Spiritual Sweat

People keep on telling me here that it is going to get hotter than it is right now. August is supposedly the hottest. I'm not sure I'll survive the summer here so be sure to pray for me. I drink about 5 liters of water every day and sweat out all of it. Be grateful for a dry climate all you Utahns. This past week we saw SO MANY MIRACLES. Yikes I can't even count them. I'll start off with Mr. Takeshima. We've only been meeting with for like 2 weeks now, but about a week a half ago, he came to the baptismal service of one of the 8-year old American kids from the military branch. He then came to church the next day, and we were also able to teach him a lesson at which we talked about baptism and why we recieve it and what it means and things like that. He seemed really freaked out by the fact there were so many people at the baptism watching, especially with the little kids that all got up close to the front and peered over the glass to watch. So at that point, his biggest concern about baptism was all the people that would be watching. We met him again this past week and had a lesson to talk more about the matter. When we explained to him that the crowd doesn't have to be there, it could be just a few people, he still wasn't completely for it. He said he only wants the person baptizing, and us two missionaries to be there. When we explained to him there needed to be two more people as witnesses, he said "Ok, if it's only me, those two people, and you two missionaries, then I'll do it." After which we were excited and said "Ok, we were thinking the end of August. How about the 23rd or the 30th?" To which his response was "Oh I don't care at all when it is. It could be tomorrow. I just don't want anyone there watching me." To which we responded "August 23rd it is!" WHOOT! Takeshima san is getting baptized! We're pretty excited. He's already been to church twice and started making new friends with the members. Miracles. All over the place. It was also a pretty unique experience this last weekend to spend 4th of July around so many members of the military. I'll just say it sure held a special meaning celebrating our country's independence with the very people that are out here defending it. Or with the spouses and kids of the deployed soldiers that are out there this very moment protecting our rights. It sure made me have a greater appreciation for all of these strong men and women who choose to do so. Religious freedom especially is such a blessing that we have as Americans and something I have often taken for granted. I hope everyone had a happy 4th of July weekend, and took a moment to ponder about the blessings of living in America. God Bless America! Thank you for the prayers and support. We feel it every day. See you all in about 5 months! (AGH!) Sister Wells