How Great Will Be Your Joy

 

Angelina DaVinci

Baptism

Saturday February 23rd

performed by Glenn Gavin

Glenn, Chrissy, Angelina

Savannah, Judah, Sebastian, Leon

 

 Elder Pierre Louis, Angelina DaVinci, Elder Pyron

 

   Chrissy, Angelina, Marci

Angelina is a rare soul! She just walked into an LDS church one day and attended sacrament in California. Her in-laws had heard some crazy things about the church and told her not to go back. She listened to them for a time but she always thought in her heart that she had loved being there and that it was a good place. She moved here to Vegas and found out that she lived right next to another LDS church. She walked in and met some missionaries. They got her information and gave the referral to our ward where she lived. The assignment was given to Glenn(who is the assistant ward mission leader) He and Brother Torrey (a ward missionary) went to check it out. They met with her and asked her if the missionaries had taught her anything yet. She said that they hadn't but that she wanted to be baptized. You can imagine Glenn's excitement! Glenn then set her with a date for baptism and explained that their job along with the missionaries' is to prepare people to be baptized. They set the baptism for 3 weeks from that day. We met with her with the missionaries several times a week for lessons and for dinners and to hang out. We became close friends in a very short time. 

Angelina was so very prepared even before she met the missionaries. The day they met her Glenn mentioned that he wanted her to meet me. They set the time for the following day for me to meet. She said she would make some coffee. Glenn chuckled and explained that we actually didn't drink coffee. She asked if that was something personal or if as a church we didn't, he explained that as a church we did not drink coffee. She said that the week before she was pouring herself some coffee and started praying and asking God if it was a bad thing to drink coffee. When I met her that Monday she had thrown out all of her coffee. 

We got her a persian Book of Mormon. She had read all the way into Jacob by the 3rd week. We got her a Book of Mormon Reader for the kids and they started reading it together every night. 

At first when she was praying about what she was taught and as she read the Book of Mormon she thought it was her Dad, who had passed away and was a very righteous influence in her life, who was guiding her to this church. And maybe it was him a little. But as she read about the Holy Ghost in the Book of Mormon. She recognized that it was the Spirit that was telling her that the things she was reading and experiencing were from God. Her baptism was incredible. Her testimony was so full of humility and conviction. I wish I could just go on forever explaining her conversion but that will go in my actual journal. But I wanted to share her story and let anyone who will read it know that miracles are still happening, that God is leading his children, and that the Holy Ghost does teach us all things. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing experience! And we are blessed to have Angelina in our lives!

 And of course, Judah doesn't miss an opportunity to cause trouble.