Week Seventy Two - Lessons From Conference, the Arboretum and Tornado Warnings!

Elder Truman at the arboretum!

David at the Arboretum!

The arboretum!

Elder Truman and Elder Alkonis at the Arboretum!

The arboretum!

The arboretum!

Elder Truman, David, Elder Meads and Elder Alkonis!

Rims in Texas!

Buenos dias Familia y Amigos!

   So this week was pretty good!  On Monday some members that the zone leaders live with took a bunch of missionaries out to lunch and then to the Dallas Arboretum, a big and super fancy garden in Dallas where you just walk around and enjoy the scenery.  Not exactly what I get excited over, but it was nice and kind of a fun preparation day activity!  The English Elders are still living with us.  They were about to move back to their apartment until they stopped by to do one last bedbug check, and they found more.  So we might be stuck with them for another transfer.  Elder Truman's companion is Elder Walters.  We go home at the same time.  I got to know him pretty well last year about this time when we served near each other.  He is a cool kid and a good missionary.  The four of us get along pretty well.  On Friday we had a zone meeting, and the zone leaders asked me to give a training.  Normally I get excited when we have a zone meeting, because that means we don't have district meeting and I don't have to do anything!  But Elder Adams and Elder Cheathum took that away from me this week.  Giving trainings is definitely not something I enjoy doing, but it went well, and it is good experience for life.  So I'm not complaining.  The highlight of our week was, of course, General Conference!  I learned a lot, had some questions answered, received some good counsel that I am excited to apply into my life, and I was spiritually reenergized with a boost to get me through the next six months!  It is hard to distinguish just one central message or theme of the Conference, because every speaker is answering different prayers of different people in different situations.  But I do know that God spoke to all of us according to what we needed to hear at this time.  Multiple names that I have been praying for lately came to mind during certain talks and I had the thought "hey! this is for _____! I just pray that they are listening right now!"  But the great thing about it is that General Conference talks are so accessible these days that we still have a chance! 

      Here are a few things that stood out to me as I watched General Conference: 

-TRUTH is TRUTH and we should not look for ways around it but trust and support the Brethren, having faith that there counsel comes from the Almighty God of TRUTH.

-We should be saints of INTEGRITY with complete loyalty to the Lord, taking accountability upon ourselves for all we do and are.  

-Stick to and LIVE the FUNDAMENTALS.  In my notes, next to every name that spoke, I put P's and R's and O's every time prayer, scripture study, and obedience were mentioned.  My notes are filled with "PRO"s!  I wrote down a handful of questions before Conference, and I know doubt received answers to some, but at the same time, as I think about certain questions that I wrote down, something tells me that I already know the answer to these questions.  We have been told what we need to do time and time again.  We just need to do it!  

-I did get Em's mug.  She is a pro with this pottery stuff now!  Unfortunately, the handle was broken into three pieces when I got it.  But fortunately, there's super glue!  So I glued it and it is good as new!  Thanks Emmy!

-My feet are a lot better and the prescriptions are really working.  No need for reinforcements.  

-We watched Conference in the chapel and it was absolutely superb!

-There was a pretty nasty storm on Thursday I believe.  We went into a rec center because it was looking like it was about to down poor any minute.  And sure enough, it did.  Then the tornado sirens went off and they told everybody to get in the bathrooms.  I was thinking "oh snap this is serious!"  Luckily the English Elders showed up right then, so we hussled out to the car, and five minutes later when we showed up to Chik-fil-A it was over and that was it.  Last night we woke up to hail hitting the window and some pretty intense thunder, but now it's sunny and just looking like a beautiful day!  So we didn't see anything too serious here in Garland.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOST FAVORITE SISTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (to be delivered the day of)

Thank you for the updates on everyone!!  I'm super jealous about Jim Gaffigan.  Did he do his hot pocket jokes or was it all something you haven't seen before? That sounds like a super good time!  I love and miss everybody and I am grateful for all the love and support that I receive from everybody back home!  I recently received letters from Dad and Sister Iba.  Thank you!  Your letters truly make my day!  I hope and pray that eveybody has the best week ever!  

Elder Williams

The Prank!

David told us about a prank that the other companionship played on them in their apartment, but didn't give us any detail about what actually happened.  Here's the whole story as told by Elder Meads in his e-mail to his family....boys!!

We pranked the elders in our apartment bad! it ended in a 911 call hahahahahaha. 

So we bought these bathtub crayons and we drew this on the shower wall and put a knife with spaghetti sauce on it in the tub.. we left the front door wide open and moved the beds around in the bedroom! They were freaking out and were like we think someone is in here still... maybe they are in the shower.. we played a long and they were soooo scared and they opened the shower curtain super fast and they gasped and were OH MY GOSH!!!!! one of the elders were cussing they were so scared and mad! hahahahahahaha... elder Williams decided to call 911 and we were like no lets just call some other elders and see if it is a prank and they obviously had no idea about it and so elder Williams calls 911 and we were freaking out and were trying to tell him it was a joke and to hang up! but he wouldn't.. we had to yank the phone from his hands and hang up! they called right back and were trying to figure out what was going on and they came to the house to make sure everything was okay hahahaha.. we washed everything off the bathtub so they wouldnt think we were crazy and everything was all good.... I recorded the whole thing on a recorder i bought! oh too good!

Week Seventy One - Staying in Garland and Excited for Conference!

Elder Alkonis, Angelica and David!

David being disappointed in his 'baby' breakfast burrito....

Greetings Family and Friends!  

   Elder Alkonis and I had our best week yet this past week in Garland!  We taught a lot, we had lots of support from the members, and we had another baptism!  Angelica H. was baptized on Saturday.  She is great, and more baptisms from her family should come soon.  Transfer calls have always come Saturday nights, but this weekend they were postponed until Sunday night, which threw everybody for a loop!  But all the anxiety and excitement was for nothing in the case of Elder Alkonis and I.  We are staying for another one together in Garland!  Not surprised, not excited, but not really disappointed either. Things are going well here, and I get to be outside on a bike during the most beautiful month of the year!  For Texas at least.  Elder Meads and Elder Truman got a change - Elder Meads is going to Plano to be a zone leader, and Elder Truman is getting Elder Walters as his companion.  I served around Elder Walters when I was in Lakewood.  He is a good kid.  Not sure if they are going to live with us again.  I'm hoping they don't, just because four missionaries in one apartment is a lot to handle and it has warn me out!  But at the same time, I'm not going to force them out of the apartment.  So we will just have to wait until tomorrow when Elder Walters gets here.  A member from an English ward took us out to lunch this week to a super nice sea food restaurant.  Aligator tenders, catfish, shrimp, and grits!  I wasn't a big fan of the grits, the catfish wasn't anything special, but the rest super duper yummy!  Some members are just too kind to us.     

GENERAL CONFERENCE WEEKEND!!!  I could not be more excited for Conference!  I hope and pray that everybody prepares themselves spiritually and does all that they can to get the most out of this super weekend!   A member in the branch yesterday shared a funny yet true story, but I didn't catch if it was a personal experience of his or someone he knew, or just a scenario, but I'm sure it happens - 

A member and a nonmember get talking about what they had going on for the upcoming weekend.  The member says that he is going to spend the weekend watching General Conference.  To no surprise, the nonmember has no idea what General Conference is, so it was the perfect missionary opportunity for this member to explain what it is!  He says something along these lines:  "General Conference is a worldwide conference from our Church that happens every six months, where we listen to the prophets and apostles that are God's modern day mouthpieces, and they tell us what God wants us to know in these latter days."  The nonmember was fascinated and said "how neat!  What is it that God told the world at the last conference?"  Now, put yourselves in that situation.  Would you know how to answer that question?  I don't know if I would be able to.  I watched all 10 hours of the last Conference and I enjoyed every minute of it and learned bunches.  For me, I noticed that many of the talks were about the importance of a strong and unshakable testimony in these latter days, and how we can deepen and strengthen our testimony so that we do not fall when tempted.  It makes sense, because the adversary is working harder than ever to pull us away from the Gospel and destroy our lives with the nasty things of the world.  From what I can remember, that is what the "theme" of Conference was for me, but I still don't know if that answers the question very well.  What did God tell the world at Conference?  It is an interesting way to look at Conference, and I would like to invite all those who read this to pay attention during Conference to be able to answer that question when it is over.  What will God tell us through General Conference this weekend?  I would love to hear some responses to that question next week!  

-I can't think of anything I desperately need you to send me right now, other than some garment tops.  The ones I have are getting warn out and a little itchy.  So you can send me what ever you can find in my room.  You shouldn't need to buy me any new ones.  Maybe a jump rope.  I should have one in my gym bag, but I have no idea where that is these days. Other than that, just some yummy treats, not pure candy, and whatever else you want to throw in there!
-The weather is still quite hot most days, low 90's, the sun is still strong but it does feel a little bit more fresh outside, some trees are changing, and we are starting to see a wee little hint of autumn in the air! 

-Biking isn't too bad, physically it is getting easy, I just cannot stand having to be so dependent on people.  That is the worst part about it, and I am not looking forward to another six weeks of that.     

-I will forward you some pictures and a summary of the prank in the eyes of Elder Meads, the brains behind the prank.  He kind of stretched the truth on a few things, but it will do.

-Dad, is Larry that guy that lives where we used the jackhammer to tear apart his back patio?  Happy to hear you are busy! There is nothing better than being busy!  

-Em, did you get my letter?

-Tom, are you in institute?  You should sign up for institute at UVU!  Try to get into Brother Knolton's class, he's hilarious!  I think that is his name, it's something like that at least. 

- Mother, next week I want to hear all about what you learned from our dear prophets and apostles  ; ) 

Thank you for the updates, I love to hear about what is going on at home!  I hope everything goes well for everyone this next week, and I want you to know that you are in my prayers!  

Cuidense y Dios les bendiga!  

Elder Williams

Week Seventy - Breakfast With Jess and PRO Rings!

Hey Fam!

   Another week has flown by already, and we are now in the last week of the transfer!  So transfer calls will be this Saturday. . . I have no idea what to think or what to expect!  Waiting on transfer calls can sometimes be excruciating, but all will be well!  This week was interesting.  There was a fun branch activity saturday night, Noche Hispana Cultural, where there was lots of music and food and dancing.  Elder Alkonis caused some ruckus when he went out on the dance floor and innocently danced with a few peeps.  Some members made a big deal of it, others loved it and wanted to see more, and the rest kind of joked about it.  We heard some reeeally funny comments and jokes about it the next day at Church.   I think he learned his lesson.  

   Elder Truman and Elder Meads, the Elders that we live with pranked us super super super good this week.  It ended with my second ever phone call to 911.  I wanted to be mad about it, but they played it all so well that I could do nothing but pat them on the back for it.  The best part about it all is that Elder Meads recorded the whole thing on his voice recorder!  It was hilarious.     

   Jess Johnson took us out to breakfast this morning, which was nice!  He hasn't changed a bit; super intense, talks about history and other things that go way over my head, shares his crazy conspiracy theories with us, and tells us how to be successful in life.  He is crazy, but it was the best breakfast I have had since the last time he took us out to breakfast in January!  So I am not complaining.  

   This week we had a Specialized Training with half of the mission (that was a big meeting!)  It was great to see all my mission buddies, and it is funny to see how missionaries have changed and gained weight hehehe!  I'm trying, but I have actually lost about 10 pounds in this past month.  Anyway, the meeting was great and incredibly spiritual.  President and Sister Taylor are really good at letting us know how much they love us.  Sister Taylor can't hardly say anything without getting emotional, and it is just the cutest and sweetest thing!  But after listening to them I really just wanted to give them both a bear hug.  With the exception of my parents, I don't think I have ever felt so loved by anybody!  President Taylor sort of came up with this thing called "PRO", which stands for Pray, Read, Obey.  He came up with a design for it and put it on a ring and we all got PRO rings!  He talked about importance of PRO in our lives and the difference it can make if we can make those three things a priority in our lives.  Absolutely brilliant and I am 100% on board with it.  Hey everybody, Be a PRO!  That was one of the highlights of the meeting.  As I was sitting in that specialized training, my heart was filled with gratitude for the opportunity I have to serve a mission.  There is honestly nothing better.  Making and seeing friends and old companions, feeling loved by your mission president, singing "God be with you 'til we meet again" to missionaries that are leaving, life and gospel lessons that are worth more than gold, being spiritually uplifted and all that good stuff!  Serving a mission is so worth it in every way that you can possibly think of.  I just couldn't be happier right now!  

-I got all three packages!  Thank you for everything!  

-Transfer calls come this saturday, and transfers will take place the following Tuesday.  I will let you know what happens!  

-District leader has been nothing special.  I wouldn't say I like it, but I don't hate it, so all is well!

-If the socks are supposed to keep my feet from sweating, I wouldn't say they are doing their job.  But between the spray and the oils, it is slowly slowly getting better I think.

Thanks for the update on everyone!  I loved to see the pictures from the trip!  Y'all will be in my prayers!  I hope everybody has a great week!  

Elder Williams

Week Sixty Nine - More Training and Prayer is Real!

Elder Alkonis, Moises, and David! 

Elder Alkonis, David, Moises and his family! 

"The Goons I live with!" 

Buenos dias y feliz Lunes!

     Elder Alkonis and I had a pretty decent week!  We had a baptism on Saturday of a kid named Moises, the son of a recently re-activated recently converted lady in the branch.  We made the mistake of letting the members take care of the program and everything, and the service didn't go too smoothly, which was frustrating because as missionaries we just want everything to go smoothly so that it is a pleasant and spiritual experience for everyone.  I've learned by now that very few things go smoothly while serving a mission, and when they do, it is a tender mercy of the Lord.  So while I wanted to be frustrated, I just had to keep telling myself that he was baptized by the Priesthood authority of God, and that's what's important!  It probably wasn't even that bad from the perspective of everybody else; but either way, lesson learned!  

     On Tuesday we had what is called the Follow-up Training Meeting, where all of the new missionaries and their trainers get together to talk about how the first three weeks have been, what we can do better as trainers or trainees, as well as a spiritual boost to keep trucking along with all we have.  It was a good meeting.  It was interesting to be on the other side this time, because just a little over a year ago I was the lost and clueless one being trained at that meeting!  But we all learned a lot and got some free pizza.  President and Sister Taylor are incredibly spiritual and loving and always have the right things to say!

     So the investigator that we are really focusing on right now is a lady named Angelica H.  I forget what I have already told y'all about her, but she is a strong and faithful woman that is in a very difficult situation.  Her husband is very controlling and pretty much locks everybody in the house when he is home and takes everybody's phones away.  Luckily he works a lot, but for the past three Sundays before yesterday, he hasn't worked and has kept Angelica from coming to Church.  So Elder Alkonis and I, along with the relief society president, prayed our hearts out all week that God would provide a way for her to come to Church without creating problems with her violent husband.  And who do you think we saw walking into the chapel yesterday?  Angelica!!!  And after much convincing, from both the Elders and some of the hermanas in the branch, we got her to stay for all three hours!  It was a sweet feeling to see her in Church and have our prayers answered.  PRAYER is REAL.

     So that was pretty much our week.  We actually got a day or two of semi cold weather with some misty rain!  I even had to put a jacket on at one point, but it was quite refreshing!  It has been a hassle with our bikes this past week.  Another flat tire (Elder Alkonis this time), and some days it is just not possible to accomplish everything we have to do on our bikes.  So we have probably been a pain to some of the members, calling for rides and what not, and I can't stand it.  On a mission, you are constantly depending on other people, especially when your on a bike, and it is so frustrating!  I stress out over it quite often, but the Lord always seems to provide a way!  

-Elder Truman and Elder Meads are both still living with us.  It has been fun, and it actually hasn't really gotten in the way of the work like one would think.  We have fun when we are together, but we get work done throughout the day.  Elder Meads has been a zone leader for a big chunk of his mission, so it has been nice to learn a few things from him.  I love mission buddies!

-Elder Alkonis 19, a little over a year younger than me.  

-Yes I got the socks you sent me, along with a random and goofy little beanie. . . what is up with that?  And why did you spend so much money on socks?!  They work pretty well, but I wish I would have known how expensive they were before you bought them!   But thank you!

-I see Sister Wyss only on preparation days.  For preparation day here in the Richardson Zone, nearly the whole zone goes to the stake center to email in the family history center and play sports.  President and Sister Taylor live in the Richardson Stake, so sometimes they come play sports with us, and last week they even brought everybody sandwiches from Jason's Deli!  They are just too awesome. 

I am happy to hear that the trip went well, but I am still waiting on some pictures. . . !  That's kind of a relief to at least have an idea of what happened to the package.  Super stange!  but There is nothing that I can't live without, so no rush.  Thanks for all you do!  I have the best family and friends.  I love and miss you and pray for you all!  Have a great week!  

Elder Williams

Week Sixty Eight - Exchanges with Elder Crockett and Elder Sheffer - Just Like Old Times!

Elder Alkonis, David, Elder Sheffer and the other Spanish AP!

Howdy Y'all!

You are in Oregon right now and I am so jealous!  But y'all have probably been jealous of me for the last year that I've been in Texas, so I guess that's fair.  Elder Alkonis and I had a decent week.  Our main priority of the week was helping a nine year old boy get ready for baptism, which was quite difficult because he has some major ADD, but he had his baptismal interview yesterday and will be getting baptized on Saturday!  So that's exciting.  I had to go on a couple of exchanges this week, and the funny thing is that they were with my very first two companions in the mission field - Elder Sheffer and Elder Crockett. Haha!  It was neat and funny to be knocking doors with them again, and to catch up and see how we all have changed.  I can't remember if I already mentioned this, but Elder Sheffer is one of the Spanish assistants right now.  He is still a very interesting kid, but he has very impressive spanish and has come a long way.  I learned a lot from him!
  So on Friday I believe it was, we were riding our bikes when I got a big fat nail in my bike tire. . .  : (  So we started walking to the bike shop, all along praying that somebody would be kind enough to stop and offer a ride to these two fine young men.   Sure enough, after about 5 minutes of walking,  a kind and friendly less active member saw us and offered to take us there.  That was a lifesaver because it was the hottest part of the day and I was carrying my bike on my shoulders because the tube got caught in the spokes or something and the bike tire wouldn't even roll!  I love seeing tender mercies of the Lord. When we got to the bike shop, the guy that works there started talking to us about Utah and all of his experiences there.  He said when he was in his prime, he had a friend that wanted to go on a vacation. To decide where they were going, his friend closed his eyes and threw a dart at a map of the U.S., and sure enough, it landed on SLC!  As they were driving there from Texas, they stopped in a little town called Moab for the night.  As it turns out, they fell in love with Moab so much that they never even made it to SLC!  He ended up buying a home there, lived there for years, as well is in Draper, until he got hit by a drunk driver in Temple Square, of all places, and had to move back to Dallas so his family could take care of him.  But we ended up talking for a while as he worked on my bike.  When he rung me up, I was expecting to pay like 20 - 25 bucks for a new tire, tube, and whatever else, but the guy gave me a monster discount and only charged me $7!  Yet another tender mercy of the Lord.
   So other than that, we just had a typical week with some really good lessons.  I can't think of anything else worthwhile to to y'all.

-I didn't receive anything in the mail this past week.  I'm worried too!  Can you check the tracking number on the packages?

Have fun on vacation and send me some pictures please!
    --the exchange with the aps

Week Sixty Seven - The Power of the Restoration and Four in an Apartment!

David.  On his bike.  With no hands.... 

hno Garcia aka "the branch GIANT"... in spirit. One of my best friends from McKinney!

Family Home Evening at the Garcia's, last night in McKinney.

Kassandra(investigator) and Clarita Garcia(going to Germany on her mission in October!)

Gustavo, homie from McKinney! 

The apartment in McKinney!

McKinney apartment!

Kitchen in the McKinney apartment!

The trio!

hna Garcia made me pinky promise that I would come back to visit them!

Greetings loved ones!

Elder Alkonis and I had a busy and interesting week.  Garland is starting to become familiar.  We have a really small area, so it shouldn't take too much longer.  

   The English Elders that overlap areas with us, Elder Truman and Elder Meads, are both from Vegas and they are a real hoot!  Their apartment got bedbugs a couple of weeks ago, so on Tuesday they moved in with us and it has been a party ever since.  They are probably some of the best friends I've made on the mission yet.  I don't think I have laughed as much and as hard as I have this past week since the MTC!  So having them in the apartment with us has definitely made this last week an adventure to remember.  

   Thursday was 50 CENT CORNDOG DAY at SONIC.  So you better believe we took advantage of that and made a few stops there throughout the day.  I ended the day with 10 corndogs.  Due to late and unplanned appointments, we were unable to make our last trip to SONIC at the end of the day to reach our goal of 15, but apparently they do it three or four times a year, so I will have another chance.  

   So yesterday we showed up to Church about ten minutes before sacrament meeting to find out that the four Elders of the branch were the speakers.  That was a pleasant surprise.  But we filled up the time and I thought it went quite well considering the circumstances.  We also had to do a primary sharing time, which was kind of fun!  My mission has made me come a long way.

   So one of our investigators right now is a lady named Angelica.  The missionaries that we replaced had just barely found her days before they left.  The first time we met her was days after she was in a bad car accident.  We walked into her house and she was laying down on a bed in the front room, covered with big and severe bruises.  She told us that a chiropractor told her that not a single disc in her spine was in place!  She said she really wanted to cancel our appointment, but at the same time, she really wanted to meet us and listen to our message.  That was the first good sign.  We had a great first lesson with her.  She had lots of questions and has a sincere desire to better her life and come closer to God.  We told the RS president about her and her situation, and she immediately got involved in helping and supporting Angelica.  She went over that Sunday with one of her counselors to meet her and see if she needed anything.  She took Angelica's kids to school in the mornings and picked them up in the afternoons for the first few days of school.  She passes by and sends her text messages regularly to check up on her.  Talk about a good member missionary!  Members like that sure bring a big smile to our faces.  Our second appointment with Angelica was on Saturday.  We gave her a blessing and she accepted an invitation to be baptized on the 27th of this month without hesitation.  We have a really good feeling about her!

   On Monday we had a neat experience when we knocked on the door of a lady named Maria H.  She tried to give us what we get just about everyday, and it goes about like this: "Oh I've talked to muchachos like you before, I'm Catholic but all churches are good, it's all one God, I appreciate what y'all do, but I do not need your message."  That probably sounds familiar to a lot of you reading.  It would have been easy to just give her a card, walk away and leave it at that, but I got a little pushy and convinced her to give us 10 minutes of her time.  We started to share the Restoration with her and she was surprisingly focused and genuinely interested.  As she listened to the words of the First Vision, she got emotionally and began to cry, and she said that those were very powerful and beautiful words.  The Spirit has been present many times when I have shared the First Vision with people, and I know that other people have felt the Spirit as it has been shared, but never have I seen the First Vision bring anybody to tears.  Normal words do not do that to people!  There is nothing neater than feeling the Spirit confirm and testify of the words leaving your mouth, and then seeing the impact it has on other people.  It was just another confirmation to me that what we share is TRUE, and all people need the joyous message of the Restoration!  I am proud and grateful to be able to say that I have a testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the Restoration of the Gospel and Church of Jesus Christ.

-I have not yet received the package.  Hopefully today!  

-A counter would be nice to be able to count all the people that I contact per day!

-As district leader I give district meetings usually every Tuesday, I report numbers to zone leaders Sunday nights, and I give baptismal interviews to the investigators of the missionaries in my district.  I did that for the first time this week and it was kinda weird, but pretty easy.  Then I also just serve and support and encourage the missionaries in my district, and I'm also supposed to set somewhat of an example.  And I go on exchanges!  So nothing too special.  

-Sister Holm is a lifesaver!   

  

Have fun on the trip and take lots of pictures!  The Zach you met at Braxton's homecoming I'm guessing was Zach Adams.  I was a freshman when he was a senior.  I'm surprised he remembered me!  But that's neat that you went and got to see Braxton!  Tom is sounding like quite the thrill seeker this days and I'm loving it!  It is good to hear about life in the 801.  I love everybody! 

Elder Williams