A Baptism

This was a fantastic week I have to say. It started off with us doing Marcia's baptismal interview Monday night at the church. Elder McKinley did the interview, and Elder Watts and I practiced singing for the musical number we will be a part of when Elder Malm of the seventy visits. There are about 8 of us singing and I will sing the bass part with Elder Robinson. The interview went great and Marcia was more than ready to be baptized in the words of Elder McKinley. We then walked outside with Marcia to say goodbye. After she left we walked back to the building to get out things and I realized that I left the keys inside the building. I am the only one with keys to that building. Ya. . . seems like something I would do. We needed to be back to our apartment soon, so we were all stressing out as I called the ward mission leader. He didn't answer, but right then Elder McKinley blurted "The Window!" He had opened the window during the interview to let a breeze in. So we ran around the building to see if we could climb in. On the way we saw a Possom climbing up the tree, but thats besides the point. The window is probably 8 feet off the ground from the outside and less than that on the inside. It was plenty big for someone to climb through so I boosted Elder McKinley up to climb through the window and luckily he had left the table close enough to the window, so he didn't have to fall he just stepped on the table. We managed to get back to our stuff and I made sure I had my keys with me as we left. It was a very memorable baptismal interview. Inbetween we taught a few lessons to our investigators and set up even more appointments for next week. The ones I am most excited about I would say is Alyssa who has a baptismal date for Sept. 27 and Terri who has come to church the last 2 sundays and is actively reading through the Book of Mormon. It is always a struggle getting an appointment with Terri, but of course as soon as one of the members tried so set one up she gladly made time. I think we will recruit Sister Northrup more often to set up appointments. The work is going great and is at full speed here in Camarillo. On Saturday was the baptism.
It went well and there were a lot of people who attended. Marcia is a very outgoing person and had a lot of friends and family who came. We were able to meet her husband at the baptism for the first time. He has been very cold in general when it comes to the church. It was difficult for Marcia to get permission from her husband to get baptized. He seemed to be a lot more comfortable at the end of the baptism and we were able to talk with him for a little bit and officially introduce ourselves. All of the talks and music were in the chapel because of the amount of people who came. Then they all crammed into the room with the baptismal font to watch as I performed the baptism. There were a lot of different of emotions that I was feeling all at the same time, but after the baptism an overwhelming sense of peace came. Unforgettable. Overall a great baptism. She was confirmed the next day and she will be officially a member once we get her records sent in. The spirit was so strong at the baptism and I have no doubt that everyone there could feel it. I can only hope that they recognize that feeling as coming from the Holy Ghost. It is great to be able to see the blessings that come from the restored gospel. I talk and meet with a lot of people, and it is night and day. You can't find the joy and peace that comes from Jesus Christ and His restored gospel anywhere else. I am grateful that I get to be a part of sharing those blessings.
This next week is transfers so we wil see if I get transferred or not, at this point it's anyones guess. Elder Hull and I get along fine, we are very different so it takes work but I have learned to love him and I am learning probably just as much as he is. I love you all and thank you for all of the support and prayers.
Elder Hamson