Dear Family & Friends,
I hope you all had a great week and a really good Father's Day! It's
been yet another week in Gilmer here in the Texas Dallas Mission. This
week was cool, because I officially hit 21 months since I left home
and went on my mission. I've been out for 21 months now. It's crazy!
It's been a good 21 months. It's also been a very hard 21 months, but
I wouldn't trade it. I've learned so much and grown so much. I have
loved what I've gained from my mission! Except for the weight! Lol!
This week was a pretty good week. It was REALLY hot and humid. I tend
to forget how hot it gets here in the summer, then it hits me and I'm
dying haha. On Wednesday, the assistants texted us saying that we
needed to collect some things from our zone before the end of the day.
Well, Gilmer Zone is the biggest geographic zone in our mission. So we
thought it might turn out pretty difficult. We were right. We got most
of them okay, but then we were trying to get the stuff from the
Quitman Elders. They cover both Quitman and Sulphur Springs. They had
6 of the pages we needed. So we drove up to Quitman that night. We got
there and texted them and they said they were on their way from
Sulphur Springs. It takes a while to get to Quitman from there so we
went to a good ice cream shop and got ourselves some ice cream while
we waited. An hour passed by and we were wondering where they were so
we texted them and they said, "Oh, we aren't going to make it. We're
still in Sulphur Springs." We explained that we needed them that
night, so we made them come anyway. They were going as fast as they
could and we sat in the parking lot of the beauty shop they sleep in.
We left the battery of the car on as we waited but the engine wasn't
on. Well, that wasn't smart on our part, because the car died. We
called them again and they were like "our car has a flat tire." So we
were stuck in the parking lot of a beauty salon way past our curfew
not having anywhere to go or anything to do. It also was super humid
so we were both sweating like crazy. The Elders finally pulled up with
their flat tire and we jumped our car with theirs, grabbed the pages,
and headed home. Well, come to find out, they only gave us 4 of the 6
pages we needed. So we had to drive and meet them again the next
morning. Needless to say, I was really happy when we were able to hand
Elders Westover and Hanson our pages so they were no longer in our
hands! Haha!
This week Jan and Zack both had their baptism interviews! They are so
great! They are both really excited for their baptisms this Saturday.
We are too! Haha. This week after District Meeting, we went to eat
Fried Catfish! I'm not a huge fish fan, but I really do like Fried
Catfish! It's also a Texas thing to eat so I'm glad I like it, because
members like to take us out to eat it. Thursday was so exciting,
because GILMER GOT A SHLOTZSKY'S! Shlotzsky's is a restaurant here in
Texas that I like a lot. We were able to go for Dinner and we were so
excited. It seemed like the whole town of Gilmer was eating there.
Later that night, we went to teach Lily one of the new member
discussions. Lily is 9 years old and got baptized last week. It was so
great, because she made us both some cards with some gifts in them!
The letter said, "Thank you for teaching me the gospel and baptizing
me." Then she put a green necklace in the letter. It was so sweet!
That night, the Elders in Arkansas and Oklahoma called and told us
they had a baptism interview scheduled that we need to do for them,
but that there was no possible way whatsoever to get wifi, so we would
have to drive up to do it. It was super short notice, but we made it
work. So the next day we were off to Oklahoma! The drive wasn't too
bad, it was actually pretty fun to go on a little road trip. We got to
Broken Bow Oklahoma and there were no food options, so we ate at
Arby's. Afterward, we went and did the baptism interview. The person
getting interviewed was from the Marshall Islands so she only spoke
Marshalese. There had to be a translator there at the interview. We
headed back to Gilmer that night and finished the night with some good
stuff! We taught one of our Recent Converts brothers! It was a pretty
good lesson with him and we were able to set a baptism date to work
toward! It was pretty awesome!
That weekend was Stake Conference for the Gilmer Stake. On Sunday, Jan
and Zack both came. Zack was able to sit by his grandma which was
super awesome! President and Sister Taylor came and spoke so we were
able to introduce both Jan and Zack to them. It was so great and I was
so happy! Wendy even sang in the choir and she did such a good job! It
was a really good Stake Conference. After that, we went and ate at the
Breedlove's house. They have a tree that they call "The Tickle Tongue
Tree" because when you chew on the bark, it makes your mouth go numb!
We went out on their golf cart to get some and it was awesome. They
have a lot of land and it's really pretty!
Elder Alkonis goes home in 9 days. He's super excited and I'm excited
for him. In 3 months that will be me. It's so crazy! I love the
Gospel. I also just love all of you. My friends and family are what
keep me going. Knowing I have people waiting for me at home who love
me helps me through the days. I hope you all have a great week!
Everyone pray I don't get transferred next week! Lol! I love you all.
Elder Joshua Needles
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