Mijn Geliefde Familie,
Wow what a week it was. Such a stressful, but rewarding week thats for sure. From all the emails I recieved I'm guessing you all want to know about the baptism this week and before I get there I just want to say -
Familie ik ben op mijn zending bijna 6 mandan nu. Elke dag is een echt practige geweest, so veel wonderen dat mij hulp om door de dag te gaan. Ik ben heel erg dankbaar voor mijn beproeving dat ik gehad heb. Ik hou van mijn zending en hou ik van jullie ook. Streker Door Strijd is juist en iedereen moeten tot het einde genieten :)
Soo the baptism... Well everyone Mariama Barrie was baptized! It truly was the most humbling experience of my life.
Just a little background information on her - Barrie was a Muslim and has one of the craziest life stories I have ever heard. For those of you who dont know, going from Muslim to Christian is quite the change and it takes a strong testimony and A WHOLE TON of faith.
The baptism was so amazing, but I must tell you all the full story because it is actually extremely funny. Before the baptism we went to go fill the font up and last time we filled it up it took about 2 hours and it still wasn't full all the way. So this time we thought: "Hey lets just turn the water on and then come back in about 2 hours or so" - super smart right? Yeeeeeaaaaaaaaaa NO. Hahahah well we came back about two hours later (an hour before the baptism) to turn the water off and clean up the ward a little. As we entered into the church building we found ourselves stepping into about 2 inches of water... WE FLOODED THE MAIN FLOOR OF THE CHURCH! hahah the baptism font filled up so fast that it overflowed and we ended up having just one huge swimming pool on the main floor on the church! Of course we were freaking out and we just keep on saying "Well looks like were gonna be getting transfered out of Den Haag now" haha. Luckly no damage was done and Elder Alade, Thomas, and I were able to make it look somewhat clean and decent before everyone got there. hahaha I just couldn't stop laughing the whole time cleaning up and thinking about how stupid we were! AHHHHH!
But as for the baptismal service itself; it was absolutely amazing. I had the opportunity to be in the water with Barrie and baptize her - truly a humbling experience. The spirit was so strong and tears of joy were definitely shed. It honestly was beautiful and something i'll never forget. Yesterday Barrie recieved the Holy Ghost and once again the spirit was so strong that it brought many people, including myself, to tears. What a joy it is to not only see the life of someone change for the better, but to also be a part of it. I am truly grateful for the friendship and love Barrie and I have for one another. I am also so grateful for Barrie and the example she has set for so many people, including me. She really is an angel and I can't wait to keep on being apart of her journey as she now sets her goal to one day go to the Temple.
Familie as you can see it's been another spritual week here for me in Nederland. It's these sort of experiences that keep me going out here, it's finding the next Hernandes, the next Barrie, or simple just bringing the gospel into someone else's life. Truly a humbling and grateful experience. I am grateful for my blessings and know that one of the greatest blessings I have ever recieved is you guys. I am eternally grateful for each and everyone of you. I love you all so much. You guys are my inspiration and light at the end of the tunnel.
Enjoy to the End
-Elder Coook(ie)
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