December 19, 2011

Well this week was an awesome week with a ton of great
events!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On monday we went down to Allen with the rest of
our district so we could finish up our music video which is going to
be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on tuesday i was sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I
was throwing up all day which was not fun at all!!!!!!!!!!! So I had
orders from Sister Durrant to stay in the apartment all day which was
not fun at all!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to go out and work even though I
was sick, I hated not being able to work all day!!!!!!!!!!!!! But we
still got to get a little missionary work done!!!!!!!! A member came
by our apartment to pick up a book of mormon and some pamphlets to
give to their friends which was way great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We also had
to stop by an investigators house to pick up my wallet because my
wallet dropped out of our car onto their driveway the night
before!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on wednesday we spent the whole day in
melissa and we didnt get to tract very much because it was raining all
day so we just stopped by some peoples houses and visited with
investigaros which was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on thursday we went
to princeton to do some missionary work there!!!!!!!!!! And we got to
eat at Jayson Carmona's grandpa's house that night which was
awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! then after that we got to meet with
alonzo!!!!!!!!!!!!! elder sullenberger and i found him back in august
and at first he wasnt very interested in the religion part of our
church because he is a 13 year old boy but he really loved mutual and
he basically has been going every single week since then!!!!!!!!! we
got to go over on thursday night and talk a little about the book of
mormon with him and he said that he really thinks that its
true!!!!!!!!!! so we just need to get permission from his mom for him
to get baptized, the mom is not interested in the church at
all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on friday we went on exchanges and Elder
Duffin came up with me to my area which was great and Elder Clark went
down to Allen!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to meet with Connie and Gary and they
are doing fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Connie is still wanting to
get baptized except she needs to come to church!!!!!!!!!!! She couldnt
come this sunday because she ended up getting
bronchitis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every single trial pops up for her every
sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just wish i could go to her house on sunday
morning and drag her to church!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we watched the preach
my gospel the district 2 dvds with her and she loved them so much and
I knew that she would!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on thursday night we got
to eat with Sister Lawson at her nursing home which was
great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! old people are
so great and I just love them so much!!!!!!!!!!!! Since we were the
youngest people in the dining hall by about 50 years. everyone was
staring at us and talking to us and trying to hug us, it was the
best!!!!!!!!! They had people singing there and everyone was trying to
dance, it was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on saturday we
got to go up to melissa and anna and on saturday night we stopped by
sonic because one of our investigators works there and she gave us
free shakes which was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday at church we had
a lesson about the Spirit of Christmas and Jesus Christ and it was so
great!!!!!!!!!!!! We listened to a song that portrays the inn keeper
that rejected Mary and it just made me think that we should never
reject Jesus into our lives!!!!!!!!!! And the people that are
rejecting him, it is up to us through the spirit to help bring Jesus
into their lives and to help them feel the spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I
love being a missionary so much and even though I dont get to be with
my family for Christmas, I still get to feel the love of Christ which
is the greatest love that anyone can ever feel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I
hope all of you have a Merry Christmas and dont forget to thank Christ
and to think of Him this Christmas Day since He gave us the greatest
gift of all, JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 12, 2011

Wow this week was a crazy week and we had a lot of stuff happen this
week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On monday we started filming our
music video!!!!!!!!!!!!! On the 23rd our mission is having a talent
show and us and another companionship are making a music video for the
talent show!!!!!!!!!!!! It is to the song You are Loved by Josh
groban!!!!!!!!!!!! It is going to be way great and it was so much fun
filiming it last monday!!!!!!!!!!!! Its an inspirational video to all
the missionaries to inspire everyone to not give up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then on tuesday we had multi district meeting with our zone which was
great and I got to learn a lot from that!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then that
afternoon elder clark and I went to princeton to spend the day there
and you will never believe what happened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAD TO
CALL 911!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so here is the story!!!!!!!!!!!! We
went over to connie and garys house so we could teach them a lesson
and gary had to leave to go to the store so that means we had to teach
connie outside since there wasnt a male home!!!!!!!!!!!! it was
freezing and we were sitting by her front door and we started talking
about the church and everything and then all of the sudden gary came
from around the corner and just collapsed on the ground and started
yelling HELP HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I jumped up and ran over to him
and I had no idea what to do, i was going crazy and connie was
screaming in the background!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I ran into connies house and
grabbed her phone and dialed 911 and gave it to her and she was
screaming to get an ambulence there!!!!!!!!! He was throwing up
everywhere and he couldnt breathe so the ambulence came and got
him!!!!!!!!!! I couldnt believe i didnt think to give him a
blessing!!!!!!!!! Instead i just said we should have a prayer since he
was already in the ambulence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we said a prayer
and then we helped connie for a little bit and there was like 20
people outside of the apartment complex watching!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then
later that night, Brother Dixon took us to the McKinney Hospital and
we got to give Gary a blessing and it was so spiritual!!!!!!!!!!! i
love Connie and Gary so much, they are so close to my
heart!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on wednesday we got to teach John and he
is doing way great!!!!!!!!!!!!! he is fixin to get batpized the end of
January!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited for him, the gospel has helped him
so much!!!!!!!!!!!! Then later that night the youth in Melissa Ward
were going caroling for mutual and we got them to stop by Lauras
house!!!!!!!!!! So we went over there with them to Carol with them and
Laura stood at the door and she was smiling the whole entire time and
she loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then after that we got to meet with
Asumpta which was great!!!!!!!!!! She is from kenya and she loves the
church so much and i cant wait for her to come to church so she can
see what its like!!!!!!!! We got her a book of mormon in
Swahili!!!!!!!!!!! It just is so cool that the gospel is really
spreading all around the world and we can get book of mormons in so
many different languages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! even
swahili!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on friday we got to meet
with a man named Joe who the spanish missionaries have been teaching
even though he only speaks english!!!!!!!!!!!!! We set a baptismal
date for the 7th with him and he is definitely going to get baptized,
he is sich a great guy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on saturday was
christmas party day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The melissa ward had their party
in the afternoon which was great and the farmersville branch had their
party at night which was also great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Four of the
youth from the farmersville branch did a hilarious performance and I
wish i filmed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday was a great day and
I got to meet with a lady who is 93 years old, she is the oldest
member of the melissa ward and she is so funny and hyper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i love her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guess what?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!/ we get to
go to the BYU football game on the 30th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! President
Durrant has connections so he got all of us tickets to the game and
there is going to be a whole missionary section!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am
so stoked!!!!!!!! Its at the SMU stadium!!!!!!!!!!! so look for me on
TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I love this gospel so much and i LOVE the
church!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope all of you have awesome weeks
and are enjoying the winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! have a great
week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 5, 2011

This week has been an awesome week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was definitely a struggle but I had the faith to get through it all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tuesday was a great day!!!!!!!!!! We got to go tracting over in McKinney after we had district meeting!!!!!!!!!! I love tracting in McKinney because its more city than melissa or farmersville!!!!!!!!!!!! After we were done tracting we got to have dinner at Genghis Grill and it was most excellent!!!!!!!!!!! I have never eaten there before and its so cool because you get to make your own food, a member in the Farmersville Branch took us there!!!!!!!!! Wednesday was great because we got to meet with Laura and wish her a happy birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We baked her a cake!!!!!!! She still hasnt quit smoking but she is trying and I know that she is going to get baptized!!!!!!!!!! Then that night we got to visit with a less active family in the Melissa Ward and they are such a great family, they just need to come to church!!!!!!!!!!! Then on thursday night we got to have dinner with the Ballenger family!!!!!!!!! Sarah Ballenger is 14 and she just got baptized in june!!!!!!!!!!! She is doing so awesome!!!!!! Her parents arent members of the church but they are so cool and I love them so much!!!!!!!!!!! Her mom reminds me exactly of my mom, she is so hyper and LOVES to talk and Sister Ballenger thinks that im a hoot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on friday we got to teach this new women!!!!!!!! She is from Africa and she moved here a couple years ago!!!!!!!! She is such a nice lady and she has such a sweet spirit about her!!!!!!!!! We taught her about the book of mormon and I started to bare my testimony about it and she started crying and she told me that she knows the book of mormon is true and I got so stoked that I jumped out of my seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the spirit so much!!!!!!!!! It really bares testimony to people of everything that is true!!!!!!!!! I saw Asumpta start crying and I saw the spirit of the Lord in her eyes!!!!!!!!!!!! Missionary work is so great and i just love it so much!!!!!!!!!!! I never want my mission to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Right now as Im typing this the weather is 37 degrees outside!!!!!!!! It has gotten so cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cant believe that Texas gets this cold after being here in the 115 degree weather!!!!!!!!!!!!! On Friday and saturday we got to go to the Nativity Exhibit!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never seen a church do it before but they decorate the gym with a bunch of nativities and you get to walk around and look at all of them!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Christmas so much because we get to celebrate the birth of Christ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A lot of people here think that our church doesnt believe in Jesus Christ even though its in the name of our church!!!!!!!!! So this nativity thing is a great idea because TONS of non members came to look at the exhibit and its great because there are people caroling the entire time!!!!!!!!!!!!! They even had a black church choir come and sing at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Jesus Christ so much and I am so thankful to be a member of His church, it is just so awesome and so great and I get to be filled with joy all the time because this gospel is just so great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE THAT JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This week was a struggle to find people but I have the faith that there are people out there waiting for us to teach them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a great week everyone and enjoy the cooler weather!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

November 28, 2011

 

Well this week was a stressful week but it is still so awesome being a missionary!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since monday was my last preparation day with Elder Sullenberger we went down to Allen to play TopGolf with Elders Park and Dunbar and it was a ton of fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is a member of their ward that works there so we got to do it for free!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then on tuesday morning it was transfers so we headed down to the main church down in Dallas and i met my new companion Elder Clark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is great because he smiles a lot just like me except he is a little shy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has been on his mission for almost 11 months!!!!!!!!!!!! Our whole district ended up getting switched up!!!!!!!!!!! Elder Calderwood got a new companion and his name is Elder Duffin and he is so cool!!!!!!!! And Elder Dunbar got a new companion and his name is Elder Park and him and I are really good friends!!!!!!!!!! Elder Hong got a new companion and his name is Elder Olvera and he is really cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im still in the same area, I love it because I have been getting to know the members in the Melissa ward and the Farmersville Branch very well!!!!!!!!!! I had an awesome thanksgiving!!!!!!!!!! We ate at the Dowds house and there were 32 people there!!!!!!!!! There was so much food and it was all so good!!!!!!!!! There was a girl there who just got baptized a week ago and she couldnt eat with her parents because they basically disowned her for getting baptized, its such a sad story but its so great how members of the church are right there to help her every step of the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After we had dinner at the Dowds we brought over a plate of food for Laura because she had no where to go for thanksgiving, she LOVED that we brought her a plate!!!!!!!!!! On friday we spent the day in Princeton and it was great because we got to Tract around there and meet a lot of people!!!!!!!! We got to have a lesson with Sister Lawson and Sister Smith that night and it was so great!!!!!!!!!! We got to give Sister Lawson a blessing!!!!!!!! I love the priesthood and the spirit so much!!!!!!!!!!!! When we were at Lauras apartment on thanksgiving one of her daughters friends came by, his name is Josh and he is 20 years old!!!!!!!!!! He told us that he has met with missionaries before and that he has a book of Mormon!!!!!!!!!! So i asked him for his phone number and I gave it to Elder Hong and Olvera because they are the missionaries that cover the singles ward!!!!!!!!! They ended up meeting with him on friday and he is getting baptized!!!!!!!!!! We went over to Lauras on Saturday to teach a lesson and Josh ended up being there so we got to teach him also!!!!!!!!! I love how the Lord puts people that are prepared into our path!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yesterday in the morning we got an unexpected call from Laura and she told us that she doesnt want to become a member of the church anymore and I got so sad!!!!!!!! I told her we would come visit her after church to work things out!!!!!!!! She is still struggling with not smoking but I know that she can do it!!!!!!!!!!!! We got to teach this black lady yesterday named Ms. Riley and she is HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i LOVE black people so much because they are so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then at night we had a great lesson with a less active family and they are going to start coming back to church!!!!!!!!!!!! I love missionary work so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah, on sunday morning we got a text from our ward mission leader telling us that he is sick and that I had to teach gospel principles, i barely got to prepare because we always have long meetings on sunday mornings!!!!!!!!!!!!! of course i taught on member missionary work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is truly the Lords work and he uses us as his tools to go out and teach the people the gospel!!!!!!!!! The spirit is so great and it can truly change peoples lives!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so thankful for this church and I love all of our leaders and the examples that they set for all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!