what just happened?

honestly i think the theme for the week is best summed up in the phrase "wait..what just happened?" mind if i give some examples?

-lady invited us into her house, taught her a quick lesson, said a prayer..normal right? wait..she was definitely in a bathrobe, WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

-went over a training video on family history work online and decided to turn to the guy sitting at the computer next to us to try it out..asked him about christmas traditions..ended up talking about his mom and how much she loves christmas and it was her favorite holiday etc etc and then he goes "but its not like that anymore...shes dead.." "oh my gosh im so sorry!" "its alright that was 20 years ago" (and then this is when i made a mistake...) "how did she pass away?" "look her up on the internet..she is all over..heard of the infamous butcher massacre of 199something? thats her. she got butched up" ope! there it is! my bad! probably never going to ask anyone about christmas traditions ever again. WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

-decided to knock on a member's neighbor's door while we were waiting, introduced himself as Tupac (a rapper) and was super intense initially..but once we got talking asked "were yall casted for this? cuz yall are perfect!" then later in the convo "okay..what yall selling? cuz whatever it is-ILL BUY IT!!" ended up watching the HE IS THE GIFT video with him (if you havent seen it go to christmas.mormon.org) and giving him a Book of Mormon which he accepted happily! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

-a lady i randomly talked to at subway one time because hermana heckel needed to use the bathroom ended up coming to church because turns out one of her good friends is a member! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?

-went to go pick up a new investigator for church, his great grandma answered the door...said "Mario" didnt live there..after describing him she realized she knew who he was and said he was asleep...i asked if she wouldnt mind knocking on his door and letting him know we were here to take him to church..(a little too bold? your call) but she did it! said he didnt want to get up...so i invited her to come to church! (little too bold? your call) and she said yes! so she went and brushed her gray hair and we inched our way to the car...no joke the whole process took about 10 minutes...and when we finally got her to the car...all of a sudden "Mario" comes sprinting around the corner full speed without shoes, shirtless yelling "GRANDMA!!! GRANDMA!! DONT GO! THEY'RE COMING SOON TO TAKE US TO THE RANCH!!" (what?) to which she responds "WHAT? SEE? I CANT EVER DO ANYTHING I WANT! WHY DID YOU TELL THEM YOUR NAME WAS MARIO! YOUR NAME IS FRANSISCO!(then she turns to me) sorry mami, maybe next week." WHAT JUST HAPPENED

-LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!!

a recent convert named kimberly called us up an hour before the scheduled temple trip for the youth and told us she found a family name (as missionaries we are only allowed to go if a recent convert has a family name to take to the temple) so we were STOKED!!! so we ran to the bus stop, grabbed a bus, ran the two blocks to the chapel, jumped on a computer, made her an LDS account, put in all the info, print of the name, zooooooooooooomed to the temple, got the bishop, gave her an interview in the waiting room of the temple, AND DID SOME BAPTISM AND CONFIRMATIONS!!!!!!!!! she kept telling us how amazing it felt to be in the temple and that when she was baptized for her aunt she could feel her there with her...so precious!! it was so last minute and crazy to coordinate but we did it!! you best believe when we finally made it home and took a breath the first words that escaped our mouths??? you guessed it...WHAT JUST HAPPENDED??????

this work is wild sometimes, but i love it so much! sharing the gospel is ALWAYS  a good idea!! no matter how crazy it might seem. do it! you wont regret it. i promise! the church is so true! 

LOVE YOU ALL!!!! 

paz y bendiciones

hermana hull

 holler at your turkey legs!! yay for leftovers!!

 thank you Greg&Traci SMYTH cousins for the sweet christmas package!!!! IM LOVIN IT! 

 HOUSTON TEMPLE!!

 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS!!! Our ward LOVES SMASHING CAKES IN FACES...im down..happy birthday Elder Ayala and Elder Jarvis!

mustache monday--new thing? just might be ;)

Mustaches for Manuel! 

the baptism yesterday was the best experience EVER!!!!!! i know i shouldnt know what it feels like to be a proud mother...but when Manuel (the son) baptized Manuel (the father) i definitely had a "Awww my babies are growing up"moment!!! and then again when Emilia (the mom) and Manuel (the son) bore their testimonies at a devotional last night!!! THIS WORK IS THE ABSOLUTE BEST EVER!!!!!!!!! another highlight of the week was definitely watching Manuel (the son) practice the baptism hold and prayer with a member from our ward named Benjamen! dunking him in the imaginary font was probably my favorite part ;)

oh! okay if y'all would pray for Antonio and his wife Carmen that would be great...we've taught Carmen a couple times..and when we taught Antonio he was loving it..shaking his head "yes" the whole time--just soakin it all in. but when we asked them to be baptized, Carmen jumped in and said she didnt feel ready to make that decision (she is pretty into her Christian church) but Antonio said he loved everything that we taught him, how we taught, how he feels when we teach...mentioned how we have answered SOOO many of the questions he has had his entire life, etc..but he doesnt want to make the decision to be baptized without his wife. they are an amazing couple (with a new baby Moises--miracle baby--the one i talked about a couple weeks ago that we accompanied to the clinic to translate?) and i just know the gospel would bless their cute family exponentially!!! 

oh! get this..so we are haulin down west heimer late one night, per usual, and all of a sudden this guy on a bike coming towards us starts yelling! i freaked for half a second but then realized he was saying "HEYYYY!! IT'S THE SISTER MISSIONARIESSSSS!!!!!!!" turns out it was good ole Eddy --member of the english ward that sings to us whenever we see him ;) he turned his bike around and proceeded to bike with us for the next three miles or so! love that man...

went to the Houston Temple this week!!!! it's amazing how if you prepare before you go to the temple, the spirit really teaches you individual and amazing things..i dont want to run the risk of saying anything "temple only talk" so ill just leave it at that.. when you have the chance-GO TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!!!! vale la recompensa!!!!

love you all! thanks for the prayers! 

paz y bendiciones, 

hermana hull 

mustaches with the Cabezas because they are my best friends out here...

 TEMPLE BABY!!!!

 

 In honor of Manuel we all wore mustaches! 

 Jessica! 

 Wilson! 

 We love Jessica and Wilson! 

 Staying dry! 

 AND DONT FORGET EDDY!!!!! 

 becoming such a homemaker ;)

the weekly

this week was a little more low-key but a solid one nonetheless!

so a lot of the Hispanics call me "flaqita" (skinny girl) and have the insane goal of making me fat...cool thanks...

my hermana's tire popped and it was a pain and a half to try and fix!! granted i've never ever changed a bike tire before..but this was a real struggle! she had one of those self-sealant tires that ended up sealing the tube to the rim and the tread to the rim and itself so we had to cut the tube, use a wrench, scissors, a knife, etc to try and get this thing off! we finally gave in and called the elders to help us out...i shouldn't admit it, but i was happy to see them struggle and try all the things we had already done before they (out of luck..and we loosened it) got the tire off the rim!! they were sweet though and helped us get the new tires pumped and back on the bike in riding condition!! or so we thought...we left it overnight at a members house and found it flat again the next day with a slow leak problem...we walked m i l e s....but its okay because i happened to be working on patience and humility this week!!! i just kept in mind that i would be blessed if i bear my burdens well and that a flat tire isn't that big of a deal because i have legs for a reason! use 'em!

the member we visited is our favorite ever..hermana cabezas!! definitely talked about her before...but here i go again! she is incredible!!! SO STRONG in the gospel and her purpose and everything..she inspires me! she doesn't change who she is to "fit in"--instead she is so magnificent that people "make room"...definitely a quality i hope to have one day!! they say missions are the refiners fire right? bring it..i can handle the heat haha

cool food for the week: definitely got fed alfalfa...Marcia claimed it was a traditional dish from Angola...haha check that off the bucket list!

also, as a companionship we focused on obedience this week...i love the quote "selective obedience brings selective blessings"

fun story: so we were sitting waiting wishing at a bus stop when out of nowhere this tiny hovercraft thing buzzes passed my head WHAT?! so i turn around to see where it could have come from and am pleasantly surprised to see a guy with a remote control..YES!!! when we asked him about it he just grinned and said "CIA stuff..you aren't supposed to know" whatever that means..and proceeded to take an xbox remote controller out of his pocket (where does this guy buy his pants? they are so practical) and another hovercraft thing!!! it was just a YES THIS PLACE IS UNREAL moment <3

oh! and Emilia and Manuel told us that they know of an LDS Chapel half a mile from their house in Mexico! so when there visas expire in a couple months they can continue going there!! they also said that we can go to church with them there when we come visit...i didn't realize i had made those travel plans with them..but my answer is yes ;)

had a super spiritual lesson with our dear Jessica! she has been a member over a year now and so we talked about temples. she is the sweetest and has such a strong desire to go to the temple! talking about it made me think of when i got to go through for the first time......there are no words to describe it!!! so special! how blessed are we to have such a holy place here on the earth? God has given us a sanctuary where we can enter with our problems and burdens....and then leave feeling light and at peace!!! I CANNOT WAIT to have the special opportunity to go to the Houston Temple next week!!! don't take for granted having a temple near home...its the most beautiful gift God has given us...your temple recommend is like an invite to go to our Heavenly Fathers h o u s e...how are you going to RSVP???

well i love you all more than latinos love making gringas like me fat!!

paz y bendiciones,

hermana hull

 bike struggles

 fun photo we got from Jessica! 

 hermana heckel got SHARI'S BERRIES AND SHARED!!!! thats called comp unity

 this is marcia from Angola, Africa!! love her!

 and i seriously LOVE THIS CHILD<3 sorry about it..but im actually not because he is such a dime

 

sometimes as missionaries you watch the district at night and pretend you are having a slumber  party...ice cream and all! its the little things ;)

 also WE ARE SO BLESSED!!! IT WAS CHRISTMAS TODAY! PACKAGES ARE THE BEST THINGS EVER!