Birthday Boy

For anyone who might have forgotten:

Nathan's birthday is August 31.  Which is ten days from now.

And if you need gift ideas, he says he ALWAYS loves new ties.  And he especially likes paisley ones.  He also could use paper and stamps.  

And the address on the right is current, so if you decide to send birthday greetings, that's the place to send them.

August 17, 2009 email

It was a way way sweet week this week. I've been trying to stay more focused and it paid off. I know I shouldn't be a numbers person, but numbers mean people and our numbers were off the chart. I'm so excited to keep this up. The Lord  is truely helping us right now. I got some of the highest number in my mission this week. It feels like I just got a 4.0.
       I thought you would enjoy some pictures. Two are of Jeromes Baptism. The other is my chainmail tie. You remember the guy that let us try on his chainmail? Well, he taught us how to do it, so we set to work on making a tie. Do you like it? It says "TSAM" with a baptism sign. Anyways, he said he would come to church if I wore the tie, so I did, and he came. His name is Micheal, he was formerly a Jew. He Loved church and wants to come back, so we can start teaching him the lessons too.
        Remember Flan and how we confirmed him in his home? Remember how touched his wife was? Guess what, her daughter came to live with them in Texas now. That means that she can quit her second job and come to church. So she, and her daughter both came to church. The great thing is that she already wants to be a member. We just need to teach her. She'll be getting baptised on the 30th with her daughter.
        We also knocked into a Bekah this week. She is such an Austin hippie earthmuffin. I Love it. She is so prepared and elect. She had issues with women not having the priesthood, but that was fix when we brought a member, Melissa, to come teach with us. The lesson was so full of the spirit. Complete change around.
         All in all we had 8 people at church, and they can all get baptised this month, like, they are progressing. we taught 29 lessons this week to. Everyone we talked to just let us in. It's so sweet when the work is sweet. It's all in the attitude and the effert you put forth.

July 27, 2009

Kris got baptized!!!  It was way sweet.  We had a great turnout to her baptism too.  There were 40 people or more.  Kris was way nervous before the baptism.  She was afraid of the water and getting drowned.  She was way happy after and couldn't stop smiling.  The spirit was so strong there.  Jerome, Kris's husband, kept telling people that he was going to get baptized in 2 weeks.  I think it was just the thing he needed to push him along.  Kris and Jerome were found knocking too.  That's my first knocking baptism.  I love it!  To think if we weren't being obedient to President Cutler's council and knocked at least an hour every day, we wouldn't have found them.  I love that family so much.  

Francis also got baptized.  He is from Ghana. Francis knew the church in Ghana and loved it, but he was never baptized.  Once he came to Texas, he called up church headquarters in SLC to find the nearest church.  He doesn't have a car, but his friend Moses goes to our church.  It took Francis 2 and a half months to get to church, but he did it.  We thought he was in mine and Elder Blaylock's area, but he belonged to Elder Froste and Elder Paisley.  So, we taught him the first lesson.  He was so ready that the spirit told me to commit him for the 26th to be baptized.  He accepted.  He should have been baptized in the singles ward, but he wanted to stay in Shoal Creek and Elder Paisley hadn't had a baptism  yet and he is over 6 months out.  So, Elder Paisley got to teach him a little.  Elder Paisley got transferred before the baptism, but President Cutler let him come back to baptize Francis.  Guess who Elder Paisley's new companion is?  ELDER SMITH!!!  So Elder Blaylock and I have had a close relationship in baptizing Francis too.  It felt great.  

Not too much else happened with out week.  We did run into some very Tim Burton-ish people that let us in to teach them because we were glowing.  They actually saw a light around us, but they wouldn't set up an appointment to let us come back.  

What creepy things have I seen?  Just locusts, cockroaches, and lizards.  My first armadillo was pretty cool.  They do have tons of bugs that I have no clue what they are tho.