Monday, December 2, 2013

An Abundance of Feasting!

Sounds like you had a busy week!  That is good though.  It is always nice to have fun when you are on vacation.  
 
 
 
I love being a missionary!  It is the best, hardest, most fulfilling calling in the world.  I have grown so much.  And I have had a lot of fun.  Missionaries on P-Day are funny, it is our only opportunity to take a little break from being a missionary and be the goofy 18-22 year old kids we are.  We still follow all the rules, but we have fun.  
 
I also have fun with Sister Wahlen everyday.  Whether it be goofy faces, taking pictures while riding our bikes, or playing the "get there with the least amount of peddling" game we play when we are a little early to a dinner appointment, but don't have time to go anywhere else.

Sister Wahlen and me at a lake
This week the weather was a little crazy.  It was chilly and cold and windy for the first half.  It even slushed! Sister Wahlen thought it was snowing, but I refused to believe that I was biking in the snow.  It only lasted about 5 minutes though, then turned back into rain. The cold is a blessing though!!!  People are more likely to let you in when it is really cold outside.  They feel pretty bad for you when you are riding your bike in a skirt in the rain and it is a brisk 40 degrees (more or less).  I actually don't mind it too much, as long as I can find some place to go to defrost my toes!  I plan on finding me some boots today to give my toes a little more protection.  Of course it is 80 degrees today, so it might be a little while till I use them again. I hear it gets cold in the January area, and I will be here for another winter, so I don't mind getting some boots.  Plus that will offer some variety to my wardrobe!

I went on exchanges with Sister Schellhous again this week.  She came here and we had a great time and found a new investigator!  That is a crazy story.  While Sister Schellhous was here, she rode Sister Wahlen's bike.  I forgot to tell her though, that her bike doesn't quite work the best.  The gadgets on the left handle are all broken.  The brake is broken and the gearshift won't go into 2nd.  She shifted it and the chain came off and got jammed.  We weren't far from home so we walked our bikes home and she spent the next 45 minutes using a screwdriver to unjam it.  We then went out, tried to visit people, then headed back for lunch.  On the way home we met Jaime (a Hispanic man, not a little girl).  After talking with him for awhile, he asked, "Why are there so many churches?" Best question ever!!!  We then went into the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he said that what we said might be true.  We are going to go and teach him again tomorrow and I am very excited!. If Sister Schellhous hadn't jammed the chain though, we would not have been out and riding through there while Jaime was outside and we wouldn't have met him.  Little miracle for us!  

I received your package and the chocolate fruit that day too and I really loved them!!!  I really appreciate the letters and the other things included in the box. In response to some of the questions that I was asked, it does snow in Texas, but it does not snow in Houston or at least it rarely does.  Instead it just rains a lot!!

Pie Night with Sister Schellhous
On Wednesday I attended Pie Night.  It is a tradition of a family in the ward to invite people over to have pie the night before Thanksgiving since people are too full to eat dessert on the big feast day!  It was pretty awesome and I had a little sliver of quite a few different kinds of pies.  Then of course I had to take a few slices home to Sister Wahlen since that was the day we were on exchanges and she missed it.  There were some good pies, but not the delicious pie that you make every year.  I guess Heidi will just have to eat my slice!

Thanksgivings with the Brown Family
We had three Thanksgivings this week, not all on the same day though thankfully!  We had Thanksgiving dinners on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday!  It was pretty awesome and they were all different.  I was pretty full all week though, full of bread and sweet potatoes, my favorite parts of the feast day meal!!!

Yesterday we visited the Hammer family.  We got there and apparently Brother Hammer was just catching up on his Doctor Who.  We then proceeded to have a wonderful discussion about Doctor Who and he was telling me about this program he was watching on the beginnings of the show and said, "Oh, just watch this little clip".  I immediately hid my face the TV, knowing it would be a bad idea for me to watch. The 50th anniversary and the premier of the new Doctor is something I am giving up for a mission.  It is a small thing and I know it will be there when I get back.  I just didn't want to be reminded of what I am missing!  I did listen to the little clip though, it wasn't too bad.  I know that being on a mission though, is way better than Doctor Who.
 
Sister  Canfield with Sister Wahlen and me decorating for Christmas.

Sister Canfield with her dogs dressed for Christmas
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I love you all so much and I hope that y'all continue to do well!

Sister Hudgens
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SHOUT OUT-
 
Dad, this is your daughter.

Happy Birthday!!!  I really liked your letter and I hope you are doing well.  Go shoot something for me!


Your favorite daughter on a mission,

Sister Holly Hudgens