An Awesome Week!

Hello Family!!!!

It is crazy to think that a whole transfer has gone by.  Today they called us to tell us that my companion, Hna. Worthen, is getting transferred.  I'll be staying here though, so I'm kinda excited to see who my new companion will be.  

Our new mission president isn't coming until the middle of July.  His wife is pregnant, and is due at the beginning of July, so they won't be coming out until after that.  I don't know of any other big meetings that we are having, other than this week's transfer meeting.  (Which should be fairly well attended, there are a lot of missionaries leaving/coming in this transfer. )

I can't believe that July is just around the corner.  We stopped to talk to some people yesterday who were putting up their 4th of July decorations.  Which really just made me think that my birthday is just a few weeks away as well.  I can't believe I'm going to be 23, it just sounds so old.  But after my birthday is the wedding.  I hadn't really thought about that until just now as I was reading your email.  

We got a storm watch text last week.  It looked like there was a storm headed our way, but today we got an email from the office saying that this storm probably won't make it to us.  It is supposed to get pretty hot this week.  But it does stay a little cooler (about 5 degrees) here in Galveston, as opposed to in Houston, so that's good.  

Work wise we had an awesome week!  We found a couple new investigators, one of which accepted a date, and had two people come to church!  We also had some really good lessons this week.  We took one of our investigators out to a member's house, and ate dinner with them, and then had a lesson!  It was an amazing lesson.  We are going back out there tonight with him for a FHE.  

We also did some service for our landlord.  Our complex is pretty small, just a few apartments, so we are always willing to help with whatever.  One of the apartments was vacated last week, so we asked if we could help get it ready to rent again.  He asked if we would be willing to help paint.  So Hna. Worthen and I went down one day and started painting, but we realized that it would take us way to long to paint it all, so we invited the rest of our district over.  It was a great district wide service project!  

I think that is about it for this week!

Love you lots!

Amber

June 18, 2012

Hello everyone!

It's been a pretty good week here in Galveston!

 

We have four new investigators this week!  One of them is the mom of a part member family we are teaching.  The dad is a less-active, so we are working with him, and the kids are recent converts. 

 

We also started teaching this guy, Eric, who we had kinda been playing phone tag with for a few weeks.  But we finally got out to see him, and had a great lesson with him.  He had actually been meeting with missionaries a long time ago, and was thinking about getting baptized, but didn't.  So we set a date with him.  We are hoping that he progress really well, and will actually come to church with us.  

 

Our other two new investigators are friends who have just recently come up from Mexico.  One of them also accepted a baptismal date. 

 

We are working on finding new investigators, always.  But we've had some good lessons this week, and had a great lesson with some members at the church.

 

One of the things we do to help members with missionary work is take them on a tour of the church building.  We ask them about experiences they've had in the different rooms:  relief society, primary, chapel, that sort of thing, and then take them down into the font, and ask them about their baptisms, and which of their friends and/or families they would like to see the font!  It's a way cool experience, and the spirit is really strong.  So we got a couple of referrals of people we can go teach from this family.  Now we just have to do some follow up.  

 

Our baptism last week got confirmed yesterday.  They did the service right after church, so confirmations were yesterday.  That was really cool.  I also got to accompany the primary sing to their dad's, so that was fun.  

 

It's crazy how much this little branch reminds me of my first area.  Our proselyting area covers about half of the island, as well as a few towns right on the mainland.  And it being Galveston, not everyone has a car.  It just makes me think of Guadalajara, and all the people who didn't have their own cars, as well as all of our members who lived in the little towns outside of the city.  But I think that is part of the reason why I love it here!

 

Last week our P-day was pretty fun!  We did some fishing (although, as usual, I did not catch anything!)  But it was still fun.  We had a good little BBQ, and played a little volleyball, and fished.  It was a fun day!

 

Well, I think that's about it!

Love you all lots!

Amber

June 11, 2012

So first off, yesterday was baptism day!  We had the baptism of Sammie, a nine year old, and Yeny, an eight year old (the missionaries have been working to reactivate her family for a while, so she's almost like one of our baptisms,)  and the elders in our branch also had a baptism.  They just did the service right after church, so there were a lot of members there. It was a really neat experience.

 

Other than Sammie, we haven't been teaching too many people.  We have one investigator, Vidal.  He is the brother of a less active member, and is friend's with Yeny's mom.  So she invited him to come over to her house one night while we were there and we started teaching him.  We just taught him the plan of salvation last week.  I think we are just going to read with him in the Book of Mormon next time.  We've been trying to find new investigators, so we've been calling and stopping by all of the people in our planners.  We had a few lessons on Saturday, but it is really hard to get a hold of some of these people down here.  Hispanics just work and work and work.  I don't get their lifestyle.  So, it's hard to find times when they are willing to listen to us.  But we have the faith that we will find some!  We are doing a lot of finding.  We eat with members about twice a week, and are always looking for more people to share the gospel with.  

 

Tonight we are going to do a FHE with a part-member family.  We are going to teach them about Lehi's dream.  

 

We had sister's conference this week.  I got to accompany Hna. Harper again!  I love being able to play for everyone!  Plus, I always play the hymns in all the meetings I go to.  Lots of piano time!  Lots of the sisters gave talks, and Pres. and Sis. Saylin both spoke to us.  We had a question and answer session with president, and then we went over to the mission home for dinner and testimony meeting!  It was a really good meeting, and it was great to hear messages directed to us as sisters, and as sister missionaries.  

 

Sounds like lots of good wedding stuff is going on!  I bet it's going to get pretty crazy really soon!

Today we are going to have district activity.  We are going to go to a members home and go fishing, and have a pic-nic, and maybe play some volleyball and/or frisbee!  We are pretty stoked!

 

 

I'm so happy for Sarah!  That is way exciting! 

Well, I sent some pictures, so I hope everyone enjoys them.

 

Love you lots!

Amber

 

 Hna. Lewis and Hna. Harper

 Sister Lewis and Hna Lewis!

 Hna Lewis and Sister Holmes

 Hna Matthews, Sister Holmes, Hna Harper, Hna Moreno and Hna Lewis

 Hna Lewis and Hna Alsup

 Hna Moreno (from Spain!) and Hna Lewis

 Sammie and the Ward Mission Leader

 The Hnas. with Sammie and Yeny

 The Hnas with Sammie and her family

The Hnas with Yeny and her family

Tri-Mission Conference and a New Stake in Houston!

Hello family!

 

I was sad to hear about Gramma Bobbie.  There has always been a part of me that assumed she would just live forever! 

 

This week has been pretty crazy.  We had a zone meeting this week.  That was a lot of fun.  We learned some new ways to share the gospel with people!  It is just what we were hoping to learn from zone meeting: how to get more people to listen!  

 

Then on Saturday, we drove up to Houston for a Tri-mission conference.  Elder Paul Johnson of the seventy was in town for our special meeting yesterday, and  had a few hours free in his schedule, so he decided to speak with the missionaries!  The missionaries from the other two Houston missions came as well.   And I finally got to meet Sis. Cable!  She was there, and was looking for me!  He also had a few area authorities with him.  It was a really good meeting!  

 

Yesterday, they created the 18th stake in Houston.  Which is why that meeting was so historic.  In order to create this stake, they had to shift like 6 other stakes around.   Our stake lost a ward or two to different stakes (it may have even been the new stake) so we were invited to go, even though nothing changed for us down here.  It was not a Spanish-only thing like I had orginially anticipated.  I don't really know why I thought that.  But it was fun to be there, and to see how excited the members were for the growth of the church in Houston!

 

But there was a lot of traveling this week!

 

But I had heard about it in my last area, and their  Spanish stakes were affected, so I guess that's how I got things all mixed up. 

 

We are going to have a baptism this week!  We are pretty excited.  Galveston is a tough area, so we are very excited for her!

 

I don't really have much else to say, there wasn't a whole lot going on this week.

Love you lots!

Amber

Transferred!

Greetings from....

Galveston Island!

 

That's right, I've been transferred down to Galveston Island.  And it is great!  I love being down here!  It is so different than being in Houston, or even the Houston suburbs.  The whole place is dripping with history.  Which is reallyl cool.  Plus, I get a more "southern" feel.  Houston is a relatively new city, it really started to grow once air conditioning became affordable for everyone.  So even the poor neighborhoods didn't feel that poor or even that old.  But Galveston on the other hand is totally an old little city.  I guess I'm about as far away from the mission office as the missionaries get.  So you should totally send stuff to me here, instead of at the office.  

 

My companion is Hna. Worthen.  She's from Centerville, she's the third of four girls.  And we get along really well.  We hit it off right away.  And Galveston is a bike area.  We don't even have a car.  So we ride around everywhere.  But that is the best way to do it.  We split the island with the elders, and the area of the English sisters is about the same as ours.  So we have a car that we share to use for things like going to church, shopping, and heading up to the mission office for things like zone conferences and stuff.  Sometimes I even forget that we are on an island.  We do a lot of our work in the "middle" of the island, so we don't see the ocean that much.  But that's ok.  There is definitely an island feel to everything.  People just live their lives at a slower pace than they do in Houston.  Plus, we see all sorts of people riding around on bikes too.  It's fun to ride along side them and talk about the gospel.  

 

There is just a little Spanish branch here, so they share with the English ward.  And they combine for things like primary and youth activities.  So our meetings are backwards.  We start with Sunday School and then Relief Society and Priesthood, and then have Sacrament meeting.  It's the smallest branch I've worked in.  

 

The last week of school must be fun! And crazy!  I don't really want to think about what summer is going to do to our missionary work.  There will be so many tourists here.  But last week was crazy, especially since we had to help with transfers!  Hna. Alsup and I were asked to go "running."  It's where they take the new missionaries, direct from the airport, and give them a chance to do some street contacting.  I had the privilege of being assigned to work with the sister from Spain.  Which was fun for both of us.  Especially since we played the "do you know" game.  And she had quite a few friends that I served with in Madrid.  So it was really fun to make those connections, for both of us!  

 

We still go running in the mornings. I've found that unless you get a companion who is a die hard runner, the both of you have to talk yourselves into it.  

 

I bet you all had a lot of fun up at Tyler's house.  And I would love to see some pictures!  (I will send you some next week for sure!)

 

And it sounds like you are all having a lot of fun playing games!  I loved the engagements that you sent!  They are so cute!

 

Before I forget I should probably give you my address:

2216 Ave. O (that's an O as in Oreo!)  Apt #3 

Galveston, TX  77550

 

It sound's like it's been a crazy week in Russia!  But conferences and stuff like that are always fun.  And we as missionaries always love going to them.   Last week, it kinda hit me what it must be like to have to plan the conferences.  We just always show up, and everything is just there and taken care of.   We stopped by the office a few times last week, and we had to help accommodate the new missionaries for their first night here, so I got a little glimpse of all that goes on.  I'm glad that we as missionaries don't have to worry about it.  

 

More!!!

I forgot a few things that I wanted to tell you!

Like the cool contacts of the week!

Last week, (so my last week in Houston)  we went to the park to do some contacting, and talked to a guy who is going to be a four time Olympic athlete.  He's getting ready to head to London!  I believe he does Tae Kwan Do.  He had some really good questions about the church, and we had a good little conversation with him.

 

And then just the other day, here in Galveston, we talked to the flag man of Galveston.  Apparently, from what I could put together, he carries an American Flag across the country without money.  He's just got the faith that other people will take care of him. 

 

Ok, so I really think that that is all for today!

Love you lots!

Amber

 

 

May 14, 2012

Hello Everyone!

 

I know it feels a little weird to write to you all right after the phone calls yesterday.  But we do get some time!

 

I'm glad I look better,  My weight is still not what it was before I left, but I don't feel like I need to get there.  I'm ok with where I'm at.  

 

I totally believe that they eat a lot of mangoes in Honduras.  I've heard they get to be super cheap here during the summer!  So I'm kinda excited for that.  We actually teach quite a few people from Honduras here, so I often throw in that my cousin is serving there.  We like to show people that the church is the same no matter where you go, so using other missionaries is a great way to do that.

 

We found a great little family last week.  He really wants to be able to set aside Sundays.  He's a mechanic, and has his own business, so he works a lot, but he's noticed that his friends who make the sacrifice to go to a church on Sunday seem to be happier than he is right now, so he wants to be able to make the change.  And his wife really likes what we are teaching.  They do their reading, and have some great questions!  He even told us not to answer some of them because he wants to read the Book of Mormon and figure them out by himself!  They have two daughters  ages 10 & 5.  So they are a cute little family.

 

This week is transfers, and I'm getting transferred!  I can't tell you where yet, but next week I will! 

 

Hope everyone is doing great!

 

Love you all!

Amber

Things are going good in Houston

Hello Family!

Things are going good here in Houston.  Although this last week it has started to get pretty hot.  And although the humidity doesn't really bother me like it did the first day,  I can definitely tell that the humidity makes a difference.  

 

I can imagine that wedding planning is pretty chaotic, especially if you're not quite sure what you're looking for.  But I guess it is a good way to stay busy.

 

It sounds like youth conference was good!  I'm glad that everybody had a good time. 

 

Hna. Alsup is the youngest of four girls.  She grew up in San Diego, although her family has moved to Utah over the last few years.  She went to BYU, and also got her master's at BYU.  In a lot of ways we are pretty similar.  

 

Brenna's flight sounds like a real adventure.  I just wasn't sure if it was an experience because it was Brenna who was flying, or if it really was a bad flight experience.  But I'm glad that she got there and back in one piece.  

 

We've got a good little pool of investigators right now.  And we've managed to find a few that really seem to have potential.  Sometimes people will let us in, and we'll teach them a few times, but we aren't quite sure if they are really going to understand and get baptized,  but right now almost all of our investigators seem like they'll be willing to make that step one day.  

 

Those little miracles are things like people who will really listen to you during a contact, so you can teach a little bit more than just "we're missionaries, and what we have to say will bless your life."  Or when a street contact will invite us in right on the spot, so we get to teach a first lesson right then and there.  And sometime people are just ready to accept the gospel,  so when people say "yeah of course"  it comes as a kind of shock, because we are so used to hearing no.  

 

I can't believe that this is the last week of the transfer.  It seems so unreal.  It really feels like I just got here yesterday, and yet it feels like I've been here forever.  But that is just how mission time goes.

Sometimes it feels like I've got forever to go, but then when I break the time down into transfers, it seems so short.  Especially since the time I spent in Spain seems so short looking back at it.

I'm finding myself thinking less and less about Spain.  It was a little weird to have to adapt to a new mission and a new mission culture, but I'm learning to love Houston!

 

Last week we had a zone p-day activity.  They divided the zone up into teams, and then we had an olympics/amazing race activity.  So that was pretty fun.  And today we are going to do something with our district, although we are still figuring out the details.  

 

Church was good this last weekend, although the English wards had stake conference this weekend, so we had the whole building to ourselves.  We had come early for meetings and whatnot, and the parking lot was absolutely empty.  It kinda reminded me of when the Portugese ward was meeting in our building, and they had stake conference, or world cup games or whatever, and no one was there when they were supposed to be.  

 

I think that's it for now!

Love you lots, Amber