The One With The Sneaky Grandpa

a lot of people ask

"What is so different about being baptized in your church compared to being baptized in mine?//"

Well you see, Jesus Christ had the power of the priesthood which is the authority and power that God has, and sometimes gives to man to act in all things for the salvation of man.  

The priesthood is the bridge that connects the gap and binds Heaven to Earth.  In order for baptism to be valid both on Earth and in God's eyes, it must be done under the direction of the priesthood.  

aka the man doing the baptizing must have this authority or power from God to do so.

Hebrews 5:4

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/heb/5.4?lang=eng#3

 Jesus Christ and His apostles had this power of God but what happened to the power when they were all killed because the people were wicked?  God withdrew his power from the Earth.

So how is it on the Earth today?  Joseph Smith restored the true church of Jesus Christ.  

He didn't start his own church, he brought back the gospel of Jesus Christ 

and the power to act in His (Jesus') name.

Cam got baptized last Sunday!!! Super awesome experience. 

His family really came together and the spirit was evident in their countenances.

But

uh oh..

that's right

 there's a but

but>>>>butt

but

there was some chaos

Cam's mom wanted her father to do the baptism, and he has been out at sea.

 We have been teaching Cam FOREVER and he has not been baptized.  So when mama Coop said, my dad is going to be here this weekend so we need to do the baptism, we were so excited! 

and stressed.. because throwing a baptism together that fast can be challenging. 

and we had still not met this grandpa of Cam's

we did not know a couple of things

 what he looked like

or the state of his mental wellness

(Only one of those things really matters in this case. You decide)

Now for the story.

The baptismal font in our building is in the gym. So we do the talks and whatnot, in the relief society room and walk to the font for the actual baptism. 

Everything was in place, everyone was waiting in the rs room and we decided as a companionship to get a quick picture with Cam and his family last minute in front of the font in the other room.

We walked into the gym area by the font, and I will never forget what I saw.

We looked up somehow, to see an older man dipping his toe in the water of the font, about to head right on in.

We were like.. what the heck..

who is this guy about to take a swim by himself

I was a little stunned 

next thing I know mama Coop is like

"Dad get outa there.. my gosh.  Get out of the font! We're not doin that part yet!"

He looked at her completely confused and said, "Where is everybody?"

So that's the story of how we met Cam's grandpa halfway into the font to baptize.. well.. 

no one because he was all alone in there.

I died laughing.

That's completely disregarding the fact that someone broke the plug to the baptismal drain and we tried to make one out of a jar, and some yay-hoo dropped the jar in the font and it shattered before we had a chance to try it out. 

(that yay-hoo was me)

((what's a yay-hoo anyway))

After cleaning out the glass so that grandpa and Cam would not be bleeding during the service, we stuffed a rag into a garbage bag and made our own drain stopper.

not to mention the hot water has been MIA for quite a long time which meant more boiling water to pour in the font so that it wouldn't be completely freezing

lol

because it was still freezing

as grandpa was able to find out prematurely 

tip toeing into the font

BUT THE SPIRIT WAS SO STRONG

and I realized something this week

Cam is not done

none of us are done

baptism is simply the first time we sign a contract with God that we will resign every week for the rest of our lives as we take the sacrament

Cam's progression, or any of ours, does not end when we walked out of the waters of baptism.

Jesus' mission on earth did not end when he was baptized by immersion, why would ours?

It begins and repeats every week 

"to the souls of all those who partake of it"

The terms of the "contract" don't change, but you better believe 

as we STRIVE to keep those terms that God has set:

 we do.

We Change

Holy beans Sister Saunders!! all you talk about is change every week just in different ways..

 like what the fetch

I don't apologize.  Because we all need it.  Not just change, but 

progression in the right direction towards PERFECTION.

"You're a butterfly held captive small and safe in your cocoon"

BUT

"there's no growth in a comfort zone.  And there's no comfort in a growth zone."

Do y'all think it was comfortable for Gandhi to give up all his money, worldly things, be beaten, jailed up, and give up all of the natural pleasures in the life he had previously led?

 No, but he did and as a result he freed his entire country from the tyranny of the strongest country in the world at that time.

(Hi, I love Gandhi)

anyways..

my Ryanne rant is over 

SiStErSaUnDeRsSpEaKs

ask Taylor Swift she will back me up

that whole "don't change" statement written all over our year books from junior high is so overrated

I challenge ya'll to write "stay cool, but get cooler" instead ;)

One more thing to keep in mind is that most of us are not going from bad to good

its more like going from good to better

and better to best

and on and on to infinity and beyond

#buzzlightyearquote

BUT MORE COOL STUFF HAPPENED THIS WEEK

For example

Pensacola Zone Conference



 

*when it's sunny we wear shades..

We also had correlation at the ward mission leaders home and his family is so stellar 

They live in this beautiful castle of a house right next to the water as in, the ocean is literally their backyard.

Not only that, but our ward mission leader has a man cave attachment to his garage where he has all kinds of super sick guns and wait for it...

light sabers

like.. yes.

man cave

Not only that but when his wife was a week and a half away from having her TRIPLETS he dressed up in all his gear (he has a night-vision one-eyed gadget and some sick black ninja looking clothes/a cool gun) and walked around the corner freaking the heck right out of his pregnant wife and in her own words

"I almost gave birth"

Not only that but both of them are doctors and have worked out schedules where one of them is always with the kids at home

Not only that but his wife worked as a doctor TEN DAYS before she gave birth to the triplets

Not only that but she had two older kids besides the triplets and after delivering said triplets (thats five kids under the age of ten) she looked at her husband and they both agreed, one more. 

IN THE RECOVERY ROOM they decided too have another which they did.

Not only that but their children are beautiful and Bo (one of the two girls of the triplets) drew me a picture on Sunday.  She is six and adorable.

Not only that but they met on his mission, they both speak Spanish, and they bought their German Shepherd from the Czech republic so the dog only speaks Czech which means when they are yelling at the kids it comes out in Spanish and when they are yelling at the dog they yell in Czech.

Not only that, but he converted his wife on his mission and she was originally from Cuba.

okay.. I will admit it.  My obsession with this family is quite out of hand.. and thank goodness repentance is real because the tenth commandment was a hard one not to break that day.

God bless the H family

Don't worry, we did go over a lot of missionary type stuff during the meeting in the man cave with the elders and bro h even though I was very distracted by their amazing life.

6 kids ranging from 4 to 16 like.. woah

not mention bro H sent us this text LOLOLOL he rocks

any-who

moving on with life or at least attempting to

Paul and Paula were talking about Sweetie one day this week like they usually do... only this time they caught on I think to the fact that Sister C and I just don't appreciate what it's like to have a dog that close to us in our lives. Paula gave us some reassurance: "Don't worry. You'll have kids someday."

we lost it

Sweetie is literally their child

and she was referring to Sweetie as the kind of kids we would have some day

still holding out for at least a few human kids myself ;)

I seriously love Paul and Paula, they got their temple recommends yesterday and it was so great to see their excited selves, and we are so excited for them to go to the temple

Huge Highlight Headed Your Way 

Alexis got baptized on Saturday!!!

Alexis is honestly one of the most genuine people I know.  We have been teaching her for a while, and she had been meeting with the missionaries a few times before I got here.

(when I say we have been teaching her I really mean she has been teaching us)

She is my age and she is beautiful inside and out, her baptism was so special. 

As we walked from the service to the bathroom so we could show her into the font, she began to spill tears of happiness and she bore her testimony to us.

She was so excited this whole week leading up to it, and that moment she was feeling such a tender love from God.

Watching her be baptized, the spirit was on fire and I couldn't feel more proud to know such a wonderful follower of Jesus Christ. 

One of the highlights of the baptismal service for me, was sitting close to Alexis' little brother (we were so happy her mom and dad and lil bro were there to support her)

Her little brother has downs syndrome and struggles with speech.  As we sang "Sunshine in my soul" and the part that says "Jesus listening can hear, the words I cannot say" it was so touching to me.  Her brother was singing the hymn and he was doing so well! Despite the fact that he couldn't really pronounce the words and he had never heard these songs in his life.  He's only eight years old and he was singing. 

I felt God's love for that little boy, Alexis, and her parents.  And at the end of the song her brother audibly said "I like that song.  That's a good song."

It was so sweet. 

I am so grateful to my father in heaven for these experiences and the gift that is His mission. 

It's truly a gift to me. 

it's hard sometimes.. 

it's not always baptisms and funny stories about fat chihuahuas.. 

or amazing dinners with an amazing family who spoils us....

 Marlins Seafood restaurant 

*Food pic for Grandpa & Nanny~phenomenal grouper

but the good outweighs the bad 

Sunday is Easter!

I am going to be studying in Mathew about each day leading up to the Saviors death and resurrection.

 yesterday was Palm Sunday~today there are a bunch of parables if you want to do it also:)

There's a new Easter video called #hallelujah so check that out! 

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2016-02-1000-hallelujah-an-easter-message-about-jesus-christ?lang=eng

"Follow Him and find new life"

<3 Me, a Sister Missionary

p.s. my mom sent me fruit snacks and other green stuff for st pattys day so of course I was so pumped. Did you know my mom is superwoman?  Thanks mommy for the fruit snacks and the facial and the bubbles and the gummy worms (the kids at church are especially grateful for the gummy worms;) #maytheluckoftheirishbewithyall

Green Apple Jones Soda~reminds me of Gma Pat & the cabin:)

St. Patty's shenanigans.. 

p.p.s. my companion is the sweetest most hilarious human ever. She teaches me bold/directly, and with love. Just as the savior teaches.  She is beautiful and wonderful and all things good, I just had to give her a shout out because I love her to the moon and back.

Make it a good day!  

xoxo

Whom The Lord Loves (so.. you)

It rained like mad

like....A LOT! 

I don't think you can handle what's about to happen

get ready for the most inspiring thing of your whole life

Elder M is a missionary in my district here in the Pensacola area

and he had a dream

In his very own words...

"I had a dream. I was in Africa, and I was black.

I was walking along a gravel road with my black son. 

And my son confided to me that he had been having troubles at school. He told me...

 (Que the tribal accent similar to King Julien from the movie Madagascar)

 They make fun of me fatha. Because I am short.

So I said to my son.

Son! Do you see that plane?

Yes fatha.

Son!

yes?

Git up on my shouldas.

Climb up here!!!

See, son!

see what fatha?

You are as tall as me now. You are as tall as that plane. 

....And I can't remember the rest."

I thought you all could benefit from the  most inspiring dream I've ever heard.

 That's just a small taste of the things I have learned from my district.

That same day, I found out they agree I look like Princess Peach.

 Which is not a compliment no matter how you look at it, 

but all is well in Zion.

It has been another fabulous week here in the Breezy Gulf town of Gulf Breeze.

Thank you for your prayers, last Sunday we saw some people at church that had not been for a while which is super cool!

We were able to have a meal with Paul and Paula again and do some family history with them.

We were at a dead end, no dates, just names.  Trying to help them to find names in their family to take to the temple for their first time as recent converts. 

With a prayer in our hearts, we used a name in Paul's line after many other names. His family tree shot forward. TONS of temple ready names.  It was incredible.  They are so excited to do the work for their loved ones who have died in the temple, and I am so proud of them.

Family Search https://familysearch.org/

Another visit with them later on, some contention arose between Paul and Paula. 

NO WORRIES it was minor and actually hilarious.

I have mentioned their dog Sweetie before I'm pretty sure, the poor dog has diabetes so she has to be on a diet.  Paula told us why Sweetie has diabetes while she was feeding Sweetie a handful of cheese..

"Sweetie got diabetes because we was feedin' her cheese all the time."

my companion: "Paula, you are feeding her cheese right now."

Paula: "It's just a little snack we don't do it that much no more."

However Paul and Paula disagreed as to what they should feed her that particular night.

Paula wanted to feed Sweetie a corn cake and 

Paul said: 

You might as well feed her a paper bag. It's so bland.

then Paula said:

 The ingredients on here aren't very healthy..

 and Paul got upset and said: 

There's gonna be some tasty stuff in there.  They don't want to starve the animal to death.

Sister C and I couldn't keep it together we were hysterical. 

This dog is the most obese Chihuahua in the world I think, and Paul was worried about starving her to death and whether or not her food tasted bland.

One of my favorite Paul moments happened when Paul was telling us why we need a will. He said:

"My daughter knows.  If she doesn't carry out my every wish when I die she better sleep with one eye open.  She already knows.  She would feel some kind of tapping on her in her sleep, wake up and nobody would be there.  But she knows it'd be me because I'd  be so mad if she didn't follow my wishes.  See, the problem with people going off and dying, is that they never have a way to tell people what they wanna do with their body when they're dead!  Nobody got a will.  Just know, if somethin' happened to one of ya'll, the first thing I would do is make sure, you're from Utah and California, I'd make sure you made it back to you're home town.  I don't know how, but just know, I would figure it out."

Thank you Paul.

 I can rest easy now ;) 

And mom and dad.. If some random old native american man shows up to the house with me in the back seat and a strange small but very plump animal, just know he didn't murder me, and the animal is actually a Chihuahua. 

Needless to say I will be starting my will very soon.

Fun fact.

Guilt most often comes from Satan.

Godly Sorrow, is when you start to see what God expects of you, and realize you don't measure up to it. 

If our immediate reaction to Godly Sorrow is

Hope: which comes from knowing that Godly Sorrow leads to humility which leads to change which leads to joy.

Then you're on the right track.

The heart has to break, before it can change.  And it has to change before it will feel true joy.

The crazy thing, is that no matter where we are in life we will never be what God expects, which means we should constantly be going through this cycle of recognition, humility, sorrow, hope, change, joy, recognition, humility, sorrow, hope, change, joy. 

Why, if we will never in this life get there, would we do this over and over and over again?

Because the more we understand this cycle --this path of repentance, the closer to our potential, as sons and daughters of God the Eternal Father, we will be. 

The path to perfection is repentance.  The way is possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Let me be ABSOLUTELY clear!

We can not go through that cycle of change on our own.

Whether it be weakness, or sin.

 Whether it be outright rebellion, or an honest mistake.

 Through Faith In Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism and Keeping Our Baptismal Covenants, Receiving Then Listening To The Holy Ghost, and enduring or enJOYing until the end

 with the Savior

 We can move forward towards our potential. We can BECOME whole.

So what is your next step? How do we begin this cycle and never let it end?

Step One: Ask God to tell you in what ways you are not what He expects.

Sounds a bit harsh..

"What Lack I Yet"

What Lack I Yet? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl89LsS5L-s

He will tell you

Don't be afraid of the sharpness that may follow, because it will lead to sorrow.  

It will lead to change if you let it.

I know for myself to be true, I am not perfect at repentance.

 I don't pretend to be even close to fully understanding the Atonement. 

Honesty Hour

 I have been chastised recently, I will admit it, and told clearly of some things I need to strengthen and change.. It hurt sure, pride always does.  But I couldn't be more happy that God loves me enough to allow me to experience this.

 He trusts me enough to tell me these things that I lack, and He will help me to make them strengths.

How cool is that? Answer: Not just way cool, but way way cool. 

"Verily thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also Chasten"

Doctrine and Covenants 95:1 

   1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation, and I have loved you—

Chasten: N. To Rebuke, Refine, or Reprove.

hashtag refiners fire 

Make it a good day!

xoxo

Sister Saunders