Monday, September 27, 2010
Blessed Cold!
When we got in Harvey (our car) this morning he said the temperature was 66 degrees! SIXTY-SIX DEGREES! *cue angelic choir singing*
I haven't seen it lower than 74 degrees since I came here, and even that was only once! Oh MAN it feels SO GOOD to walk outside! There's not a cloud in the sky though, so within a few hours it's going to be hot again... sad. But for a little while it feels VERY GOOD to go walking outside! And the breeze isn't just kinda cool, it's actually refreshingly cold! Looooooove it!
In other news last Thursday was a Special Sisters Conference. Where only all the Sister Missionaries were invited! (Well then President Hansen and his Wife, and the Assistants who are Elders) It was sooo goood. And WAY fun to see all the girl Missionaries in the whole Texas Houston Mission. Lots of them I don't know, mostly the English Sisters who I don't have occassion to mingle with much. But I got to see Sister Peterson who I flew in with and haven't seen for like Five Months. That was cool. The talks and messages were really, really good. Especially Hermana Naufahu Talakai's talk on Love. Love is really everything, isn't it? Love if why our Heavenly Father sent us here. Love is why our Savior endured the Atonement. Love is why we as Missionaries persistently seek those who are ready to hear our joyous message. The pure Love of Christ is Charity, and Charity never faileth. And if we have not Charity, we are nothing and can do nothing.
On that uplifting note I'll sign off for this week.
Love y'all!
~ Hermana Smart
I haven't seen it lower than 74 degrees since I came here, and even that was only once! Oh MAN it feels SO GOOD to walk outside! There's not a cloud in the sky though, so within a few hours it's going to be hot again... sad. But for a little while it feels VERY GOOD to go walking outside! And the breeze isn't just kinda cool, it's actually refreshingly cold! Looooooove it!
In other news last Thursday was a Special Sisters Conference. Where only all the Sister Missionaries were invited! (Well then President Hansen and his Wife, and the Assistants who are Elders) It was sooo goood. And WAY fun to see all the girl Missionaries in the whole Texas Houston Mission. Lots of them I don't know, mostly the English Sisters who I don't have occassion to mingle with much. But I got to see Sister Peterson who I flew in with and haven't seen for like Five Months. That was cool. The talks and messages were really, really good. Especially Hermana Naufahu Talakai's talk on Love. Love is really everything, isn't it? Love if why our Heavenly Father sent us here. Love is why our Savior endured the Atonement. Love is why we as Missionaries persistently seek those who are ready to hear our joyous message. The pure Love of Christ is Charity, and Charity never faileth. And if we have not Charity, we are nothing and can do nothing.
On that uplifting note I'll sign off for this week.
Love y'all!
~ Hermana Smart
It's almost Fall!
The last two days have been overcast and that always makes me so happy. I'm so weird, haha! Sun = Sad and Clouds = Happy for me.
Luckily it didn't rain on us while we were tracting and knocking doors up and down streets this week. We need new Investigators, the ones we have are all dropped or not progressing... And I had two experiances I would like to tell you about that concern the previously mentioned tracting. One good and one Bad.
Bad: Many people are not interested in our message and will politely (or not very politely at all) decline to hear more. Once suck occasion was a man who did not speak Spanish but was not skilled at English either. Anyways, he said "No" and we accepted that and said "Okay, have a nice Day!" And turned to go to the next house. Because sometimes I have trouble remembering how many people we have talked to that day I keep a tally mark column in my little planner. As we walked to the next house I made a mark and put my planner away. Halfway between driveways we hear the man behind us. He had exited his house and was saying something so we turned and asked if we could help him. We had trouble understanding but he was pointing at me and then at his house while yelling. The clearest part I understood was "You are... very BAD!" He was accusing me of writing down his house number so I could come back and rob him. I think at least, he was very angry and frankly I was more than a little scared. We tried to tell him I was writing something else down but he could not or would not understand. So we just had to keep going to the next door. He watched us until we went back to our car four houses later. I thought he was going to call the police on us or something! Which the police would scare me less than the man because they probably know Mormon Missionaries and would know we don't mean any harm.
Now on to the nice experiance that kind of balances out the one before.
So we were doing the tracting thing, inviting people to learn. Once house we knocked a man answered and we gave an introduction and a few Gospel Truths such as how we have a Prophet to lead and guide us today and that Families can live together forever. He then said "Do you guys really believe all that stuff?" My immediate reaction was an enthusiastic "Yeah!" He then said "So do I, I'm a member." He then proceeded to let us inside and gave use brownies and icecream. He was a member from the English Ward that we didn't know but he talked to us for a while and gave us some water too. We picked a great Day to visit, they were going to have a double birthday party later so that's why he had the treats! That was really nice.
So now I have to wonder when we go tracting if thise door is going to have a mean paranoid person or a lovely kind and generous person behind it. Or no one answers. That happens a lot too.
OH! And the best activity EVAR was on Saturday night. International Food Night where everyone brings food from their country and dresses up. That was FABULOUS!! THe only bad part was that in true Latino fashion they started TWO HOURS late. And then because of that combined with our curfew of 9:30 to be in our apartments we couldn't stay long enough to see the dancing! Their dresses were SO BEAUTIFUL I wanted to see so bad! The little girls were going to dance too! *sigh* Oh well...
And that's all for now I believe.
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love Hermana Smart
Luckily it didn't rain on us while we were tracting and knocking doors up and down streets this week. We need new Investigators, the ones we have are all dropped or not progressing... And I had two experiances I would like to tell you about that concern the previously mentioned tracting. One good and one Bad.
Bad: Many people are not interested in our message and will politely (or not very politely at all) decline to hear more. Once suck occasion was a man who did not speak Spanish but was not skilled at English either. Anyways, he said "No" and we accepted that and said "Okay, have a nice Day!" And turned to go to the next house. Because sometimes I have trouble remembering how many people we have talked to that day I keep a tally mark column in my little planner. As we walked to the next house I made a mark and put my planner away. Halfway between driveways we hear the man behind us. He had exited his house and was saying something so we turned and asked if we could help him. We had trouble understanding but he was pointing at me and then at his house while yelling. The clearest part I understood was "You are... very BAD!" He was accusing me of writing down his house number so I could come back and rob him. I think at least, he was very angry and frankly I was more than a little scared. We tried to tell him I was writing something else down but he could not or would not understand. So we just had to keep going to the next door. He watched us until we went back to our car four houses later. I thought he was going to call the police on us or something! Which the police would scare me less than the man because they probably know Mormon Missionaries and would know we don't mean any harm.
Now on to the nice experiance that kind of balances out the one before.
So we were doing the tracting thing, inviting people to learn. Once house we knocked a man answered and we gave an introduction and a few Gospel Truths such as how we have a Prophet to lead and guide us today and that Families can live together forever. He then said "Do you guys really believe all that stuff?" My immediate reaction was an enthusiastic "Yeah!" He then said "So do I, I'm a member." He then proceeded to let us inside and gave use brownies and icecream. He was a member from the English Ward that we didn't know but he talked to us for a while and gave us some water too. We picked a great Day to visit, they were going to have a double birthday party later so that's why he had the treats! That was really nice.
So now I have to wonder when we go tracting if thise door is going to have a mean paranoid person or a lovely kind and generous person behind it. Or no one answers. That happens a lot too.
OH! And the best activity EVAR was on Saturday night. International Food Night where everyone brings food from their country and dresses up. That was FABULOUS!! THe only bad part was that in true Latino fashion they started TWO HOURS late. And then because of that combined with our curfew of 9:30 to be in our apartments we couldn't stay long enough to see the dancing! Their dresses were SO BEAUTIFUL I wanted to see so bad! The little girls were going to dance too! *sigh* Oh well...
And that's all for now I believe.
Hope you all have a wonderful week!
Love Hermana Smart
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fourth Transfer Week Two
Hola Hola!
I'll apologize in advance if this entry is a little off, I started suffering the symptoms of a cold on Saturday and have been enduring the effects thereof since. Including lack of coordination and coherent thought at times. But even with everything my nose is still clear, yay for silver lining!
Lessee.... Well on either Thursday or Friday we went to a Baby Shower of a lady in our Ward and it way way fun! I didn't know Baby showers could be so fun! We played games and I actually won the one where you put a paper plate on your head, and then without looking you have to try and draw a baby. Mine actually looked pretty good and so I won a prize, I chose an Air Freshener because our car needed one. Red Candy Apple it's called, I dunno if I really like it... Anyways, we had to leave because we had an appointment, but they stood us up, so we just went right back to the party to eat with them and get to know more of the Hermanas in the Ward.
Two days ago in Saturday we were knocking an apartment complex and we got the Best reaction when we said there was a Prophet on the earth today! The woman was all "QUEE? Un Profeta ahora?!" It was GREAT! Hna Christensen said that she had been waiting for a response like that all her mission. She let us inside and we explained more, then we got the same reaction when we introduced the Book of Mormon and said that we now have available more scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ. We'll be going back to see her tomorrow.
I'm having trouble remembering anything else. Probably I'll have more to update next week when I remember what I forgot and write down a note so I'll remember once in front of a computer again.
Have a fabulous week!
~ Hermana Smart
I'll apologize in advance if this entry is a little off, I started suffering the symptoms of a cold on Saturday and have been enduring the effects thereof since. Including lack of coordination and coherent thought at times. But even with everything my nose is still clear, yay for silver lining!
Lessee.... Well on either Thursday or Friday we went to a Baby Shower of a lady in our Ward and it way way fun! I didn't know Baby showers could be so fun! We played games and I actually won the one where you put a paper plate on your head, and then without looking you have to try and draw a baby. Mine actually looked pretty good and so I won a prize, I chose an Air Freshener because our car needed one. Red Candy Apple it's called, I dunno if I really like it... Anyways, we had to leave because we had an appointment, but they stood us up, so we just went right back to the party to eat with them and get to know more of the Hermanas in the Ward.
Two days ago in Saturday we were knocking an apartment complex and we got the Best reaction when we said there was a Prophet on the earth today! The woman was all "QUEE? Un Profeta ahora?!" It was GREAT! Hna Christensen said that she had been waiting for a response like that all her mission. She let us inside and we explained more, then we got the same reaction when we introduced the Book of Mormon and said that we now have available more scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ. We'll be going back to see her tomorrow.
I'm having trouble remembering anything else. Probably I'll have more to update next week when I remember what I forgot and write down a note so I'll remember once in front of a computer again.
Have a fabulous week!
~ Hermana Smart
Translado numero quatro
I'm sure you're all biting at the bit to find out where I'm going this Transfer! Well I'm not going anywhere, haha. That was to be expected, I just got here AND my companion has been here for six transfers. She's spent half her mission in Bearcreek. The surprise is that she's staying too! I'm kind of relieved, I didnt' feel ready to be left as the presiding authority on an area yet. She knows so much since she's been here like forever she kind of forgets to tell me things, so this Transfer I'll be asking a lot more questions.
In other news we had a Baptism last night! Yaaaay! One was an eight-year-old baptised by his Father, then the other was the boy's fifteen-year-old uncle who is living with them was baptised by the Bishop. It was so cute, after the boy recieved the Gift of the Holy Ghost the Bishop told him to go hug his Mom, then his Dad, then his Bishop. Then he went around and shook the hands of those who confired the Holy Ghost upon him but he just took their hands then hugged them all. It was soooo cuuute! Really good baptism, there was chocolate Cake! AND the day before in Saturday I got to go back to my old area in Gulf Bank to see the baptism of someone I taught there. Whoo! Good weekend! Lots of pictures. In fact I need to send a memory card home, heh.
In slightly sadder news my beloved Trainer is leaving the mission this week. I'll miss chances to sneak over and see her for another year, but I'm hoping that she'll write me! She better. The other missionaries that left and I sent mail to haven't yet and it's been a whole Transfer!! I haven't gotten mail in a while actually because when there's a Transfer they don't know where people are going, so they hold the mail in the office for like a week. I want my mail!
Anyways, love you all!
~ Hermana Smart
In other news we had a Baptism last night! Yaaaay! One was an eight-year-old baptised by his Father, then the other was the boy's fifteen-year-old uncle who is living with them was baptised by the Bishop. It was so cute, after the boy recieved the Gift of the Holy Ghost the Bishop told him to go hug his Mom, then his Dad, then his Bishop. Then he went around and shook the hands of those who confired the Holy Ghost upon him but he just took their hands then hugged them all. It was soooo cuuute! Really good baptism, there was chocolate Cake! AND the day before in Saturday I got to go back to my old area in Gulf Bank to see the baptism of someone I taught there. Whoo! Good weekend! Lots of pictures. In fact I need to send a memory card home, heh.
In slightly sadder news my beloved Trainer is leaving the mission this week. I'll miss chances to sneak over and see her for another year, but I'm hoping that she'll write me! She better. The other missionaries that left and I sent mail to haven't yet and it's been a whole Transfer!! I haven't gotten mail in a while actually because when there's a Transfer they don't know where people are going, so they hold the mail in the office for like a week. I want my mail!
Anyways, love you all!
~ Hermana Smart
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