It's P-DAAAAY! Happy Monday to all of you! I hope you've had a really
good week! My week was amazing this week I can't wait to tell you all
about it!
This week was great for quite a few reasons. Last Monday we went down
to Gilmer for the night because we would be having Zone Conference in
Longview the next day! We got to see Wendy again! It was so awesome to
see her! Zone Conference was really good. It hit me while I was there
that it was my very last Zone Conference on my mission. I couldn't
believe it. I can't believe I'm that close to the end. After the
meeting ended, Elder Nixon and I practiced with Sister Merrill for the
Mission President's Fireside. We were asked to do a special musical
number! We decided to sing "Ye Elders of Israel." Driving all the way
back up to Oklahoma was pretty long. We stopped in Paris, Texas to get
some dinner and Elder Nigh was able to try Whataburger for the first
time ever! Haha! Whataburger is a really popular restaurant here in
Texas. Elder Nigh was really happy to get to go there.
This week with teaching, we had quite a few highlights. We found this
lady named Windy! She is pretty awesome. We went this week and taught
her the Restoration. The spirit was really strong! We challenged her
and her family to read from the Book of Mormon and ask God if it's
true! Right after we challenged them to do so, her 11 year old son
shouted "It's true mom!" It was so funny. We were able to commit Windy
and her son Jonathan to baptism on September 17! We really hope it
works out with them, because we have loved teaching them already. We
also had some cool little miracles that happened in order to find new
investigators. Like once, we called a number thinking it was a member
of the Hugo Branch. We asked if we could come meet him and he said yes
and gave us his address. We went over and it turns out this guy we
called is not a member of the branch, we just had a wrong number. But
get this, he let us in and we were able to teach the restoration to
him! He was very open to it as well which was so great. We were able
to set up another appointment with him and hopefully be able to teach
more and help him draw closer to Christ!
This week we taught Derek and it didn't go so well. He ended up
backing out of his baptism which was really sad for us. He believes
with all his heart in Joseph Smith the Prophet and in the Book of
Mormon. He knows he needs to be baptized, but he can't seem to get
over some social anxieties. He said that in January he'll get
baptized. We told him to call us when he is ready. We felt peace
afterward; knowing that God has a plan for Derek and that we did the
right thing.
Sunday was so great! Kevin, Ruth, Wilma, and John all came to church!
It was especially exciting that Kevin came, because he had never been
before. But he is super excited for his baptism! We are too! I,
unfortunately, won't be here for it because I go home before the 24th,
but teaching him is a blast and I really hope it ends up happening.
After church, we got to go to... GILMER!!! I love Gilmer so much haha.
The Mission President's Fireside was there so we traveled all the way
just to be a part of it. I was so excited to see everyone! Not
everyone I wanted to see was there, but I did see quite a few of my
friends. The Fireside was incredible! Elder Nixon and I were shaking
like a leaf up there in front of everyone singing, but it went really
well. I really like Elder Nixon and I'm so glad we got to do that
together! Toward the end of the fireside, our Mission President
(President Taylor) was speaking about the Book of Mormon. He talked
about exit interviews and how they work with missionaries and a
specific question he asks them. He said, "Why don't I show you. Elder
Needles will you come up here?" It was completely unexpected and he
told everyone I would be going home it about 4 weeks. Then he asked me
the question. Have you gotten closer to God on your mission? I
responded, yes! Then he asked would you attribute any of that to the
Book of Mormon? I responded that I would attribute most all of it to
the Book of Mormon! I love the Book of Mormon so much, and I know it's
the word of God. I'm so grateful for it and I'm grateful for "the
miracle of a mission" that has happened to me. I love my mission so
much.
This last Wednesday, I hit my 23 month mark on my mission. I've now
been out for 23 months... The feelings I have about it are
bittersweet. I can't believe it's been so long. I keep having a flood
of different emotions hit me throughout the week. One day I'm sad that
it's almost over, the next day I'm out of my mind excited. It's
inexplainable how I feel. I'm just trying to make my last month
memorable and worth it.
I love you all so much. I'm grateful for every single one of you in my
life. I hope your week is amazing! I can't wait to see you all in
about 4 weeks!
Elder Joshua Needles
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