I am so so so so so SOOOO excited for you Jonny. Oh. My. GOSH. I have been excited all week long and especially this morning. My district is excited for you also, cause I was gushing in the car on the way over here to the library. I am so happy. I wanted you to stay Stateside so so so bad! And now you will be going to! New Mexico. I'm so excited for you. I looooove the Hispanic people in Texas, so I hope you get lots of them. I was so excited to hear where you were serving, not because I wanted to hear the place, but because I wanted to just know that my little brother was serving a mission. It gets more real when you have a destination and a time in mind. It doesn't matter where you serve, it matters who you serve and how you serve. Your mission will have unique challenges and blessings that will be all it's own. BAHH I am so excited for you! I took a picture of my excitement and I made a video of me reading where you were going. So you can SEE how bloody excited I am!!! I'm so happy right now. This is the best thing ever in the world. AH! I'm just excited.
Well. Okay. Now for my week. It was good. I started out the week with zone pday and we were in beaumont and it was lame. I was lame. I didn't involve myself at all and it was so so so scorching hot. But after that I went on exchanges to the dreaded woodville, texas! The place where I prayed I wouldn't go haha. It is just realy small in the middle of no where and I'd met sister missionaries who struggled there. And I didn't want to go. It was a good exchange though. We went finding and talked to two people that gave us return appointments. One was a baptist deacon. He was cool.
Tuesday was my full day in Woodville, but I e-mailed yall that day. We didn't have a whole ton of success. But it felt so good to get back to Lake Charles. I love Lake Charles. It's a good area.
Wednesday was a good day. We met with Susan and had a church tour with her. We also tried a potential in the morning, Wayne. Who this time succeeded in giving us back the Book of Mormon. We were sad. Then we went to teach a less active lady who won't pray because she doesn't want to do anything that is a ritual. So she just prays all the time in her head. (If I had a nickel for every time I heard "Oh, I pray all the time, baby." I would be so filthy rich.) Then we had a lesson with a member and her caretaker, who is semi investigating. We'll see what we can do with her, Josetta. We get in a lot of places because sister T isn't white. It's cool.
Thursday we had a lesson with Betty and it went fine. We invited her to church and she said she'd come. Every time we teach her and feel the spirit, we ask her how she's feeling and she says "relieved". I like that the spirit makes us feel releif when we need it most. Thusrday night we did the hour of power and I was just NOT feeling it. Sister T was like "Do you want to do this?" and I was like "No." but we did it anyway and ALL OF THE PEOPLE we talked to gave us return appointments. It was incredible.
Friday we had zone meeting and then I had to go get our corolla safety inspected. (What is the point of those? they take like 10 minutes! It was lame. we spent forever driving around orange texas trying to find a place that we could get a safety inspection and they could take the payment over the phone. So we finally did. By the time we got home, and the Elders figured out they'd left their car keys withs ome other elders and we had to drive to Jennings to get them back, it was like 4 pm by the time we got to work. Lame. And we didn't know what to do. In zone meeting (did I tell you my zone leaders are shepperd and brown?? i LOVE them). we talked about planning and goal setting. That is just what I needed. You can KNOW all the doctrine or good things in the world, but if you don't DO them they are almost pointless. You have to APPLY them.
Saturday we had service with susan and that was fun. We are working on her house. did I tell you she's a hoarder? She is. She is emotionally attached to EVERYTHING her daughter ever touched. seriously she is. So that's interesting. Then we had dinner with this active family from AZ the gibsons. They did the cutest thing, they had their daughters take our orders for sandwhiches like waitresses and then serve us. I'm SO doing that when we have the missionaries over when I grow up and have a house to have missionaries in.
Yesterday was very interesting. Me and sister T were not getting along. We are both prideful and that doesn't mesh well when we are both on our high horses. But we had a great long comp inventory and felt fine afterward. We went tracting until dinner and NO BODY absolutely NO BODY bit. It was a rich street. (mom there are some veerrrrry nice wilson-walking neighborhoods in lake charles). Everyone was catholic. The baptist we met slammed the door. And then the last lady was fighting with ehr mother about disciplining her 11 year old daughter and spoiling her. So we just awkardly stood there for like 5 minutes while they argued. five minutes when people are arguing is a LOOOOONG time. It was just so awkward. But she was nice and took a pamphlet. We had dinner with the cutest family, the Morris. I'm telling you, people like them make me want to live outside of utah when I grow up.
Today we are going to see some aligators! I will take a picture for yall. We're goign to the creole nature trail or something like that. i only have 13 pdays left after this one. WHAT???!?!?!?!?! That's so crazy nuts.
mom, I did get your letters! Thank you so much! I want you to save brittany's wedding invitation! I want to see it! I can't believe all the people that are getting married! Holy smokes!! There must be something in the water this time of year. how's everything? you are the BEST. I can't wait to come back and hang out with you. Me and you and cochran and her mom and watching the holiday asap.
Dad, thank you for telling mea bout jonny's call and life at home! I love yall so much. I hope things are going well. How is your work going? How is church? Any big callings you have to make any time soon? How are the missionaries in our stake? do we have stake msisionaries yet? I never told you thanks for the cd you sent me. I listened to it and i really liked the points. I liked the "tight like a dish" thing he said. When we are not being relieved it's because we dont' needt o be yet. So awesome.
James, how are you doing??? It's been a while since I've heard from you... write me!!! Did I ever say thank you for those talk cds? I LOVED THEM. i would have DIED in baytown without them. Hows everything with school? Whatare you doing in school? How's church?
Jonny. Jonny, jonny jonny. WHY did you not tell me about your call yourself???? LAME. You are lame. But I am still excited for you. WRITE ME about how you're feeling. Be honest. If you remember, I was less than thrilled about my call. But i am beyond ecstatic about it now. I love this gospel so much and I lovet his church.
Family, just keep reading and praying. PRAY. we need to talkt o our heavenly father on our knees. I am trying to pray more often. He wants to hear what we're thinking about. He wants us to TELL him, even if it's stupid or we shouldn't be worried about it, or whatever. HE WANTS TO HEAR IT. I love you all. I'm going to be back way too soon. i totally have dreams that I am home every night, it's the worst and the wierdest. LOVE YOU!!!
Last but not least CONGRATULatIONS TO My WONDERFUL COUSIN REBECCA!!!!! I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to meet Chauncey and see how happy you are in person. Enjoy the wedding plans!! I wish I was there to help with them, yall know how much I love weddings.
pictures
me excited for jonny's call. I am so gross now a days. I'm going to need serious help when I get home to get pretty again.
the country road in woodville, texas
the pepper i ate for a stone knife from the durrs. it wasn't too bad. halapenos are REALLLY hot. my tongue was numb.
my planner. recognize anything dad? mom? :]
me and my companion. she has a bomb singing voice. it's rad.
LOVEYALL!