Benjamin's Baptism!!

Dear Family,
Yes, he got baptized!! It was a wonderful service :) He was so ready for it. Now he just has to wait two weeks to get confirmed because of Conference! There was a lot to do this week, but we made it! Phew. Monday night we went over the interview questions, and we needed to set up a time for him to meet with President Craven, instead of with the district leader. Luckily we had zone conference on Thursday, so he was able to interview him afterwards. It was great! We actually got to sit in on most of the interview, because when he interviews baptismal candidates, he doesn't want them to feel so intimidated being with someone they've never met. It was a great learning experience as he interviewed Benjamin. He didn't just go down the list of questions and look for a "yes" or "no" but rather he taught principles as he went and then asked if he was willing to receive the blessings for keeping the commitment. Very interesting.  President Craven afterwards told us that he was very impressed with him and it was a great interview. Then the Cravens drove us home!! So weird. It was like they were members of the ward, or our parents. Then Sister Craven looked at our apartment, and luckily it looked great. Haha :)

Zone Conference, and was great! They reviewed our yearly baptism goal as a mission, and we are behind and won't meet the goal, so now the goal is to be better than last year. So they really emphasized that. I really believe we can have more baptisms here. I am not going to get so anxious about it though like I have in the past. I am just going to do my very best :)  

We got all the program together for the baptism, and the ward was so great in helping out. Sister A, the bishop's wife, really helped when she organized people to bring refreshments. In the past on my mission, we've had to call a lot of people and ask them to bring things, but she just took charge, which worked out so well! We didn't have to worry about it! At the baptism, lots of members came, and Benjamin’s family came. A big reason why we try so hard to make baptism services so spiritual is because of the nonmembers that come, and it can be a great experience for them. Benjamin’s wife after the baptism looked at him and said "you look different! You have a glow in your face!" Yay! We're hopeful for the whole family that they can see the difference in his life and want to learn more too. The Elders have already taught them and they have shown quite a bit of interest. They invited us over for dinner, too. So that's a great sign :) I also sang "How Great Thou Art" at the baptism. It was sweet to see Benjamin and Bonnie (his wife) mouthing the words when I sang with tears in their eyes. What great people they are :) I sang the song per request of Jackson, Benjamin’s less-active cousin, because it's Jackson’s mom's favorite song. We're really trying to help Jackson, too. He could use prayers! I just so badly want him to come back! Benjamin has been so excited for the baptism this past week. He even spent all night the night before his baptism reading all sorts of stuff on LDS.org. It was so funny, we went over on Friday, before the baptism, and he  was telling us all the news on Mormon Newsroom. You could tell he was proud that he knew so much, even things that we didn't know. :)

Things are going well :) Weeks keep going by fast. And Fall is almost here! I ate pumpkin oatmeal several times this week. And it's even healthy :) Thank you for the spices, Mom! I bought some honey today that is from Winston-Salem. I heard that honey that comes from the area you live in is good for allergies. Let's hope so! The weather was so cool this week, even cold at night!