Dodgers vs Astros

This email was sent October 30, 2107

Elder Brock Jones returned to visit our district This week was not really anything too special. We spent a lot of time assessing those we are working with in our area and making plans to find other people. The whole city of Houston has been pretty fired up due to the Astros playing in the World Series versus the Dodgers so our finding at nighttime hasn’t been too effective but ay vamos. It’s always a good topic of conversation with the Caucasian folk we come across because it helps them warm up to us a little more than usual. On Friday we helped Pedro and his family move furniture into their home. It’s now finished! Also on Sunday we visited them and we managed to eat a Serrano pepper raw and talk about marriage, all within one hour! Usually playing marriage counselor with our investigators hasn’t gone super well in my experience. I ask them if they ever think about getting married and one spouse says yes and the other says no. Either way I think they’re on the right track and some day soon they’ll be ready to get married and come to church. Also on Saturday we went to Leyla’s baptism, the 8 year old little sister of Kate, my recent convert of a few months back. Much to our surprise Kevin, Pascual’s stepson showed up with his girlfriend. Apparently she is a member but doesn’t speak Spanish. Regardless she’s doing some good work in helping him have more interest in the church. As they say, if you’re not having success as a missionary, you can always flirt to convert. That’s all I have from my end. Hope all is well. And go Astros! Elder Barrus THM

Elder Brock Jones returned to visit our district

This week was not really anything too special. We spent a lot of time assessing those we are working with in our area and making plans to find other people.

The whole city of Houston has been pretty fired up due to the Astros playing in the World Series versus the Dodgers so our finding at nighttime hasn’t been too effective but ay vamos. It’s always a good topic of conversation with the Caucasian folk we come across because it helps them warm up to us a little more than usual.

On Friday we helped Pedro and his family move furniture into their home. It’s now finished! Also on Sunday we visited them and we managed to eat a Serrano pepper raw and talk about marriage, all within one hour! Usually playing marriage counselor with our investigators hasn’t gone super well in my experience. I ask them if they ever think about getting married and one spouse says yes and the other says no. Either way I think they’re on the right track and some day soon they’ll be ready to get married and come to church.

Also on Saturday we went to Leyla’s baptism, the 8 year old little sister of Kate, my recent convert of a few months back. Much to our surprise Kevin, Pascual’s stepson showed up with his girlfriend. Apparently she is a member but doesn’t speak Spanish. Regardless she’s doing some good work in helping him have more interest in the church. As they say, if you’re not having success as a missionary, you can always flirt to convert.

That’s all I have from my end. Hope all is well. And go Astros!

Elder Barrus

THM

AP Exchanges

This email was sent October 23, 2017

Howdy fellas! We got transfer calls last night and Elder Broschart and I will be staying together for at least another transfer. We work really well together and he’s progressing along really well. We’re excited for what these next 6 weeks hold in store in good old Oakcrest.

To start off on Wednesday we had a half day exchange with the APs. This was my first one with them and I went with Elder Hansen from Logan, Utah. It was a lot of fun and I was able to pick his brain on a few questions that I have. We even taught a lesson in my area and he had to sit there with no idea what we were saying because he’s an English missionary. Poor guy. But in the end I was able to teach him a few Spanish words and he taught me a few finding tactics. All in all, a good exchange.

Also we’ve been hitting the pavement and dirt a lot this week trying to continue to find people to teach. We weren’t met with a whole lot of success but we can feel that all this hard work is about to pay off big time. Unfortunately we didn’t have much contact with the Valles family and the Ortuño family hasn’t progressed a whole lot so there’s not much to talk about in regards to those we are working with. But this week we are going to sit down with our bishop and see what we can do to help the work move forward in this ward.

So I really don’t have much else to write... I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking!

Elder Barrus

THM

Pedro and Me

🍌Pascual's wife made us some really great empanadas de platano (banana)

Exchanges with the APs

Exchanges with the APs

Hna Fluckiger goes home this week so we decided to hold a funeral for her because she’s dying in the mission

This is the Life!

This email was sent October 16, 2017.

Somehow I figured out that I’ve got only 2 and a half months left as a missionary. I don’t think it’s hit me yet, I feel like I’ll be doing this the rest of my life. Ha ha.

This week was... a little slower than the last one. We had a hard time getting back in with some of our investigators. But the Valles family came to English class and told us their miracle story of how they came to the United States. That strengthened my testimony of the fact that God is preparing families and individuals to receive the restored Gospel. As much as some people take for granted the principles and blessings of the Lord’s church, there are always many people that are ready and willing to fully embrace the Gospel and follow in the Savior’s footsteps.

As well we had zone conference this week. Not really much to report on, just a training about Facebook and how to use it correctly and some ideas for how to use it as an effective tool. I discovered some creative tactics that Elder Broschart and I can use to stay in better communication with our investigators.

On Sunday we had Stake Conference and it was enlightening. President Call spoke about the role parents have to teach their children the Gospel in order to help them realize their divine potential. He used an analogy with acorns to prove his point. An acorn falls from a tree and is quite small compared to the relatively large parent oak tree it fell from. However, as the parent plants the acorn and helps nurture it, the acorn starts to grow, sees its progress, and realizes that it can become a big oak tree someday. It’s the same thing with our children. If we never help them understand their divine potential, they are going to grow up going to church and not fully understanding the ultimate goal to have “All the Father has.” I know that that is true. We can realize our divine potential and ultimately qualify ourselves to live forever in the kingdom of God with our families. And a couple scriptures from Doctrine and Covenants 84:

37 And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father;

38 And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

Elder Barrus

THM

Birthday Sneakers

Keep Going and Finish Strong

Que tranza homies? We had quite the week, let me tell ya. On Tuesday we had our Mission Leadership Council and heard lots of counsel about the purpose of our mission using Facebook and how it can be a tool to hasten the Lord’s work. 

Zone Leader Companion, Elder Cammack on exchanges 

Then I went on an exchange with my ZL companion, Elder Cammack to his area of Louetta, leaving my trainee Elder Broschart with Elder Cammack’s trainee Elder Gibby. They were a little nervous being new and all, but ended up killing it. When I asked them how the exchange went, Elder Broschart excitedly told me about a family from Venezuela who showed up to English class and asked to learn more about the church. He told me that they were golden. I kinda reserved my hopes until when we actually taught them. 

And we did on Saturday and they are really solid. They talked about how they don’t understand why there are so many churches if Jesus only established one church. They said they have visited many churches but haven’t felt what they would like to feel. As we taught them about Joseph Smith and the Restoration of the Gospel they lit up, and I saw it click in their heads. They had been searching for the truth for a long time and had wondered if God would leave them confused on their spiritual journey. They have only been in the United States for a couple of months since they moved from Venezuela but are well educated people that could be very strong members of the church. There are 5 in the family, Miguel and Maribel are the parents with 3 sons, Diego, Jose, and Miguel Jr. They came to church the next day and enjoyed it. The members of the Oakcrest ward came in clutch and welcomed them with loving arms.

As well we have been teaching Pedro and his family. His wife and kids are super smart and have lots of potential to progress. Our only obstacle with them is getting them to come to church. But I’m certain that as we involve more members in the teaching process and teach them the why, they will come.

Anyways, that’s all from good old Tomball, Texas. I can’t believe that I only have about 2 and a half months left. I just have to keep going and finish strong so that I can reflect on my mission with no regrets!

Elder Barrus

THM

Things Are Rolling!

We definitely had a pretty good week. We went back to visit Pedro and his family and we ended up having a lesson with Pedro and he was really receptive to the message of the Gospel. He told us he felt as though the flood helped him find the balance between working and spending time with his family. He also feels as though God has been trying to wake him up and now he’s ready to make changes  in his life.

As well we went back on Saturday with some members of an English ward to help them continue repairing the house. They are almost finished so they’ll be able to focus a little bit more on the lessons and coming to church when that happens. Also for lunch Pedro’s girlfriend made some bomb food for those of us working on her house. She said that was only a preview of how good her food is. Hopefully it was only the first of many meals with her family. I’ve said this a lot and the pictures I send home reflect it, but honestly Mexican food is the best food. And not anything you can get from Taco Bell. But real Mexican food from people who know how to cook it is prime. 

As well we were able to watch General Conference and my poor companion, Elder Broschart had to watch it in Spanish. But he was able to understand a lot and I felt like the messages were speaking directly to me. It is a great time to live when the voice of God can be heard through His prophets and apostles. 

Other than that, midweek we got a referral from a member in Missouri City and were able to visit it on Sunday night. It took us 45 minutes to get there because they live in Montgomery, the northernmost part of our area, but we were able to get in and teach a guy named Angel and his nephew Lalo. They were really humble men who talked to us about their desires to be better men and grow closer to God. They are both currently attending Alcoholics Anonymous and loved that the Book of Mormon can help them resist temptation. 

Things are rolling! Que se cuiden mucho! 

Elder Barrus

THM

What????????

Exchanges with Elder Hadley

District Meeting

Lifting the Hands That Hang Down

Hey y’all what’s good in the hood? This week was an improvement from the last one. Slowly but surely we are starting to see the missionary work in Oakcrest take off again after the hurricane.

Where to begin? On Monday we went to visit a potential investigator, but she wasn’t home so we decided to knock on a few doors in the area. We were let in by a woman from Honduras named Marisol who lived next door. As we talked to her we found out that she met with missionaries 4 years ago closer to the city. She explained to us how she watched the Joseph Smith DVD with her 2 year old daughter and liked it a lot. She loved the peace she felt at church and the church’s emphasis on families. Her family went consistently for about 6 months before deciding to discontinue investigating the church. When I asked her if she ever thought of getting baptized, she said not really because her family was already baptized into another Christian Church. But with a few more questions we found out that she hadn’t read much of the Book of Mormon. So we were able to emphasis the importance of reading it and praying to God to know of its truthfulness, which she said she’s never done before.

Anyway, after we left Marisol’s house, we felt prompted to stop by a less active family's home in the same trailer park. When we knocked on the door, they opened it and the whole family just stared at us, looking shocked that we showed up. A woman I’d never seen before whispered something to the mother of the family about us giving her (the woman) a blessing. The she explained that the night before, she and her husband were coming home to their apartment when they were robbed by someone with a gun. The person shot her in the leg and then her husband. Her husband ended up passing away on the way to the hospital. 

She had asked her friend only minutes earlier before we arrived if she would contact a member of the church to come give her a blessing. She asked if her friend had contacted us. We said no, but she instantly understood that the Lord had sent us there to minister to her specifically and to give her a blessing. We were able to do it and she said she felt peace enter her heart after we were done. She met with the bishop and expressed the desire she had to get her life in order, return to church, and do her husband’s temple work in a year. That was a faith building experience about the role we have as servants in the Lord’s kingdom. We are called to lift up the hands that hang down.

Later in the week on Saturday morning, we received a call to help at the home of a Hispanic family close to our apartment whose house had flooded big time. The mucking had already been completed about a month ago, so we helped repair their house again. We put in flooring, insulation, and sheet rock. It was so fulfilling to see the family’s faces as we helped them repair their home so they could have somewhere to live again. They were so appreciative and even asked us where the local church building was. They plan on coming this week so we are going to stop by today and see if we can get to know them.

To cap the week off, on Sunday we had our “Why I Believe” fireside up in College Station. It’s probably my favorite event that the mission puts on. Hearing the testimonies of new converts who are so enthusiastic about the things they’ve learned and the blessings they’ve gained never gets old.

Anyway, that’s all from here. Sorry for no pictures this week. I’ll try harder next week.

Elder Barrus

THM

Fresh From the MTC

Hey everyone how are things? This week I found out that I would be training a new missionary again. Before I was to find out on Thursday, I spent a couple of days in the Houston 6 area with Elder Christensen. It's an area that's a lot like the first area I served in. Lots of low income areas that you need to avoid after dark. But it was fun. You see a lot of interesting things that you don't normally see. And then on Thursday we picked up our new missionaries. There were 24 missionaries that came in so there's been a lot of turnover in the mission.

My new companion is Elder Broschart from San Tan Valley, Arizona. He's a really good kid that is motivated to work hard and give his all to the Lord. He studied really hard in the MTC and already has pretty good Spanish. He understands a lot and is improving rapidly on speaking the language. We've put in a lot of work already in a short period of time. On his first door he knocked, we got let in by an 18 year old named Carlos from El Salvador. He was really interested in what we had to say and loved the emphasis on peace and hope.

Also on Friday we had an all mission zone conference with Elder Uceda and Elder Daniel Jones of the 70. It was really awesome. Elder Uceda had tons of energy and enthusiasm despite arriving in Houston by airplane at 1 AM Friday morning. He talked about Matthew 28:19 which reads:

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

He expounded on that scripture by saying that the original translation for the word teach is a Greek word that actually means "to make disciples." So he focused on the importance of helping our investigators become true disciples of Jesus Christ rather than just teaching them.

Another missionary before me hung up a story on the wall about the process of refining silver. Very relevant to our experience here as mortals and especially as missionaries. Recently I've been listening to a lot of Elder Holland talks in the car and there's been an underlying theme in almost all of them about suffering being a part of the process of true discipleship. I hadn't really thought about that before. I thought if we did good and kept God's commandments we'd have easy carefree lives. However, it is not the case.

Elder Garcia's last day in Oakcrest with our ward mission leader, Hermano Casco and his wife

Elder Barrus

THM