December 16th, 2008 (Email)

Hey
It's kind of cold here. You probably wouldn't think so, but in comparison to what it's been here in Cali I'd say it's cold. I have to wear a light jacket. Poor me.
I got my Christmas box yesterday! Wow. I am spoiled. I didn't open them yet I promise. I did open the box though. I don't know when I'll be calling home yet on Christmas but it'll definitely happen. It sounds like it'll probably happen sometime in the evening. The member family we're eating Christmas dinner with has invited us to use their phone.
Well I've got some great news and some kind of sad news and some really sad news. I'll start with the really sad news to get that over with: Elder Kemp has gone home. He emailed me and said he'll be home for 6 months to take care of things so he can come back. We got our transfer reports last week and I read over all the names looking for him because I didn't know where he was serving but after looking over and over and over again I just couldn't find his name. The other Elders told me what it meant and it made me sad. His email sounded optimistic for the future though. He'll do great things when he returns I'm sure.
The kind of sad news is Elder Berardy got transferred. It's just kind of sad because he'll be missed in the apartment. He was a really fun Elder. But he got to return to one of his most successful areas so he's really excited. The new Zone Leader with Elder Esterholdt is Elder Framton. He used to serve in the Dominican Republic but he broke his hand and got reassigned here after 3 months of surgery and healing at his home in Arizona. He seems like a cool Elder.
The great news is Elder Rodriguez didn't get transferred! 6 more weeks with him! It will be yet another awesome transfer.
So I baptized Sabrina Sanchez! That was a great though awkward experience. Sabrina is somewhat larger than me (as are most people) and I had to dunk her twice. I felt like I was attacking her. She has Cerebral Palsy (spelling?) and her right hand's kind of deformed so that didn't help either. The cold water was fun too. Oh goodness. Well the ordinance happened so that's what matters. She survived ans he's happy. She received the Holy Ghost Sunday and that was great too. I like standing in those circles.
Elder Rodriguez and I have two more baptismal dates: William Peters should be baptized the 28th of this month if he works out his Word of Wisdom stuff and Roxy Galvan will at the latest be baptized January 17th. Roxy's 12 years old and her cousin and aunt are members. She decided on the baptism date on her own after our first lesson with her last week. We're going to try to commit her to an earlier date because we'll definitely be finished with all 4 lessons before January.
We've set a lofty goal to have 5 BAPTISMS this month. That's how many Elder Rodriguez needs to reach the Standard of Excellence of 12 per year. Will it happen?!?!? MAYBE! We're aiming high with high hopes. The thing is is we have names for each of the goals so it is most definitely possible.
We had about 9 of our investigators come to church Sunday. I say about 9 because Roxy went to her cousin's church. I'm not sure why. And Jeffrey Camacho didn't stay for sacrament. Not sure why either. David Guiterrez (Dixie's David) shared his testimony in Gospel Principles class about Faith and he felt the spirit and teared up! He said he never would have let missionaries in before and he'd shut the door on all sorts-- Jehovahs Witnesses, etc.-- until we showed up. He said something about us felt different. And then he shared that since we started visiting them he's quit smoking, drinking alcohol and coffee-- just all sorts of great stuff has been happening. It was touching. And Dixie found a verse in the Book of Mormon she really likes and she's highlighted-- Mosiah 3:19. Elder Esterholdt shared it with her last week and something about it really touched her.
I've learned that boldness is good. I decided to follow the example Elder Esterholdt set last week and I was really bold when teaching William Peters. I told him that we are the ONLY true church of Jesus Christ and that we are the ONLY one holding the power and authority to baptize. He liked that concept for some reason and after sharing the verse in Ephesians that says "ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism" he was really convinced. When you bear bold testimony the Spirit has more room to work.
I'm priviledged to still be working with Elder Rodriguez in Buena Park. These next 6 weeks will be filled with blessings as long as I follow the example set by my companion and strive for obedience, humility, meaningful study and sincere prayer.
Merry Christmas next week! Make it sacred!
Love,Elder
Tyler Lewis