Elder Hunt: May 30, 2016 Greetings from Suriname

Hello everyone! Greetings from Suriname!

This week has been absolutely awesome! It's been a bit crazy but it's been really fun. We had Anna's and Christopher's baptisms this last Saturday which was absolutely awesome! The baptismal service was beautiful. Transfer calls also came this last Saturday, and Elder Lewis is leaving Munder. He's been in this area for 7 transfers (almost a year) so he's excited to see more of Suriname. It was great to be able to have these last two baptisms while he is still here.

Aniel came to church for the first time yesterday. That was a HUGE step for him. Honestly it was after we brought members by that he started making tones of progress so that showed me the importance of member missionary work. We saw him a couple of times this last week and he is doing awesome. He still struggles with the Word of Wisdom, but we've helped him make a plan to overcome that.

We weren't able to sit with Kolif this last week. He had a family member die this last week and so he's been super busy. He keeps reading and coming to church though! He's practically already a member, he just needs to get baptized!

We were able to have an awesome lesson with Roy and Cheryl this last week. We taught about the commandments and obedience and how obedience brings us blessings. At the end of the lesson Roy said he would like to become more active in the church, and Cheryl agreed to be baptized! Their motivation is finally there, so we just need to be able to get them in the right direction.

We were mainly busy preparing Anna and Christopher for their baptisms this last week. The service went really well and they were both very happy. Their testimonies were awesome as well. Anna got up and bore her testimony about how her getting baptized was the will of the Lord, and that she knows she's on the path to return back to live with Him. She ended and turned to sit back down in the congregation and then real quick, got back up and added "oh, en ik ga zeker blijven volharden!" (and I will for sure endure to the end). Christopher got up and bore his testimony on how the Book of Mormon has absolutely changed his life and how he's felt the love of God during his conversion process and especially at his baptism.

It's been another absolutely awesome week with these baptisms. We have been very blessed to be apart of Anna's and Christopher's conversion process. But like in any other teaching situation, it's not the teacher or the missionaries that convert us, it's the Holy Ghost. It reminds me of a scripture in Mosiah 4:11-12 "11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God... even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God... and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing steadfastly in the faith... and if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you. I know that this is the work of the Lord. I know that he has a plan for each one of us, and we will be able to receive his divine help and guidance as we humble ourselves, rely on Him, and pray sincerely to Him. -and then- we will "grow in the knowledge of the glory of Him" and his divine plan of happiness, which does indeed bring us greater happiness than we will ever imagine. Love you all! Have another great week!