aaaand I am staying in porter!!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
haha. Just kidding! I'm leaving :[ i'm way sad. You have no idea. But I am not thinking about it too much because if I do my hearts just really gonna break. I love this area. I'm stressed today cause I have to pack for the first time in nine months and I have WAYYYY too much stuff and I'm definitely going to have to send some stuff home today. So expect a package yes? or two. I do love this area though. So so much. Yall are definitely coming back to Kingwood, Porter, New Caney with me in t-minus one year. We have to go horseback riding with Jack Rice. And BarBQue with Red Drye. And you have to meet Sister Kretschmer and Sister Jarboe and the Crosby's and Jonathan and Tatiana and the Cheney's and the Gillises and the Smiths and the Golds and the Bowers' (bless brother bower's heart for being the worlds best ward mission leader) and Sister Harless and Sister Temple (if she's still alive. bless her heart, she prays so hard that she'll be alive for the second coming. and she is just so old and frail. but everytime we leave we say 'We love you sister temple!" as we get in the car to go and she goes "Love you too darlin!" and it's just about the sweetest thing i've ever heard) and Brother McGee and all of the people in the ward that I dearly dearly dearly love. and Doyle and Debra and James (hopefully someday yall will meet him. hopefully someday i'll see him again. we tried to stop by yesterday and it he "wasn't home" whatever) and Crystal and the Cassidy's :[ I'll be back soon for the Cassidy's baptism and for Crystals. Oh my goodness I love this area so so much.
This last week was good. Flew by like usual. Monday we had pday and it was a combined zone pday with houston east (which will be my new zone cause there's only two sisters areas I can go to and they're both there. Unless I'm opening a brand new area which is kind of impossible.) We met with Doyle and Debra monday night and taught her the rest of the commandments and went over the baptismal questions with her. Tuesday we met with Crystal and I told you about that last week. She's doing better though. She told Sister Baldwin yesterday that she has now started doing family prayer with her family (soooo great!! she's not even the member her husband is!!) and she brought her kids to church yesterday by herself. She is doing really good. I will definitely be back for her baptism, but hopefully it is soon. Pray for her still, if you would!!
Cassidy's are just the most wonderful people in the world. We were supposed to meet with them on Wednesday night but they didn't really understand that we were for sure coming so we moved it to Friday and taught them and I just adore them. They are soaking up the gospel. They also went to this ward function on Friday night (it was a s'mores party! They are just so invovled) and Tiffany went and bought some skirts for church and their kids are adorable. We love them. Tiffany said to us that she prayed about the Word of Wisdom (because she LOOOVES tea) and then that day she usually has a huge glass of tea every day and she was like "I didn't even want it all day long. So that was my answer" which was really cool.
Thursday night Debra had her baptismal interview with Elder Axtell. It went well. I'm ALWAYS nervous when we have those because I'm like "I know they're ready but what if Elder Axtell is like 'No. The spirit is telling me that you are not ready"??? So I'm always nervous. But it went well. While she was being interviewed I met this guy who just got home like two weeks ago from (guess where??) the California Roseville Mission:] I asked him if he knew the Gold family (cause they were your favorites right james?) and he didn't. I asked him where he served and he said Chico (that was the only one that sounded familiar) and I told him you served like 11 months in Yuba City and he was like "that's a hard place to stay for eleven months" and then proceeded to tell me about the Yuba Mansion (where two sets of elders live and etc) I don't know if that was were you lived, but it sounded pretty cool. I told him you lived in a mansion with some members. His name is Josh Hansen I think. I wonder why he thought Yuba City would be difficult. I didn't ask him.
Saturday was the baptism :] :] :] Oh my goodness it was so wonderful! It was sooo wonderful. Doyle performed the baptism and I just enjoyed that so much to see him doing that. He is such a wonderful person, Doyle Calhoun. He's making friends with Red Drye kind of. Which is really good because they are both so wonderful. I sang the song that I sang at Jamesy's baptism like 15 years ago (man. I am just really old that makes me feel really old) "When I am Baptized" and Debra cried :] I just like that she felt the spirit enough to cry. Because that is the point of me singing at anything out here, to bring the spirit. I will send some of the wonderful pictures from the baptism.
Yesterday at church Debra recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost and that was really cool. Debra and Doyle are just so great. I am so blessed to have been with Sister Cochran who reminded me that we had missed a house and walked up this huuuge driveway to meet Doyle Calhoun. They are so wonderful and I love them. Red Drye was also there. We have been working a lot a lot with Less Active Members in this area and Red Drye is one that I've seen pretty much weekly for nine months. Well... not weekly for nine months. but at least once or twice a month for nine months and sometimes weekly. And if I could pick one person to come back to church it would be Red Drye I think. He's so great. He calls me his youngest daughter (cause we're redheads ya know?) And do you know what, family? I think he's back. It's slow, but I trust sister Baldwin to dig the spurs in every now and then and he'll be back to church and full activity soon. He could do so much good in our ward.
Transfers are the pits. I am really sad. I know I'll be fine, but i'm just nervous for the change. And I've been in this area with some of the same missionaries for nine months. (Well.. Sister Lundgren, Elder Saldeir, and Elder Curtis for nine months). But whatever changed here, I was still here and this was still my area. and now that's gonna be different. I'm either going to Baytown with cochran (partay!) or to La Porte to kill Bowhuis. And either of them would be way sweet. (except if I kill Bowhuis, that probably means I'm training next transfer ahhhh!) The Lord loves me, I know that. I was studying the scriptures on Sunday or Saturday morning (whenever I was really sad about transfers) and I read in Job. Where Job says "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." and I think that is what I have learned here as a missionary the most. To trust God because He really will take care of me. He will take care of all of us if we just walk with Him. We HAVE TO be living the commandments because He is a God of order and He can't bless us as well unless we're being obedient, but if we are obedient He will take care of us. And He will heal us when we are hurt. When either we hurt ourselves by our mistakes or others hurt us or when just the circumstances of the world hurt us. I know He will take care of it. It still doesn't feel too great though. I love this area. I have lvoed serving here and loved serving these people. I will never forget them. I will never forget the experiences I've had here.
So. Send stuff to the missino office this week (thats the 2815 W. Lake Houston Parkway #109, Kingwood, Texas 77339) and PLEASE send them fast cause I'm sad and I'm gonna need some love and support, ya know? I won't know my address until tomorrow afternoon.
Here we go. It's gonna be great. I can make it. :]one thing sister Kretschmer told me to do is imagine the worst thing that could ever happen. and then tell yourself that you would still be okay. That you would still make it. That somehow you'd survive and it wouldn't be quite so horrible as you thought it was after a minute.
Mom, Thanks for your letter this week :] I loved it! I'm excited to hear about yalls nutrition thing! Sister Crawford would be delighted, she thinks that what we eat and how we exercise are the answer to most health issues. Which is kind of true, I think. Keep me updated on your life and the day to day stuff. I love to hear it, I just eat it up.
Dad, thanks for your e-mail and for the illegal video. I felt a little apostate watching it, but I was also so proud of Jonny! I will be sayin a prayer for yall tomorrow at 5:10. That's very exciting!! I'm glad to hear things are going good for you at work and at church and etc. Have fun in San Fran!! That will be so cool. Haha have you guys watched the clip from.. what movie is it? So I married an axe murderer I think ? Where they go to Alcatraz for a tour?? hahahhahaha I think you should.
James, I already wrote you an e-mail and I'm very excited to follow up on it with you! How is school and how is life and work? Will you call her this week? Have fun!!
Jonny, my my my. I am so proud of you from the little video dad sent me. It looks like yall have had a fun fun season. Good luck this week. Just remember to have fun. That's the most important thing. It won't matter to you in 50 years who won. (well... it won't matter very much I guess :]) but it will always matter to you to know that you had fun during your last stretch of high school basketball. Believe me, I know, because I played high school basketball. jk. but i still think that I'm right and you should remember to have fun.
Family, I love you. Just please pray for me this week. I'm gonna miss Kingwood. I'm going to miss driving down northpark on our way home at night and listening to "Yes, Yes, Yes to Happiness!" with the windows rolled down and I'm going to miss pday in the gym and i'm gonna miss being at the kingwood chapel for church and seeing the people that i love. cause I'm sad and terrified and I feel like all my friends are staying here and i'm leaving and things are going to be so different. And it's true, things are going to be so different. but just pray for me that i'll like it and be okay with it. :] thanks.
This gospel is just so true! I realize that more and more every day. I'm grateful to be a missionary right now. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else doing anything else. Be happy, too, okay? I know that the Lord wants us to be happy. Love you!!!
Love, Sister Hicken