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~*