Week 20: First comes marriage, then comes...Baptism!

We had a great week this week. The initial sadness of Elder Ikeda leaving us was replaced by the "charisma" of Elder Cheng, haha. He is my and Elder Womack's new companion. He is from Hong Kong, and has been out on his mission more time than Elder Womack and I combined, haha. It's awesome, because he speaks fluent Mandarin and is a very good, talented teacher. He also makes us laugh all the time, including when he constantly yells, "Elder Holt, be confident!" He is really great at giving feedback on how I can improve, and I am excited to continue serving with him.

The new trio

It was Elder Cheng's birthday this past week. We celebrated with a homemade spaghetti cake and spicy Sichuan food with the zone leaders.

Well, it was a big week for Monrisa! On Wednesday, she and Allen got married! It was a small, short, yet beautiful ceremony. Only a few people were there, including us. And then she got baptized on Sunday! It was amazing and so touching to hear her bear her testimony at the baptism. She come so far in the gospel, and she has seen the abundant blessings it has brought to her life. Her husband (non-member) has come to church and was at the baptism, so we are hoping and praying that Monrisa's good influence will help him be willing to meet with missionaries in the future.

Pictures after Monrisa's baptism!

Pictures after the wedding!

Well, Elder Womack is doing awesome at his first week as a district leader. I was really impressed at how well he conducted his first district meeting. Also this week, I received the assignment to be the Building Manager, which basically means I am in charge of our ESL class and give training every week to the missionaries on how to improve ESL. I was surprised I was assigned to do this, since I haven't even finished training yet, but luckily Elder Cheng has been a building manager before and was able to coach me through on how to do everything. I'm excited though, we've already been having more new students at ESL since the weather is warming up!

Well, other than that, we had quite a few lessons this week, and we hope to see many more investigators progress in the gospel in the coming weeks!

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, there is an awesome Easter video called "Because He Lives." We showed it at Monrisa's baptism and it really brought and maintained the Spirit. I am so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" (D&C 76:22)

http://www.mormon.org/easter

Elder Holt

Hóng Zhǎnglǎo
洪長老