E-mail July 25, 2016: "Success"

We've been working very hard with several of our investigators these past few months who have agreed to be baptized. Some of these investigators that are so close and so ready right now are Flamy, Radhika, and Mary. Each has a unique story about how they came to know about the church, and each has shown tremendous faith as they've overcome obstacles in order to come closer to Christ. After 5 months of hard work here in Hyderabad I was hoping that I'd get to see one or all of these great individuals baptized, but it looks like God has something else in mind.

Although we did our very best to have these women ready in July one by one something came up that unavoidably pushed their dates back to August, each only a few days after I leave. Although I'm sad that I won't be there for their baptisms the joy I have for how far these people have come overcomes the disappointment. I've learned that success isn't about how many people you can bring to the font; it's about how well we extend the invitations to follow Christ and how hard we work to help people do that. I'm so grateful for all the miracles I've seen in this area. I'm grateful for the personal growth I've experienced that wouldn't have been possible under any other circumstances. Most of all though I'm just grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary, I've never done anything better. :)

Pictures from our zone activity last week. We went to a place called Golconda Tombs where a bunch of Muslim kings are buried.

Me in front of the tomb of a Muslim King who used to rule here

Man, isn't this tree just gnarly?

There were about 30 of these tombs all over the park.

More tombs

I couldn't resist this shot. ;)

inside the structure. That's an actual tomb. Whoa.

Inside a small mosque.

Here's some pictures of people I was able to meet from my first areas:

Kennedy and Sujatha's (right) and their family, some of my best friends from Hyderabad. Sujatha was baptized while I was in 2nd ward.

My friend Aditia from Bengaluru. he was in Hyderabad so we all went out for lunch at a classy restaurant. #I'mlovingit

Brother Madhu, baptized two weeks after I hit the mission field. It was great to see him and to see that he's still completely faithful in the church.

Love you all. Stay Strong and Rock On. :)

-Elder Cloward