It's Baptism Day!! (again)

This time I am starting out with the letter from Elder Booth, as it explains what the pictures are of. Here it is:

Date: March 15, 2009 9:22:27 PM PDT
Subject: What up

Well I guess I will start out with the good news. Saturday was a very good day for me. Well, it was actually a very good day for our ward. We had seven baptisms in all. The other two elders had four and we had three. There were four investigators and three children of record. I got to dunk all three. Sorry - that kind of sounds bad, but that is the easiest way to say it. It was really exciting. It was really cool. This time I felt like they really wanted me to be doing it. We asked them who they wanted to dunk them and they both pointed to me. That made me really excited. Their names are Aubrey and Arline. I don't know if I told you the names in my last letter. They are really fun and their testimony after the baptism was absolutely amazing. I just had a huge grin on my face while they were giving it. It was very successful.

The child of record was a little weird. I had only met her twice and when we asked her if she wanted me to baptize her she said she would rather have her dad. I don't blame her, but I guess her dad had to work and the mother said he was probably not worthy to do it. So I kind of felt really bad for her. I never really though about how blessed I am to have a worthy father to do that stuff for me. Thanks dad.

Actually the rest of the night was different. Right after the baptism we had a big ward activity. We ended up playing this weird game with police and stuff. I really don't know. It was kind of fun. Either way, I lost and had to pay a price. Oh, when you lose games here you have to do a talent. So i had to dance in front of the entire ward. They all thought it was really funny. I guess you just have to do whatever it takes to brt (build relationships of trust). That's kind of a big deal in this mission. Then when I got home I went outside to wash. Then a fight broke out just outside of our gate. Elder Hamblin's Companion, Elder Lising, came outside and told me to come in so I would not either get hit by a rock or shot. As fun as it was watching, I decided to go inside for a while. The cops finally came and broke it up. I don't know, but I kind of thought it was funny to watch. Then later that night after me and Elder Hamblin got done washing we came back in and were surprised to find a cat in our apartment. We spent a good twenty minutes trying to get that stupid thing out. I think it was looking for a place to have its kids because I have never seen a cat so pregnant. That was quite the night.

The rest of the week was good. We gave another baptismal date and one of our investigators actually came to church. I was very happy to see him when he walked in. I got to go on splits again with one of my batch mates. That is getting a lot easier now that I am not so handicapped when in comes to talking to people. He came a month behind me because of an injury so he is not all that great at talking. He is learning fast though, and that is all that matters, I guess.

The only thing that is really bad is the family that I baptized. They are really making me sad. They are now inactive. I think they are just blaming everything on the church. I'm afraid the brother might be falling back into some old habits when it comes to the word of wisdom. Going to their house just makes me sad. I really hope they realize that the lord really loves them and what they should really be doing. I guess everybody needs to realize that. Other than that and some people not coming to church, it is good. I can't really think of any other crazy things that have happened.

I still have not eaten dog. I promise I will find a way before I come home, though. That is on top of the list when it comes to my goals. Oh, and I actually am learning how to cook a little bit. I will have to buy a rice cooker when I get home though if I want to make anything here. Oh well, that is doable.

Well, I love you all a ton. Stay happy back home and I will stay happy here.

P.S. I know I really should not be thinking about this on my mission. I feel kind of bad but I just have to know. Somebody here told me that Megan Fox is a man. That kind of blew my mind a little bit. I was just wondering if that was true.

Here are the pictures of the March 14th baptisms:

The first one is all of the kids being baptized, but four of them are from another area in Elder Booth's ward.

This next picture is of the three girls Elder Booth baptized himself.
Left to right: Hanna Sonyo, Aubrey and Arline Estebath (hopefully these aren't too off).

This next one is Hannah and her family:

This is still Hannah and her family, but with Brother Makilan, the ward mission leader also:

Here is Aubrey and Arline by themselves:

Next is a picture of the three girls getting baptized with Elder Booth
and his companion, Elder Lucas:

Here's a picture of all of the people getting baptized (all 7) and their
families and the ward mission leader:

These next pictures are of a HUGE beetle named Engre (I think that's what it is). The kids love playing with him. I'm not sure if he is a pet, or if they just picked him up:

Wow! That is one Huge Beetle!!