Week #73 - FNL and Mission Tour!

HEY Y'ALL! 

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ...

In Texas, Friday Night Football is a religion. 🏈 

We decided we needed to "be where the people are," as our Mission President has said.  He wants us to be seen  by the people in the community and what better way than going to the Football Game! AND our Branch President is the Head Coach and was introducing us to a lot of his friends!  It felt funny being in nice clothes at a football game, but it definitely was a great experience and a lot of new people to meet and visit with! 

So that was Friday night ... and this Friday we should be going to another game for another team in our area as well!  Hence, we cover over 12 small towns ... Yay for Friday Night Football! 

We also had the opportunity to meet one the Seventy this week, Elder Larry Echo Hawk!  What an honor to shake the hand of a Seventy!  We were able to have a mini Zone Conference or Mission Tour with him on Thursday!  I learned soooo much and it was truly inspiring!  He and his wife are both converts and LOVE missionaries!  It was super cool to hear their stories and really reflect on how big of an impact we truly have on others! :) 

 

We were also able to see Women's Conference this weekend as well! Soooo many great things but I do want to quote President Uchtdorf on a couple things he said about faith ...

"The purpose of faith is not to change God’s will but to empower us to act on God’s will. Faith is trust—trust that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not.  Sometimes, trusting our own vision and judgment is not enough. …

Faith means that we trust not only in God’s wisdom but that we trust also in His love.  It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does—every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds—is for our eternal happiness.

With this kind of faith, though we may not understand why certain things happen or why certain prayers go unanswered, we can know that in the end everything will make sense ..." 

Faith = Trust

I had never really thought about faith this way but it all makes sense! 

I am soooo grateful for the gospel and for the opportunity we have this weekend to hear from our Prophet and his Apostles. 

Hope y'all all have a safe and fun week! :) 

Love y'all!

Sister Pinster

THE ORIGINAL MTC TRIO
(Crazy to think we only have 8 weeks left)

Elder Seamons -- one of my fav Elders!

TEXAS FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
AT THE FOOTBALL GAME!
GO BUFFALO BISON!

AND WE CLEANED OUR TRUCK!

Week #72 - Dani's Baptism and "BRANDED" for Texas

Hey y'all! 

Well, I don't have much time today but great things are happening here in Madisonville and Crockett Texas! We officially have family history classes for both areas and we are soooo excited to get the community involved and feel the spirit of Elijah! 

We had Dani's baptism on Sunday and it was so sweet! She was so excited and looks so pretty. We were able to sing "A Child's Prayer" right before and the spirit hit SO STRONG. There was not a dry eye in the audience after her baptism. 

Life's been crazy busy and we are still driving soooo much but we are finding the people! :) 

We also got in a little car accident yesterday ... But we got "Branded" by the truck in front us with his Texas Star tail gate! We all thought it was pretty funny and did no damage to his truck ... but our poor Rosie was a little hurt ... all is well! 

Oh, and we gave talks in sacrament meeting yesterday ALL about missionary work ... imagine that?  It was so good and I love the members in our branches here.

I also got to see LOTS of animals this week so get ready for some animals pics! :) 

Love y'all ALL so much and have a great week! 

COWS

Momma Bear - Just had 10 Puppies!!!!

Huntsville District - Floral Friday - Sister Powell!

Last lesson with Dani before her baptism

Dani's Baptism

Poor Rosie -- Branded for Texas.  Sad face.

Yes, we are all holding SNAKES

I FOUND "HILLSBORO" STREET!!!

Week #71 - ANOTHER MIRACLE WEEK!

Hey Y'all - HEY!

So we have some BIG MIRACLES this week to share!!

On Wednesday, we had a lesson with our investigator Allison!  As we were sharing the First Vision, the lights dimmed and the sun shined right on us and Allison noticed it!  She took that as her answer that what we were sharing is TRUE and it was super cool!! :) The spirit was soooo strong and I just love serving a mission.

We also had a lesson planned with a less active family (who are becoming active) and they ended up inviting a friend over to listen to the lessons!  They gave him a Book of Mormon and when we met him he had already read the first 18 chapters!!  He has had a rough life and knows God has led him here for a reason!  It was sooo amazing and his name is Robert (Bobby)!

Okay, before I move on, we have this eternigator named Bill.  An eternigator is someone who has been taking the discussions for a really long time and is like super close to getting baptized.  In Bill's case, 20 years.  Well... 

HE WILL BE GETTING BAPTIZED ON OCTOBER 8TH!!!! 

This is seriously nothing short of a miracle.  It took us about two months to just to earn his trust.  He is so sassy and he loves us now.  The Spirit got him in the end!  So, never give up on people when you feel that they want this.

Okay so story time!

This week, our Branch Pres in Crockett talked with the Judge of Crockett about us as the new missionaries! He was so excited to hear about what we do to share the gospel and even though he is not a member, he is grateful for us.  He ended up giving our Branch Pres a $100 bill to give to us for food and stuff!  We told him we couldn't except it and Pres Ross tried to give it back to him ... but he wouldn't take it! Haha He told him to take us out for dinner ... so we ended up going to Olive Garden with it today!  (Hence the picture of us with the $100 bill) haha

We have had so many great things happen this week!  We also had Zone Meeting with our new Zone, College Station East Zone!  So today we actually are in College Station and it's so fun being back!  I haven't been here for over a year and I love the college town!  We were able to hang out with Hermanas in our Zone and did some shopping. I will include all the pics! :)

I hope y'all all have such a great week!!

Love,

Sister Pinster

COLLEGE STATION EAST ZONE - Currently THE BEST!

The $100 bill from the Judge of Crockett!

EXCHANGES with the Huntsville Sisters

LOVE HERMANA SHEIRBON

WEST COAST REPRESENT!  PDAY shopping with my fav!

SOME OF THE BEST MEMBERS IN CROCKETT -- THE HEWETTS!

JUST A LITTLE PICK-ME-UP QUOTE!
IT'S ALL ABOUT FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

THIS IS BILL!  FINALLY GETTING BAPTIZED!

Week #70 - TEXAS LONGHORNS, SET A DATE, AND SERVICE WITH A SMILE!

Hey Y'all!

This week I FINALLY got a picture with a HUGE Texas Longhorn!  It was so great! :) 

CAN YOU SEE THE "LONG HORNS"?

We have also seen soooo many miracles!  For example, we have started working with a recently activated family and the youngest daughter, Dani, who is 11yrs old is going to get baptized this month!  We are soooo excited for her!  She is super excited as well and I love how the gospel truly brings families together!

We had our family history class in Crockett again this week and even more people came! The community here LOVES family history and they have the time to do it! Mainly folks here are retired and love finding out about their ancestors!

We were tracting last week and found a super cute family as well!  The daughter told us her dad was in heaven and tonight we are going back to share with them the plan of salvation! Yay! :) we are super excited for them!

I just love being a missionary!  Sharing the restored truths with those ready to receive them is such a blessings!

WE LOVE TEXAS!

Also, this week one of the couples we were teaching dropped us by leaving a note on the door ... and they Called me Sister Pinkstar...haha wut.  But oh well!  We just laughed about it and took a picture of course.

OREGON LANE ... out in the Boonies!

Found a super cool street in the Boonies ... AKA Oregon Lane!!

We were able to help a family who lost their home in a fire by helping sort through the rubble.  It was a very humbling experience and the family are not members but everyone helping was from our branch.  Service touches hearts so much and I'm grateful we were able to help them get back on their feet.

OUR DIRTY WHEELS, BOOTS and HELPING HANDS!

The gospel is restored and I love spreading the good news!

Well, love y'all allll so so much and enjoy school this week!

Love,
Sister Pinster

Week #69 - Temple, Family History and Prepared Peeps!

Hey Y'all!

This week has been great!  We are teaching a lot of people right now but still making sure we build up our teaching pool by finding new people as well!

We started teaching this woman, Rhonda, who truly is a miracle!  She was a self referral from headquarters and we tried to visit her before but we talked with her mom instead.  Well, last week she accidentally friended a member on Facebook and they started chatting about the gospel!  Rhonda told the member she is waiting for missionaries to bring her a Book of Mormon!  Sooo we taught her on Friday and she told us she is searching for truth and feels as though she has been led here!  The members are soooo great at answering her questions and she also came to church and LOVED it!  We feel super great about her and we are seeing her tonight as well to have an FHE with some of the members.  We hope to see her baptized next month because she truly is so prepared.  Miracles!

We also were able to go to the Temple this week on Wednesday!  What an incredible experience.  I was able to do all the work for one of MY ancestors that I had personally found ... she is actually my Great-Great-Great-Great Aunt! I love going to the Temple and feeling the spirit there, there is no place like it.

Temple with almost the whole Zone!

WE HAD OUR FIRST OFFICIAL FAMILY HISTORY CLASS IN CROCKETT THIS WEEK!  We had over 12 people there, which is super great for the 1st class!  Yay!

WE LOVE FAMILY HISTORY!

Exchanges with Sister Dickson!  I got to be a YSA Missionary for a day.  Super fun!

Met up with the Sisters in The Woodlands for lunch.  YUM!

We gave talks in Sacrament Meeting this week in Crockett and talked about missionary work as well.

Also, Sister Harris and I are staying together for another transfer!  Whoot whoot! I love her and this area! 

Love my cute comp!

This is in one of our small towns, NORMANGEE.
I LOVE THE COUNTRY LIFE!

Soooo much to do and so little time! It hit me that I truly only have 12 weeks left to serve as a full-time missionary and I plan on making it the best 3 months ever!  :)

Love y'all so much and I love the work!

Enjoy the pictures!

Love,
Sister Pinster

Week #68 - Move In Week

Hey Y'all!

Well, this week has gone by super fast and we spent a lot of time packing actually ....

WE OFFICIALLY HAVE TWO APARTMENTS IN OUR AREA! Yay! :)  We moved in and unpacked and man does it feel nice to be moved in!  The last 5 weeks we have been living in our suitcases and on the go all the time!  

My Address:

901 E. Morris #B

Madisonville, TX  77864

I don't have much time today to write, but I do want to bear my testimony to y'all ...

I know the Church is true and that this truly IS Christ's Church.  He is at the head and leads and guides us through His living Prophet, Thomas S. Monson.  I am so grateful for Sundays and the opportunity we have to partake of the sacrament to always remember Christ.  I love being a part of the Lord's church and helping others see the miracles of being a part of His church.

We have been working with a less active family who hadn't been to church in a while and ALL FIVE OF THEM CAME TO CHURCH YESTERDAY!  What a miracle!  It was so great seeing them come and partake of the sacrament and be refreshed.

I love the gospel and I love serving in the Madisonville and Crockett Branches.

This week we are able to go to the Temple and I'm soooo excited!

Thanks again y'all for the bday wishes!  It truly was the best bday!

Love y'all and have a great week! :)

Love,

Sister Pinster

Elder and Sister Wilding--We are officially neighbors with them now!
(Sister Harris and Sister Pinster)

This is our dirty truck this week - BIG RED - thank goodness it's been raining!

BDay Pictures and Fun at Grapeland Safari

The Deans came over to wish me a Happy Birthday and the
Branch Primary kids and YW made me cards ... so much love!

At GRAPELAND SAFARI - I love the Zebras!

Feeding this cutie!

Selfie with the Safari!
Sooo many animals = HEAVENLY!

The Camels were trying sooo hard to get the FOOD!

And this "little" guy followed us around the WHOLE time.
He was my twin with our matching hair - haha

"HOW ABOUT A BDAY KISS SISTER PINSTER!"