IT'S AUTUMN TIME!!

 This is my dear friend Evelyn. Her favorite phrase is

"Jesus loves you and so do I".

 The "District"

 

11/18/13

Buenos Buenos mi querida familia!

Well. What a crazy past twenty four hours it has been! So it is transfer week. Last night they made transfer calls. Our district leader called us and said we were all staying the same for the next transfer! … Then the assistants called us at 10:53 (yes we were already out cold) and said that due to the change in our ward, they were going to be pulling one of the companionships out of the area! Right now we currently have three. So since my dear, dear amiga Hermana Koerner is returning to Indiana tomorrow (seriously, I can't even express how much I love her), Hermana Townsend, who is currently in the south area, and I are going to be companions and just cover both areas! Which means... Hermana Tanner is leaving! Ah. Seriously this change thing never gets easier. Hermana Tanner is so amazing and I am going to miss her so much! I am so grateful that I have had the chance to be with her, and I am also so excited to serve with Hermana Townsend! We actually came into the field together, and we served in Woodlands ward together for three transfers, and last transfer here in Westgreen. She is from Murray! (So, I've now had a companion from Skyline, Murray, and Northridge... I'm thinking Alta or Jordan next? :) ) I am going to miss Hermana Tanner muchisimo, but we know that God always gives us these new opportunities to learn! It is a bit intimidating that we are going to be covering two areas, but I know we just have to depend on the Lord, plan really well, and use our time wisely.

Well, as for our last week together, it has been really awesome! Last night there was a miracle especially that reminded me how much God really does love His children and worries about them. So there is a less active family that we have really been trying to work with, especially because they have an eight year old who really wants to be baptized, but he can't because his family isn't going to church. Well we have been mentioning it to the ward council, and we had been praying lots. Well, last night after dinner we felt that we should visit them. When we showed up, guess who was there? Just the Bishop and the Primary President; and the best part is that they didn't even coordinate. I guess the Bishop was visiting, when the Primary president knocked on the door, and then just a little bit later we showed up! If that doesn't show how much our Heavenly Father cares about them and their decisions, I don't know what does!

Also, this past week we have had a few different really great experiences to teach the plan of salvation. One was with one of the jovenes we have been teaching, and the other with a man we just found one day when we were knocking. As for the fifteen year old, he really doesn't have much religious background at all. He was asking us about reincarnation, and all sorts of different beliefs, also a lot of questions about why there are bad things in the world. Well, as we (and the spirit) explained from the beginning, really the purpose of life, he was so invested. The whole concept of why we even have our bodies fascinated him! That God truly wants us to become like Him, and that's why it is so important for us to come to earth and have these experiences. That the trials we face are so important for us, because they help us to complete our purpose here, if we learn from them. At the end of the lesson he offered the most sincere prayer and just thanked God for helping him learn that he really does have a purpose here on earth.

As for the other hombre, he has a lot of religious background, but also a lot of scientific background. As we explained the plan he brought up atoms and galaxies and asked where is God, and the word Kolob almost slipped my tongue, but really it just came down to the fact that if we knew we wouldn't need faith; that we don't have all the answers. We shared one of my favorite scriptures in this sort of situation in 1 Nephi 11:16-17... "Knowest thou the ^acondescension of God? And I said unto him: I know that He loveth His children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." We don't know everything. But one thing is for sure. I know that God loves His children more than we can even imagine. I know that the love I have developed for the people here in Texas doesn't even compare in the slightest to the love that God has for them, and that is saying something, because sometimes I feel like my heart is just going to explode like the Grinch.

Pues mis queridos, I hope that you have an amazing day. This past week in district meeting we focused a lot on the Book of Mormon and I was asked to prepare a little splurge on my testimony of the Book of Mormon. As I was thinking about what I wanted to share, it really came down to the fact that it is such solid evidence of the love God truly has for us. The whole book is full of stories of His mercy (1 Nephi 1:20), the purpose is to help us know how to return to Him (1 Nephi 13:40), and the best part is that it comes with a promise that we can know if all these things are true for ourselves (Moroni 10:3-5), all we have to do is ask! So why not try it out and then share it?! :)

I love you all so much and I really hope you have a great week! I am so excited to see what the Lord has in store this next transfer (which is going to bring in the New Year! How fast is time flying??) Just remember to replace fear with faith. God knows what He is doing, so just trust in Him!

les quiero demasiado,

Hermana Draper

This is what happens when you go a week without a dinner invitation...

You end up eating with the J-DUBS!