A Little Late this week....

Surprise!  It's your weekly email!

I know it's a little late, but it's got a great story attached.

We went to the temple today.  We're now allowed to attend the temple once a quarter, on our P-day, so long as a member drives us.  But because the temple is closed on Monday, we get to change our P-day.  So this week, it's Friday.  (This also means that we get P-day again on Monday!)
We've still been working on finding new investigators, and helping them get to baptism.  So it's been pretty busy.  We had a ton of lessons fall through last week.  No one was ever home. 
On Saturday, the area presidency came to speak to all three Houston Missions.  It was a lot of fun, and they gave great talks.  I know I learned a lot!  That evening, the branch was having a baptism for an 8 year old member, so we spent most of the afternoon trying to get an investigator there.  He's been kinda sick, so we managed to get him to the church for a blessing from the elders, and then he just kinda hung around until the baptism.  Two other wards had baptisms that same time, so he saw a few people get baptized. 

This week has been a little bit better than last week, we've found a new investigator, and we've found a few more lessons. 

We went on exchanges yesterday, I got to stay here and have Hna. Kennedy with me. 

The last two weeks haven't been too exciting, sorry.  We just keep looking for people to teach.  We've got a few people that we've taught one or two times, but we've been having problems getting in touch with them, especially since everyone is home for only two hours everyday, and they are all at home at the same time, but we never manage to find anyone.  It's kinda frustrating.  But I know that the Lord has people for us to teach, we just have to go out and find them.

Well, I think that's it for now!

Talk to you soon!

Love, Amber

October 8, 2012

Hello family!

 

Wasn't conference just great!! I can't believe it's over though, it all went by so fast.  We got to watch conference at one of the buildings in our stake, but other than the missionaries, there were only two other members there on Saturday, a handful Sunday morning, and somewhere in between for Sunday afternoon.  There were a lot of people who stayed home and watched I guess.  But we had a grea time!   I was all excited about the temple in Peru!  That's where Simon is from, and I know a couple other members who lived there or served missions there.  I think this is the first time that a foreign temple announcement has been so real for me, knowing how it really will impact the members there.  Then we heard about the missionaries!  We are all stoked, and a few of the elders were talking about how their little brothers or sisters could leave right now, or before they get back.  We all thought it was really neat.  As we walked out of Saturday morning session we were all talking about it and remembering how conference used to be like 80 hours long every session, and that the last two hours had just flown by. 

(We also think we need to put some signs on our cars that say "Questions? Ask the missionaries...they can help you!"

We didn't get any investigators to conference, but we got some recent converts who we weren't sure would be able to make it so that was fun.  The ward that meet in the building also did a pot-luck in between Sunday sessions. 

But other than conference...

We found a few more new people to teach this week.  We'll go back and see them tomorrow or wednesday.  We taught some less actives this week.  We stopped by on Monday, talked with them, and then set up an appointment to come back later.  The day we stopped by was the day that Hermano's father had passed away.  It was really neat to see the Lord prepare them and us to be in the right place and the right time.  It's been a pretty good week. 

They have cut down on MTC time.  Hna. Cardoza said that her group was one of the last to do 9 weeks at the MTC, now they'll do 6.  We've also had that 12 week program thing for a while.  I had the privilege of doing when I got to Texas, since they had done it as a mission, and I didn't get to do it.  It really just means and extra hour of comp study and a program to follow.  New missionaries don't really learn how to teach the lessons at the MTC, so they get to learn it in the field!

I keep forgetting my camera, so I'll get some pictures next week!

Well....I think that's it for now!

Love you lots!

October 1, 2012

Hello family!

Things are going really good here in Texas!  It is cooling down quite
a bit.  It was actually kinda chilly yesterday.  

This week has been kinda crazy, and really long and fast at the same time.  We've been
trying to get in contact with a lot of people who used to be
investigating the church, and we've found a family that used to meet
with the missionaries.  We are really excited for them.  We also have
a couple of other really promising new investigators as well. 

We've been working with some less-actives, and one of them actually came
to church yesterday!  Yay!  

They did make a new ward in our stake, thus the big fancy meeting.  It doesn't really effect us, but our
meeting time has changed, and the youth and primary programs are now
combined with one of the English wards.

Our zone conference with Elder Ellis was really good.  We were really
spiritually fed by the messages that he and his wife shared.
And Saturday we got to go to the Relief Society broadcast.  We went
with a member, and they invited an investigator that we have.  So that
was really good.  She really liked it.  We were really blessed by the
messages they shared.

We've been having a great time, and I'm getting to know the area
(which is really big) and the members.

Well, love you lots!
Hope you all have a great week!
Love, Amber

Transferred!

Hello family!

I've gone back Spanish-speaking.  Which we all thought was going to happen.  I'm now in Kemah South.  It's in the same zone as Galveston, so I've been moved back to the bay.  Actually, where the Galveston off-island area stops is theoretically where ours should begin.  But I think that change happens in the middle of nowhere, where no one actually lives, so we're still not sure on that.  The area is quite the change from my last one.  I've gone from fancy chemical engineers to migrant Hispanics.  But I'm loving it so far. 

Our little branch is really good, and there are some really good members here.  We also work in the local singles branch.  We don't get to do a whole lot of work with them, because the YSA boundries are a whole lot bigger than our Spanish ones.  But it's kinda fun so far. 

We don't have a whole lot of investigators right now, or even a whole lot of less actives, so we've been going through our list of former investigators.  We've had some good success so far, a couple of return appointments and whatnot. 

My new companion is Hna. Cardoza.  She's from Seattle, and is in her third transfer. 

We are having special zone conferences this weekend.  Elder Ellis (2nd quorum of the 70) is coming to speak with us and do a mission tour.  It should be a really good meeting.  The ward is in our building, so our branch and the two English wards, will be having a "special meeting" on Sunday.  It seems like they are going to make a new English ward.  Everyone is full of speculation.  So that'll be really fun.  It might mean that we have to change our meeting time.  We'll probably go to 4 wards in the building after that. 

We have a couple of brand new converts here, and they are really solid.  A young couple with a daughter.  I've really enjoyed getting to know them.  (I've noticed this trend where I come into an area with brand new converts, not just converts, but super solid members in almost every area I've gone too...have y'all noticed it too?  I guess I'm here to strengthen brand new member, which I love!)

We've been having some chillier days, which is good.  I'm done with the hot.  Although I've heard it gets pretty chilly on the gulf.

Well, I can't think of much else!

Love you lots!

Amber

Groceries or Dinner?

It's the last week of the transfer.  I can't believe how fast it's gone by.  But this week has been really good!

 

We've been doing a lot of service this week, which is fantastic!  We love being able to help out anyone and everyone!  We've been cleaning houses, stuffing envelopes, tying blankets with the young women...all sorts of stuff.

 

This week has been kinda crazy too though.  I sprained my foot during soccer last week, and it got worse before it got better, so we headed up to the doctor.  (plus he doesn't charge the missionaries, and an x-ray is really the only way to tell what is wrong.)  But it's just a sprain, and getting better quickly.  (I guess I now take my soccer a little too seriously ;) 

 

 And we had an exchange this week. I got to go to Manvel with Hna. Greenwood.  She's in her second transfer, so it was fun to be with her, and to go back to a Spanish area.  Although all the people we taught were bilingual and preferred English, but it was still lots of fun.   Manvel is kinda out in the middle of the country, so we did a lot of driving, which gave us a lot of time to get to know each other.  

 

We've had some really great lessons this week.  We have three new investigators!  We've been trying to get a hold of some less actives, and just this past week we've been able to sit down with them.  One family has two girls who we are teaching, and the other has just one girl.  We are super excited to be able to teach them, and to help their families come back to church!

 

We've also been able to get in contact with a few more less-actives, and were even able to teach some this week!  

 

We stopped by to visit some members, just to get to know them, and because we couldn't even put a name to a face when someone described them to us.  They are a really cute couple.  But as we were talking with them and getting to know them, she just got up and started doing something in the kitchen.  She's from the Phillipines, so I thought "oh no, they are going to try to feed us, and we have a dinner appointment in 30 minutes".   And then the next thing I know, he's telling her "no, not that, they don't like that", or "give them this brand we don't like that one."  Anyway, they started placing grocery bags down at our feet full of stuff.  Freezer meals, peanut butter, shampoo, laundry soap, water, milk, bacon...all sorts of stuff.  (We did eat some ice cream with them though)  I guess they used to feed the missionaries all the time, but as their schedules got crazier and they weren't always able to have the missionaries over, they asked the missionaries if they would rather have dinner or groceries, and they said groceries.  So we then drove home with all that stuff, dropped it off quickly and booked it to dinner.  Which was a blast.  But that's the fun story of the week.

 

Well, love you all lots!

Amber

 

September already!

Can y'all believe that's it's September?  I sure can't!  It's crazy how fast time goes!  

 

I got the package, and the treats made it here ok!

 

This past week has been pretty good.  We decided to take our bikes to the park at the edge of our area for p-day, and rode around a little bit.  It was kinda cool, and there were some neat bugs, and lots of butterflies, but nothing too eventful.

 

We had zone meeting this week, which was lots of fun.  We basically reviewed what we learned in zone conference the week before, but it was good practice that we all needed.  We were also reminded of setting goals the Lord's way.  Seeking for his advice, and the goals He wants us to set, which means we do a lot more praying, and a lot less trusting in our plans.  

 

We were actually able to get into TWO less active homes this week!  Wahoo!!!  We were also able to get in touch with a few more.  So it has been a pretty good week.

 

A family from the ward invited the three sets of missionaries in the ward to their labor day BBQ, which was basically them, us, and one or two more family members, but it was a lot of fun, and some really good food.  We also had zone activity yesterday, which made for a very busy p-day.  We played chair soccer, which means that they more or less divided us up into districts, (although the four sisters managed to claim our own chair and be our own team.)  gave us a chair to guard (kinda like a goal)  and if your chair got hit by one of the two balls, then your team was out.  We managed to win a few games, and did fairly well for ourselves. it was a lot of fun.  Those six weeks of soccer at the MTC really came in handy.  Then we did some more less active hunting last night.  We found some really good leads, and we even taught a lesson.

 

We haven't had really been impacted by the hurricane, it sounds like it stayed mostly in Louisiana.  Although a less active has some family from New Orleans, so they came up to stay with her.  We've had some really great lessons with them.  

 

As far as scripture study goes...

Studies are one thing that Pres. Ashton really wants us to focus on.  So he gave us all sorts of ideas. And in our very first zone conference with him, we had a big zone study session.  I've learned that it is simply more that just reading.  It's asking ourselves questions.  Do I understand this phrase, what does this word really mean, and then looking for more scriptures to answer it.  And really letting the spirit enlighten our minds.  It's also making our own footnotes and cross references to other scriptures that we already know about that talk about the same subject, and using the footnotes.  (And of course writing it all down somewhere.)

 

I had a really good study of Helaman 5 a couple weeks ago.  It actually took me a few weeks to get through the whole chapter, (and I was using most, if not all, of my hour of study on it.)  And right now I've been working through King Benjamin's address, and Ether 12.  These are just a few starting points.  

 

Love you lots!

Kicked Out!

Well, this week has been more of the same I guess.  We've just been looking for more people to teach, and have been really focused on the less actives.  

 

Our zone conference this week was really good!

 

They've been working on the air conditioner in our apartment.  It seems we have a leak.  So they tried to fix it on Friday, and couldn't, so they let us use a portable air conditioner this weekend.  They've been working on installing the new AC this morning.  We are really excited to have a working AC unit!!!

 

We took the bikes out for a little bit this week, which was fun, and nice to be back on the bike!

 

We managed to get ourselves kicked out of a complex this week.  We'd been going by to find some less active members who live there, and the other day, when we were knocking on one of their doors, the manager came, yelling at us, about how we were trespassing, and she had called the police, and that we were no longer welcome on her property.  Because we were trying a few apartments, we parked at one end and walked to the other.  So she got in her car, followed us back to our van, and then proceeded to snap a few pictures on her cell phone of us, and the license plate number.   We had tried to tell her that we were trying to visit a specific member, and weren't really knocking other doors, but she wouldn't let us say anything, and told us that we were lying.  It was kind of a funny experience.  And definitely a new one.  Missionaries have been asked not to go around and just knock random doors by management before, but neither of us had been told to leave and never come back.  So that's the funny story of the week...

 

Well, it sound like everyone is doing well.  School started this week here.  There is a very fancy private school just behind our apartments, and they have the longest pick-up line ever!!! So we just try to avoid that area from 2:30-5:00.  It kinda reminded me of the charter school days, but this line was soooo much longer.  

 

I think that is about it for this week...

Love you all!