"something different happen in the last week"

 Hola 

Happy late birthday to my wonderful sister who has always been a role model to me! I love you Meg!

GOOD:

- While on exchanges this week with Elder Bodner we met an interesting guy named Mr. Montoya. We met him in Wendy's which we had gone to for our Spanish study hour. However, we did not get much time to study! Mr. Montoya told us his entire life story and how Jesus had saved him. At one point he was acting out his past experience in a courtroom where he claims his "50 minute testimony" saved him from a life sentence. He was putting on a full one act play for me just inches from my face. Interesting guy, that's for sure. There is a nice photo of Elder Bodner, Mr. Montoya and I below.

- We went to visit a member this week and he is crazy. This guy always does something unexpected. This week he was throwing his cat 20 feet into the air...  repeatedly... with no explanation whatsoever. After about the 3rd assault we asked if we could video it and he was more than happy to do it again so we could record it. If you're interested in watching this video, you'll have to reach out to me individually, haha.

- THE SECOND EDITION PREACH MY GOSPEL WAS RELEASED THIS WEEK. We are so excited. Not to mention the Preach My Gospel App (areabook but better)! I am so hyped. We had a zoom call this week with the whole mission to talk about it and Presdiente Larreal started by saying "elderes, something different happen in the last week" and then told us about the new Preach My Gospel. We love him. In the short time I have had to study it I have been impressed with the focus it has on Jesus Christ. It truly is a guide to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I invite everyone to read it. It is simple and exactly what any disciple of Christ needs to know.

BETTER:

- Another exchange I got to go on this week was with Elder Hansen in Horne Road! Horne Road is the Spanish area in the great white north of Corpus Christi so I got to teach in Spanish for the day! It was refreshing to carry around my Libro de Mormón and hear people speaking in the beautiful language of Spanish. Elder Hansen is a wonderful missionary and I learned a lot of great things from him! We also both rock the Columbia bags so #twins.

- One day we got a prompting to visit our friends David and Natalie who we had to stop teaching about 2 weeks ago. At first we tried to ignore it but later in the day we received the same prompting. So, at the end of the night we went and knocked on their door. After the 3rd knock we were disappointed that they hadn't answered and turned to leave. When we turned to go down the staircase, they had just turned the corner and were coming up. They invited us in and we were able to talk with them and testify of the Savior's love for them. They are going through a lot but still have good desires to follow Christ! God is truly in the details! I know that he needed us to go visit David and Natalie at that time even if we can't see exactly what the reason was from our perspective. 

- This week we talked with EVERYONE. The amount of conversations we had with new people was unmatched in my whole mission. Not going to lie to you all... we had a tougher week but I have grown such a love for being diligent in talking with everyone. Although the residents of Corpus Christi are not always the kindest humans I have met, there are definitely some gems hidden in the mix. We are still searching for those who want to discover the truth of the restored gospel so we would appreciate some extra prayers this week! We know the miracles are coming!!!

BEST:

Last night we had dinner with a family whose son is starting MTC training today! This caused us to reflect on our missionary service and the sister asked us to share with her son one thing we have learned from being a missionary so far.

I thought for a few minutes and marveled at all that Heavenly Father has done for me in the last year and a half. As I collected my thoughts I came back to one principle that being a missionary has taught me.

Perspective.

I have gained such perspective in life. We are children of God and we can return to live with Him. I can do hard things because trials only last for a short amount of time. True joy comes from the things that matter most. I can testify to you that the best way to live, is to focus on Christ and see everything in an eternal perspective.

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

Be a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

- Elder Stringham