A couple of months ago Elder Abplanalp and his companion left their apartment exactly at 11:30, the designated time to begin proselyting. As they came out their front door, a middle-aged woman was sitting on a bench taking a short break on her way home from grocery shopping. They offered to carry her bags to her apartment, and ultimately began teaching her about the restored gospel. She was interested and set a date to be baptized. But a before her baptism date her father passed away, and she returned to her home country for a month.
When Edilma returned to Spain, she told the missionaries that she was no longer interested in being baptized, but was willing to meet with them and they began teaching her again. As she began to respond to the Spirit, she set a date to be baptized on August 6th, but once again began to doubt. Finally, as they were teaching her one day, she said that she had been baptized into an Evangelist church several years ago and did not feel like she needed to be baptized again. When missionaries hear someone say they see no need to be baptized again, their immediate reaction is to teach the importance of authority, but Elder Abplanalp said he felt like that was not the appropriate response this time. Rather, he had the impression to read with her from Alma 7. As he was gathering his thoughts, his companion, Elder Cuevas, began introducing the same scripture! They asked Edilma to read Alma 7:11-14. She read through verse 14, then continued to read until the end of the chapter. Her countenance softened and began to change as she read, and at the end of the chapter she looked up at the Elders and, with a voice full of emotion, said, "On the 6th, right?"
Edilma was baptized on August 6, 2011 and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on August 7, 2011.
How grateful we are - and how grateful Edilma is - for missionaries who are willing to persist and who follow the promptings of the Spirit!
What a great story!
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