So surprise!! We had two baptisms this week!!! I know this is going to come as a shock. I haven't really been talking about these two investigators much because I didn't really think it was going to pan out. Their names are William and Viviana. We've been working with them for a long long time. Can't say much because I don't want to disclose any sensitive information about their situation but just trust me when I say they have been difficult to work with and it's been...frustrating. Very very fickle. We'll say that. So anyway, they've been back and forth, hot a cold about everything for so long but William had a baptismal date goal on July 7th that we set a long time ago that we weren't really sure if he was going to make it or not. But this last week he really broke down his walls and said to us "It's time to get serious about this, I've waited too long." Elder King and I thought awesome let's do it and then, surprise, viviana comes in (who was previously not on date and really not involved in our discussions much at all) and says "me too! I want to get baptized too!" So we had two people with cold feet for all this time and all of a sudden they kick it into gear and want to be baptized the end of the week! All of this is happening while we have our first week with President Thompson. These stories will connect later on but it sufficeth to say that we had some meetings and administrative stuff to take care of this week as well as throw together an unexpected baptism. So the day finally comes, it's Saturday. Everything is in place for the baptism (more or less). We had just made an early trip to Moscow to borrow some baptismal pants from our local Polynesian (thanks elder Tonga) and then we go over to William and Vivianas place to go over some of the details of the baptism. Well, Viviana starts asking us some weird questions like "so if I wanted to not be a member of the church what would I do?" and we're both like "uhh" and then she tells us that she doesn't want to be baptized any more (for like the 12th time). We talk to her for a bit and tell her that the baptism isn't for another few hours and to think and pray about it. But William said he still wants to do it and so we proceed. The time for the baptism comes, it's about 30 minutes before it starts and they show up. Viviana made her mind up and said she's not going to do it. A bummer but we're getting William ready and start talking to him and come to find that he's getting cold feet too. He goes over to the foyer and sits down to try and relax and Viviana is over there too, speaking in her very loud rapid fire Spanish so you know something is going down. It's like 15 minutes before the baptismal service starts, people are showing up and at this point we're fearing we're not going to baptize either one. Well we had a Savior. Viviana's doctor is a member out in Colfax which is about 30 minutes away from Pullman and Viviana wanted him to baptize her. We texted him that Viviana didn't want to be baptized today and we didn't get a response back from him. But about 15 minutes before it all starts he walks into the building. He introduces himself and then goes and talks to Viviana in Spanish. We give them some space and help out with the finishing touches, still not knowing if this is going to happen. 5 minutes before the service starts Viviana and her doctor walk out of the church. Elder King and I are dying at this point! After a minute or two her doctor walks back in with his bag in his hand and says "we're on, she's doing it." William then gets up and gets ready too after a pep talk from the presiding bishopric member who is also baptizing him. It was nuts but they both did it, they both got baptized! Elder king and I were both just running back and forth trying to relay information, change programs and everything, but man. Whatever Vivianas doctor said was magic. That man saved the day. Awesome!
So here's where President Thompson comes in. So this last Tuesday the leadership of the mission got together for our council meeting in Spokane and we got to meet the new mission president and his family. Then this last Thursday they came down to the different zones and met with all the missionaries. That man. Holy cow. He is passionate about missionary work. On Thursday was the missionaries first impression day, get to know the Thompsons. That was something in and of itself that I'll have to share another time. He has this really interesting aura about him, he's pretty quiet and soft spoken, but he also has this burning intensity about him too which at first impression is confusing. But he told us in that first meeting that he loved and was super enthusiastic about missionary work, and that if we weren't then, we were to give him a call and he will drop what he's doing and come proselyting with us to get us enthused. But super big heart. Anyway, in an attempt to make this incredibly long story a little shorter, he got to interview William and Viviana for their baptism after that Thursday meeting and apparently they just hit it off... like they are best friends now and President told them that he'd try to see if he could come down to their confirmation on Sunday. So Saturday night rolls around and President texted Elder King and I that he actually was going to be able to come to the confirmation! He also asked us if there were any elders in the zone he should visit while he was down here. We gave him the names of some elder in a four man apartment. So now it's Sunday... And I'll just give you a list of all the things President Thompson did before lunch time:
Woke up, got ready, and drove the hour and a half trip down here and surprised the socks off of four elders over in Moscow at 6:30 in the morning.
Had companionship study with one set of elders, and went to ward council with the other set.
Invited himself into a bishopric meeting.
Came over to Pullman and met the bishopric and two ward mission leaders and was on the stand for our sacrament meeting.
CONFIRMED VIVIANA!
And then after sacrament meeting as he's walking out the door he asks us how far away Lewiston is. We tell him it's about 40 minutes and he's like "alright, well then I'm off to Lewiston! Love ya Elders!"
The man is a freight train. He has no off switch! He had no real agenda coming down here other than go and minister to people and missionaries and just get crap done. We appreciated his comment that he would come proselyting with us but now I fully understand that he wasn't kidding about that in the least degree. It is baffling to me to see him just go. We were surprised he didn't tract out Union Town on the way down to Lewiston and set up a Nez Perce branch while he was down there. I'm pretty sure he could spend his time just driving around the entire mission visiting missionaries and talking with everyone and leave a wake of like 35 baptisms behind him. The Thompson Train has left the station and it is not stopping until 2021. Words do not describe the tenacity this man has towards missionary work.
So yeah. Hopefully this wasn't too scattered hahaha but love to all until next week!
Ps. I had the best idea last week. Elder king and I on the fourth of July got our flannels and camping hats on and roasted s'mores out of the oven on the 4th of July and now it's become a nightly tradition. God bless America.
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