It's officially been 16 months since I left you all to serve the Lord
in Texas. I'm so shocked it's been that long! These last 16 months
have shaped me and helped me learn and grow so much. I'm so grateful
for that! I still miss each of you terribly, but that also makes me
happy. Thanks for being worth missing. (:
This week was great! A lot of great things happened! On Tuesday, we
went to a funeral for one of the ward members in Athens. It was a
really good service. The lady who passed away had a great impact on
the Athens Ward. Her son spoke at the service and it really touched
me! He talked about all of the things that he learned from his mom and
I couldn't help but feel so much love toward my own mom. My mom has
taught me so much and I love her more than she knows! I always think
of the stripling warriors in the Book of Mormon. They were so valiant
and so faithful and it was because of their mothers. It says, "They
had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God
would deliver them. And they rehearsed the words of their mothers,
saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it." Moms are the best!
Wednesday we had a lot of success! We went out with a member who is
hilarious! He was recently re-baptized in August. He's been through a
lot in his life, but it helped him level with so many of the people we
saw! We met a part member family and asked if they wanted to take the
discussions... they said yes! We're excited about that and can't wait
to see where it goes. We also went to an inactive member's home. We
just dropped by and caught him by surprise. He had empty beer cans ALL
OVER. I could tell he was feeling an immense amount of guilt. I
genuinely think the spirit led us there that night for a reason,
though. Because the member we went with is a person who helps people
quit addictions. He does the 12 step program that the church has and
he was able to come into this person's life and possibly help him. We
also shared a message with him that had him in tears. I know he felt
the spirit and I hope and pray that he finds happiness in life. He was
so sad and looked so worn down. I just wanted him to feel God's love
for him and believe that there are good things to come.
The next day, the Bishop had something planned for us! Since we were
staying at his home, he wanted to have a fireside and invite people to
come who live around the lake. We agreed to do it, thinking it would
be fun and a creative way to get to teach. We were inviting people and
so was he. We honestly weren't expecting very many people to come,
especially because the majority of the invites were to members who
don't come to church very often. We were shocked to see the turn out!
We had almost all of the people we invited show up! We even had TWO
non members there! We had fun with everyone, answering "get to know
you questions" that Bishop Bridger had come up with. It was really
fun! Some of the less active members really came out of their shell
sharing funny stories and interesting facts about themselves! We then
taught a lesson. We shared the third missionary discussion, which
talks about faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy
Ghost, and enduring to the end. The spirit was there! I know that even
the non members were truly feeling it. Then Sister Bridger had made
amazing deserts for everyone. It was such a great night!
We drove back to Palestine on Friday. That day we got a call from the
zone leaders that they wanted us to give a training the next day for
mission interviews. We had little time to prepare, but it turned out
well! We had to wake up at 4:30 AM, because interviews would be in
Longview, Texas. That's at least 2 hours from where we live. We drove
into Whitehouse (which was my first area on my mission) and met with
those missionaries, then we carpooled up to Longview! It was a good
meeting! There were a lot of good trainings given, and my interview
with President Taylor was great! He's such an amazing mission
president. Unfortunately, my interview was right during lunch. So I
gave my card to Elder Denos to get me some lunch from Chick Fil A. I
was excited to get a spicy chicken sandwich from there, because we
don't have one in my area! So after the interview, I come out and look
for my food (because obviously everyone is eating). Come to find
out... ELDER CHRISTENSEN ACCIDENTALLY ATE MY FOOD INSTEAD OF HIS! I
was so sad, haha. There was still a sandwich, though, so I was going
to eat that one when I accidentally hit it off the table and onto my
favorite shoes! THEN, to top it all off, I bent down to pick it up and
I RIPPED MY DANG PANTS. Hahaha, it wasn't the best lunch I've ever had
on my mission. We drove back to Whitehouse so we could get our car,
and I decided to just stop to see if one of the people I used to teach
when I served there was home. (he lives right by the Missionaries'
apartment). He was home! His name is Dustin! I was so happy to see him
and his two kids, Noah & Olivia. We were able to baptize his wife
(Faye) when we were there. She unfortunately wasn't there so I didn't
get to see her, but it was still awesome. Brought back a lot of
memories!
That night, we were able to teach Ruby and Dave. They were great
lessons and they both are feeling happy after just being baptized last
Saturday. Church was great the next day and we had a good Sabbath Day
sharing the restored gospel with others.
I only have 8 months left on my mission! Wow! I'm guessing that time
will just fly by and I'll be home before I know it. I can't wait for
the day I get to see you all again! I also love my mission. I'm so
grateful I had the opportunity to do this. It's truly an amazing
experience to be had. I hope you all are doing well. Keep praying and
push through your tribulations!
Romans 5:3-5
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Have an amazing week! Love you all.
Elder Joshua Needles
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