Elder Christian Hall in TSAM: Reminded of the Greater Things

Hello all of you who have a place in my heart,

Well, Elder Blackhurst left and we got a new missionary with us. Elder Smith, from Idaho, can beat Elder Aguila in an arm wrestle. And that is about as much as I can pull out of his personality for now. I've come to realize that I lost my greenie fire some time ago. I just wasn't excited as I could be about the work that I've been doing for 19 months+. But that should change in the next few weeks. I aim to make a difference in this area like a sparkler. If that analogy makes any sense at all.

So this past week we received a new car! Pretty cool. The Chevy Cruze went over 50,000 mile some time ago. That is the point when the mission sells the car. We received a new 2016 Toyota Corolla. I've never been in a car that new. But the only down side is it isn't hooked up with a Tiwi just quite yet. The Tiwi system is a computer that uses GPS technology to let parents (or Mission Presidents) monitor their children's (or missionaries’) driving behavior. So, we have to wait 3 weeks before it is. And until that time happens, we will be with the old Chevy Cruze. I thought we were going to put it down much earlier, but I was incorrect. Once missionaries start driving Honda's maybe I will buy and old missionary car after the mission. Not until I drive every mile available in my ol' Honda Civic. Drive it to the ground, essentially.

With the new car I finally got my journal and pictures of Christ back. So officially, I was away from my journal for a whole transfer. Remember when I lost my scriptures way back when? It is kind of like that. I've been writing in my iPad to replace the lost journal since then, well, off and on. Not as consistently as I ought to, I suppose.

Before we got Elder Smith, Elder Aguila, Elder Hansen, and I were in a little oddball trio. We taught a little bit here and there, and a dinner we had together in our area was salmon. Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't do well with fish. My brother was always making fun of me before I got my mission call that I would be sent to the coast of Italy or some Asian country where they eat nothing but rice and fish. Well HA! I didn't go there. But I did sort of panic when I found out what they were feeding us. As a missionary, you never want to be disrespectful of the host and not eat what they give you. Even if it were ok to go hungry. When I was with Elder Lawrence and Elder Bartier one Sunday we were invited to a Puerto Rican’s home, where she fed us "asopao." A really good gourmet shrimp soup. I did my best to eat it, but my face gave away that I wasn't enjoying it too much. It didn't help either that my companions loved the food and were chowing down, so a considerable difference in the amount of food left gave me away as well. Our host wasn't too offended and made me a nice grilled sandwich instead. It still made me feel bad.

But anyway, before we sat down to eat, I found myself offering a prayer in my head. "Please allow me to stomach the food, so that I don't appear disrespectful." Then I put my face to the test and ate as fast as I could. Luckily the other missionaries weren't eating quite as fast as my past two companions, and I finished the meal. Strangely enough, towards the end I began to like the food a fair amount. I don't know if the anti-fish taste buds just gave up or if God answered my silly prayer with a little more than simple baring power. Tender mercies come in different forms and shapes and sizes.

While a member was exchanging with us, we almost got into a serious car accident. My Mom will likely remember the day that I rear-ended her with my car. Hopefully her face doesn't get to red at the thought. It seemed that an almost duplicate situation occurred while a priest was driving us. We came to a stop, and it seemed he didn't stop enough.

*TWACK*. We both pulled off to a neighboring gas station and examined the damage. A teen girl that couldn't have been any older than the priest driving popped out, examined the damage on the back of her car (little to nothing, if not undamaged completely). She said that it was ok if he was ok with it, which seemed appropriate seeing as the car he drove was also unharmed. He learned a lesson and we gave her a pass-along card. It made me giggle.

Last night had a few mini miracles. We managed to share the survey with an older teen that was moving out. He wasn't interested, but directed us to a house that he said the owner had just moved in. Later we went to that house and knocked, and out came a man with a fully developed and wicked red-beard. He said that he had been there for two years. Oops. Well, we shared the survey with him, and he accepted a Book of Mormon after deep explanation about some things he had concerns about. Later we went to a dinner where the family there cooked corned-beef and some other good food. The day before the wife asked us what we wanted. I had no idea what, and I asked her to make her favorite dish. She didn't believe that we had no idea, so I blurted out "corned-beef! My dad loves to cook that." So we received just that. I wouldn't mind at all if my Sunday dinner coming home was that.

Later we taught a non-member father who has strong ties to another church that he was raised in. He knows the Book of Mormon is true, and the Joseph Smith was a prophet, but he doesn't want to sever his ties with is family based church. We exhorted him to read with real intent, saying that he can read and pray, and still not get an answer if he doesn't want to act on the answer.

Best of all we met Theodore and his family. We had tried by their house SEVERAL times in the past and we finally set up an appointment with them for yesterday. When we came in (when the super bowl was playing (I wonder who won?)) they insisted that we speak Spanish. We taught the restoration. Theodore had a lot of questions. Their son chipped in from time to time, but the daughter was very quiet. They accepted the invitation to read the Book of Mormon, but we found out that they prefer to read in English. And after all that happened, we also found out that they prefer to speak English too! Good news is we can continue to teach them. Bad news is, well, not really bad, their daughter might not have understood well. Apparently, and according to them, we spoke better Spanish than she knows. A good compliment, but a slight let down.

Questions and Answers

How are the SMART goals working for you and Elder Hansen in your work this week?

Pretty well. We had to drive to the Austin stake center twice to drop off Elder Blackhurst and then pick up Elder Smith. The other elders borrowed our car when their car was in the shop for a couple of things. As a result, we have a significant amount of less miles to work with than normal, and we will still have the Chevy Cruze. I felt like the other Elders just assumed our car had unlimited mileage because we would be taking it in, and I feel a bit spiteful for that, but I need to forgive. They probably didn't mean for it to come off that way. We have to use goals to save miles.

Smart invitations? Well, we had to cater a non-member husband's need with an invitation to what he could do. Baptism wasn't an option for the time being, he has been asked plenty. So we asked him to read daily from the book of Mormon.

How are V and R doing this week?

V got really sick and missed church. R attended and seems to be going on strong.

How's your 'repaired' IPad doing?

Fine enough. I need to take it in so that a few minor things can get fixed. The warrantee can't be ignored.

How much do you get to see the beautiful Lake Travis as you go about?

From time to time. Some places we go to have stunning views of the lake. Others have stunning views of the houses that have stunning views of the lake. A few people we have in the records live in house boats. I have no idea how missionaries ever managed to visit them in the first place!

Have you seen any Bluebonnets or Indian Paint Brush flowers yet?

Nope. Sorry Mom. I know those are a favorite from your childhood in Texas.

How has the Lord's Spirit helped and blessed you this week?

Glad to still be in the area. Plenty of work to do here. I've felt that my teaching has become better at receiving the Spirit. As missionaries, we don't really teach anyone a thing. The Spirit does that. Instead, we work as hard as we can to be a conduit to it so people can be taught at a higher level. Thanks to this calling for that.

Pictures!

When we picked up Elder Smith, I also got the tie dye shirts that Sister De La Vega from Carriage Hills ward made for me. They look sweet.