December 21

Howdy from Woodville- the best place to spend Christmas in 2010!  My planner is currently missing... a.k.a.: my brain!!! So remembering and telling y'all about my week should be an interesting task.  I do remember that our week was great and that it was filled with miracles.  I'll try to remember other stuff...

Monday we had a special Zone Preparation Day in Port Arthur which included a showing of "It's a Wonderful Life" which President Moldenhauer gave us special permission to watch.  I didn't actually get to watch the whole thing because we arrived a little late and did some other things too, but I enjoyed what I watched.  If you haven't watched it this Christmas season, I invite you to do so!!!!  That night we were fed dinner by Bro. and Sis. E* W* and L* O*, who remember my parents and loved seeing old photos of us.  We then hopped over to the Woodville Band Christmas concert featuring the Jr. High and Highschool bands of Woodville.  There were recent converts, active members, less-active members, and investigators performing and they all did an excellent job.  We were able to mingle with many of them after and it was very effective. 

I remember Tuesday being busy and wonderful, but am otherwise drawing a blank at the moment. Oh!! except I do remember we had our branch Relief Society Christmas party that night.  It was a yummy pot luck dinner and white elephant gift exchange.  It also included a surprise visit from Santa Claus- very fun times.

Wednesday we did exchanges with the Sisters serving in Jennings,LA... we're serving out in the sticks so the closest missionaries live 45 min. away and the closest sisters are 2.5 hours.  We got special permission to do the exchange though largely due to the fact that Sister Hawkins has been in Jennings since she started her mission nearly 4.5 months ago and has never had the opportunity.  Sis. Mapa went to Jennings for the day to work w/ Sis. Brosnehan, and I stayed here and worked w/ Sis. Hawkins for the day.  We saw SO many miracles and I was so grateful that Sis. Hawkins had a great experience and felt she learned a lot.  FYI- the Skinner family fed us delicious ribs that night.

Thursday we went to Baytown for our Christmas mission conference which was totally amazing.  (That was also where we switched back to our normal companionships)  All of the sisters sang a special musical # which is one of my new favorite songs.  ("Miracles" by Sally DeFord- if you want to look it up)  Area authority Elder Gifford Nielson and his wife spoke to us.  We enjoyed a slide show of our mission year, great food, and much inspiration from President and Sister Moldenhauer.  It was an AWESOME day :)  We got back to Woodville just in time to enjoy dinner w/ the Gibson family and watch "Joseph Smith- Prophet of the Restoration" w/ them.

Friday Sis. Mapa and I had to do our weekly planning.  After that, I once again remember it being a really good day, but don't rembember the rest...

Saturday was a very busy proselyting day, one filled w/ lots of trials, but even more small miracles.  That evening we joined the Young Single Adults of the branch for their Christmas Party at the Durr home.  It ended up being us, Bro. and Sis. D*, E* O*, and C* M*.  Despite the small turn out it was a successful and enjoyable evening.

Sunday at church, Sis. Mapa and I substituted in the youth Sunday School class.  It was not our finest hour by any means, but we certainly survived.  We were fed lunch and dinner by families in Odomville and tried to do some proselyting in between that was only mildly effective.  We met w/ J* J* that night and he's still just amazing.  It looks like he'll be baptized this coming Sunday the 26th and we're very excited for him.

Yesterday was spent at the doctor's office doing lots of waiting.  Sis. Mapa is having some mystery symptoms that we're trying to take care of.  We have to go back to Beaumont today to do some follow-up stuff w/ that.  The bright side is she is being treated by long time family friend Dr. Russ Stovall.  He gave us some talks as reading assignments and I got to have a good visit w/ his wife. 

I love this work and I love all of you!!! I wish you each an incredibly magical Christmas!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

Dec. 6

Howdy from Woodville where the Christmas season is in full swing!  I'm loving it!!

 

Monday was a pretty normal preparation day.  In the evening we had dinner w/ Bro. and Sis. R* and D* L*.  Bro. L* is our ward mission leader and he's related to some L* I got to know in Lake Charles, so that's fun.  They fed us a healthy balanced meal of roasted pork and stir-fried veggies, sugarfree raspberry jello w/ raspberries for dessert.  We watched "Joseph Smith- Prophet of the Restoration" w/ them and it was wonderful. 

 

Tuesday was a very miraculous day.  After making visits to some sweet members in the nursing home, we ate lunch at Brookshire Brothers because we'd been given a gift certificate for there.  It was pretty yummy and Sis. Mapa and I had a really good chat.  We then met up w/ Sis. E* O* who was supposed to come visit investigators S* and J* w/ us.  S* and J* cancelled so we went to go try a referral from the Fred elders.  His name is J* J* and Sis. Mapa had met him before, but it was kind of weird and we weren't sure if he was really interested or not.  Apparently he is, because the Spirit really guided our lesson and we commited him to baptism.  E* bore her testimony and it was beautiful and it was just awesome all around.  That same day we commited T* M* and his 2 friends T* and D* to baptism. It completely wasn't us- it was all the Holy Ghost.  He's so great!  all 4 agreed to baptized on Christmas day, but that is subject to change for scheduling purposes.  Our branch president and his wife (J* and M* L*) had us over for dinner that night.  They fed us a yummy casserole and green beans, w/ fresh baked choc. chip cookies for dessert.  We then headed up to Kingwood to spend the night in the Mission Home.  It was a fun little roadtrip. The J* sisters slept there too and it was really cool to spend some brief quality time w/ Pres. and Sis. Moldenhauer. 

 

Wednesday we had Sisters' training which was combined w/ Zone Leader Council.  It was a really cool training meeting, but of course, really long.  They fed us great food and it was fun to spend time w/ the other missionaries.  Overall it was very edifying experience.  We then headed back to Woodville (from Kingwood) and were really excited to get back to the country.  Living out in the sticks feels like home to us these days.  We met A* G* and her mother at Elijah's for dinner.  A* is an AMAZING investigator who is planning to be baptized.  We were a little nervous to meet her mother, but it turned out great and her mom is VERY supportive of her decision. 

 

Thursday we taught J* in the morning, and in the afternoon we went to teach J* J* w/ Bro. and Sis. L*.  It went really well and he comitted to living the Word of Wisdom.  That night, the G* had us over for dinner.  We built a gingerbread house w/ there grandkids and had a lesson and it was all quite awesome. 

 

Friday we had Zone Meeting in Beaumont.  I was in the Beaumont chapel for the 1st time since I was 10 yrs. old.  They re-upholstered (sp?) the seating since then- fyi.  The meeting was great.  We all went to lunch at Olive Garden after.  I'm still getting to know the missionaries in my zone.  It's pretty crazy being the only sisters in the whole zone.  On our way back we stopped in Spurger to visit a referral of sorts from the Fred elders.  That was effective.  That night we went to the Tyler County Christmas at the Courthouse and contacted lots of people.  It was pretty awesome and completely led by the Spirit. 

 

Saturday we did some more contacting at the county Christmas party, where I also ate the most delicious BBQ sandwich of my whole life.  Bro. and Sis. L* were there and bought them for us.  We attended a massive O* family Christmas party too out in Odomville of course.  There was lots of food and lots of people.  We got to see T* again that afternoon and that went well too :)  We finally got to do our weekly planning which went pretty well and didn't take too long- that was good because we had very little time to get it done.  We've been so busy!  That night we went to a Christmas service at Heritage Village that we'd been invited to.  Reverend Brian from the Methodist church gave a sermon and we sang lots and had a good experience.  It was very interesting.  Afterwards we got to have a good conversation w/ a less active member that works at Heritage Village.

 

Sunday was amazing!!! J* and A* both came to church and loved it and plan to be there next week.  We had a lesson w/ A* after church on the Plan of Salvation at the L*'s home.  It was fantastic and her baptism date is currently set for January 2nd.  They also fed us spaghetti and cheesy garlic bread and brownies.  We had all kinds of adventures in the afternoon, and in the evening we went to the D*'s for some food and to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional.  It was quite wonderful.  Our whole week was!  We're exhausted! 

 

Missionary work is the best!!!!

 

Nov. 29

Howdy from Woodville- the love of my life!  I LOVE serving out here in the country, and I have the best companion on the planet.  I'm so incredibly blessed far beyond what I deserve. 

Monday was of course transfers- WOOT!  We went to Walmart for groceries and met several investigators and members there... it's kind of the only place to go around here.  That was fun.  The awesome M* family fed us for dinner that night.  They fed us Taco Pie and I drank my Koolaid from a mason jar.  I LOVE the country :)

Tuesday we visited a young woman named R*. Her father is pentecostal/apostolic and was very hostile while pretending not to be.  The Spirit constrained us from arguing w/ him at all, and he suddenly had to leave.  (answer to our prayers!)  We were then able to bear powerful testimony to R* and plant a seed even though she's not currently interested in learning more.  She's a remarkable girl, and I'm happy we were able to have an effective lesson w/ her.  We went to the nursing home where I got to meet "Granny" and "Big Mama"- sweet members who love us to pieces.  We did some tracting and had some success.  We've been very prayerful about when we go finding, and the Spirit has been very strong as we've done so.  The D* family fed us fried Catfish and tater tots for dinner. They totally rock.  After dinner we also went to visit Bro. and Sis. L* (our ward mission leader and his wife)  They're totally fabulous.  Sis. L* gave Sis. Mapa and I mumus to wear in our apt. They're pretty awesome... we've taken pics in them.

Wednesday we had weekly planning which was incredibly spiritual and effective and under 3 hours- AWESOME!!!  We visited our investigator J*, and set up an appt. w/ her.  Then we visited Sis. M* while were in the neighborhood.  She's the seminary teacher for our branch and she's completely amazing.  We then decided to go knock doors, and felt good about a particular street.  We very soon ran into a former investigator who had just broken up w/ her fiance and had been contemplating suicide earlier that day.  It was exactly where the Lord needed us to be and we were used as instruments to comfort her and lift her spirit.  I met Sis. B* and we had a lesson w/ her- she's a sweet elderly member of our branch.  Bro. and Sis. W* and J* S* fed us dinner that night.  J*'s Bro. and Sis. in law were also there for Thanksgiving.  They fed us YUMMY Taco Soup.  We had a great discussion w/ them about Elder Holland's conference address. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving!!! I hope all y'all's was great!!! Please don't judge me for the TX grammar of that sentence :)  Ours was fabulous, but didn't involve much overreating.  We only had one meal appt. w/ Bro. and Sis. J* and W* K*.  Turkey, stuffing, Jello-fruit salad-thing (YUM!), Sweet Potatoe Casserole- never had it before and I'm in love!, rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed veggies... and nothing else I can remember.  They sent us home w/ pumpkin pie so we could enjoy it after our food digested.  It was great that evening :)  In the morning we went and helped C* M* get started w/ getting her mission papers filled out online.  We chilled there and wrote letters and had our skirts nibbled on by goats and learned how to clean out a horse's water trough w/ dirt.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE Woodville?  A* G*- our recent convert and good friend from Baytown, came down to visit us that afternoon.  We went and hung out at the park and took pics and talked.  We had lots of fun and made a Walmart run.  That night we spent some time at the D*'s writing more letters and watching "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration."  It was a great day :D

Friday we had District Mtg. w/ the Elders in Jasper.  Elder Hugentobler is now my district leader which is kind of weird for me since he was my district leader in the MTC.  He's grown a lot since then.  He's training a brand new greenie, Elder Matthews and that's our whole district.  I've now been in 4- person districts for 5 months, I've learned to enjoy them.  It's weird being so far away from... everyone... while serving here in Woodville.  We visited some less-active members after lunch... that was pretty awkward.  We visited the S* who attend Fred branch, but live in our area... they're in their 90's and are adorable and love us.  We went tracting and once again had some fabulous spiritual experiences.  We ended up teaching a lesson on the street corner to A*, T*, and S* who were incredibly receptive.  S*'s grandpa had just died the night before, and we were able to comfort her through scriptures in the Book of Mormon.  We have a return appt. w/ them for this week.  The G* fed us pizza and salad for dinner that night.  They're so sweet.  Sis. G* has been a member for less than a year and has such a strong testimony.

Saturday we volunteered at Heritage Village. A historic museum village place- kind of awesome.  We helped them decorate for Christmas by making swags for building posts out of freshly cut pine, cedar, holly, and youpon branches.  TOTALLY put us in the Christmas mood.  We were quite helpful and had lots of fun.  While we were there, Bro. and Sis. S* from Baytown showed up!  They were in the area camping.  That was a fun surprise!  The Heritage Village people fed us tasty chili for lunch. 

That afternoon we tracked down the address of a former investigator, visited and set up an appt. w/ some other investigators, and went tracting.  While tracting a father answered the door w/ a little baby girl in his arms and a 3 yr. old girl at his side.  As soon as he opened the door, his 3 yr. old walked up and gave me a big hug... then proceeded to ask her dad if she could come w/ us.  After talking w/ him and him stating that he was comfortable in his church and such we turned to leave, only to hear more begging from the sweet girl to go w/ us.  It was clear that the man was totally shocked by his daughter's behavior.  It supports a theory we have that children totally recognize us as representatives of Jesus Christ and are drawn to the Spirit they feel when they meet us.  It happens all the time, and it never gets old.  Bro. H* H* fed us dinner- turkey, green beans, rolls, etc.  His wife is actually the one who did the cooking, but Harvey's the one who ate w/ us.  Sis. H* is happy in her faith and is not a member- super cool woman.  Bro. H* investigated the church for like 40 yrs. before being baptized just a few years ago.  Good times :)

Yesterday was fabulous at church!  The branch is so sweet and welcoming.  The S* from Baytown joined us too :)  That afternoon we were able to teach some pretty awesome people.  The M* family fed us dinner.  They remember our family- pretty cool.  They fed us deer meat- first time I've had it.  It was pretty much delicious.  We had a great week and I love Woodville!

I love you all!!  Send mail- I miss it!  SMILE!!!!!!!!!!!

November 22

Howdy from Woodville, TX- a lovely little town out in the country w/ lots of hills and trees. It's pretty exciting in the fact that it's the closest to Beaumont that I've served yet. It's even more exciting in the fact that I've been assigned back w/ Sister Mapa!!! For anyone who needs a refresher- she was my amazingly fabulous companion while serving in Baytown. We're so shocked and excited to be serving together again. She only has 3 months left and we're hoping to be together that long... but we'll see what happens!

Last Monday morning, Sister Hatch and I went to a volunteer appreciation lunch at the Neighborhood Center where we volunteer twice a month. It was really fun and they fed us yummy homemade burgers and gave us certificates of appreciation. Good times. That afternoon we got to see M* V*and give her a second Spanish Book of Mormon so she and R* could each have their own. She was very happy to see us. We also taught a lesson to L* M*... while she was drunk. It was actually pretty effective, which surprised me. It will be more effective to teach her when she's not drunk though.

Tuesday we got up bright and early to go to the temple w/ all the missionaries in our zone. It was so wonderful to be there and learn and feel the Spirit- SO uplifting! We all went out to lunch and then headed back to Pasadena for a service project. All the missionaries in our zone were supposed to go help assemble bikes at the place we've helped out at a few times. We were bummed that the bike people ended up not being there and we didn't get to do it.

After that I headed back to Baytown w/ Sis. Wallace on exchanges. We were able to visit w/ the P* family (the son J* was baptized on my birthday) which was way good, because they're still having a rough time as a family and Sis. Wallace hadn't even been able to get in to see them since she's been in Baytown (ever since I left). We also got to go teach a woman named K* who is getting baptized next month. When the sister gave the Law of Chastity pamphlet to read in preparation for our lesson, she expressed concern that this was going to be a tough commandment for her to keep. Sis. Wallace apparently assured her saying something like, "That's ok- we're bringing in an expert." Haha- I do seem to teach the Law of Chastity every time I visit Baytown, and I do happen to love teaching it. It's something I have a strong testimony of and strong feelings about. The lesson went very well and K* is committed to keeping the law of chastity. I think it's pretty hilarious that I'm considered an expert on the topic.

Wednesday morning Sis. Wallace and I went to teach a young man named K*. We taught him about the Restoration and the Spirit was strong. We commited him to be baptized on Dec. 11th. I had so much fun and learned so much teaching w/ Sis. Wallace. We went back to LaPorte to switch back w/ our companions and we pulled into the Shell Station to sort some things out when we got off the freeway. We saw someone sitting in the windshield repair tent where our recent convert H* used to work and thought it might be H*. So we went over and realized it wasn't him as we got closer, but decided to talk to the man anyways, because we're missionaries and that's what we do. His name is T* and he was very interested in talking w/ us and accepted a Book of Mormon and Restoration pamphlet and set up a return appt. w/ us. He also was H*'s boss who I'd heard lots about previously. He'd been out of town for awhile and didn't know what had happened to H*. (we hadn't seen or heard from him in weeks either) We got back in the car to go meet up w/ our companions only to pass Homer and his cousin 2 minutes later. We pulled over and went to talk to him. He said he'd been reading his Bible and praying the day before and thinking about us. We told him T* wanted to talk to him, and later that day H* got his job back. He also has been in contact w/ us since and wants to come back to church and such... so pretty much a miracle.

Sis. Hatch and I ate lunch after we switched back. (Sister C* W* made us some nummy sandwiches and snacks- I'm going to miss that woman!) We then went to try some potential investigators. We finally got in to see a 17 yr. old girl named V* T*. We taught her the Restoration and committed her to baptism on Dec. 10th. Woot! It was really cool. We had a good lesson w/ C* and the girls that night too.

Thursday we spent most of the day w/ Sister A* S*. It was SO fun. She made a bunch of cookies and we bagged them up all cute and put cards w/ them and then set out to visit several less-active members and some investigators. Those that we didn't get to see still got a back of cookies and a card on their door. We got in to see Sister S* S* who we hadn't been able to see for awhile and we had a great visit w/ her. Sis. S* took us to Wendy's for lunch. Around 3, she dropped us back at our apt. and we went to go visit T*. We had a good visit w/ him and taught him more about the Book of Mormon. He committed to come to church, but didn't make it Sunday. (H* said he'll try come Sunday and get T* to come w/ him though- good stuff for both of them!) We went back to the apt. to work on weekly planning and Sis. S* picked us back up at 5. We went to dinner w/ her and her daughter S* at Souper Salad before visiting some more people. We got to visit Sis. T* S* and her family. Her daughter, J* really hit it off w/ S*, and we're really excited about that connection. We had a really great lesson w/ T*. We also got to see M* V* again for a little bit as well as Sis. J* B*. The cookie visits were a pretty great success!

That night was really rough w/ the stomach flu starting sometime in the middle of the night (likely food poisoning from dinner). It was SO bad, but I'll spare this public audience the details. We missed District Meeting because of it, but the Elders came over and gave me a very powerful Priesthood blessing. We were able to go out that afternoon and try potential investigators and make it to our dinner appt. w/ the fabulous R* family. By that night though, I was coming down w/ a horrible cold type thing though, so we had to head in after dinner so I could go to bed.

Saturday we went and helped Sis. S* stain/varnish her arbor. I thought I was feeling better... but that ended up kind of wiping me out. It was very productive though and she fed us yummy lunch. That afternoon we were able to visit w/ some less active members we hadn't seen for awhile and that was really productive. When we came in for dinner, I had a pretty good fever so we stayed in for the evening and finished the weekly planning we hadn't finished earlier in the week. We got transfer calls that night and found out I was being transferred.

Sunday we pretty much just had church and meetings. Lots of members were pretty emotional about me being transferred, and I will miss them very much as well. I think the most entertaining comment was from Sis. M* who announced to the whole Relief Society that she was sad that all her sons were married and none of them could marry me. I love Pasadena 2nd ward and just like my other areas, they'll always have a piece of my heart. That evening we had dinner w/ the B* family- a feast as usual. It took a lot of time (and energy- especially for me being sick!) to get packed, but we got it all together eventually and got to bed by 11.

I'm SO EXCITED to be here in Woodville w/ Sis. Mapa. Miracles are going to happen. I love you all!!! The church is true!! The Lord loves you all and so do I!!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

November 15

Howdy everyone!! Greetings from La Porte- where I may or may not be found serving next week. Transfers are this coming Monday and it should be interesting to see what happens :)

Monday was a normal preparation day w/ cleaning and laundry and such. In the evening we were able to teach an awesome lesson to some new investigators, Ja* and Je*. They are both juniors in H.S. and are really great girls. We also had Sis. J* M* meet us for an appt. w/ the E* family. They ended up not being there :( and we've spoken to them since and they feel like they're just too busy to meet w/ us right now. We had quite the adventure waiting for Sis. M* to pull up though... I got pulled over by the cops AGAIN! I was actually already pulled over, but after circling the block twice, the officer decided we looked suspicious and he pulled up behind me and turned his lights on. We simply explained why we were there and he was very nice about it. Innocent little Sister Pilmer keeps getting pulled over for suspicious activity... I'd hate to actually be a criminal here in La Porte!

Tuesday we were able to have a lesson on the doorstep of one of our potential investigators, H* B*. He's a super good, genuine guy who missionaries have taught in the past. It's just really tricky setting up times to see him. We had an appt. w/ F* M* again and sweet Sis. A* B* came out w/ us... but F* was sleeping and not feeling well when we came by. That night we were able to visit w/ fabulous member Sis. B* S*. She's going through a lot right now and really needed the uplift. We love her and are praying things look up for her family soon.

Wednesday we had some pretty good tracting success. We once again had a member (Sis. E* C*) come to a teaching appt. w/ an investigator (E* B*) that totally fell through- bummer. We got to teach Ja* and Je* again that afternoon. In the evening, we had dinner w/ the elders and Sis. G* E*. She made a delicious broccoli,cheese. rice, chicken casserole and homemade bread. We are spoiled. We had a great discussion w/ her after about the Plan of Salvation. She's AMAZING :)

Thursday we spent a LONG time weekly planning for this week. We had dinner w/ C* W*, and E* and M* E* (our recent converts and next door neighbors) They fed us DELICIOUS meatloaf and we had a great discussion w/ them on keeping the Sabbath day holy and the difference they've seen in their lives as they've made changes to their Sundays. We also had a total miracle happen that night where we got to see former investigator C* J*. She was home from rehab for 2 days due to her brothers death. She's doing really well and it was the Lord's hand that were able to see her :)

Friday we had a spiritually powerful district meeting in the morning. We went to lunch w/ our district and the Spanish district at Bullrito's (still my fave!) and had a great time. The day was rough battling a migraine and such, but we had some good success setting up appts. w/ potential investigators. We also had a good visit and lesson w/ less-active member N* A*. The Ward Thanksgiving Social was that night and we had a great turn out, lots of food and a wonderful time. We were able to have some good visits w/ several less-active members.

Saturday we had an AMAZING lesson w/ new investigators M* and R* V*. Sis. A* R* joined us and it was really quite perfect. They came to church yesterday and had a great experience! I'd like to write details on that and some other cool experiences, but I have to go now. Sorry! I love you all! Have a great week!!! Send Mail!!!

November 8

Hello everyone!!! Greetings from La Porte where the weather is trying very hard to become Winter, but can't make up it's mind :)

Monday this week, we had a Zone Preparation Day over in/near Pine Trails at a really AWESOME park. It was combined w/ 3 zones so we had lots of missionaries there and it was lots of fun. It was named the "Tri-wizard tournament" and did involve playing Quidditch. Our zone leaders are incredibly creative and we all had lots of fun. The park itself had so much cool equipment that was large and durable enough for "grown-ups" to have a blast. I can't describe most of it, but it did have a type of zip-line that I had far too much fun playing on... so much fun I became very sore and rather bruised from the experience. The soreness has since subsided and the bruises are healing ;)

I had a great deal of fun playing w/ Hermana (Theresa) Harris. I'm not ready for her to go home, but that's exactly what she's doing in 2 weeks. It helps to know that she'll be there in Orem waiting for me when I return. She and I have made practically no effort to remain friends since our days together in high school Spanish, and yet the Lord has just kept placing us in each other's lives. We've now determined to put some effort into it :)

That night our appt. w/ J* E* fell through (she had a migraine... I SO understand.) as did our back-up plans, but the Lord told led us to be effective. We received a voicemail from T* I* who we haven't seen in a couple weeks, and so she was on my mind. (We were really excited she took the initiative to call us!) I told Sis. Hatch that even though it didn't make sense miles-wise I felt like we should go visit her. It made no sense to me, but kept coming to mind so I said it. She agreed to it. We went but when we pulled up, we didn't feel like we should go knock- NUTS!! I was thinking, "I'm trying so hard to follow the Spirit, but maybe I was wrong... I don't know why we're here!" I knew though, that there must be a reason, so we prayed and pondered and headed back in the direction of apt. completely confused as to whether it was right or not. Sis. Hatch asked if we need to gas up the car, and I said "Yes. That's a question I can answer." As I sat in the car waiting for her to do the fueling, I was prompted that we were here for a reason and that we needed to go inside and buy a drink. Sis. Hatch again agreed and we went in. We knew instantly it was where were supposed to be. A young cashier named U* was on shift- someone we've had gospel conversations w/ a couple of times, the most powerful of which happened this past Monday. It was awesome. As we pulled into our apt. parking lot that night, we ran into one of the residents, R*, who doesn't talk to us much. He was recently diagnosed w/ cancer and asked us to pray for him. It was very apparent that the Lord wanted us there at that moment as well. Even though following promptings from the Holy Ghost can be tricky- it's always worth the effort!

Tuesday we tried to visit lots of potential investigators with very little results. It was a pretty long, hard day. We had a very entertaining visit w/ an elderly, less-active member, Sis. H* S*. She's a little nutty, but very sweet. Visiting her is always an adventure. That night Sis. J* S* cooked dinner for us. She made chicken spaghetti- a signature dish of this area, made w/ chicken, spaghetti, velveeta cheese, and cream of chicken/cream of mushroom soup. Every local makes it a little differently, but it's always delicious. We also enjoyed green beans on the side and giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert. She even sent us home w/ a pretty decent stash of Halloween candy. We've eaten it all since, haha!

Wednesday, Elder Packer had exchanged places w/ Elder Fonnesbeck for the day, so we made a trip to Texas Donuts for free food so Elder Fonnesbeck could get the full Deer Park missionary experience. Then all 4 of us went to help build bikes again. It was fun and productive as usual. I'm now a fairly skilled bike assembler. This time we took a lunch break w/ some of the volunteers and were able to actually have some solid gospel conversations w/ several people. That was REALLY fun. I love being a missionary. That day we had two SOLID investigator lessons that went VERY well. We taught E* B*, read w/ her from Alma 32. She really loved it and she seems to actually be progressing now. I love the Spirit! We taught F* M* and watched the Restoration DVD w/ her... SO GREAT! She loved all the nature in it, and what we've taught her so far seemed to click for her. She said she really wants to read the Book of Mormon :) We also had some good visits to set appts. w/ other potential investigators, and the whole amazing day made the whole difficult Tuesday totally worth it.

Thursday we spent most of the day doing our weekly planning and spent the evening having plans fall through. We did get to practice the our music (Sis. Hatch piano, me singing) for a baptism on Saturday, so that was good.

Friday morning, we had an AWESOME zone meeting. The Spirit was very powerful and taught me much. One of the things we did was watch a video (I think a new(er) seminary video) about John Tanner, one of the early and incredibly inspiring members of the church. It was really moving. That afternoon we were able to do quite a bit of tracting as well as visit w/ a less-active member, T* S*. That went unexpectedly well given that we were interrupting the fact that she had company in town and such. The T* family (our awesome bishop and his fabulous wife) fed us dinner that night- delicious chicken and pasta and salad. We learned a lot from them as we discussed the our recent general and stake conferences. We were able to visit the F* family (awesome members) that night too and get to know them better and share a message w/ them.

Saturday, we picked up the elders and went to help Sis. A* B* move. She's one of the few active members that lives really close to us and we just love her! She doesn't live close to us anymore, as we just helped her pack up and move in w/ her daughter in Dayton. Our help was appreciated and we had fun. We're going to miss A*! That afternoon one of the elders' investigators Sis. P* M*, was baptized. It was such a spiritually powerful baptism- one of the most moving I've been to. I sang a special musical number- Lord, I Would Follow Thee, w/ Sis. Hatch accompanying, and it went well. Patricia is awesome and we're SOOO excited for her. :) We stopped by Little Ceasar's and picked up a pizza on the way home. It really hit the spot for us. That night we had another FABULOUS lesson w/ F* M*. It was completely led by the Spirit, and we totally taught in unity, and Frances is totally progressing- YAY!!!

Yesterday was a fairly normal Sunday. We went to church and attended lots of meetings and such. P* was confirmed a member of the church and given the Gift of the Holy Ghost- so that was awesome. I bore my testimony... it's really grown a lot on my mission. We had some great success tracting yesterday after church and have some return appts. for this week that we're pretty excited about.

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY SOOOOOO MUCH!!!

Be good everyone and smile lots and send mail and make good choices!!! (I'm a fan of run-on sentences today :) )

November 1

Howdy from La Porte! A year ago, this past Saturday, I opened my mission call to the Texas Houston East Mission. Crazy, huh?! I couldn't have imagined the amazing journey that has unfolded since that moment, and I'm optimistic to see what journey unfolds for me in the coming year. I love life, and I LOVE being a missionary :D

Monday was preparation day as usual- laundry, groceries, emailing etc. Sis. Hatch decided to get a haircut and chopped several inches, so that was fun. I watched... I think I'm going to try growing my hair back out. It's currently the longest it's been since I chopped it at the MTC. I did go get a Flu shot at the encouragement of my dear mother. It hurt, and my arm got pretty sore for a couple of days, but I survived. I was also pleasantly surprised that my insurance covered it or something, because they handed me my receipt for a payment of $0.00. No complaints there. That evening Brother and Sister B* (our Stake Patriarch and his wife) had us over for dinner. It really is always a feast there, and this time was no different- pork chops, rice, sweet potatoes, fruit, and blueberry-peach cobbler for dessert. Their hometeachers, Brother S* C* and his newly returned missionary son A*, also joined us. Dinner was delicious w/ great conversation, followed by a discussion on trusting in the Lord. Good times :)

Tuesday we finally got back in to teach Miss E* B*, who we haven't taught since Sis. Hatch's second day here. It went really well, and our wonderful neighbor and recent convert, Sis. C* W*, was able to join us. She shared her wonderful testimony and conversion experience and it was awesome! We went to the Food Fair at our local Neighborhood Center as we do faithfully twice a month when it is held. We passed out lots and lots of food this time and stayed very busy. We had lots of fun as usual, but were a little sad to find out the Houston Food Bank has a major shortage or something so there won't be any Food Fairs for us to volunteer at during the month of November. That afternoon, Sis. A* S* (ward Relief Society secretary) picked us up and took us to her home where we made LOTS of DELICIOUS cookies. We used a couple different recipes and had so much fun. We ended up making 12, beautifully wrapped plates to share w/ several of our apt. neighbors. We had some great spiritual discussions as we made cookies- Sis. S* is so completely fabulous. We have since delivered the cookies to our neighbors w/ cards introducing ourselves and letting them know we're here if they need anything, as well as "Finding Faith in Christ" DVD pass-a-long cards. It's been a big success in building friendships and forwarding the Lord's work! Lots of little miracles have come from the cookie outreach :) Bro. and Sis. M* fed us for dinner that night at Souper Salad- yummy food, great company, shared the gospel w/ our waitress :)

Wednesday morning we picked up the Elders in the morning and stopped by Texas Donuts. A kind member from another stake owns it and happens to adore the missionaries. He gives us free kolaches and donuts and drinks, so we had a yummy breakfast. He also puts out stacks of various pass-a-long cards to share w/ his customers, so we think he's pretty great! We all then went over to a warehouse in Pasadena where they are building 7,000 bikes for Christmas for children in need. We'd gone before and help inspect bikes for a few hours. This time we got to assemble them and had lots of fun working hard. We'll probably be serving there weekly for the next month or two. That afternoon we were able to teach Miss F* M* about the Restoration. She's in her 60's and had a stroke 5 yrs. ago. She seems to struggle focusing and remembering... but it went better on Wednesday than in our previous 2 visits, so we were happy about that. We also got to visit w/ a couple of Less-active members that nobody has seen in months, so that was very productive.

Thursday we had Zone Conference in Pine Trails w/ about 2/3 of our mission. Sis. Hatch and I joined a handful of other missionaries singing a special musical number. It went well and the Spirit was strong. The whole conference was completely wonderful! That evening while tracting, Sis. Hatch and I sang to someone on there doorstep. We had committed to another missionary that we would do so. It was pretty cool- something I've wanted to try for a long time now. We've done it a few times since and are looking forward to continuing to do so, especially during the Christmas season. The C* family had us over for dinner that night and fed us Papa John's pizza- my favorite! It was delicious and our lesson on keeping the Holy Ghost in our homes was really fun w/ them and their children.

Friday morning we raked leaves in Sister A* B*'s yard. She was so grateful for the help, and we LOVED doing it. It's one of the first colder mornings we've had, so it was fun to rake leaves in the cooler weather, and completely rejuvenating. She spoiled us once again by making us pancakes for breakfast. We spent a HUGE chunk of our day planning for this week- we hope it pays of and this week is awesome. That night we had a great lesson w/ Sis. A* B* on Laws and Ordniances of the gospel. She's such a wonderful woman who I learn a lot from!

Saturday Sister A* B* came w/ us to teach Miss F* M* the Stop Smoking Program. She really wants to quit, so we are praying that she's able to succeed! She and Sis. B* totally hit it off, so that was fabulous! Sis. B* spoiled us AGAIN w/ grilled cheese sandwiches and mini-banana splits for lunch. We did a LOT of tracting and had a lot of great gospel conversations. The E* family dropped dinner off at our apt- chicken, potatoes, green beans, and Halloween sugar cookies. We ate quickly and then went to Deer Park where we took the elders to a little Halloween Party a member family (The M*'s) was throwing. We attended so we could fellowship some of their non-member friends (this was the M*'s idea). The missionary effort was only mildly successful, but we enjoyed some great Halloween punch and a rousing round of "Pin the nose on the Pumpkin".

Sunday all 4 missionaries serving in the Pasadena 2nd ward spoke in Sacrament Mtg. I was given the topic of "Redeeming the Dead". I learned a lot through my studying and preparation, and the Spirit really helped us all deliver our messages well. I also sang a duet w/ our R.S. president Sister J* M*. We sang "A Child's Prayer" and chose to do it a'capella. We really pulled it off and the Spirit was very powerful. I love singing! :D Bro. and Sis. M* had us over for "Dinner in a Pumpkin" which turned out quite delicious (ground pork, almonds, roasted pumpkin seeds, squash, brown rice, deliciousness). We had pecan pie w/ vanilla ice cream for dessert. It's no wonder we have 30 minutes to exercise each morning- I'm really trying to use that well these days! I also had the adventure Sunday afternoon of being talented/braindead enough to shut our car keys in the trunk. Our trunk lever is slightly broken, so it was quite the ordeal. Bro. and Sis. S* came to our rescue, and were able to get it open for us. I'll try to avoid that in the future. Last night, we had one trick-or-treater come to our door. I might not have answered had a realized what it was, but it didn't dawn on me, so I did. It was our new next-door neighbor w/ her 3-year old Iron Man- so cute! We'd been given a bunch of candy by our other neighbors, so were able to share.

I hope my detail-filled email is not boring. I love you all so much! I also love mail! (just FYI!) Make good choices!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

October 18

Howdy from La Porte where the weather is still completely beautiful! I feel so blessed and privileged to be serving the Lord here at this time. My heart is very full of gratitude for all the Lord has given me! It's just amazing!

I hope you all had a wonderful week this past week and that this email/blogpost finds you well! This next week is going to be just FULL of miracles... I'm planning on it :) I'd like to take this moment to publicly wish my mom a happy birthday this Thursday! I'd also like to offer my congrats and best wishes to my wonderful friend Rachel Bradford and her soon-to-be husband, Brian Walker (also my friend-ps). I hope all goes well for them this Thursday! I intend to celebrate all the wonderful happenings of the 21st, by doing lots of missionary work w/ all my heart!

Monday was a pretty normal pretty normal preparation day: cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, letter writing, etc... nothing out of the ordinary, but still very good. That evening we enjoyed a wonderful meal w/ the fabulous B* family. Brother and Sister B as they are lovingly referred to throughout the area, are the sweetest little senior couple. Brother B. is our stake patriarch and their home is always so filled w/ the Spirit. They fed us and the Elders. We enjoyed a great chicken and rice dish with lots of yummy sides, and bread pudding for dessert. Sis. A* B*- Bro. B's sister joined us too, and we all had a great discussion after dinner on following spiritual promptings to serve those around us. Sister Hatch was not feeling well, so we ended up calling it a night after our dinner appt.

Tuesday was also fairly uneventful... most of the day was spent inside the apt. while Sis. Hatch slept. She's hasn't been feeling well recently. I was pretty productive w/ the extra time though, organizing, journal writing, studying LOTS of the Book of Mormon, and other spiritually uplifiting things. I also tried to keep Sis. Hatch drinking fluids and such. We made it down to the church at 7:30 for our Ward Relief Society "Missionary Celebration". It was a delightful activity, with about 10 awesome Relief Society sisters in attendance. Our RS president shared some awesome inspiring thoughts on getting involved in missionary work. Our FABULOUS recent convert, Sis. C* W* shared a some of her conversion story, including the impact of the members who have fellowshipped her. The Spirit was SO strong during her sharing portion. Sis. Hatch and I allowed the sisters to get to know us a little bit as people, and discussed ways in which they can be involved in missionary work, and utilize the great resource of "Preach my Gospel". We did small group discussions on how the gospel blesses families- inspiration and practice for thoughts we can share with others who may be interested in learning more. The evening was a huge success, and being a R.S. activity ended w/ delicious cupcakes and fruit.

We went to visit T* I* Wednesday morning. She's still wanting to learn more about the gospel and figure out if this is really what she wants in her life. She's still really struggling though, with family circumstances and such. We had a good spritiual conversation with her, shared some scriptures and set an appt. to come talk about the Restoration next Tuesday. After that visit, we came back to the apt. where we remained the rest of the day... Sis. Hatch still not feeling well.

Thursday we went tracting for a little while- SO good to get out and WORK! We met some great people and found a couple of potential investigators we'll be following up with. In the evening we met up with Sister J* S* and her mother at Baytown Seafood where they fed us and the elders dinner. We picked up the elders and gave them a ride (something we do regularly as they're on bikes!) and as I went to turn into the restaraunt parking lot- the police car behind me turned on his lights to pull me over! I couldn't figure out what I'd done, but pulled into the parking lot and parked, then rolled down my window to talk to the officer... he didn't come talk to me. Instead he took his flashlight and shined it right on Elder Packer and then inspected the rest of the passengers. Finally he asked if everything was alright, and I assured him it was. Apparently he thought he saw Elder Packer bang his head on the back of my seat or something and was concerned we were fighting or something and that I might be in danger. We STILL can't figure out what he even did to make it look like that to the officer! The best part is that Sis. S* and her mother witnessed the event from the restaraunt window and we giggled about the strange occurance all through dinner. After dinner, all 4 missionaries went to Sis. S*'s apt. to teach her about Preach my Gospel, and the message of the Restoration. She's such an amazing woman and we really love her! FYI- she's the primary president in our ward.

Friday we had an awesome district meeting, followed by lunch at Bullritos w/ the missionaries from our neighboring Spanish district. I love that, because then I get to hang out w/ Hermana (Teresa) Harris, my friend from highschool. We just love seeing each other all of the time, and enjoyed eating lunch together. We were able to do some more tracting in the afternoon- yay tracting! That evening Sister S* P* took Sis. Hatch and I to dinner at Olive Garden- my fave! It was awesome and we had some great spiritual discussion w/ her and her 10 yr. old C*.

Saturday morning we picked up the Elders at 8:30, and went to breakfast at Texas Donuts.... where a member from another stake works/runs the place. He gave us free donuts, sausage biscuits, Kolaches (sp?), and juice! (Spoiled? yes... trying not to gain a million pounds...DEFINITELY!) We went to the church, filled up the baptism font, and set up chairs for the baptism of H* M* F* who the elders have been teaching. She's 17 and dating a member Bro. M* C*, who just got his mission call to the Spokane mission- Spanish speaking. The baptism was wonderful! (not that I had much to do w/ it- I just led the music.) Exciting stuff though!! She was comfirmed a member yesterday. In the afternoon we had a "service celebration" w/ C*, M* and E*. They completed a Service challenge extended by Sis. F* and me so we celebrated by playing a game, eating some cookies, and having a lesson on service and focusing on others. Sister A* E* and her daughter E* took Sis. Hatch and me to dinner at El Torro that evening after some successful tracting time. I love TexMex and thouroughly enjoyed the gospel conversation, the company and the food. The leftovers made a great lunch yesterday too! We ended the evening by visiting a less-active member, Sis. N* A*. Sis. C* W* came w/ us and shared a powerful testimony- SO GREAT!!!

Yesterday was meetings and church (which was WONDERFUL) and meetings. Afterwards we went back to the apt. where Sis. Hatch needed to rest some more until our dinner appt. w/ the C* family who fed us Tuna Mac & Cheese, Broccoli, fruit salad, and cake. We had a great lesson w/ them about being "Examples of the Believers". They're such a great awesome family, and we gave the kids "Future Missionary" stickers to remember their commitment to share the gospel and be examples. Great stuff!!

I hope that's enough details this week- I tried REALLY hard and I hope it wasn't boring. I love you all so very much!!! I love the gospel! I love being a missionary! Be good and smile lots!!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

October 11

Howdy all! I'm writing to you from La Porte, TX, where I will be serving for at least another 6 weeks. This breaks my record for time served in an area. I served 3 months in Lake Charles, 3 months in Baytown, and now @ least 4.5 months in La Porte. I'm still loving the fall weather, but I don't love how early it's getting dark. It adds new challenges to missionary work that I'd almost forgotten about since winter.

There's a strange phenomenon that seems to occur each time I sit down to write my weekly email. Even though throughout the week I repeatedly think, "Wow- this is awesome! I need to remember to write home about this!", I suddenly can't remember anything and have no idea what to write! My apologies for not being super great at writing quality emails each week.

Thursday we went on exchanges w/ Baytown sisters. It was super fabulous! I went to Baytown w/ Sis. Kinikini and Sis. Wallace came here to LaPorte w/ Sis. Hatch. It's only the 2nd time I've done exchanges and it was a great experience! I learned so much from Sis. Kinikini and really enjoyed working in Baytown again. One of the particularly memorable moments of our exchange was the lesson we taught on the Law of Chastity to 3 young men ages- 16, 19, and 20. It was really actually very cool. It's a subject I have a lot of strong feelings about and we were able to teach a very open lesson. They asked lots of questions that we answered bluntly. We bore strong testimonies and the Spirit was really powerful throughout the lesson.

This Saturday was particularly eventful. We got up early and headed to Baytown for the baptism of J* and B* M&! What a miraculous day! They've been investigating the church for over 9 months, w/ at least 6 different sister missionaries (all of which were able to be there- also a miracle!) I was able to sing a couple of special musical #'s w/ other sister missionaries and it was a very special experience. I just love J* and B* and am so happy for them!

Shortly after the baptism, we headed to Houston for a tri-mission conference where Elder Costa of the Seventy spoke to us. AWESOME!!! It was uber-cool! Elder Nielson spoke to us as well and the whole meeting was very powerful. We wrapped up our Saturday w/ the ward social "Fall Festival" Halloween party... sloppy joes... candy.... games... and lots of fun costumes. A couple of less active members that we've been working with were able to attend and that made us very happy. Sister Hatch and I did the goofy missionary nametag switch for our costumes.

I love you all!!! Be good and smile lots!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

October 4

Howdy! Currently I'm still completely in love with Fall weather in Texas, and completely in love with missionary work! It's been another fabulous, exhausting week here in La Porte.

General Conference was so wonderful!! We ended up not having any investigators join us to watch it at the church, but we still look forward to sharing the words of the prophet and apostles w/ those we are teaching. We were joined by one of our wonderful recent convert families, Sister C* W*and her daughter E*. Her other daughter, M* was unable to attend, but I know C* and E* both had great experiences and we are so excited for them and their faithfulness! I am oh so very grateful for the opportunity to watch and learn from conference and receive much personal revelation through the power of the Holy Ghost. It was truly a wonderful weekend!

Last week we received a media referral for a woman named M* K*. We were informed that her son was killed by a police officer a few months back and that would be interested in talking w/ us. From what we understand, her mother is now a member. We were asked to go and visit M*, and share the DVD "Together Forever" with her. After a few failed attempts to meet her last week, we were pleasantly surprised to be able to this week. She invited us right in, knew who we were and why were there. We weren't able to teach her that day, but she wants us to come visit again soon and learn about what we have to share. We look forward to helping her find the peace that is available the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ.

We've also re-started teaching a woman named T* I*. Several sets of missionaries have taught her in the past, but we feel that the Lord wants us to try again. T* seems very open to giving it another shot, and we had a sweet experience talking w/ her about Faith this week. We brought a fabulous member that we thought she would get a long w/. Sister S* and T* seem to be a pretty great match and we're greatful the Spirit helped guide us to involve her. Sister S* also took us to lunch after visiting Toni. We were happy that she was buying us lunch and went to Cici's... where the manager is apparently a member and happily let all 3 of us eat for free. That never gets old and always surprises me :)

We've had some great service opportunities this week. We participated in our regular service at the Neighborhood Center where we go help pass out food every other week. We always really enjoy that opportunity and are always really appreciated there. We also got to remove some trees and shrubs for a less active member of our ward. We ended up bringing two sets of elders w/ us, and got A LOT done w/ their help. Good times! :)

I love you all so very much!!!! Until next week!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

September 27

Howdy everyone!

I'm writing to you on a particularly beautiful day in La Porte, TX! The temperature is incredibly pleasant, the sky is completely clear, and it kind of reminds me of a Utah summer day. Normally if it's not stormy we have lots of giant, fluffy, white clouds, like the kind you'd find painted in a children's book, but today it's just a brilliant, solid blue. I think fall may be my favorite season down here... we'll see :)

Sister Hatch and I have kept plenty busy this week. Unfortunately we have had even more appts. fall through than normal, but we've also seen success and miracles. To update you on D* W*- she has been sick since we last taught her and we have been unable to see her since. This means that she will not be getting baptized on the 30th, but we are prayerful that she is able to feel better and move forward with this soon.

We did have an awesome lesson this week with an really cool girl that we had tracted into last week, L* V*. She's a senior in highschool, so we invited a member of our ward who is also a senior (at a different highschool), S* V8 to come w/ us to the appt. When we got there, her friend K* H* (a junior) also wanted to learn, so we taught them both about the Restoration. The Spirit was so strong, and Sam was a great asset, sharing her own conversion story and sweet testimony. They all hit it off, and we'll be teaching them w/ Sam again this coming week. We're pretty excited about them!

We were able to attend the General Relief Society broadcast this Saturday, and thoroughly enjoyed it. We carpooled with ward members to the Stake Center in Eagle Springs where we enjoyed yummer baked potatoes and BBQ for dinner, followed by the broadcast. We were especially happy that one of our recent converts, Sister C* W*, was able to attend. I got to see several sisters from Baytown again which was delightful. I'm really happy to be serving in the same stake so that we still get to rub shoulders from time to time. We had a pretty intense storm pass over during the broadcast, and therefore missed the middle 2 talks do to satellite difficulties. It was kind of fun to pull out our hymn books and sing together while we waited for the broadcast to come back on. Attending the broadcast always helps me feel close to my mom and sister :)

Being a missionary is still the coolest thing ever. I'm still ridiculously happy, and the church is still true! I love you all so very much!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

September 20

First off I would just like to announce how much I love you all! That means ALL my family and friends that may read this. I love you SO much and hope all is well with you!

It's been a little strange this week to really realize how quickly I'm closing in on my 1/2 way mark. At the end of this transfer I'll have been out 9 months, with 9 months to go. It's flown by so quickly up to this point and it just amazes me. I so badly want to treasure this time I have as a full-time missionary, and work w/ great faith and diligence to do all I can to serve the Lord at this time.

Last night I attended a stake fireside in Eagle Springs. The Keynote speaker was Elder S. Gifford Nielson (sp?), Area General Authority. President and Sister Moldenhauer also spoke some, and it was an amazing fireside! Elder Nielson spoke a lot about missionary work, but also about our testimonies and priorities. It was powerful stuff, and particularly enjoyable for me as he incorporated a good amount of football (particularly BYU football) stories and details into his incredibly spiritual message. Elder Nielson played for BYU as the QB, preceding his career playing for the Houston Oilers, and then in Sports broadcasting stuff. He's a little (a lot) before my time, but I love my Cougar football, so I still think it's awesome. It was also the highlight of my week to see so many members of the Baytown 2nd ward at the fireside. I knew it was the same stake, but it totally didn't dawn on me that they'd be there until 2 of my favorite little girls came running up to me, exclaiming "Sister Pilmer!" and giving me hugs. I love my current ward, but Baytown definitely has a piece of my heart, and I felt very loved as I was able to reconnect w/ so many members from my last area.

This past Wednesday, the 15th, was Sister Hatch's birthday. I tried hard to help her celebrate and overall it turned out to be a pretty great day. I decorated the apartment which was way easier to accomplish than anticipated, because she was super tired went to bed right after planning Tuesday night. That gave me time to decorate and make a SUPER rad card without interruption. She was happily surprised and some of the decorations are still up indefinitely. I also let her take me running for 1st time. She's a hard core runner and wants to train me, so I accepted. I have a long ways to go before I could be considered a "runner", but I'm trying real hard! Rumor is that I'll eventually enjoy it ;) So far I like everything about it except for the part where I'm actually running. Hahaha!

We visited one of our investigators in the hospital, as she just had hernia surgery. It was a very spiritual visit, and we are praying hard for her full recovery, as well as her ability to progress in the gospel. I took Sister Hatch to Bullrito's for lunch (our favorite!) and our Relief Society President, Sister M* took us out to a really nice Chinese Buffet for dinner. A really awesome (though semi less-active) member of our ward, Sister C* S*, also had us over for a brief celebration that night. She and I had plotted together to surprise Sister Hatch w/ cake and singing and crayon "Happy Birthday" signs made by her adorable kids. Sister Hatch really liked that, and I was pretty happy that I pulled off a fun little surprise. We did some tracting and all that normal good missionary stuff during the day, and we saw lots of tender mercies of the Lord. The best b-day present and miracle though, happened when we recieved a voicemail that said, "Hello, my name is D* W*, and I'm interested in joining your church. My number is ____. Please give me a call." We have since met with D*, taught her about the Restoration and commited her to baptism! (currently aiming for Sept. 30th) We just love her, and she has been so prepared. We are praying so hard for her :)

Being a missionary ROCKS!! I love mail! The church is true! I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, with all my heart and am so grateful for His Atonement. The Book of Mormon is true and powerful! I love you all!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

September 13

Howdy from La Porte, home of some of the coolest people I've ever met! I'm so in love w/ being a missionary- it truly the best decision I've ever made. I love my companion, Sister Hatch, and we're doing our best to work hard and accomplish the Lord's will in this area. There are some pretty sweet awesome things that have happened this past week!

*I received a phone call on Saturday from Sister Kinikini and Sister Wallace in Baytown. They excitedly informed me J* and B* M* have decided to be baptized on October 9th, which happens to be Sister M's birthday. Sister Mapa and I were not the first or the last missionaries to teach them, and we knew they would eventually be ready, we just didn't know when. After much prayer, and work, and fasting by many missionaries- it's such an exciting thing! I'm so stoked and really hope I'll get permission to go back and be there for the baptism.

*Yesterday, T* came to Sacrament Mtg. and brought his 2 children. We had just tracted into him the day before and hadn't even taught him yet or anything! He just showed up! The ward lovingly welcomed him, and even though he was unable to stay for the other meetings, he seemed to have a genuinely good experience. We now have his phone number as well as his address and hope to be able to teach him very soon.

*At dinner w/ the E* family last night we were discussing the way the gospel is recieved in this area of the world. Before we knew it, they spontaneously gave us a solid referral to teach their neighbor friends. It was really cool, and we are prayerful that we'll be able to share the gospel w/ them and they'll be receptive to our message and the truth that we have to share.

We experience lots of little and big miracles every day and I'm just so happy to be a part of this great work. I love you all so very much!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

September 7

Howdy everyone!

It's been another fabulous week here in La Porte, filled with many challenges and also many miracles! This has been my first experience with taking over an area- being the companion that's supposed to know what's going on and where everything is. Something miraculous happened- missionary work kept happening here! I've really felt the strength and guidance of the Lord. He's really helped me to continue to know and accomplish what He requires of me.

I've actually experienced a real, dramatic fulfillment of Ether 12:27 in my life recently. The Lord is often taking my weaknesses and turning them into strengths and helping me become the best version of myself, but it's not always dramatic and obvious. This recent miracle is in regards to my directional and navigational abilities. In my first area, Lake Charles, my trainers Sister Stott and Sister Miller, picked out a shirt for me that said "Don't follow me. I'm lost." I never had any idea where we were going and struggled so hard to remember where people lived, etc. I tried so hard and just STRUGGLED. It was slightly better while in Baytown, but I still felt incredibly inadequate in that department. While Sister Frazier was still here in La Porte, I didn't feel like I was learning the area very well or very quickly, but I guess I was wrong. I actually seem to know where I'm going most of the time! When I'm not quite sure, I can quickly and effectively navigate us with the help of a map. It may not seem like something super important, but I'm so grateful that the Lord is helping me with this weakness, now strength- it's allowing us to hasten His work. The Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, is real and powerful. Christ is my rock and my strength and He is helping me to become the version of myself God intended.

Sister Hatch and I have recently been able to get back in with a couple of people Sister Frazier and I found like a month ago. It's been so cool to be able to finally teach them. Miss E and Miss C are both really open to learning and seemed really feel the truthfulness of the message of the Restoration. We are praying in faith that they will truly seek to know if this is true and be willing to act upon their answers from the Lord.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is TRUE and has been restored in its fullness. We have a living prophet on the earth who leads and guides us through direct revelation from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost is amazing and has endless power to help us learn and understand greater light and truth. My gratitude and joy are so full at this time. I just love being a missionary!!!

I love you all!!! Mail is still always welcome!!! Smile!!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

August 30

We didn't have a letter on August 27th, so we were extra glad to get today's!

Hello Family and Friends!

I hope you have all had a fabulous week, and have felt the love of our Heavenly Father in your life. This is transfer Monday, and I'm still here in LaPorte for another 6 weeks at least, but I have a new fabulous companion. Her name is Sister Hatch. She is from Sandy, UT and has been serving here in Texas for a grand total of 6 weeks so far. I'm excited to work with her and get to know her better. I love being a missionary!!!

We have enjoyed some really sweet moments this past week when members unexpectedly helped us out. Last Monday Sis. Frazier and I were in Kingwood so I could go to the dentist. We stopped at Fuddruckers for food after my appt. While waiting for our food to be ready, the manager came by and excitedly introduced himself as a member of the church. He was then shocked to realize we'd paid full price and refunded my ticket and told Sis. Frazier and I to split the cash. He informed us that missionaries always eat half price in his restaraunt and gave us a free order of sweet potato fries. We felt loved :) While walking down our street in LaPorte, on our way to visit a potiential investigator, a stranger pulled over in a pick-up truck and handed us cold bottles of Gatorade. Apparently he's a member in Baytown that attends the Singles' branch in Pine Trails and he just felt sorry for us walking in the heat. We don't mind the heat so much (though it is VERY HOT AND HUMID), but we were also very grateful for the cold drinks and kindness. Service is the best, both on the giving and recieving ends. Go do something small and unexpected for someone today!! Smile at everyone!

I love you all so much!!! Be good and smile lots!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

From the management: I'm so grateful to hear of people taking such good care of my sister!

Aug 16

Howdy from La Porte! It's another wonderful day, and the most wonderful part is that I'm still a missionary! This work is the best thing ever and while it is often challenging, frustrating, and exhausted- I still love it with all my heart! It is just so rewarding and full of miracles!

I discovered a really great quote this week that I wanted to share with y'all. President Spencer W. Kimball said, "We become more substantive as we serve others- indeed, it is easier to 'find' ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!" I love that and know it can apply to everyone, not just missionaries. There are opportunities for each of us to serve our brothers and sisters each and every day- usually in small, but meaningful ways. No effort to serve goes wasted. The Lord will magnify your efforts to serve Him by serving His children. (Mosiah 2:17)

Sister Frazier and I are still working hard and learning much from one another. I really appreciate her example, and am happy to be serving with her here in La Porte. This week a woman in our apt. complex, Miss T, approached us in a state of fear and morning. She has experienced the untimely death of a loved one and needed love, support, and the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Since we've had the opportunity to teach her, it has become clear that the Lord has prepared her to accept this truth at this time. I've grown to love her so much, and want so badly for her to continue to progress and understand the peace and joy of our message. We are praying hard for her and the other people we are teaching. The Lord is with us as we walk forward in faith.

A couple of people have mentioned or questioned the use of initials instead of names for most people I email about. In the event that others may be wondering, I will clarify. Because Amanda is posting this to a blog for the whole world to see (and I know there are readers down in this neck of the woods)- I only use initials for confidentiality purposes. If any of you ever have specific questions about specific experiences or people- feel free to ask. I love talking about it!

I love you all and hope all is FABULOUS for you! Send mail- it's my fave! Be good!

August 9

Hello all!

It's been another fantabulous week here in LaPorte. Sister Frazier and I have been privileged to be instruments in the Lord's hands time and time again, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity. It's still crazy hot and humid and I get eaten by mosquitoes regularly, but it's all so very worth it. I've learned that when I truly know that I'm doing the Lord's will, not much else matters. I'm working hard to be a worthy, willing, diligent, faithful servant of the Lord.

We commited a new investigator to baptism on Saturday. When we told her about Joseph Smith's first vision- she actually giggled out of excitement. She was actually giddy! Miss M is a fabulous little old woman (she's probably in her 80's), and she's excited to be baptized on Sept. 10th. We are prayerful that as she continues to learn and understand, that her faith will continue to grow and she will be prepared to take that step.

One of my favorite lessons this week was to another new investigator on Friday. Mr. J is in his early 20's and as we taught him he really seemed to understand the message of the Restoration. We feel that he understands what he needs to do in order to gain a testimony of it for himself. It's amazing what can happen as the Spirit testifies of the truth we teach. I love it so much, and I don't think I'll ever get used to having these powerful experiences. I'm amazed how often they happen.

I love you all so very much! I also love mail- so I shamelessly encourage you to send some my way ;) I'm so happy and I love sharing the true message of the restored gospel and seeing it change lives. It's awesome! Make good choices and remember who you are and what you stand for!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

August 2

Howdy from La Porte, TX!

It's been a fabulous week here and I'm so in love w/ being a missionary! I feel so blessed to serve the Lord in this way at this time. The ward members here are fabulous and enthused about the work and that rocks :) A lot of our investigators have slowed down in the progression recently (which is slightly lame) or been baptized and become members recently (which is awesome), and our teaching pool is not as large and active as we would like. We decided the remedy this by tracting our little missionary hearts out in the heat and humidity this week. 104 quality gospel conversations later, we have many solid potential investigators that we are very optimistic about.

Thursday night we had a lesson w/ Miss A.C. and it turned out to be very effective. She ended up emotionally describing some of her fears about coming to church and the letdowns she's experienced in the past. It was a relief to understand her feelings better and be able to bear testimony about those things that are most important for her to understand. The spirit was very strong, and even better than that- she actually made it to church for the first time this Sunday. Good times :)

One of my favorite experiences while tracting this week was meet Mr. J.B. (we met a lot of amazing people this week!) The words and images of the tattoos on his body tell a story of a very rough past. He's already turned his life around immensely and let go of so much. He was such a genuine person to talk to and was genuinely interested in our message. We really hope we're going to be able to teach him again and help him come closer to Christ.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true and changes lives for the better! The Book of Mormon truly is a testament of our Savior and reading and applying its teachings will bring so much happiness. I love my Heavenly Father his son Jesus Christ w/ all my heart. Keep being awesome everyone and remember that I love you!!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

July 26

Howdy from La Porte! It's been a great week serving in my new area w/ my fabulous new companion Sister Frazier. She's 25, from Alpine, UT and has been out on her mission for 15 months. We're working hard together and loving every minute of it. I've met some amazing people this week. My new ward, Pasadena 2nd, is full of fantastic members and I'm so excited to work w/ them.

One of the lessons taught this week was to Miss B.B. and her sister Miss K (my apologies for the fact that everyone I teach has the same initials.) We taught them about the Restoration and they felt the spirit. Miss K described the way she felt a cool sensation over her whole body as I quoted Joseph Smith's first vision to them and how she could visualize it in a very real way. I will never get used to having experiences like that. I know truth, and the Holy Ghost is with me and he testifies to the hearts of those we're able to share truth with.

This gospel is SO true, and is ABSOLUTELY the path to happiness for all of our Heavenly Father's children. I love you all and love you so much! I still love mail :) I plan to write a way better email next week ;) SMILE LOTS!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

July 19

Howdy from Baytown!....

For the last time! I'm being transferred today, in less than an hour. We're not supposed to know where we're going until we get there.... but I'm cool and just found out that I'm headed to La Porte, TX. I'm pretty nervous about it, but I know that it's the Lord's will and I'm going to be just fine... actually I'm going to be just fabulous. My new companion will be Sister Frazier. She's a great missionary, and I know the Lord will help us accomplish great things together.

My last week in Baytown has been wonderful! Sister B.L. was baptized on the evening of Thursday July 15th. (Happy Birthday Daddy!) The service was wonderful, with wonderful talks given by awesome members. At Sister B.L.'s request, Sister Mapa and I sang a duet "Learn of Me" by Janice Kapp Perry. I'm really going to miss singing w/ Sister Mapa. Sister B.L. was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Sacrament Meeting yesterday and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was such a precious experience to witness. I love her so much, and feel so blessed to be a part of her life and help her receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

My brain is a little scattered and my heart is very full with transfers happening... so I'm not quite sure what else to write about. I'm so grateful for the time I've been given to serve in Baytown. The Baytown 2nd ward is full of absolutely amazing members!! I have been so blessed to have the opportunity to work with them and to meet and serve so many great people here in this area! I think I'll just mention a few of the highlights of the week that come to mind, aside from the baptism.

-Fun lesson w/ Sister B.L. on Monday where we taught her how to hold a Family Home Evening w/ her boys and grandmother. We taught about keeping the Sabbath Day holy by making and Ice Cream Sunday w/ gross toppings and talking about how a lot things are great, but not everything is great on "Sunday". We played a fun game called "the grateful game". And Sis. Mapa and I sang a song we made up (while Sis. Mapa played a ukulele we borrowed from a member.) It was fun for Sis. Mapa and I to share our experiences of successful FHE's from growing up. We had a great time.
-tracting in heat w/ the mosquitoes- it's the best!

-Lunch at "5 Guys" on Friday w/ fabulous member Sister C.C.

-Painting a bedroom on Friday for the fantastic Sister V.

-Pizza and Movie Night on Saturday, watching "The Testaments" w/ awesome recent convert Sister A.

-Lot's of other great stuff I can't remember right now!

I love you all! I know the church is true! I love my Savior, Jesus Christ with all my heart! It is such a privilege to serve Him as a missionary at this time. Write me letters! Be good!

July 12

Hey everyone!

Greetings from Baytown- home of your favorite mosquito-bitten Sister Missionary! After the heavy rainstorms passed the mosquito population of this area increased exponentially. As many of you know- these little insects are MAJOR fans of a certain Sister Pilmer. I currently have over 50 bites and am probably developing cancer from the intense bug spray :) It may sound bad, but don't confuse this for complaining. I am still SO ridiculously happy! The opportunity to make sacrifices to show my love for the Lord and to serve His children is a privilege. When people look at us like we're crazy as we stand on their doorstep slapping ourselves to kill the swarms of mosquitoes- we testify that we are there sharing the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ because it's TRUE and can change lives and bring happiness! (That was a very run-on sentence... my apologies.)

This week has been very spiritual and very successful! We are teaching several new people who seem very interested in finding out the truthfulness of our message for themselves. A couple of our new investigators are Miss H and Mr. D- a cute 18 yr. old couple (dating, not married) who just graduated from high school. We had a powerful lesson with them on Thursday about the Restoration. They are super cool, and one of my favorite moments in the lesson was when Sister Mapa asked how they felt about what we shared and if they thought it could be true. Miss H replied that she could see in our faces that we believed it was true and that she felt like she could trust us. She said it sounded awesome and she would definitely pray to know for herself. Awesome times :)

Also in exciting news- Miss B.L. has moved up her baptism date to this Thursday the 15th. (Also my daddy's birthday) She is so prepared and excited to come closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ. I love her so much. Sister Mapa and I feel so blessed to be a part of her life at this time.

Saturday was a particularly cool day this week. We had a "No Miles Day", where we did not use our car for the day. Due to the large size of our proselyting area and the fact that we don't actually live inside of it- we had to rely on our local members to help us out. It was challenging, but we pulled it off with the Lord's help and some wonderful members of the Baytown 2nd Ward. At one point we had a member drop us off to tract in a neighborhood "fairly close" to our apartment complex. We planned to walk back for our lunch appointment with recent convert Sister A.G.. We estimated it would take about 30 minutes... but after 40 minutes of walking quickly and singing hymns as we went, we were only about halfway there. We called A.G. and she came to rescue us from the 100 degree humid heat. The Chic-fil-A she fed us for lunch tasted SO good after our little trek. We also had a wonderful lesson with her about what it means to be a daughter of God. More awesome times :) The day was full of miracles. Utilizing the members in our missionary efforts provides so many blessings for all involved. It's amazing.

Life is good here. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true and is led by a true, living prophet who receives revelation from Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I'm so happy and am learning so much as I work and serve! I still love mail :) I love you all so much! Keep being fabulous!

July 6

Howdy everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! It was definitely a joy to celebrate the holiday down here as a missionary! It was mostly a typical missionary Sunday for us. We had early morning meetings followed by church at 9 a.m.. We visited and taught people and did our missionary thing. In the evening we volunteered at the Mont Belvieu city party. I thought of my mom and grandma and great aunts quite a bit as Sis. Mapa and I were assigned to monitor the quilt exhibit. (Our job was to walk around and smile, keep food and drink out, and discourage visitors from touching the quilts.) The quilts were lovely and our service was appreciated. The Elders helped w/ crowd control and serving free hot dogs. It was good times. :) After returning to our apt. for the night, while doing our nightly planning, we heard fireworks. We ran out to our parking lot for a few minutes and enjoyed the Baytown Fireworks display for a few minutes! It was very fun, and because we ran out barefoot, I of course got a couple fire ant bites- those of you who know TX and know me, know that that truly completed my 4th of July experience.

The work is still pressing forward here in Baytown, and we are loving every minute of it. I'm exhausted at the end of every day. Each day brings new challenges and trials as well as new miracles and joy. We are teaching some awesome investigators and are still particularly excited for Miss B.L.. She is excited for her baptism and loves all she is learning. She is gaining and nourishing her own testimony of the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and it's amazing. We have many potential investigators that we are optimistic about teaching and helping come closer to Christ. The Lord's work is powerful and such a privilege to be a part of. I love it so much!

The weather here is pretty nuts. It's either very hot and humid or very rainy, depending on the day and the nature of passing hurricanes and such. It's always an adventure.

I love you all and love hearing from you! Be good!

June 28

Hey everyone!

I'm happy to report another fabulous week in the great state of Texas. The big event of this past week was my birthday on Friday, and it was celebrated by two even bigger events- the baptisms of Sister B.P. (a sweet elderly woman the Elders have been teaching) and Little Mr. J (sweet 9 year old boy Sis. Mapa and I have been teaching). It was an awesome day, and since I'll only celebrate one birthday out here in the mission field, I suppose I'll tell y'all all about it!

The day before my birthday we had zone conference (training conference w/ 1/3 of the missionaries in T.H.E. mission). After the conference we were served lunch by local members and everyone sang to me- it's embarrassing and delightful to be sung "Happy Birthday" by such a large group. That evening we went to a local member's home to teach a lesson on missionary work. Sister C.S. had made me german chocolate cake! with candles! and presents! She gave Sis. Mapa presents too and had us both blow out the candles which I loved, because it was fun to do it together!

Sis. Mapa and I have (as previously reported) been fighting plenty of illness between the two of us and the past couple of weeks have not been able to utilize our morning exercise time very well. That means when we both felt well enough to go walking at 6:30 a.m. on my birthday- I was very excited :) While walking there was lots of thunder, which I love, and Sis. Mapa witnessed a woodpecker pecking for the first time. So fun! We came back to the apt. and I opened the pkg. from my parents, and the card from my grandparents. Thanks Mom and Dad for the 3/4 sleeve cardigans, brownie mix, candles and card! Thanks for the card and birthday money Grandma and Grandpa! I also really enjoyed the papers inserted to my birthday card signed by many of my cousins, aunts and uncles w/ birthday wishes. I felt very loved and can't even express how much I love and appreciate you all! Sis. Mapa made me eggs and toast for breakfast, and we went about our morning schedule of getting ready and enjoying personal and companionship study as usual. (Sis. Mapa french braided my hair for me during comp study too!)

By 10:00 a.m. we left the apt. to go give service at the Senior Center in Montbelvieu (Sp?). We do that every week, but usually on Wednesdays. We helped hang children's artwork from a 4th of July art contest, and when we were done- Miss L, the S.C. director invited us to stay for their Friday lunch. It was catered delicious food and they were actually celebrating the birthdays for the month so had cake and wished me happy birthday too! Before heading to the church for a luau farewell party for a member of our ward getting ready to leave for school at BYU Hawaii, we stopped by Elders Jex and Christensen's apt. (the Baytown Spanish speaking elders). They called and said they had something for me. When they answered their door, they were wearing "N*Sync" party hats, holding a cake, and singing"happy birthday" to me. It was hilarious and awesome. The luau party was fun and we were able to visit with several local members and support our friend who is leaving. As Sis. Mapa and I tried to duck out quietly, we were stopped so they could all sing "happy birthday" to me. More fun embarrassment :)

We then enjoyed knocking on doors in the heat and humidity. We talked to quite a few people, and one was very kind and interested so we'll be visiting him and his wife again soon. Then it was time to head to the church to fill up the baptismal font as Miss B.P.'s baptismal service started at 5:30 and the elders wouldn't be able to make it to the church in time to fill the font. We started the water and practiced the musical number for her baptism. For her service, I sang "Learn of Me" accompanied by Sis. Mapa on the piano. It wasn't perfect, but it went really well. The Spirit was so strong throughout her service, and she is so happy to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. Jacob's service was held at 7:00 and also went very well. He was so happy and excited. His father was able to baptize him and it was a very special evening for his family. Our bishop's sweet wife Sis. C, sent me home w/ a vase of white roses for my birthday as well. (They smell just like my favorite roses in my backyard at home in UT!!)

Miss B.P. and Mr. J were both confirmed as members this Sunday and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Ms. B and her grandmother Sister H both attended all 3 hours of church yesterday and loved every minute! She is happily progressing and preparing for baptism and we are so happy to be a part of it. Miracles are happening here in Baytown every single day. This is truly the Lord's work and while it is exhausting and challenging, I love it with all my heart! I love you all so very much!!!!

June 21

I'd like to wish a belated Happy Father's Day to all you awesome fathers! I'm so grateful for the role that righteous fathers play in our Heavenly Father's plan. I'm super grateful for my own awesome Daddy, and for many awesome male role models my life.

It's been another awesome week down here in Baytown, TX. Sister Mapa and I are really great at sharing... especially our germs! I was sick for the first half of the week, and she was sick the second half of the week. That was hard, but the Lord really helped us to know when we could work and when we needed to rest. The time we spent out working was very effective, and we absolutely loved it!

Sister M came to church with her 3 little boys again this week! So did Ms. B and her less-active grandma Sister H! Awesome stuff! Ms. B has also committed to be baptized on July 24th and is very excited about it!

We had an awesome ward game night this past Friday that Sis. Mapa and I headed up w/ our ward activity chair. We were so excited for the success! Little Mr. J is still scheduled to be baptized this Friday and we love him and are so happy for him!

I'm out of time now, so I apologize for the lack of details, but love you ALL very much!

June 15

Hello everyone!

It's been another hot, humid, fabulous week in Baytown, TX. Sister Mapa and I love being companions and are learning and growing so much as we serve together. (for clarification from last week's email- Sister Mapa and I will be serving together for at least 6 more weeks, not 2.) This email is late due to a fabulous event yesterday known as "Sisters Service Day".

All of the sister missionaries in the Texas Houston East mission gathered together yesterday to serve and learn and have fun during our preparation day. We started with a service project, sorting food from a food drive in the hot sun. There was a lot to sort and we had fun helping out. We then came back to the Atascocita church building. We spent an hour with President Moldenhauer and the 4 elders serving as Assistants to the President and Training Assistants having a training lesson/discussion meeting. If you want to make 4 elders adorably intimidated and nervous- stick them in a room with 25 sister missionaries and ask them to teach. It was an awesome meeting and very fun times :) We enjoyed lunch together and were provided with supplies to do manicures, pedicures, and make-overs for each other. We also had some crafts available and a sister missionary clothing exchange. There were 3 hairstylists from the local congregations that came and volunteered their time to give us free haircuts as well. I got a trim, and Sister Map chopped of several inches which she loves but is still getting used to! The gathering was closed with a wonderful talk given by a sweet sister and member of the Kingwood congregation. She is a returned missionary and mother of 4 children. She shared her thoughts on what she learned from her mission that has helped her throughout her life. It was a fabulous day! (yay for me remembering to share some details whether you find them interesting or not!)

Other recent highlights of my missionary service include:

I was asked to be a photographer for the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. R.V.- 2 of the elders' investigators that have 2 sweet children and plan be baptized soon. The wedding was last weekend. Elder Lauritzen and our Relief Society president pretty much put the whole event together. They asked for my help and I was happy to use the nice camera of a local member and use my photography skills to serve this sweet couple! It was awesome :) The wedding was beautiful and Mr. and Mrs. RV were so grateful for all the help and support!

This Sunday a wonderful less-active member of our ward attended church for the first time in a long time. Sister M and her 3 little boys all had a wonderful time at church. Sister M was apprehensive about coming when her boys didn't have church clothes. Her amazing Visting Teacher, Sister C, was able to provide some financial help and all 3 boys (ages 5, 3, & 2) showed up in adorable new church clothes with cute little ties and shoes and everything. It was a very sweet experience to see them all there looking so handsome and ready to learn.

The work is still amazing here in Baytown and I love teaching and serving God's children. I love this work with all my heart and am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you all so much for your love and support! I love you all and hope and pray all is well with you!

*~Sister Pilmer~*