27 Julio 2015....and I still can't breathe

( I don't know if the other email I sent actually went through, so.... here we go, just in case.)

Hello everyone! So... My subject. Texas just hates me, that's just it. Allergies are fabulous!!! (Dripping with sarcasm)

This week really was so great! Saul got baptized! His dad came down from Midland for it. It was so great, the spirit was so strong. Christian also got baptized. He is the brother of our recent convert, Enedina. He was taught by the Elders. He is so awesome. He really wants to serve a mission. 

We had a really awesome lesson with Thelma and her family. In the past, when missionaries have gone by, the whole family is hardly ever there. So, we decided that if they weren't all there when we went, we would give them a break for a bit. But, miracle!! Thelma, her husband, and their daughter were all there. It was such a wonderful lesson. The spirit was so strong, and you could tell they could feel it too. They said they would pray and read and go to church to find their answer. Wow. I just have such a strong testimony that the Lord truly leads the missionaries to the prepared, and sometimes vice versa. 

We also had a lesson with Gloria. She is an investigator, who was going to get baptized in June, but some other things turned up that we are trying to work through with her. She hasn't come to church for a while... Which is sad. She told us finished reading the Book of Mormon, which is great, but also she said she is not going to read it anymore, because she wants to focus reading the bible, which she has never done yet. We had a lesson with her about the importance of reading and studying both. She says she isn't going to read it. Ay. I just hate Satan so much! He is really working against her, and it is so sad to see. Any suggestions from you for how we should proceed? 

Something really interesting about the Hispanic culture, is that they are really superstitious. Hermana Diaz came up to us after sacrament meeting, and told us she has a gift. Sometimes, she dreams about things that haven't happened yet, but then shortly after, they do happen. She told us that the night before she had a dream about two missionaries getting hurt and kidnapped. While she was telling us, she started crying, and you could tell she really was scared about something happening. She told us to be careful and to follow the spirit. Then, later that night, Hermano Sanchez called us and asked us if we were okay. He said Hermana Torres had called him and told him about Hermana Diaz' dream. He told us to be careful also, and to follow the spirit. So, that made for an interesting day.  Yes mom, I'm safe. 

Oh also, I saw a firefly for the first time in my life! It was super cool. 

But yeah.. This week was super great! I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! I haven't melted yet, so that's good. ;) 

I love you all! 

Hermana Dean 

Megan.dean@myldsmail.net

http://www.mormon.org/me/C0MJ

Weekly planning in a nutshell! It is really great, but sometimes it gets a little hard..Popcorn makes everything better!

Saul got baptized!

Step up toilet... Lake Austin initiation

​Only at Sonic!

​

​
​

Fwd: 27 Julio 2015.....and I still can't breathe.

Hello everyone! So... My subject. Texas just hates me, that's just it. Allergies are fabulous!!! (Dripping with sarcasm)

This week really was so great! Saul got baptized! His dad came down from Midland for it. It was so great, the spirit was so strong. Christian also got baptized. He is the brother of our recent convert, Enedina. He was taught by the Elders. He is so awesome. He really wants to serve a mission. 

We had a really awesome lesson with Thelma and her family. In the past, when missionaries have gone by, the whole family is hardly ever there. So, we decided that if they weren't all there when we went, we would give them a break for a bit. But, miracle!! Thelma, her husband, and their daughter were all there. It was such a wonderful lesson. The spirit was so strong, and you could tell they could feel it too. They said they would pray and read and go to church to find their answer. Wow. I just have such a strong testimony that the Lord truly leads the missionaries to the prepared, and sometimes vice versa. 

We also had a lesson with Gloria. She is an investigator, who was going to get baptized in June, but some other things turned up that we are trying to work through with her. She hasn't come to church for a while... Which is sad. She told us finished reading the Book of Mormon, which is great, but also she said she is not going to read it anymore, because she wants to focus reading the bible, which she has never done yet. We had a lesson with her about the importance of reading and studying both. She says she isn't going to read it. Ay. I just hate Satan so much! He is really working against her, and it is so sad to see. Any suggestions from you for how we should proceed? 

Something really interesting about the Hispanic culture, is that they are really superstitious. Hermana Diaz came up to us after sacrament meeting, and told us she has a gift. Sometimes, she dreams about things that haven't happened yet, but then shortly after, they do happen. She told us that the night before she had a dream about two missionaries getting hurt and kidnapped. While she was telling us, she started crying, and you could tell she really was scared about something happening. She told us to be careful and to follow the spirit. Then, later that night, Hermano Sanchez called us and asked us if we were okay. He said Hermana Torres had called him and told him about Hermana Diaz' dream. He told us to be careful also, and to follow the spirit. So, that made for an interesting day.  Yes mom, I'm safe. 

Oh also, I saw a firefly for the first time in my life! It was super cool. 

But yeah.. This week was super great! I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! I haven't melted yet, so that's good. ;) 

I love you all! 

Hermana Dean 

Megan.dean@myldsmail.net

http://www.mormon.org/me/C0MJ

Weekly planning in a nutshell. It really is great, but sometimes it gets a little hard. Popcorn makes everything better! 

Saul got Baptized!

Step-up toilet. Lake Austin initiation.... 

Only at Sonic!

​

20 July 2015

Hello!!!! This week has been so great. Aw man. So great. 

Okay. So I'll start off with some funny stuff and then end with the best :)

Hermana Garner and I have had some great times together so far. I just love it! For example......

This morning, we were getting our shopping list all ready to go, and I asked if she wanted to buy some real laundry detergent, because what we had in the laundry room was straight fabric softener. She looked at me really confused, and asked what I meant. I told her the bottle of "soap" on top of the dryer was straight fabric softener. She almost cried. She had been washing all her clothes for the past 6 weeks in straight fabric softener. I thought she knew. She told me her previous companion told her it was soap and fabric softener. Super funny. So. Now all of you should know. Don't wash your clothes in fabric softener. :)

hah. 

So, big news, Saul is getting baptized this weekend!!!! Hooray!! I'm so excited for him. I don't remember if I have told you about Saul before. well, here we go. He is 13 years old, and is just so great. I am so very excited for him. I wasn't here when the missionaries first started teaching him, but just in the week and a half that I have known him, you can tell that he really wants this, and that he knows it will change his life for good. He is living with his Grandma for the summer, and then will go back to live with his dad. His Grandma is the cutest old lady of my life. She reminds me a lot of Gwom, my great grandma. Her testimony is so strong. She is so amazing, and is such a great help for Saul. 

So, I went on exchanges this last week with Hermana Cannon. She is so cute. I learned so much from her. One of the questions she asked me really stuck with me. She asked me what "success" mean to me. I thought about it for a bit, gave an answer. But that question has really stuck with me. The more I think about it, the more I really have an idea of what success really is. Before my mission, if someone would have asked me what success as a missionary means, I probably would have said it has to do with the number of baptisms they get on their missions. 

But now, I think my answer has changed. No, I know my answer has changed. My vision has been raised. Now, I would say success as a missionary is change. Change for the better, of course. If you are able to change your life, your mind, and your will to be in line with those of God, then I would definitely say you have had success on your mission. 

Now, please don't misunderstand. I know how important and essential baptism is for our Salvation. I am so happy when people decide to change their lives so they can receive blessings from God, and so they can be baptized. I just wouldn't say a missionary is only successful if they have baptisms. Hopefully, there is no misunderstanding with this. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to help people come unto Christ through the saving ordinance of baptism. I am so thankful for the opportunities I have had as a missionary that have helped me change for the better.

I love you all so much! I hope you are all doing well. 

Until next week!

--

Hermana Dean

megan.dean@myldsmail.net

http://www.mormon.org/me/C0MJ

13 Julio 2015

Hello everyone! I so hope you are all doing well. I am doing great! This week has flown by. I cannot believe it! So this week we had transfers, and I am now in Austin, Texas, in the Lake Austin ward, which is a Spanish area. I absolutely love it! This week, we had a mini missionary. Her name is Jacky, and she is the cutest thing ever. I have absolutely loved having her with us. She gets to stay with us, and goes to all of our lessons, and is just a missionary. I love it. She goes home on Wednesday though, so that is sad. I hope she decides to go on a mission, because she will be, and is, an amazing missionary.

My new companion is Hermana Garner, from Morgan, UT. She is so great! I am excited to learn so much from her in this new area. 

So far, we have two people with a baptism date. Saul and Antonio. They have a date for the 25th. I am so excited for them. Just in the couple of days I have been here, I have seen them progress and learn and just absolutely love learning about the gospel. 

Also, during the transfer meeting, President talked to us about our prayers and how we should be praying. It has been amazing to put that into action and see how much better my prayers can be. President talked about how we sometimes have vain repetitions in our prayers that we may not notice, like "Dear Heavenly Fatherwethanktheeforthisday....." And I realized that I did that! So, I have since changed the manner in which I say my prayers to be more like a conversation, because that is what it is. Our prayers should be reverent, remembering that He is Heavenly Father, and we should have so much respect for Him, that should show in our prayers. So, I would encourage you to look at the language of your prayer, and change it if you need too. It really has made my prayers more meaningful to me, and I am sure to Heavenly Father too. 

I hope you are all doing well! I love you all. 

7/11 slurpee!!

A yellow/orange watermelon 

Hermana Dean 

Megan.dean@myldsmail.net

http://www.mormon.org/me/C0MJ

6 Julio 2015

Hello Everyone!! 

I so hope you are all doing well. I am doing great! Eagle Pass is really the best. But, sad news, I will be leaving Eagle Pass on Thursday. :( but that's okay. I am excited for what will come. 

I love you all. I hope all is going well for you. :) Happy late 4th of July! It was a super weird day. We didn't see fireworks at all, because our outside window faces a hospital and a giant field.... but that is okay.

I love you all so much! Take care. Until next week!

--

Hermana Dean

megan.dean@myldsmail.net

http://www.mormon.org/me/C0MJ