Great Week!

So this week after six long months of trying, pep talk after pep talk, lesson upon lesson Jay and Bianca finally got hitched! Jay has been wanting to be baptized for the longest time but has needed to get married before that would be possible. Bianca has met tons and tons of resistance from her family this whole time and finally had the faith to tell them that she is getting married and either they can support her in that or not. Well it was one of the happiest days of my mission so far. They were so happy and they did it! Then the next day Jay was baptized and to quote him 'It felt amazing!!" Next week he will receive the holy ghost and the Aaronic priesthood!

Also this week we got to meet with Cynthia again. She had texted us asking if we could teach her more about temples and how eternal families are possible, she said that she had been feeling angry for having her husband taken from her like he was. And so we were over in a flash. We taught and we testified, and in the very end of the lesson one of her daughters brought me a book. She said "here this is for you, we accidentally took it from the church after the funeral" it was a hymn book. So we opened it and sang them Families can be together forever. Now normally Elder Riding and I aren't the greatest singers, but in this lesson I know angels were attending. The spirit that we felt and the power of the words we sang was amazing. Truly God loves His children to send us not only His son but the Holy Ghost as well. Cynthia is working towards finding that peace and baptism this coming month so that in a years time she and her family can be sealed to her husband and family for time and all eternity. please pray for her.

This week has been one of miracles after many trials for each of our brothers and sisters. we were blessed with the opportunity to give many blessings this week, with each blessing I began to see each person more in the eyes of their Heavenly Father. Please everyone turn to our Father in prayer this week. Be fervent, be honest, and pray without ceasing. I know and testify the God loves his children so so much, truly "hay un Dios" and He is our Father in Heaven. I love and pray for you all, I hope you have an amazing week,

They got engaged! 

Great card & treats from the Youngs in Canada!

Wedding celebrations!

 

Happiest day!

The after party :)

Burning fire ants

Tobias - master bbq'er

The awesome sister missionaries!

Hello Fam

So this week Elder Riding and I went to a member's home and shared a lesson to the mother about how her faithfulness can bless her son's life. Well the next day we received a call that he had been murdered in the night at work. The shock was incredible but the family asked us to come over and give them priesthood blessings. The wife of the man who had been killed was not a member but we taught on the temple and blessed them all. Seeing the gospel hold the answers they needed was incredible. The temple and the priesthood took this family from a state of grief to hope. I know that this work is God's work and that temples are the very house of God, I love you all have a great week!

The comp & I.

Best homemade cheeseburger yet!

Doing service.

Yup, he does!

Elder Stone & I

Caught a possum at the zone leader's.

:)

So this week was crazy. Michelle ran off to the valley for the weekend to see family that came up from Mexico which I guess never happens. So her baptism will be postponed a little. But on the super awesome side of things! All of Grace's kids came to church this Sunday for the first time ever! So Jay and Bianca are talking about marriage and figuring out when they want to make it happen because they want to be baptized. The Gonzalaz fam this week finally made the decision to go for it and to do everything they can to be baptized on the 25th of this month. 

This week Elder Riding and I went to the prison that was super cool. We weren't supposed to be able to see our guy but the sheriff pulled a few strings and we ended up teaching in prison which was very cool. At first the Spirit was most definitely not in that place but once we started teaching, the Spirit came in super strong and the man we were teaching felt it super strong and so could we. It was so cool to see our brother in such a humble state like he was there. It made me think of in Alma Chapter 31 how the people by their circumstance had been humbled while the Lord wants us just to make the decision to be humble. 

All is going super well in Beeville. This week we had our very last conference with President Maluenda which was sooo amazing! I love that man to death! Every single question I went with was answered by the Spirit it was an amazing experience! Well I love you all and hope you have a great week I'll have more photos next week! Con todo mi corazon.

Someone (me thinks the sisters) left us quarters in our laundry for the dryer!

Now that's love!

Sister Rivera putting on the armor of God for a training.
We ended up throwing water balloons at her and she defended it like a champ!

Our door when we got home Sunday night. :)

Great Week Eh?

So what a wonderful week it has been! 

• We got a new sister in the district, her name is Sister Rivera. First change in forever up here in the great white north. 
• In sacrament the missionaries had a surprise musical number. Surprise to us  - I didn't know they planned for us to sing. So we sang for the ward, thank goodness the sisters can sing. 
• The Book of Mormon is awesome!
• I got a hair cut today from a guy that learned in prison. Gave it to me on their front porch it was awesome! 
• Spent just about the whole week soaked because of storms rolling through. The deal here is that if you wear a jacket on the bike you will be soaked in sweat, or without - soaked in rain but not smelly. So we rock the wet T-shirt contest here in South Texas;)  
• This week was so filled with miracles! Rebecca was confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday and it was by far the most spiritual confirmation that I have ever been a part of! The Spirit is the greatest gift we can have while down here on this earth. If you can't have Jesus Christ in your presence well then you better have the Spirit. 
• This last week the Lord was busy. One day on a way to an appointment we saw this car was driving towards us and we recognized it. It was the car to this less active family, the Gonzalez's, that we had gone by and they hadn't let us in anytime we went over. Well they saw us, put on their hazard lights and pulled over to the side of the road. They told us to come over that night. They are the coolest family ever!! We had the best time with them talking reading and getting to know each other. Well the whole family came to church on Sunday! The mother and her two daughters are working towards baptism at the end of the month and their dad is working to be a worthy priesthood holder again so maybe he can baptize them! They are soo great!  
• Michelle, our best friend from Mexico, wants to be baptized this Saturday! She is going to have her interview tomorrow and we are super excited for her:) She is super cool! She has been coming to church and loving it! She has the cutest kids and hopes that her husband will follow her example!
• Also Grace's daughter and daughter in law came to church this week too!! Amber says church is "alright" but really she loves it! I've seen it changing her a lot, little by little as she acts. And Bianca came to church! After months of us trying to get her their after literally anything and everything a missionary can do she came! but not because of us in the slightest! That was and is 100% the Lord's hand! You could see it in her! She came with a total change of heart, she was humble and seeking to learn! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! 

I know with out a doubt in my heart that this is the Lord's work. That God loves His children and has a perfect plan for each of them! And when we are humble and come unto Him in faith willing to act, that's when God makes miracles happen! I hope you guys have a great week I love ya'll a ton! 

Con todo el amor en mi corazon