Week 64/76 Caution Wet Floor

How many missionaries does it take to fix a font? 

This week we did a lot of small, odd service projects. 

Ranked from least to most entertaining: 

 1.Hermana Dyreng made cookies, I helped a little, and the ward loved them.

 2.An inactive member asked for help with a sign for her business. Hermana Dyreng used her art skills and made the sign all cute. I handed her the markers and tested if they were dead or not.

 3.We taught English to a 13 year old member. We just talked about the names of foods. It would've been #2 on this list but afterwards she started telling us about how she had a little thing for the son of the bishop in Collao, but he didn't want a girlfriend, so now they are just friends that don't talk as much. #3 for the tea. 

 4.We got to set up a Christmas tree! With lights, ornaments, a star and everything! All around good Christmas vibes, that I've missed for a year.

 5.Cat sitting. The same hermana asked us if we could keep her cat company while they went out of town. How could we say no! 

Last, but not least, 

 6.The baptism font. We got to the church early on Saturday to fill the font and wait for the baptism. But when we got there, there was still water from the baptism they had a month ago. ew. So we tried to push the button so that it would drain and in spite of the loud noise it made, the water didn't move.

After a while we called our district leader who also had no idea what to do. We called the zone leaders and they said to just push the button again, con fe, no más. Thanks Elders.

I should also mention that our church building is under construction so we were in a different area using their building. We called the elders of that sector and they also didn't know. And the bishop and counselor of that ward were in the temple and couldn't help us. 

Then the 4 elders showed up and started messing with things. The button wasn't working and the blame fell on the water pump. They called another elder who had served in the area and who is also a plumber?? They got the water pump open with one of those electric mixer beater things. And it still wasn't working. 

With the clock ticking against us, we decided it would be faster to just bucket the water out. 

So my comp and an elder in the font, knee deep in the water, started filling up little garbage cans and passing them to me and the 3 other elders, who in turn dumped the water out the windows. 

Quite the scene, as water spilled onto the floor and flooded the grass outside the windows. But we had it drained in like 30 minutes, just in time to fill it up with clean water for the baptism, that would start in 4 hours. 

We needed 9 missionaries to fix the font situation. It actually isn't fully resolved yet, but 4 more of God's children were able to be baptized this weekend in our ward! 

To end with a quick spiritual thought I recommend that everyone read Mosiah 26. 

"For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive. For behold, in my name are they called; and if they know me they shall come forth, and shall have a place eternally at my right hand. Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me." 

I know that this is the church of Jesus Christ. I know that it is a church of repentance and forgiveness. That it all stems from Christ himself. When we are baptized we take His name upon us, we are forgiven, and we are His. 

-Hermana Pratt