Hot Water

1/18/10 Email Message

Family,

Sorry I dont have a lot of time today, but I just wanted to say hi and let you know how things are going. Yesterday Anjiki kyoudai got baptized. It was one of the most incredible experiences. Everything from meeting him the first time to yesterdays service was just one huge unbelievable blessing. And yesterday something really special happened.

When we first got there in the morning the hot water in the font wasnt working. Weve had a freak snow storm the past few days and all of the pipes to the font were completely frozen over. Nothing we did could get them to work. So we filled up pots with water at the kichen sink, brought them to a boil, and then filled up the font little by little. The service was at 2:00 and by 11:30 we had barely even made a dent in the font. Meanwhile the pipes were still compltetely frozen and refusing to let in the hot water. At that point our Elders Quorum president called my companion and I together and we stood and prayed to Heavenly Father and asked Him to give us hot water so that Anjiki kyoudai could be baptized at 2 o' clock. As he was praying I started to smile as I felt the power of his prayer and I felt absolutely certain that God would take care of it for us. When we had concluded the prayer we sat in silence for a few moments...before 10 seconds had even passed we heard the water heater kick in, the pipes start to gurgle, and hot water came pouring out of the faucet into the font. The three of us looked at each other, smiled, and our Elders Quorum president cried out (in english) "Unbelievable!" With ice still covering the pipes on the outside and the temperature still well below freezing, God gave us hot water so that Anjiki kyoudai could be baptized at 2 o' clock.

After I baptized him, and before we had climbed out of the font, Anjiki kyoudai looked at me with a big smile on his face, gave me a big hug (something Japanese men never do), and said "Thank you. This is just the beginning."

Its been a long time since this branch has seen a baptism. Everyone was so happy and so excited. All of the women were crying and all of the men kept shaking my hand and thanking me for my hard work. But what they dont know is it wasnt me at all. All I did was pray. The Lord did all of the work.

This whole experience is just representative of the last 2 months of my mission. Over the last two months, Ive finally learned how to pray. Ive really felt the power of pleading with my Heavenly Father. I know that no matter what happens, if we pray with real intent and with sincere desire the Lord will hear our prayers. No matter what the circumstances are, when we really need it, the Lord will provide the hot water.

I love you!! I love my mission! Miracles are happening every day. It truly is amazing.

Much Love,
Elder Brendan Kingsford