Week #34 - Spreading Christmas Cheer for All to Hear

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Texas!

So this week was so wonderful!  We have had so much fun caroling with our District and Zone leaders!  And we had lots of opportunities to share "A Savior is Born!"

This week we had a really cool experience.  We had some finding time on our hands so we silently sat and pondered where the Lord would send us. I keep seeing the word "Meadows" in my head and Sister Bates said, "There aren't any streets with the name meadow that I know of, but let's check the GPS ..."  The nearest street with anything named "Meadow" was 32 miles away.  So we started driving ... and driving ... and then we decided to turn into a certain subdivision.  We turned into it and the third street we saw was named ... Sunlight Meadows Lane .... !!!!  It was awesome ...

We started down the street and no one was home, but we did find a lady who was standing in her front yard.  We approached her and asked if we could sing a Christmas Carol to her, but she replied, "I don't celebrate Christmas..."  We said, "That's okay!  Can we still sing to you anyway?!" She said sure.  We sang "Away in A Manger" and she totally opened up to us.  She explained how she believes in Christ but doesn't celebrate Christmas because the world has made it too commercialized.  We testified to her that the True meaning of Christmas IS Jesus Christ and that we had a message we knew she'd love.  She had to leave to go somewhere, but we gave her a Christmas.mormon.org card and she said she would watch it. 

She also asked if she could take our picture to post on her social media sites because she was so blown away that Caroling still exists (and she said she has several friends who are  Mormon and she wanted them to see us.  Haha  We made sure our name tags were clearly visible and let her post away. :)  It was an amazing experience and miracle!

This week was also Mission Conference!  It was sooooo much fun!  Sister Bates and I actually sang for the wholeeeee mission!  We sang "Away in a Manger!"  The spirit was so powerful and "The best way to share Christmas cheer is singing loud for ALL to hear!"

Christmas was great because I was able to Skype my cute family!  It was wonderful seeing all of their wonderful faces!  It feels like just yesterday that we were together and I didn't realize it, but I will hit my half way mark next month...SCARY!  Time is going by waaaay to fast for me.

SKYPING WITH PARENTS AND LITTLE BROTHER ...

. . . PLUS AUNT AND UNCLES

Being a missionary is so much fun and I'm so glad I have this time to dedicate to the Lord because He has truly given us everything. This season has been great and full of service and love.  We just need to remember to keep the Spirit of Christ with us always! :)

Thanks everyone for the wonderful examples you are to me and everyone else!  I love the gospel and being able to share it 24/7 is such a blessing!

Love you all and stay safe!

Soooo here are some pics! :)

Happy Holidays!

Love,
Sister Pinster

Christmas Eve and matching PJs!

Week #33 - New Comp and New District - BACK IN HOUSTON

Hey Y'all!

So I had a big email typed up but then my iPad shut off and it didn't save...sad.

But my new area is amazing!  I love it so much!  And my new comp, SISTER BATES, is the bomb! Seriously we have waaaay too much fun! She's my bff and I love this area as well! We are serving in Bear Creek! It's the best! The Ward is so great and I love being so close to the city as well! It's bittersweet to leave the country but mission life is just so amazing! 

We took sooooo many pics together, so get ready... :) 

I never have enough time to write, but I will be better next week! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS and watch #ASaviorisBorn this season and share it with friends!

Oh, and my new address is:

Sister Taylor Pinster

15903 Yorktown Crossing Pkwy

Apt. 1316

Houston, TX 77084

Love you all!

❤️

Love,

Sister Pinster

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE BEAR CREEK SISTERS!
SISTER BATES AND SISTER PINSTER

I FOUND THIS B OF M AT A THRIFT STORE ... IT IS OVER 50 YEARS OLD!
 FEELING LUCKY!!!!

Taylor's New Address:

Sister Taylor Pinster
15903 Yorktown Crossing Parkway, Apt. 1316
Houston, TX  77084

Week #32 - Temple 2X and Transfers. Goodbye Caldwell!

Hey Everyone!

So this week has been one of the best weeks of my whole mission.  No joke.  So many miracles and wonderful things are happening in these two branches!

First off, I am getting transferred tomorrow. It's so bittersweet leaving here, but I know there is more for me to do, and other people to share the gospel with!

We were able to go to the Temple as a district on Wednesday and WOW.  The Temple truly is the House of the Lord.  What a blessing to have the Houston Temple in my mission and so close. :)

So Friday was the Hearne Branch's Christmas party and the Caldwell Branch's was on Saturday.  We had lots of non-members there!  It was so much fun to see everyone and this time of year truly is the best because everyone is in the Christmas spirit!

On Sunday, President Mortensen (our Mission President) came to Hearne Branch's sacrament meeting to speak and we had about 25 people! Seriously--it was awesome! And on top of that, our investigator Susan (who was first interested in just Family History but now is getting the lessons) came to church for the first time and committed to be baptized on Jan 16!!!!!!!  She already has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and has been praying for God to send her more knowledge. She has been through so much and she's the sweetest lady ever. We are so excited for her!

After church, it was Potluck Sunday and talk about yummy food ... anyways after that we were able to go to the Temple Tours with Susan, her granddaughter, and Brother Floyd Hafley! What an experience! Seriously! :)

It's so bittersweet to leave this area, but I'm just so excited to see what the future holds!

Everyone have a great week and holiday season!  Thanks!

Love,

Sister Pinster

AFTER PIC AT COLLEGE STATION ZONE MEETING -- LOVE THESE MISSIONARIES!

TEMPLE TRIP WITH THE DISTRICT

TEMPLE TOUR WITH SISTER HOLTSCLAW, SUSAN AND HER GRANDDAUGHTER,
BRO. FLOYD HAFLEY & SISTER PINSTER

GOODBYE CALDWELL, TEXAS
(Taylor--where did you get the black hat and boots?)

Misc Pictures

TEMPLE TOUR WITH PEOPLE FROM HEARNE

OUR MISSION PRESIDENT MEETS OUR INVESTIGATOR

Week #31 - December is here!

Hello Everyone!

Okay where do I even start ...This week has been full of miracles and blessings! Let me just give y'all a run down ...

So, Saturday was Bryson's baptism!!!!! The Spirit is so strong at baptisms and his non-member family was there! He is such a bright kid! His mom, Erin, was officially reactivated on Sunday! And her daughter, 8 months, was blessed for her baby blessing! Talk about a family gathering...we had almost 30 people in sacrament! The typical Sunday is about 12 in Hearne!

Also on Sunday, Brother Floyd Hafley received the Priesthood! Wow! What an amazing feeling it is to know I was part of his conversion. He's so amazing and my grandpa. I have officially adopted him.  :)

This week we have been sharing the new video the Church put out, "A Savior is Born" with EVERYONE!  Not kidding, everyone. It's only 2 minutes and people normally have time for it! I would love to challenge everyone to share this video on Facebook or anyway you can so others can discover why we have and need a Savior! :)

Sister Ramos and her family came to church and the Branch has adopted her as well!

I love this season because everyone is so open to hearing more about the Savior. So many miracles have already happened and I know there are many to come!

I hope everyone is staying warm and remembers to put more of Christ into Christmas this year. :)

Love,
Sister Pinster

AT BRYSON'S BAPTISM

LOOK WHO I FOUND AT ZONE CONFERENCE THIS WEEK.  MY FAVORITE LITTLE SISTER!!!
(Sister Selee with an injured/broken? finger from playing volleyball - Ouch!)

OH, AND A TEXAS SANTA!  HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS!