Week 6 in this area

Rainbow from last week. It was a double-rainbow, but my camera couldn't see it.

Shirt from walmart. Texas really is the best.

 

 Typical Texas. Beautiful skies, rolling hills, sparse trees. :)

This family feeds us every Friday. Until our pants are ready to pop.

Apparently the ward keeps their sacrament bread in the freezer!!!

 Last district picture! Peanut butter rocks.

This week was awesome!

The Worldwide Leadership Training last night was definitely the highlight of the week! From the training the biggest emphases I noticed were Prayer, Faith, Love, and the role of the Spirit. I loved how many of the video clips were occupied with families and missionaries praying.

I definitely need to improve my own charity for the people. A principle that I heard a missionary, Elder Stevenson, teach before he went home is: "You can be as bold as you want with the people, but they have to know you love them first." I also loved what Elder Holland said: an invitation that comes from a sincere love and care for the person will NEVER be offensive. I think that is an important key to member-missionary work.

One thing Elder Anderson mentioned from Jacob is that the Lord labors with us. Elder Duncan and I have felt that whenever we are doing what He wants, he is laboring with us. It's so fantastic to be able to increase our faith in him by seeing what ways he has been laboring with us each day.

It's also amazing and encouraging to see the kind of faith and longsuffering in afflictions our Prophet has! Even though he must continue without his wife (By the way, did anyone catch from last conference in the opening remarks that he said he felt he should be with his wife on her birthday instead of going to a cultural celebration? On her last birthday! Totally a prophet!) he is undeterred! I thought he even looked better than he did at conference!

Well, our mission president goes home this week and so does my companion! We're going to have a new president and I'll be staying with a missionary just a little newer than me in the mission and a new missionary waiting for his visa on Wednesday. They'll love this ward!!!

Church is true, book is blue, Texas skies are too!! ;)

God Bless Texas! I am Elder Black. Thus I end mine epistle.