Wow! Where to even begin!?
So this week was probably the best week of my mission. Let's start with Tuesday.
So Tuesday was transfer day, and I was headed out to Marshall Texas about 2.5 hours away or so. Me and Elder Dertina were getting doubled in to the area so we were like, "shoot how do we get out there." Well fear not! The most solid bishop ever, drove into Dallas and got us to take us out. He was bringing the other elders in who were both going home so we went back out with him, and we miraculously found a ride! So we came out here and had some awesome conversation on the way out. Once we got here we got dropped off and began unpacking. The apartment was decently clean but we deep cleaned it and made it nice. Unpacked everything and then ate some food. We had pretty much nothing but made it work for that day.
The next day we set out to find some grocery stores. We went to this place called Aldi that is a German shop. Everything there is literally the cheapest thing ever, and it's awesome. You can get a gallon of milk for 80 cents. It's so awesome. So we got some groceries and then stopped by Walmart for the rest. Elder Dertina is probably the funniest person I've ever met so we had some good driving talks. It was awesome. Our car is a brand new 2017 Chevy Malibu and is like the nicest car I've ever driven and been in. So that's us so far and after we got groceries we headed off to dinner cause very thing is like 40 minutes apart here in Marshall. We got to dinner and were kinda worried cause it was in a very scary trailer park but we get in there and meet the family. She's a recent convert living with her brother and they were super awesome. And to our surprise, and enjoyment, turns out she was a culinary school graduate! We had like a 5 course meal that was probably the best food I've ever had. She made these broccoli to cheese ball things and I probably coulda eaten 100 of em. The stuff was amazing!
I forgot to mention! That first day we had dinner we went to a diner that is owned by a member and missionaries eat free. So we had some burgers and pie and DANG those old ladies know how to cook! It was so awesome. The people there were excited to meet new missionaries and we felt welcomed for sure.
I can't remember what morning I did all this but I wanna mention it cause it was hilarious! Elder Dertina has a ventriloquist doll that's terrifying and I set it up right by his couch (he loves sleeping on the couch) and when he woke up he flipped out hahaha. We also for whatever reason have a coffee pot in our apartment and so we made hot chocolate in it one morning and it was delicious. Dertina also makes some mean jambalaya.
But ya after dinner we had to go get some other stuff cause our apartment didn't have a shower curtain, trash can, or plunger and the sinks were clogged and drain super slow so we also got some Drano. We took care of that stuff and then met with our bishop and brother Keith who loves the missionaries. They showed us this house they're building the missionaries in their backyard and they're about done and in the next month or two could be moving in there. So that'll be awesome. When they found out I have a background of that they were stoked and wanted us to help. So we will do some of that this week. But that was awesome.
Thursday went fantastic. It was weekly planning and we literally had no clue who anyone was so we called and made some plans. One of em was with a recent convert that meets us at the basketball courts and wanted to meet up that day so he told us 2:30, but he didn't end up showing up till 4 but that was fine because there was this guy Tommy there who just moved in to town and was Ballin, we asked if we could play and he's all, "course ya can!" (Everyone here speaks Cajun jargon and it's probably the most difficult thing to understand.) we played 7 on the line with him after some friendly trash talk, then we won and he's all, "okay okay let's play this." So we played some more games and he won some we won some and it was awesome. The whole time talking about the book of Mormon and all that jazz. He took our number and was all, "man you gotta come ball with me and my friends here!" So that was a new investigator we found, we then had our Recent Convert lesson that was kinda weird, the dudes odd but it was good. These little black kids were playing too and were all, "hey church man! You play ball church man?" It was so awesome!
Friday we went and visited another recent convert and his name was boris. He was the coolest man ever and it was a great visit. He referred one of his friends who he's referred before and so we called him and set up a lesson with him for the next day. We then were looking in our area book and saw this investigator that works at a Christian merchandise store from 10:00 to 3:00. We realized it was after three and she wouldn't be there but we felt prompted to go anyway. We showed up and ask the cashier if the lady was there and she said she wasn't. But we decided to look around the store. It had some bomb ties, but after a while the cashier started asking us about ourselves. We talked about missions and what we do, who we were, how it all works. And she basically just began asking all the right questions. We went from missionaries to talking about what we teach and we went and grabbed one of the bibles she was selling in the store and began reading verses with her that pertain to the restoration and such. She was eating it up and was all, "man this is way different than people say!" We then talked about questions she had and shared what the book of Mormon is and she loved that. She then had questions about temples and we told her about eternal families and temples and she was like, "okay so I didn't tell Yall but the woman you are looking for is my mom, and I'd sure like to sit in when you reach her, this stuff is intriguing." So boom, crazy miracle. It then started poring rain and we didn't have a dinner so we went to granny's pats diner again and they were happy to see us. Had the best chicken fried stake in the world. It was awesome. Then waited the rain because it was really unsafe to drive in it, and we got impatient and as soon as we set foot outside, the rain died down to a sprinkle, so I am gonna assume that was the spirit. Hahaha! It was awesome.
Saturday was beast! That referral that boris gave us we met with. He in the area book had been given up on cause he couldn't see how there was one true church and didn't understand authority and the last elders kinda gave up. Well we went just wanting to meet him and he talked about random stuff for like an hour and half but we listened as best we could and we picked up on that he was talking about how his life had changed battling sickness. So we read with him about the elders giving blessings with oil in the Bible and said, "would you like us to do that?" He connected that we were elders and he said absolutely he would. So we gave him that and then he went on another hour spiel about family members and once again, we listened and what he was getting across was he has lost close family members and it's really shaken him. So we talked to him about the plan of Salvation and he LOVED it. We used this puzzle thing Elder Dertina had and he wants one so we ordered him one. Well after that we began discussing true church and the priesthood cause he asked about it and I don't know what we did but we explained it the best way we knew how, and he said, "huh.....I get it." Well I found myself all the sudden inviting him to be baptized on August 5th and be baptized by the same authority Jesus was baptized with through John the Baptist and he said," I'd like to be baptized like Jesus was. I want it how he did and Ya'll have it. I'm gonna have to pray about this, but I will be baptized on August 5th." We stood dumbfounded! He accepted! An investigator they gave up on accepted! He then said, "I wanna know this is true, I wanna feel it! How do I do that?" We explained the commitment we leave him with will help him and promised him that he would feel it if he would read and pray but also promised him the lord would never answer him if he didn't ask through his actions of faith and prayer. So he said, "I can't come this Sunday, but I'll be there every Sunday after that. And I'll read and pray, heck I'll pray right now." And he's one that when he makes a commitment, he means it, he won't make it if he doesn't intend to keep it. It was awesome! We called our bishop and he was AMAZED that we were able to do that! The ward had kinda thought he was a lost cause! So that us definitely a testimony I have, the spirit teaches, not us. It will teach if you will listen. You MUST listen. You cannot know how to help them if you don't listen to them and I bear witness the spirit is real and worked through Elder Dertina and I. Glory be to God for such a miracle!
Sunday was amazing. It felt like coming to a family reunion, especially because the building is the exact same as the one back home so it was just, oh it was AWESOME. We felt like celebrities there and I can only thank the lord for his mercy on me and allowing such a change in me. I cannot believe the power the lord has to snatch us out of the chains of hell if we will just let him, the atonement works and it is nothing of my own doing but the lord has blessed me immensely this week. I cannot believe the miracles I am seeing and it's all because of repentance. All because of the atonement. We had an amazing Sunday and they had a linger longer, and I had fried catfish, craw fish, and everything under the sun.
So to sum up, I have been blessed with the area, I got one of my top 3 companions and we get along almost too well, we think the same, we both want to work, the area loves missionaries, we found 2 new investigators, and set a baptismal date, and it hasn't even been a week.
The Lord truly does his work and how I pray that we may be able to participate in it cause it's nothing but joy.
I love yall!
