Continued Blessings of the Work of the Lord

I recently received a very unexpected email from a family in Mexico that led to a very neat experience. BUT FIRST, some background information....

This is the Luna Smith Family (plus grandma) on the day that Juan was baptized. The story of this family, like many stories from the mission, is worth telling. I arrived in Cuernavaca with Elder Soliz and we were to soon baptize hermano Alfonso (the dad). I found out that he had a brother in Mexico City that was a member of the church and was also a bishop. It turns out that hermano Alfonso's brother had been my bishop in my second area! But beyond that sidenote, hermano alfonso was soon baptized. He knew he needed to do it, even though his wife was somewhat against it. To make a long story short, the kids were soon baptized as well, except for little Mariana, who really wanted to get baptized but was only 7 at the time. The mom (who ironically has the last name SMITH.....IN MEXICO) always told us YES, BUT NO. Every time we passed by we would ask her when she would be baptized, and she would always give us that same answer--YES, BUT NO. I never really understood completely just how deep of an effect our work would have on the familia Luna.

I recently received an email from the familia Luna Smith.Using an efficient resource (I won't go into Walmart in Mexico) I was able to send the family a gift card to buy a webcam so we could talk face to face for free (GO SKYPE!). It turns out the hermana Smith was baptized a little while after I left and now SHE IS RELEIF SOCIETY PRESIDENT! My companion, elder Soliz, returned a year after to finally baptize Mariana. This is another special story that I wont go into, but little mariana passed away before being confirmed.
Now, on this day April 11, 2009, the familia Luna Smith are currently where this picture shows--the Mexico City Temple. They will be going through the temple and also have the necessary work done for little mariana and will be sealed as a family! I came so close to impulsively flying out to Mexico City for the weekend just to be there. I was able to talk with la familia Luna Smith for a couple hours this past week. It was such a special experience. There is nothing more special to me than to hear my beloved hermanos tell me all about how their life has changed because of the gospel. They also told me about the special experiences they passed through when little mariana passed away. It had been awhile since I had had an experience of this nature. I was again teaching the family about the blessings of the temple and even bearing testimony that I knew Mariana would be there with them as they are sealed as a family for eternity. Halie even said that even though she couldn't understand everything, she could feel the spirit so strong as we discussed the profound effects of the gospel and the continuing blessings of the work of the Lord.