ZoCo & Roselie and Octavia's Baptism!

THERE'S SO MUCH THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK IT'S RIDICULOUS.

Looks like my last couple weeks have been keeping me crazy busy. On Wednesday I had my very last Zone Conference. It's still kind of weird to think about, and I definitely haven't been able to wrap my head around it. But it was an amazing Zone Conference! We had to travel up to Nazareth, which was farther than we thought. We were going to meet up with some other sisters early to practice a musical number. Sister Suckow and I left plenty early (or so we thought), but the traffic was so terrible. It took us over an hour and a half to drive and we showed up at 8:30 and rushed to practice it a few times before Zone Conference started.

But Zone Conference was amazing. Elder and Sister Dunn (aka Doctor Dunn and Sister Dunn) came and spoke to us. They are the doctors over 14 missions. Let me repeat: 14 MISSIONS. That's a lot of missionaries and their health to deal with. But they spoke about the body and the spirit, and how our physical health and spiritual health always go hand-in-hand. It was really amazing hearing two medical professional talk about how if your spiritual health is bad, then it directly effects your body. I loved it! There was a lot of other things we learned, but I can't remember everything off the top of my head.

The thing with Zone Conference is this-- they always have missionaries who are leaving soon give their departing testimony. The whole Zone Conference I knew it was coming, and I kept getting waves of realization that I was going home. I would get emotional all of a sudden and then it would go away (and no, it wasn't the usual emotions that women deal with...). But they called me up to bear my testimony, and I was the only one in that group of missionaries leaving. I didn't cry, no, but I was very emotional. There were so many missionaries in the room who I served around that I absolutely love, and it was hard to imagine saying goodbye to them. But I'm grateful I was able to see them again and to have the opportunity to bear my testimony about the gospel. My mission truly has changed my life, and it will continue to change my life. Never have I felt so happy and never have I had more purpose in life. The Lord is hastening His work and it will "go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." (The Standard of Truth, Joseph Smith Jr.) And I've been able to be a part of that great work. I'm so excited for the day when the Lord will look at His Kingdom and say, "The work is done." And I want to say that I had a part in that.

Another great thing that happened was that ROSELIE AND OCTAVIA WERE BAPTIZED!!! We had a hectic 24 hours before the baptism. I got in the shower on Friday night and when I got out, Sister Suckow informed me that a lot was going wrong at that moment. Roselie went up to New York for a doctor's appointment and hadn't gotten home yet. She was supposed to be home at 4:30 to pick up her daughter, but it was nearly 10:00 and she wasn't home, nor was she answering her phone. Octavia was panicking and we were worried, too. Sister Suckow said a prayer and called Roselie again, and she answered! We have no idea what was going on, but she was still on a bus from New York. We arranged for a member to pick her up instead of a taxi. Then on Saturday morning Roselie said that her back was hurting and she didn't want to go anywhere. Both Sister Suckow and I looked at each other and were like, "We want to punch Satan in the face!" We talked to Roselie for a bit and she came to the conclusion that she really did need to be baptized that day. After that, things went smoothly.

The baptism was amazing. So many people came to support, and the Spirit was really strong there. The best moment was when Rhett, who just barely turned sixteen and was ordained a priest (giving him the power to baptize), went into the font to baptize Octavia. As he was saying the baptismal prayer, he was so overwhelmed by the Spirit that he started crying. And after he baptized her, she came up and gave him a huge hug. It was so touching! And Roselie came up out of the water and we gave her a huge hug. She said to us, "Thank you for the push-- I needed it." It was a great day. So awesome!  And the best part? It was Octavia's birthday!

Both Roselie and Octavia were confirmed on Mother's Day, and it was beautiful. The ward loves them and are so excited for the newest members of the Reading 1st ward.



And as for Mother's Day, it was great. But I want to share a story that I shared on my mission Facebook yesterday:

I was living in Logan, Utah going to school at USU. I had a particularly terrible day at school and I came home, crying. So what did I do? I called my mom. She patiently listened to me pretty much cry into the phone for 20 minutes. Then she asked a question that changed everything. "Sarah, if you didn't have to worry about all of these things, what would you most want to do with your life?"

And it hit me-- immediately. Before I consciously knew I was speaking, I heard the words come out of my mouth: "I want to go on a mission."

That moment changed my life. It was mom who was inspired to ask me that question and because of that I've had the most remarkable 18 months of my life. Thank you, mom, for your righteous love and example.


This story is so true. Without my mom, I wouldn't be where I am (literally and spiritually) today. I know she's not perfect. She may be a little crazy and off the wall at times, but I love her and I would never have wanted any other mom. I love you, mom.

Love,
Sister Singleton