A Beautiful Day

Congratulations to the newest member of the Beijing 1st Branch, our dear friend Armene!

We had a beautiful weekend celebrating Armene's joining the church and I can't let the time pass by without sharing his story. He was baptized this last Saturday and confirmed on Sunday, along with the darling Leah from England. No, we are not allowed to preach to and baptize Chinese nationals, but any foreign passport holder living in China is allowed to practice Mormonism, as well as join the LDS Church. This opportunity for missionary work has truly blessed our lives and Armene has taught us so much.

A met Armene the day he went to register for his Chinese classes - which was Armene's first week here in China. He is from Rwanda and is here studying Chinese with the end goal of earning his Bachelor's degree here at BIT (the school where I teach, we live, and A has been taking classes). We have some other very close friends from Rwanda back at home in SLC so A and Armene clicked maybe quicker than normal and became fast friends.

The next week the three of us went out to lunch together and Armene asked us if we went to church, where, and if he could come with us. This first step was only an indicator of how the rest of his investigation of the church went - always one step ahead of our missionary work! Armene came to church with us that first week and honestly we have been following him to church ever since. He made the decision to be baptized very quickly and hasn't been able to get through the lessons fast enough!

Many of the YSA in our Branch who have been a huge part of Armene's fellowship.

Armene is what he calls a "child of the genocide" in Rwanda, whereas he was only 4 months old when his country was going through that horrific time, but has grown up experiencing the aftermath. He is extremely mature in his thoughts and actions, and as he says his life story has always left him searching for peace, cleansing, and a fresh start. The morning of his baptism, last Saturday, we met up to ride to the church together and I asked him how he was feeling. He just closed his eyes, looked towards the sky, opened his arms, and said, "New."

A had the wonderful opportunity of baptizing Armene, as well as confirming him a member of the church and ordaining him as a Priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. Which, by the way, required A to use his full name which - get ready - is Armene Gasagara Rumenearangabo Anastase. With a little practice he got really smooth at it and did a great job! We have truly learned so much from Armene over the last 4 months and that only continued this weekend. He bore beautiful testimony at his baptism of his love for the Savior and the importance of sharing that love with those around us. He is a wonderful example of righteousness and we have been so blessed to know him.

In a city where the members of the church can be spread far, we now have a fellow branch member less than two minutes away and couldn't be happier! We are thrilled to know Armene and are excited to continue to watch him grow and learn in the Gospel. Congratulations Armene!