After that it was this big guys birthday and Connie's
baptism, it was an amazing experience and such a good birthday gift! Connie
played at her own service in only her extravagant way and we were all left to
try and keep up, it was sooo messy but it was very Connie. She also had a testimony
she wrote up and wanted to share with everyone that got the while group crying,
I'll attach that with the email. It was an amazing service and very
connie-esque. Norton baptized her but I confirmed her Sunday at branch
conference, in front of the stake presidency, hopefully that gets me some
brownie points. After that I went on exchange with the zone leaders it was a
good time, I got put in charge of conducting out bi-zone zoom call. I called on
one Elder for the closing and opening prayer, his experience during the week,
and just about every other activity in the call it was a good time, I abused
the little conducting power I had
Connie's Testimony
From: Connie Young <connieyoung32@yahoo.com>
This is my day to celebrate – I’m getting baptized.
This is God’s day to celebrate – this is the day I choose to be closer to my God and to receive the Holy Spirit into my life.
And this is the missionaries’ day to celebrate – this is the day they see the results of their dedication, their patience, their insights, their hard work, their devotion to their beliefs, their constant visibility and availability. Here I am. The proof is the baptism and my willingness to make changes in my life.
So, I’d like to thank all the elders and sisters who have used their time and energies towards me, making my life more happy and more meaningful.
I’m not sure why they are called “elders” when I am certainly more “elder” or older than they are.
Let’s start with Elder Ballard who fixed my turkey up. Each week he came and cleaned and dressed the wounds and amazingly she healed along with his fierce devotion to his faith. Then elder Strand with his dry sense of humor who took wheel barrows full of dirt out of my unclean barn, then helped replace broken ceiling wire over one of the rooms in the barn. Elder Smuthz came along first with Elder Ballard, and later with Elders Norton and Nelson with his loving and gentle way, cleared vines off my fence. Elder Ballard, Elder Norton and Elder Nelson fixed my tractor. I had put gas in the tractor instead of diesel. I didn’t know what to do! They drained the gas, replaced a filter, and made it run again. Elder who came over to my house twice, has a talent for using T-squares, measuring angles, and transferring this talent to wood. Elder , a bit overexuberant, but very willing to help, washed the walls and ceiling on my porch and helped Elder Nelson in the field with weed control.
Let’s not forget the Sisters who I enjoyed meeting – Sister Dixon, Sister Nickerson, and Sister Flatbush, each an individual in their own way with their own insights and contributions, but united in their purpose and their faith.
But two guys named Elder Norton and Elder Nelson have showed up week after week with their smiling faces, their anchoring presence, and their unwavering faith. They have helped me so much from putting in posts, pulling wire horse fence, changing lights bulbs, fixing furniture, weed control in my horse field, unloading big rolls of hay, and more. Then they have spent their time with me in person and on Zoom, with lessons about their faith and their beliefs where we have had many discussions.
Each Elder and each Sister has brought his or her special talents to me and shared them with me.
Then I liked to give a special thanks to President Gilday and his wife, Jayne. They have opened up their home to me where we have had enlightening conversations over lunches.
I’d like to talk about a couple of other things, probably because I like to talk as the Elders know.
There comes a time in your life where perhaps you have to examine the choices you have made, and do they need to be updated or changed. It is very comfortable to remain static and not to have to open yourself up to new possibilities or to even begin to consider new possibilities.
I mention this because this could be a big stumbling block for the missionaries - it’s not so much about the message and whether it is true or not, relevant or irrelevant for people’s lives, but the first problem may be simply it’s comfortable to remain where one is. It takes effort and willingness to first, envision a different way, and then to embrace it. This is resistance to change, resistance to open-mindedness, and resistance to consider other possibilities for one’s life no matter how clear the message may be.
Then I’d like to talk about other attributes that I have found attractive and winning in the missionaries. Many of us like to think that we are free spirits and can do whatever we please, but at the same time appreciate qualities in others which are the opposite of the free spirit, like dependability, punctuality, basically someone that is there for you, that you can count on. These qualities make us feel loved, and secure. Well, it may be small, but when the missionaries said they would arrive at 11:00, that’s exactly when they arrived. I could count on them to be dependable. When they scheduled a Zoom meeting, there they were, on time.
Then I have a friend who always used to say, go towards the people who are coming towards you. Well, the missionaries made every effort to come towards me, so I started to go towards them.
Then they said you have to stop drinking, both beer and coffee. Oh my! What should I do? I did a lot of research about drinking because I had had a beer every night for at least 10 years. I listened to Youtube about people in sobriety, about how some doctors said drinking in small amounts may help prevent heart attacks and Alzheimer’s disease, I asked my doctors, and found opinions both for and against drinking that “one” beer. But the deciding factor was I wanted what you have, so I stopped.
So, in conclusion, at last! – here I am.
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