Claudia Babat's Baptism
Saturday, August 21st, 2021
馃嚨馃嚤
Dzisiaj moja dobra przyjaci贸艂ka, Claudia, zosta艂a ochrzczona i zosta艂a cz艂onkiem Ko艣cio艂a Jezusa Chrystusa 艢wi臋tych w Dniach Ostatnich. Mia艂am szcz臋艣cie pozna膰 ni膮 i naucza膰 j膮 o ewangelii Jezusa Chrystusa z moj膮 przyjaci贸艂k膮, Jacquelyn Jensen, jak by艂am na mojej misji w Poznaniu w Polsce. Jestem niezmiernie dumna z Claudii i z pracy, kt贸r膮 w艂o偶y艂a, i decyzji, kt贸r膮 podj臋艂a, aby w ten spos贸b na艣ladowa膰 Jezusa Chrystusa! Kocham Ci臋!! Gratulacje!! 馃檶❤馃槃
馃嚭馃嚫
Today my good friend, Claudia, was baptized and became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was lucky enough to meet her and teach her about the gospel of Jesus Christ with my friend Jacquelyn Jensen while I was on my mission in Pozna艅, Poland. I am so beyond proud of Claudia and the work she has put in and the decision she has made to follow Jesus Christ in this way! Love you!! Congrats!! 馃檶❤馃槃
Claudia about to be baptized by Starszy Ashworth.
Claudia right after getting baptized.
Siostry Ambridge and Harris giving Claudia a hug.
Claudia saying hello to everyone on Zoom and thanking us for everything.
(L-Siostra Ambridge and R-Siostra Harris)
Siostra Ruby Roisum emailed me the Monday after the baptism because she had heard the news and knew that I had found and taught Claudia originally. She was so excited and asked me for the story of how I found her. Here is what my response was on 8/30/21:
"Hejka!!
TAAAAK!! I was able to watch her baptism and I was SOOOOO EXCITED!! Claudia is seriously AMAZING!! And haha, yeah I did find her. She was seriously one of my mission miracles. And the story of how I found her is actually pretty cool so I'm glad you asked!!
I met her on February 7th, 2020. We were doing a Book of Mormon finding activity on a Deptak in Pozna艅. I'm usually fine with these, but this day I was struggling. I kept getting rejected. I looked around and everyone; the Elders and my companion seemed to be having really good conversations with people. Everyone except me and I was so frustrated. I kept walking around trying to talk to people, but was still unsuccessful. As I did so, my mind turned back to a recent zone conference where we had talked about finding with the Spirit and how we didn't always need to put pressure on ourselves to talk to every single person, but instead to look for who we felt we needed to talk to specifically or who looked like they needed to hear from us or something.
So with that reminder, I started looking closer at the faces of everyone walking on the street. Pretty soon after that, I saw Claudia across the Deptak. She looked about my age and looked kind of upset. I tried to pay attention to how I was feeling and I instantly felt the need to go and talk to her specifically. So, I followed that and made my way across the Deptak to meet her. She was walking kind of quickly and a crowd came out of nowhere right as I was trying to make my way to get to her. I almost missed her, but at the last second she turned and we almost ran into each other in the middle of the Deptak. (almost like a movie moment honestly haha) Then, we had a really good conversation and set up a meeting. It was all simple from there, but actually getting to her and finding her... I was so close to missing her and I probably never would have met her.
It was seriously amazing how it all happened and how we were just in the right place at the right time!! She later told me that she had been having a pretty bad day when we met and that after we talked, she felt something and she felt a lot better afterward. I think the most amazing part is just all the little details that were part of Claudia's story and how there are so many details in each of how stories. And God is within each and every one of them."
(L-R) Siostra Jensen, Claudia, Me, Starszy Long, Michael, Starszy Draschil
Sunday, March 8th, 2020
I always knew that Claudia would get baptized, but I also realized that it needed to be in the right time for her. It was over a year after I left, but she kept going to church, reading the scriptures, praying, learning, and growing, and eventually made the decision to become baptized. This is just further evidence that we don't always see how things will turn out in the future, we just need to act now, do what is right now, and trust that everything will fall into place in the future. This goes for anything!
Claudia was one of the biggest miracles of my mission and I was so blessed to be able to meet her, teach her, and be a part of her journey. I'm so grateful to know her. It's an amazing feeling to be home from the mission and still see the fruits of your labor. Not that the credit goes to me at all! But it definitely helps me see and realize that I did my duty and fulfilled my purpose as a missionary. None of it was a waste. There are people who may need to simply see missionaries to get their start on their journey. It's all about planting those seeds and bringing people closer to Jesus Christ.
"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"
-Doctrine & Covenants 18:15
On my mission, I had a goal to do good and to do my best to bring souls unto Christ. My scripture that I chose for my missionary plaque was Doctrine and Covenants 11:8-9. It says:
"8 Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation.
9 Say nothing but repentance unto this generation. Keep my commandments, and assist to bring forth my work, according to my commandments, and you shall be blessed."
I feel like I was blessed to be the cause of much good on my mission. I can only hope that I was able to touch lives through the Spirit and bring people closer to Christ. I truly desired to share the joy that comes through Christ with others and I pray they felt that. I am so grateful for my mission, the lessons I learned, the memories made, the people I met, and for the chance I had to serve God. I don't think words can ever fully describe my feelings about it all, but I've done my best! My mission in Poland has changed me and will continue to shape me for the better. Kocham Ci臋 Polsko! Do zobaczenia ❤馃嚨馃嚤
