Baptisms!

Talofa! This week has been stressful and hard but rewarding. Our twelve got baptized! It was such a beautiful service!

In the morning, it was raining really hard and both me and my companion were a bit worried. So we kneeled down and said a prayer and then we got our umbrellas and we went to the chapel for the service. The weather cleared up in time for the baptism and for the tide. Not many members came, maybe 30 or so. The important ones came though. All thirteen of the people getting baptized (One was an eight year old), came to the baptism and were ready to go in white. One of the speakers didn't show up, so last minute I got my scriptures and gave a talk on baptism. Good thing I'm a missionary and can do that without getting too worried. I hope that I can do that for my whole life because it's not good to have to talk and not know what to say. The spirit helped a lot!

We then had the baptism in the lagoon of Tuvalu. Nothing could be more beautiful than the water near the chapel on the lagoon. It was truly beautiful to see 13 new members of the church come out of the water with the confidence that they can receive a remission of their sins because of their Savior Jesus Christ. We then had the testimonies and I haven't felt the spirit that strong for a long time. I was privileged to baptize one of the boys that got baptized named Mauesi. It was really cool, he's a good kid!

Then on Sunday we had the confirmation. It took the entire sacrament meeting, but it was so worth it. President Niko, My companion and I all took turns confirming the new members and giving them the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was really cool to feel the Lord speak through me as I conferred that holy gift upon four of them and as I blessed them with a bright future in Christ.

I still felt sick this week and so we didn't have as many lessons as we would have liked. Also a lot was happening in Tuvalu this week: a funeral, a marriage, and lots of people were sick. That's just how it goes sometimes though!

I feel really good today and I think that it will help me to be more effective to be feeling well again. We're headed back to Fiji this week on Thursday so that will be good. I'll be healthy just in time to go back!

Good week! Thanks for your notes and prayers!

Much love,
Elder Paul Leland Hill