11-21-11

Hello Everyone!!!
         It has been a wonderful week!!! Two of our investigators were baptized on Sunday!!!!! Angel and her daughter Nanieyia were baptized. The father Ray still has to quit smoking before he can be. We are planning on getting him an interview this week though. It was amazing because Nanieyia asked me to baptize her and Elder Hart the Missionary who found them was asked to baptize Angel. It was pretty cool because this was a first time Elder Hart or I have ever baptized anyone. I thought I was going to be nervous when I baptized her yesterday. But I felt the spirit so strong while I performed the Ordinance. It was a big testimony builder to me. I am so blessed to be able to baptize someone after only being out in the field for a month. The funny part about everything is that more people showed up to the baptism then they did to church... Oh well it was perfectly fine though:) We were happy because we had investigators there and everything. We also had many other missionaries there because it was a big deal for these two to get baptized. Many of the other missionaries who taught them came to it. Including the assistants, and 2 other people and their companions. We had a total of 9 missionaries there. It was awesome! This week we are planning on setting 6 baptismal dates for Moni, Monisha, John, Marlin, TJ, and Ray. Please pray for them and that they can commit to a date! But we have a lot of great things happening here. This week we had another zone pday where we all played football together. Then the next day we had interviews President Clark. He took us out to eat after at Lotta Watta. Best place ever. I love going there. 
         Saturday we went to the Temple with the our Zone Leaders and The Assistants. Since my trainer was a zone leader before and is good friends with one of the assistants we get some special treatment. It is a great blessing because we rode with the zone leaders on the metro link to the other side of the river in St. Louis and the Assistants just picked us up then took us to the temple. Then they took us back home afterwards. I am very grateful for my trainer with all his sweet hook ups and also for everything I learn from him. But I have also been able to become pretty good friends with the assistants and the zone leaders. They are great men who are such a great example to me. I really look up to them. 
         So today, on the way here on the Metro Link, I was trying to teach a street lesson so I started talking to this guy sitting across from me and a few rows down. I was not close enough to smell the alcohol that he smelled of. After 10 seconds of talking I knew he was drunk. He started talking about when he goes home he is going to go make food read the scriptures and drink a beer. He admitted to me that he was a drunk and has been like that because his wife committed suicide  3 years before. He was messed up. So I started to talk about commandments and told him to stop drinking and that he would be happier if he did not. He did not know how to react. So he started talking about the knights templar. It was very interesting conversation. Half of the time drunk people are easy to teach and love it, one quarter will be like him and just talk about random stuff or the last quarter will try to tell you God is black. And we have had many tell us that... But it is fun sometimes. We always try to stay away from drunk people though when we know they are. But I am so grateful for all the prayers for me and my investigators. I really see them make a difference and I feel the power of it. Prayer is an amazing thing and will take us a long way. I love you all. Have an awesome week!!!
Love,
Elder Derek Turner
*SERVING IN ZION*