Рождение

Saturday evening, one of the dearest people to me in the entire world, Tanya, entered the waters of baptism and began her new life. The Spirit at that meeting was incredible, and Tanya especially was filled with joy. It has been a miracle these past two months to work with her and watch her grow and change. The Atonement is real! There is unseen power through Jesus Christ that changes people completely. I'm so grateful that I was able to be part of her conversion process.

The branch welcomed Tanya so completely, and I was very moved by that. There is so much that members can do that we as missionaries simply cannot do - a recent convert is a serious responsibility that belongs, in large measure, to the branch. And I'm so proud of our little branch for stepping up to take that responsibility and nurture our Tanya.

Present and Sister vanBruggen invited me to go with them on Sunday out to Bogota branch. I very much enjoyed the car ride over with them, sitting with Sister vanBruggen and a very sweet member named Lena that was coming with us. The members out there in Bogota are incredible, and I always feel like I'm in Zion when I'm out there. While there, I had the opportunity of teaching a wonderful woman named Galina. She is a long-time friend of the branch members, has been coming to church for 15 years, pays tithing, and has read the Book of Mormon several times. We discussed baptism with her and talked about her concerns and what is holding her back. There was a special spirit there, and by the end of the lesson, she made the commitment to prepare for baptism. I love her a lot, and I'm very excited that she's preparing to make that sacred covenant with God. 

Saturday afternoon, we went with Vika and Maksim over to President and Sister Solodovnik's home for a lesson. Again, members just do so much that we as missionaries cannot do! As President shared his conversion story with Vika, the Spirit was really strong and I know she received answers to some of her questions. We discussed the difficulty of either being baptized or returning to activity in the church, and I was moved by the humility and the willingness of Vika and Maksim to make those sacrifices. That meeting did so much for their conversion/reactivation, and I will be forever grateful to the Solodovniks for their friendship and support.

After the baptism on Saturday (which, if it is not yet clear, was one of the best days of my entire existence), Sister Esplin and I met up with Kristina and Anton. I love those two so much - I will be forever grateful that I was here in Simferopol to meet them, and I know we're going to be friends forever. We had a wonderful discussion, and I felt the Spirit as I shared my testimony and why I had come on a mission. They presented me with the one and only penguin to be found in Simferopol, which brought me great delight. They are the best, and I'm so grateful to know them.

We met a wonderful woman this past Thursday named Alvera. On Friday we had our first lesson with her, and she had already read from and loved the Book of Mormon. She accepted a baptismal date for 10 August! She is incredible - she is fluent in English, is a lawyer, and plays the piano like a professional. I'm really excited that we met her. She is so sincere in her search for truth and also had an incredible knowledge of the Bible and grasp of spiritual truths. She unfortunately fell ill on Saturday so couldn't make it to that lesson or to church, but we met with her again today and she loved everything we taught! She is very excited to be preparing for baptism, and we likewise are very excited that she has been so completely prepared by the Lord to make this covenant with Him. God truly is hastening the work of salvation in this corner of the vineyard, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it.

-Sister Nay