Anyways. First, a funny story. Last p-day, I ditched the blonde. I decided to go for a nice conservative dark brown... in so doing, I managed to find a secret, concealed burgundy amongst the ashier colours and the burgundy gained the upper-hand in the colour-wrestle that ensued... Long story short, I went from Rapunzel to the Little Mermaid. We ran to the market to grab another box of almost black brown to mute it. A week later, it's subdued to an auburn cast of brown. So I know repentance is real and that the Lord makes a way for our escape.
We started teaching a UTA student (I'll call her Woah.... you'll see why if you keep reading) that we found from an on-campus event last week. As we started talking more, she said that she works summers at a Scout Camp-- and subsequently ran into several Returned Missionaries. They quickly shared the gospel with her and gave her a Book of Mormon. She found us through the LDSSA (Latter Day Saint Student Association) at that aforementioned on-campus event, came to church last Sunday... and now she's our favorite investigator! Have you ever met the elect...? You haven't till you meet Woah. She's always felt there was something more than what her non-denominational friends were teaching and what the world was preaching... She's already living the Word of Wisdom(we didn't even teach her that yet! Go RM friends!!) and has seen the benefits and blessings from it. She prays and reads every night and diligently searches. She's INCREDIBLE. I've never been so blessed to teach and discuss with her!
Our Part Member/Less Active relationship broke up... which is funny because we totally called (prophesied?) it in weekly planning. The Spirit told us to sit back and watch... and told us that we had to work with them separately because their paths and goals were totally different. Sure enough... they broke up, moved out, and now we're meeting with them separately. We also have this habit of texting the Less Active right as he's about to light up a cigarette. We're working really hard to help him keep the Word of Wisdom. He's down to alcohol!!
On Wednesday, we sat down In the foyer before Institute to teach A Work of Salvation. When he left, a non member and her LA friend came in and shortly therafter, One Month walked in. When she walked out, an RM and his friend came in. So... In about 45 minutes, we marathon taught 5 or so different people. It was really cool... the spirit would just direct us to the next person as to what they needed and the questions to ask. I grabbed an Ensign, not knowing why... and used it 5 different times. It was one of the neatest things to sit back with Christensen the 2nd and be all ".... did that really just happen?" And then someone gave us chocolate. I guess the church is true.
Earlier in the week, we had gone to dinner with 2 sweet members. One of them was a convert of 3 years and the other had just started coming back to church a year ago. We started talking about how awesome missions were and I could feel the gears turning... well on Fast Sunday, they both got up, bore testimony, and announced that they would be going on missions!! I ran up there and had to establish their words. I got to bear testimony of how my mission has changed me. The greatest miracle I've ever seen in this process--and there have been many-- has been me. I never thought this would happen, but I am becoming the person I imagined I would be in the MTC.
I got to share my Jacob 5:75 story to Superman and our YSA advisors. I could never have imagined in July of 2008, sitting on the UNLV campus, that I'd be here in Texas.... the advisor started crying and I wanted to cry and the sweetest spirit just PERMEATED the room. I'm so glad I went on a mission.
Final thoughts: IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SIGN OR ANSWER FROM GOD AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU SHOULD SERVE A MISSION, HERE IT IS: DO IT. It is the greatest thing you could ever do. Feel like Heavenly Father is letting you choose? DO IT. You will never regret it.
Woah has lived across the Institute building for about 2 years now, I think. She's driven and walked past it so many times. She finally got into the building and in our first lesson, she said "I can't believe I've walked past this-- has this been here the whole time??" Not only has the Institute been here for a while, but the gospel is here. We walk into this random gas station food joint called Epic Cones, in walks one of the employees about to start her shift, sees our name tags and shouts across the room "hey sisters!! I'm a Less Active member!!" we say "no way!! come to church!!" We pass some guy in Target who's been taking the lessons for 9 months with the elders in some other ward and we commit him to be baptized, with journals and pens as our witness and he says "yeah, I think I should do that... I'll tell the elders tonight." We get hit on walking to our apartment at the end of the night and instead of giving our number, we give a pamphlet, get his number, and send the elders to his door.
You finally see who you are to God. These miracles have been here this whole time. This gospel has been here this whole time. Where are you?
Servin' in Texas, that's where.
Have a great week y'all! Love ya!
Sister Gunson
PS: have some pictures.
My new hair and the back of my name tag
PS from Janet: Hannah sent me a "before" picture of her hair--it was PURPLE.
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