Only a small sample of the type of mess we cleaned up all week after the storm.
It's Monday again!Well we got back into the area finally and our power is back on in our apartment. We ended up leaving the mission home four days ago because it took until thursday to get power back. But we're here in the ghettos of Houston talking to as many hispanic people as possible and finding some real good potentials. It's exciting to be opening up an old area that other missionaries have labeled as wasted and hard to baptize. The elders who are already here have zero motivation and I don't know the ward well enough to know how all the members feel about missionaries and missionary work, but we have a wonderful member who we're going to meet with tonight and she's going to help us get ourselves situated.
Training requires a lot more responsibility than I expected. Sister McDonald is doing pretty good for where she's at. She knows spanish really well for a newbie and she is really good at voicing her opinion. But I realize just how imperfect I am and how I could be just a little more obedient to be an example. I think I understand why some people take up smoking when they become a parent.
This past week we've been talking to a lot of people outside of their apartments and houses. We've found that by talking to and setting an appt with one person, we find a different person even more prepared in the process. Last night we knocked on the door of one guy we'd talked to the week before but he wasn't home. We tried knocking the next door neighbor's door but no answer there either. When we started walking towards our car, Hna McDonald heard someone call to us and it was a Mexican guy who was standing in his doorway. He asked us what church we were from and what we believed in. He looked so scared and shy but he had a fire in his eyes. He told us that he wants to find God and wants to change who he is. He's been in jail for drugs but he's so ready to change. We taught him a little bit about repentance and how God has an amazing plan for him, then we set up an appt for another time. It may or may not lead to his conversion, but it was such a cool experience to know that God had placed us in his path even though we had no idea we were meant to be there.
Also during this week, we were called out of our area to go do service again. I was super excited when I heard this cuz, heck, its only once in a lifetime when you get to experience the aftermath of a hurricane. Am I right or am I right. Yeah.... So a large group of us missionaries drove the hour to San Leon. We were right on the beach cleaning up one guy's house. His neighbors' houses were literally blown away. We took a picture of one spot where there once existed a house, but now its only a cement pad, fallen walls, and bits and pieces of sinks, cupboards, and stuffed animals. They got it BAD. This one guy who's house didn't blow over had a little boat house that did. He asked us to help him clear a small area on the cement pad so that he could set up his tent. (although his house was still intact, it was a mess) Arthur was an older guy in his late fifties or early sixties and just barely had heart surgery so we wanted to help him more. We cleared almost the whole cement pad (I used my giant ox-like strength to help lift the roof off a fallen wall) and then we helped pull his boats out of other people's yards. It was quite the day--muy pesado! And after all of it, the man was so grateful. He kept saying as we were straight up moving a wall or knocking down a fence, "I just can't believe this is happening!" It truly would have been impossible for one of us to do it by himself, but because we had strength in numbers, we got a lot accomplished. And hopefully that area that we were in will once again be as beautiful as Arthur said it was before.
I'm sorry I haven't been very good at keeping up on letters. These past weeks have been so stressful and disorganized. I'm sending out a tape today along with a few pictures, and to as many people as I can, I will respond to your letters. I love you all very much. I've thought about you all very much in these past few weeks (maybe too much but sometimes I just love me my family and friends, you know what I mean?) I hope all is going well.
Love, Hermana Langston
Training requires a lot more responsibility than I expected. Sister McDonald is doing pretty good for where she's at. She knows spanish really well for a newbie and she is really good at voicing her opinion. But I realize just how imperfect I am and how I could be just a little more obedient to be an example. I think I understand why some people take up smoking when they become a parent.
This past week we've been talking to a lot of people outside of their apartments and houses. We've found that by talking to and setting an appt with one person, we find a different person even more prepared in the process. Last night we knocked on the door of one guy we'd talked to the week before but he wasn't home. We tried knocking the next door neighbor's door but no answer there either. When we started walking towards our car, Hna McDonald heard someone call to us and it was a Mexican guy who was standing in his doorway. He asked us what church we were from and what we believed in. He looked so scared and shy but he had a fire in his eyes. He told us that he wants to find God and wants to change who he is. He's been in jail for drugs but he's so ready to change. We taught him a little bit about repentance and how God has an amazing plan for him, then we set up an appt for another time. It may or may not lead to his conversion, but it was such a cool experience to know that God had placed us in his path even though we had no idea we were meant to be there.
Also during this week, we were called out of our area to go do service again. I was super excited when I heard this cuz, heck, its only once in a lifetime when you get to experience the aftermath of a hurricane. Am I right or am I right. Yeah.... So a large group of us missionaries drove the hour to San Leon. We were right on the beach cleaning up one guy's house. His neighbors' houses were literally blown away. We took a picture of one spot where there once existed a house, but now its only a cement pad, fallen walls, and bits and pieces of sinks, cupboards, and stuffed animals. They got it BAD. This one guy who's house didn't blow over had a little boat house that did. He asked us to help him clear a small area on the cement pad so that he could set up his tent. (although his house was still intact, it was a mess) Arthur was an older guy in his late fifties or early sixties and just barely had heart surgery so we wanted to help him more. We cleared almost the whole cement pad (I used my giant ox-like strength to help lift the roof off a fallen wall) and then we helped pull his boats out of other people's yards. It was quite the day--muy pesado! And after all of it, the man was so grateful. He kept saying as we were straight up moving a wall or knocking down a fence, "I just can't believe this is happening!" It truly would have been impossible for one of us to do it by himself, but because we had strength in numbers, we got a lot accomplished. And hopefully that area that we were in will once again be as beautiful as Arthur said it was before.
I'm sorry I haven't been very good at keeping up on letters. These past weeks have been so stressful and disorganized. I'm sending out a tape today along with a few pictures, and to as many people as I can, I will respond to your letters. I love you all very much. I've thought about you all very much in these past few weeks (maybe too much but sometimes I just love me my family and friends, you know what I mean?) I hope all is going well.
Love, Hermana Langston
