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| Sister Williams and Sister Flanders at the Temple |
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| My new companion Sister Santistevan |
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| Sister Williams and Sister Flanders |
Family!
Alrighty let's just get right to it. 2 weeks ago was transfers.
Sister Flanders got transfered and I stayed and... I'M TRAINING. AGAIN.
If you were wondering, the answer is yes. I did cry again, but I got
over it way sooner than last time haha. Sister Santistevan is awesome!
We get along so well and we have the same sense of humor and mannerisms
and it's just great. Plus, College Station is great so I am so stoked
that I get to stay here for another transfer. Not gonna lie, I was
slightly worried that I would get transferred and have to train and open
up a new area again, which was a very real possibility. But alas!
Prayers are answered. So Texas is as hot as ever, and you know what,
that is just fine because you get over it. On that note, here are some
things that are not ok: 1) I am practically obese! I'm just kidding. In
all honesty though, I do think I am getting fatter and that is not ok
with me. Don't worry, I'm in the middle of starting operation "get
skinny". I'll let y'all know how that goes. 2) a few of our
investigators have dumped us and it hurt. They pulled the whole "it's
not you it's me" card, and the "but, we still want to be friends" line.
It's ok though. I know that at the very least a seed has been planted,
and maybe some other missionaries will come along and they will be
exactly what these people need to bring them to the gospel. On a happier
note, here's all of the good things that are happening. 1) While we
lost a few investigators, we gained a bunch! I just love them all so
much! 2) We have at least one (hopefully 2) firm baptismal date set for
the 28th and I am so excited. Her name is Amy and she was literally Heaven
sent. Last Saturday the Elders were holding a baptismal service for one
of their investigators and she randomly showed up with her friend. I
briefly introduced myself afterwards, but didn't do anything more than
that. The next day at church she walks up to me and says she wants to be
baptized and she wants us to teach her... Miracles do happen! She is so
awesome. We have already taught her 3 of the lessons, and every time we
teach her I can just see this new light and understanding in her eyes
as she recognizes and understands more and more about the gospel of
Jesus Christ. That is one of the best things about being a missionary.
You get to be there when others have that light bulb moment and they
just know what we've been telling them is true. I love it! 3) This past Saturday
we were able to go do some service on a members ranch and it was so
dang fun. We herded cattle all day long and then we got to tag and
Castrate this poor little baby calf. Being a new born cow is a hard life
for sure. This little guy had only been in the world for a few days
and... well let's just say he wasn't a happy baby cow. This coming wednesday we are going to go drain a swamp. I LOVE TEXAS!
So here's my spiritual thought for the week. Elder Bednar (one of
the twelve apostles) once said that when he reads through the Book of
Mormon, he likes to use those little blue soft back copies. In every
copy, there is a white blank page that he writes a question on that he
has been wondering about. Then he reads the entire Book of Mormon with
that question in mind. Afterwards he writes the answer he receives
underneath his question, and then he does the whole process over again. I
decided a couple of months ago that I was going to try this out. Let me
tell you, I have read through the Book of Mormon quite a few times, and
I have gotten more out of this one time than I have all of the other
times combined. This really tells me something about scripture reading
and getting out of it what we put into it. When we "feast upon the word
of Christ", always starting and ending with a prayer, we can receive so
much more from our reading than if we just go through the motions.
Reading the scriptures has become one of my absolute favorite things to
do and no longer feels like something I just need to check off my to do
list. I am so grateful for that, because it is really transforming me
into a better missionary and person in general. Anyways, that was my
little tidbit for the week. I love you all more than a fat kid loves
cake and I will see you soon!
-Love Sister Williams
