Let me just start by saying I LOVE TEXAS.  K, but really though, I love it…I love it so stinking much.     I stepped off of the plane in Dallas for our 3 hour layover and not only was I enveloped in a warm embrace from the humidity,  but I was also filled with this overwhelming love for Texas and the people there... and that was only in Dallas!  I wasn't even in Houston yet!  So yay, there's that.  Saying goodbye to my district was super sad because I love those girls with all my heart, but getting to meet my new companion and be sent off to my new area was sooo exciting.  My companion's name is Sister Zamacona, and she is awesome.   She's been out for 14 months and is so cute and small and way fun to be around.  She is from St. George, Utah, and we get along so well. Our apartment is way cool as well.  So nice.  I thought as a missionary I would get put in little dinky apartments, and I will, but in my first area that is not the case.

So a sad thing that happened was that my MTC companion had a cut on her foot that got infected so badly that she had to stay at the MTC while the rest of us flew off to good  ol’ Tejas.  She was so sad and I was so sad and everyone was sad, but we knew that God had a plan and that everything would turn out all right. So the good news is, she was able to fly in today and guess what?  You’re right!  She is my companion again and we are now a trio as of today.  Crazy, huh?  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  

Anyways, my first few days were  great. The exhaustion was worse, but my excitement kept me energized. The area I'm in is called The Woodlands and it's awesome.  Trees everywhere.  Very wealthy people live in The Woodlands and apparently rich people like to hide their things.  Seriously, though. Because my companion and I are opening up a new sister area, meaning no sisters have been here before, or at least for the past 6 years, we had no idea where anything was.  All of the stores, houses, gas stations, and restaurants (including fast food) are all hidden by trees.  How do you hide an entire Wal-Mart?  Apparently you do it with a bunch of trees.  So it's pretty cool, I guess.  This area is a bit different than any other area.  We are not allowed to tract... at all.   Sister Z and I weren't really sure what to do with that, so we prayed... a lot.  Btdubs, you pray a ton on your mission.  I think I've prayed more times in the past 3 weeks than I have in my entire life.  We pray over EVERYTHING.  I can bear my testimony to you right now that the power of prayer is real.  God not only hears prayers, but he answers them as well.  I promise you.  So anyways the answer we kept receiving is that there is a better way, and I'm here to tell you that the better way is through the members.  Tracting is not the most effective way to bring people to the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of his Gospel, the members are.  So right now we are working on teaching the members about something called social conversion.  All the members have to do is fellowship nonmembers and exercise charity and share just enough about the Gospel to get people interested about it, then let the missionaries do what they've been called and set apart to do.  As members, knowing what we know, knowing how precious this Gospel is, we have an obligation to our family and friends to share.  Like I said last time, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.  If you love them and view them not as they are but as then can be, you will do all that you can to make sure they make it back to live with their Father in Heaven again.  Perfect love casteth out all fear!

There was this talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland at General Conference this past year,  "The First Great Commandment".   Many of you heard it.  It was the one about the apostle Peter.  If you haven't heard it, I suggest you visit lds.org and look it up.  Good stuff!  Anyways, he gave a similar talk at the MTC a few years ago that one of my teachers showed our class.  The talk is basically the same, but something he added to this one really struck me. When he describes the scene on the beach of Jesus asking Peter if he loved him he added a few powerful words.  After asking, for the third time, "Peter, do you love me?", to which Peter replied , "Thou knowest I love thee",  Elder Holland described Jesus saying, "Than what are you still doing here?  What are doing returning to the same old shore, with the same old nets, on the same old boat?  When I told you to leave your nets it was forever... when I asked you to follow me it was forever, when I called you to be a missionary, it was forever."   Friends and family who have received the gift that is this Gospel, especially those who have had the blessing of serving a mission, now is the time to put away childish things (1Corinthians 13:11).  When God asked you to follow him it was forever.  When he said "feed my sheep" it was forever.  We don't get to be dumb kids anymore without a care in the world, because there is work to be done. Now is the time to prepare to meet God, and because some can't do it on their own, it is our job, knowing what we know, to bring them closer to Christ.

Anyways, I apologize if that was a little intense, but I feel very strongly about it. I love you all and miss you like crazy, and I'll see you soon!

-Sister Williams