Texas Te Amo

the reason for this title is because well we were served cherry yum yum pie not once but TWICE this week I really like living in rural Texas for this period of my life!!!  THE HIGHLIGHTS/ PERRITOS - Our 2 friends Luis and Andrea are going to get baptized and we are SO EXCITED!! THEY ARE the coolest kids ever.  - soaking up the clean country air and being surrounded by happy fluffy cows!!! eeeeee - were chased by dogs probably more times than I can count. One time we were walking though Mount Vernon and looked to our right, to see a HUGE grey pitbull sprinting full speed at us. We were absolutely terrified and then it just stopped mid-sprint right at the edge of the lawn, as if it had whacked into a glass wall. Shock Collar? Angels? Tender Mercy? who knows, but we defs are protected out here.  - on the plus side the people we live with have 2 Red Heelers and we just discovered they are super nice and they also have a really funny white old chihuahua named...

this week was excellent!!! Mount Pleasant is a very special place  HAPPENINGS - Hermana Casper got to be my companion for one day because we went on splits and it was absolutely amazing bc Mount Pleasant is her old stomping ground!! I learned so much from her, specifically that I am not at all alone in being obsessed with her!! she came back after a year of not being here and it was so inspiring to see the look of sheer joy people got on their faces when they got to see her again. She also taught me that most of Mt. Pleasant smells like chicken always, because of Pilgrims, and she is right, and I can't un-notice that now. jaja - we also ate the best huaraches I have ever had - had an extremely edifying zone conference - we were handed 2 crisp $20's this week!!!!! what?????  - we are teaching a nice lady from Mexico named Veronica and every time we have gone by she gives us a full plate of amazing Mexican food  - I really love where I live because there ...

hellooooooo this week was the week equivalent of being placed inside a blender, and then the blender being turned on the (pulse) setting ya feel? EAST TEXAS LIFESTYLE Texas is sooooooo cool. it's wild out here. I am in very classic boonies now.  here are some assorted descriptions that may help you get a pretty good feel of where I now live: - roadkill every 1/4 mile - they say "supper" and not "dinner" - my address is 3625 CR 3070 Cookville, Texas 75558 CR means "county road" - in order to get into town, we take a road called "farm to market" - We have been chased by various loose dogs - Vultures are circling ALWAYS. jaja.  - most of downtown is surrounding a chicken plant called Pilgrims, sometimes when I get lost driving we somehow end up there and it's so funny. Slightly scary also.   - 2 types of people: those who glare at you with a mean face and a dog behind them drooling at you and jumping alm...

Y'ALL EVERYTHING IS CHANGING I AM GETTING DOUBLED IN TRAINING AND SHIPPED OUT HERMANA RASMUSSEN IS HEADED TO MOUNT PLEASANT I am going to have a child in a brand new area it will be so fun  but I am also quite nervous because they are entrusting me with a precious brand new missionary a bittersweet day: I have truly loved serving here in Garland and will be very sad to leave this ward. also I am very much looking forward to being immersed in east Texas and everything that goes along with that (razorback hogs & other wild animals, brisket,... the rest is tbd) get ready for a wild ride I feel like my life as a missionary is 10x as dense as normal life and it is such a roller coaster sometimes jaja. I do not believe that this transfer is over!!! They are speeding up in a scary way FUN ITEMS - Mission conference on Saturday, it was extremely fun and spiritually filling experience. I got to see some excellent friends including mi querido Hermana Casper <3<3<3 - Joy...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY I AM VERY CONTENT!!!!! today we sang carols at a retirement home and I just played a very rewarding game of volleyball. I am very happy inside!!!!!  I don't have a very long time to write y'all I am sorry but here are a few happy things about the past week HIGH POINTS OF THIS WEEK - I SAW MY TRAINER AND BEST FRIEND AT THE CHRISTMAS PARTY AND IT MADE MY SOUL DEEPLY HAPPY AND I LOVE HER - Hermano Martinez gave us 2 large boxes of grapes and we biked them home in my basket and once we got home he texted us to make sure the grapes got home safely. It was an excellent moment - sang "O Holy Night" at the Christmas party with all the G5 Hermanas and Elder Gascoigne it was so fun - went on exchanges with Hermanita Kasparian and it was extremely fun and I love her so much!! She is a biking CHAMP.  - many other things that I cannot remember  FOOD - ice cream from La Super - huge amounts of BREAKFAST FOOD - venez...

my subject line is a quote from a homeless man that we met in Downtown Garland. I really liked that idea and I think it is very true. Something that really helps me remain adamantly positive all the time is my knowledge that everything is working together for my good and the fact that there is no mistake I can make that can't be fixed through my Savior. Life, then, becomes much more simple and aligned.  "and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28 Also, I HAVE BEEN A MISSIONARY FOR 4 MONTHS? i feel really weird about that. My companion bought me cookies and cream ice cream in a waffle cone dipped in chocolate and coconut and we enjoyed it with our little pal. I have a lot of things to catch up on today so this will be somewhat brief :-) (finally) (honestly will this end up still being a novel) (probably)  ASSORTED SNIPPETS OF ALL KINDS - Nancy had us over for...