I am in Texas!
So first impressions.
1. it is flat flat flat.
2. It is warm and that is my kind of weather
Where do I even begin?
My flight went great. I sat next to a man named Rod. He is in his 30's, married, and has two sons. He is from Wyoming but works for two weeks in Texas and then goes home for two weeks. I was so nervous to talk to him because I could just feel the little voice in my head, "you are a missionary, you have to talk to people" haha So I said a prayer in my heart that I would be guided to what I could say to share the gospel with Rod and then started talking! We had a lot of small chat. He would ask what I was doing and I answered I am a missionary. Then we would sit in silence. So then I would ask have you heard of Mormons? and then he would say yep. Then more silence. I was thinking that this would go absolutely no where, and any minute now he was going to put on his headphones and that would be it. But to my surprise, He kept talking to me. And it was great. I honestly don't remember all the details to our conversation, but we talked about church and the importance of raising families the best you can. Teaching your kids to be good people and then hoping what you taught them was enough to help them make good choices. He told me that one day he would pick a church and go to it. So of course I said "well what about the Mormon church?" we laughed but that opened up the way to asking questions. It was a funny conversation. I remember laughing a lot but also feeling the spirit and bearing my testimony. I gave him the Book of Mormon and I promised him if he would read it with an open mind that he would see the importance of it. He promised he would read it, but he also made me promise I would read a book called the godmakers...pretty sure it is some anti-literature. So don't look it up haha that stuff is poison. But I told him I would at least read some of it so he would at least read some of the Book of Mormon. And there we go! The first Book of Mormon and the only Book of Mormon I have given.
So after training, dinner and a devotional, then the next day more training we finally got assigned to our new companion and area. I am serving in a trio with Sister Fullmer, and Sister Nielsen. We are serving in the Woodlands. First off, my trainers are the sweetest girls I have ever met. They are so kind and so loving. I feel lucky to have them. The second they were called up and were describing the area they served in I knew they were my companions. I know that we will do great work here. Second, the Woodlands is WEALTHY!!! the houses are literally huge. Like all the sizes of the Knoxs. no lie. We are very blessed. Our apartment is nice, has a big bathroom and plenty of room. It has a gym we go to in the mornings as well. We have a brand new car to drive as well. The members are so nice. I met a lot of them yesterday for the first time and so far since I have been here we have had dinners in members homes every night. They are so giving. I tell you all of this not to brag but just to let you know I feel soooooo blessed. The Lord has given me a lot in this area so I know now that the least I can do is give him my all.
So to try and recap the last few days as quickly as possible.
My first day out we went tracting, just for an hour. We knocked on doors and asked people if they would like to hear a message about Christ. The lucky thing is people here love Christ. There is a church on every corner, different churches I might add. So talking about religion here is easy and common. That is a blessing. The hard thing is everyone has strong loyalties to there church so it is hard for them to open there hearts that there is more to church then what they have. We ran into a lady who was outside with her granddaughter. Oh this was an experience. We started talking about Christ and she just started bashing. She told us that we are going to hell because we are leading people away from Christ with our "other bible" She told me that if I were to read it that book and study it more I would realize my wrong. I stood my ground. I told her that I studied the Book of Mormon daily and that I would stand by it until the day I died. She looked at me and said well I am going to Heaven, but I wont be seeing you there. What an experience for the first day. It is hard because most of these people believe everything we believe, they are just missing one or two of the puzzle pieces. You can't argue with them though so as we saw that all she wanted was to argue we respectfully left.
Sister Nielsen and Sister Fullmer have been working hard and we actually have a good number of investigators and progressing investigators. I haven't met a lot of them yet though. I met Betty and Eric McDaniel. They are a good family and we went and read from 3rd Nephi 11 with them. The spirit was there. Eric had done some reading in the book of Mormon. We testified to them that if they prayed specifically, and kept their minds and hearts open, that they would know if the book was true and if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I guess in the last lesson they had a hard time with Joseph Smith. But this lesson was a turn around and Eric said he would pray to know if Joseph Smith was a true prophet. Lets hope he does it.
I have learned that you really can not do missionary work without the Lord. Duh that is silly to say but it is something that you really have to learn and strive to do. Saturday was a good day and definitely a good learning day. So the sisters had a total inspiration a few weeks ago to go around and ask if we could rake people lawns. The woodlands is full of trees. literally you can't see anything but trees. It is beautiful but has a lot of leaves as you can imagine. So that is why this service project is brilliant. They have found a few investigators from doing so. So Saturday we went out to found lawns to rake. We knocked on one door and the mans reaction was just so unexpected I had to laugh! He said "Guess what! I am excommunicated! I'm the devil!" and shut the door in our face. So that was exciting. The next door we knocked a young boy answered. He said he would ask his dad and then came back saying it was okay. So we started raking. About 45 mins into the little boy came out with water for us. It was so sweet. An hour later the dad came out. His name is Roul. His family is from Mexico but has been living in the states for a few years. He apologized for not being able to come out sooner but he was working. He was so kind and so appreciative of all that we had done. We told him we were missionaries and asked him what his religious background was. After discussing for a few we asked if he would be interested in letting us come back to share a message with him. He said yes, but he just needed to ask his wife. I couldn't help but feel pure joy. I know we needed to meet Roul that day, even if to just perform the service. This week we will contact him and hopefully set up a time to go and meet with his family.
So the learning part of Saturday. I was feeling really confident, and happy. We have had a few cancelations but other then that things are going great for the first few days. Well after a dinner appointment with a family, our phone fell out of my bag and into their car. So we got dropped off and had no phone. I felt horrible that I lost it. We were by an investigators house though that I hadn't met yet but the Sisters came up with the idea to ask to use her phone. That is exactly what we did and as we talked to her she started bringing up prophets and why it was wrong to believe in them and wrong to put a man before God. I tried my best to stay loving and it was going well at first. But then I stopped listening to the spirit and just wanted her so badly to understand why we needed a prophet. It turned into a debate and it was wrong. It wasn't heated but it was still wrong. I could tell the spirit wasn't teaching anymore but I was still trying. I could feel the difference of lessons that we had had early that had the spirit teaching. We left and I just started to cry. I cried because I realized that a mission is not going to be easy. I cried because I felt inadequate and then I felt homesick. I cried because I didn't know how I was going to be able to do it. But then I realized as the Sisters talked to me and comforted me that I wasn't suppose to be able to do it. The Lord needs to do it. The spirit is what does the teaching not me. I just need to trust and turn it over. Easier said then done of course. It was a good learning experience for me. I needed that. The song "how firm a foundation" came to my mind
"Fear not, I am with thee. Oh be not dismayed. For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand. Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand."
The Lord is with me and because of that I cannot fail and should not fear.
The Lord is with all of you too. Remember, we have been given this gospel not to just bless our lives but to bless others. Share it. We have too. We have to be bold because if we are not some people may miss out. We have to help everyone and love everyone. That is where true joy comes from. So be bold family, be an example. Always stand for what is right and you will be a missionary.
So Dad what is this nonsense about your hand???? surgery??? are you okay? no one told me. I do not like not being there! I am sorry Dad but I hope all is recovering well.
Mike tell me more about the dance! details people! Good for you Carter and Mike to go find lawns to mow. I hope you find lots and lots. Erin I love that you wear your purple Texas shirt and support me so much by putting posts on instagram. I feel your love. I love you sibling and miss you all.
Love you mommy and daddy. Don't worry about me, really Texas is going to be very good to me. Thank you for emailing me once again! Until next week! also give my love to the Holmsteads and their new pool, to the Remunds, and to Danielle and Ashlyn. as great as the ward members are here, no one is better then GV 4th ward.
xoxo
Sister Niedert
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