana Tuah. Only one person from the entire zone left. President said that we are doing too well to change anyone and just wanted to keep the same teams so we can keep seeing the same success. Saturday every single ward in the stake had at least one baptism. My companion and I are both really glad we´ve got 6 more weeks to rock it.

Last week Hermana Tuah was sick and so we stayed at home Friday and Saturday until the baptism. It was an amazing baptism! Albert, Ysmenia, and Carla are all so prepared to be members and the spirit was really strong. When we walked in Ysmenia was sitting there in her jumpsuit reading her Book of Mormon. The elder that interviewed her said that he hardly had to ask questions. She would just start to explain everything and then anything related to it as well in great detail. He said it was the same with her daughter Carla. When they came out of the water they both just had such huge grins on their faces. Afterward they shared their testimonies of how they know with a surety that this is the only true church on the earth and how it has already blessed their lives. I could not be happier. The ward is also ecstatic to see two people so prepared come into the ward. I am pretty sure the two of them will both hold callings this coming Sunday in presidencies of organizations.

Albert has also had quite the conversion. Last Thursday before his baptism he came to a service with us to paint one of the elderly member´s houses and I couldn´t help but laugh as I watched this borderline gangster kid helping us serve. He is still going to seminary every day and the teacher says that he is a master at analyzing the scriptures. He has also been leaving with us and the elders. The elders asked us how we did it last week. They tried teaching him before but he would never focus and was always making inappropriate comments instead of listening and now they are going on visits with him. I told him that I honestly don´t know. We just had faith in him and then let the spirit do the rest. He has had a complete change of heart. One of his friends in the ward baptized him and afterward he also just had a grin on his face. In one of the lessons with us he told an investigator that he is getting ready to go on his own mission in a year. We´re going to work to make sure that he doesn´t lose that desire.

Sunday we were able to have an amazing lesson with Carla´s ex-boyfriend. They had one lesson together in another area a little while ago and he has been coming to church for many months as well. He works and studies and is hard to get ahold of which I guess is why the missionaries haven´t taught him in the past. Him and Carla are still close and he came to her baptism on Saturday. Afterward he asked if we could teach him the next day after church. We taught him at Ysmenia´s house the next night. He started talking about how he felt at church and then said he has felt that it was true for awhile. Then he said, "I´ve never really felt envious of anyone before in my life, but yesterday I felt envious of Ysmenia. When I saw her come out of the water and could see the light in her eyes I decided that I want to have that freedom and peace that she has now." We asked him when he would like to be baptized and he told us April 19. Since then he has arranged time to be able to meet with us and have lessons, has given us a reference, and invited one of his neighbors to his baptism because he knows "they´ll feel the spirit there." I am really excited to be able to watch him progress as well and feel so blessed to be able to see so many miracles here in the lives of other people.

I love every second of my mission and can´t believe that I´ve already been here 11 months. I feel like time is flying and I don´t want it to end! I know that miracles are real because I see them every single day. There truly is no greater happiness than here in the gospel. It is a pure joy and an everlasting one. If you don´t feel the same level of conversion as Albert or Ysmenia or Carla I invite you to take the necessary steps to be able to do it. Take advantage of the atonement in your life and work to be the kind of person so that others can see Christ through you.

love you all!

Hermana Ewell