June 13

Howdy from Woodville, TX where a piece of my heart will always reside.  As much as I hate to admit it, this may or may not be my last email as Sister Pilmer- full time missionary.  I might be able to email next Monday, but I'm not quite sure.  I truly do love Woodville and I truly love Texas.  It's really easy to love a place where you feel so loved and are able to give so much of your heart to the building up of the Lord's kingdom. 

 

Monday was a busy, but normal preparation day. We had dinner w/ Bro and Sis EarlWayne and Linda O*.  The A* were there too, and we all enjoyed Sis. O*s green enchiladas w/ delicious sides, and Sis. A* lava brownies for dessert.  After dinner and a lesson we met up w/ Emelie O* who drove us to Vidor.  In Vidor I switched places w/ Sis. Salsberry, a new missionary serving in Sulphur, LA.  I rode to Sulphuer w/ my temporary, beloved companion Sis. Kinikini, and the fabulous Sis. D*- a treasured member  friend from my days in Lake Charles.  We got home in time to settle in and get ready for bed.  Sis. Kinikini and I had to make a concious effort to stop talking to go to sleep.  We were just so excited to be together and had so much catching up to do. 

 

Tuesday was a wonderful miracle-filled day of working in Sulphur.  We visited lots of people- 3 investigators, 3 less-actives members, and 1 active member family.  We had so much fun and even ended up having 2 dinner appts.... plus lemon cake at our final appt. of the evening.  We came home exhausted and full of way too much food!  I love Louisiana and it was such a blessing to return for a day and see familiar faces and to learn so much from working w/ Sis. Kinikini.  I just loved it!

 

Wednesday we woke up early to head to zone conference in Beaumont.  The meeting was not only my last zone conference, but also the Moldenhauers'.  It was a very edifying, spiritual, emotional meeting.  I bore my final public testimony as departing missionaries do in zone conferences and I didn't cry... but I did do my nervous hair-flipping thing.  One day- I'll kick that habit.  When I sat down after, I realized that I had just born my testimony from the very same pulpit at which I bore my testimony for the first time ever in public as a young child.  That was a tender moment.  We drove away from the meeting in a sweet new white Chevy Colorado.  The Woodville sisters now have a truck to drive :)  It's needed in this area and we love it.  We had an awesome church tour w/ new investigator Miriam O* that afternoon and enjoyed a wonderful dinner w/ Sis. Doloroes L*.

 

My time to finish this email is drawing to a close.... so I'm going to skip over the remainder of the week.  I'll actually try to recount the remainder of the week and post it to my blog when I return home (I have notes).  I would just like to take these last 3 minutes and express the gratitude my heart is filled w/.  I am SO grateful the Lord has allowed me to come and work in the portion of His vineyard.  This time has been such a precious gift filled w/ treasured learning and developing treasured friendships.  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is TRUE!! Christ lives and is our Savior and Redeemer!  I love y'all to pieces!!!!

 

*~Sister Pilmer~*

 

June 6

Howdy from Woodville,TX where Sister Bouwhuis and I are giving it our ALL to accomplish the Lord's will and build His kingdom!  I LOVE THIS WORK!!!

 

Monday was a normal preparation day.  In the evening we went to go visit recent convert Alexis G*.  I just love Lexi, and it was so great to have a good lesson and visit w/ her.  We read a talk by Pres. Eyring from the most recent Young Womens conference, about having a Living Testimony.  Good stuff :)

 

Tuesday we went and did service at Heritage Village like normal and had a busy morning getting our emails and such done too.  In the afternoon as we were biking to visit people, we stopped and talked to a man named Anthony.  He is SO cool.  He looks like someone you wouldn't want to cross, and he definitely used to be trouble.  He told us all kinds of stuff about his rough, violent, alcohol filled past, and how he has turned his life around by developing a relationship w/ God and implimenting the 12 A.A. steps.  He's so awesome now- seriously kind and honest and inspiring.  He has issues w/ the concept of "church" so he wouldn't give us his number, but he did commit to read and pray about the Book of Mormon (he loves to read! and call us when he finishes it.  During our super spiritual lesson w/ him, Sis. Bouwhuis got EATEN by mosquitoes- 40 bites on one leg and 34 on the other.  It looked so horrible.  I had applied DEET to my legs during lunch- and Sis. Bouwhuis is pretty good about doing so as well now.  We also met and taught a couple of guys named Beau and Taylor while we were riding around.  It was a sweet day.  We visited Paul W* because he called us and wanted to meet.  We read from the Book of Mormon w/ him.  We really can't figure him out just yet, but we're doing our best to help him come closer to Christ.  The G*s fed us dinner that night- make your own sub sandwiches, which was very yummy.  Allie shared a bottle of Martinelli's cider w/ me... I thoroughly enjoyed that and thought my family would like to know. 

 

Wednesday we spent an hour on mormon.org.  Go check it out if you haven't yet- seriously.  For lunch we went to try Woodville's new seafood restraunt- Captain Ron's.  I didn't actually have seafood, though I did consider it.  I had a salad and a baked potato.  Sis. Bouwhuis had grilled catfish, dirty rice, and hushpuppies (which she shared).  We agreed that it was pretty good, especially for being so inexpensive.  There's not a lot of places to eat in Woodville, so Captain Ron's definitely gets our stamp of approval.  After lunch we headed way out to the edge of our area to work in Chester.  We hiked up and down little dirt roads in the woods knocking on doors and searching for those searching for the truth... nobody was home back in the woods, but we had fun finding their homes.  We did find one searcher who didn't live in the woods, and actually doesn't even live in Chester.  He's from Colmesniel and was at a friends house.  We gave him a Book of Mormon, and will be visiting w/ him again soon.  His name is Justin S* and he's pretty cool.  We visited less active member- Sheila D* and had a great little lesson w/ her and her friend Earnestine (fascinating woman).  We had dinner w/ the T* family and had fun getting to know them better and showing them mormon.org.  They fed us spaghetti, corn, biscuits, and yummy cake for dessert. 

 

Thursday we did weekly planning which took awhile as usual.  Our plans in the afternoon pretty much all fell through, but we had a tender mercy of meeting a couple of girls at the park, that I'd been trying to find and talk to in a trailer park several weeks ago.  When they told me their names I was like, "So you're Stephanie and Tacara?!"  It was cool.  We had dinner w/ Bro. and Sis. Tolly and Connie L*.  They made fried green tomatoes for us!  Not my favorite by any means, but not bad, and definitely fun to try.  They also fed us delicious chicken and rice w/ watermelon, and key lime pie for dessert.  After dinner we had a miracle happen and were able to see Abdul who were were supposed to see earlier that day.  We had an awesome lesson w/ him at the park.

 

Friday we had zone meeting in Beaumont, so we carpooled down there w/ the Fred elders as usual.  It was a little crazy for me because it was my last zone meeting... some of the elders took it upon themselves to point that out and rub it in, so I learned some more patience.  It was a very spiritual meeting and I learned a lot.  Most of us went to New York Pizza and Pasta for lunch which is cheap and delicious.  We stopped at the hospital in Beaumont to visit Sis. Delores M*, only to find out she'd been sent back to the nursing home so she could be comfortable.  Later that evening the M*s had us over for dinner and fed us brisket, biscuits, corn, fried squash, and some awesome cherry toffee thing for dessert.  Sis. B* was over for dinner and we all had a great little lesson after dinner too. 

 

Saturday, Sis. Connie L* picked us up at 8:45 and we went to pick up Chelsea C*, and then we all went to a baptism up in Jasper. Randy S* was being baptized and he is SOOO cool.  Chelsea had a great time and really wants to be baptized.  After the baptism, we went to the 90th birthday party for recent convert, Gigi C*.  I LOVE that woman and hope that I'm that fabulous when I'm 90.  That afternoon we had great visits and lessons w/ Tabatha R*, Frankie and Donna, Sis. Dolores L*, the D*s, and the B* family.  The B* family fed us pizza for dinner which was great. 

 

Sunday, the M*s helped us pick up Chelsea C* and her little brother Austin for church.  (Their dad Jacob wanted to come, but ended up having to work, and their mom was sick.)  They LOVED church and the branch loved them.  Church was wonderful- the Woodville branch is totally amazing.  After church we went tracting for a couple of hours out in Spurger.... it was at least 104 degrees + humidity.  We stopped by the O*s after, and Megan made us a pitcher of strawberry koolaid which we promptly drank almost all gone.  We had dinner w/ the M* family- breakfast for dinner including homemade biscuits, sausage and eggs fresh from the farm.  So good.  Their sons were over too, so we had a good opportunity getting to know them better.  After dinner we visited and taught the S*s, the M*s, and EarlWayne and Linda O*.  After the O*s we were talking about what we should do next and as we did, the Spirit pretty much told us to go over to the A* and invite Mike A* to be baptized on the 11th of June... so we did.  It was intense.  He agreed to be baptized on Saturday as the Lord answers his prayers.  It's going to be an intense week following the Spirit to help him be prepared.  Apparently Mike has been coming to church w/ his wife Mary, and visiting w/ missionaries after missionaries for 41 years.  We're filling the font for him this Saturday and are praying and working w/ great faith that the Lord's purposes will be accomplished. 

 

 I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK AND BEING A MISSIONARY SOOOO MUCH!!!! I love all y'all so much and want you to know that our Savior lives and loves us.  Be good!!!

 

*~Sister Pilmer~*

 

May 31

Howdy from Woodville, TX where it's starting to get HOT!  I know it's really just the beginning of the heat and humidity we're in for, but we're starting to feel it.  The mosquitoes are multiplying too.  Should be fun!

 

Monday we had a normal p-day of getting stuff done.  We had dinner w/ the L*s that evening- delicious spaghetti, green beans, and Mandy's famous chocolate chip cookies for dessert.  We also visited Sis. S* that evening.  We had a good visit w/ her and her husband who is not a member and read from the Book of Mormon w/ them. 

 

Tuesday we went to Heritage Village to give service as usual.  We ate lunch up there at the Pickett House and then met up w/ Sis. D*.  She took us back out to the S*s so we could help them move rabbit cages.  It was hot, sweaty, dirty work, but it was fun and now we're pretty much rabbit cage professionals.  That evening we had dinner w/ the G*s who fed us yummy taco salad.  We had a great little lesson w/ them and rode down to the highschool w/ Sis. G* to attend Allie's band concert.  We ended up sitting w/ our investigator Leigh A*, whose son JJ was also performing.  It was a fun concert and a great opportunity mingle w/ the community. 

 

Wednesday we came to the library for our weekly hour on mormon.org... though my hour was spent straightening out school stuff w/ my mom online.  She's so great!  We went down to Sis. B*'s house after that and helped paint cabinets and put up her ceiling.  It was fun to do so much hands-on service this week.  That afternoon we visited the S*s and the M*s up in Crosby Hill and had lessons w/ them.  We had dinner at Bro. and Sis. Milton and Betty Odom that evening- her famous taco salad w/ all the trimmings.  We enjoyed some delicious peach cobbler for dessert and watched lots of cool videos on mormon.org w/ them.  They loved it and so did we! 

 

Thursday we did weekly planning which took quite a bit of time so we ended up going to Subway and grabbing some lunch and taking it to the park to finish our weekly planning.  We found the coolest magical little park.  We love it!  That afternoon, Sis. Dolores L* picked us up and took us out to Warren for a lesson w/ Danien.  When we arrived Sis. Shelli G* told us Danien was still at her dad's which was a bummer, but we still had a really good visit w/ Shellie.  I love that family!  We stopped by the A*s and had  quick visit and lesson w/ them, and they gave us money to go get some dinner at Pizza Hut since they didn't have time to get anything ready that day.  They're so sweet.  We also stopped by the C*s and talked to Wendy and Brittany.  We found out that Bro. C* has been really sick- in and out of the hospital and also that Chelsea has still been reading her Book of Mormon almost every night!  We visited and prayed w/ them and told them to call if they needed anyting.  We enjoyed a tasty dinner at Pizza Hut, too :)

 

Friday we had District Meeting out in Jasper.  It was a really good meeting and I learned a lot.  We all went to Novorosky's for lunch after and I ordered the healthy and delicious turkey burger- good stuff.  We spent some time out in Dam B trying to visit people after, and we went tracting for awhile too.  Tracting was actually really effective and very interesting.  Among some of the people we met were a very kind former member of the RLDS church and a man who kept shooting at snakes in his pond.  Our adventures out here are just endless.  I love serving out in the country!  We also stopped by Frankie and Donna's that evening.  Donna's granddaughter was there and so was Sis. D* and it was a great visit and lesson.  We went to Walmart that evening to contact people and successfully gave away 13 mormon.org cards to some really cool people. 

 

Saturday we took our new investigator on a church tour.  The Spirit was very strong and she understands so much!  It was awesome.  We drove up to Warren to visit some people, but a warning light came on telling us to check our tires... so we did and found that one was losing air and had a nail in it.  We drove back to Woodville to Modica Bros, only to find they had closed an hour earlier.  We saw a sign indicating a tire place at Walmart.  It was well hidden in the back, but we found it and they helped us.  While waiting for our tire to be fixed we wandered around Walmart and suddenly got hugged by a little blonde girl from behind.  It was Danien!  She was there w/ her brother and her dad and we got to visit w/ him and introduce ourselves.  It was such a miracle!  We headed back up to Warren that afternoon and did some tracting and some visiting and teaching.  It was good.  We did some of that in Ivanhoe too, and tried Ivanhoe's one and only restaraunt- Mama's Kitchen.  It was quite the experience, but the food was pretty great, authentic Mexican food.  Then we got a call from the C*s saying that Bro. C* was back in the hospital and would like us to come visit and arrange for a priesthood blessing.  We called Bro. B* and he came over w/ Bro. M* to give him a blessing.  We went and visited w/ the C*s for a little while before Bro. B* and Bro. M* came and it was really good.  It was just one of those times where we really felt like we were where the Lord wanted us to be. 

 

Sunday was an adventure.  It started for me w/ a whisper from the top bunk awakening me from a crazy dream.:

 "Sister Pilmer?!"

 "Yeah?"

 "It's 7:10!"

 

I had been talented enough to accidentally turn off all our phone alarms the night before.  We started w/ a prayer and then zoomed like crazy to head out the door in 30 minutes so we could get to our meeting on time.  We were just a few minutes late and a little frazzled, but the Lord helped us.  He also helped us give our talks in Sacrament Meeting which ended up being about 20 minutes each.  President L* had 3 recent converts speak (Allie, G.G., and Bro. H*) who all did a wonderful job, but only took a few minutes each.  That left us to take the rest of the time which we had anticipated, but not had much time to prepare for.  The Holy Ghost helped us and it turned out well.   That afternoon we visited Sis. W* and old Bro. D* at the nursing home.  We haven't been able to see Sis. M* there for a few weeks because she has been in the hospital and is not doing well.  We went up to Odomville for dinner w/ the L*s who fed us spaghetti and veggies and jello.  We watched "The Testaments" w/ them after dinner and they loved it.  We also stopped by Milton and Betty O*'s and had a great visit w/ them too. 

 

It's been a pretty great week, and this week is going to be fabulous too!  I love being a missionary!!!  I love y'all to pieces!!!

 

*~Sister Pilmer~*

May 23

Howdy from Woodville, TX where I get to serve in the most AWESOME branch ever!  Seriously- I am constantly amazed by the members of the Woodville branch and I love being able to work w/ and serve them and to have them as my friends.  I love this place!

 Monday was p-day and after our normal errand running, Emelie O* picked us up and took us back to Odomville for some grand adventures.  We just hung out up there petting horses for a little while, and then we all went fishing at the secret pond (all of us = Emelie, Megan, Sis. Bouwhuis, and me).  We had lots of fun and caught a few perch big enough to eat... so we took them back to Grampy O*'s house, cleaned 'em, fried 'em, and ate 'em.  It was lots of fun, and I actually enjoyed eating my fish... kind of... it was tasty... and I'm pretty sure I like SOME fish now after eating lots of it on the mission... but there's still a mental block I must overcome that their still FISH.   Someday.... That evening Bro. and Sis. Ronnie and Dolores L* took us out to dinner at Elijah's where I did not order fish... I haven't come that far yet.  I did enjoy some yummy chicken parmesan though.

Tuesday we got up very early... 3:45... and got ready and drove up to Fred where we hitched a ride to Vidor for the elders.  We needed to carpool w/ them to our meeting and one of them had to be there early to practice the musical number.  Fastforward til past 9:00 and we got to enjoy an AWESOME meeting w/ Elder Gavaret of the quorum of the seventy.  It was oh so very edifying!  I had to participate a lot- did a role play in front of everyone, stand and share my thoughts about what I've learned from the Moldenhauers, say the closing prayer, etc., but that causes one to learn more, so it was good.  We enjoyed lunch after of Hawaiin Haystacks- YUM! something I haven't eaten my whole mission.  One of the Relief Society women that helped provide the meal, came and sat and talked w/ us.  She's one of Bernie Packard's daughters... I think her name is Patricia... she's way cool and we had a good chat.  I felt really achey and fevery all day, so that was hard, but I guess I needed some opposition.  Around 4:30 we had a great lesson w/ 9 yr. old Danein G*.  She's so cute and so awesome.  We taught her about prophets and priesthood and she asked lots of great questions.  We had 30 minutes at our apt. before dinner... I conked out for all of it.  We went to the G*s for dinner and enjoyed something they call Sarah's Goo for dinner w/ Orange Cake for dessert- yum. 

Wednesday morning we spent our hour on mormon.org.  We did a whole bunch of stuff during the day, but my brain won't recall it right now and I didn't record it in my planner.  We had dinner that evening w/ Bro and Sis EarlWayne and Linda O*.  They also had Mike and Mary A* over and we all enjoyed Chicken Spaghetti and lots of yummy sides and awesome brownies for dessert.  We had a good visit and lesson.  I love those people!

Thursday we tried visiting a few people that we didn't find home.  Then we did weekly planning, which took awhile but was effective.   In the afternoon we met recent convert Airrick L* at the church for church tour.  He ended up bringing A.J., a non-member friend.  She's way cool and I'd met her before at Lexi's baptism.  It was a pretty cool tour.  The M* family fed us dinner that night- lasagna, salad, garlic bread, and brownies for dessert.  One of their 4 sons just came home from his mission a couple weeks ago, and one of them will be leaving on a mission at the end of the summer.  Their a really cool family.  Sister Anna M* came to an appt. w/ us after dinner.  We reviewed principles of the Restoration w/ Louise W* that we met last Saturday and talked to her about baptism.  She doesn't quite understand it all yet, but she has a lot of faith and it's cool to teach her. 

Friday we district meeting here in Woodville. That was sweet, and afterwards we went to try a local Mexican place, Naeomi's.  It was fun and tasty.  In the afternoon E.W. and Linda came to the church for a sweet church tour.  The Millers fed us dinner that night- swiss stake over rice, fried okra, corn on the cob, and root beer floats for dessert.  They're such a neat couple!

Saturday we had a church tour w/ Danein and her mom and her little brother.  It was so awesome and we set a baptism date w/ her for June 18th.  She's so excited and we're excited for her!  We spent some time scrubbing out our baptism font w/ Comet after that... it needed it, and it looks much better now.  That afternoon, Sis. Dolores L* drove us out to Jasper for a baptism.  The elders have been teaching Kaylynn W* for awhile and it was super cool to be able to attend her baptism.  Sis. L* took us to dinner at a chinese buffet in Jasper afterwards.  We all agreed the food was quite lame, but we had fun anyways.  We had a good visit and lesson w/ Donna G* and her family that night too. 

Sunday was great- Danein and her mom and two step siblings all came to church and had a great experience.  We love them!  We had a branch potluck after church to honor Ryan M* coming home.  The food was great and a former investigator we invited came too, so it was all fabulous.  We visited at the nursing home in the afternoon.  Then we met Sis. Connie L* at the church for a great church tour- such a neat lady!  We had dinner at the D*s- corn dogs :)  loved it and had a lesson w/ them from the conference talk- Face the Future w/ Faith.  We also stopped by the C*s for a nice lesson and checked on Dewain again.  I think he really might make it to church next Sunday.  That would be so awesome... we're praying w/ faith!

MISSIONARY WORK IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!!!!!  I love it so much and am so grateful to be a part of it.  I love you all!!!

*~Sister Pilmer~*

May 16

Howdy from Woodville, TX where am I SO in love with missionary work, it blows my mind.  Seriously, it's the coolest thing ever. 

 

Monday was a pretty normal p-day, just getting lots of important stuff done and relaxing a little.  We watched "Legacy" at the D*'s while I dealt w/ some school stuff online.  Preparing for my future post-mission life is really strange, but the Lord is helping me not to stress about it or dwell on it.  I'm grateful for that.  We had dinner w/ the L* family that night.  I love them so much and so grateful for their faithfulness and examples.  They fed us some great lasagna and salad and grapes.  We laughed and talked about how eating and visiting in their home is like a little piece of Utah.  We also had a great post-mothers day discussion about the power of righteous women.  We also visited Frankie and Donna that evening and had a great lesson w/ them.

 

Tuesday we biked out to Heritage Village for service, but they actually didn't need us that day.  Then we got a phone call from Bro. Scott M* telling us he was doing some work at the home of a less-active member that was hard to get ahold of.  He figured it would be a good excuse for us to drop by and visit if we stopped by because we saw his "Service by Scott" truck outside.  We decided to act on his inspiration and we biked all the way down to Colmesniel to just that.  It took us about and hour and a half.  He was still there when we arrived though and we had a great little visit and lesson getting to know Sis. Rosalyn S*.  Then we did some tracting in Colmesniel too, and visited the M* home for a little bit.  We passed by a home where a mother and her son from India smiled and waved, so we stopped to talk to them.  They didn't speak English...  but the woman excitedly called her husband who does speak English and had us talk to him.  If he's home next time we're able to stop by, we will talk to them some more.... The son was probably about 5... and he started yelling at us all of the sudden and as far as I could tell cursed us in Indian...is that what you call the language they speak in India?  I feel so ignorant. He did a lot of spitting in between the cursing... that's probably bad right?  I have no idea what really happened, but the mom really liked us.  We laugh everytime we replay the scenario- you probably had to be there.  It was a pretty hot and humid day, so we did a whole lot of sweating, though the ride back to Woodville was a little shadier and breezier... w/ more uphills...  We felt pretty accomplished after all that biking and talking to people.  The McC*s fed us dinner- pork loin roast, boiled potatoes and green beans fresh from the garden, and turtle pie for dessert (the kind w/ caramel and chocolate... though I would not be shocked to be served actual turtle in this area). 

 

Wednesday we spent our hour on mormon.org.  It's the best.  We had lunch w/ Frankie and Donna who made us a delicious pot roast, w/ mashed potatoes and gravy and corn and rolls.  They also made brownies to eat for dessert while we played a game of Farkle.  We had a great lesson w/ them from the Book of Mormon.  In the afternoon we went up to Spurger and went tracting for a couple of hours before making visits to Papa S*, and Grampy O*.  We had dinner w/ Earl Wayne and Linda O*.  They fed us yummy spaghetti (w/ deer meat in the sauce- YUM!) and texas toast and salad and chocolate pie.  Odoms rock.

 

Thursday we dropped by to visit the W* family.  Ayisha was the only one home/awake and she was really sick.  We had a short little visit w/ her and told her to let us know if she needed anything and that we'd check on them in a few days.  We made some copies and the church and tried to visit a few more people.  We made our weekly stop at the nursing home- good stuff :)  We grabbed lunch at La Enchilada- so good, and then headed back to our apt. to get weekly planning done. The G*s fed us dinner that night- pizza and salad and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies.  We had a great lesson w/ them also about the importance and value of righteous women. 

 

Friday was district meeting in Jasper.  Our zone leaders came too.  Sis. Bouwhuis and I led a discussion together on the principle of love.  We all went to lunch at Subway after.  We spent the afternoon working in Dam B / Town Bluff area tracting and such.  We visited the R*s- an awesome part member family and had a great lesson w/ them.  We scheduled a church tour w/ them for this week. We have some cool new potential investigators and had a great time out working in the sunshine.  It's been sunny, but surprisingly cool for this time of year here... basically perfect weather that would probably seem hot if I was living in Utah. 

 

Saturday was a hard day, but we handled it together.  I love Sister Bouwhuis.  We did find some really cool new potential investigators while tracting.  And I did enjoy some of my favorite ice cream- Bluebell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough- so it wasn't a bad day, just hard.  We also had a good visit w/ the C* family. 

 

Sunday we had church- awesomeness.  We helped teach the lesson in priesthood on missionary work.  The bretheren in our branch our so supportive of our efforts.  We ended up teaching youth Sunday school at the last minute and that was fun and went well.  In Sacrament Mtg.  we had a guest speaker from the Stake High Council- Bro. Robert Pontius.  For those of you who aren't my immediate family and don't know, he's the dad of two of my best childhood friends in Beaumont who are both out serving missions now.  That was cool.  We also had 5 different lessons after church all of which were very effective, but I don't have time to write about.  It was a great week!  I'm so very grateful for the guidance of the Holy Ghost helping me to accomplish the Lord's will in this great work.  I'm just an instrument.  I'm amazed what the Lord is able to do w/ me as I surrender my heart and will to him.  I love being a missionary!!!  And I love all of you!!!

 

*~Sister Pilmer~*

May 9

Howdy from Woodville, TX where I will be finishing out my mission! Transfer calls came Saturday night as usual, and Sis. Bouwhuis and I will be spending the next 6 weeks serving together in Woodville.  We're pretty excited about it and are going to give it all we've got to make the most of that time!

 

Monday was a fun preparation day.  We cleaned our apt and got groceries and did laundry as usual.  Then we went over to the D*'s where Sis. D* made us grilled cheese sandwiches while we watched "The Errand of Angels".  (We got special permission to watch it.)  We wrote letters (or at least tried to) while we watched and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Then we went up to Odomville where we helped Megan and Emelie castrate a bull calf.  I'm sure that the audience of this email will not all want the details of that fascinating experience, so I will not include details at this time.  If you'd like to know more, you'll have to ask me.  I do still love mail.  That evening we had a lesson w/ Tanya and Eddie L*.  We watched the Restoration dvd, and answered questions.  It was pretty cool. 

 

Tuesday we rode our bikes up to do service at Heritage Village, and enjoy lunch there at the Pickett House.  Then we rode up to the nursing home for our weekly visit.    That evening we went to the  M*s for dinner, where we enjoyed chicken and rice and salad and some awesome orange cream pie thing for dessert.  I also had the opportunity to get to know Lori M* better and to help photograph goats for sale.  I now know a little more about what you want in a goat photo and how to photograph their udder.  We stopped by the younger M* familty after and watched the Restoration dvd w/ them in Spanish.  It was really spiritual and cool to visit them.  It was a great day. 

 

Wednesday Sis. Bouwhuis was sick in the morning, so I spent some extra time studying and such while she rested.  In the afternoon we went to the library to spend our weekly hour on mormon.org- SO GOOD!  We had dinner w/ the G* family- yummy homemade burgers and fries.  We went to the Activity Days (8-11 yr old primary girls) activity for a little bit to help Emelie O* teach about the 10th article of faith.  That was fun and educational. 

 

Thursday, I woke up feeling like crud.  I had to rest most of the morning.  Then we did our weekly planning and then I had to take a hot bath and rest some more.  I fought a fever most of the afternoon.  We still went to our dinner appt. w/ the J*s family.  They also fed us delicious homemade burgers.  It's that time of year :)  We loved it and had a great visit and lesson w/ them.  They're a super neat family. 

 

Friday we got up and headed to Zone Meeting in Beaumont.  That was super great, and for feeling as sick as I did, I still got a lot out of it.  I also had a couple of elders give me a priesthood blessing after the meeting.  That was great :)  We ate lunch w/ some missionaries at Taco Bell.  Then we came home so I could rest some more and get my fever down...  good times.  That evening our appt w/ Tanya and Eddie fell through, but we were still able to do a church tour w/ Betty O* and that was sweet.  The O*'s fed us dinner that night- Taco Soup which was perfect for me :)  I love the O*s. 

 

Saturday we worked in spurts.  We saw quite a few miracles that day relied on the Lord for strength.  In between resting, we were able to teach some lessons and get work done.  We had dinner w/ the Mo*s that night- chicken (that they raised), homemade biscuits, corn, green beans, and buttermilk pie for dessert.  I could tell it was ALL delicious, but I couldn't taste any of it due to my congestion.  Haha- that was pretty humorous. 

 

Sunday, church was wonderful, even though the investigators we were hoping to see didn't show.  We visited the L* family in the afternoon and that was great.  The K*s fed us pasta for dinner w/ key lime pie for dessert.  So good, and we had such a good visit and lesson w/ them.  Then we went to the L*s and called our families.  I love my family!!!  We shared a message w/ the L*s and then headed home.  I'm still sick, but feeling much better, and I love being a missionary!  It was a hard week, but a good one.  I love y'all so much!!!

 

*~Sister Pilmer~*

May 2

Howdy from Woodville,TX where it is SO much warmer than Utah!  (I currently love that... but I know as the heat and humidity REALLY set in I may have slightly different feelings ;D )  It's actually been a pretty hard week, but Sister Bouwhuis and I have tackled it together w/ faith, and have learned a lot.  I'm short on time today... so this may be lame, but I'll try.

 

Monday we had a sweet zone p-day in Vidor.  Megan O* came w/ us and gave us a ride, and we all had lots of fun.  The D*'s fed us a yummy dinner and then we went to visit Sis. Frankie C*.  Frankie was really sick, so we sang hymns to her while we waited for Bro. D* and Bro. K* to come give her a blessing.  Her blessing was powerful, and she's doing much much better now. 

 

Tuesday we rode our bikes up to Heritage Village for service and lunch, then up to the nursing home for our weekly visits.  We biked over to the library to spend our weekly hour on mormon.org and then rode around trying to visit w/ investigators.  We were able to see a few and contact some cool people.  The M*s gave us money to go out to dinner since they had to go out of town, so we decided to try La Enchilada.  It's really close to our apt. but I'd never been there- it's delicious.  We enjoyed our meal, contacted a couple of people and then met Sis. D* who gave us a ride up to Spurger.  We had a lesson w/ Bro. and Sis. S* and then Sis. Nita B mock gave us a ride over to Odomville.  We had a lesson w/ Chanice at the Odom's home.  Megan and Betty O* were both there and shared wonderful testimonies.  It was an effective lesson, but Chanice isn't really searching yet... seeds have definitely been planted though that she will remember and turn to in the future.  She's such a great girl, and we're happy to know her.  The Odoms gave us a ride home after.

 

Wednesday we drove to Kingwood for Sisters' training.  It was an AWESOME edifying, spiritual, fun, meeting and we enjoyed some great lasagna for lunch.  There are 7 sisters from our mission going home this transfer, and since we're all crazy girls it was a little emotional too.  After the training we went to the mission office and said our farewells to Gertie Mae, our redneck Malibu w/ a dying transmission. We drove home in a very nice Corolla.  We named him Cordell... like Cordell Walker- Texas Ranger.  I know my brother doesn't believe cars should have boy names and he's not alone, but don't knock Cordell- he's tough like Chuck Norris, don't mess.  The G*s had us over for dinner that night and fed us delicious meatloaf, mashed potatoes, salad, and carrot cake for dessert. 

 

Thursday we did a whole bunch of weekly planning as well as visiting and teaching investigators and less-active members.  We had dinner w/ the s (Tolly and Connie) who fed us ribs and potato salad and zucchini and apple pie for dessert.

 

Friday we had district meeting in Jasper which was an awesome learning experience.  The Spirit really helped us learn and grow as a district.  We all went to the awesome Novorosky's restaraunt for lunch.  We all loved our food- my bacon avacado grilled chicken sandwhich was fairly amazing.  We went to contact a media referal we recieved on the way home.  Turns out the address is the jail and he really is in jail... but the guard happily agreed to deliver a Bible, Book of Mormon, and some pamphlets to him for us.  That was interesting.  That night Sister S* picked us up and took us to her home for dinner where we had awesome baked potatoes and chicken and salad for dinner.  Afterwards she took us to the highschool where we participated in the Relay for Life and had some awesome contacting.  We had a lot of fun there and it was way effective.

 

Saturday we had Sophia come up from Beaumont and work w/ us for the morning.  (young single adult girl preparing for a mission- I've mentioned her in the past)  All our plans fell through, but we did go visit Frankie and Donna and then go tracting, and it was great.  Sophia is absolutely incredible and is going to be such a great missionary.  We went to lunch at Subway before she dropped us off at the church and headed back to Beaumont to take a final.  Earl Wayne and Linda O* picked us up and took us to dinner at Senor Torro's that night and that was great.  After dinner they dropped us off at the church where we met w/ Sis. Anna M* and two of our new investigators Eddie and Tanya L*.  We had a church tour that was quite awesome and spiritual.  Eddie and Tanya accepted the invitation to prepare for baptism on June 4th.  They are an amazing family.  We're REALLY excited about them. 

 

Sunday everyone we're working w/ struggled and ended up not coming to church... except for Frankie C* who came for the first time in years!!!  We were so excited about that!!  Church was great and afterwards Karen Martinez, a sweet 8 year old in our branch, was baptized.  Sis. Bouwhuis and I were asked to sing "When I am Baptized" at the service, and it went really well.  We went up to Warren and Ivanhoe that afternoon and had visits and lessons w/ less-active members.  We had dinner at the D*'s- yummy enchilada casserole, and then went to visit Frankie and Donna again.  Frankie felt so good about coming to church, and is planning to continue coming.  She's doing awesome.  We also stopped by Tanya and Eddie's w/ Sis. D*, and had a great short lesson w/ them. 

 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!! Our Savior lives and loves us.  This HIS church restored to the earth.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  I love you all!!!!