Elder Bennett's Culiacan Mexico Mission Blog: Baptizing Narciso

Narciso and I

Hola!

This was a pretty crazy week! First, the highlight of the week was my first ever baptism! Narciso's baptism got moved up two weeks. We talked to Presidente Velez and had Narciso talk to him also and the zone leaders came down and had an interview with him and said that he was ready to be baptized. My companion and I worked really hard to get ready for the baptism. The font in the church hadn't been cleaned in over a year because the last baptism here in Teacapan was last September! We took out all the water with buckets and cleaned the font and filled it back up which was a lot of work.

An inch of dirt

Cleaning the font

We also made programs for everyone and invited all the members to the baptism.

First baptism for Jameson

Program

When Elder Moncayo told me that I was doing the baptism I was shocked and scared because I had never done a baptism before and now I was going to baptize this 74 year old man in a tiny font for the first time. Also I would have to say the words for the ordination in Spanish, memorized. Plus, there was about 30 people at the baptism so I was really hoping I didn't mess up. Everything went fine though. I said all the words correctly and lowered him into the water and quickly back up and everything was good. I didn't have to do it again which was a relief. This was a very special moment for me especially since this was my first baptism. This is an experience I will never forget. Both him and I were kinda scared together but the Lord blessed me and everything worked out. We were so excited for him. He was confirmed with the gift of the Holy Ghost the next day by our Branch Pres. This is why I am out here. To bring people unto Christ and change their lives through the ordinance of baptism. My companion gave a talk on baptism on Sunday and I liked the part when he said that baptism is the key to kingdom of God. Baptizing Narciso motivates me to work hard, study more diligently, and be more obedient so I can share the message of Jesus Christ with everyone I meet.

Yay!

Those who came to the baptism

We ended the week good with the baptism and we found a new investigator, Estevan. He is 72. We hope everything goes well with him. We are still struggling to find people tho. We have been asking the members for referrals of people that we can visit or teach with. This week, our Zone Leaders gave the whole zone some goals for the week which are going to be difficult for us to accomplish. We are trying really hard to be exactly obedient so we can find people so we can meet our goals. We also try to share a message with the members that feed us. Just a short simple scripture and testimony. This week the food was really good! One of the members that we visit a lot is a fisherman in the sea here and he caught a stingray and a turtle. He said that we are going to be eating it next time we go there for lunch. I also tried tamales for the first time which I enjoy. Today we had octopus for lunch which was different but I liked it.

Stingray- next week's lunch?

My Spanish is continually getting better. I learned a lot each day by listening and asking questions. This week we had splits with Elders from Escuinapa for a day which was fun. Elder Villeda came to Teacapan and my comp went to Escuinapa which meant that I was the Senior Companion for a day which was scary but fun. I was responsible for deciding who we were going to visit and go to for the day. It was a successful day. We gave 4 lessons, 3 to members and 1 first lesson. Luckily I know the area well enough.

Another amazing sunset on the way back from Esquinapa

More Sunset

The weather has not gotten any cooler lately. I got a haircut today which was nice because we still sweat a lot. There are

sooooo many mosquitoes here. It doesn't feel like it is getting closer to Christmas. The time has been going by so fast. I am thankful to be here though. I have gotten closer with the members and people here. I really enjoy Mexico and serving the Lord. Thanks for the prayers and support. Les amo!

Elder Bennett

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