Hi yall! We had a very good week. Monday we went shopping ALL DAY! I haven't shopped for real in ... 18 months I guess! It was nice. Except I found out that my love of peacocks is apparently a worldwide phenomenon now! Lame. I got earrings for $0.55 at Khols! How amazing is that?? We also bought jump ropes so that we can exercise in the morning. It is far too cold to go running, especially because we don't really run... But the jump ropes are doing great things! I could hardly walk on Tuesday and Wednesday cause my calves were so sore. Yikes. I found a coat that I want to buy when I get home. It's at target. I'm hoping all the targets in the world have the same stuff. It was a good day. Christmas decorations are up in the stores so I was pleased as punch.
Monday night our dinner cancelled, and our appointment cancelled. Except... we went anyway :] we just didn't say anything about the message we got. It was good that we went. It's a less active who is trying to come back but is struggling so much with the word of wisdom. and We are teaching her cousin that lives there... except everyone had had a couple of shots of cinnamon vodka (nice.) so she didn't sit in on the lesson. Every time we come out of somewhere wreaking of cigarette (or in this case, cigarello) smoke, we say "we smell like repentance" haha.
Tuesday we saw a bunch of less actives. We taught one of the ladies ( a young mom with two little girls and a methodist husband) the first lesson. It was really cool. I've said it before, I'll say it again, there is power in those missionary lessons. The missionary department and the quorum of the 12 know what they're doing, we should follow what they tell us to do. It was a good lesson. Tuesday night we had fish tacos at our ward mission leaders house and then we tried to see people aaand since it is after the sun has gone down we are extremely offensive. People of the world, if missionaries come to your house after dark do not send them away!! Especially if it is 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday we had to fix Sister T's bike... AGAIN! We had rode them to go tracting (fruitless, I almost broke my foot, and freezing cold) and her tire was totally flat. Did I tell yall about the debacle we had last week about fixing her bike? The thing is on it's last leg. It's about to die. So we had to go fix that and then that afternoon we had Debra and Josetta. We watched the Testaments with them. It was amazing. I love the Testments. I will never forget the first time I watched it on my mission. In Brother Samfords house. And I was so emotional, and so happy! It's a great movie. Even if it is a little bit cheesy. Then after a pre-Thanksgiving dinner with the Rex's we went to see our potentials KiKi and Kiandra. We taught them a first lesson, and KiKi was not a fan of us saying that Jesus Christ's true church has been restored... but they said we could come back when they get home from Thanksgiving break (they get an ENTIRE WEEK off for Thanksgiving yall! How amazing is that??)
Thursday we saw Susan and taught her. She is doing well. She is not going to be at church for the next 5 weeks (minus the week right before I leave) and then we had dinner with a family the Littles. He has been a member his whole life and she was baptized about 2 and a half years ago. And now she's the young women's president! She is awesome.
Friday we had Zone Conference in Vidor. My last Zone Conference, can you believe it?? I remember my first zone conference, a Spanish hermana... I think her name was Hermana Werner? Something like that? Anyway she stood up and said "I remember my first zone conference, watching the departing testimonies and thinking, wow I will never be there." And I was like "Um, yes. That is how I feel." but I am there. How totally completely bizarre is that? She shared a scripture where John the Baptist said "He must increase (meaning Christ) but I must decrease" and I've thought about that for my whole mission. Christ must increase, and I the natural man must decrease. His goodness must increase in me. I am so thankful to have a testimony of the gospel and a testimony of the church! I am so grateful to have faith in Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this mission experience. It was a really good meeting. Me and Sister T sang "He Sent His Son". I thought of you Dad I know how much you love that song! I love it too. I love President and Sister Crawford. Whenever President testifies, I always feel the spirit's presence very strongly. My heart always burns when he testifies. He is so great. Friday night I went to Woodville on exchanges with Sister Jackson! It was so fun and just what I needed.
I'm working on something. I had some cool experiences this week with following promptings. While me and Sister Tuigamala were tracting Tuesday morning, I was talking about how I feel like I get promptings that don't make sense all the time, and how I can't tell if they're promptings yada yada yada, how many of the people of the church have felt like that? Probably almost every single one. I was telling her "I can't just do everything good idea that pops into my head. I just can't do every prompting that I receive, it's humanly impossible." And she said "You might surprise yourself." Light bulb like you wouldn't believe. I might surprise myself with my ability to follow the promptings I get. I might just be able to do every good thing I think of. How profound is my companion without even trying to be? So I've been trying to follow promptings more recently and it's been working out for me. Friday we had dinner with a less active single mom and her 7year old son. The mom, Cassie, was baptized at 12 with her mom and her sister. She has spent some time away from the church and is now coming back. At one point her son was talking about how much he LOVED primary. His mom said "I always feel a little jealous of my son, because when I joined the church I went almost directly into Young Women so I didn't learn the primary songs! I wish I had." and her son was saying how much he LOVED the primary songs. Well, because we had sung at zone conference, I just happened to have my children's hymnbook that Kari Brown gave me before I left and so we went and got it and he wanted to sing "Follow the Prophet." So we did. And then Cassie wanted us to sing "I am A Child Of God" Because she would sing that to him as a lullaby. So while we are singing, I get this prompting "Give Cassie the hymn book" and, that is not like me to do at all. I treasure the things that I've been given by people that I love. So I thought about it for a second, but then I thought "You cannot give yourself poor in this work" and so I asked them "Do yall have a children's hymnbook?" No. "Would you like one?" Yes! "Would you like THIS one?" And they were so excited. And I felt so happy for them. But then we were leaving and I felt like "Oh, no I don't want Kari Brown to think I didn't appreciate her gift, or that it was easy for me to just give it away." and then, looking up at the most beautiful starry sky, I thought of one of my FAVORITE christmas songs. The other wise man :] and it says "And the man of wisdom wonders if the King will understand that gift he meant to offer Him has been giv'n to mortal hands." And I thought about how the Lord understands. And I felt so happy.
Saturday we helped this woman move into the Woodville ward. MOST beautiful house ever. Maybe I'll go into real estate? Cause I love houses, and people, and etc. It was an old old house and there were those old fashioned bathtubs in all the bedrooms behind screens. It was so picture perfect. It was a good long day. We did that, we taught a bible study class out of preach my gospel and got a new investigator and then we taught a less active woman. Then the recent baptism in woodville, she is so great. Anette. When she got baptized all of her friends stopped speaking to her. How lame. Then we had dinner with an amazing family and it was delicious. I think I might have had a tiny migrane or something, my head felt like someone was slicing it with a knife and my eyes hurt so bad and I was sick to my stomach? Sound like a migrane? I felt better after I slept that night and took some ibuprofen on the way home. It was a great exchange. I love sister Jackson and Sister Erickson. So much.
Yesterday someone was praying for us. I know this because we had an okay day, Sister T is not sleeping well, so she wasn't feeling very good. But we had one of our appointments cancel so we went to the other and she wasn't there. So we sat in the car and started calling potentials and formers. This is how I know someone was praying for us and the Lord answers our prayers. EVERYONE we talked to set up a return appointment, many of them for the evening. Ihave prayed recently that we can fill our evenings. Cause they have been so difficult to fill. And I am sure the Lord was answering our prayers.
Mom, thanks for your letter! I'm glad things are going well for you. Are you so excited for Thanksgiving? It will be fun to have Grandma be at Grandma Hickens, I think. Is that what yall are planning? I love you!
Dad thanks for your e-mail! Your mission plan sounds amazing! We are doing something similar in our area. It's called the Plan and we are having the members work on fellowshipping. For a year they fellowship a family that they'd like to see as members of the church without bringing up the church at all. And we follow up to see their actions. Our Ward Mission Leader doesn't like us to ask the members to do missionary work, I think he had a bad experience with missionaries some time ago probably. But anyway we'll try it. It's hard to do without our mission leader behind us, but we'll keep trying.
James, thanks for your e-mail! I have got your letters a few weeks ago... maybe 2 weeks ago? I loved them as usual. Hows life?
Jonny, how are you? Getting ready for the mission? I am so incredible proud of you! SO SO proud of you. And even more excited for you!!! Study lesson 3 of preach my gospel. Just do it. Also, I want you to go to mormonchannel.org and find the video "Sanctify yourselves" :] and if you have time... Also The Tyler Haws video and the video by Neil L. Anderson about Sid Going. It's awesome.
I love yall! Happy thanksgiving! I am so thankful for yall. I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and so thankful for restored church. I am so thankful to be a missionary and for the opportunity I will have to be a missionary for my whole life. I am so thankful for my testimony of the gospel and the church. More than anything I'm thankful for that and for my Savior, Jesus Christ and a loving Father in Heaven. I'm thankful. There is so much to be thankful for and I truly am so thankful. I will try my best to serve Him. All of yall think of the things you're thankful for this week. Especially be thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ that helps us to be happier, better, clean, whole, forgiven.
I love yall! HAPPY HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Give my love to the fam at Grandma's house!! Talk to yall next week