Aced the final Exam! Praise God!

So last night was the BIG INTERVIEW with the Elders to make sure that my Wife and I had learned all of the lessons that we needed to understand to be ready for Baptism on Saturday. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I was as nervous as you could possibly get and not flatline your heart. I have never done well with tests of any kind and this was definitely one of the most important that I have ever taken.

Well like so many other things in life that seem so frightening before you face them, the actual event was not only very easy, but very enjoyable as well. I spoke with the Elder interviewing me for about an hour and a half while he went through his questions about all the things I should have been taught by our own set of Elders. Even though the tone was both serious and reverent, I felt completely relaxed and even managed to joke a little as we went along. (As a side note here I was not expecting an Elder to have extensive knowledge of the Classic Comedy Movie, Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, but he was actually able to match me quote for quote.)

Not too long ago, one of our Elders completely blew my mind and made me feel incredibly humbled when he testified that he believed that WE were the reason that God had sent him to Virginia. Can you imagine the feeling when someone tells you with complete sincerity that God sent him to us? My mind is still reeling from that admission.

Last night, my Interviewer listened to all of the stories of the things that I believe God has done for us ever since we started this trek. As usual, I felt a little silly describing what I thought must sound like mundane events as miracles even though to me the things that have happened were clear proof of His works. After I finished my stories, the Interviewer looked completely stunned and awed. He honestly thanked me for sharing the miracles large and small that have come to us in the past few months. His honest and pure appreciation was a little overwhelming to say the least.

So now, with only a couple of days away from our Baptisms, I am just so incredibly grateful for everyone from the Sisters who first visited us to Elders Sahagin and Brown who are guiding us today. So many people have shaped our journey and supported us along the way. My Wife's best friend, Stephanie and her amazing family who sheltered and loved her when she first moved here to VA are truly the reason that we started this journey. If anyone deserves the credit for helping us find our way home, it is them. Elder Gates who has since gone back home to his own family stepped up to the plate big time with his companion, Elder Sahagin. Brothers Johson and Snyder who made me feel so welcome and appreciated and Brother Gezzell who made me laugh on so many occasions should receive medals for their dedication to a tired old Sinner like me.

(Another aside here, I am pretty sure I just mangled almost everyone's names and I apologize. It is late and I am tired and I have no clue where the sheet of paper is with everyone's spellings.)

I believe that the Devil is doing his best to stop this. A massive 5+ day long Migraine has kept me from doing as much as I could in the Church and even forced me to miss 60% of Church last Sunday. My own fears and uncertainties have been trying to slow us down and other things just seem to have conspired to stop this next step. However, I promise you that we are too close to stop now or be stopped now. Barring keeling over from a heart attack before Saturday. I will be there to finally come Home. Way to many people have worked much too hard for me to even think about giving up. So just keep us in your prayers for the next couple of days to give us a little extra strength. I have a hunch we are going to need it.

Amen