BEST WEEK EVER!!

Howdy y'all,

It was another great, busy week!  Today we found out about transfers for tomorrow!  I am staying in Lockhart and receiving a new companion and Hermana Hale is going to Lake Travis!  I'm sad that she is leaving but wish her the best of luck!  She will do great things!  We've had a GREAT six weeks together and have learned and been through so much!  I will miss her lots! 

On Monday it was RJ's birthday and he turned 14!  I made him some brownies and we bought pizza for him and called his dad and grandma and planned to surprise him for his birthday!  RJ really wanted us to come over and have a family night/celebration for his birthday!  It turned out to be really fun and he really enjoyed having us over and couldn't stop talking about his baptism that was coming up on Saturday!  

Tuesday we went to Gonzales and biked around all day and came across some great people and were able to share a message with them.  That night we went to the Briggs house and had dinner with them. Sister Briggs made us pancakes with NUTELLA........YUMM!  I haven't had pancakes for a little while because of all the Mexican food and BBQ!  The Briggs daughter Nieva read us her favorite story from the children's Book of Mormon stories.  She is so cute and only 3 years old! 

Wednesday we had district meeting and Hermana Hale gave her first training!  She did really well!  After that RJ came and had his baptism interview with our district leader!  Then We went to do some service for a woman named Lucy! Her husband is going through some health issues and so Lucy has been trying to take care of him.  We went over and cleaned her house!  I loved being able to serve her and her husband.  We just showed up at her house and told her to put us to work!  We spent a good two and a half hours there and she was so happy afterwards which made us happy!  

Thursday we had exchanges and our sister training leader Sister Howard came to Lockhart and was my companion for the day and Sister Hale went to Kyle with Sister Howard's companion and spent the day out there with her! We had a lesson that night with Primitivo and we taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how we need to have faith in Him, repent, be baptized, relieve the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Endure to the End!  I was the only one who could speak Spanish to him but I was able to teach Sister Howard a few things before the lesson so she could say some stuff to him.  It was a really spiritual lesson and he felt the spirit so strong and told us he wants to be baptized!  We tried to set a date with him but he doesn't know his work schedule right now so he's going to find that out!  He is so amazing! 

On Friday we had a Stake Pioneer Day festival!  The whole stake got together that night and did a lot of fun things!  There were a lot of missionaries there and we all invited as many people as we could including our investigators!  It was so much fun and a lot of people showed up and were able to meet some of our members!  During the festival they held some events and all of the wards/branches competed against each other!  The missionaries all joined in to represent there wards/branches and it was great! Towards the end all of our members wanted me to represent our branch for the pie eating contest!  We couldn't eat it with our hands!  That was the messiest I've ever been while trying to eat something!  Well, I got 4th place out of the whole Stake!  Hermana Mann was proud but very sick afterwards!  That night we all watched fireworks!  It was so great to see some of our less active families and investigators there! 

Saturday finally came and it was time for RJ's BAPTISM!!!  We got to our stake center early to fill up the font and set things up. RJ showed up and guess who was with him!?  HIS DAD!!!  RJ's friend Christian was able to baptize him!  (Christian is preparing to go on a mission soon) The service was amazing and RJ was beaming with light as he came up out of the water.  Something that touched my heart was while RJ was going into the font Robert (RJ's dad) turned to us with tears in his eyes and said, "my heart is full and I'm so proud of my son!" Then he said, "I want to learn more so I can be baptized too!" (MIRACLE) That was such a special night and the spirit was so strong!  On Sunday RJ was confirmed a member and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and he also received the Aaronic Priesthood!  This upcoming Thursday he is going to the temple with the youth in our branch!  We are so excited for him!!   

This week has been an amazing week!  Many MIRACLES happened and it was so great to see RJ get baptized and just see how happy he is!  I know that this church is true with all my heart! I know Heavenly Father is aware of us and is there for us always!  He knows us best and will never leave us alone!   

"Rooted In Christ" 

Because we don’t know when or how our own challenges will come, or how long our personal seasons of winter or summer will last, we should set down our roots as deeply as we can into the only true source of nourishment for our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants our lives to be abundant. He invites us to come unto Him. He said, “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me” (D&C 19:23).  We build strength of soul to weather the storms of our lives by learning of Him. We learn by study and by prayer. We learn by watching righteous examples. We learn as we serve others in order to serve Him (see Matthew 25:40). We learn as we seek to emulate Him in any way we can. Listening means heeding and hearkening, not just hearing. We listen to Him in private scripture study. We listen in sacrament meeting and in the temple. We hear Him in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12). We listen to Him in the voice of living prophets and apostles.  Careful listening reminds us that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We strengthen our roots with incremental, one-step-at-a-time growth. As we listen, we follow the path He walked. He is the path that leads to the abundant life, and He is the light that illuminates it (see John 8:12).

-Elder L. Whitney Clayton

I Love y'all and hope you have a great week!! 

Con Amor,

Hermana Mann 

 

 

 

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!!!!

Hola y'all!

This past week has been pretty busy! We have had many lessons with our investigators and we've been meeting lots of people this week!  

Starting with past Monday.  We went to go get a hair cut and after I got mine done I was sitting there waiting for sister Hale to get finished.  A man walked in the hair place and looked at us and said with a very loud voice "HEY ITS THE MORMONS!"  He immediately walked over and shook my hand and asked me where I was from and then continued to ask us questions.  Then he said "where's your church building I want to come?!"  We ended up talking for like a half an hour to forty five minutes with him!  He asked about what we believed in and then he told us to call him and see when we could come by and teach him more (MIRACLE)!  Then later that day when we were shopping we saw him again and he came up to us and said "SISTERS! SISTERS!...I own a BBQ place in Lockhart if y'all want to come by and have some good BBQ its on the house! " (well that was a plus!). We were able to call him later on this week to set up an appointment of when we could come by!  Sister Hale and I are so excited to go visit him and teach him and his family more!

Tuesday was very HOT!!!!  We rode our bikes all over the city of Gonzales! We talked to a lot of people that day, which was great and worth all of the time we spent in the heat! Some people think we're crazy being out in this weather!  Most people offer us water so by time I got home that night I had about 4 or 5 water bottles in my bag.

Wednesday we had our district meeting and then as a District we went to Blacks (a really good BBQ place hear in Lockhart).   Then Sister Hale and I drove out to Cedar Creek, which is a small town that we cover in our area.  It's very country out there (which I love) and a lot of our Mexicanos viven allá (live over there). We had a rough time that day with talking to people...No one wanted to talk to us and we had been driving around trying to contact every potential or less active in that area!  When it got to be almost time when we had to head back home we remembered a man who we stopped by a couple weeks ago and so we decided to go stop by his house.  This mans name is Carlos. We met him and his family about 2 weeks ago outside riding horses.  We stopped to talk to them and then set up a return appointment but then when we went back last week they weren't home. But I really felt like we should stop by Carlos's house!  Well when we got to his house his sons were playing soccer in the driveway and so we talked to them for a little while and we asked them where Carlos was, and they said he was out riding his horse.  After when Sister Hale and I got back in the car I expressed to her that I really felt like we needed to find him.  I really didn't know if it was the Spirit telling me that or if I really was just thinking that.  We ended up driving around for a little while trying to find Carlos, and when we almost decided to give up, we pulled over and prayed to ask Heavenly Father to lead us to him, or lead him to us.  When we got done praying I looked up and Carlos was coming up right by our car waving at us trying to get our attention (Miracle!!). I almost started to cry!  As I rolled down my window He said to us in Spanish "Hola como Esta!?"  Then he continued to say I've been hoping you guys would come back to my house and teach me and my family more!  We continued talking to him for a little while and then we drove home.  That was defiantly a miracle and I couldn't help but pray all the way home and thank Heavenly Father for answering our prayers and leading us to find him! 

This past weekend we were able to go and talk with RJ when he came home from scout camp!  He really enjoyed the experience that he had.  He is getting baptized this Saturday July 23rd at 7:30pm and we are more excited then ever for him, and he can't wait!  We also went and taught Primitivo more and he has been reading in the Book of Mormon and loves it!  He's awesome and really wants to continue to learn more.  We invited him to be baptized but he is waiting to learn more before he makes a decision which is great!  Saturday we met with the Holgine family!  They are amazing as well but we haven't been able to really teach them lately because of there work schedules, but when we stopped by there house we talked with them for a little while and they told us that they decided to stop working so much and focus on being together as a family more, and that they wanted to continue to learn more and come to church (Miracle).  On Sunday we taught the lesson in Relief Society on Temples and Family History work!  It turned out to be a great lesson and I learned a lot myself from studying the lesson!  Then we spent the day in Gonzales.  

I want to share something with all of you before I end this email.  My old Mission President (President Slaughter) used to say these things to us...

"I am a friend of the Prophet."

Joseph Smith once expressed that is was becoming ever more difficult for him to discern who was friend and who was foe. Similarly the trend of our day is to remain neutral–authors and speakers and bloggers have adopted this fashionable fad as if it were a sign of high character. It is not! TSAMers stand with the Prophet. We are not neutral. If no one else has the courage to tell his story, we will. “The message of the Restoration is either true or it is not” (PMG, 39).

"Blood of the Restoration."

To say “the blood of the Restoration flows through my veins” is to say that the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and all that has been revealed through him, is an integral part of who you are and how you see the world. It is life to the soul and light to the eyes. The blood of the Prophet, spilt at Carthage, not only sealed his testimony, but it also continues to flow in the veins of those who still seek counsel and blessings and authority under his hands (D&C; 122:1-2).

 

"Fire of the Restoration."

To say “the fire of the Restoration burns within me” is to refer to the passion and feeling and spiritual outpouring one experiences, almost as if to the point of explosion. Only those who have felt it, understand. It is akin to Jeremiah’s experience: “his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing” ( I could hardly keep it in; Jeremiah 20:9); or like Nephi’s experience: “I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh” (Jerimiah 20:9; 1 Nephi 17:48; 2 Nephi 2:21)

I would just like to express to all in the close of my email that Joseph Smith was not only a great man, but he was an inspired servant of the Lord, a prophet of God. His greatness consists in one thing--the truthfulness of his declaration that he saw the Father and the Son and that he responded to the reality of that divine revelation. …

I testify that the Father and the Son did appear to the Prophet Joseph Smith to initiate this great rolling forth of the latter-day work in our time!  I testify that this church is true!  I love missionary work!  I wouldn't chose to be anywhere else but here and this moment right now!

I hope y'all have a great week!  

Con Amor,

-Hermana Mann 

Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

Howdy y'all,

      Well folks it's been 5 months on the mission!..... Where did all the
time go!!!  I hope y'all had a great 4th of July!  It was a little
different for me because I didn't get to see any fireworks this year,
but we spent our 4th of July talking with some amazing people and we
also had family night with RJ, his dad, and his aunt!
       Something amazing happened this week!  On Monday one of my past
companions (Hermana Newman) emailed me and told me that one of our
investigators that we had been teaching was getting baptized on
Thursday (Ashley)!  She also mentioned that her brother was going to
be baptized as well (Alex).  I was so happy when I found this out!
I tried to be able to go to the baptism but things just didn't work out,

but I did get to Skype their family right before the baptism and it was

so great to get to talk to them!  The mom is a member and has been for a while. 

The dad is of another faith and for awhile didn't want his kids to be baptized into this church.
Well after lots of prayers and fasting his heart was softened and he
finally let them be baptized after many years of missionaries asking!
God is really preparing those who are ready to receive us!
      We had another lesson with Primitivo Hernandez this week.  In our
previous lesson with him we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and
invited him to read the introduction.  When we followed up with him in
this lesson he told us that he had read the whole first part of the
book (the introduction, the testimonies of the 3, 8 witnesses, and
Joseph Smith's Testimony).  He told us he believes it all to be true
and when we told him about there being a prophet today to lead and
guide this church his eyes lit up!  He got so excited!  We taught him
more and invited him to church on Sunday!
       On Saturday we decided to walk instead of ride our bikes.
We walked about 6 hours in the blazing hot sun, but it was so worth it!
We were able to have a lesson with RJ right before he headed off to
scout camp with the Young Men this week, and his dad was able to
participate in the lesson!  We also met with some of our less actives
and met some other really great people!  That night we had dinner with
Sister Whitman and her family.  There family is musically talented and
they have Ukuleles!!!  Sister Whitman and myself and sister Hale sang "How
can I be", and myself and Sister Whitman played the Ukuleles!  It was a lot
of fun and then we were able to share a message with their family!
      Sunday morning came and guess who we saw at church?!  Primitivo!  We
were so excited to see him and he was so excited to be there to learn
more!  We can't wait to visit him again tonight and teach him more!
That afternoon we went to Gonzales and met with some people that we
had planned to go by.  We visit taught one of our members Sister Lopez
and got to know her better.  She is so cute and so sweet!

    Before I write a novel of an email I do want to share a little bit of
what our message is to those of you who want to know more about what
we do as missionaries.

    Our message is remarkable and simple. God is our Father. We are His
children. We are part of His family. He loves us. From the beginning
of the world, He has followed a pattern of love and concern. Many
times He has reached out in love to reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ
so that His children can know how to return to Him. He revealed it to
prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. But people have
repeatedly chosen to reject that gospel. Two thousand years ago, Jesus
Christ Himself taught His gospel and established His Church, and
accomplished the Atonement. Incredibly, people even rejected Jesus.
Whenever people disregard or distort true doctrines and ordinances,
God withdraws His authority to administer the Church.
Our invitation to all people is to add to the truths they already
treasure. Considering our evidence that our Heavenly Father and His
Son, Jesus Christ, have again reached out to God’s children in love
and revealed the fullness of the gospel to a prophet. This prophet’s
name is Joseph Smith. The evidence of this glorious truth is found in
a book, The Book of Mormon, which everyone everywhere can read,
ponder, and pray about. If you pray with a sincere heart, with real
intent and faith in Christ, God will tell you by the power of the Holy
Ghost that it is true!

    I know this message is true!  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is now
restored on the earth again today!  Joseph Smith was and always will
be a prophet of God!  The Book of Mormon is true!  I can't emphasize
that enough!  I have paid the price to know that it is true!  I have
prayed and received an answer. Jesus Christ is our Savior and
Redeemer!  He loves you all so much.  We are all literally sons and
daughters of our Heavenly Father.  He has a plan for each and every
one of us!  I hope y'all know how much you mean to Him and to those
around you!

I love y'all so much!  Be safe and have a good week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Mann

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY YA'LL!!

This week has been crazy busy but full of many great things as always!!

I want to start off by thanking any man or woman who have served or
who are serving for this country today!  I am very grateful for them
and for all they do for us to keep this country safe.  I'm proud to be
an American!

This week we met our new Mission President and his wife (President and
Sister Polley). They are AMAZING!!  I'm so grateful to have them here
and I'm so excited to be serving with them!
On Monday we had a family night with one of our part member families
that we've been working with!  They are such an incredible family and
the mom taught the lesson and it was on Jesus Christ.  It was
great, and I learned a lot of how important He is to me in my life!
On Tuesday we went to Gonzales and spent the day there.  It rained all
day and we were on our bikes so we were completely soaked when we

got to our lesson that we had planned that afternoon. We sat on the couch

wrapped up in towels.  It was quite the experience and we just had to

laugh later about it.  We were able to teach Mary and her

granddaughter more about prayer and why it is important! 

They are such great people!  Later that night we went to go
contact a family and when we opened the gate a couple dogs ran right
through us. We spent the next half hour trying to chase them down.
Let's just say a lot of people were looking at us funny.  And when the
owners came out of their house they were laughing too.  Haha I don't
think I've ever tried to catch a dog before....they're not very easy to
catch!
Wednesday we had our first district meeting since I've been in this
area!  I gave a training on the Christ like attribute Virtue.  It went
really well!  Later that night we met with one of our investigators
whose name is Primitivo.  He is Spanish and has lived in Lockhart for
awhile now, but is originally from Mexico.  He is amazing!  He is going though
a lot of health problems right now and he said it has been a miracle
that we have been able to come over and talk about our church with him
and talk about Jesus Christ.  He has seen Heavenly Father's hand help
him along his journey of life.  We were able to talk about the Book of
Mormon and we gave him a copy.  He has been reading it and loves it!!
When we left him that night he said an amazing prayer!  All of us felt
the spirit so strong, including him, that it made us all cry!

Later on during the week we met a man named David Newman (which is funny
because my high school soccer coach's name was David Newman!). We were
biking around and saw him working on his car and stopped to ask him if
he needed any help.  We got to know him a little bit and shared a
message with him.  He said he would love for us to come back!  Well
later that night maybe an hour later we were stopped at a stop sign
and a man pulled up in his car and it was David Newman!  He said to us
that as soon as we left he had a feeling that he needed to come find
us again and that he needed to hear more about what we had to say.
He had just spent the last hour trying to find us and was so relieved
to find us! (MIRACLE).  We sat and talked more with him and answered
some questions he had and then set up a day this week that he wants to meet
somewhere to learn more!  How awesome!!!  I'm so excited!  He is so
prepared!  The next day we had a lesson with RJ!!  He is doing very
well!  He is continuing to read the Book of Mormon and loves telling us
what he learned!  He is sill continuing to prepare to be baptized in a
couple of weeks and we are all so excited for him!  We had the chance
to get to know him a little bit better and he said that he loves
playing the guitar!  Well so does HERMANA MANN!  So he brought out a
couple of his guitars and we played together!  We each sang some songs
and it was great!  He's just awesome!

I would just like to share a scripture with y'all to end this email.
Helaman 5:12
12.)  And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of
our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your
foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds,
yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his
mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to
drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the
rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation
whereon if men build they cannot fall.

I know that my foundation is steadfast and immovable!
The church is true, the book is blue, Jesus and I love you!
I hope y'all have a good week!

Con Amor,
Hermana Mann