Hurrah for Israel!

Area: Converse
Companion: Sister Kaitlin Johnston

Hurrah for Israel!

Those words sum up pretty well my feelings of why I'm here and what I'm striving for as a missionary. When Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball left to serve a mission, they were deathly ill and leaving behind their families who were also deathly ill. And yet, they stood in the back of that wagon and shouted, "Hurrah for Israel!" What does that mean to you? To me it illustrates the value of sacrifice and the need to be anxiously and selflessly engaged in the Lord's work.

Sister Turpin and Sister Record

This week I had my first exchange. Sister Katie Turpin, our sister training leader came to converse with me, and Sister Johnston went to Windcrest. Sister Turpin has incredible energy and love for the work that rubs off on everyone she talks to. I had a really great experience and was able to share some new insights with Sister Johnston when she came back. I realized the importance of short and powerful lessons. Texans can talk! It's wonderful. They love to share thoughts about their life and tell us everything about them in the moment we meet them. I love it. But sometimes we need to redirect the conversation so that they understand our purpose. We can better serve those we are teaching when we keep it brief and to the point. 30 minutes max unless otherwise directed. By doing that we also have more time to see more people. I am coming to better understand my purpose as a missionary every day. Which is "to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end."

This morning I was reading the words of Isaiah in 2 Nephi. I'm coming to love Isaiah! I am blown away by how much I understand what he's saying. A lot of it applies so directly to missionary work, it's awesome! 2 Nephi 8:12-16, 24-25 particularly spoke to me. It was really motivating and encouraging. I invite ya'll to read it and apply it to yourselves.

We went to my first mission, other than the Alamo last P-day. It was really neat.

Not a whole lot really happened this week, so this is kind of a brief update. But I remembered pictures! I'm so glad to be here serving the Lord and His children. I know that this is His work. I love you all! God bless!

Sincerely,
Sister Record :)

Pictures

Sister Breakall, Sister Record and Sister Jackson

This is Sister Breakall on the left and Sister Jackson on the right. They're the head sister training leaders. They were helping with all the new missionaries coming in when I got here. This picture was taken at a zone meeting a couple weeks ago. They are both amazing missionaries!

A cool cloud formation! Texas sky is so pretty.

Annelise and Sister Annelise Record

This girl's name is Annelise! Her Dad is brothers with Ammon and Melody Martin from my YSA ward! I had so much fun talking to them. I didn't even know that Ammon and Melody had family in the San Antonio area! Ya'll never told me. :)

Texas Crazy Hair!

I debated whether or not to send ya'll this picture. Ha ha! But I had to show you my crazy Texas hair. It is pretty untamed in this humidity. I never know what to do with it. I'm thinking about cutting it.

Sister Record and Sister Johnston

Ha ha! Sister Johnston and I at the San Jose mission being random. I didn't know what a mission was at first, and I'm still hazy on the idea, but it's like the Alamo. I'm sure I'll learn more about the historical significance of these places.

Visiting the San Jose Mission in San Antonio Texas with Sister Annelise Record, Sister Kaitlin Johnston, Sister Kara Beckstead, Sister Brooke Medina and Sister Kara Swenson.