Hey mama -
sorry i don't have a ton of time... Olga called me during internet time...here's my letter to pres.
Dear President Nielsen -
Alyona gathered up the courage and asked her father about baptism, but he said the same thing. He said that this next year (she's almost 17) will kind-of be a testing ground. If she really wants to be baptized, she'll stay active. I appreciate her fathers concern. At least we know he's not against it. I shared a story of my friend and the exact same thing happened to her. When she was 16, she wanted to badly to be baptized, but her father didn't give her permission and said to wait until she was 18. By the time she was 18, she had completely fallen away and was in no state to be baptized, and to this day is having a hard time. We'll continue to prepare her for baptism and hope that things turn around.
I just talked to Olga like 30 seconds ago. Some major problems arised, that I thought were already taken care of, at our lesson right before her interview. I tried to convince her to wait and do the interview after we figured this out, but she wanted to just talk to Elder Wilcox about it. Of course the same thing happened with Elder Wilcox, and we have postponed her baptism. She feels like we're reminding her of her very difficult past...something that she has already suffered for and repented of infront of a Priest. She doesn't understand why it's a problem. I tried to explain that this is something that we ask everyone before baptism, and she has the chance to have this guilt completely taken away before a representative of Christ. She said that it already was taken away, and we're just bringing it back into her life. She doesn't want to meet with you tomorrow and talk about it, and doesn't want to be baptised just yet. She said that she's not completely saying no, but she needs a couple days to figure things out. I feel terrible that this is how it worked out, and I hope she can find the humilty to understand. She said that'd she's take a trip up to Dnepr when she's ready.
Anya is gone. She had an arguement with one of our members and then invited herself over to his house with a pile full of questions about our church. That man can't see God, that there's not just one church, about baptisms for the dead...all topics that we've addressed and overcome already. The member wasn't able to give her the answers she wanted. We stopped by last night, and answered every one of these concerns precisely, that it was impossible to misunderstand. I felt so guided by the spirit and I've never spoken cleaner russian or recalled verses like I did last night. Sister Hoggan, was firm and serious with her. She needed to understand that there are answers...and that we are missionaries, not toys to be played with...and that this church has authority. She wanted to meet with us today to ask us more questions, but we said no. She really is just not ready to recieve them and we need to move on. We told her to keep searching and praying and to not let these silly questions disrupt her progression. I hope she'll come back with an attitute of learning and humility.
So our investigators are hitting road blocks, and we've got our work cut out for us to help them through. We do have some others that we're focusing on, so the work moves on! The mission is tough sometimes. My confidence is shaken sometimes. I can't find answers sometimes. But this is when my faith can bridge over those gaps. That's when I'm humbly forced to my knees and allow the Savior do His work...and then we see the miracles. I trust Him.
Thanks for your support and love. Thanks for keeping me in Zaporozhia...I know I needed to be with these people!
Love Cectpa Jones
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