Texas: Week 5

OH MY GOODNESS!!! 

 

So super crazy week so this will be jam packed with awesomeness. I dont think I am going to go to Argentina before this next transfer which happens in exactly one week. I will be in Texas for another 7 weeks! I'm not super looking forward to it but that is only because of the weather. I am already sweating like no other and it is on average 85-90 degrees. NO BUENO. Anyway, I didnt write yesterday because all the librarys were closed for memorial day but I'm actually super glad that I didnt because so much happened yesterday that I wouldnt have been able to write!

 

First off, I met a guy who called our church the whore of the Earth. I actually thought it was hilarious and I laughed in his face (not exactly Christlike –> I recognize), but my point with this is that it was exactly what I needed at the time. Heavenly Father knows us so well! It saddens my heart that someone could be so blind but I actually read something about contentious people in my personal study and even if he would have stopped talking at us and listen, he would not endure to the end because of that contentious nature (that is more or less what the article I was reading said). We only talked to him for about 5 minutes and the whole time he was saying that he just wanted to chat but what he really wanted to do was tell us what we believe and slam false accusations about our beliefs. It was an interesting experience, but more entertaining than anything.

 

The reason I am walking on air right now, though, is because this man named Roy Gonzalez that we met a week ago and have been trying to get in touch with him, accepted our invitation to baptism!! That specifically isnt that exciting because we have had that happen a lot of times, and most of them fall through a little, but as we asked him questions we could tell the sincerity in his answers. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! He talked to us about how serious a promise with God was and he said that the lesson answered a lot of his questions. He also felt the spirit and could recognize the exact feelings of the spirit which was just awesome! He is 24 and works with a traveling job Monday-Friday so we can only teach him on weekends so we will see what happens, but I'm hopeful and going forward with faith.

 

I NEED EVERYONE TO PRAY FOR ME!!! So my companion and I prayed about finding a family and the family that Heavenly Father wants us to find is a single mom with four kids. One kid is infant/toddler aged, and the other three are above the age of eight. Two of the older kids are boys and one is a girl. That is pretty much all we know and we are doing everything we can to find them so please pray to HELP US FIND THEM!! :D I am super excited about it, and know that through Heavenly Father all things are possible. Please continue writing me! I did get emails and if you didnt get one back, then I will have to write you next week in an email or letter. I only got one letter from Lindy (thank you for the pictures!) and I want to hear from all of you. Tyrie send me your letter you already wrote! I only have so much time left in the states and after that it might take weeks for me just to get one letter so please write me while I'm here. By the way I cant believe how grown up declan is!! He is so chunky! I didnt even recognize him. I miss my family but I'm loving my mission!!! Seriosuly, you should all expect that I do this for the rest of my life.

 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

 

Hermana Allen

Texas: Week 4

HOLY SMOKES!!! 

 

This has been one crazy week. We havent been doing super well in our area still, but we are learning so much from it. Most people that are catholics here are not willing to change. We taught a man and he refused to ask Heavenly Father if our message was true. He said he would ask his priest. Yeah it is super hard and frustrating when the members lose their spirit, but we are pushing through! I learned so much from exchanges last week. I dont think I mentioned that they were happening but we had a day with the "sister-training leaders". They came in and tried to help us see how we could improve in missionary work. I wanted to focus on discerning the needs of the investigators and I learned how to do door contacting in a different way that has been so much more effective. We have been turning to the Lord more than ever and I am definitely seeing how having these struggles make the miracles that much sweeter! I really want to go to Argentina but I also want to continue working here. I think one of the main reasons I want to go is so that I wont have to train someone after my 12 weeks in a spanish area when my spanish is pretty much comparable to a 3 year old.

 

I said that I wanted to focus on finding the needs of others and I learned a lot that I have implemented, but I also wanted to learn about how to work with members. The members here have seen so many people get baptized and then go into inactivity. We have a crazy number of inactives here and I can see how discouraging it is. We have one of the recent converts, who just got baptized in February, have the preacher from the Church of Christ come over and pretty much tell her how the church was established and we are not it. False. We are the only church that has the fulness of the gospel and it saddens my heart that not everyone wants to partake of its awesomeness. I love Heavenly Father so much and I could not be more ecstatic about having this opportunity to bring His children to the knowledge of the truth. In this process, I am learning more than I thought I could and I feel His constant presence through the Holy Ghost. This morning I was feeling uneasy and started reading through some of the scriptures that my companion from the MTC gave me (Hermana Canada) about peace. The one that specifically touched my heart was John 14:12. I know the first part by heart, but the second part was what I needed to hear. I seriously love you all and I hope that you are all well.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

 

Hermana Allen