Sister Thomas Meets Louisiana : "I believe in Christ, so come what may"

Loving the 20 minute insane rainstorms that make me feel 6 years old again

The cute Papania kids before their baptism

Another beautiful week in Opelousas, Louisiana.

Saturday was a special day for six of my favorite people in this area. The Papania's baptism was wonderful! The kids were glowing after the baptism. The spirit was strong. My favorite moment was when 16 year old Chloe Papania came out of the water laughing and said, "I can't stop laughing because I have never felt this happy in my entire life". Wow. These kids are so strong; they are excited about the gospel and they set such a good example for our other investigators and ward members. Their dad, Maverick, was the first to get up during the testimony meeting as the kids were changing. I am excited for him to be baptized. He is so ready!

Some favorite moments from this week include:

- When we were reading the Book of Mormon with our investigator Brenda and she proceeded to replace all the "ye"s and "you"s with "y'all"

- When the mother of two adorable girls we've been teaching came up to us after the baptism and asked, "So how do my girls get baptized like that? Do I just need to sign something?"

- When Sister Amezcua and I sang in church and our investigators gave us a standing ovation.....we obviously forget to mention we don't clap in church

- When we had a ward activity for Pioneer Day and more people showed up to the barbecue than usually attend church

This week was a harder one. Sister Amezcua's neck is in bad shape. We finally went to urgent care this week and she got an X-ray that showed how far her vertebrae is out of line. She has a high pain tolerance and is super tough but she is in a ton of pain. She's going to see another doctor today so we are praying that it goes well.

I don't know why challenges come just when we seem to be making a lot of progress. Life can be hard. But even though I don't know "the meaning of all things", like Nephi I know that God loves us (1 Nephi 11:17). I know our Heavenly Father always has our best interest, our eternal interest in mind. He is mindful of us and He will always be with us. Sometimes faith isn't about doing more; it's about caring less. It's about letting go and leaving it in God's hands. I am trying to be better at taking a step back and trusting in Him. "I believe in Christ, so come what may".

This gospel is so true. God is good.

Have a blessed day y'all!

Sister Thomas