Mummay!

That's what little Alfie calls Kirsty.

 

Kirsty did get baptized! The devil really played his hand well, though.  I think Kirsty must be going to marry a general authority or something, because the devil reallllly didn't want her to get baptized.  So, last time I talked to you, she had just gotten back from a holiday to Wales.  Apparently that was hell for her, because her family wouldn't lay off about her joining a cult.  But they ended up apologizing for that, and things were good last time I talked to you.  Things went very very downhill from there.  So the week of their baptism, as missionaries, we're supposed to meet with, or at least call, the investigator every single day.  So we did that.  Well, we went over Tuesday to just go over the baptismal interview questions with Kirsty, and to just see how she was doing.  We just went, thinking it would just be a quick on-the-doorstep conversation, so we didn't bring a priesthood holder with us.  Well, when we knocked on her door, she opened it and was absolutely bawling her eyes out.  Now, Mom, I'm sorry that this week I wasn't completely obedient with mission rules, but if Christ were to knock on Kirsty's door that day, I don't think He would've said, "Could we step outside and talk about this where everyone can see you?"  We went in, and she was feeling extremely stressed because there is a member in the ward that has been pretty much telling her that she wasn't ready to be baptized and telling her how to raise her child and being a total brat to Kirsty, but this member thought that she was helping.  It was destroying Kirsty.  Absolutely eating at her.  So, we talked her down, told her that if Alfie (her little boy) is hot outside, that it's not immodest or immoral to take his shirt off and let him run around in a vest (wife beater?).  He's four years old.  But apparently the member she was having trouble with was just being extremely strict about little little rules, like she told Alfie to go to time out for eating some food before they had said a prayer.  Alfie has been part of the church for about a month.  He doesn't get it yet.  AAAAAH.  So we went in, told her that we aren't an extremist cult, Kirsty was questioning whether or not God even existed at this point, and feeling more stress cause her family decided to be the devil this week.  (Kirsty, apparently, has never had a good relationship with her family.) But they were just making fun of her and pretty much telling her that she was stupid.  Like her Mom told her that she didn't care if she ever saw Kirsty again, as long as she could see Alfie.  And when Alfie goes to his grandparents they tell him not to listen to his mom cause she's stupid.  So that's fun.  But we got it sorted out, it took us a couple hours to talk her down and answer all her questions and get her feeling good about everything again.

 

And that was only Tuesday.

 

But Wednesday we went back over, and Elder Shepherd gave her her baptismal interview and she passed.

 

Thursday is our busy day as well as Kirsty, so we called her and she sounded a bit stressed out.  We didn't completely find out why until friday when we went over.

Apparently Kirsty's family were just being all out nasty to her, telling her that she would never go anywhere in life, and that she was going to waste her life in this "Muslim Cult" and that they wouldn't be coming to the baptism, well, except for her brother, who was threatening to come and disrupt everything.  By the end of Friday night, Kirsty's family had made it clear that she was no longer part of the family and that they wouldn't care if she died in her sleep.  How supportive, right?  So we ended up having to move the baptism to a different time and call the entire ward to tell them, but, everything went really really well.  Kirsty asked me if I would baptize her, and I did.  It was perfect.  (It only took once this time!)  And Kirsty has decided that she would rather have the ward family over hers any day, so she's doing okay. In fact, after she was confirmed, and after church, we spent most of the day at different celebration esque things with her, and she seemed to be very very happy.

 

Unfortunately, because her family got so nasty about it, Kirsty's little sister, Lucy, got scared and we're not teaching her anymore, but I really think that she'll come around to it in the future.  Especially when Kirsty's family calms down about the whole thing and realizes that she's just happy now, and everything else hasn't really changed. 

So that was basically our week, dealing with a stupid member, calming Kirsty down, and getting stuff ready for her baptism.

 

Kirsty is absolutely amazing though.  She's had many miracles happen since we started teaching and helping her build her relationship with her Father in Heaven.  She's given up smoking, other substances, she's come out of clinical depression that has pushed her to trying to commit suicide in the past, and she is one of the strongest, bravest people that I have ever met.  She is an elect spirit, and the Lord has amazing things in store for her and Alfie.  I'll try and write you a letter with the whole story, but wow, Mom, the church is sooo so true, and Heavenly Father and Jesus really do love us and want to do everything they can to help us. 

 

I love you, and I'm going to include pictures in another email.  I miss you guys!

-Elder Smart