There is so much I need to update on haha so much stuff has happened...
Im going to start from the beginning. Elder Conley and I have now been in Waller together for 2 weeks. Waller is a small spanish branch with a lot of fire about missionary work. We have had more referrals in 2 weeks than I have my whole mission. People call us everyday with new people to teach and the members set up member presents and everything for us its amazing. We just show up and teach and the members do the rest. In a perfect world, that is how missionary work should work so if you arent helping the missionaries... talk to your friends and give them people to teach! Success comes through the invitation.
We had a lesson this week with a pastor from a church that a member set up for us. We pick up a couple members to come with us and then they told us that they had invited a couple more people so we show up with 6 members and us haha. We brought the whole ejercito!! We walk in and sit down and everything was pretty normal until we started talking. They started to criticize our teaching because it wasnt the same way they teach and they wouldnt really let us teach anything to them. They would just throw out random info to us that we already knew. We ended up sharing about the book of mormon and testifying with the members and then we left. It was a good experience haha.
We taught a lady last week named Aurora. A member in our branch who is a straight cholo from compton called us and said he talked to the lady that cuts his hair about the church and she wanted us to come by. We showed up for the lesson and the member had invited three other members and the lesson was at the barber shop. So we go inside with four other people in suits and sit down while she is cutting hair and start teaching her along with everybody in the barber shop haha. Luckily everybody in there spoke spanish so they all understood. The lesson went super well and she even came to church on sunday.
We got a sick book of mormon referral and went by to visit her. Her name was Angie and she said she said a commercial about the church on tv and felt she should get online and order a book of mormon. She sadly didnt speak spanish so we referred her to the english elders but she came to church and the elders are preparing her for baptism.
We helped build a ramp going up to a trailer for some neighbors of a member family in the branch. The branch is super sweet because when somebody has service to do or anything for anybody the whole branch helps out. We had a bunch of members helping. They just wanted us to do a ramp but the whole trailer was in bad condition so we ended up fixing the whole trailer and yard. We trimmed trees, cleaned, did yardwork and many other things. It looked like a new house. The english elders are now teaching them too.
Saturday was the coolest day ever. We got to go down to Sealy where I served over a year ago to go to a baptism of an investigator that Elder Conley and I have both taught there. He had been investigating the church for like 5 years and finally made the decision to be baptized. On our way there we stopped at the famous bellville meat market. They have the best barbecue ever. When we go to sit down at our table we hear somebody in a super thick southern accent say "hey elders!" I look up and it was a guy that used to own the missionary apartment complex out there when I was there named Marshall. He LOVES missionaries. I ate with him on new years last year. I gave him a big hug and talked to him for a while. It was so good to see him. Then we went to the baptism and I got to see the Garza family that I was able to find and baptize over a year ago. We all started to cry when we saw each other. The amount of love that I feel for that family is indescribable. I saw a bunch of people that I missed a ton. Tom was baptized on his 80th birthday. It was a very special experience and Im so glad I could be a part of it. On our way back we stopped by Marshalls house because he wanted to give us brownies haha and then we went back to waller. On our way back we got stopped by a bunch of african american cowboys. They were all riding horses and pulling trailers and stuff, blasting music in the middle of nowhere haha it was insane. We were stopped for about 45 minutes and there was about 1000 people on horses hah. It was the best day ever!
Elder Conley was here for 3 days before I got here and we didnt know anything about the branch or anything and on our first sunday it was fast and testimony meeting so we decided to introduce ourselves. We talked how excited we are to be here and change the branch into a ward. Every testimony after that was about missionary work and how excited they are to work with us. In priesthood all they did was make goals and talk about ways to improve missionary work. This branch is so fun and we are seeing so many miracles. Missionary work is contagious, If you get someone excited about it then it will catch to other people. You can be the difference.
Tonight Elder Conley and I will be receiving a new trainee. His name is Elder Lopez and we are excited to meet him! I will be trio training til I go home. This is honestly the most fun Ive had my whole mission. Im so happy doing the lords work and big things will be happening here in Waller! Love yall.
