Thursday, January 22, 2015

Pepper Steak for Homecoming Dinner!





Goodbye Sis Davis!

I am glad you told me when I am coming home.  Kind of not, but I am glad I know the schedule.  Makes it feel a lot more real.  I get to fly in to SLC with half of the other departing missionaries (half are from Utah or Idaho), that will be fun.  Sister Liljenquist said that she gets into SLC at about 2, so I won't have to wait long!   As for my coming home meal, pepper steak, hands down.  That is what I want!  I haven't had that in like 2 years!!!!  Feels like that anyway.  As for activities, I have no idea.  I don't know what to do with down time anymore.  Can we all go to the temple together?  I know that is so missionary, but I think it would be nice.  Also, do you know when my homecoming talk will be?  And super happy my stocking hasn't been lost!  

Anyways, the week.

On Monday we got a new car.  Like brand new.  Like, some elders borrowed it and then we got to drive it.  Like it only had 1600 miles on it.  It's awesome.  Why did we get a new car you ask?  Well, when the mission cars reach 50,000 miles, the Church replaces them and sells the old ones.  A light came on in our car last week so we took it into the mission office.  Elder Stevens asked how many miles were on our car and we said almost 50,000, so he said, "You want a new car?"  YES!  So now we have a super awesome 2015 Chevy Cruze.  I love it, everything about it.  Except one thing.  Every time you turn it on, the car says it is in demonstration mode and we can't figure out how to turn it off.  I figured out how to mute it though.  So that is good.  Anyways, that was probably the most exciting part of P-Day.  

Before dinner we had an appointment with a family we met last week.  They knew their Bible really well, so we brought President Mortensen with us.  We didn't know what their religious background was, but as soon as he said the opening prayer we knew.  They were Jehovah's Witnesses.  No wonder they were so nice to us!  President went into super intense mode and told them that all of our differences center on the Book of Mormon.  As they would get off topic he would say"Read the Book of Mormon!"  It's true, everything rests on the Book of Mormon.  So read it!!!  We are going back tonight, so we will see what happens.

Christmas 2014
Tuesday was awesome.  We volunteered at NAM in the morning and then had some lunch.  We then brought Michelle with us for the afternoon.  We had a few appointments, but they fell through.  We were able to stop by and see a less active and that was awesome.  We would ask her questions and then she would just bear testimony on the subject and say why she needs to come to church.  She got her own ride and was there on Sunday, it was awesome!  Then Sister Liljenquist was hungry (like always) and someone had brought up donuts, so we made a donut stop.  I got three, Michelle got one, then the rest were Sister Liljenquist's.  She ate 8 donuts in the space of two days, it was really impressive.  

Later we went out with Kate, a girl who just got home from her mission.  We tried a few potentials and then we went to see Nick and Ashlee.  We had met them when I first got here and caroled to them on Christmas Eve, and we knew that they would be receptive to the gospel if we could just think of a reason to stop by.  So we get to the door and knock, and I am wondering what we are going to say to get in.  What did we do?  Sister Liljenquist asked if she could use their bathroom.  They are an awesome couple with a cute little baby boy.  We were able to talk with them for a while and we taught the Restoration and it was amazing!!!!  One of the best lessons ever.  We set a return appointment and left super excited and then......the next day they canceled and said that maybe we could come back again in a few months. Saddest moment ever.

On Wednesday we went to go see Betty in the hospital.  She has been needing to go for a month, and when she started coughing up blood she decided it was time to go.  She is in for pneumonia and a lung infection.  So we brought her a large print Book of Mormon, an Ensign, and got the elders to give her a blessing.  It was great.  We went home, had some lunch, then we went to see a family in the ward.  Then we had some dinner, tried potentials and borrowed a mixer so that Sister Liljenquist could make sweet potato casserole (which was super yummy by the way).

Thursday we pulled more weeds at the Arboretum, had lunch, and then went to drop off some supplies for the Klein Oak elders that live in our area.  We are figuring out how to put it on their porch when a guy says, "Oh, hey, sister missionaries."  Immediately my ears perk up and I am like, "Hey, how's it going?  Are you a member?"  Turns out he is the son of a member of our ward who has been less active for a while.   Super cool.  

Arboretum at Christmas Time
Then we went home to do weekly planning.  When we were done and having some lunch, Sister Liljenquist wasn't feeling very well. She was nauseous and exhausted and went to bed with a bucket. While she was sick, I called potentials and  such. At about 7, she comes out and says, "You want to go finding?" I say yes and though she still feels awful we go out. Second door we knock on, Bryan comes to the door and lets us in and we begin teaching him, his girlfriend, and their roommate who said we showed up at the strangest time; right when he finds out his dad has cancer. It was perfect and we are seeing them again on Thursday.

On Friday we had district meeting.  Afterwards we went to lunch with the elders so that Sister Liljenquist could give them some info she had.  There was a brand new elder form New Zealand, and he is hilarious.  Made lunch very fun.  Afterwards we went to see Betty again and she got tricked.  She thought she was going to leave that day, but she ended up having to stay.  She wasn't very happy about that.  Then we saw the Mirandas, a super great family.  They got us dinner,which was a surprise, especially since our dinner was right afterwards.  It was a good visit though and I even managed to eat dinner afterwards.  After dinner we took Michelle out tracting with us, had no success, she took us to get hot chocolate and the people behind us in line were already Mormon.

Saturday we had a little mini exchange with the sister training leaders.  Fun.  Then it was lunch and going out with the Bishop's wife.  We visited a recent convert, then we went out to try one of the sisters that she visit teaches that she hasn't seen in a while.  On the way back we stopped at a garage sale and found someone that is already meeting with the Hermanas.  We exhorted her to read the Book of Mormon and then went to dinner.  After dinner we tracted and tracted until it was time to go home.

Sunday was nice.  People came to church, high councilmen spoke, gospel principles was full, and we taught young womens.  The girls said they actually learned something and how to put it into practice so that was good.  We sang with the ward choir after church and then had dinner with a fun family.  We then went tracting, found some really cool people to teach, made return appointments, and then visited a family with a cute baby that I can't hold.  Six weeks.  Then I can hold cute babies.

Have a blessed week yall!!

Sister Hudgens