temple, turbans, & rock bands

what even is a mission?!?!? i thought i knew..but literally EVERY week is a surprise!!! 

Temple:
had the privilege of going to the temple night with a couple who were going through for their first time!!! the best part is...IT WAS ALL IN SPANISH!!!!!!! i was pumped about a temple session in spanish..and even more pumped when i understood about 92% of EVERYTHING that was said!! i think the gift of tongues works stronger in the temple??? i even had to help translate a little when hermana samayoa was talking to the temple lady..what's that called? the matron or something? regardless..it was a saweeett experience! on the way there we hit a TON of traffic..so to lighten the mood hermana groves and i were poppin jokes and what not..hermano samayoa didnt think we were paying attention/didnt think we would understand him... ..but i caught him!! I love being able to understand spanish! "iz the bessst..iz fantasteek"

turbans:
so a little girl from Iraq is really good friends with some of the little girls from our ward...so one time her mom was visiting while the elders were teaching the little girls from our ward..they decided to teach the mom too! how it works is they speak in english to the daughter, the daughter then translates it in arabic to the mom, and vice versa... we had the special opportunity to go teach her a lesson to prep her for the baptism! our district leader felt like she needed some support from other girls or something? whatever, ill take it! it was amazing to see how prepared and willing to accept the gospel Zayneb (the mom) is!! when we went to her apartment they had incense, cool rugs to sit on, gave us the turban things to wear, and arabic desserts!! like baclava!! the dad Tariq read from the Book of Mormon in Arabic for us...he is getting baptized next week! it was crazy because the elders taught him the word of wisdom and he told them that would be impossible because he has been smoking at least 20 cigs a day since he was 4 years old...but they asked him if he trusted God...he said yes..and since then hasnt smoked a single one!!!!!!! the baptism of zayneb yesterday was amazing...the spirit was so strong!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE IN ANY LANGUAGE!!! i feel so blessed to have been a part of her conversion :) no matter how minor of a role i played! this family is the cooooolest! 

rock bands:
so we met this awesome couple samantha and soer last week right? well when we texted them night to confirm our return appointment for, they ended up inviting us to their church! haha we said we would go to theirs if they come to ours..fair enough right? so it was our turn first...we went with samantha and her niece to a "youth service" at the Lakewood church. this church is unreal. its in the old Summit building..aka the stadium where the houston rockets used to play!!!! there was a big stage, lights, fog, huge screens, "hallelujahs", hand waving, etc hahaha the preacher guy basically was just a motivational speaker...i actually agreed with most of what he said as far as "stay faithful..trust in God.." etc but if i didnt know the truths of the gospel that i know--i would be sooooo lost! how do i stay faithful? how can i know God is there? etc...we are soo lucky to know that we can pray for guidance anytime any place anywhere. we dont need a preacher to put his hands over us and pray for us..our Loving Heavenly Father has given us that gift personally...we are so blessed to have the scriptures and the sacrament and temple/baptismal covenants..THE PRIESTHOOD POWER OF GOD etc! honestly the guy that was "preaching" was an amazing motivational speaker...but that wasnt church haha the best part though was at the end he said if we wanted to "accept Jesus into our hearts" we could come up to the front..the lady we were with goes "come on! yall are our guests! lets go!" haha it was a good thing we did go up front though because then we were right by the stage for the band that broke out shortly after!!! hahaha it was a straight up concert!! rockin out to Christian rock on a Saturday night...keepin it holy?? tryin to. haha

those where the three big hitters this week! hope yall have a good one! dont forget how true the gospel is and how lucky we are to have it!! but dont be stingy...share what you know!!! cant hurt right? 

LOVE YOU ALL!
hermana hull

itzel came out teaching with us!!!! our members are the BOMB

peruvian cooking with angelica!! (investigator :)

and rockin the turbans with Zayneb and Tariq!

we love jess <3

zaynebs baptism!!

wait...church or concert..?

two of my favorites...car selfies with hermana groves and wilson!!!! happily on our way to the TEMPLE!!!!!! 

good ole uncle kiko came out with us for the day! the little gem took us out to lunch at taco cabana ;) 

the district <3

straight gold diggin!

HAPPY MLK DAY YALL!!!! 

so with all the changes to our area and losing all the progressing investigators and what not that we had..definitely braced myself for a rough week...but i didnt even feel like a missionary this week--i felt like a straight up GOLD digger!!! we found soooo many GOLDEN and prepared people this week!! yeah it took a little extra effort and knockin quite a few more doors than normal..but man we found some GEMS!!! 

we decided to go through our area book and try out some former investigators..one night we set up a three hour block to just go knock on as many doors of formers as possible...after three hours of knockin we got ourselves three new investigators!! two out of the three werent even "formers"! they just happened to live in the apartment where a former had moved out..

we also found some new people through a rejection! get this..one night we set up for a recent convert named Manuel and good ole Wilson to come with us to teach a man named miguel (one of the news we got from knockin doors) but he wasnt home..so we tried alejandrina (another knocked door) she wasnt home...then we tried Marichuy and jose (investigator/less active) they were getting in there car to leave when we got there..then tried jerry....his brother answered the door and very clearly stated his disinterest and that we should never knock on his door again or else...so finally we asked him if he knew ANYONE that spoke spanish that might be interested in hearing our message..he pointed to a door downstairs! 

so downstairs we went! knocked on the door--they answered--cut right to the chase "hello. we are missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints and we share a message of Jesus Christ and how through Him and His gospel we can find peace and joy in this life" (something like that) and they told us to come right on in!!! MIRACLE! turns out they skipped out going to the usual church they go to that night and were feeling pretty guilty about it so they were glad we came by! they accepted a book of mormon and committed to read it! we have a return appointment this week! lost one..gained two!  

oh! another time when we were looking through the area book, we found a teaching record of a family that looked like they had been taught a lot and were really progressing..the missionaries had dropped them because they moved and lost contact..we decided to give it a shot! when we called they answered "the sisters?! WE HAVE MISSED YOU GUYS! PLEASE COME BACK AND TEACH US!! WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU WHENEVER YOU HAVE TIME TO COME SEE US!" alright. sweet. haha the cutest family from peru!! the mom has committed to be baptized before the end of the month :) 

also, we didnt have a whole lot of time before our next teaching appointment, but we decided to knock a former and schedule a return appointment...but she invited us in so we couldnt say no! and good thing we didnt because we retaught the first lesson and the spirit was so thick you couldve taken a bite right out of it! she accepted a date to be baptized forfebruary 10th!!!! crazy because the other missionaries had dropped her because she told them "I was born a Catholic and i will die a catholic!!".....guess its hard to look THE TRUTH in the face and tell it no? she was crying and kept saying "i know its true i know its true!!!" we are scheduled to meet with her daily :)

and thennnnn just this morning we went to visit Jeni (i think i talked about her and elias last week...) she works all throughout the week so monday and tuesday are the only days we have to meet with her..im going to the temple tonight ang my comp is going on exchanges so we got up early this morning to go teach her! and it was WOORTH ITTT because this golden little lady is getting baptized February 22nd!! 

i really cannot believe how much our area is being blessed right now..it is UNREAL!!! i now understand PERFECTLY why that little slice of heaven got cut out of our area...we were focusing over there too much and missing out on the gold mine that is the rest of our area!!! all of these people have just been sitting waiting for us to knock on there door and bring them the truth :) i am 110% positive Heavenly Father knows  E X A C T L Y what he is doing, and He always does it on purpose ;) all we have to do is trust Him and go to work!! even more miracles happened this week and crazy opportunities too but my time is running low...

GOD LOVES YOU!! and so do i ;) until next week! 

hermana hull

out here teaching "The Mormon Way"...what you find in church libraries...

this lady is the coolest!! from Iraq!! getting baptized this sunday! doesnt speak a lick of spanish or english! the gift of tongues combined with the spirit is a powerful thing ;)

yay for Wilver!!! add him to the list of "tios" que yo tengo...

jessica <3 

ran into this guy on our way to an appointment...ended up teaching all of those kids the ten commandments using your ten fingers with signs to remember them! then gave them all pass along cards with our number on them and told them if they wanted to learn more to give them to their parents and we would come back again! the kids all scattered to their perspective houses..gave the cards to their parents..and then ran back outside to give us hugs!! love the little gems ;)

6 MONTH MARK

WHAT THE 6 MONTHS THIS WEEK?!?!

HELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
so im pretty sure Heavenly Father has quite the sense of humor because He pulled a good one on us this week....

so we really felt like Carmen and Antonio were ready for baptism this week so we decided to do whatever it took to get them in the water haha we took over members, visited them almost everyday, on days when we couldnt visit them we read over the phone with them, watched the joseph smith video with them, said countless prayers with and with out them, fasted for them, etc....but they still wouldnt accept the date! they told us they knew they needed to be baptized and wanted to be...just needed to get an answer from God to know when..they wanted a sign...so we were praying like crazy for them saturday night to know what we should do...and we decided to go over early in the morning on sunday before church and let them know that as messengers of God..WE were their answer! when we walked in their apartment early sunday morning, antonio had been up for a half hour already watching the Joseph Smith video.. WHAT..and we told them that we were their answer, read a couple scriptures about acting in faith etc......kneeled down and said a prayer with them, both of them felt the spirit so much they started crying!!! but then they go..."we will be baptized, we know we should be...we just need an answer from God" what?! you just got it! but they promised to come to church...

funny thing about church this week is it was a big regional conference and the stakes and ward boundaries got changed......aka CARMEN AND ANTONIO ARE NO LONGER IN OUR AREA :( pretty stinkin sad about it....we lost a chunk of our area due to the boundary changes and it just so happens that the chunk they took is where all of our investigators lined up to have baptisms this month live (including Flor, the avalos, the cabezas...investigators/member families we love)......hahah good one...im finding Heavenly Father LOVES humbling me ;) 

but its fine! im so excited to explore more of the untouched parts of my area! i know the Lord is preparing hearts to receive us :) you best believe we are gonna be handing out baptismal dates like candy on halloween! im excited to work my tail off to find more of my hermanos(as)!!!

oh! cool story real quick though...
we went to go teach an investigator with some members..but he wasnt home..so as we were walking through the complex back to the car i remembered something president challenged us to do and so i stopped everyone and had us each walk with a Book of Mormon in our hands haha it was a freezing cold night so there wasnt anyone outside that we could see, but i was confident we would be blessed for making the little extra effort.. as we passed the laundry room, i saw a guy with his back faced to me and its funny how the spirit works these days because it was literally a "GO TALK TO HIM" in my head...so the second he turned around i waved and smiled at the window! he came right outside :) so i started asking him the typical questions..where are you from, how long have you been here etc...he is from Africa and his first language is actually french! (you best believe i whipped out every french word i know.. "par le vous frace?" 

and then he goes (looking at all the books in our hands) "so uh..whats going on?? whats that? NICE! we jumped right in to bear testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it is another testament of Jesus Christ and that if he reads it he will find answers to any question he has ever had and it will strengthen his relationship with jesus christ, etc etc etc...and he LOVED IT!!! he goes "no way! i have actually been praying to find a way to grow closer to jesus christ..i just want to know him! can yall come back and teach me more? i live right here and am very interested!" and then he offered to say the prayer and talked about how he knew it was no coincidence we all ran into each other etc etc etc...he may only know like four words in spanish but still...MIRACLE!!!

anyway, yall have a great week!! love you so much! thanks for the prayers!!
hermana hull 

 saying bye to the avalos...little jashly kept going "im gonna miss yall" and started BAWLING as we left...SOOO ROUGH

SAYING BYE TO FLOR AND FAMILY.....

 BYE BYE ABUELA FLOR :*(

 AND CARMEN AND ANTONIO AND BABY MOISES

not a bad start to a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

MISSIONS=MIRACLES...STRAIGHT UP! there isnt a day that goes by that i dont have the privilege of witnessing God's hand in my life, and the lives of all those around me! 

the big miracle for this week was the baptism of Indalisa Vidrio Garcia!! she is the sister of Manuel Vidrio (my friend with the mustache) and the mother of the Marlen Avalos! (i swear..that family is straight gold)..so what happened is...when Indalisa (nickname-Licho) visited the avalos in june she got just about all of the missionary discussions and almost got baptized but she wanted to wait and went back to mexico...but when we found out she was visiting again we decided she was not going back to mexico "dry"!! so we visited her several times, called daily to remind her to read in the book of mormon, and then on saturday night we went over and had plans to ask her the baptismal questions and invite her to be baptized...but when we got over there, we read a chapter in the book of mormon together and then i totally forgot to ask! they were trying to head out the door for a monster truck show or something so it completely slipped my mind....but thankfully we brought uncle kiko with us and he remembered! as he was saying goodbye to Licho he goes "you know...if you want, i can baptize youtomorrow..." and shes goes "wait really? i would love that!" kiko then freaks out and yells "HERMANA HULLL HERMANA HULL SHE WANTS IT!!!" hahaha so we gave her the baptismal questions (passed with flying colors) and planned out her baptism! 

hermana endicott gave the talk on baptism..she was really nervous, but she did a good job! there were only a couple times when she looked at me in the audience with her panicked "help me" eyes and i would just shout out the word she was trying for in spanish haha and then the member that was supposed to give the talk on the holy ghost never showed up so our zone leader jumped up and gave a spontaneous talk on the HG...i was completely oblivious haha Licho was then baptized by kiko..had to get dunked twice because of a whiley hair..but the water was warm so she didnt mind ;) then i played the ukelele and sang "soy un hijo de Dios" (I am a Child of God) with two of Licho's grandkids! it was super fun! (thanks again for the uke..i love it!)  then Licho got special permission to do a font-side confirmation because she is actually leaving back for Mexico on wednesday!! haha it was awesome..she was so prepared!! MIRACLEEEEE

also! i recieved an email from Manuel (the younger one..without the mustache) and he said that he is loving his ward in mexico and has actually gone out teaching with the missionaries!! STAHHP! SO HAPPY! and they are going to come back and visit Houston so we can all go to the temple! I FEEL LIKE A PROUD MOTHER! MY BABIES ARE GROWING UP! 

also...super not spiritual note..maybe i shouldnt end with it..oh well here i go anyway..

late one night we rode up to a bus stop and i asked the guy that was waiting at the stop if he knew what time the next bus was passing by...he turns around eyes glazed over and red, throws his hands up and goes "hey! whoa! whats going on?!" to which i responded, "sorry, but do you happen to know what time the next bus is passing by?" he goes "oh...mann..i thought yall was the police or sumthin..thought i was getting pulled over and i was like *dang* i have soo much marijuana on me!" hahahahhaa i guess when you are higher than a kite the flashing lights of our bikes could be mistaken for a cop car? lets give him the benefit of the doubt, shall we? needless to say we did not wait at that bus stop haha

well! happy happy new year! i know 2015 is gonna be a good one!! 

please pray for Carmen and Antonio to read the Book of Mormon daily and to feel ready for their baptism next week! i really do appreciate the love and support from yall!

questions:

how did you celebrate new years?

to be honest, we really didnt...we had a rule to be in by 8pm that night because it is dangerous to by out and about with all the drunk drivers and such..so i guess you could say we celebrated by getting a little extra sleep! hna endicott said she was woken up at midnight by an army of fireworks but i wasnt shaken in the slightest! this work really wares ya out! 

new years resolutions?

hna endicott and i have the goal to baptize weekly. we feel it is the Lord's will so we are doing everything we can to find his prepared people, teach them and love them into the gospel! we have people lined up for every week..now we just gotta make sure satan stays on his side! 

 got caught in a bad rainstorm one morning and so Flor gave us some old pjs to wear while our clothes dried! defintely weird teaching a lesson in pants..

 good ole uncle kiko!! 

 and dont forget EDDY COLE!! if this isnt some classy church wearing attire i dont know what is!

 LITTLE LICHO IS THE CUTEST! ESPECIALLY IN A WHITE JUMPSUIT!!

 

5 Month Mark!

5 Month Mark!!!!

okay runnin short on time again so ill just get down to business:

THE STORY OF CARL

so we had just left an appointment and were getting ready to leave the apartment complex when these two old ladies flag us down and ask us if we have a phone this old man can use to call his wife..what? sure. so we go over and the old man goes "my name is carl. i took a pretty bad spill back there and i dont know where i am. i need to call my wife. 558-....... my name is carl. i'm feeling a little dizzy. i dont know where i am..etc" so we called the number he said..wasnt real. didnt exist. so we got him to sit down so he wouldnt fall over again...(little bit of a struggle when he tried to break into a car he thought was his..carl. thats not your car. please come sit down.) but we got him to sit while we called the police. the police were all "carl?! we've been looking all over for that guy! his poor wifes been worried sick! thank yall so much!" sweet. so we are waiting for the police to come get carl when he stands up and starts to walk away.."carl? where are you goig? the police are on there way, can you please come sit down? we dont want you falling again." "well, thats part of the problem..i reaalllyy have to go..." "you have to go to the bathroom?" "something FIERCE! but its alright, ill just go around the corner..." "no carl. just a sec.." i then proceeded to knock a few doors...no answer...until finally this lady from Cuba answered the door! at first she wouldnt let him in because she explained she was home alone and didnt want a man in her house..but as soon as i explained the situation she let him in. while carl was using the bathroom, i took advantage of the opportunity to get to know her and teach her a brief lesson about jesus christ ;) she was a doll! doesnt speak a lick of english though so got a little freaked out when carl kept trying to talk to her in his husky new yorker english haha anyway...the police finally showed up and we got carl safe and sound in the car...just as we were about to leave, carl taps on the glass, and motions for us to come over..."i just want to thank you two girls for saving my butt tonight!! God bless you both!" 

other than that whole incident...the most exciting thing that happened was that Carmen and Antonio came to church!! the night before we went over and read in the Book of Mormon with them and sang for them..they cried when we sang and committed to come to church..and they totally LOVED IT!!!!! such a huge answer to prayer!! 

okay..tis the season right? so to share a little christmas thought, i was reading in the liahona (ensign spanish edition) and i happen to have a favorite part! i know they have it in english too...but i like it in spanish better! (weird how it doesnt translate over the same haha) anyway, here it is!

(SPANISH)
El presidente Howard W. Hunter (1907–1995) dio unos consejos prácticos que nos sirven para lograr ese propósito:

“Esta Navidad, resuelvan una discrepancia. Busquen a un amigo olvidado; desechen una sospecha y remplácenla con la confianza; escriban una carta; den una respuesta amable; alienten a la juventud; manifiesten su lealtad de palabra y obra. Guarden una promesa; olviden una ofensa; perdonen a un enemigo; pidan disculpas; traten de comprender; examinen lo que exigen de los demás; piensen primero en alguien más. Sean bondadosos, amables; rían un poco más; expresen gratitud; den la bienvenida a un desconocido. Hagan feliz a un niño; regocíjense en la belleza y en la maravilla de la tierra. Expresen su amor con palabras y vuelvan a hacerlo”3.

Sin Cristo, no habría Navidad; sin Cristo, no habría plenitud de gozo; sin Su nacimiento y Su expiación, no tendríamos Intercesor, ni Abogado ante el Padre, ni Mediador que hiciese posible que volviésemos a la presencia de nuestro amado Padre Celestial y viviésemos juntos como familias eternas.

 

(ENGLISH)

President Howard W. Hunter (1907–95) gave some practical advice that helps us do that:
 

“This Christmas, mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again.”3

 

Without Christ, there would be no Christmas. Without Christ, there can be no fulness of joy. Without His birth and His Atonement, we would have no Intercessor, no Advocate with the Father, and no Mediator who makes it possible for us to return to the presence of our loving Heavenly Father and live together as eternal families.

paz y bendiciones!!

hermana hull

last week we went to the HUGE MALL downtown and the christmas tree was UNREAL!!! okay literally yes it was artificial..but it was GORGEOUS AND HUGE AND HAPPY 

 

 

 

the sweet thing sent me a batch

and everyone is dying for the recipe!!!

THANK YOU GRANDMA GORGEOUS for the 7 LAYER COOKIES!!

 

 

 do we have a christmas tree? we have like a foot tall little tike and a paper one on our wall! you get creative ;)