Halfway to Houston!

(This email was actually written February 17, 2016.)

Sunday Temple Walk

I got your Valentines package and it was awesome! Brother Gomes, my teacher thought it was from my girlfriend, so I had to explain that it wasn't.

I have kind of reached a point at the MTC where the days get lumped together and not much changes throughout the course of the week. I have about 3 weeks left to go here but it's still going well and I'm happy to be here. Just this morning as we walked to the temple, a car drove by with some music that was very worldly. I kind of felt like Nephi when he saw the vision of our day and all the technology and changes that have been made through the course of thousands of years. Seriously, it is so odd to be focused on one thing, and one thing only: the work of the Lord. I love it though. I thought before I came out here that I wouldn't be able to adjust to a life without sporting events, social media, and other fun stuff. But living a life that is hard, yet fairly simple is both rewarding and full of joy. 

Artsy temple shot from behind.

Just last night we had Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the quorum of the 12 come speak to us for devotional. The Spirit he brought to the meeting was powerful, and the Spirit testified to me that he is a man that is ordained of God. He told us to come to the meeting having read the talk he gave in April 2010 conference called "The Divine Call of a Missionary." I'm grateful I get to serve in Texas. Heck, I'm just grateful I get to serve a mission anywhere for the Lord as a representative of Jesus Christ. Some people do not get this sacred opportunity, so I'm going to take full advantage of it and just be grateful. It definitely doesn't hurt that like 5 random elders or sisters in the MTC ask me where I'm serving, and when I tell them "Houston, Texas, they without fail respond promptly with "I'm from Texas and you're going to love it!!" We also have a new elder in our zone who is actually from an area in  our mission, Cypress Creek, which is about an hour north of Houston and he says it's a pretty chill mission. His name is Elder Burns and we share the same first name, so I guess the same initials too. 

Serious in the snow

Anyways, keep the work of the Lord progressing wherever you are, and don't forget to strengthen your relationship with Christ. All we need to do is knock, and he will answer the door and pour out blessings of joy upon us

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-Eldér Barrús

Cousin Annie--we have the same temple time