Beautiful baptisms!

As I've said before, one of the special things we get to do in this calling is attend convert baptisms. We aren't able to get to all of them because of conflicts in or schedule, but when we can we always do. This past weekend we were able to attend three and they were all beautiful. We were able to see three sweet children, Xander, Damien, and Isabelle all be baptized. They live with their grandparents who are raising them, and the grandparents are also taking the lessons and wanting to be baptized, yet they struggle with smoking, which they are trying so hard to overcome. But the grandmother told everyone at the baptism that it will happen! And she also expressed how grateful she was for the way everyone loved them and treated them and welcomed them at church. I have come to realize more than ever how we need to be so inclusive...no matter how people look, dress, or smell. We can tend to make quick judgments if we happen to smell smoke on someone sitting next to us at church--and yet they might desperately be trying to overcome that habit and repent of it. They need us to love them and encourage them as they try to change their lives and come closer to the Savior. I've also seen here how people who are recent converts or who are investigating the church might come to sacrament meeting wearing jeans or other every day clothes. We need to remember that they are learning...they've never been to a church where people dress up. And as they grow in their faith and learn more of the Savior, they will come to realize that we wear our best clothing because as we do, it shows the Lord we want to be at our best in his house. And as we love them and accept them, we can help teach them these things.
We were also able to watch the baptism of Lily, in our Mandarin branch, and also of Elizabeth, who was baptized in the Midnapore ward in south Calgary. She was introduced to the church through her friend of 27 years. It was such a beautiful baptism as well. It really is a privilege and blessing for us to see these people change their lives as they take the lessons and feel the spirit and begin to experience the atonement of Jesus Christ in their lives as they repent and come closer to him. It's an incredible thing to see.
Last Friday we held our training meeting for the missionaries that will be training the new missionaries that arrive tomorrow. They were all excited to receive the assignment to train, and we know they will be great. We feel like we are being blessed with wonderful missionaries coming to our mission. It's so fun to see how missionaries grow and progress--some of these trainers have just finished being trained, so they have only been out 3 months! And others have been out over 18 months, and some anywhere in between that. But we know as they are obedient and faithful the Lord will bless them and help them. There is a lot of trust given to a trainer. We know they can help set the tone for the new missionaries whole mission.
One of the more difficult things we do on our mission is deliver the sad news of the death of a grandparent, or friend, or some other loved one to a missionary. We never like making those calls. It is very difficult for them to be away from home when they get that news. We have had many missionaries lose their grandparents. Some have lost family friends, some cousins, and a few have lost parents. We always pray that they will each feel the peace and love that only the Savior can give. We have also seen how the glorious Plan of Salvation becomes ever more meaningful to them--and as they teach it, they have more conviction as they tell someone that because of our Savior, there is life after death and we will all be resurrected, and that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us.
It is through some of these difficult times that their testimonies grow the most.