Hermana Courtney Baggett-Missouri, Independence Mission: Week 8-Independence Day in Independence

Hello all!

It's been another week and the work continues to progress! We've knocked a lot of doors, some people are nicer in some areas than others...haha but it feels good to be nice and sweaty and tired by the end of the day. We are still on the hunt for investigators, but we are getting the members more involved now that they know us better and I know they will be the piece that we need to find people who are interested in being taught. I did have the opportunity to attend a baptism for my companions previous investigator, Lorena, and that was a wonderful experience. The spirit was incredible and I was so happy to be able to enjoy that moment with her.

The Visitors Center was hopping as always! In the month of June we had almost 8000 people come to the Visitors Center, incredible right?? All incredible people, it's such a blessing to serve here and be able to bear my testimony constantly! It's also funny to see people I know from home stopping by the visitors center on church history tours. Crazy to see how many people from Utah come to Missouri! All the Mormons love the church history hahaha and we love seeing them!

I also got to spend Independence day in Independence, pretty cool eh?? It was mostly a normal day for us, but we were asked to usher for a show that the church put on at the auditorium next to the visitors center. We welcomed people and tried not to sing along with the music they were playing haha. It was the hardest when they played "You don't know you're beautiful" by One Direction and all I could think about is my home boy Hayden! Shout out to him for knowing all the words and making every girl happy by singing it to them:) We went back to the VC after where we taught until it was time to get home. We watched the firework show from our window while we ate late night nachos:) My companion from Mexico loved all of it and decided she now belongs to the "Estados Unidos Mexicanos" or the United States of Mexico haha she's great.

This week my testimony has really grown on how great it is that God is an unchangeable being and that the doctrine of this church is, like God, unchangeable. In this area there are a lot of churches, and I mean a lot!! It's kind of like in Utah, where you can turn down any street and find a LDS chapel, except they're all different churches, which I think is so cool! I've been learning a lot about some of these other churches recently, especially the ones around us that are branches of our church and the main thing that I have seen is that a lot of the churches will just change their doctrine based on what's going on in the world. But our doctrine does not change, no matter what happens in the world. There are some application of doctrine that may be different based on the time, however the actual doctrine, (the simple truths that effect our eternal salvation) what we believe and the standards we have, do not change. I'm grateful for such a stable and strong foundation in Christ and his doctrine that will not change based on the situation of the world. Helaman 5:12: "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

I'm so grateful for this church and I know that this is God's work. Because if it wasn't, I wouldn't be able to understand or speak as much Spanish as I can in 2 months, I wouldn't be able to remember all the history, I wouldn't be able to have as much courage to talk to random people, I wouldn't be able to make each presentation personal for a family that I met 10 minutes ago, it just wouldn't be possible. I know that the commandments are given to us as a protection, not as a restriction, and when we choose to follow them he will bless us. Thanks again for all the support I have from home, you are all great and I feel you love always.

Take care, and God speed.

Love, Hermana Baggett