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!