Well it sounds like everyone back home is doing great! I love
getting updates on everyone, and hearing about life back in Utah. Tell
Norene hello from me! We are only supposed to email immediate family
members (which is hard when I get emails from Griff), but obedience
brings forth the blessings of Heaven right? So I will write her a hand
written letter :) Tell her she better come back to Utah next summer when
I get home. And tell her I'm going to write Andrew :)
Oh! Tell Carter I got his dearelder.com
letter. I need his new home address so that I can write him back. There
is this new family in our ward who just moved here from Utah, and the
husband just graduated from BYU getting his MBA and now he is getting
his PHD here at Rice University. He reminds me soo much of Carter.
Sitting and talking with him was messing with my mind cause it felt like
I was talking to Carter. Maybe Carter and Jen will end up down here
next summer!
Houston is still very hot and humid! I am just counting down the
days left in August cause then they say it'll cool down a bit. :)
I'm glad Noo sent you those pictures! We had a blast picking those
pears off her tree... it was just really really hot! She was taking
pictures of us like crazy ( and come to find out she sent them to her
son too.... she is trying to set me up I think cause this past week she
said, "Can you request a night off so you can just a have fun night with
Calvin and I? You two would get along so well!" Haha) We taught her
about Endure to the End, and she taught us that we cant work so hard
every minute, but we need to have fun too. I don't think she knows what
the life of a missionary is like. But I love her to death! She wants me
to come down and visit after my mission, so I hope we all can come down
here so y'all can meet her.
We knew transfer calls were coming this morning, and I laid in bed
last night not being able to sleep because I was so worried I was going
to have to leave. I don't look forward to the day I leave here. I love
the people soooo much! People say that missionaries change others lives,
but I feel like the people here have changed mine. Yesterday I can't
tell you how much gratitude I had in my heart after church to be where I
am. Man, I never thought someone who is just developing their
testimonies could strengthen mine so much. Several people we have been
teaching bore their testimonies and I just cried because I didn't
realize how much this short time I get to spend here with them is
changing their lives, AND mine! Being a missionary is an emotional
rollercoaster, but it's worth every minute. Even the hard ones.
Sunny finally made it to church yesterday!!!!!!!!!!! It was a pure
miracle! He also came to the ward party we did on Saturday and when we
talked to him last night he said he really enjoyed church! :)
Anyways.... about Transfer calls.... Sister Perez is leaving me! :(
This is going to be my 5th transfer and my 5th companion. I guess I
should have been more prepared for this because President Ashton told me
in my interviews that I need to be ready for change. Heavenly Father
knows I don't like change so He is helping me to stretch and grow a
little. This will be hard if my new companion doesn't speak spanish
because Marlon's Mom and Grandma only speak spanish, and so we won't have
someone there to help translate (besides Marlon). This will be hard in
getting his mom re-activated, but the Lord has a plan I'm sure.
Zone Leader Council was fun last week! We were both scared to
death, but it turned out good. When we walked in all the zone leaders
looked at us like... what are the sisters doing here?! There was lots of
pressure though because right after the assistants spoke President
Ashton called for a break, and he took us outside and said, "The
assistants took this in a direction I wasn't planning on. I need you
guys to bring it back." Ummm... well we got the assignment from the
assistants, so I hope we prepared what we needed, and what You
(president Ashton) want. But It worked out good. We received so much
direction as we prepared the talk. We have been trying to apply all that
we learned this week in our area, and we've been working with tons of
less/in active members. I can see why he is doing this, because if we
are building on a foundation that is cracked it's not going to stand
firm, but if we are strengthening our core (or our members) then we can
build upon it. We are trying to strengthen the stakes of zion. :) There
is lots of work to be done in this ward. But we've had great direction
from our ward leaders. The bishop had each auxillary pray about 5
less/in active families in the ward, and then he gave those names to us
missionaries to go teach the lessons to and try to bring back. We have
had 2 awesome visits with the people they have told us to visit and both
families have such a strong desire to make it to the temple, they just
need a little boost. So I like this direction the mission is heading.
This past weekend Sister Perez and I got sick. We got food
poisoning.... :( And it was a bummer because it was right before our
ward cultural night where everyone in the ward brought food from their
countries. But we still went, and it was so much fun! It was actually
the "big bang" to end our month long ward fast for missionary
opportunities. We were able to get several investigators there, lots of
in-actives, and the members of the ward brought so many of their
non-member friends. It was fun to see how excited the members were to
introduce us to their friends. One couple in particular brought another
couple they are going to school with, and they are from mainland China!
So it was fun to talk with them and make them feel more open about the
church.
I feel like I have so much to write y'all and so little time.
I pray for y'all daily! I love you sooo much and I am sooo grateful
for the family you are! Heavenly Father blessed me so much to be with
you! :)
Erianne
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