18 April 2016 - Straightway

It happened!  Vanessa got baptized!  It was wonderful to be there with her and to feel the spirit.  Many of her friends came to support her, as did a lot of others.  She was SO happy and I can't wait to teach her more.  She has a lot of potential. 

We are starting to work a lot more with a lot of other individuals who are ready to progress toward baptism!  A conversation that I have frequently with members of the church is:

Person: So, where are you from?

Me: Houston!

Person: Wow... I've lived in Idaho my whole life.  What's it like growing up in the mission field?

"The mission field" is a term that I've learned people use to describe any place besides Utah or Idaho.  My companion and I are trying to introduce people who do this to a newperspective.  Yes, there are many members of the church here.  But.  I was called to serve my mission here.  So are many, many others.  It IS the mission field.  Everywhere is the mission field. We had a baptism this past weekend, for crying out loud.  Sugar City, Idaho IS a mission field.  It's the mission field for me and Sister Stein and for those who live there!  There is work to do, there are people to teach, there is service to do, and I want to do it!  I want to help others do it!  I want introduce the gospel to people who do not yet enjoy it.  Pretty much everyone here has heard it, but that does not mean that they enjoy or understand it.  That does not mean that they are baptized and appreciate the joy that can come from living the way Christ did.

The night before Vanessa was baptized, we read Matthew 3:13-17 with her.  It's when Christ was baptized.  As He was baptized, it says He came "straightway" or immediately out of the water.  Of course in a literal sense we should all come straightway out of being immersed in water or else we would drown.  But did not Christ and his followers do all things righteous in a "straightway" or immediate manner?  How often are we slow to do the things God wants us to do?  How often are we slow to say what he wants us to say, or go where he wants us to go?  I've been studying a lot about diligence, and I've learned that doing the right things straightway is a big part of that.  Being diligent and Christlike means not waiting or procrastinating.  It's something we all need to work on, myself included.  

Thank you all for your support, love and prayers.

Faithfully,

Sister McIntosh

 Rainbows in Idaho seem to be about as common as potato cellars.  Aka there are many.

 It was one of our investigators' birthday!  She is... 9.