Week Forty - Valentine's Day and Patience!

Buenos dias!  So yeah, I couldn't email yesterday due to the holiday.  We tried to email at the office of our apartment complex, but they kicked us off after a half hour.  Sorry you had to wait an extra day, but I really don't have anything crazy to tell y'all.  We had a very typical week.  We taught a bundle of lessons and found some great people with even greater potential.  The weather has been just splendid the last few days, in the 60's and 70's!  So there were a ton of people outside, and we had a good time trying to talk to as many as we could.  People seem to be a lot more open when they are outside rather than being able to hide behind a door. 

      Our one solid baptismal date went to Mexico this weekend to pick up his 14 year old son, so we are going to have to push his date back a bit.  But this could be better, because now we can baptize his son too!   But he lives in a garage, and the family that lives in the house doesn't really like us or him, so I don't know why he is living there.  He doesn't want us in his garage, so we usually have our lessons sitting in our car when it's not at a member's house.   It takes a while for him to get it, and as bad as I wish I could just throw him into the font and baptize him already, he's going at his own pace, and he will get there soon.  Patience. 

   Valentine's Day was nothing special.  A young member in the ward made us and the sister missionaries lasagna and garlic bread for dinner.  Thank goodness I didn't have to go to Applebee's with Elder Malpartida on Valentine's Day!  We will use our gift cards soon, but I just couldn't go on a day like Valentine's Day.  Elder Malpartida is super excited to go.  He's never been!  So, one missionary Valentine's day with an elder as my valentine down, and only one to go!

   Well, it is good to hear that all is well back home.  Uncle Ken is healthy and still got game.  You should have sent me a picture of Tom wearing the jacket!  I don't remember what it looks like, but I do remember buying it and planning to wear it for some special occasion, but I never did.  I'm glad Em was treated well too!  You should make a list of movies I need to see when I come home.

-Camera is working just fine.  It's crazy to see the men of the house so hairy!  And even Toby had a Valentine?!  That's my boy!

-I also received a card from Emilee and Grandma and Grandpa.  Thank you!

-The oatmeal balls were really good!  I was wondering if they were some sort of healthy treat, but they tasted too good to be healthy.  So I didn't really notice any increase in energy, probably because I wasn't looking for it. 

-We love the socks and it will be easy to get away with wearing them.  There are lots of missionaries that don't stick to the solid blue and black sock rule.

-Air fresheners are working perfectly.  I love coming home to a fresh smelling apartment! 

-Driving is alright.  I think we will make it through the month only because it's a short month.  It's just so hard to limit miles in such a big area! 

-Has Tom gone on any dates yet?

I think that'll do it for this week.  Thanks for all you do for me.  Your prayers and support and love really do make a difference!  I love you all and miss you all more than you can even comprehend.  It's like 12 feet above your comprehension level, at least.  No joke!   Have a great week! 

Elder Williams

Week Thirty Nine - Enjoying Stake Conference and Sending a Puppy Home (Not!)

David, Joe and Elder Haskell at Joe's baptism - David's first!

David, Elder Haskell, Elder Malpartida, Elder Munday - the best missionaries, ever!

Joe's baptism and his family, David, Elder Haskell. 

Hi Fam! 

   All is well here in McKinney!  We had a decent week.  It was cold and miserable weather all week, but despite that, I'm happy.  Saturday I had the privilege of going back to Lakewood for the baptism of Joe Flores.  He's 10, son of a long long long time less active.  It felt so good to finally have a baptism!  I haven't been happier in all my mission than I was on Saturday!  It was also fun to go back and see Elder Haskell and Elder Munday.

   So we have one solid baptismal date for the 22nd of February for L.L.  He is in his 50's and has come to church 4 times.  Monday was our first lesson with him since I've been here, and we tried to teach him the Plan of Salvation at a members house.   He might be the hardest person to teach ever.  He talks constantly, telling all these random, irrelevant, pointless stories, he's cracking jokes when we are trying to be serious and spiritual, and he just doesn't get it.  We ended up teaching the first two points to the Plan, and then got sidetracked onto his baptism, and we spent 2 hours trying to explain to him what makes this upcoming baptism different than his first 3.  Ugh.  It was exhausting and frustrating, and I still don't think we got it through to him.  Then he got sick and we couldn't talk to him for the rest of the week, so we are going to try again this week! 

   This weekend was Stake Conference.  It was really neat!  Sadly I can't remember ever going to Stake Conference back home.  I always took Stake Conference a break!  Now I wish I would have gone.  The stake president is President Packard, which is Landon's uncle.  He is a boss!  Unfortunately I only got to hear one of  his talks, because during his other one, there was a wild goose hunt for one of the members of the Spanish branch, a 20 year old boy with down syndrome named Raul.  Apparently he causes lots of trouble, goes missing a lot, and get the police called on him weekly.  He always calls me "burro" and my companion "policia".  Why?  I have no idea.  So he went missing during the meeting, and the entire Spanish branch was looking for him for about an hour.  He was finally found just sitting by himself in the congregation.  Ha!  Anyway, President Packard gave an incredible talk on Vision.  As members, missionaries, and member missionaries, we need to have a godly vision, not a natural vision.  In reference to the Good Samaritan, too many people think "what will happen to me if I help this man?" rather than "what will happen to this man if I don't help him?"  .  The same goes for sharing the Gospel!  Rather than thinking "what will happen to me if I invite this guy to church, or give this guy a pass along card?  Will he be rude?  Will I be embarrassed?", we need to think "what will happen to this man if I don't give him a chance to hear the joyous message of the Restored Gospel?  Will he just carry on with his miserable life, waiting for someone to come along and offer him help and give him hope?"  You just never know people's circumstances, their reaction, or whether or not God has prepared them.  We really do need to talk to everyone!   Another powerful moment of the meeting was when one of the speakers asked all those to stand that were converts due to an invitation from a member.  The number of people that stood up was incredible!  So many members are now members, simply because someone had the courage to invite.  "We make no apologies in sharing the Gospel!" is what one of the counselors to the stake president said over an over and over again.  It's true!  We cannot be afraid or even hesitant to share what we have! 

   The big news for the week:  we met a man from the Dominican Republic this week, and he is potentially a really solid investigator.  He is successful, well educated, very family oriented with 5 young kids, and not too satisfied with the Catholic Church right now.  We didn't get the chance to teach him a lesson, but we did get to meet his family and his two dogs.  He has two grand pyrenees, and one of them is pregnant!  He is very willing and almost insistent that he gives us one of the puppies.  So, in about 3 or 4 months I will be sending a grand puppy Pyrenee home for Toby.  Don't worry, they are great dogs, very gentle and protective, and don't get too big ; )

-I did receive your package on Wednesday.  It got hear quick!  I tried the earplugs one night, but they fall out.  I had to put 4 or 5 pairs in through out the night, because I could never  find them in my bed!   But a member gave us some nasal strips that stop snoring pretty good.  Elder Malpartida doesn't like to wear them because he claims they make his nose break out in pimples, but I tell him he doesn't have a choice.  But everything else in the package was great and exactly what I needed!   Thank you Mommy! 

-pizza got here just fine and we very much enjoyed it.  Thank you Mommy! 

-I think I do remember hearing about Elder Powell's family, either from you or him.  What part and when? 

-my camera had the lens error, and then Elder Haskell played around with it and did the same thing you did with it, and it worked for a while again, but then the lens error came back, I tried playing around with it, pushing the lens in, and I couldn't get it.  So maybe everyone has the touch but me!  So it worked, then lens error, lens error fixed by Elder Haskell, then lens error unable to be fixed by Elder Williams, then lens error fixed by mom.  So idk.  If you think you fixed it, I'll trust ya.  You make the call. 

Love you all!  Have a great week and a bonita Valentine's Day! 

Elder Williams

  

Week Thirty Eight - Back to Lakewood for a Baptism and a Rough Week....

Hey fam!  I don't really have much to tell you this week, for a change.  This week was kinda rough.  It was just one of those weeks where almost nothing seems to go your way.  The littlest things just pile up and pile up until you want to scream!  It was just one of those weeks where nobody seemed to have time for missionaries.  Every body we talked to:  "mucho trabajo, no puedo, muy ocupado, no tiempo, ninos, hijos, trabajo, ocupado, trabajo ocupado trabajo ocupado" alright alright I get it!!!  What is so frustrating, and I wish I could change so badly, is that people have lives.  They are caught up in the things of the world, and the adversary has them convinced that they either have no time for, or they want nothing to do with missionaries.
   Despite the frustrating week, there were some positives, and I did learn some things.  What I realized this week is that I need to be more bold, clear, and upfront about the message we share.  It is my responsibility to help people understand the importance and essentiality of the Restored Gospel.  Because if you don't have time for missionaries, you don't have time for God.  We are talking about SALVATION here!  And guess what?  You do have time.  Because there are over 15 million members of the Church that are busy with work and school and kids and everything else!  The only difference is that they understand the importance of church attendance, living the Gospel, and putting God first in their lives, because they have experienced the blessings that come from doing so.  As we do what God asks of us, He will provide better than we can provide.  People that say they don't have time are lacking the desires and just don't get it.  I know that if people would just give the missionaries a chance, and give our message a chance, give the Book of Mormon a chance, there is no way that they would not receive their own personal witness from God of the truthfulness and importance of the Restored Gospel.  I promise everyone I talk to that blessings will come from doing what we ask.  Why it is so hard for people to simply just HOPE that that is true, and give it a chance, I will never know.  Who doesn't want more blessings?!

   So, as you can probably see, I am a little bit frustrated.  Some of you may think that that right there is a little bit over the top, and maybe it is, but just maybe it isn't.  Being a missionary is frustrating, but it is so very worth it, too!  Because I learn things.  Another thing that I learned and realized and saw this week, is that I don't want to be a worldly person.  I have witnessed on my mission more than ever before that the natural man and the things of this world do not bring happiness.  While I am still a very worldly and very natural man, I have never wanted to overcome the natural man more than I do right now.  I've got a long way to go, but I am progressing.  That is the great thing about life, it's all about progression, and the Gospel helps me do it! 

Another reason why missions are so very worth it, is because there really are people out there that God has prepared, people that do accept missionaries, people that do have desires to learn and change, people that do have the hope to give us missionaries a chance.  Elder Haskell texted me this week and told me that one of our investigators in Lakewood passed his baptismal interview and will be getting baptized this Saturday!  So I will have the privilege of going back there on Saturday to see it.   Woohoo! 

   The Texas Dallas Mission apparently piloted the "JustServe" program for the whole year of 2013.  I never knew the details of it, but I just know we were encouraged to do 10 hours of service a week.  Now it is over and I am mad.  You are right, it is such a good way to use our time, especially during the slow hours of weekdays when everybody is at school and work.  I really think knocking does more harm than good for our image.  We knocked a dominantly white street this week and they were brutally rude, as always.  It seemed so fruitless!  Service is the best way to win the hearts of the people.  But who knows what the future entails for the Texas Dallas Mission.      

   So last night we were eating dinner at our ward mission leaders house.  He has four kids that are super cool.  The youngest is 4 and named Adli.  He was bugging me the whole time we were eating dinner, trying to get me race him.  He was going nuts waiting for me to finish eating!  Finally, I was down to one last bight of my dessert, and I had half a cup of soda left.  I was stuffed and struggling to finish it all, and I was resting from eating when he took the fork out of my hand, ate my last bite for me, and chugged the rest of my soda.  Haha!  I thought that was hilarious.  Then I had no choice other than to leave him in my dust. 

-I didn't get to watch a lick of the Super Bowl.  We didn't even realize it was Super Bowl Sunday until it was nearly over!

-It has been cold lately and it rained yesterday, but nothing too crazy. 

-I slept a little better this week.  Still no earplugs, but I told a member about Elder Malpartida's snoring, and she said she has something for me as well as something for him to solve the problem, we just haven't been able to go over to her house yet. 

-I am in a Spanish branch, which is smaller than a ward, but yes, it is all Spanish. 

-Senior companion is nice.  It's a little difficult not knowing the area or the members too well yet, but my companion is easy to work with. 

-All car.  Our area is huge and constant hills, but we might have to ride bikes towards the end of the month if we run out of miles.  That would be brutal, but it might happen this month haha

-My camera lens won't come out and it says "lens error".  I sent it home on Thursday with a few other things, but they said it won't get to you until this Thursday.  So please just send the camera back when you can with a new SD card.  And you know what would be neat?  If you took a few pictures of Toby or the house or the fam on the new SD card before you sent it to me.  You know what I mean? 

-Elder Haskell tells me I have a package from the Hinton's waiting for me at the Lakewood post office, so he is either going to forward it to me or I will get it on Saturday when I go for the baptism.

Well I think that'll do it for this week.  I sent off a letter to y'all the other day.  I got an email from Brynn today about her call.  I am so excited for her!  Christopher is in my prayers, as well as the rest of you.  Have a semana maravillosa!

Elder D. Williams

Week Thirty Seven - Tender Mercies, Landon's Aunt and Feeling the Spirit!

 

David and Corrine Packard, the Stake President's wife and aunt of Landon Lambert!

Sunday night, I had an e-mail from Denae Lambert, David's best friends mother.  Her sister, Corrine, who lives in McKinney had run into David at church that morning and had sent her this picture!  Her husband is the stake president.  It's just a small world!  

 

Greetings family and friends! 

   What a week I had!  So much has changed so quickly and it just feels weird.  But change is good.  I've now got the change of scenery that I was ready for and I am excited to make the most of my time here in McKinney!  McKinney.  I don't know how to describe McKinney.  It's definitely not Lakewood, and it's definitely not Grand Prairie.  There are parts of it that are more country, especially out in Princeton, another city that we cover.  Parts of it are really spread out, parts of it are old and historic houses, parts of it are really new and modern. Down town kind of reminds me of main street, Park City.  There is a little bit of everything here!   It's big, and there is still a lot that I haven't seen yet.  People here are nice.  The Hispanics here seem to have more money, good stable jobs, and normal families.  I am hoping that means they are maybe more intelligent, easier to teach, and more dependable in setting up lessons and keeping their commitments.  We have a decent amount of investigators right now.  A few that I still haven't met, but nobody seems to be really close to baptism.  But that's okay, because right now I have the attitude that I am exactly who everybody needs right now, and I am the one that will spark that fire within them and help them get over that hump of doubt, worry, misunderstanding, and lack of desire. 

   I am serving in a Spanish branch that covers the whole stake boundaries, plus more I believe, and there were 25 or 30 members at church yesterday.  They are great!  Presidente Garcia asked us yesterday if our meal calendar was full, if we had food in our apartment, and if our shoes were holding up.  We get fed 5 times a week, members are willing and wanting to be involved in the work, they give us referrals, they love missionaries!  The branch practically revolves around missionary work.  I was asked to introduce myself and share a brief message/testimony in Sacrament Meeting yesterday.  Could have gone better, but could have gone worse.  It is weird being in an all Spanish church service again, but I could not complain one bit!  So yesterday, after church, we were standing in the hallway talking with the Spanish sister missionaries, and I saw a lady that kind of looked like Denae Lambert, and I knew that the Lambert's had family in the stake because I saw his cousins mission plaque, who is serving in Thailand right now.  So I saw this lady, but I wasn't sure enough to say anything to her.  But sure enough, she came up to us and said something.  Haha!  I think it's funny how long it took for me to cross paths with one of them.  No time at all! 

   Elder Malpartida is great.  He's hilarious.  I cant' think of the word I want to describe him.  He reminds me of a child.  His sense of humor is super super simple, he gets excited over the littlest things, he is easy to please and easy to make laugh.  He is very genuine and has a pure, innocent heart.  The other day I asked him how to say "sexy" in Spanish, and his answer was "Elder Malpartida".  I love him and I don't think we will have any problems getting along.  The only problem that I have with him is that he is the worst, loudest, most consistent snorer I have ever heard.  Every single night I have to yell "ELDER!!!" 6-10 times to wake him up, but it's no use.  He wakes up, very confused, and begins to snore again 20 seconds later.  So between that and sleeping in a new bed, new room, new house that has just thrown me off, I didn't sleep too well this past week.  I am going to try to find some earplugs today.  Any idea where I could do that?  

   We do service once a week here, and it is BINGO with 4 or 5 old people.  It is a blast.

   I had two experiences this week that I think are worth sharing.  The first one happened Saturday at Subway.  We went for lunch.  In front of us were two middle aged men that were brothers.  They ordered like 8 sandwiches, so they felt bad that we had to wait for that.  But we started talking with them, just small talk,  and it turns out that one used to work in the moving business and he loved moving Mormons because he got paid more money to move all of their food storage!  But it was just a nice, friendly talk that never got to a Gospel topic.  Any who, they left and I just went on with ordering my sandwich.  When I got to the cash register to pay, the worker lady told me that my sandwich was already paid for.  Whaaaa?!  Apparently the guy whispered to her to pay for ours with his card.  I was just amazed.  It made my whole day!  The guy was just doing a good deed to do a good deed; without me knowing, didn't give us the chance to thank him, and I probably never will!  I guess I'll just have to pay it forward.  I just love seeing tender mercies of the Lord like that.  You don't see enough of that in today's world.  There really are some good people out there! 

   The other experience happened last night.  We had a lesson with a lady from Honduras, and the Elders had taught her one lesson before I got to McKinney.  Elder Malpartida told me that she was Pentecostal, knew her Bible really well, and talked a lot.  That made me nervous, because I don't know my Bible well!  Nevertheless, we went in there, and talked a lot she did.  It was very frustrating and patience trying to listen to her for so long.  I amazed myself at how well I was able to counter and respond to what she said by using the Bible.  But after a minute, she started talking about fiestas and celebrations during the Biblical times for Jesus, the importance of getting to know and understanding the culture of Jesus Christ and those that lived during that time and in that part of the world, and she said that we all need to learn Hebrew so that we can truly understand the Bible.  It didn't take long for my brain to fry from trying to keep up with her Spanish, and it didn't take long for me to realize that she was talking about unimportant and irrelevant stuff, so I just stopped trying to keep up, and I just waited for her to stop talking so I could share a scripture.  The Spirit helped me to find and prompted me to share 3 Nephi 9:22.  I told her she was complicating things and simply needed to "come unto Christ as a little child", willing to follow Him, keep His commandments, and live His teachings.  She didn't' like that.  The lesson ended up being contentious at times, but the Spirit has never been so obvious in a lesson for me.  I have never felt the Spirit work through me so strongly.  It helped me find multiple scriptures, I bore testimony powerfully and confidently, simply and clearly, and although it was a tough lesson, I felt like I handled it as best I could with the help of the Spirit.  Did we leave with a baptismal date?  Absolutely not.  We actually left kind of on bad terms; we were both fighting for the last word, and after being there for 2 hours I just wanted to get out of there!  So we left her with a Book of Mormon with our names and number in it, told her to call us if she wants.  Many times as a missionary, the only thing you can do is leave them with the ball in their court, and let God do the rest.  But I left there feeling good and satisfied.  Working with the Spirit is fun!  It was a big testimony builder for me, as well as a confidence booster.  I was quite bold and I felt like I laid down the law.  It felt good.

   I have know idea if she will ever pick up that book, but I just want to share my love for the Gospel.  I love it and it really is that simple.  Of course, knowledge and understanding is a good thing, but sometimes it can get in the way.  Alma 37: 44-47 talks about the easiness of the way.  Mosiah 3:19 talks about becoming like a child, as well as many other verses.  God is perfect, fair, and simple.  He is not the author of confusion.  His plan favors US because he loves us that much.  I love the simplicity of the Gospel.  The Gospel gives me hope and helps me along the path to reaching my potential and becoming the man that God needs and expects me to be.  I owe it all to the Gospel.  I love sharing it and am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to do so. 

-We drive a Chevy Malibu I believe.

-Yes there is an Applebee's as well as probably just about anything else.  We cover a big area, so the chances are good.  We have a Golden Corral right next to our apartment....

-Today is miserably terribly bitterly chillingly cold!  The two days before that I needed not a jacket, and the two days before that were like today!  I don't get it. 

-My camera might be broken minorly.  Hopefully it is an easy fix, but I might be sending that home soon, along with some mission memorabilia.

-I could use some cheap, fresh and cleaning smelling candles.  Our apartment smells very strange. 

-I have a wart that has been driving me bonkers.  If you can get a hold of some good stuff to take care of it, that would be greatly appreciated. 

-If possible, I would like you to send me the printed talk called Perfection Pending, by Russel M. Nelson. 

I believe that is it.  Love and miss y'all more and more everyday!  Have a splantastifical week and come closer to the Savior while you're at it!  g2g.  Until next week!

Elder Williams

 

Week Thirty Six - Transferred to McKinney, A Car and Elder Malpartida!

Well, I want to start off by apologizing to y'all for not sending an email on Monday. The library was closed, and we had lots to do! So emailing was just possible that day. But here I am! And I think I have quite a bit to tell you. I feel like so much has happened since the last time I emailed that I can't remember any of it! So it's a good thing I have my trusty journal with me today!

So like I said last Monday, we went to the Perot Museum of science and nature. I was really looking forward to taking bunches of pictures, but of course, as soon as I took my camera out, it died. So sadly, I don't have much to show for that trip, but it was still a good time! We got to race a cheetah and a t-rex!

Tuesday was interviews. My interview was short and sweet like always. President Durrant gave a training on problem solving. Apparently he is tired of everyone coming to him with their little problems. He said he disagrees with only one thing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and that is how sheltered and pampered kids are. President asked us who earns Eagle Scouts? Unanimously, everybody said "MOMS". And I'll be the first to admit that I would not have gotten my Eagle without my parents! Whether it be parents, youth leaders, bishops, teachers, we have someone holding our hand every step of the way. He blames this for the cause of all his winy, dependent missionaries that don't know how to solve a problem. It is somewhat sad, yet true, and I got a lot of what he said. While I don't consider myself to be a winer, I definitely wouldn't consider myself to be a good problem solver either, and I could easily make a few changes and improvements. President Durrant earned a fine living simply by being a problem solver. Problem solvers are successful and appreciated. Everybody likes a problem solver! I want to be companions with a problem solver, I want to be in groups with the problem solver, I want to work with problem solvers, I want to marry a problem solver, I want to teach my kids to be problem solvers. I need to become a PROBLEM SOLVER!

Now that I look back on the week, most of it just consisted of eating. Sadly, the highlights of my week were mostly big meals. However, a few nights ago we got a text message from Luis Moren at 1:40 in the morning, just asking us if we were awake. Of course, we weren't. Luis is a young, cool kid that Elder Crockett and I found, we started teaching him, and he was progressing real well. Luis was my favorite investigator in Lakewood! He was different than everybody else I ever taught. He was respectful of our time, communicated and let us know when he wouldn't be able to make it to an appointment, he was dependable, he was smart and was actually getting it. One night, out of the blue, he texted us and said that this wasn't the path that he wanted to take. I was heartbreaking, but I just left it at that. He asked for space, so I didn't push anything. He had our number and the Book of Mormon, the ball was in his court. So the fact that he texted us last week was a very good sign and made me ecstatic! It made me feel good to know that when he was going through a hard time, he texted the missionaries of all people! So I hopped all over that chance and told him I was leaving Tuesday and wanted to come say goodbye. He let us come over on Monday. He wasn't doing too good. He looked pretty bad. I could tell he was in pain, doing things that he knew he shouldn't be doing. While we never got it out of him what exactly is going on, we had a great lesson with him, and we are back in with him! He agreed to start visiting with us regularly again. He said he feels better just from talking with us and that we are the only ones that actually listen and understand him. I have come to love Luis. If Luis got baptized, my mission would be made! And I truly believe he will be.

Transfer calls came late Saturday night. We were one of the last ones they called and I was going bonkers waiting for it! But here I am now at the McKinney library sitting next to Elder Malpartida! So Sunday and Monday I spent the majority of the days saying bye to people and packing. I couldn't believe I had to pack. Moser Garden apartments were my home! It was weird and stressful to pack up and leave. It was bitter sweet. My whole time in Lakewood I have been ready for a new area, but as I was actually leaving, I was a bit sad. I had the privilege of getting to know some incredible people, serving with great companions and friends, and making great memories. The Lakewood chapter is definitely one I won't forget. Nearly a quarter of my mission was spent there. That's loco! It is very frustrating to be leaving right now. Elder Haskell and I had so much going on! Far more than I ever had my previous 5 months there. Sometimes I ask myself why? But then I have to remind myself that God is wise, he knows what he is doing, and he has a plan for my mission. I trust that Elder Haskell to take care of business without me.

So my new area is McKinney. I serve in a Spanish branch and my area is the whole stake. This stake is BIG! But do you know what that means? CAR! I'm in a car, I'm driving, and it feels oh soooo goood. My companion is Elder Malpartida, a goofy little guy from Peru, but he lived in New Jersey for 3 years so he knows English fairly well. He is 21 and only has 6 weeks in the field. But he is easy going and funny, and we shouldn't have a hard time getting along.

Yesterday was my first day in McKinney and it was quite alright! The apartment was an absolute disaster, so we cleaned for a couple of hours. Then we went to a tool shop where our branch mission leader works, as well as another member. They are a couple of cool dudes. They are constantly joking and I never know when to take them seriously. The one seems to be a great mission leader, much more involved than anyone in the Lakewood ward. Apparently the branch is super gungho about hastening the work, and that will obviously be a huge help. We had a dinner with a lady named Hermana Mondragon. She has a big fancy house. She is married and has 3 kids, one of which is serving a mission in Houston. But, get this, he is the only member! So she is just like you, Mom! A missionary mom that is not is not of the faith! She has had missionaries over for dinner nearly every Tuesday since her son has been gone, and that's 22 months! She is super nice and loves missionaries. Her answer to everything is "si dios quiere", or basically, "all in the Lord's timing". She likes to talk. A lot. It nearly made my brain burst from listening and concentrating so hard to understand her 100 mph Spanish for 2 hours! I struggled with my Spanish yesterday. I don't know if it was because now that I have a native Spanish speaking companion people use more advanced, regular Spanish rather than dumbed down gringo Spanish, or we just talked to abnormally fast and hard to understand people, or my Spanish is still just not quite up to par.

But after a day in McKinney, it is quite obvious that this will be very different than Lakewood and I am excited. With a native Spanish speaking companion and a Spanish branch, I will be much more immersed in the language and I will hopefully make big strides in my speaking ability. Lakewood was very dense and concentrated. McKinney and its surrounding areas are more spread out. We drive a lot. We smelled skunk like 6 separate times last night. I feel weird. I am a little stressed and uncomfortable. I forgot what it felt like to change areas. New companion, apartment, area that I don't know, members that I don't know; this is a big change! But it will just take a little bit of time. It's a good change. Somewhat of a fresh start, I guess you could say. I feel rejuvenated and ready to go!

-I have now gotten a letter from both you and Dad. I don't remember when though. Yesterday, the day I left, Elder Haskell called and said I had four letters in the mail. Not sure who from, but he said he would forward them to me.

-600 S. Graves apt. #1905

McKinney, TX 75069

-I'm set on treats. I packed all I still had from Christmas. Rick Rodriguez, the guy we had Thanksgiving dinner with and took us to the Blue Fish restaurant, took us to Trader Joe's and insisted we get more snacks. So I am set, probably until Easter!

-the only things that come to mind that I could use right now are a new journal (if you can, the same kind that you sent me last time, either black or blue) and a camera memory card. One is full, and the other one might be close, but I'm not really sure. On top of that, just send me your love and that's all for me!

Welp. I think that is about it. Much love.

Elder Williams

Week Thirty Five - Eight Months Out and The Perfect Haircut!!

David and his new haircut!

Celebrating Elder Haskell's one year anniversary!

Dallas Temple on a gray, rainy day.

David in front of the Dallas Temple.

 

 

Buenos Dias!

   Another great week is in the books.  The last 7 days were successful, productive, and fun!  We had great numbers, 5 investigators at church, people are progressing, and I'm just feeling good!  Either the Lord is blessing us greatly and making things easier, or I just might be starting to figure things out!  Probably a mixture of both, but most likely more the first than the second.
   We taught a good amount of LTMP's this week.  (Lessons Taught with a Member Present, and we are encouraged to have as many of those as possible)  It's been hard to use members here the way we should, mostly because my past experiences with members coming out with us for lessons.  Every time we have a member join us, nothing happens.  Nobody is home, they cancel, they lie, and we just have no luck!  It ends up being embarrassing, I feel like a failure, and I feel bad for making these guys waste their time, driving us all around town in the cold for nothing.  But this week, every time we had a member with us, everything went according to plan!  We even had Brother Romney come out with us finally.  It sure was nerve-racking to teach a lesson with an ex mission president!  But it was a good learning experience, he said we did good, and he only made one suggestion!  So that was a relief. 

I had the chance to go to the temple a couple of times this week to help the English Elders out in teaching lessons.  They have a couple of investigators that are so so close to baptism, so they took them to the temple to try to "seal the deal".  I got to bare testimony and feel of the profound spirit that is only found in the Temple.  It is fascinating to see the reaction of people entering the temple for the first time, especially nonmembers.  We went with a 17 year old boy, who was baptized a few months ago, and his mom that is supposed to get baptized this Saturday.  The boy was in awe, and said it didn't even feel appropriate to talk.  The Spirit is powerful.  I <3 Temples.

   Yesterday we had 5 of the 6 same investigators at Church that we had the previous week.  I sat next to William in Sacrament Meeting, and I had to tell him to turn the sound off on his Nintendo DS 5 times!  I should have just told him to turn it off, but I was scared haha.  I get the impression that he is on his DS for the full three hours of church, and that will change next week.  But at least he is coming!  Daron and Cheryl came to church again.  Daron was in a pimped out royal blue suit.  I need to get me one of those!  Our other investigators were a 10 year old boy named Joe, who we have a baptismal date with for the 25, and a lady named Marie, a friend of a less-active whose mom is more active.  Yeah.

   Knocking experience of the week:  Yesterday afternoon we were knocking a street that was borderline; it was somewhat nicer houses, and we couldn't tell if it was Hispanic or White.  Most of them were white, and as I have said before, white people are very blunt and honest and quite rude to us missionaries.  We approached a house with an open door, but nobody in sight.  Once we got to the door, we found a very pregnant lady sitting on the couch.  She appeared to be sweating and I wondered if she was just about to go into labor!!?  But I didn't want to make any assumptions, so I just did my typical shpeel and introduced ourselves as "the Representatives of Jesus Christ that have come to bring her everlasting joy and eternal salvation through a very very special message that Christ's Church is once again on the earth in its fulness and He wants YOU to be a part of it!"  She responded with the following:  "I'm tired, I'm in a pissy mood, and I suggest you walk away from my door right now."  And tired and pissy she was!  What I wanted to say was "Perfect!  Tired and pissy people are the ones that need our message most!" Or maybe say "You don't scare me" and try to make her even more pissy, but I figured that wouldn't be very Christlike, so I wished her a happy day and carried on.  I love missionary work! 

oh, and by the way, that isn't really my typical shpeel.  I'm not that cheesy!  How do you spell "shpeel"?  Is that even a real word? 

   Well.  I got a haircut last Monday, at a random, ghetto, Hispanic salon.  I was nervous, but it just might be the best haircut I've ever had.  I'm sorry, but I don't think I've ever looked so good in my life!  Daron told me I look like Matt Damon.  Haha!  I tried to get a picture to capture its beauty, but it just didn't do it justice. 

-Transfer calls are next Saturday.

-Today we are going to a museum.  A less active member got us all $15 tickets to the Perot Museum for free!  So we will be there all afternoon, so pizza probably won't work today.  I will let you know when a good Monday comes up.

-We went to Applebee's for lunch to celebrate Elder Haskell's year mark, and I tried to buy him TacoBell, but he never lets me buy anything for him! 

-Did Grandma and Charlotte send two separate packages or just one together?  I know I got one that I thought was from both of them, with a CD and popcorn and an orange and stuff. 

-Yes we can wear cologne, but I rarely do.  But the stuff you sent me smells good and I will use it for special days.  Does cologne expire?

-Jess has been in Africa.  I think he might be back in town by now, but we haven't heard from him. 

-I did hear that the new Mission Presidents were announced and that ours is President Taylor, but I don't know anything about him.  But that's still exciting! 

Welp.  That's all I can think of.  That's life in Dallas and I am enjoying it.  Love and miss you!  I never stop thinking about y'all and praying for y'all.  Have a great week! 

Elder Williams

 

Week Thirty Four - "There is Power in Kindness and Friendship"!

David and his little Christmas tree, presents and stockings! 

 

This e-mail from David really got to me.  We have tried to teach our kids the power of kindness since they were small.  Dave and I always told them to treat people with kindness because you never know what difficulties they may be facing at any given moment.  We taught them to be friends with everyone at school, even the kids that maybe didn't seem to have a friend or were difficult to be friends with.  David has diligently practiced this since he was small and he is still making us very proud! 

 

Greetings to my beloved family and friends,

   I am happy to hear that all is well back home and y'all had a fantastic New Year's!  The first few days of the new year have been great!  We had a very successful week.  We didn't teach as many lessons as normal, but the lessons we did teach were good, spiritual lessons with some solid people.  We are starting to see some people take steps toward progression, and also recognize those people that won't be going anywhere.  We are getting some progressing investigators!  Things are picking up. 
    We taught a lesson to a 16 year old girl the other day, and at the end we asked her if she had any questions.  She had one:  "Do y'all play sports?"  Pffff!?!?  After listening to the mind blowing message of the Restoration, that is the only question you have?!  I just don't get some people.  And some people just don't get it!  But what can you do? 

   We were knocking doors the other day, and came across an older Catholic lady.  She told us she wasn't interested, and said she was busy with her daughter who is struggling with health problems.  You can't do anything but respect that, but I just offered to say a prayer with her before we left.  She accepted, and by the end of the prayer, she was crying.  Did she change her mind and let us in?  No.  But it was obvious that it made an impact on her.  That right there is a seed planted.  Who knows where it will lead to, but it solidified a valuable truth in my head.  You never know who people are, what their circumstances are, what they are going through, or what they need.  You can never underestimate the power you have, the affect you might have on someone, or the difference you can make in someone's day or even life.  There is power in kindness and friendship.  There is power in words and in prayer.  It's like the quote you shared with me, Mom.  Everyone we cross paths with will have an impact on us, whether it be positive or negative.  Let us all strive to make a positive impact on all those we come in contact with. 

   Yesterday was easily the best Sunday of my mission so far; at least as far as church goes.  We had 6 investigators at church!  SIX!  That's twice what I had on my next best Sunday!  We are teaching a lady from El Salvador named Lucia, and her 11 year old son William.  Lucia tells us all the time that she wants her son to be baptized and learn the Gospel, but she doesn't quite understand yet that it is just as important for him as for her!  But she works on Sundays, and is currently building up the courage to ask her boss for Sundays off.  But William has now come to church the last two Sundays.  The first Sunday, we thought he was 12, so we got some of the young men to take him to class with them.  In the next hour, we were trying to find him to check up on him, but he was nowhere to be found!  The last place we checked was Primary, and sure enough, there he was sitting on the front row next to kids a quarter of his size, and they were singing the Hello song to him.  "How on earth did he end up there?!" we thought to ourselves.  We were worried and felt bad that he had to suffer through that, but he came out of Primary with a big smile on his face.  Elder Haskell asked him if he wanted to go home or go to three more hours of church, and he said three more hours of church!  It wasn't until yesterday that we found out that he was only 11 and primary was where he belonged, so that was a relief.  William is a very timid kid, and the only time we can really get anything out of him is when we talk about his Pokemon cards. 

Two of the others we had at church were Daron and Cheryl, a couple that we found and will soon have to hand over to the English Elders.  We met Daron Saturday night, but couldn't even teach him a lesson because he just talked our ears off!  But Daron is the definition of a BFG.  He is an absolute teddy bear.  He is huge, benches 700 pounds, but is super humble and wouldn't hurt a fly!  I sat next to them in Sacrament meeting, and Cheryl was filled with lots of loud and unnecessary "amens" in the middle of people's testimonies.  It was awkward, and I was hoping that she would catch on and realize that we don't do that, but the ward understood.  Then they both got up to share their testimonies and I was TERRIFIED!  They grew up doing church differently and I just wasn't sure what to expect, but they both only took about two minutes and shared great testimonies.  What a relief that was!  They were already expressing desires to be members of our church.  They called me their angel and expressed great gratitude for us missionaries.  Cheryl was crying throughout the meeting, and they both participated in classes and really enjoyed it!  They are "golden investigators" if I ever did see some. 

We had a whole slew of children that belong to a less active that came to church yesterday for the first time in a long time.  We had a member bring her less active daughter's friend that we will start teaching on Tuesday.  And a few months ago, Elder Crockett and I had a lesson with a man that was married to a lady that was just recently baptized, and he was desirous to be baptized as well.  Sadly, they got in a big fight, and he left to Corpus Kristy to stay with family.  Now, he's back!  And more serious about baptism than ever!  Things just seem to be falling into our lap right now. 

   I bore my testimony in Sacrament meeting yesterday.  The first time I did that since Grand Prairie!  I didn't realize it had been that long, and although I bare my testimony daily, it is still very hard to do it in that setting.  But I've made a goal to bare testimony in every Fast and Testimony Meeting this year.  Only 11 more times to go! 
  

-I received Dad's letter, but not Mom's yet.  I think I got a few more Christmas cards as well.  I can't remember if that was this week or last.

-New Year's Eve was a pretty typical day.  We helped someone move, and they bought us CiCi's for dinner.  Then we found a bunch of thug kids playing basketball down the street from the church and invited them to the church to play us on a real court.  Maybe not the best way to spend our night, but it was good church exposure.  Now they call us and want us to come play all the time.     New Year's Day was a typical day as well.  A cold and slow day knocking on doors for the most part.

-Weather here is very up and down.  One day we'll need our jackets, the next we won't, and the next we will need our jackets, coats, scarves and earmuffs, and still be cold!  Saturday was a beautiful day, yesterday was miserably cold, and today looks sunny but cold.  You just never know here! 

-Pizza on Thursday at 3 or 4 our time wouldn't be a bad idea.  Yes, Haskell likes meat lovers!

S/O to my favorite English missionary in the whole wide TDM, Elder Munday.  He has been here with me in Lakewood since day one, and we have formed quite the friendship in these last 5 months.  He is a great example to me, a strong Priesthood holder, confident in the Gospel and knows how to teach better than any missionary I have ever witnessed.  Yet another great and true friend for life that I have made along the journey.  Love ya Munday!

A great start to 2014, and my weekly updates will only get peachyer!  Love ya!  Miss ya!  Have a good week! 

Elder Williams