Building Zion

Greetings everyone,

Conference was enjoyable to watch. I trust that most of you have watched all of the sessions that apply to you, and that is by no means a small foot (pun intended); If not, no worries. Make time to watch conference, and you will not regret it. Their words are inspired, and will allow the Spirit to inspire important answers to questions that you have. I felt that the overall theme of it all was "Building Zion." From temples, to families, to individuals, testimony or conversion, the brethren and Sister-en all spoke on topics that will allow God's kingdom to grow.

V was able to make it to watch conference at a member's home yesterday. Then during the afternoon session that same day we got a text from her, that wasn't meant to be for us, but it let us know that she was watching the afternoon session as well. She's following the light, and she knows exactly where to find it. We had a lesson with her earlier in the week, and she has been eating up her gospel principles book. That was good to hear, though we explained the need to study directly from the scriptures. I feel I understand where she is coming from. It can take some time to adjust oneself to the language of the Book of Mormon, never mind the clarity of the teaching. Her prayers are working. Even better, we learned from her that her husband wishes to attend her baptism. That will be a marvelous way to help him to feel the Spirit. The Holy Ghost always gives the best invitations.

I felt like this entire week has been hilarious and great, but I can't remember any of the punch lines. After conference yesterday we ventured to V's home to check up on her, deliver a couple of things she needed and invite her to the family home evening tonight. Then we went to the far northwest corner of our area. To that point, I hardly believed anyone could live over there. But sure enough, not only were we able to find the house of someone we met in Briarcliff, we also met N. She had requested a bible from Elders ages ago, and they never delivered it. Understandable. The drive was endlessly far away from V, and she is endlessly far away from us.

We taught N and shared the Easter video with her. She told us about some of the struggles of the day that she encountered. Then we began to talk about the restoration of the gospel. Her mother with her kids showed up, and D, her mother, talked about her experience with members of the church. We invited them to read and pray and such. N seemed quite interested in the message, and later this week we hope to catch her husband as well, who will really be key to their family coming together. Oh, and I would do good not to forget the fury of mosquitos out to get a meal. I played the mosquito dance throughout that visit. N was sympathetic but she seemed to think it was really funny.

Oh, I remember something. I woke up in the morning to a hail storm. I thought quickly, "Wow, that's hail." Sleep came over me in seconds. Elder Anderson, who sleeps with the top of his head facing the window, and he wasn't as fortunate. He is able to sleep through my hall storm, but not the sky's hay-L storm.

P and S are another family that we are visiting with. P is so extremely smart. Elder Anderson just reminded me of the crazy situation with P. To understand why it was crazy, is because P is a 10 year old, and S is her father. There are others in the family that listen, but those are the main listeners, and so we need to meet with the others. We knocked on the door, and she came and explained her Dad was really busy. We asked how her reading was going, and she said it was going well. We then asked if she had any questions about what she had been reading so far, and she said, "No not really. It's really pretty self-explanatory." What? Some adults we've met might not say that as confidently, nor nonchalant as she did. Pray for them too. P is ready, and S listens, but he enjoys the fruits of the church better than acting. He thinks the church is great.

 Questions and Answers

We certainly have been praying for V and her husband D, that they will both be blessed of the Spirit. How are they and their family?  

They both seem to be doing well for the time being. V will likely encounter more opposition as her date for baptism approaches (April 16th). We also need to get to know their family members as best as we can. It will be a rich opportunity if their family takes interest and investigate too.

How was your General Conference experience?   

Pretty good. We "broke" into our nearby chapel and streamed the first two sessions on Saturday to our iPad. We borrowed a tv from the library and used the apple tv function to project the video from our iPad to the screen. We had major technical difficulties the first session, but we gradually learned and fixed things so we didn't even find a problem the second time. Then on Saturday we went to two different member homes, one per session. I took plenty of notes, except the session that I streamed the conference on my iPad. Then I took notes on paper.

What tender mercies has the Lord given you and Elder Anderson this past week?

We found N, and V was able to attend conference. He's given us a good relationship with one another, and we tease each other mercilessly. All we can really do is what the Lord asks of us, and then almost take for granted the flood of mercies that come in like crazy.

Have you figured out what Indian Blankets/ Paintbrushes are?

I figured them out. The almost look like red Bluebonnets.

Are the Bluebonnet blooms winding down or are they still in their prime?   

They are in their prime and winding down. This next week is going to be a hot scorching one, and they might not make it much longer.

Have your bikes had the pleasure of your company this week?  

Nope. Intuition tells me that a wise and caring mother of mine is concerned about whether or not I am exercising. I'm not fat, I promise! Just cushioned. Kidding, I'm kidding. Using the bikes can help us save miles only when we have time to use them. Otherwise we should just drive to a spot and walk. We'll be able to talk to more people that way.

How does it feel to be among a might army of nearly 75,000?

Umm, normal? I mean, I don't really see any more than my mission at any given time. I'm proud to serve, but the number of missionaries doesn't affect me particular. Rather, the change that these missionaries experience in their own lives concerns me.

Pictures! and P.S.

Elder Smith found my ipad and took a nasty selfie.

A beautiful view of the sun. Scorching!

A member who works at a pizza trailer that he built himself. He likes to invite us in while he's working, and engaged in deep gospel conversation.

I ate a blue rice crispy treat thingy and transformed.

I crouched behind one of the cabinets and waited for Elder Anderson to come by while I was eating it, and as soon as he got back, I roared and he nearly kicked me in the face. It was well worth the risk. Elder Anderson is intelligent, and really jumpy. It's not hard to startle him. I don't blame him though. Not being jumpy for him is akin to me not making a noise when I'm startled.

God blesses our efforts of real intent. He doesn't wait 'til the finish line to give us a trophy, rather he rains upon us cool relief every step of the way. And then when we fall, perhaps His hand is the first to extend, and offer us another chance.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission