MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for the presents!

                                           

I understand life is busy.  I haven't been able to respond to any of the letters I got for like a week and a half.  Life is busy sometimes!!  I have exciting news, I am not being transferred this week and neither is Sister Wahlen!  So that means I will be here in Parkway for another 6 weeks.  Crazy to think that at the end of this transfer I will have been out almost 6 months!  That's is one third of my mission!  Crazy!!!!  

Cool pic!

There wasn't too many crazy adventures this week. Christmas was great, we had dinner with Sister Canfield and it was really nice.  We also went over to an older couple in the ward to play a game. They have all adult children and none of them could come home

Rogers Family on Christmas Eve (note: Bro Rogers' father was our family's bishop in the La Sierra area of Riverside 20 some odd years ago)

for Christmas and I think they are pretty lonely sometimes and since our purpose as missionaries is to uplift, inspire, encourage, and bless, I thought it would be uplifting to go play a game with them for an hour or so.  And they loved it so I am glad we did.  

Someone gave us these sweet bike lights

We were going to district meeting at our church building on Friday and as we crossed the tracks the gate to the neighborhood was closed.  After a moment of evaluation I determined that the only thing to do was to climb the fence  and open it from the other side.  I tried at first, but my skirt was not maneuverable enough, so Sister Wahlen hopped over the fence and opened it up for us.  A few days later we were coming home from that same neighbourhood and a train was sitting on the tracks, not covering the path, but sitting there. We decided to just wait it out, but then the conductor came out and told us we could pass.  When we had made it to the other side he asked if there was just two of us.   I told him yes and asked if he wanted a bag of brownies.  One of our investigators had given us a bag of them and I knew I would eat them if we took them home so I offered them to him.  He thought a moment and said yes so I gave them to him!  So next time you have leftover goodies, give them to the train conductor.

On Sunday we taught the youth so their leaders could go to the 5th Sunday lesson the Bishop was giving. We played Preach My Gospel jeopardy with questions from each of the missionary lessons.  They seemed to enjoy it and we gave them a lot of the candy that members seemed to think we needed!  I had fun too so that is a bonus.

A member knitted us these cool head bands

Hope y'all have a blessed week as they say in Texas!

Sister Hudgens

THREE "GENERATIONS" OF MISSIONARIES

Three "generations" of missionaries.  Sis. Schellhous who trained Sis. Seymour who trained our own Sis. Hudgens

Sounds like your life is busy.  Holidays are super busy and it doesn't help when you are by yourself.  I am glad Dad came home to help you and enjoy Christmas with y'all (I am getting the language down finally).  My week didn't seem too busy, but I look back and I did a lot this week!!

Sis. Wahlen with the lost doggie

One day as we were going about visiting potential investigators and members there was this dog.  It was in the middle of the road so I called it over and checked to see if it had a collar.  It didn't we knocked on a few doors to try and find its home then it disappeared.  We biked to the next road over it it appeared again and followed us up the road before getting distracted by the median.  An hour later we were heading home and it found us again and followed us almost all the way home!!! We were debating what to do with it when we think it disappeared with another person.

We taught seminary this week.  It seems extra early now that I am not used to it!  But it was fun, we talked about the stresses of missionary work and the resources we have to deal with it.  Hopefully we didn't scare them away from serving a mission, but it is true; being a missionary is stressful!  But it is also the most rewarding thing I have ever done and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now.

Sis. Wahlen, Me, & Micallea

Last Monday we went to a good bye lunch for one of the girls in our ward.  She is going back to Utah to finish her own mission paperwork and she had gone out with us several times.  We are sad to see her go!  We went to this South American restaurant and were there for like 4 hours and I was stuffed!  I felt like we were there super long though...I still am not good at being social for long periods of time, it really drains me.  This Monday we are going with another member to this resale shop to find some new clothes.  She said it is our Christmas present, she is so nice!

We had a Christmas zone conference of Friday and Sister Wahlen decided to straighten my hair the night before.  She really wanted to do it and I told her go for it, I wasn't going to do it myself, that is a lot of effort!  We were late though and missed the picture.  We carpooled with some other sisters and the ride they got to take us was late.  Frustrating, but I had no control over it, so I just have to let it go.  It was a great program though. President Pingree spoke on the Atonement which was really good.  I also got to see Sister Seymour and catch up with her.  After lunch they had a Christmas program with a few missionaries giving talks and some musical numbers.  There was a piano cello duet to "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" that was just amazing!  I love music so much, it just lifts my soul.

Baking goodies

We made goodie plates for our investigators and delivered them this week.  It was really fun and it let them know that we were thinking about them and that we really care.  One of our investigators is Melvin.  He played on the Harlem Globetrotters and is super funny.  We have been meeting with him for a few months now off and on and he is slowly progressing.  But Sister Wahlen mentioned how her family is big sports fans he brought all this stuff out and gave it to us. So now I have a hat that I am not even sure where it is from and she has a shirt and a signed basketball for her nephew.  He is pretty cool, says to look him up on youtube.

I love you all and wish a Merry Christmas to everyone!  Remember to keep Christ in this season and not just look at His miraculous birth, but His miraculous life as well.

Sister Hudgens

PRELUDE TO CHRISTMAS

Sounds like you had a good, busy week and that you are doing very well as the new YW president!  I knew you would be great!  Bet you aren't even nervous now ;)  

The world is small!  It is even smaller when you are a Mormon.  I am excited to tell the Rogers about our little connection, we are having dinner with them on Christmas Eve.  It will be sad to not gather at Kari's, but I am sure I will have enough fun and busyness not to notice.  I will have to let you know next week exactly what time I will be Skyping (if we can get the Skype to work).  A member has agreed to let us go to their house to do it.  I think we are two hours ahead, so I will try to take that into consideration.

This week was busy, but it is hard to remember all I have done!  On P-day Monday we used the blowguns a little bit and one of the elders thought it would be fun to try to get them caught in my hair.  Fun for him, but when he missed he would hit me in the head, so I didn't think it was very entertaining.  I did get to pull out my evil glare, something I haven't used in a while though.  It was one of the sister's birthdays, so we had (frozen) coconut cream pie and played some volleyball, her sport of choice.

On Tuesday we flew from house to house on our bikes visiting potential investigators, members and less actives, inviting them to the Relief Society activity. On our way to said activity, we stopped at this house Sister Wahlen and I had rode past that looked like it would be really awesome in the dark.  Huge amount of lights that are put to music from this radio station.  It was amazing and we sat there for like ten minutes just watching.  I took pictures, but they do not do it justice.  The activity was great and one of our sort of investigators came and had a great time.

Me with Sis Lockhart on exchanges

On Thursday we had another round of specialized training on goals and our purpose.  It was great to meet with the other missionaries and President Pingree to learn from them and to grow in the Spirit.  After the meeting we had exchanges.  So I got to have fun with Sister Lockhart while Sister Wahlen went up to Magnolia.  Exchanges are always fun and I always learn a lot.  With Sister Lockhart I got to actually get into the house of a referral we got a few months ago.  The lady was at her limit and answered the door crying.  We were able to get there at the right time to offer a listening ear and a few words of comfort from the scriptures.  We were also able to meet a less active, invite her to church, and she actually came!  It is always exciting when someone we invite to church actually comes!

It some how came out that I play the flute and that I have one with me, so I am playing in the Christmas sacrament meeting next week.  I went to choir practice yesterday and I think I got it down!!  I just really hope I don't miss my cues.  That would be embarrassing.  But this also gives us another opportunity to invite people to church and to give them a reason to come besides the fact that it will be spiritually uplifting.  This stake also hosts a youth musical Christmas fireside every year, so we went to that as well.  It was beautiful and I was very impressed by all of the youth in this stake.  Though I guess there is a reason that the Klein school district is called musically inKLIEINed.

That is so funny regarding the pictures, I didn't realize that I wore the same skirt in all the pictures!  I promise I do wear all of the ones I brought with me!  (Tracy's note:  I had commented that she seemed to wear the same two skirts in most of her pictures she sends to us).  Though I think the green and blue ones Grandma Sharon gave me are some of my favorites.  That would explain a lot I guess.  A sister is actually taking us to go shopping next P-day, so I will have even more to choose from! 

Sister Hudgens

A Connection to the Family in Texas

Sounds like y'all have had a wonderful week filled with the Christmas spirit!  My week hasn't been too exciting, though I have had plenty of opportunities to use the gloves you sent!  They are a life saver!  It was in the 30-mid 40s for most of the week, so I have really had to bundle up.  Felt like Heidi I was wearing so many layers.  But that is better than freezing! 

At the Temple

Last Saturday we took our bikes  in for a tune up. And to get Sister Whalen's brake fixed.  That's a little important.  We took them into the place were we bought them because they do free lifetime adjustments on our bikes.  They were having a sale though so they said that they wouldn't touch our bikes until Monday, we were hesitant about leaving our bikes that long, but we did anyway.  We get home and ten minutes later they call and tell us they are ready! We were happy, but also wished they would have just told us they actually would fix them!  So our bikes work pretty good now, but Sister Wahlen's bike still won't go into 2nd, but she is strong enough now to skip 2nd and go to 3rd instead.  

Elder sneaked to our picture!

Something exciting did happen this week, we committed one of our investigators, Rosa, to baptism! We set a date for the end of the month, but she was a little hesitant.  She didn't come to church on Sunday, so it will have to be moved to the end of the month. We are going back to see her tomorrow, hopefully we can recommit her and get her husband to commit as well!

Our dinner on Wednesday was great.  We had it with Sister Rushing, a great, great woman.  She has never married, but likes to adopt missionaries.  She sent home all of the leftovers with us so we had a feast for a few days.  She is the greatest.  Our dinner the next night also sent us home with goodies.  We each got a Christmas tin full of cake and chocolate covered strawberries.  So much food!   And lots of rich chocolate gives Sister Whalen a headache, so I am left to eat my cake by myself.  Luckily she didn't force her's on me, that cake is good!

 We had dinner with the Rogers family.  They are great. Brother Rogers is from Riverside and I found out that he is a Whovian as  well  so we had a discussion about Doctor Who as well.  So much  Doctor Who!!!!(Note from Tracy- we discovered these Rogers are the son and family of our former Bishop when we lived in Riverside years ago before the girls were born- small world).

Sister Rogers is amazing too.  She gave Sister Whalen a  gift card for Famous Footwear to get some boots because she hasn't found any yet. I got some at Marshals last week and finally used the gift card Aunt Sandy gave me like two years ago.

Decorating cookies for ward party

We had our ward party on Saturday.  It was different, but fun.  We all sat on blankets on the floor, watch Christmas Mormon messages, sang songs, and played minute to win it games.

We all crammed in the back to get a ride to the 

other cars after caroling

We also went caroling this week with some of the other missionaries at an assisted living center. It was really nice to see the old people and the joy on their faces from our singing.  I highly recommend it.

Last week for our P-day activities I thought it was going to be boring.  Only three companionship came, including Sister Wahlen and I.  But the elders brought the PVC blowguns and nerf darts, so it was a lot of fun!  Looks like we are playing again this week so I am looking forward to it.

Well there is my week, not too exciting, but it was nice :)

The chairs!!  We completed them a few months ago, 

but now I have pictures!

Sister Hudgens

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

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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

Hidden Treasures

Young Women's president eh?  That should be exciting. Mom, you will be great, don't worry. Heavenly Father will not let you down.  Sister Jensen wouldn't have suggested you or Bishop Danielson call you if it wasn't God's will.  I know what you mean though.  Sometimes I still feel inadequate as a missionary, but I have found as I read my scriptures, really read them and pray often, that I am strengthened.  The problems don't always go away, or I am not always changed, but people are put into my path that help me to be better.  You have counselors for a reason.  Be prayerful and ask for help in choosing those special people to help you.

 

I know you will do great as the Young Women's president.  You have lots of experience too!  You have had several callings in the stake and ward Young Women's and you have three girls.  You will do fine :)

 

I am glad that you are being a missionary!  It is not that hard and if the Spirit is with you, He does all the talking and convincing anyway.  Something that might help you to gain a better understanding and be able to explain what we believe better is if the missionaries came over and practice taught a lesson to the family.  You might even ask if you can help them teach it.  I knew the gospel before I left, but know I can explain to others what I know because I have to teach it. It makes it a lot easier.

 

This week wasn't too exciting I think, but we did manage to go on an adventure.  There is a retention pond/ditch behind our house that we walk around in the mornings for our exercise.  I had noticed that you can see the road down a ways and I was wondering if we might be able to get to one of the neighborhoods that we previously thought we could not bike to from that little road we saw.  So one day we walked down it and discovered the most beautiful homes I had seen so far.  They looked like they belonged in the country and were just gorgeous.  We walked down to the end of the road, saw we could get to the neighborhood, then decided to knock on all the doors down the road.  We met a lot of really nice old people down the way.  One couple is celebrating their 71st wedding anniversary next month and gave us the name and address of their daughter so we could try by her.  We are going to go back and do something nice for their anniversary.  

 

Zone members before transfers

 

 

It has been cold, wet, rainy, and windy the past week.  We were biking to an appointment and got caught in a downpour.  We were too early for our appointment so we went to a nearby member's house to escape the rain.  We are dripping wet and I wish we had thought to take pictures.  I was too preoccupied with changing into the service clothes we just so happened to have with us to worry about it quite then.

 

I hope that Turkey day is a happy one and that you all can remember what it is we have to be thankful for.  I am so thankful for Christ and His Atonement and for the knowledge that I am a daughter of God.  I am also thankful for warm houses, socks, bikes, cars, and faith.  I am thankful for scriptures, a living prophet, and Sister Whalen who always reminds me that when we are out in the rain that at least we aren't pioneers.  I am thankful for great family and friends who are and continue to be great examples and sources of love for me.

 

Teaching a missionary prep class

 

 

 

Love

 

Sister Hudgens

Everything is Bigger in Texas!

This week hasn't been quite as exciting as last week, but I am not being transferred, which is a huge blessing.  I am so happy that I get to spend the holidays with a ward I already know and love.  They were switching a sister out every transfer in this ward, so I was worried.  Couldn't sleep last night until I found out.  Instead of receiving the transfer text by 10:30 like we usually do, we didn't get it until almost 11.  Very nerve racking.  All calm and happy now though!

This week the Relief Society had a special dinner where one of the stake presidency and his wife came and spoke.  The theme was "What Heaven Sees in You", based on the song that makes everyone cry at Girl's Camp. It was really good.  They showed a video from Dove, called "Real Beauty Sketches" or something like that.  It was really good and I highly recommend you watch it.  It compared how we see ourselves and to how others see us.  We are all a lot more than we think.  Everyone left that activity filled with the Spirit, and we even had an investigator come, super awesome.

This week was also super weird weather wise.  It was freezing the first half of the week.  So cold that Sister Wahlen could barely hold the fork at dinner because her fingers were so cold.  Luckily Sister Canfield had some gloves she was able to give us.  Then the last half of the week it got hot again.  And really humid.  Texas weather is weird.

The Primary Program was this week in my ward too.  Never before have I felt like crying during the Primary Program.  Just so y'all know, there is little over a hundred primary kids in my ward.  They all had short parts and sang loud and proud.  Hearing them sing "I Am a Child of God" just testified to me that I am a child of God.  He loves me, and He loves all of His children.  

Later that day we went to a member in the ward to discuss one of our investigators that we met with this week, Chip.  Chip knows more about Church history and read almost everything put out by prophets and the Church that is out there.  He has so much knowledge about the Church, but understands so little of it.  He won't pray about it to receive his own confirmation from God.  Brother Hammer has similar knowledge about the Church, has read many church books as well.  But there is one vital difference: he has prayed about it.  Brother Hammer shared his testimony of Christ with us, just wept as he thought about the Atonement and what it means to him.  It made me realize something about myself.  I may not have the most knowledge about the Church, but I have a testimony that Christ lives and in His Atonement.  I know that God loves me and that I can return to live with him again as I use the enabling power of the Atonement and do my best to become more comfortable in God's presence.

I have officially been in Texas three months now, so let me share a few things I have learned:  A lot of things really are bigger in Texas.  Some examples; food, bugs, me, rain, bugs, religion, my testimony, sky, clouds, storms, thunder, houses, changes in weather, cars, and families, to name a few.  Some things that are smaller; my skirts choices, the roads, hills (almost non existent).  My testimony has grown the most though.  I have studied harder, prayed with more sincerity and more often, and born my testimony more than I ever have before.  And it has only been 3 months!!!  Imagine how much I will grow in the next 15?

New finding idea.  Went to the park to try it out, haven't found much success yet, but we will find something that works

Sister Hudgens  

Look Mom, No Hands!

Look Mom, No Hands!

 

I will answer your questions first and then get to the rest of the email.  Thanksgiving.  I am sure I will have my fill of pumpkin pie and the such.  We find out about transfers next week, but if I don't leave the area we have two Thanksgivings on our calender!  I know DearElder has package ideas, and I am really bad at thinking of stuff.   I am running out of stamps too.  

 

We usually have a pretty full dinner calender here in Parkway so we rarely cook.  If we do have to make dinner for ourselves, I am usually the one to do it.  I did learn something while I was at BYU!  Usually we eat lunch at home (I eat a lot of quesadillas), but on Tuesdays a less active member feeds us.  We get up at 6:30, exercise, eat, shower, do personal and companion study, some days we do training (on my last week of training!), find a craft or do a finding activity, then we eat lunch and head out!  It is amazing how much you can get done before noon.  On Mondays we go to Sister McQuay's house to email and she takes us grocery shopping afterwards.  The life of a missionary is so exciting!

It sounds like you are all having a fun week and I am glad the girls are enjoying water polo. I am also happy to see all of the help in the missionary effort.  I bet the missionaries are well fed every night.  Don't feel like you have to feed them dessert every night or a feast, often times I am overstuffed full of food. I often yearn for more vegetables at meals.  Weird right?  

 

I am so glad that you are inviting people to things.  That is all it takes!  Opening our mouths is where success is, not in their accepting.  We can't control how other people will exercise their agency, but we can control how we exercise ours! 

Carrying Bike Over the Train

This was kind of an exciting week with all sorts of crazy experiences.  On Monday we decided to bike to the church building for P-Day.  We were tired of trying to find a ride and bothering people so we took things into our own hands.  Took us under a half hour.  P-Day wasn't too exciting, we played a little volleyball and sat around and chatted.  Reminded me that while we are missionaries, we are still barely more than teenagers.  On the way home there was a train stopped on the tracks.  Dinner was only 20 minutes away so we decided instantly do lift our bikes over the gap in the train cars.  We had no sooner finished and taken some awesome pictures then the train started to move.  In hindsight, that may not have been the best idea, but we didn't want to be late.

Hidden Knives

On Tuesday we met a very interesting guy while tracting.  He lost his tongue to tongue cancer (at lest that is what I understood) and he was hard to understand.  He was very concerned for our safety though.  So he went into his garage and Sister Wahlen and I knives.  They are these little  knives that you can wear around your necks and he told us to put them on and keep them secret.  So we each got a knife from a guy with no tongue. Weirdest story ever.  

 

We then walked to another street to tract some more and we met this other guy.  He asked us what we believe and we taught him the Restoration right there in the street and we exchanged numbers so we could set up another appointment.  Later he texted us and we realized that he was hitting on us.  Needless to say we decided we would probably not be the best missionaries to teach him the second lesson.  We will just have to send the elders to him.

We had a specialized training on conversion this week.  President Pingree talked for three hours on it and it was really good.  Our goal as missionaries isn't to merely get people baptized and give them a testimony, but to help the to become truly converted to the gospel so that when life is hard they will not fall away.  Just like in Helaman 5:12, we must build our foundation on the rock of Jesus Christ so that when Satan sends all of his influence and power against us, we will not fall.

We had some fun member experiences as well.  We had dinner with this family that is vegan, and I was a little concerned at first.  I wasn't quite sure what they were going to feed us.  But it was really good and I enjoyed it.  They feed us this chocolate pie that was really good. I asked her what was in it since she didn't do sugar or milk or anything.  She wouldn't tell me until after I finished eating it....When I was done I asked again and she said it was coco powder, dates, and...drum roll....avocado!  It was delicious and I was surprised.  It didn't taste like avocado.  We also visited the Neciosup family.  The father is from Peru and the mother from Russia, and they are an interesting and fun family.  I enjoyed talking with them and asking them how a Peruvian and a Russian met, got married and moved to Texas!  It was pretty cool.

Since there are a lot of Hispanic people here I have been trying to brush up on my Spanish. I am doing pretty good, I can do a door approach and understand most of it.  I am now trying to teach Sister Wahlen and she is trying.  It is a little rough, but she is getting there.  

Happy Sisters

Keep being awesome and I love you all.  Don't send any letters until I know if I am going to be transferred though, I don't want to miss them!  Though it takes about 2-3 days for letters to get here so if you can do math, go for it.

Sister Hudgens

Halloween & Hogwarts

Sounds like you had an exciting and full week!  We had a great week!  We finally found some people to teach.  More like they were found for us, but I will take it!  

Adventure time!

The Spanish sisters found a nice couple and we went to see them this week.  We get there, knock on the door, and a man answers the door and immediately says "Hi!  You're awesome!!  How can I help you?" I was shocked and it took a moment to recover.  He then proceeded to tell us his life story saying that if you don't open up to others, you can't expect them to open up to you.  We had a great conversation with him and set a return appointment.  I am so excited to teach him and his wife!  Our bishop also found a great person for us to teach.  She isn't interested in converting, but she wants to feed us, so we will see. She doesn't understand how persistent we can be!! 

I dont know if you can see how much rain that is, 

but it is a lot.  

And we helped someone move that day

It rained  a lot this week (it rains a lot in general this time of year I guess).  On Halloween I was awoken to the sound of thunder rending the air, rain pounding our window, and flashes of lightning illuminating the room.  I have never understood why people were afraid of thunder storms, but now I understand.  I was a little frightened.  Even more when I contemplated how we had planned on moving a part member/less active family in that day!  Sis. Wahlen and I prayed about it though and we both got an overwhelming answer.  "Go" was repeated in my head repeatedly and Sis. Wahlen had a similar experience. So we went.  

The roads were on the verge of flooding, but were not there quite yet.  We get there and the Klein elders were already there helping with the heavy lifting.  We kind of felt in the way, so we went inside and chatted with the wife, who isn't a member.  Eventually some of the heavy stuff was moved out of the way and we were able to help.  I had to be very careful on the ramp since it was wet with rain.  We all know how easily I fall!!  It was a good experience though and I am glad we went.  We didn't even get soaked!  Plus we got lunch out of it, so all is well.

I learned how to reupholster chairs this week.  Ever since I got to Parkway, we have gone to a member's house to help her with 10 dining room chairs she bought from an old hotel.  So, since my first week, we have sanded, primed, undercoated, over-coated, and reupholstered her chairs.  I will have to get some before and after pictures for you!  I never thought this would be a skill I would learn on my mission, but it was fun and we usually got lunch out of it, so it was all good.  

Missionaries customize their planners, so this is my current one on the left and the one I made for next transfer on the right! I loved Grace's pictures so much I thought they would look great on my planner

It is so cold now!!!  

Ok I didn't really wear the coat, but you get the picture

So this was a milestone week, I finished my first journal ever.  I am very pleased with myself, seeing as how I have never written in one for more than two days before.  It has also been kind of cold.  I have actually worn long sleeves and tights and wished I had gloves.  Only to ride my bike though, otherwise gloves would be a bit much.  It gets dark at like 6 now though, so that is a little rough.

Me & Sis Canfield on Halloween!

Halloween was fun.  We had to be in by 6:30 unless we had a meaningful appointment.  We had dinner with the Malo family that evening and Sis. Malo went all out.  She had a Halloween table cloth, cups with plastic eyeballs in them, a rat on my chair, and a Halloween themed menu.  She even gave us a little goodie bag full of candy.  She was so nice.  We went home after and I sat on the porch with Sis. Canfield and passed out candy and pass along cards with her. It was probably the best Halloween I have had in a long time.

I got a fantastic package from Phil this week that was Harry Potter themed. This reaffirms my thoughts that I have the best friends ever.  I also got a candy laden package from Denise that was great.  Though I looked kind of funny biking from the mail box to our house with these two awkward packages balanced as I biked.  I almost fell off.  Sis. Wahlen did fall off her bike this week.  It was not a great biking week for her. She fell off her bike and ripped her skirt as we crossed a stream and the railroad tracks in order to get into a neighborhood.  She has a great attitude about it though which I admire. 

I have pretzels & frosting and Sis Wahlen has chips & salsa.  What a pair!

I few weeks ago I hit 8 weeks and Sis. Wahlen hit 8 months!   

It was a momentous occasion!

(or moths if the sign is right?- comment added by Tracy).  

Last night we had one of the funniest dinners in my whole life.  Bro. Mclane is just funny in general.  He just talks and talks, but he has a good heart and is one of our ward missionaries.  As we were leaving (half an hour late), Sis. Mclane said she wanted to take us to get mani-pedis (we all know howmuch I love getting my nails done) and her husband almost jumped out of his chair.  He screamed "Mani-pedi Mondays!!  The missionaries can do mani-pedi Mondays with the non-members!!!"  We all just laughed and laughed.  We will see if we actually do it though.

Well I hope that everyone is doing well and is remembering the Lord everyday, leaving their heart open to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Love,

 Sister Hudgens

Phil got creative...

And more creative!

Elder Bladh was really into pumpkin carving

Elder Bladh made a face to match my pumpkin!

We did pumpkin carving for p-day last week

I gave Elder Nyenmyer my camera, 

that may have been a mistake. 

 He took lots of pictures!

Pumpkin time!

Sis. Wahlen made the hole really small, 

so her hand has to squeeze in there