Baptisms and Dog Bites!

So I had a pretty awesome week/end. Wednesday was Zone Conference and I had a really great learning experience. The President´s Assistent to the Area talked about how in his mission he realized it was the only mission he would have. That in life we have very few "only" experiences, and the mission is one of them. He talked about how at the end of his mission he wanted to be able to go to the temple and ask the Lord if his work had been accepted. He said that he had the most spiritually uplifting experience and knew that the Lord had approved of his work. My companion and I talked about how we want to make use of everyday, and treat everyday in our mission as if it were our last. We´re finding more inspiration and forces in the mission now!! We also had an amazing planning activity at Conference in which we picked one family or person from our Area Book and prayed specifically about how to help the person progress. We are now focusing more on Claudia and Jackson (an awesome couple that is MARRIED!) and getting them to Church on Sunday together (as Claudia has already gone once, alone).

This weekend was also Stake Conference. Friday night there was a Presentation of the youth from each individual ward. Each ward did a 10 minute lipsynch, dance presentation to a musical or Disney Film. Our ward did "Jelykyll Cats" (I think I spelled that wrong). The youth from our ward were AWESOME, dressed to the 'T' with perfect makeup. We knew from the start they would win, and of course, they did!!

So Saturday we showed up at the Stake Center for Antonio´s Baptism, except no one had cleaned up from the night before. Apparently there was a problem in the plumbing and all the toilets and the drinking fountain overflowed. The Stake President had called a plumbing company to come, but they hadn´t showed up by the time we arrived at the chapel. So in order to set up for the baptism we ended up spending an hour cleaning the chapel. Antonio had a huge grin on his face and was more than happy to help out, and no worries, he and his family all arrived at the chapel without problems. Tati, his daughter who is a member, said it was the best day of her life. She of course cried and gave me a huge hug that lasted I think 2 minutes. The Spirit was so strong and I know that Antonio´s life has changed for the better. Sister Souza, two brothers from our ward and I sang "I need Thee Every Hour" and everyone was in tears. It was I think the most powerful baptism I´ve had in the mission. It only took 10 years for Antonio´s testimony to flourish to the point of accepting the covenant of baptism, but the Lord works in His own time!!

Sunday night we had a family night at a Part-Member families home. We are teaching the member´s 26 year old son. When we got to the house there was a small white dog outside that I´d never seen before, he started to growl and I feared he would bite us. The member assured us it was her dog and invited us in. I will give a heads up right now that I LOVE my companion. I once read that you have to give 100% in relationships and only expect 10% back in order to love a person and be able to live with them. This is one time when I think I got 5% back. So on to the story. Sister Souza found on the dog´s name is "Snow" (English) and was amussed, I think, by the fact that she was speaking a word in English. She also really enjoys whistling at dogs because she´s entertained by the fact that their ears perk up. The member warns us that he is a very temporamental dog, and every once in a while he bites. So Sister keeps snapping and whistling and calling his name, and each time he comes towards us and brushes up against my legs and feet. I keep telling her to stop, and she assures me nothing will happen if I "remain calm". Each time the dog looses it´s attention span and walks again, Sister Souza calls the dog again and entertains herself whistling and saying the word "snow". I finally stopped paying attention and all of a sudden the dog goes mad and attacks my foot!! Luckily it was Sunday and I always wear my close-toed shoes on Sunday. The dog´s eyes nearly pop out of it´s head and flesh-eating teeth come out of nowhere. I think I was too shocked to scream or do anything. Within seconds the member grabs the dog and kicks him (I do not support Animal Abuse, but in this moment I was more than supportive). I look at my companion with a death stare and my companion starts to laugh. 5% is what I got back. Not even one minute later what do I hear come out of my companion´s mouth "Snow!! Come here!!" This time as the dog enters the room I think my companion finally understood and she starts to scream!! I´m suprised the member didn´t kick us out of her house!! Family night went well. Snow stayed in the bathroom with the door locked.

Have a wonderful week!! And don´t forget to send Christmas letters with photos!!
Sister Tittelfitz