Aurelio and Brother Danny get baptized

Aurelio is 18 years old. His girlfriend is a member of the Church and so he started coming to church with her. At first she told us that he didn't want to listen to our lessons. But by the second time he came to church, he had changed his mind. He has a very quiet voice so it was hard to communicate at first because we were struggling just to hear what he was saying. But as we continued to teach him, his confidence increased and his voice grew stronger. The youth in our ward embraced him and his little brother (who will be baptized later this month) with full friendship. They both participated in the Excellence Night and were a part of the interpretive dance that our ward presented. Aurelio is just so humble and so willing to change. He bore his testimony after his baptism and the Spirit was so strong. That, mixed with his quiet voice and shy personality made it somewhat difficult for him to express himself. All he could say was how happy he was to be baptized and to be clean. He recognized how much his life has changed...and this is only the beginning. 

Brother Danny is a miracle. His wife passed away in April. He had a serious problem with the Word of Wisdom and his son, who is 14 years old and a recent convert, had started to become less active. When we first met Brother Danny and his wife Floresa, we talked with them about becoming a forever family. Brother Danny told us that he was supposed to be baptized when his wife was baptized about a year ago, but because of his work schedule was not able to attend church. When Sister Acosta and I came into the picture Sister Floresa was not doing well. But she was able to attend church the week before she passed away. Her influence played a great part in Brother Danny's conversion. He knew already that he needed to be baptized. It was just a matter of preparing himself to make that sacred ordinance. He quit drinking. He started coming home early from work so that he could attend church. He has changed his life because he knows that baptism is the first step for him and Sister Floresa to be sealed for time and all eternity. He is a different man than he was when we first met him. He is happier and he understands more completely Heavenly Father's plan for him.