How Many Sister Missionaries Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb

So.

There's this one couple, and they've been taking the lessons for months. We visit them usually about four times a week (that's a lot) and to be honest, I usually would leave frustrated. Their baptism was fixed for the beginning of March, but in the weeks leading up to it I would just look at them and honestly I wasn't sure if they would ever be ready. As B, the husband, would say - "Qui ne veut pas douter?" (Who wouldn't doubt?) Anyway, it's a week before their original date, and they haven't finished their papers for the wedding so we have to push it back a week. We hoped that the extra time would help them get ready.

And then that next week we really started to feel hopeless, and couldn't tell if they were really progressing enough. Plus, B decided to cancel his baptism indefinitely because not only did he feel forced into it, he had some serious drug problems he wasn't willing to give up. But, in case you missed my last few letters - apparently I did - we should NEVER be hopeless!!! Sorry, backtracking, we'll start with Saturday before last. We'd fixed the interview for him and his wife (well, soon to be wife, it's complicated here), and though he had cancelled his baptism, we decided to go forward with the interview for his wife. She still wanted to be baptized, but she had her own problems and frankly we were a little skeptical. Anyway, they have the interview, and decide that she was almost ready but needed one more interview on Tuesday. She then fasted that night and was able to quit smoking!!

B on the other hand was still struggling. But Monday our ward mission leader calls us and tells us to schedule a second interview for Tuesday. Um, what? Come to find out, B had had a major change of heart - like I'm talking Alma the Younger sized change of heart - because of the fireside on Sunday (about ordinances for the dead). We talked to him after his interview, and, well suffice it to say that we were cynical and needed to be humbled. He had changed so quickly and the only way to describe it was a miracle. Our district leader, who did the interview, said that T (the wife) was good to go for Friday, and for B we would wait for the next Friday to give him some time to "haapapu." (make things sure/steady) We were cool with that because it was much much better than we'd ever believed.

Well our lesson on Wednesday rolls along, and all of a sudden he seems to be wavering a little. After what we'd seen the day before, we couldn't believe it! He was once again doubting his faith in himself and obviously his faith in the Atonement. But those feelings are normal so we figure we'll still sort things out for the next week.

Thursday afternoon/evening. Ward mission leader calls us - "B wants to be baptized tomorrow, with his wife. Is it possible?" Once again we are hesitant. Is it sincere? Is he feeling forced again? If he gets baptized tomorrow will he be able to hold on and stay active afterward? But before we can even leave the lesson we were at, B tracks us down: "I'm getting baptized tomorrow, with my wife."

Anyway, enough blabbering - long story short we had a marriage and two baptisms and it was beautiful and possibly the biggest miracle I've seen so far on this mission!

That pretty much took up the whole week, so there's not much else to say. Well actually, a few funny stories because Saturday was just a really funny day for some reason:

1. During our morning studies WE got tracted by the JWs. Our nametags didn't even phase them, they gave us pamphlets and everything.

2. Soeur K was exploring some of the more obscure and sketchy pockets of Soeur D's bag and found trail mix from the plane ride here (7 months ago) and a who-knows-how-old squashed panini.

3. Elder and Sister H from the mission office stopped by that night, and as we were standing in the hall watching Elder H change our bathroom lightbulb (more on that later) Soeur D finds some ants and asks where ant killer spray stuff is. Soeur K grabs the spray from her room. Sr H: "That's for cockroaches." Sr K: "Oh, no wonder it hasn't been working for the ants." (I dunno, maybe that's one of those you-had-to-be-there moments)

4. And the crowning moment: our bathroom light. Our bathroom light hasn't been working for the past few weeks, but the light cover is weird so we couldn't get it off to change the lightbulb. There's a light above the mirror that works occasionally, but we've pretty much been showering in the dark for the past three weeks. Elder H was at the house Friday night because Soeur D has a minor infection on her foot (it's better now), so we asked him about it and he came back Saturday to fix it. He figures out how to get the cover off, changes the light, but... it still doesn't work. So we stand around stumped for a few moments, and then he walks over and flips a switch. On the other side of the room. That had been there THE WHOLE TIME. Not to mention, this is the bathroom that is shared by Soeur D, Sr K, and me, the three almost blonde-ish Americans. Apparently Soeur D had noticed the switch a few weeks ago, flipped it a few times, "Huh. Doesn't do anything." And we've been in thee dark ever since.

Well that's all for today folks. Happy Pi Day! I didn't even notice. Probably because here it's 14/3/2016, not 3/14/2016. Also, Soeur K heads home tomorrow - wish her luck!

Avec amour, Soeur Ladd

Photos: (sorry they didn't work last week)