Grand Island really is grand, even if it's not an island

Dear Family,

Thanks for the update. Sounds like Sophie and Brandon are having a successful business. I can't believe Sophie is starting high school soon, but I'm way excited for her. Has she been preparing for cross country?

It sounds like Joel's wedding is going to be a blast. I got the announcement and it was super cute. When I got it I also realized that I haven't been at any of my cousin's weddings. Oh well. Let me know how it goes.

Grand Island is still a funny place but I like it. I guess it's a decently sized town. People say I'm from WaRshington and drive really slow but they have two Wal-Marts. Everyone is very friendly. There are a lot of Hispanic people as well, so dad can be proud of me for speaking spanish a lot.

On Tuesday, we invited Ann, who was set for baptism on Aug 21st, to pause and ponder during her prayers. We asked her to pray specifically to know if Heavenly Father wanted her to be baptized on the 21st. She said she would do that on her own over the next few days. Well, when we followed up on Friday, Ann said the answer she got was no, that she's not ready to make that commitment yet. At first we were afraid that she was going to drop us. But as we continued listening, she explained that she still wants to work with us towards baptism, but that she recognizes that she needs to work out some more things with God first. Apparently she had been having some really good discussions with Heavenly Father on her porch late at night. Her experience reminded me a lot of Enos. She prayed for a long time and learned to love and look forward to her time to talk with God. She was finally able to talk about things she had been burying inside for years. I think it strengthened her faith a lot. It also showed her some areas where she needs to repent and ask for His forgiveness. She continues to amaze me with all the progress she is making. She may not be getting baptized this week, but we know she will be ready soon. I was reminded that faith and repentance need to precede baptism so I'm glad that Ann is taking those steps very seriously.

Anyway, I hope you all have a good week.
Love,
Sister Mortensen