Hog time!

It was a week full of service. We started off the week by helping a family move into the Kerrville Ward. They had a big Uhaul and it was us and 1 other member. We enjoyed helping them move into the area. Then on Wednesday we pulled many weeds and mowed the grass of a recent convert Sister Kathy Sangster. I have never seen a yard with so many weeds but we helped the yard look half decent. On Thursday right before we started our weekly planning we received a call from a member asking if we could go and help him catch a hog. We had it trapped in a cage and needed to put it into a smaller cage and move it into a different gated area of his ranch. I never knew that Hogs were so big, mean and strong. We were going to mow another lawn on Friday of one of our investigators but because it rained for a little bit we moved it to Saturday. Her name is Pat and she has had many trails in her life. Because of a recent surgery she had she couldn't come to church but is going to do all she can to come next week. She texted us on Sunday after church and said that she was sorry she didn't come but to not give up on her.

Surprise visit!

What a great week it was. On Saturday after a very surprising and shocking visit from an aunt and uncle with a box full of  food we headed to San Antonio. After our drive and preparing spiritually in the chapel we were able to hear from our mission president and also his wife along with a special visit from Elder Craig C. Christensen who is in the Presidency of the Seventy. It was a very spiritual conference and it was amazing to learn of many ways

that I can continue to improve as a missionary. It was neat as Elder Christensen had President Polley be his companion and they were both able to teach us and both answer the questions that we asked throughout the meeting. First Elder Christensen spoke about our purpose of "Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts" and after he then discussed a quote from our beloved Prophet President Thomas S. Monson " “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.”. After he helped us understand these two focuses of his we then had a question and answer.

I loved hearing President Polley and Elder Christensen share stories from there past experiences and also their missions that they have served. They were both full of love and it was amazing to be able to feel of Christ's love through them. The spirit was so strong and taught me and helped me find things that I need to change. Throughout the question and answer the topic of prayer was brought up several times. He shared how he prays and what important things he does before his morning and evening prayer to bring the spirit in such as singing a hymn, reading a scripture, or reflecting back on the last time you felt the influence of the spirit. He also taught us how Joseph Smith obeyed no matter what he was told to do and invited us to follow his example and obey with faith. I really enjoyed hearing his testimony of Christ and the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said that around 57 different heavenly angles appeared to Joseph and that Moroni appeared to him about 22 different times. When he shared his testimony I knew that he knew what he was saying is true. I hope that I can continue to increase my testimony and the power that comes with it.

This week we also had the opportunity to take out one of the priest in the ward names Elijah. Most of his family does not come to church but he comes almost every Sunday. He is a great example for his family and he has a desire to serve a mission.

Yesterday our bishop came up to us before stake conference started and shared an experience of a non-LDS family who recently went a a funeral in another ward. This family was taught by the missionaries a while back but they didn't have the greatest desire to change and join the church. The bishop shared how at the funeral they talked with the bishop there and they feel that it is time to learn more about our believes including the Plan of Salvation. He said that this family is ready and that they will be setting up a family home evening and that we will be able to go and teach them at bishops home. This was another miracle that we have seen after working hard and talking with everyone. The Lord truly has blessed us in this area and this will hopefully be the family that we have been praying for. We are excited to see how things go with this family in the next couple of weeks.

"The course of our lives is not determined by great, awesome decisions, our direction is set by the little day to day choices which chart the track on which we run."

Going back!

What a busy and great week it was. We had exchanges, District meeting, interviews with President Polley, and we were able to receive council during a short zone meeting from President and Sister Polley. I am so grateful for their example and all that they have shared with me and helped me with. It is always amazing to understand President Polleys vision and apply it in my missionary work and also in my area. I know that we will have great success here in the small town of Kerrville.

On Wednesday I went on exchanges with one of my Zone Leaders into his area. They cover the Spanish ward in the stake and also an English ward. We met a few new families that seem to have a lot of potential. They sleep in the same apartment that I stayed in while serving in Parkwood which was my second area. It was fun going back to an apartment I was in over a year ago and being able to serve near one of my old areas.

As we were visiting less actives we knocked on a couple of the houses around them. One of the Less Actives neighbor that we knocked into seemed very interested. Her name is Pat and she is a mother with 4 kids and two of them have moved out of the home. Her 11 year old boy at the time was sick so she didn't let us in but we talked briefly about the church and the Restoration. She mentioned how she use to go to church and when she was going they gave everyone a small book about Mormons and it was full of anti. A few days later her kid started to feel better and she came to the baptism of the bishops daughter on Saturday. She seemed to have enjoyed it and said she would come to church but sadly she didn't show up. We will hopefully get to visit with her soon and teach her more about the restored gospel.

We were able to visit many people this week and go out with a few of the ward members. The members are feeding us very well and we enjoy being in their home and feeling the spirit. I am looking forward to another great week of finding and teaching.

I Believe!

What a great week it was. It is amazing how fast weeks go by on the mission. It feels like each week goes by faster and faster as I get father into my mission. This was a week full of finding and this
upcoming week will be the same as we are trying to find a family and individuals that will be willing to change through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that we will be able to find someone this week that will be willing to act on our invitations that we extend. This week we were also able to visit many of the leaders in the ward and talk to them about their view and goals for missionary work. We also had dinner with bishop last night who lives about 40+ minutes away in a smaller town called Bandera. Our bishop has a great desire to have the members do more work in finding and inviting people for us to teach. We have a great bishop who has a lot of humor. It has been neat seeing the difference in each bishop and how they want to work with the missionaries. We are going to try and work closely with the members of this ward and help them invite there friends and family members to come unto Christ through the restoration.

This week was also very rainy and cloudy. Thankfully it wasn't to cold even with the rain. Last p-day we went to one of the members ranch that he works on and he took us on a jeep ride. Kerrville is located in the hill country of Texas so it was fun being out in the middle of no where and seeing animals such as bobcats, deer, and hogs. There is not to much here in Kerrville besides people that have a bunch of land and use it for hunting. It is a beautiful area.

There wasn't to much else that happened this week besides finding, cancelled appointments, and rain. We are excited for this week and hope that we will be able to find people to teach. I was able to study this week about the doctrine of Faith. It was amazing how much I learned through diligent scripture study, prayer, and personal revelation. I was able to see many people in the scriptures that the Lord said had great faith and others that had a lack of faith. Faith is the principle of action and power and it is how miracles happen. I am looking forward to seeing miracles this week as my Companion and I exercise our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ether 12:12).

"As we do our best, He will not let us fail."