Servants of the Lord - Apostles and Missionaries

Elder Holland and Zone Conference

It has been over 100 degrees every day since the beginning of August. very hot. It was Elder Holland that came down and spoke to all of the Houston Missions. He talked about that this is the most important time of your life, he talked about using your time wisely dont even waste a second, planning, studying, and he talked about that we are going around and giving people the greatest gift and that he said that we are the most prayed for. we got to shake his hand. after we ate at Culvers and it was pretty good. It was about nine or nine thirty and we still had a two hour drive to get back to our area and our mission president was worried about us driving back so we stayed in Kingwood for the night at The assistants apartment and then in the morning we went to the mission home which is really nice and our mission president made us breakfast then we headed back to our area. We also had a zone conference and it was good and they talked about Hurricane preperation and about keeping our spiritual, mental, and physical healthy, we talked about inviting people to baptism.

Investigators
Cassie Seacrest

she is an investigator that we have been teaching she is married to a member of the church that is less active and they have a little son. we have taught them the first lesson and the second lesson. Last week we taught her about the importance of church and she said she would come to church. we were going to invite her to be baptized the next time we see her. Her mom has been in the hospital and has cancer so Cassie is going through a hard time right know.

Sister Yarbrough

she is a less active that we have been going over and seeing lately she has been trying to stop smoking so we are working with her and she wants to come back to church and she even said herself if we want to get her to church we have to give her a little push. like calling her two hours before or going to her door and knocking. we are going to teach her all the lessons so she can remember the basic docterines and principles that we teach.

Shannaon Lewis

We went over there yesterday and seeing if she has prayed and read the book of mormon. she said she has been praying but not reading the book of mormon. We said if you really want to know if this is true you have to read the book of mormon, ponder about it, and pray with a sincere heart and with real intent. We told her a little more of what the Book of Mormon is that it is another testament of Jesus Christ and that it goes and supports the bible. Know she said that she is going to read and pray about it. we sent a soft baptismal invitation but she said that they have been baptized except one of the teenage boys. so we have to let her understand about the priesthood authority. we are going to take there family on a church tour.

Nicole Carter

She is scared and a little confused because her preacher said that her soul is lost and a bunch of other stuff but she likes our church and she wants to keep taking the lessons so we are going to try to see her this week and get her prepared for the baptismal date that we have set.

Crazy Exchanges and Investigators' Progress

Exchanges

Elder Holland is coming down and visiting our mission this friday. This summer has gone by so fast, it feels like I just got back from BYU-I. Its going by so fast. I have been out for four months. wow. Oh yeah almost forgot we did exchanges with the zone leaders and I went to Vidor the second ward. we ate at a members house and we went over to a less active/ investigator and to see how they are doing and that we told them that the next day no more smoking, tea or cofffee. The mom has a hard time with smoking and the son has a hard time of stopping drinking coffee but they are a really nice family. we went with a member to go see some people. we did some tracting.

Crazy Member Dream

we were staying in this little shed house thing that a member owns. The zone leader that i was with told me that President Ross the one that owns it comes in at 6:00 in the morning turns on the light and starts singing until we get out of bed and he gets down by one of us and the ohter one says a short prayer and then he said we get on our shoes and go on a little walk with him. I was a little scared of what he was going to do to us so I woke up every hour or two. I didn't get that much sleep. But I had a dream that he poured watermelon juice over the zone leader and put jello over me. haha. but it was not bad at all as i thought it would be.

Investigators
Nicole Carter: she is about 21 years old she is Johns older sister. The first time we met her she had a lot of questions about the church and we answered them all and taught the first lesson. we watched the restoration DVD with her and she liked it. Yesterday we did a church tour with them and invited her to baptized on September 10 and she accepted and she came to church yesterday. we are trying to get her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray which she is getting better at. We are taking her to the Gladias Knight.

John Carter: He is a roommate of a less active in our ward (Andy Stewart) he just looks like and acts like cameron nielson which reminded me of him. John is taking this really seriously and making sure it is right for him. He wants to learn more about the church and he also accepted the invitation to be baptized on Septemnber 10. we did a church tour and have taught him the first lesson. He goes to the marines boot camp in November so we are working with him before he leaves. He is about like 19 or 20 and he is Nicole sister.

Shannon Lewis: She is a mom of five children and four of them are teenagers. they are a black family and we have taught them the first lesson and she seems pretty interested in it and she likes how we just go over and to see how they are doing. she has been reading out of the book of mormon and praying and she says she believes it, its just all new to her so we are going to take it slow so she can understand it all. She is very busy with work and know school is starting so it is going to be hard to catch her.

Charles Wilcox: He is 89 years old and missionaries have taught him all the lessons before he know that it is true and likes our church is just that his family is strong pentacostal and don't like mormons and they will go against him and disown him. He has a hard time of getting around because of his knees so he is depending on his family and he doesn't want to go against them. so we are hoping the family will soften there hearts and will let him be baptized. he is a really nice guy.

Time is Flying By!

Daily Routine

we usually go tracting for at least an hour a day, go see members and teach them a lesson, go see less actives, see our investigators that we are working with and contact the referrals that we have been getting from members. we usually see inactives because there are so many down here in Texas. I eat cereal for breakfast, for lunch two turkey sandwiches that is 100% whole wheat bread, clemen times, grapes, celery, and yogurt. I am trying to eat healthy and have a balanced meal than I usually don't know what is should have for dinner.

Now I know all the areas we cover they are Orange, TX Pinehurst, TX West Orange, TX Deweyville, TX Mauriceville, TX Orangefield, TX Starks, LA Vinton, LA and all the area around those areas so we have a big area to cover. we have a member that feeds us corn and shrimp every sunday which is so good. I have been studying really hard and deep study on the Plan of Salvation and I have learned so many things. using preach my gospel, scriptures, footnotes, and topical guide. we usually find people through member referrals, tracting, area book, and the referrals we get from the mission office. we have one family that are investigators, than three other investigators that we have been focusing on which i kind of told you about them already in the e-mail. Oh yeah and one old man that wants to be baptized but his family is way against mormons so we are working with him too.

The Power of the Spirit

We tracted into a black family and they are really nice and we taught them a first lesson and they have been praying and started to read the book of mormon and they are feeling that this is good. they have four boys, three of them are teenagers there names are Moe, Tate, Philip, and I forgot the little kids name.

We have been teaching this less active roommate and the rommates sister and brother. we watch the new Joseph Smith movie with them and it was so good, The spirit was so strong and I knew they felt it. It is about an hour and ten minutes. They were asking alot of questions and we set a time for them to do a church tour with them. we are going to teach them the second lesson and invite them to be baptized. one of them says they want to go on a mission. we invited them to a barbecue that the ward is doing.

Star Appearance

Oh yeah we are inviting our investigators to this fireside thing in Houston. Gladias Knight i think thats how you spell it is coming down, that the presidency has set her apart to go around the country to perform for a missionary tool. I have heard it is really good and the spirit is so strong than her husband bears his testimony and more.

"Orange" it Wonderful

"Orange" it Wonderful

The cities we work in is Orange, Maurciville, Dueyville, Vitan, Starks, and some in Louisiana. We have a car becasue our area is huge. we have a new ward and it is so small, there is like fifty people there maybe a little more than that. we live in apartment which is nice. I am getting a little better at cooking. My companion is really tall and skinny, He talks really quiet, he has four months left, but yeah we have been getting better working with each other.

Tracting Success

We tracted into this one family and we taught them a first lesson and they seemed to be interested in it so we are going back there tomorrow to teach the second lesson. We went over to a less actives house and he had his friend and his sister over there and she had a lot of questions and we started to answer them and by the end we taught the first lesson so we are going to go back and watch the restoration video and set up another appiontment to teach the second lesson. His friend liked that we were not forcing anything. that we were just inviting them.

we tracted into a baptist preacher he invited us in and he gave us water and he was talking to us about all the stuff they believed and some was similar to what we believe but there were quite of few things that are different. we tracted into this couple that are strong catholics and we taught them the first lesson and they were listening and we gave them a restoration pamphlet and a Book of Mormon and they said nothing can change them but we will see. they said they were going to read it so we are going to go back and see if they want to learn more.

Referrals

Hunter Beaumount a fifteen year old member in our ward gave us a whole page of referrals that were his friends and they are really nice and we are trying to set up an appointment with them to teach them.

Service

we did service at the orange cristian services we set food orders i think its for people that can't afford food or something.

Investigators

The Bishop took us out and we saw this 89 year old and he is really missionaries have taught him all the lessons and he has read the book of mormon and he wants to be a member but his family is strong penticostal and they said if he joins they would give him no support and other stuff. He has a walker because his knees are bad. He said some missionaries gave him a book of mormon but his family saw it and took it and soaked it in water and threw it out. so we are going to give him another one and he said he is going to have to hide it so his family wont see it and he lives alone.

Less Actives

We have a lot of less actives to work with. we have about ten pages of less actives to work with but its not as much as the silsbee ward have. We went to see Mike Odom and he is a less active and we taught him the first lesson and it went really good. He is building his own house and it is so cool, he has a pond, he is a beekeeper, and he is a really cool. we had district meeting and was talking about the importnace of the Book of Mormon.The members are great but we dont get fed that much down here like in Silsbee and we are trying to get the members more active in missionary work and to take us out. we are pretty close to a few rivers. we are the only missionaries in our area the closest ones are in Vidor.

The Wonderful Week of Elder Hickey

Finding ALL the time
We tracted into this one family and we taught them a first lesson and they seemed to be interested in it so we are going back there tomorrow to teach the second lesson. We went over to a less actives house and he had his friend and his sister over there and she had a lot of questions and we started to answer them and by the end we taught the first lesson so we are going to go back and watch the restoration video and set up another appiontment to teach the second lesson. His friend liked that we were not forcing anything. that we were just inviting them. Hunter Beaumount a fifteen year old member in our ward gave us a whole page of referrals that were his friends and they are really nice and we are trying to set up an appointment with them to teach them.

we tracted into a baptist preacher he invited us in and he gave us water and he was talking to us about all the stuff they believed and some was similar to what we believe but there were quite of few things that are different. we tracted into this couple that are strong catholics and we taught them the first lesson and they were listening and we gave them a restoration pamphlet and a Book of Mormon and they said nothing can change them but we will see. they said they were going to read it so we are going to go back and see if they want to learn more.

My new are of Orange
I don't know how to spell some of these cities but I will do my best. The cities we work in is Orange, Maurciville, Dueyville, Vitan, Starks, and some in Louisiana. We have a car becasue our area is huge. we have a new ward and it is so small, there is like fifty people there maybe a little more than that. we live in apartment which is nice. I am getting a little better at cooking. My companion is really tall and skinny, He talks really quiet, he has four months left, but yeah we have been getting better working with each other.

On sunday was testimony meeting and I introduced myself and bore my testimony. we had luch with brother bailey he is a really cool guy and he lives in Louisiana and he fed us shrimp and corn. he collects a lot of stuff. He took us around the western part of louisana and did home teaching with him. There is swamps in Louisana and he took us by the race track and it was huge. He said he was going to take us one of these days down to the beach and that he is going to take us on this nature trail and see alligators. Yeah I just got a glimpse of the Western part of Lousiana. I think it is swampy. It has been really dry and we are in a big drought and have not been getting that much rain. It has been like in the 95's to 105 degrees. The rivers and the lakes are really low and it is lowest its been in a very long time.

The members are great but we dont get fed that much down here like in Silsbee and we are trying to get the members more active in missionary work and to take us out. we are pretty close to a few rivers. we are the only missionaries in our area the closest ones are in Vidor. We get to go the temple twice a year because the temple is out of our mission.

Activating Power
We have a lot of less actives to work with. we have about ten pages of less actives to work with but its not as much as the silsbee ward have. We went to see Mike Odom and he is a less active and we taught him the first lesson and it went really good. He is building his own house and it is so cool, he has a pond, he is a beekeeper, and he is a really cool.

Service and Struggles
we did service at the orange cristian services we set food orders i think its for people that can't afford food or something. we had district meeting and was talking about the importnace of the Book of Mormon. The Bishop took us out and we saw this 89 year old and he is really missionaries have taught him all the lessons and he has read the book of mormon and he wants to be a member but his family is strong penticostal and they said if he joins they would give him no support and other stuff. He has a walker because his knees are bad. He said some missionaries gave him a book of mormon but his family saw it and took it and soaked it in water and threw it out. so we are going to give him another one and he said he is going to have to hide it so his family wont see it and he lives alone.

PICTURES!!!

I have no idea who these people are but Elder Hickey is in them :)

Howdy Y'all

New Area - Orange

Oh yeah I got transfered. I am in Orange, Texas. We cover part of Louisiana and Texas. My new comapanion is Elder Jackson and he is from Idaho. He has four months left before he goes home. It is still way hot. Its usually around 95 to 105 degrees and some days it is high humidity. I went on exchanges with Elder Olsen he is from Alpine Utah. We had a lot of fun. We went to see Otha he is an investigator and we taught him how to study out of the Book of Mormon and we taught him half of the first lesson and we scheduled a church tour with him on Tuesday.

Car trouble and Baptist preachers

we dropped off our car to the Toyota dealership and they had to do something so we were waiting for like two hours and we met a baptist preacher and he thought we where working there so we told him who we where and he gave us some of his pass along cards and we gave him a pass along car we would of gave him a book of mormon but our bags were in the car that was getting fixed.