A Marvelous Work and a Wonder

Investigators

We took Lois Stein on a church tour with her boyfriend Todd Daniels and it was awesome she really wants to come to church and wants to be baptized and they are planning on getting married. She is a solid investigator.

Miracle from on High

I had an amazing spiritual experience on Saturday on finding people. so me and my companion got out a map of our area and it had all the streets and its names. One of us would go into the other room and take the map and pray what street we needed to tract that day. we would write down 10-15 streets and the other one would do the same thing then we would come together and compare our lists that we had. we didn't have the same streets but ours was so close to each other like a street off. one of mine was 15th street and one of his was 14th street. so we decided to tract the 15th street and there were only a few houses on the street so we started knocking on them nice people but were not interested we got to the last house on the street and we were confident that this was the one. A black guy answered the door and let us in and we talked with him and his name is Ondrea Powell. We talked about faith and wisdom to him and he was blown away and that those two things that he had questions and did not make sense but know it makes clear sense. He said to us that we were not afraid to say it and that we were bold, clear, and powerful, and knowledgable. He said that he was sitting outside in the backyard and he thought its getting a little hot out here and decided to go inside. He started to watch football and he had this feeling and thought came to him that someone was coming that was importnant and strong. He heard a knock on the door he looked behind the curtain out of the window and could not see anyone he checked the other one he said no one was there and then he opened the door and saw us and something told him to let them in so he let us in and gave him a powerful message. That was an amazing experience if you pray and seek were he wants you to go he will direct you to were you need to go at the right time and at the right place. He wants us to come back and to teach more. He is a great guy.

Baptism
A member took us to Silsbee on saturday to go see Bill Singleys baptism. It was awesome. He said it took 32 years of missionaries to get him to go to church, stop smoking and get baptized and he said that me and Elder Packard were the most dilgent and persistent with him and that we are the only missionaries in 32 years to get him to church, stop smoking and get baptized, That is one reason I got called to Houston East Texas and to Silsbee, Heavenly Father knows where you would be best at.

Pictures and Adventures of the Week

We went on the nature trail to see some alligators but we didn't see any it is so hot down here. We went to the gulf of mexico and went to a beach called Holly Beach and it was pretty fun. We had dinner at the Evans and it was fun they have four horses and three dogs. After we had family home evening with them and played kickball and played hide and seek with them it was fun. we had desserts after it all.

On wednesday we taught the young men and the youg women at mutual and taught them about questions of the soul and it went pretty good. On Friday we had zone meeting and we talked about baptisms and how we can accomplish our goals that we have set for the month of Spetember and our goal for the month of September is 5. We know that it can be done because we have so many investigators that are ready and can be baptized this month. we knocked on six doors and got FOUR return appointments and when we were walking back to our apartment we ran into some people and talked to them a bit and we got a return appointment from them.

Investigators -- Keep Adding to the Pool!

Charles Wilcox

we taught him about families on how important they are and how they fit into Heavenly Fathers plan and he loved the lesson and talking about his family.

Grishams

I think they are catholic, they said they are not going to change there religion but loves visits so we are going to back over there and teach them the first lesson.

Brother Soddard

he is a less active member wants to come back to church but has not made the effort to go. we went over to his house and taught him the second lesson and his friend was over there that was not a member and we talked with him a bit and had a good conservation. He said he was going to bring his friend to church too and they did come to church and he also brought another friend.

Cassie Seacrest

We went over there with President Evans and taught her about the Holy Ghost and the many blessings it has and she said that she really wants that guidance in her life so we commited her to be baptized and she accepted and her date is on the 24th of September. We are way excited and we are going to help her along the way.

Nicole Carter

We taught her at the church and she brought her friend along too so we talked about reading and praying about the Book of Mormon to know if it is true. She said that she is going to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She was the one that we set her baptismal date for this saturday but it is not going to work out so we are going to put it another time and still helping her along the way.

Todd and Lois

They are refferals from the sisters in Sulphur and they are solid investigators. They are living with each other. Todd was a member but fell away when he started college but know wants to come back and Lois is a catholic but doesn't go to her church and there is some things in her church that she wonders about or does not seem right like babies getting baptized and some other things. we had a church tour with them and it went great, she had a lot of great questions and we were running out time and couldn't ask them all but we commited her to be baptized and she accepted but we did not set a date yet because they have to get married first. they both are divorced. they are great and fun people. They are going to be strong members of the church. oh yeah we told them a little about the Book of Mormon and she has read fourteen chapters in three days and that is really good for an investigator. On Sunday we went home teaching with brother dayley and saw the people that he is home teaching. Oh yeah I got a call from my trainer Elder Packard and he said that Bill Singley one of the investigators that we were teaching is getting baptized this Saturday and I am going back to see it.

Colby

He is one of the people that we got a return appointment from and we talked with him and he is way cool. He is not a religion type of a person he is really into science and is fascinated by it. He was asking us questions and we answered them and we referred him to the Mormon.org site and we watched a few videos on it and he liked it. We were in a big room were he has a computer and a big TV and you can see the computet screen on the big TV. He asked who is the prophet today we told him it is Thomas S. Monson and right then he searched his name and he said he was going do some research and read about him I was going to say to him that the internet is not really reliable because all the things put onto it but I guess when we go back we will talk to him about it.

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.