Houston We Have Lift Off!!

One day more.
Then, I'll be leaving to Brazil tomorrow.
And Sister King won't be coming with me.
How rude!
And Texas won't be coming with me either.
Ruder!
Gah. I feel like I'm breaking up with Houston.
But I also know that something really good is coming too. So all is well. Tudo bem.

Monday: We had a super fun Easter Zone P-Day! I took lots of pictures with some of my favorite people. Sister King and I decked out in TEXAS gear, because, hello, its Texas. And I'm leaving. Temporarily. We had to celebrate!

We dyed Easter eggs and some of the missionaries played a super intense game of dodgeball. Some of the elders still have bruises. No lie.
FHE was pretty good! We decided to see what would happen if we didn't go to the FHE that Frank went to so we went to one at Brother Day's house. That was super fun. We had a really good spiritual thought and then played the Word Game. I love that game!!
Yeah, you read that right. I love that game.
Then, we called Frank after to see how his FHE group went. It sounded like he had a blast! He said that the lesson was perfect for him, and that he got the most Easter eggs on their Easter egg hunt. Halleluyer!

Tuesday: It was super busy for us!! I think Heavenly Father can see how hard we've been trying to be exactly obedient and how hard we've been working, because it really has been paying off.
Frank had his baptismal interview at 10 am. He was super nervous, because Frank hates it when things are too serious, and he was like "What if I laugh and the elder doesn't laugh and then I don't pass?!" But, Elder Duvall interviewed Frank and all is well. Frank passed! Then, we practiced the song Frank wanted us to sing with his friend Erin at his baptism- Nearer, My God, To Thee. And we had a little lesson with him outside.
Then, we drove to Magnolia and did a lesson with the Magnolia 1st sisters. There's a member down there named Meridan that we can't see too often because of how far away she lives, so the Magnolia sisters joined our visit with her so they could start stopping by her house too. The Spirit was SO STRONG throughout that whole discussion. We talked mostly about God's love for us, and how it never goes away, no matter what we do.
Then, we came back and visited a hilarious member named Becky. We had a good chat with her about hope.
Then. We had an AMAZING lesson with Sandra!!! Seriously, Heavenly Father has been looking out for her so much. Sometimes, Sandra tells us, "I feel like he's looking out for just me!!" It was just... wow. He is giving her so many answers!! We talked to her about her Book of Mormon reading. She said that on Sunday night, she was sitting in her room for three hours going back and forth. "Yes, I'm going to read it. Okay. No. I'm not going to read. Yes I am! I'm going to! No I'm not. No way!" For three whole hours! Finally, she decided not to. She went downstairs at midnight to grab her purse, and sitting beside it was a letter her aunt had forgotten to tell her about, so her aunt just put it by her purse. It was from the sister missionary that had originally started teaching Sandra! Sister Harrison! In it was everything Sandra needed at that moment to give her the courage to read the Book of Mormon. Then, she told us that one day, she was on her computer and suddenly found herself googling mormonism. Yikes! The internet is full of lies, people. So as she read through some of the garbage about the church, she got a few questions. But, at the same time, she found herself defending the church saying "Thats not true!" We discussed faith with her, and talked about courage. I related her to Esther and told her that story from the Bible. She'd never read it before and wrote down to read it all later. I'm so glad that the Holy Ghost, if we let it, will lead every lesson and make it so much better than Sister King or I ever could.
Then, we had dinner with Francisco and Diana. They are so sweet! We had a really good discussion with them too.

Wednesday: We went and saw Ashley at "Chill..." and I got my last milkshake there for a long time. Sad day. Maybe I'll open one in Georgia, eh? Anyways. We planned to go to dinner with her and Frank another day, and then headed off to "The Mission."
Oh man.
After the sermon, we talked to some people, and then this guy came up. Later, I was informed that he was the founder of the group. And he is a philosophy major. And he has written papers on why mormonism is not correct.
So, needless to say, that was a sort of... intense conversation. We were just chatting at first, and then Sister King happened to mention the Book of Mormon while talking about her mission, and the guy jumped and said, "See, that's where we disagree."
Sister King said, "To each their own." And I said, "Yeah, we believe we have the right to worship how we believe and that everybody else has that same right."
It could have stopped there, but we had opened a can of worms. A huge can of worms. And it was smelly and gross. The guy said something like "ANSWER me this..." and then started off on this huge series of questions about  baptisms for the dead. So, we got it down to one question and started to answer. But every single time we started to answer, he'd let us talk for .03 seconds before cutting us off. Mildly frustrating. He told Sister King and I to show him the scripture, so we said okay. Then he said, "LETS put this in context." And he took it out of context to put it in context. To be honest, I felt like he was talking circles and I didn't really understand what his point was with it. But Sister King and I just sort of put away our scriptures because he asked us another question about the subject. Sister King started answering, and once again, he cut her off. I stopped him and said, "How about you let Sister King finish her sentence? That way she doesn't forget it." and Sister King said, "Yeah, I forget things easily.." and we all laughed and she finished her answer. Of course, it didn't satisfy him. He had an argument for everything. We answered his questions and did our best not to argue. (I just want you to know that the radio in the apartment complex just started playing the song Hit Me With Your Best Shot and I may have laughed a lot.)
I know that the Spirit was helping us because I honestly don't remember much of what we said. I do know, though, that I remembered things that I learned years ago in seminary, and from my Book of Mormon class at BYU, and from different talks. Things that I definitely don't think about ever, and I was able to remember them and bring them up when needed. Talk about the Spirit bringing things to your remembrance!! It was so cool. At the end, he started to walk away and I said, "I just want you to know that I know.." and I bore my testimony to him. The Spirit was so strong. And he couldn't argue with that. You can't argue with someone's testimony, you can't argue with the Spirit, and you can't argue with the truth.
It was such a cool experience!!! Sister King and I walked away with a firmer testimony. And usually, I'm the assertive and bold one, but this time, Sister King was being bold and assertive too! I know that the Spirit definitely gave us what we needed in that moment. When we got into the car, I turned to her and said, "I feel like the Spirit is just coursing through my veins right now!!" Seriously. I truly feel that Sister King and I were both mouthpieces for the Lord that day. It was an incredible experience to, as Elder Holland encouraged, defend our faith with "courage and courtesy."
This church is true! It is the true Church of Jesus Christ! Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Thomas S. Monson is the current prophet of God. Soften your hearts and ask God sincerely if there is something here for you. I can promise you that there is. I can promise you that you can have more joy and happiness and a better relationship with Heavenly Father than you've ever had before. We don't want to tear down anyone's faith- rather, we want to build it up. As our last prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Bring all the good you have and see if we can't add to it."
That night, Kevin took us to a fancy Brazilian all you can eat steakhouse place. It was so good! They were bringing out speared meats on fancy sticks going, "Excuse me, ma'am, would you like some quail?"
Yes please. Put that quail right on my plate. Oh yes, and the filet mignon. And whatever you just said thats a delicious part of a cow. Yes. All of that. Here please. Yes. Thank you.
Sister King was so happy when they brought out grilled pineapple that she almost cried. No lie. I felt like I was in a movie.

THANK YOU, KEVIN!!!!
It was a nice little celebration of me going to Brazil :)
Although, I'm not quite sure thats how it will work in Brazil.
Oh well.

Thursday: We got to go have lunch with the Williamson family in Montgomery!! Yay!! Brother Williamson is now Bishop Williamson, and we set up an appointment to discuss the needs of the YSAs in the ward, since we cover that ward, and they wanted to feed me one last time. Sweet people :) I love them! We had delicious steaks that made me so happy. And yummy mashed potatoes. And other delicious things. And then we had fun discussing the YSAs. And there are a lot of "sheep" that need to be rescued, so Sister King and her new comp are going to have a lot to do! Then, on our way back (we were supposed to meet up with Amanda there but she couldn't come) we stopped by and saw Derrick so I could give him my email and say goodbye. He was so surprised and happy to see me!! And I was super glad that I got to say goodbye one more time before I leave.

Then, we had a church tour with Evan and Jesus. And yes, his name is really Jesus. Hay-Zeus. TWO MEMBERS CAME!!! :D Kaylan and Johnny,  and that made all the difference. The Spirit was super strong the whole time. Especially when we were standing in front of the painting of Christ appearing to the Nephites. And then, we walked into the room where the font is and we had the doors open and stuff and Jesus is all "Whats THAT?!" all excited. We'll tell you, Jesus. We'll tell you.
It was seriously amazing. It made us so very happy.
Then, we went to Chili's with Frank and Ashley. We had a little lesson with Frank about fasting and went over some last minute things for his baptism. And Frank was so super nice and paid for Sister King and I!! It made my day. What an amazing person he is.
After talking with Ashley some more (LOVE that girl) and dropping her off, we came home. And I threw a few things in one of my suitcases before I got really sad and had to stop. Then, we got a text from Jesus that said, "What does it take to convert??"
We have a meeting with him on Tuesday.
And by we, I mean Sister King and her new companion.

Friday: We had a really good District Meeting and discussed the Holy Ghost. I'm really going to miss District Meetings with Elder Duvall! I always learn so many things!!! And the Spirit is always so strong. We discussed who the Holy Ghost is and how he helps us know truth. It was just amazing. Thing about it- the Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead! He is standing alongside Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. And his job is to help us out CONSTANTLY! How cool is that?!
We picked out a picture for Frank of the Savior for his baptism. And by we, I mean we called Frank because Frank is very picky about his art. He's kind of a perfectionist. So we wanted to make sure that we'd get one that he would love and not hate because "that line is crooked and the colors are so bad!"
That night, we visited Kristin! Poor lady was in a lot of pain :/ She was super amazing, though, and helped us make a cd for Frank. We put a bunch of uplifting music on there, because Frank feels the Spirit the strongest when he listens to music.

Saturday: FINALLY!!!!! IT WAS HERE!!!!!! The day that Frank got BAPTIZED!!!!! :D
It was a busy day of scrambling around to get things ready. After seeing a few people that morning (like amazing Vicky) and lunch, we scrambled. Frank wanted to meet up at 3:30 to practice. His baptism was scheduled for 5 pm. Yeah. We got the programs all copied and set up the room and called everybody who was participating and practiced the song with his friend Erin. It was good. But as soon as Frank showed up, we stopped practicing. We didn't want to spoil it! The ASL elders were at the building when Frank got there, so they showed him where he would put his hands and what was going to happen. We met the guy that opened the room where they store the baptismal suits and found one that fit Frank. We finally found a pianist for our musical number. Everybody finally got there. And then. Kevin gave an amazing talk on baptism and then. Frank and Elder Frandsen went into the font, and Frank was baptized. It was incredible and super happy. And slightly funny, because Frank forgot that he was supposed to plug his nose, and as he started leaning back, remember and sort of slammed his hand into his face in a last minute effort to plug his nose.
Thats Frank. He's awesome.

Then, while they were getting dressed, we had a mini testimony meeting. The Spirit was so strong! When Frank came back in, we sang Nearer, My God, To Thee. We sang the 1st, 3rd and 5th verses. The first verse we sang in unison. The third in parts. And the fifth, we sang the first two lines a capella and then with the piano for the last two lines. It was very powerful. The Spirit was super strong. And Frank really loved it.
Ivan gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. Then we ended the baptismal service and celebrated at Denny's. Ivan got us all to sing "Happy SPIRITUAL birthday!!" to Frank. Frank was super embarrassed. But it was funny.
Then, we had to return the keys to the building and stuff.
It was an amazing day.

Sunday: I finally got to see someone that I taught receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was beautiful. Frank asked Elder Valdez to confirm him and give him the Holy Ghost. It was just beautiful. The Spirit was tangible, and I know that the blessing that Elder Valdez gave him came straight from Heavenly Father. It was simply amazing. And Frank was different afterwards. Still Frank, but different. There was a brighter light in him. The change was something you couldn't help but notice. It was incredible. Heavenly Father truly can change us for the better if we let Him.
After church, we taught Lauren about baptism and about the Priesthood. She has come so far!! She used to have to have an answer for everything, but now she is relying on faith more. She said that she feels like Heavenly Father is telling her "Let go and let God." Which is something we all need to be reminded of every once in a while. She prayed for us out loud for the first time, and told me she is really going to miss me.
It was amazing.
Then, we had dinner with the Allen family. Brother Allen served his mission in Brazil, so that was fun.
After that, we headed over to see a few sisters to help them out. Sister Trainer Leader-ing with Sister King. Its fun. :)
Then, I packed a suitcase while we were reporting numbers and getting ready for bed. At this point, I just have a few more things left to throw in there.

Next time y'all here from me, it will be from Brazil!! Crazy concept, huh? Its been a wild and amazing ride in Texas. And I don't want it to end. So.. its merely an interruption for now. I'll be back.
Meanwhile, I'll enjoy Brazil while I can.
I love y'all!!
Eu amo voces!!

com amor,
Sister Shell