My Family and My Friends,
I love each of you. I love that I can email you weekly. Thank you for
all of your continuous love and support. I truly appreciate it! This
week was... well, stressful. But it was so great at the same time!
Transfers happened all around the mission so a lot has changed from
only a week ago! Luckily, Elder Parry and I are still here serving in
the good old Palestine & Athens Wards.
One of the reasons this week was stressful was because of a situation
with Dave (one if our investigators who got baptized this week). He
misunderstood one of the questions during his baptism interview. So,
we all thought he had to have a second interview because of an answer
he gave to one of the questions. We got a hold of the East Texas
representative, and he told us he couldn't do the interview until
Sunday morning. The problem with that was, Dave's scheduled baptism
day was on Saturday. Which meant we had to last minute call the Ward
and tell people Dave could no longer get baptized on Saturday. There
was no way he could do the interview earlier. When we explained the
situation to Dave, we went over the question that caused him to have
the second interview. When we did that, we all made the connection
that he misunderstood what was being asked. He actually did NOT need a
second interview and could be baptized on Saturday like we had
originally planned. So, we once again called the ward to tell them
Dave in fact was getting baptized on Saturday. Haha, messy situation.
But it was all figured out!
Ruby (our other Investigator who got baptized this week) made us pork
chops on Wednesday... Yuuum! She is such a good cook. We told her she
should open up her own restaurant and her response was, "Oh I already
have done that. It was a lot of fun." Apparently she had a Restaurant
named "Ruby's Homestyle Cooking." When we were on our way back, we
found a Texas Flag painted on the side of a building. So, of course,
we took a picture by it. (:
We had district meeting on Friday. It was cool to see that Elder
Murphy is in my district. Elder Murphy is from Meridian, Idaho just
like me! We actually went to the same high school. He even was in
choir! I didn't know him very well, but it's always fun to talk about
people we knew in high school. He said he had a class with my little
sister, and that she's crazy. I said, "Yep, sounds like her." ;) Love
you, Megan. The District Meeting was really great. I trained on joy. I
think it was much needed for our district as a lot of us have been
going through hard times lately! After the meeting, we went to lunch.
There is this dip at the place we went that has avocado in it (and
it's really good by the way). Well, none of us knew Elder Murphy is
allergic to avocado... And he ate some of it. So I was sort of
panicking. But he said he'd be fine. Luckily, no trips to the hospital
were made!
That day we got two new investigators! We taught this lady and her
brother the Restoration. They were open to it, because she especially
has been searching out religions trying to find what she believes. It
was a really good lesson. The spirit was there and they said we
answered a lot of their questions. So glad we get to teach people
about the Gospel and Jesus Christ. I love Christ with all my heart!
Saturday was the day. We went to the church first thing in the morning
and began to fill the font for the baptismal service. Dave and Ruby
came and got changed, we took pictures, and the service began! It was
a really great day. I had the incredible opportunity of baptizing them
both. It was such a great experience. Ruby was confirmed that same
day, because she had a death in her family and had to go out of town
right after. Brother Denmon provided lunch for everyone afterward! He
got Shep's BBQ which is so good! I love that place!
That night we had a lesson with the Loviette Family. They made us
dinner and it tasted so good. We then watched "Joseph Smith: The
Prophet of the Restoration" with them. The spirit was very strong. I
just know that Joseph Smith truly was a Prophet. I sure hope they feel
that way too. Lynn (the husband) is a member of the church, but Tammy
(the wife) is not so this is all new for her. It has been a great
experience introducing Joseph Smith & The Book of Mormon to her. She
is very open and is truly seeking with a sincere heart. I love it!
Sunday, we confirmed Dave a member of the church and he received the
gift of the Holy Ghost. Church was so awesome for me, because it was
Ward Conference. That meant that people from the stake came to the
Palestine Ward. Which meant I got to see a lot of people from the
Bullard & Whitehouse Wards! That was my first area I served in when I
was at the start of my mission. It was so good to see them! Some of
the people who were there were Brother Huckabee (who's son had his
farewell talk when I was there and now he's been on his mission for a
year), Brother Stegall, Brother Acker, Sister Otero (AND I LOVE HER
AND HER FAMILY SO MUCH. One of their daughters said she is counting
down the days until stake conference so she can see me. She's like 9
years old so don't be getting any ideas in your head, lol), and
Brother Link was there too! I LOVED THE LINK FAMILY WHEN I SERVED
THERE. They are such amazing people and it was so good to see him! Him
and Sister Otero took pictures to show their families and make them
jealous. (; lol. It was such a blessing that they were all there and I
could see them!
We packed up and made the long drive into Athens after that. We are
staying at the Bishop's home this week. I'm glad to be here. (Even
though he actually lives 35 minutes from Athens.) They got two new
puppies so I'm constantly entertained. :)
Well, I love you all so much. Keep praying. Always read your
scriptures. Obey the commandments. YOU WILL BE BLESSED!
Your Missionary Friend,
Elder Joshua Needles
I love each of you. I love that I can email you weekly. Thank you for
all of your continuous love and support. I truly appreciate it! This
week was... well, stressful. But it was so great at the same time!
Transfers happened all around the mission so a lot has changed from
only a week ago! Luckily, Elder Parry and I are still here serving in
the good old Palestine & Athens Wards.
One of the reasons this week was stressful was because of a situation
with Dave (one if our investigators who got baptized this week). He
misunderstood one of the questions during his baptism interview. So,
we all thought he had to have a second interview because of an answer
he gave to one of the questions. We got a hold of the East Texas
representative, and he told us he couldn't do the interview until
Sunday morning. The problem with that was, Dave's scheduled baptism
day was on Saturday. Which meant we had to last minute call the Ward
and tell people Dave could no longer get baptized on Saturday. There
was no way he could do the interview earlier. When we explained the
situation to Dave, we went over the question that caused him to have
the second interview. When we did that, we all made the connection
that he misunderstood what was being asked. He actually did NOT need a
second interview and could be baptized on Saturday like we had
originally planned. So, we once again called the ward to tell them
Dave in fact was getting baptized on Saturday. Haha, messy situation.
But it was all figured out!
Ruby (our other Investigator who got baptized this week) made us pork
chops on Wednesday... Yuuum! She is such a good cook. We told her she
should open up her own restaurant and her response was, "Oh I already
have done that. It was a lot of fun." Apparently she had a Restaurant
named "Ruby's Homestyle Cooking." When we were on our way back, we
found a Texas Flag painted on the side of a building. So, of course,
we took a picture by it. (:
We had district meeting on Friday. It was cool to see that Elder
Murphy is in my district. Elder Murphy is from Meridian, Idaho just
like me! We actually went to the same high school. He even was in
choir! I didn't know him very well, but it's always fun to talk about
people we knew in high school. He said he had a class with my little
sister, and that she's crazy. I said, "Yep, sounds like her." ;) Love
you, Megan. The District Meeting was really great. I trained on joy. I
think it was much needed for our district as a lot of us have been
going through hard times lately! After the meeting, we went to lunch.
There is this dip at the place we went that has avocado in it (and
it's really good by the way). Well, none of us knew Elder Murphy is
allergic to avocado... And he ate some of it. So I was sort of
panicking. But he said he'd be fine. Luckily, no trips to the hospital
were made!
That day we got two new investigators! We taught this lady and her
brother the Restoration. They were open to it, because she especially
has been searching out religions trying to find what she believes. It
was a really good lesson. The spirit was there and they said we
answered a lot of their questions. So glad we get to teach people
about the Gospel and Jesus Christ. I love Christ with all my heart!
Saturday was the day. We went to the church first thing in the morning
and began to fill the font for the baptismal service. Dave and Ruby
came and got changed, we took pictures, and the service began! It was
a really great day. I had the incredible opportunity of baptizing them
both. It was such a great experience. Ruby was confirmed that same
day, because she had a death in her family and had to go out of town
right after. Brother Denmon provided lunch for everyone afterward! He
got Shep's BBQ which is so good! I love that place!
That night we had a lesson with the Loviette Family. They made us
dinner and it tasted so good. We then watched "Joseph Smith: The
Prophet of the Restoration" with them. The spirit was very strong. I
just know that Joseph Smith truly was a Prophet. I sure hope they feel
that way too. Lynn (the husband) is a member of the church, but Tammy
(the wife) is not so this is all new for her. It has been a great
experience introducing Joseph Smith & The Book of Mormon to her. She
is very open and is truly seeking with a sincere heart. I love it!
Sunday, we confirmed Dave a member of the church and he received the
gift of the Holy Ghost. Church was so awesome for me, because it was
Ward Conference. That meant that people from the stake came to the
Palestine Ward. Which meant I got to see a lot of people from the
Bullard & Whitehouse Wards! That was my first area I served in when I
was at the start of my mission. It was so good to see them! Some of
the people who were there were Brother Huckabee (who's son had his
farewell talk when I was there and now he's been on his mission for a
year), Brother Stegall, Brother Acker, Sister Otero (AND I LOVE HER
AND HER FAMILY SO MUCH. One of their daughters said she is counting
down the days until stake conference so she can see me. She's like 9
years old so don't be getting any ideas in your head, lol), and
Brother Link was there too! I LOVED THE LINK FAMILY WHEN I SERVED
THERE. They are such amazing people and it was so good to see him! Him
and Sister Otero took pictures to show their families and make them
jealous. (; lol. It was such a blessing that they were all there and I
could see them!
We packed up and made the long drive into Athens after that. We are
staying at the Bishop's home this week. I'm glad to be here. (Even
though he actually lives 35 minutes from Athens.) They got two new
puppies so I'm constantly entertained. :)
Well, I love you all so much. Keep praying. Always read your
scriptures. Obey the commandments. YOU WILL BE BLESSED!
Your Missionary Friend,
Elder Joshua Needles
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