Resistance Stretching

I love resistance stretching. It hurts so much that I start laughing sometimes, but it does so much good. I see such a difference between normal stretching and resistance stretching. I'm not exactly sure what the principle is behind resistance stretching that makes it work so well - but I know God's perspective on opposition - that all things must have their opposites (2 Nephi 2:15). So I know that the force opposing the stretch helps me to stretch farther!

Transfers are here once again! I'm staying here in Texas City with Sister McElroy for another transfer! I'm super excited. It'll be an interesting transfer. We were called earlier this week with news that we'll be moving into our new apartment at the end of August. We have a lot to prepare before then though, so it'll be an adventure :)

This week has been another interesting one - every week brings its challenges and adventures - but I can't remember most of them. I left my planner from this last transfer at home...oops. I'll try to tell you about as much as I can.

We had district meeting on Tuesday. It's only our second one this transfer. It was really an interesting experience. I don't feel like our district knows each other that well yet, but we're on our way to getting there. However, we won't all be here come Wednesday the 29th because of transfers. Oh well.

Then we got a new tire for Sister McElroy's bike Wednesday night, so Thursday began our biking adventures once again. It has been HOT. Really hot. I know I have said this before, but I have never been more grateful for the wind in my life than I have being on bikes. But I definitely feel like we are getting to know our area better and we are definitely blessed for being on bikes.

Investigator wise, the week was a bit challenging. But as Elder Eldred G. Smith said more than 40 years ago:

So it is with us today, we must also have the bitter in order to know the sweet. Sometimes some of us think we have the bitter and not enough of the sweet. This is normal. We all have our trials of life to strengthen us. Each thinks he has the hardest or most severe trials. It may be that they are the most difficult only because they are the hardest or most difficult for you. The diamond is enhanced and made more valuable with polishing. Steel is made harder and more valuable through tempering. So also opposition builds the character of man.

Ok, so that formatting didn't work so well, but whatever. What he's saying is that sometimes missionaries have to have harder weeks, so that the incredible weeks will be all the more sweet - and don't get me wrong. There have been some beautifully sweet moments this week.

Let me share just one of them.

We have these two investigators M and P. They are twin sisters, and they have the most intense personalities I've ever met in my life. They also don't have very many friends because life experiences have made it hard for them to open up. But somehow we've become their friends. Every time we go over they give us stuff. And for the past few weeks, we go over with an awesome lesson planned, and then they literally ask so many questions about different parts of the gospel and church and the explanation gets them so off topic that we have to leave before we can teach our lesson. 

We went over on Saturday after texting them that we had a special message to give them about the pamphlets we left with them the time before - and the atmosphere was totally different. They were ready to learn. They had their pamphlets and study materials and everything. And this lesson was amazing. They made so many connections, and they were so excited for the Books of Mormon that we gave them! I have never seen anyone that excited to read the Book of Mormon. 

And then they expressed to us how much we have impacted their lives. It's only been about three weeks. But P started crying as she was telling us how we have opened her heart. She's a police officer - she doesn't cry. I love these girls so much! I can't wait to keep updating on them.

So see - opposition. Bitter and sweet. That's missionary work for you :)

Prop Problems

I love using props during dances - it adds an extra element that adds deeper meaning - sometimes. It has to be used right. Having a prop just to have a prop isn't something I'm fond of. But I love watching dances where the prop is used right. But all things have problems from time to time, and props are no exception. Balloons can pop, chairs tip over, hats fall off, etc. That can be frustrating, especially when it's an important performance. But the key is to just keep dancing and somehow pretend that it was intentional.

There are some very important tools involved in missionary work - scriptures, Preach My Gospel, pamphlets, etc. One tool that we've been familiarizing ourselves with lately is the bike. It's a very useful tool. It gets you places at a relatively quick speed while maximizing wind cooling technology from nature and not using any of the few miles allotted for car driving. They're a highly useful prop in our play of soul saving.

Until they break.

The Lord has been having a lot of fun with the Texas City District this week. 

To put all of our experiences into a nutshell there has been one bike crash involving two Elders and two pedestrians, one bike seat/rack failure and one missing wheel. All separate instances.

It's been fun though. 

We've also had a couple of exchanges this past week- those are always an adventure. 

But this week really has been awesome.

We went to Moody Gardens last week - for everyone who has access to internet, look it up - they're super cool. We went to the aquarium and rain forest pyramids - they're at least 10 stories tall. It was an amazing experience. We got to go with the Galveston District, so there was a decent sized group of us.

We also had interviews with President Hall on Wednesday. It was nice to have the chance to get to know him better, even though he asked most of the questions. We also got to chill with the rest of the Galveston zone also, so that was fun. We had a lot of scripture chases and discussions near the end of it.

Investigator wise, this week hasn't done to well - a lot of our investigators have been out of town or just not responding. But that's ok. As President Ashton always said - the tougher things get, the closer you are to success. I'm a firm believer in that. It's not until you're really pushing that Satan really pushes back.

But we did have an incredible lesson with P and her children this week. We taught her the Restoration last week, and we went back to show the Restoration film. She connected everything from the lesson to the movie and was asking a lot of questions. We then talked to her about church and the programs for her kids. She also accepted a baptism date - we just have to get her to church. It was super cool.

I love being a missionary. Even though it's hard sometimes and bikes break and investigators go MIA, it's all worth it.

Just can't shake the soreness

I love working hard in dance and coming away from a class knowing that I'm going to be sore for the next few days. The hard thing though is when other life activities come into play and add to the soreness (aka gym classes, yardwork, etc.). That makes it really interesting the next time at dance, or really any other activity - you just can't shake the soreness because you keep making yourself sore. In the end though, it makes you stronger, because you have to work twice as hard to do those things you normally would be able too. 

So I've basically been sore all week. I'm so grateful it's preparation day! Why have I been sore you ask? Well let me tell you... We've been biking :) 

Let me explain two things really quick. One, our area is huge - it has long stretches of two major highways. And two, we're not a bike area. But we're basically a bike area lately. It's because we live in Galveston. We have enough miles to get into our area in the morning, get home at night, and drive around a little. So we've been biking all week :)

It's been hot.

Nothing else needs to be said.

It actually isn't bad in the evening, but daytime is a nightmare. I am more tan now than I have literally ever been in my life. My tan lines are super defined. Texas sun will do that to you. Especially the days you forget to put on sunscreen... 

But it's been a good week. We've met a lot of new people and had a lot of adventures. I fell off my bike twice that first day - no injury, just scares.

I've also been drinking more water than I ever have in my life. I've set a minimum of two water bottles a day. We refrigerate one and freeze the other so it can melt as the day goes on. We have also made a rule that we have to drink a Gatorade daily as well.

I'm going to be so strong by the end of this.

In other news, I gave a talk on Sunday. It was pretty interesting. The nice thing about branches is the audience isn't very big. Or maybe that's not a good thing. Because then you can look at every single person right in the eyes. It went well though.

We also did a free car wash this week as a district. That was fun. The district is two sets of Elders - a pair and a trio - and us. So we had two Elders on the street holding signs, the other three and the branch mission leader washing cars, and we were inside teaching people. The Elders invited everyone getting their car washed to the air conditioned inside, where we were waiting with water, restrooms, and pamphlets. We saw a lot of miracles doing that.

So yeah, it's been a good week. I'll be sending lots of pictures next week, we're off on new adventures today :)

New Teachers

The start of a dance season is met with excitement and challenges. I love moving up a level and being presented with new material and more advanced work. But that usually means that I will be in a different class with a new teacher. Every teacher has a different style of teaching, and more than that, teachers have often been trained in different styles of dance themselves. Take ballet for example. There are Italian, French and Russian techniques, and a teacher could have been trained (and therefore teach) in any of those three techniques. Each is similar but has stark differences. It's a challenge to adjust to the new technique and style, but dancing becomes stronger because of it.

So we have a new Mission President. President Hall. 

He arrived a week ago. It's been an interesting week.

We got to meet him on Wednesday. We had two special zone conferences (one that morning and one that afternoon) to meet him and his family and to hear his ideas for the mission moving forward. That was a super cool experience. It was nice to hear him say that he doesn't intend to replace the Ashtons or demean anything they did - he just wants to stand on President Ashton's shoulders to move the work forward.

The painter is Magritte

He also has this focus for the mission that is based on the painting with a French name that I can't remember. But it's all about perspicacity. The painting is of a painter who is looking at an egg, but painting a bird. He sees what the egg can become. That's what President Hall wants our vision to be as well. We see ourselves for what we can become. We see others for who they can become. We see others as Christ sees them.

Then I had MLC the next day, so I was able to spend some time up close and personal with President and Sister Hall. Along with 23 Zone Leaders and the other nine Sister Training Leaders. But I learned a lot from the experience and I'm excited to see what President Hall will change moving forward. I know he's meant to be here to lead the mission at this time.

Other than that, it's been a busy week. We've been working hard to "find" and we've seen a lot of blessings come. We've been teaching S for a couple of weeks, but in the last week or so we're met M+P, D+J, L and Miss J. I've really gained a testimony of OYM-ing (see D&C 33:10..."Open Your Mouth").

I'm excited to see what this next week will bring. I love it here in Texas City. I know I'm where the Lord wants me to be.