Deep In the Heart of Texas

 What a crazy week y'all. LIKE WUT IN THE WORLD KIND OF CRAZY. Started off with an exchange with an absolute champion of an Elder, Elder Dunkley. He's been out like a month and is so fun and earnest. I loved our exchange, gave me a taste of what I'd be like to train, and boy I can't wait. He was just so ready to learn everything he could from how I do things and he's so cool. We had our first lesson with a lady who was like full on ready to bash us about Joseph Smith and prophets. But I showed Elder Dunkley how to both confound a basher and resolved conflict to prepare us for our next lesson! Haha, well get her good too;) (I'm just playing y'all, I had no idea how the spirit saved us from getting into a heated argument and her getting so whooped by us that she'd never speak to us again, haha. Bashers are so tricky to deal with.) We moved apartments which was honestly low-key stressful. All of our stuff was everywhere in the new apt and it hadn't been...

  What's going on y'all?!?! Hope life is treating y'all well and you're continuing to grow that relationship with God....cause it's pretty important.  So I have been on my mission these past 8 months, and wow, it's been sweet! This week we got asked by a member to sing at a funeral because she really liked us singing at church and felt the spirit which was what we were going for! So we asked what she wanted us to sing and she didn't know, so we were like, "What about 'It is Well With My Soul'?" And she loved the idea, so we've been practicing our best haha, and praying we do a half decent job. But everyone there is going to be nonmembers as well so hopefully some hearts are softened enough for us to sneak in THE TRUTH!  Also mentioned to our Zone leaders how we sang at church and they asked us to sing it at Zone Conference in front of like 70 missionaries. So that was terrifying but went great! There was a little added vibrato cause I w...

 Howdy howdy.... This week was blessed. Don't know what we did to deserve it, but the stars aligned it felt like. Started off with 3 lessons that didn't fall through and had a great lesson with a man who we honestly thought was gonna bash us, but we ended up having a lot in common! So that was appreciated cause I don't fancy being bashed too much, haha.  Then it was pouring rain. LIKE A LOT OF IT. TOO MUCH. BUT IT WAS OKAY. So of course, we did some more street contacting and we met a really cool lady who reads the BoM daily?!?! Like whaaaaat?! Apparently, missionaries talked to her years ago and gave it to her. But she has no record anywhere so she has a busy schedule for a couple weeks, but if she has a testimony of the Book of Mormon, then it's a done deal! So yeah, street contacting in the pouring rain works.  Had a great lesson with our friend Robert and he committed to come to church! AND THEN HE ACTUALLY CAME!! Haha, which is just plain AWESOME!! He also told us ...

  Howdy howdy howdy. Well y'all, we have officially done transfers and I'm living with Elder Wood. Incredibly Christlike and motivated Elder. And we have hit the streets and are getting some sweet sunburns, haha. I hear it's still snowing in Utah and Idaho is pretty chilly, but I'm doing well over here! Honestly a bit too hot some days:)  So we happened to run into a teenage boy who's a member living in Cuero! And he's like yeah, I go to the Victoria ward. And we're like huh, and y'all live here? And he's like, yup! And I was like, yeah sooooo we're missionaries for the Yorktown branch, and we are surprised to see y'all here cause ur not in our records! And the whole family is apparently active members, but they're going to the wrong area! And he was like i had no idea there was a branch in Yorktown. (Or maybe they did but prefer the ward life rather than the branch life, so we'll see.) But a whole family would be HUGE for this branch...

Y'all, I just got to say that I love the boonies. I love the long drives, the time spent with all the old folks, and the cows and pastures. There are many memories that I've made.  I may have accidentally miscalculated our miles so hahaha uhhhhhh......we are barely gonna make the cut. Basically, we've been hitting the streets of small-town Cuero prettyyy hard lately.  It was a fun week tho! Had an exchange with Elder Secrist where I walked away so incredibly enlightened, it was crazy! The rules and science behind the world and God and the Atonement. If y'all are curious, watch the talk "Meaning of the Atonement". It's sooooo good. Also, Elder Secrist is a tank. I love him. Got to help out at the Cuero 150th anniversary. Did service for the people and got to help out setting up the Farmers Market. Had quite the country concert, and lots of gals had prom dresses on cause it was the same day as prom. Had a CRAZY good lesson with our friend Lisa. And wow, she...

  Howdy howdy howdy Wassup yall. This week was a banger. Mostly in events and things done, rather than too many results from missionary work, however, that's okay. We'll keep working them streets till our shoes wear out.  Got to do some lumber work this week! Unfortunately, I could not use my "expert" chainsaw skills on them trees since it's against the rules as a missionary, but I was right at home hauling and stacking that wood. Honestly, it was kinda weird doing it since it was a chore I did a lot back home, but I felt mostly just happy and comfortable in my task and not too trunky, haha. Never would have thought that hauling wood would remind me of home and be something I've missed, lol.  Our super cool friend who was 17 blocked us because of his family telling him all sorts of things about our church I'm sure. So that's a bummer, but it is what it is. I'm sure he'll accept him someday;) It is something I wanna work on as a missionary. Expr...

  This week was good! Met a super cool young man who honestly wanted to come to know God better and felt super uplifted after meeting with us. It was really cool to see a youth actually caring about his eternal progression! And he was super open and honest with us about things he's struggled with but also how he overcame and repented which is what we talked with him about. Probably one of my favorite lessons to be honest. And he hasn't been baptized which he told us, but he wants to so hopefully he hasn't been baptized since we last met with him so we can talk about it and its importance so we can baptize him I'm the true church instead haha. He's way cool though. Met some Shakers this week!! Just kidding, they aren't literally Shakers but basically the same thing, and dang they are interesting haha. They are the kind of folk who we can read about D&C where they say the Spirit came upon them causing them to speak gibberish and ask like wild animals and whatn...