Monday, September 8, 2014

HOLA! Soy HERMANA LOO! :)

Huntsville, TX...
(Home of the Texas State Prison Museum and where 75% of the people live in trailers)

So... I got transferred to a new area in Huntsville, Texas where the joke is that there are more cows than people and 8 state prisons! (Don't worry mom, no big deal that there's one that holds death row convicts right next to the college... who planned that?) 

It is a small college town with Sam Houston State University and reminds me a lot of Cedar City. There are actually a lot of trees and hills here. YAY! This place is so unique and interesting and I have already fallen in LOVE with the area and people. It's so great!

No one can get away from these sisters... Aint nobody off the hook because we can talk to everyone... LITERALLY. Spanish, English, YSA, old or young.There is so much opportunity and room for growth. I am so excited for the work in this area! 

We are over a YSA branch and the family ward Spanish and English speaking. I feel like I am in church all day which is SO awesome! I was so nervous about being in a family ward because I love the quiet sacrament meetings, but this ward is majority old people so it is still quiet! AND i get two quiet sacrament meetings! The best of all the worlds! Can I just say again how much I love this area! :)

Soy la Hermana Loo
My new companera es Hermana Hoj. She is from Holiday, Utah and we actually came out at the same time and will be going home at the same time. We are Sister Training Leader's together and I am so excited to work with her. She is going to be teaching me Spanish. I'm excited because she speaks really well and so I know that she will be an excellent teacher. She is also a great missionary and I know there will be many miracles in the future!

We... or more... Hermana Hoj has taught a couple of lessons in Spanish. I was able to share my testimony and ask a couple of questions however. I also understand and comprehend a lot. I think that the Portuguese helps a little but the pronunciation is totally different which will take some time getting used to. 

After one of the lessons, Herman Hoj had to use the bathroom and I thought to myself, "Ok. This is gonna be awkward. I'm not just going to sit in silence with the member that we are visiting." So I just opened my mouth and tried to ask a question about how many years she lived in Huntsville.... and she got it & kept talking and talking away. 

I was pretty proud of myself but know that there is so much more studying and praying that needs to happen on my end to get this language. After trying to concentrate on learning and understanding people I get the worst headaches... haha 

Because of Him
This week we went on campus (there are about 19,000 undergraduate students) with a big white board and at the top of it was the question... What has Jesus Christ done for you? We stood at a busy part on campus and asked people if they had time to answer a question and gave them a 3x5 notecard to write on. We got so many wonderful responses, people kept saying "Everything." "Where do I start?" It was so awesome to hear all of their responses as Christ has helped with every situation and personally for each one of us. It was such a testimony builder. We also got some funny responses too. Like, "He gave me beautiful hair." That one was from a guy... But we were able to have some really great conversations with students and then invite them to Institute for "Bible Study" and dinner. We hope to be able to get more students there!

We hope that in the future when we get Ipads we will be able to show the student the Because of Him video alongside with this contacting technique. If you haven't watched it yet. Do it. The spirit is so strong each and every time I watch it and I've watched it so many times. 


We also had some great contacts on campus with students. We have found 2 students already from the two days who have met with missionaries and who were debating on still taking the lessons. We hope to be able to start teaching them. 

We also have been able to contact people who have already had contact with the church. For example, one girl has a grandma who is a member and another has a best friend who is serving a mission right now! I'm telling you, there are so many great things in store for this area!

It's so funny because I want to get my hair braided again because I notice that the things that I talk to people about is their hair and their shoes so that I can start a conversation with them. Do you think president will let me do it again because it would be an awesome finding tool? haha.

Applying Before Even Learning the Principle
Matt is an investigator here and he is getting baptized!!! He is seriously too great--so so prepared it's unreal. So this week we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he pretty much taught us. We introduce the topic and ask him if he knew anything about it. He told us he did, that he actually just learned about it from his friend Darrin (the member that referred him to us). He told us that this last summer he smoked every day and would drink too, however when he started meeting with us and learning about the gospel he felt as if he shouldn't anymore. He said each time he went to smoke or drink it felt wrong and he decided to stop doing it. 

Then two days later, Darrin started talking to him about the Word of Wisdom, they read D&C 89, and he straight up stopped cold turkey! He told us that he doesn't want to jeopardize losing the knowledge he is gaining or slow down his progress by smoking and drinking! It was so incredible that he had already gained a testimony of the Word of Wisdom before he even learned of it.

 He told us he was with friends and they offered him something to smoke--he turned it down. Then a little while later they offered it to him again--he turned it down. Then they offered it to him a third time--he turned it down and left! He is so amazing and so prepared! 

I feel so blessed to work with him! Then he accepted baptism and chose to be baptized on September 20th, so please keep him in your prayers!! He is going up against so much opposition, but he is soaking in everything he is learning and he knows it is true! But what is even cooler is that he is applying it all too! We are sooo excited for him! 

Love Y'all! 


Herman Loo

Because of Him Campus Contacting...
The Elders made some really cool oversized bible and book of mormon from cardboard
Cowboy Church...gidee up!
Huntsville...one more prison...7 more to go....
Safari Adventure!
We went on a "Safari Ride" at one of our member's homes.
They have 500 acres or so of land and so we stand in the back of the truck as he drives through it all!  




Do you think we have enough locks on our door?
New apartment in Huntsville... Maybe because of all the prisons? :) 
Matching one last time! I'm going to miss Sister Huber So much! 
Saying goodbye to the people of Sam Houston... 







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