January 6, 2014: A Fresh Start to the New Year!!!

Happy New Year Y'all! Or as they say in espanol, prospero ano!

We went outside this morning to the chilly 23 degree weather...They say this week is going to be brutally cold..not looking forward to that haha..

So, let's begin..Last Tuesday, we woke up early to drive down to houston to drop off our dear mama g...RIP Hermana Gutierrez! Cady Hopkins also drove down to say goodbye..Transfer meeting was insanely busy..A lot of people were going home which meant that a lot of companionships were being changed..We didn't pick up a companion so we're not in a trio (thank goodness)...Elder Smith went home so Elder Field's new companion is Elder Nymeyer! We served together in the Klein Zone and he's awesome!

All of the sisters from my MTC district were at the meeting..that was the first time we were all together since July.

Crazy thing, two of them got paired up together for a companionship! And Sister Ae? My friend from BYU who lived in Ewa Beach, Hawaii? She was there! I love transfer meetings!!

Okay...moving forward to missionary work..

After we left transfer meeting, we drove to the temple and walked Cady around the grounds while teaching her a lesson about the temple. She wanted to go in soo badly and she told us that she wished she could be with us all of the time. She feels like we help her become a better person..GET BAPTIZED CADY! Goodness, Cady just needs to get baptized. We asked her if she thought Andrew would be okay with getting married in court and then have a big wedding the following year...She said she didn't know..So we're going to continue to pray that Andrew's heart will soften...We also saw Hermana G at the temple, all of the departing missionaries did a session so that's when we said goodbye to her.. :(

Mighty miracle of the week:

We didn't have any time to go grocery shopping on Monday so we were disobedient and shopped on tuesday..We told each other that we were going to talk to as many people as possible to make up for it..So we were walking around the store and this blonde girl in her 20's ran up to us screaming, "Oh my gosh it's the sisters!!!" My first thought was, "Please tell me this girl had a dream she needed to join the church..." Well my thought was wrong...instead, something way better happened! She began to tell us how she just moved in LAST NIGHT from BYU-I..They slept on the floor of their apartment while their huge U-Haul was parked and loaded with stuff. They tried calling Bishop B but he has been out of town so they haven't been able to reach them. Alison and Grant (the couple) have been so worried on how their going to move all of their stuff..it would take them ALL day to do it..They kept praying throughout the day that the Lord would send help, then they ran into us! So we were able to arrange for the elders and other people to come and help them move all of their stuff...under an hour! It was such a tender mercy from the Lord.

We got a phone call later that day from some Elders in the College Park Ward (40ish minutes south of us)..They had been teaching an investigator named Adriann who goes to Sam Houston. The reason why they've been teaching her is because she works down there and goes to church there...But they handed her off to us and she's getting baptized this Saturday! We taught her a lesson on Thursday and we're going to be seeing her a few more times this week. She's going to attend Institute here and church like once a month (when she's not working)..When she works on Sundays, she goes to sacrament down in College Park and then goes to work... For that lesson, we brought Alison with us and she's so awesome! She had her scriptures and Preach My Gospel in hand when we picked her up hehe...Tonight, Alison and Grant are coming with us to have dinner and a lesson with Adriann! 

Wahoo!! The YSA Branch and Institute are going to see great growth this year, I can feel it!

On Friday, I hit my six month mark! Can you believe it? Craziness.

We were so blessed this week to teach so many people..Last night we saw Maria (spanish) for the first time since Hermana G went home..Since her husband wasn't home, we didn't want to teach the Restoration again without him so we set up a return appointment. I asked Maria if she had been reading and she said, "A little...But I know that it's perfect, it's true, and it's the word of God." WHAT. Holy cow, I was not expecting that response!!! She said that she has wanted to come to church so badly but she's affraid to take her little babies outside in the cold..She said, "I'm coming next Sunday, it better be warm!" Maria and David are so getting baptized this transfer!

Oh to answer your question mom..Hermana Hosking and I are going to be together for a whole transfer :) Wahoo!!!

Wanna hear a weird new years tradition that Texas/the south does? They eat Black eyed peas and cabbage for good luck and wealth...let's just say that I've eaten enough of peas and cabbage to fill me up for a life time!

Well...that's all I can think of..I've been so busy that I haven't set any goals for the new year..but I hope I can read the book of mormon again in six months but this time...in spanish! It has been promised that if you read it cover to cover, you'll be fluent when you finish! I need that promise!!

I'd like to finish with my testimony...HE LIVES!

I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. We have a living prophet today who leads us while the world goes so far astray..I know with all my heart that I'm doing the right thing: Bringing others closer to Christ by helping them prepare for baptism, and eventually, the ordinances of the temple.

The Kingdom of God or Nothing.

Love,

Hermana Emma Seymour