We were very sad that we had to miss the baptism of our grandaughter, Chloe, which took place in the United States one week ago last Saturday. Missing Chloe's baptism was a sacrifice the Lord expected of us, in order for us to serve this Mission in Argentina.
However, last Saturday, the Lord gave us a great blessing! We drove out to the "Campo" (country) to a little town called "Saladillo" (pronounced "Saladeesho), and witnessed the baptisms of four sweet little girls, the brother of one of the girls and the grandmother and mother of three of the girls.
The girls are pictured in the top photos in their white dresses and matching headbands, and all the girls are pictured with the grandmother, the brother, and the missionaries in the third photo.
Then, comes the photo of all the rest of us with the group that was baptized.
President Benton opened up the area of Saladillo for missionary work a couple of months ago, and sent a couple of our missionaries out there to begin the work. The missionaries rented a small house to hold meetings in, and set about gathering souls in the area who were ready to form a branch of the Church there.
There had been a functioning branch of the Church in Saladillo a long time ago, but it had to be dismantled due to a number of circumstances about ten years ago.
The little girl on the far left in he top photo is the daughter of a family who had been members of the Saladillo branch before it was dismantled. The branch of the Church was dismantled in Saladillo before the little girl was born. This little girl is pictured in the last two photos with her brother, who was also baptized last Saturday, and who was also not born when the branch of the Church was dismantled in Saladillo. This family lives about ten miles outside of Saladillo on a 2000 acre ranch, and they have been waiting all of these years for another branch of the Church to be established in Saladillo, so they could begin attending church again. The boy and girl are pictured with their joyful family, on their baptism day! (bottom photo).
The older woman dressed in white on the right in the third photo down was also baptized in Saladillo last Saturday, and is the mother of one of the little girls, and the grandmother of two of the little girls. They all decided to join the Church together.
It was a joyful surprise for me to walk into the little house that Saturday to attend the Saladillo baptisms and find that, even though I had missed my grandaughter Chloe's baptism, I was being given the priviledge of helping the four sweet little girls put on their white dresses and adjust the matching white headbands they had chosen for the occasion. The little girls were all so sweet, and I marvelled at the wonderful ways the Lord works to bless us all!
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