Hey y'all!
[Summary at the very bottom cuz I know not everyone has the time or attention span to read this.]
On Saturday we baptized our friend Anastasia. Anastasia has been meeting with missionaries for well over a decade. More than ten years. Here's the story:
Once upon a time in December Sister Job & Sister Owens were checking their text messages (something that, frankly, we aren't very good at) and much to our surprise a random number had texted us saying Merry Christmas, how are you guys? So naturally we looked up the number in our cute, little, (we would not function without it) app with our area book and all of the relevant information for missionary work. We found Anastasia was the one who texted us and we failed to scroll all the way down to the bottom.of her information. We texted her and planned a time to meet her and her husband and see what would come of it.
So we went over to their house and met them and chatted and it was great and we thought cool. We found out that Chris (Anastasia’s husband) had been baptized a few years ago but at this time wasn't particularly interested in church. We found out Anastasia had previously been on baptismal date but chickened out the last minute or something (still unclear).
After our first lesson/discussion/meeting I decided to do some #research and take a quick scroll down Anastasia's time line on the PMG app (previously mentioned would not be able to do anything without it app). As I scrolled I realized it kept going and going and going. And then her time line went to 2014. Shortly after that we found out that they had missionaries be the witnesses for their wedding, which was in 2009. Its been a hot minute of them hanging out with missionaries.
Sister Job and I really weren't sure what to do next.
I was really concerned that there was nothing we could try that previous missionaries hadn't already tried. I didn't really know what to do. Anastasia had been taught every point and every lesson at least once before. And she had been invited to do everything we knew to invite people to do.
After careful council and consideration we decided to extend the invitation to have her read/listen to the Book of Mormon in its entirety, from cover to cover, in one month.
She did it in two. And was baptized the day she finished the Book of Mormon.
The Book of Mormon paired with the Spirit is the most powerful tool in conversion. I remember that because I got it wrong on a training type test. (It was a trick question, and I'm still mad.)
It wasn't really me or Sister Job that got Anastasia to be baptized and make covenants with Heavenly Father. It was the Book of Mormon and her learning to recognize the influence of the Spirit as she read.
If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, read it. Especially if you have been Baptized. The Book of Mormon will invite the Spirit into your life and help you learn to recognize how you can receive revelation for your own life.
At Anastasia's Baptism Sister Chae spoke. There, we learned that when Sister Chae was pregnant with her oldest daughter (who is now 5) Sister Chae went to a lesson at Anastasia's house. Sister Chae told Anastasia she knew her journey to reach this point was long and not easy and it wouldn't necessarily begin to be easier but it would continue to be worth it and she would continue to be more like Christ.
It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as you are continuously moving in the right direction. Keep going towards Christ. Continue forward on the covenant path even if all that looks like is opening up your Book of Mormon. Maybe it's not even reading it yet but just taking the time to open the book.
One of my MTC teachers told us that on her mission whenever her or one of her companions had a bad dream they would open the Book of Mormon. Not read anything, just open it.
Sometimes just doing that is enough. You don't have to get through it all in two months. You probably already know your next step on the covenant path. It might simply be scheduling your next temple appointment. And if you want it to happen in one month and then it takes two that is still something to celebrate.
Even if takes over a decade for you to make your next covenant or read the whole Book of Mormon or forgive that one person, keep moving forward.
Still holding to the rod,
Sister Owens
P.S. Happy Valentines Day! Love you all!
Summary: Our friend Anastasia got baptized. Pretty cool. She's been meeting with missionaries for 10+ years. Sometimes doing the right thing can take some time but it's still worth doing! 
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