Hey Everyone!!!
Amanda is married!!!!! I can't even believe it!!! I NEED pictures ASAP! I am so excited for them, they are literally perfect for each other. Amanda Rees.. hmm.. thats weird. Jason. My brother. Welcome to the Family!!!!! :DD
This week has been a little bit harder for us. We started of great, but by the end of the week it got a little rough..
Adam Bondie didn't end up getting baptized.. He was so excited for his baptism, but he was also pretty nervous. After walking through everything with him a couple of times he felt better. He told us that we was feeling so much better about it, so we thought that he would be okay. Well Friday evening comes along and we start filling the baptismal font and setting up chairs and decorations. We leave and go back to work, then at about an hour to go until the baptismal service would begin we got a call from Pepper, his wife. We could hardly understand her at first, because she was trying to explain something to us in between sobs. She was devastated! She explained that she had just gotten home from work that day, and she had found Adam on the floor in the bathroom completely out of it. I guess he started drinking at 8am that morning and was completely wasted by the time she called. We were devastated.. When we taught the Word of Wisdom he never told us that alcohol was a problem for him. He told us coffee was, so we committed him to quit, and he did. but never anything about the other one.. I guess he had been to rehab for it too.. We went back to the church and drained the font, took everything down while a bunch of members watched us all confused. Called everyone to tell them not to come, some came anyways, then we had to tell them it again in person.. it was really hard. Also on top of that I kept thinking about what I was missing out on at home. Bad idea. The next day I came down really hard with a cold, probably due to the excessive stress of the night before.
I don't want to sound like a Debbie-downer, because that is just not who I am. I just wanted you to know more in detail what happened so you could know just how great God is. So before church that Sunday we were going to meet with Adam and Pepper to talk things out with them. So we got there a little early to practice a song we were going to sing in sacrament meeting with the elders. It was really fun, but I probably sounded like a dying elephant because I couldn't breathe/sing at all with my cold.. haha. Oh well! Well anyways, at around 9:30 Pepper walks in. Adam is nowhere to be seen. They have never not come together to church before.. So we walk into one of the classrooms and she tells us everything that happened. She is devastated, but tells us, "I am here to stay, you can't get rid of me that easily!" I cannot tell you how happy that made me! Pepper has been a member since she was 18, she is now 46. She has not been to church since she was 19. Ever since we have been meeting with her she has been coming to church faithfully every Sunday with Adam. Except for Adam this Sunday. But Pepper came anyways!!! We talked with her about the Atonement and how the church is a hospital for the sinners, not a place for the perfect. The spirit was so strong in there with her! I am just so grateful that I am able to an instrument in Gods hands to bring Pepper back to the knowledge of the truth. We are going to be meeting with them again this Tuesday. Pray for us! Adam was changing so much! His whole life was turning around! He was getting motivated even to his life style. He was looking for jobs again, and was reading and praying and coming to church anxiously awaiting his baptism. We won't be giving up on him. Satan is not winning this one. So no worries, you will be hearing of a baptism with Adam soon(: To be continued..
I am doing great now, so don't worry about me. I love you all and hope you have a fabulous week!!!
Love always,
Sister Steffani Stokes<3
