Letters from Teach in Texas

Teach is getting ready for a baptism this weekend! She is super excited about it.

The work is progressing. D is being baptized this week in the Denton YSA and when she came to church yesterday she was beaming! She truly has had her eyes opened to the truth and direction that comes from knowing the gospel. She brought her boyfriend to church with her and she is so excited to be baptized on Saturday. It has been a whirlwind getting all of the arrangements made and having the teaching passed to the Elders, but I know with all of my heart that the right decision was made. She will prosper in the YSA and as long as she keeps her job she will still attend church in our ward and we will work with the ward council to ensure she has uplifting experiences!





Even with her success she is not sitting around waiting. She is moving forward and looking for new people who will listen while she shares the gospel.

We set a goal as a district this week to baptize 3 of Heavenly Father's children in the month of July. We feel that the V family could be the souls that help us reach that goal. M the mother is embracing the light of the gospel. We were inspired to invite her to a ward service project for a member on the same street as M. She came with her 12-year-old son bright and early and helped- working shoulder to shoulder with the members of the ward and feeling the Spirit of service. There was a noticeable difference in M at church and especially as she left the Relief Society at the end of the block I knew that she was happier. She could feel the influence of the Spirit in her life and could make life changing decisions based on that feeling. 

The missionaries do so much service! It is so good for them to look to the needs of others first. That is a skill and talent that can bless their lives long after their missions are over. This is only part of what they accomplished this week.

The trailer is a double wide and the foundation has eroded so much and the metal frame that supports it is so twisted that the middle part of the house (where the double wide meets) has a 1-inch crack and if you look down you can see the ground outside. The house had a sewage leak so then you've basically got the sewage leak going under the house and then the toxins from ... sewage ... coming back up through the crack and they are breathing that air. Thus they are all ill and struggling to feel the Spirit. Three years ago the mom passed away from cancer and then around that same time they lost a brother to cancer as well. There is SO much heart ache and despair. yet, they are trying to be happy. They do the best with what they have. 

My task when we went over to help on Monday was a special one. The father gave permission for the relief society and one other person to go back and clean his bathroom. So the RSP choose me. It was just so humbling, Mom. I am so grateful that I was raised in a home that even though it wasn't always tidy... it was clean. We weren't living in conditions like that. Yet, the RSP said that when we go into their home we truly are protected. I don't even KNOW what kinda things my hands touched, but the Spirit just kinda wafts over you and you can just... you know it's all going to be ok. After his wife died, the husband didn't throw away any of the medical stuff from her home care so I got to go through and discard medicine bottles, bandages, all sorts of things. It was just heart breaking. There was at least a foot of garbage and things stacked on the counter and by the time we left it looked almost livable. If you ignore the hole in the ground and the mold on the ceiling. Service is my favorite. I hope we can bring hope to this family. I really do. I laid in my bed that night on the brink of tears because my heart just hurts for them. It's so sad to see when hope has been lost.


Did you know that Teach will only be gone for 9 more weeks? Time is just flying by. She is just doing so much good in the world.