Preaching to the President

 Hey

CRAZY WEEK here in the promised land of McAllen. Here are some highlights and updates...

GOOD:

- Last P-Day my district and I went to Top Golf and it was a blast! We all were pretty terrible but that just evened the playing field and allowed us all to have fun. I am by no means suggesting that I have any talent or abilities in golf but I did impress myself by racking up a few points.

- We had an amazing dinner appointment with the Bates! The Bates are the Senior Missionaries over self-reliance but they live in our area. They wanted to hear Elder Kumar play his Viola so they picked us up from our apartment so he could bring it to the dinner appointment. After dinner, Elder Kumar went to play them some music and Sister Bates looked at me and said "Now, aren't you going to dance for us??" There was no way I could say no, so I kicked off my shoes, moved the table out of their tiny living room and shared my talents with them while Elder Kumar played the viola. Honestly, this was one of the highlights of my week.

- I got to speak in church this week! We also had a baptismal interview scheduled with President Ocampo for Paul after sacrament meeting. I shouldn't have been surprised to see President walk into the meeting but I definitely was. So yeah, I got to preach to my mission president. He even shook my hand and said "bien hecho" (he is a man of few words). The best part of this story is that after my talk I heard this abrupt clapping noise... later Elder Kumar told me that Paul started applauding me after my talk!! Guess we forgot to teach him that we don't do that but man I love that guy.

BETTER:

- We ended up having 2 lessons with Paul this week, getting him to church and getting him into an interview with President Ocampo! He is progressing well. President said he is impressed with his progress and once he completely lets go of coffee he can be baptized! President said he thinks Paul will be a great member once he gets baptized! Super exciting!!

- We had a super cool experience this week! We have been working really hard to get our members involved in the work and this week it started to pay off! Sister Joens in our ward sent us a text about a guy she met at the library. She said she overheard him saying he was living out of his car and looking for a fresh start on his life. He ended up meeting Elder Kumar and I the next day at the church for a lesson AND he came to the Baptism we had at the church on Saturday to watch! His name is Alex and he wants to prepare to be baptized! Isn't that so awesome?? #beamembermissionary

- This week we were going through our area book and calling some old numbers of people who had met the missionaries. We randomly called a guy named Daniel who asked us to come over ASAP. We got on our bikes and 15 minutes later we were in his apartment teaching him. He is in a very hard spot in his life and wants to receive forgiveness and peace. We had 2 lessons with him this week and he is so cool.

- TRANSFER NEWS... I am staying in Temple Town/The Promised Land/McAllen for another transfer. My new companion's name is Elder Jensen and I know nothing about him. (Except a rumor that he plays Dungeons and Dragons #soincrediblyawesome). Excited for a change and fresh start! Elder Kumar is headed to Corpus Christi to continue training and serve as a District Leader.

BEST:

Here is a quick quote from Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf that I loved from his talk in the most recent General Conference.

"Keep your eyes on the road in front of you. Focus on your destination. And get pedaling. Staying balanced is all about moving forward."

We must continue to press forward and as we do that... we will be able to stay balanced. Focus on your goals and push forward. I also loved this because sometimes you are on your bike in 100 degrees and the amazing humidity... and all you can do it keep pedaling. Also you should all go read 2 Nephi 31:20 too!

"Work Hard, Keep the Commandments, Have a Positive Attitude and Show Gratitude."

-Elder Stringjamon