Michael's Baptism

I’ve got some GOOD NEWS....Michael was baptized and confirmed a member of the church yesterday!!!! This past week was probably the most memorable week of my mission thus far. So much happened last week. Michael had an amazing conversion process. I have never seen someone so prepared and ready for that covenant. Michael has developed one of the strongest testimonies I have witnessed from an investigator. This guy is seriously the most mature and sincere 17 year old ever. His whole family came to the baptism service yesterday (mom, dad, sister, and grandparents all attended). He has set an amazing example to his mom and dad. His parents were actually our original investigators. They came to church 6 times before Michael ever went once. His mom set several baptismal goals but never hit them. However his parents always wanted Michael to get involved with our church so we started to focus more on him. We started officially teaching him in February, right after the Chinese New Year. I really got to know him well that night at the Chinese New Year party at the church. After that night he became much more interested in the church. We have met with him so much since February and he has wanted to get baptized but wanted to wait for his parents to join with him. Unfortunately, his parents lost interest in the church and didn’t have such a strong desire to investigate it more fully. But that never stopped Michael from coming to church and meeting with us. We started teaching his parents less and him much more. He decided to set his baptismal goal of 5/21. We met with him these last couple weeks and faced many concerns we had to overcome. He was receiving much anti-mormon stuff from friends from school and other places. However his testimony and personal experiences led him to not believe the rumors he was hearing. Even yesterday at church he asked me, "Elder Bray why do so many people say this church is a cult and blasphemous?" I looked at him and asked, "why do you think so?" he stood there and thought for a few seconds and said, "Well because this church is the true church and of course there would be much opposition because Satan is doing all he can to lead people to disbelieve." We then stared at a picture of Christ which was right in front of us and talked about how even Christ himself was rejected when he was on the earth, so of course His church which is on the earth again right now would face the same type of opposition. It was neat to see him realize this all for himself and to witness the strong unshakable testimony he has developed. The baptism went perfect yesterday. There were amazing talks, prayers, musical numbers, confirmation, and testimonies. It was so great to see all of Michael's family there supporting him and his decision to join the church. It was even cooler to see 5 of Michael's high school friends sitting front row to see their friend be baptized. Michael received much support from his family and friends yesterday and even more from the members. We had at least 80 people at the baptism last night. The relief society provided some great refreshments and all of the members did such a good job at fellowshipping, not only Michael but his parents, grandparents, and friends. The spirit was so strong. It was such an honor being able to perform the baptism for Michael. He really wanted me to go down in the water with him. I felt such accomplishment last night. Michael is someone I met from the very beginning of my mission. He was someone who I always thought would be baptized. Someone I never gave up on, someone I was able to teach every lesson and gospel principle to, someone I helped overcome old habits, someone I could see a HUGE change come as a result of repentance....I really think he will be the most memorable convert I will have. His conversion process was an amazing thing to take part in. I’m so happy I could be there for it since day 1. He always told me he felt comfortable telling me anything and meeting up with me. He was always worried that I would be transferred. Thankfully, the Lord allowed me to stay in the Yale branch and be there for him. Brother Ying confirmed him right after we changed from our wet clothes and he gave him a wonderful blessing. I could feel the spirit so strong when my hands were on his head and Brother Ying told Michael that this is the first step of a long road of happiness. He told Michael his decision to be baptized is the door opening to serving a mission, going to the temple, and returning to our Father in Heaven. I really can see Michael being a missionary and a future leader of the church. After the confirmation, Michael stood up for a few minutes to share his testimony. He bore a powerful testimony and personally thanked me for all I have done for him. It was very humbling to hear him say some of the things he said about me. He then thanked all of the members for being there and his friends and family as well. One powerful thing he said in front of everyone was how he hopes his decision to be baptized will influence his family and helped them accept the gospel. I know his parents were touched by his baptismal service and even more so by his testimony at the end. I have faith his decision to join the church will influence his family and lead them to investigating the church more fully once again. I know that interest will come back after them seeing their own son take a huge leap of faith by joining the church first. Once Michael's parents are baptized, my mission would be as complete as it could be. That would be the most accomplishing thing that could happen. I already have felt that great feeling from Michael's conversion, and it would be even sweeter if his parents did the same. So to sum up this past week, I would say it was simply amazing. I have never been so excited for a baptism before. Michael seriously is the closest investigator to me. He was more than just an investigator he literally became my good friend. I was so happy to see him make that great decision yesterday.