Sister Henson-Trever's Baptism!

Hello family,

I had one of the greatest experiences of my mission this last week. Trever Graber entered the waters of baptism on Saturday night and it was absolutely incredible. He looked like a little kid at Christmas. I may have told you before, but Trever says that he has been looking forward to his baptism like most girls look forward to their wedding day. Although that placed some stress on me to try and make everything perfect (I would make a terrible wedding planner) I was happy that he was so excited about it. It turned out to be a picture perfect baptism after all. We arrived a little early to warm up the water as there had been several baptisms much earlier that day. I’ve decided that the sound of a font filling is the most relaxing sound; I’m going to find a way to record it and let it soothe me to sleep every night ;) As we sat there waiting for the ward to arrive and the water to warm I finished gathering my thoughts for the talk I had been assigned. Trever asked me to speak on the Holy Ghost; he says that it’s my favorite subject. I do love talking about the Comforter and His many roles in our lives. As I studied the scriptures on the subject, I felt the Spirit relax my heart and mind and reassure me that everything would run smoothly. Trever arrived and you could tell that he was so excited but was trying to play it cool. Adam Peterson was going to baptize him so they went into the back to try on the jumpsuits. OK, at this rate, this email will be nearly 10 pages long. I’ll skip to my favorite part. Sister Moore gave a talk and I began to feel the Spirit so powerfully. We surprised Trever by preparing a musical number, a few of us sang Nearer My God to Thee and I almost didn’t make it through the song. I could barely watch Trever walk into the water through my now brimming eyes. As soon as Adam raised his right hand and said the words “having been commissioned of Jesus Christ” I felt the strongest witness that Adam was doing exactly what Christ would want to be doing, had He been there. I’m not sure that I can paint the picture accurately, but in my minds eye, I could see the Savior baptizing Trever into His Kingdom. I could FEEL the Priesthood authority. My words fail me, as they often do. It’s so hard to describe experiences like these… I then thought of when the Savior was baptized and the introduction our Heavenly Father gave him, “This is my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” I heard in my mind the same thing with one slight alteration, “This is my beloved son, Trever, in whom I am well pleased.” I know that Trever was doing the right thing. He has chosen to be on the path that the Lord has laid before him, to make his way back into His presence.
One of my favorite things about being a missionary are the times when Heavenly Father gives us a taste of the love that He has for His children that we are teaching. We get a little glimpse of their potential and their divine heritage. I felt that, and it was completely consuming and overwhelming, and it was just a small portion. I cannot comprehend the love that God has for us. As you can imagine, I struggled through the talk I gave after that. I probably cried through the entire thing. Thankfully it wasn’t a sobbing cry, it was just the waterworks. It was a beautiful service. We had a great turn out from the ward, both the Winter Quarters and Cold Springs singles ward. We have combined activities often so many of them know Trever and Justin.
Justin was struggling with smoking last week so he has rescheduled his baptism for May 10th. He is doing great now. I think the baptism on Saturday really motivated him. Freido is also doing well and we have a few other investigators progressing, Kim Belken and Ryan Marquart. We are striving for the Mission of Excellence again this week so please remember us in your prayers again. It’s going to take some skillful planning and many miracles to reach it this week. We just baptized all of our solid investigators! President Bartlett, the Stake President, told us that the Winter Quarters ward set a record for the Stake with three baptisms in a row, one every week. That’s my pattern now I guess; we did the same thing in Gretna. Big batches at one time and a few mixed in here and there. I wish I could learn to be more steady. I’ll probably figure it all out right before they kick me out of here.
Well, I’ll end this letter before it turns into a novel. Thanks for your prayers and support. I love you.

Love, Sister Henson