Week 18!

Howdy from Baytown!

Time is flying by and I'm loving every minute of this work! There is a song on the CD "Ring Christmas Bells" (Mormon Tabernacle Choir w/ Brian Stokes Mitchell.... please ignore the fact that I'm listening to Christmas CD's in May) called "Grateful". It describes excellently, how I feel right now. Sister Mapa and I listen to that song a lot because we just love being missionaries and are so happy and so grateful for all the Lord has blessed us with.

We have been so very busy and it's been fabulous! We've spent some wonderful hours knocking on doors in the 90 degree, humid weather. It sounds lame, but we really do love it. What could be better than talking to our Brothers and Sisters about the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ and His restored gospel?! We've been teaching TONS of awesome people, which means we're having to really find out who is prepared and searching and ready to make changes in their lives, and who is not. We love everyone we meet so it is hard, but the Lord's time is precious and we must use it wisely. It requires a lot of diligence and a great reliance upon the Spirit. It's awesome :)

I'd like to thank the Northridge 7th Ward (especially the Youth!) for the sweet package I received this week! It was so fun! The tissues were particularly useful and I absolutely loved the notes from the Young Women. Thanks to everyone who contributed! I love mail :) Sister Mapa also commented on the picture they included, and we agreed that it is amazing to see the potential and power in such strong, worthy Youth. They're incredible!

Sorry for sending another email w/o a lot of details on the work and no animal stories, but I hope y'all appreciate anyways. I love you all so much!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

April 28

Hello from Baytown!

That's right- I've been transferred. I'm now serving in Baytown, TX in the "Baytown East" area with my awesome new companion Sister Mapa! "Lake Charles South" area of our mission is temporarily closed, along w/ "Jennings" area. The Elders serving in "Lake Charles North" and "Sulphur" are going to be covering those areas for now. There are no sister missionaries in Louisiana right now. The reason is that there is a shortage of missionaries in our mission. A couple of missionaries have had to go home for medical issues and such, and we are waiting on Church Headquarters to send us some more valiant servants. President Moldenhauer had to prayerfully determine where the Lord most needed us at this time. Closing an area, with 3 sisters, 1 of which was heading home.... was an adventure. We did our best to update all our information on the area and those we were teaching. We know the Elders will do a great job and taking the reigns and covering both areas. By Monday morning we were all packed, the apartment was cleaned out, and we had transferred all the necessary information to the right people. Sister Miller went to Vidor to be companions w/ Sister Singleton, my MTC friend. Sister Stott is headed home to Layton, UT, and I'm here in Baytown. YAY!

Sister Mapa is most recently from California. She is Tongan, and grew up mostly in Tonga and Utah. She is awesome!! We've really hit it off so far and been able to really be focused on the work together. I already love this area and Sister Mapa!

I met up w/ my new companion in Pasadena, TX early Monday afternoon. We rode back to Baytown w/ the "Baytown West" Elders (we share a car w/ them... meaning we mostly drive and they mostly bike w/ a few adjustments here and there). On our way there, we stopped at Subway for lunch. While waiting in line, a young man approached me and asked about my nametag. I of course told him that we were missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He quickly accepted my explanation and walked away... left Subway. Sis. Mapa asked me about him and I told her what he'd asked and that he quickly blew me off and we chuckled about it. A couple minutes later the same guy walked back in and up to me and said, "I'm sorry- I feel like I kind of blew you off before. I didn't mean to be rude. What do you do?" We were shocked! We had a short conversation about what we do as missionaries and how awesome it is, and he told us about being in a music band thing for his church. Then it got awkward because the Subway lady wanted me to order, but Sis. Mapa was able to give him a card with the church website and such and finish talking to him. He had to leave pretty quickly, because he really had somewhere to be, but he was REALLY interested. It was a good experience to throw me right back into the work from the craziness of transfers. I hope he really looks into what we shared w/ him.

After doing a good chunk of unpacking and settling in, Sis. Mapa and I got right to work. We went to an appt. w/ an investigator... but that fell through, so we did some tracting (knocking doors and talking to people). We had dinner w/ a member family which was a wonderful time w/ awesome people combined with delicious food. The father is not a member but is very supportive of his family's involvement w/ the church and is a really great guy :) Dinner was followed by some visits with less-active members that were really effective. God loves each of His children so much, and as a missionaries He allows us to glimpse that love for them and develop true charity for them.

After exercising, getting ready for the day, and our studies (awesome stuff we do every morning), yesterday we went to do some service. 6 of us missionaries went to help elderly woman in her garden. Her neighbor is a younger woman that we've been teaching so she was working with us. It was really cool to see how much weeding and gardening can get done in such a short amount of time w/ 7 people working hard. After lunch at the apt., we went to some teaching appts.... that all fell through so we did some tracting. Around 3:30 we picked up a fabulous 16 yr. old member of our ward for an appt. That appt. also fell through so we tried a few more people we've been working with... and nobody was home. Sister S.D. (young member) still wanted to stay out w/ us, so we took her tracting. It was awesome! She bore a fabulous testimony and we met some really great people. During the course of the day we had 22 quality contacts (people we meet, introduce ourselves, and have gospel conversations with) and set 5 solid return appointments to teach about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dinner last night was with an awesome member family, and afterwards we were able to end the evening with a less-active member. When we got home and planned for today we discussed the many wonderful miracles and tender mercies of the Lord we had seen yesterday. I love being a missionary so much! I really look forward to serving here in Baytown and being an instrument in the Lord's hands. Sister Mapa and I are going to accomplish awesome things here!

I love you all and would love to hear from you! Packages, letters, cards, pictures, crayon drawings, any mail is welcome! My current address for at least the next 6 weeks is:

Sister Emily Pilmer

619 Rollingbrook Dr. #210

Baytown, TX 77521

The mission office address is always good to use to, it just takes a little longer to get to me.

*~Sister Pilmer~*

April 21

Another week has passed and has once again FLOWN by! It's been a wonderful week full of miracles and awesome missionary work :)

My musical talents have been useful as a missionary especially in the past week. I was asked to sing a solo at a funeral Saturday. I sang "Be Still My Soul" and my companions and I sang a couple of other hymns with some other with some women from our ward. It was for a man we call "Brother Papa". He was not a member of the church, but his late wife "Sister Papa" was/is. He loved the church and was an awesome man. I only met him once when he was in the hospital several weeks ago, but he was so nice and so funny and fabulous. I'm happy to know that he can now see his wife again. I didn't think I did a very good job as nerves sometimes get the better of me... but many people said they loved it. I must have not done too badly, as I've been asked to sing it in Sacrament Meeting this Sunday. Hopefully I won't be as nervous. Singing solos is not nearly as difficult though, as leading the music for the Primary children! I filled in for Sister Newton on Sunday, and it was terrifying. I know I've done it before, but I don't remember it being so scary. The children were wonderful though, and I survived the experience with the help of Sister Miller. The bishop's wife chuckled as she thanked me for my help, and told me it would probably the first calling they give me after mission.

We set a baptismal date this week with a brand new investigator. Mr. BC is planning to be baptized May 8th. He has lots of learning to do between now and then and changes to make in his life, but he is excited about becoming a more faithful Christian and coming closer to God. We are praying faithfully for him and the others we are teaching. It's an amazing priviledge to watch so many people change and grow :) I'm so grateful to be a part of this work.

Yesterday as we were finalizing our plans for the day, our apartment phone rang. Very few people know or use that number and it's usually other missionaries. Imagine our surprise when it was a young man (Mr. M) looking to speak to the missionaries. His fiance in Houston is a member of the church, and he wants to learn more about her faith to improve their relationship. He wanted to know if we could meet w/ him before noon when he left for Houston for a couple days. We quickly rearranged our morning plans and met w/ him in the hospital courtyard around 10. (He's a doctor.) He's so interested to learn more, and we're so excited to help him. We had a wonderful lesson w/ him and will be meeting w/ him again this Tuesday.

My Daddy wants animal stories... this week's a not that exciting... and a little weird :) A few weeks ago we found a small turtle (about the size of circumfrence (sp?) of a tennis ball) that had died on the sidewalk... pretty much just seemed like the sun had gotten the better of him. Sister Miller took him home in a paper towel. She put him on our back patio where he "lives" and we talk to him. His name is Wettle. We tell him to make good choices and watch the apartment while we're gone... We're crazy. Sister Stott will be taking him home for safe keeping this coming week.

Being a missionary rocks! I love mail! I love the gospel! I love you all!

*~Sister Pilmer~*