Holla from Houston!: Raining cats and HOGS & NO i'm not a nun...

wait... am I still in Texas?

well hellloooooooo again! another crazy week on the Lord's errand so let's get down to the needy greedy (think nacho libre)!!

in our mission we do something we call "OYMing" which stands for Open Your Mouth...its basically just talking to everybody and their mother on the streets, in buses, in stores, etc...so last p-day i sat by a lady at the bus stop and asked if she spoke spanish, she said yes, and i asked if i could practice my spanish with her and share a message of hope and happiness...she agreed! the conversation was going really well and she was really genuine in her listening, so i was super sad when the bus rolled up...BUT GUESS WHAT?! WE WERE GETTING ON THE SAME BUS!! So the conversation continued...and the blessing was that the bus was COMPLETELY empty other than us! so i was able to teach the restoration to her in the bus without distractions..the spirit was BOOMIN! normally houston buses are jammed packed so it was definitely a tender mercy from My Loving Savior :)

speaking of miracles and such...MANUEL!! he is a 19 yr old boy we met when we went to go visit the Avalos (recent convert family). He is so prepared to receive the gospel! Manuel and his parents are visiting from Mexico and are loving the lessons.. Manuel has a huge desire to come unto Christ and follow his example! He excepted a baptismal date after our first lesson forOctober 5th and it just so happens TO BE HIS BIRTHDAY!!! so you best believe we are going to throw him the holiest fiesta this world has seen!!

i now understand the saying "when it rains, it POURS" houston does rain like no place else!!! literal rivers in the roads...sidewalks overflowed...but we had to make it to an appointment with a referral and felt like it was important enough to tough it in the rain and let me tell you ive never been more soaked in my life haha pedaling through ankle deep water and getting completely drenched by passing cars was THE COOLEST!! the sidewalks were a straight up SPLASH ZONE and we basically swam (on our bikes) through the lakes that were made in the parking lot...but it was awesome! and we made it to our appointment! and Juliana accepted a baptismal date for Oct 12th! she was in a car accident and broke various vital bones that made her unable to walk...but a member knew her situation and suggested the elders come give her a blessing..that was two weeks ago..when we went to see her this week she was walking around and able to take care of her two little girls! her faith is incredible and i cant wait to see how the gospel continues to bless and enrich her life!

oh! the members in my ward are the coolest! one guy named Eddy is a single dad of four, drives around a red minivan, AND is a bouncer for a night club!! casual...

also, they have this crazy tradition that if its your birthday or (if a missionary is leaving-and there is cake-which was the case this week..hermana jaegar is leaving this transfer) they all start chanting "Madida!! MADIDA!!" which means "BITE! BITE!" and when you go to take a bite of the cake (without utensils) someone shoves your face in the cake!! i was like what the greatest tradition EVER!!!!!!!!!

oh..an english elder accidentally forgot to turn off the baptismal font when he was filling it up and it overflowed and FLOODED the womens restroom!!! haha it needed a good cleaning so we'll just call it a casual blessing in disguise ;)

BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE HAPPEN ON THE DAILY!! LOOK FOR THEM!!

also, i was reading a brad wilcox talk entitled "his grace is sufficient" (awesome btw..y'all should read it..for reals) and a quote i LOVED from it is "Jesus doesn't make UP the difference. Jesus makes ALL difference." its so true!! he has already paid the price for us..and is there for us every step of the way. i dont want to give away more of the talk because really everyone should go read it! but the atonement is amazing and we are all so blessed to have it! its up to us to use it :)

well, church is true guys..i promise!

paz y bendiciones!!

hermana hull

p.s. - forgot to explain the nun thing! a lady on a scooter rolled up behind us and we said hi and stuff and she was like "i knowed y'alls was nuns cuz of yer long skirts..." to which i immediately replied " im not a nun." haha it just shot out of my mouth! haha i then went on the explain how we were missionaries, our purpose here, and what happens after our missions are over...ended up being an awesome "OYM" moment!!