Monday, October 26, 2015

I probably should have learned this sooner....

Hello all! 

For starters, here is some  fabulous news: (drum roll please) DAVID IS GETTING BAPTIZED!! How wonderful is that? He is so excited, and feels ready for this step. We were talking about the temples yesterday with him. Sister Garcia came with us, and bore a powerful testimony of temples. David is so excited that we can do ordinances for our family members who have passed on. He told his siblings that he is getting baptized, and they are all so happy for him. He is going to invite them to the baptism.

This week was just wonderful. There were so many miracles seen and lessons learned. Here are just a few:

1.)Members are amazing!
So our miles per month that we have been allotted have been reduced significantly. As a mission, we are trying to be more obedient in every way--including in keeping within our miles. At first this seemed IMPOSSIBLE, because David, our investigator who is getting baptized, lives in Gonzales, which is 32 miles away from Lockhart. There and back is 64 miles, which is a lot to go a couple times a week. So, we have asked help from our members, and they have been such a blessing! Last Tuesday, we arranged for one of our members to take us from Lockhart to Luling (a town in between) and another from Luling to Gonzales, and for in the evening, one to take us from Gonzales to Luling, and a fourth member to take us from Luling to Lockhart. Initially, we didn't think it would be possible, but our members answered our prayers. Sister Rogers and Sister Barnes helped us out with rides in the beginning of the day. We got to Gonzales, and were able to walk around and met so many awesome people! And, we were blessed to run into another member as she was picking up her kids from school, and she gave us a ride to the other side of Gonzales, that would have taken us a solid 30 minutes to walk. At the end of the day, Brother and Sister Cochran offered to take us the whole way home to Lockhart. I told you. They are so awesome. 

2.) Allergies and colds are not so amazing.
On Thursday , Sister McBride got sick, we think it was a cold. I didn't feel to well myself, whether it was a cold or just allergies, I'm not sure. But we did part of our weekly planning, and when neither of us could think straight, we thought it a good idea to take a nap, in attempt to save our minds. We were both out cold. For like 3 hours. We got up long enough to get some food in our stomachs, but didn't have the energy to do much else. Back to bed we went, and were out. All night long. The next day, we were both so much better, and able to finish what we hadn't been able to the day before. Sleep does wonders to a sick/allergy afflicted body.

3.) Texas has the most random rainstorms
Yes, this I did know, but it was reaffirmed on Friday. We were headed to a lesson with Lori, and parked a bit down the street from her house. As soon as we got out of the car and walking to her house, the skies decided this would be the perfect time to open and pour out as much water as they could in 5 minutes. We got soaked! But hey. They lesson with Lori was amazing! She is so sincere and wants to learn more and teach her kids.

4.)driving in mud in a sedan is not a good idea.
We had great intentions. Really. We did. We were going to see Rhonda (one of our investigators), who lives out in the boonies. We should have kept in mind that it had down poured the day before...but I suppose that slipped our minds. We wanted to see Rhonda before church, so we headed out to her house. She has a big dirt driveway that you have to go on before you get to her trailer house. We thought our little car could make it. Well, she did for part of the way....and then she got stuck. So, we put on our thinking caps to try and figure out a solution. In the end, we decided to go and see if anyone was home. There was a pickup truck in front of the house, so maybe someone home could help us. We walked up the rest of the driveway, and knocked on the door. Jeff, Rhonda's husband answered, and told us she wasn't available. Then he asked if we got stuck. Yes, yes we had. He offered to help us out. I'm so thankful for pickup trucks and tow hitches. They are life savers. I don't know if we had that experience so that Jeff would have the opportunity to help us out, or so that we learned a lesson.... Perhaps both. Either way, it was a great experience.

5.) the Lord truly pours blessings upon us
This too, I have known for a while, but it has been reaffirmed so many times in my life, including this last week. We had so many lessons with so many wonderful families. I stand all amazed at the miracles that happen when we do our part and follow the commandments of the Lord!

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

Have a most amazing week!

Hermana Dean 

Monday, October 19, 2015

Fwd:

Yo y la Hermana McBride, mi nueva compañera! 

Fwd:

Yo y la Hermana McBride! Mi nueva compañera!

Why hello, all my lovely friends and family!

I hope you are all doing well. This week has been super great. Kind of a crazy beginning... Let me tell you why!

Last Monday started out pretty normal. We went to get our hair cut, we went shopping, and emailed. A pretty normal P-day. But after we get home from working, it all changed. We see that we have a missed call from the Assistants. We called back, but they didn't answer, but three seconds later, they were calling us again. Hermana Cannon answered the phone, and they asked for me. They told me that they were making a few changes in the mission, and that I would be transferred to Lockhart, and that I would be companions with Hermana McBride.They said we could meet up with them at the Kyle Zone Training Meeting, on Wednesday. (Which is more notice than I have had before. The other two times, it was the night before I needed to leave.) Cool! I was excited. A little sad, yes. But excited. So, the rest of Monday evening was spent packing all my clothes. Which is the easy part when it comes to packing. Jaja. All the other stuff--books, study papers, etc. are the difficult parts. But, by Tuesday night, everything was packed and ready.

This was the third time in my mission I have been emergency transferred (transferred before the end of the 6 weeks). Which is crazy, but I'm glad I am able to serve the Lord--no matter what area I am assigned to... Or re-assigned to.

And, now I'm here in Lockhart! We cover a whole bunch of little towns, like Luling, Gonzales, Dale, and a whole bunch more... I haven't even been to all of them yet. Also, our church building is in a strip mall... which is super cool. But the work here is so wonderful!

We have an investigator, David, who is preparing to be baptized on the 31st of October. He is doing so great. This last week, we saw him two times, and were able to help him understand the Word of Wisdom, and the Law of Chastity. We only have a couple more things that we need to teach him before the 31st. He is so great! He came to church this last week, and had also gone the week before when it was Stake Conference (I was still in Lake Austin for that). I'm so excited for him. He has most definitely been prepared for this.

We also have an investigator, Rhonda. She is the sweetest lady ever. One day, when she was nine, she decided she wanted to go to church, so she got dressed up, and walked until she found one. It just happened to be one of our churches. She walked inside, and asked someone where she needed to go, and they asked where her parents were. She said, "At home sleeping." jaja. and so, they took her to primary, and she loved it, and went to church for a couple years, but didn't ever end up getting baptized. She then went to a whole bunch of other churches, but none of them ever felt right to her. And now, at 50 years old, decided to come back to the LDS church. Her parents are now members, but they haven't come for a while. She came to church for the first time with us yesterday, and felt the Spirit so strongly, and made so many new friends. One of the members of the branch leaves for his mission soon, so he gave a talk, and also sang "Oh Lord, My Redeemer". Rhonda was touched so much by the Spirit, and started crying. She was a little embarrassed by it, but we told her it is completely fine, and to not worry; that that is how some people feel the Holy Ghost testifying to them. She loved the rest of church, and asked if she could come again next week. :) She is just so amazing.

This week, I have been studying President Uchtdorf's talk, "It Works Wonderfully". I just love it. The Gospel really doesn't have to be complicated. Toward the end of his talk, he says: "God will help you become something greater than you ever thought possible, and you will discover that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed working in your life."  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect! It can and will work in our lives if we allow it to. Sometimes we complicate things, but if we follow the counsel from President Uchtdorf, and step back, he promises we will see the beautiful simplicity of the Gospel, and we will see it working in our lives. 

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

--
Hermana Dean

Our Church building:

What happens when you leave your EOS's in the hot car in hot Texas, upside-down...
What's in our backyard? Yup. A high school, complete with football stadium...

​Saying Goodbye to Hermanas Cannon and Marble....


Yes. I have a picture of Hermana McBride and me, but they are on my Ipad... and the Library we are at doesn't have WiFi... so I'll send it later. 

Love you!


Monday, October 12, 2015

My Heart Pondereth Them Often

Hola todos!

This week has been so wonderful!
On Monday, we had a lesson with Chámilie, one of our investigators. We were going to teach her and Edwards about the Plan of Salvation, but Edwards was busy getting their kids ready for bed...we have another appointment tonight and we are hoping he'll join us. Anyway, so he wasn't available, so we talked to Chámilie about General Conference a little. (The week before, we had talked about it, and showed her where she could watch it, and she was really excited that we have a living prophet.) She told us she had wanted to watch it, but she couldn't find it. We found out she had been looking on the Gospel Library app, instead of LDS.org. We showed her on the website where she could find it, and she said she would watch some of it.
As part of the lesson with her, we also read the introduction of the Book of Mormon. She told us she knows the Book of Mormon is a guide, and that she feels good while reading it. Really, y'all. She is so amazing--she and Edwards. They are so wonderful, and I am super excited to visit with them tonight.

We also have started teaching this super cute little girl, Ali. She is the granddaughter of a member in our Ward. She is the cutest little girl ever, and she wants to get baptized. We have another appointment with them on Tuesday. 

How amazing it is to live in a time when the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to its fullness! Seeing it in action last week with General Conference was so amazing. This church is true, and Jesus Christ is at the head. He has called men here in earth to lead us and guide us safely back to Him and our loving Heavenly Father. We can trust them, for they cannot lead us astray. 

I love you all! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hermana Dean 

Hermana Marble & Hermana Cannon


My Ponderizing scripture- Alma 26:22

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Work Moves On!

Hello all of my lovely family, friends, and fellow missionaries!

Oh. I just LOVE General Conference. It is my most favorite Holiday of the year! And even better, it is TWICE a year. I just love it so much! How glorious it is to know we live in a time when the fullness of Christ's church is here on the Earth, with living apostles and prophets. How wonderful it is!

This week has been so wonderful! Transfer weeks always are. Hermana Cannon and I are both staying here in the lovely Lake Austin, and we also have a third companion, Hermana Marble. I am so excited, and so blessed to be able to work with these wonderful Hermanas. I know I will learn so much from the both of them.

General Conference was absolutely amazing. Through the Spirit, I received answers to many of my questions. I hope the same was for you. There were quite a few talks about how to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. These talks have made me want to start studying this more. What does it take to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ? Many answers to this were given to us in General Conference.

I am equally excited to begin Ponderizing a scripture every week for 20 years, and then for another 20, and another. How much of a blessing will that be to begin writing the scriptures on your heart? This week, I have chosen Alma 26:22.

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

Until next week!
--