Wait...Guns and Roses?!

i didnt get transfered!!!! rollin in to transfer number 7 in HOUSTON ONE!!!! transfers are a joke at this point...let's be real, im never leaving...good thing i LOVE IT!!!! hermana whitehead is staying too! she is now my longest companion! the most i have with anyone else is 2 transfers...buckle up yall, because we are feeling an AMAZING transfer!!!

so remember that time where missions are absolutely NUTS and you NEVER know whats going to happen???

so we were out biking around and one of our appointments fell through....and for whatever reason the name of a person that hermana heckel had tried to contact with me when i very first got on the mission came to mind!! we "let the holy spirit guide" and somehow i was able to remember where this guy lives...and we caught him just in time!! he and his wife were packing up to move within the next couple of days...we were able to talk to him for a little while and then he gave us the address of his son who lives in the very complex they will be moving to....so we decided to go try him out too!!! 

okay i lied. he didnt give us the address...because he couldnt remember it...but he gave us some solid vague directions ;) involving "turn left and then at the 1st or maybe 2...wait possibly third block turn left again and you'll see a sign that says mail...go up the stairs..etc" but the Holy Ghost was ON POINT that day and after knocking only a couple of wrong doors...we made it to his son. and let me tell you---SOOO WORTH IT!!! the guys girlfriend answered the door and invited us in...when her boyfriend finally came out he was NOT what anyone was expecting....the guy was rocking leather jeans with zippers going all the way down, a black shirt, leather vest, loooooong curly pony-tail and black glasses..indoors!! he whipped the shades off and dazzled us with his carefully eyeliner'd eyes.....wait wait wait what?! but its okay because it was only weird for a second...until he explained to us that he is the new drummer for GUNS&ROSES and proceeded to yank out his hair-tie and whip his hair back and forth exemplifying what he looks like when he performs!!!!! IT WAS UNREAL! he then continued to tell us his whole life story involving SONY music, ferraris, condos in malibu, beyonce, you name it!!!!! he invited us to a charity concert he will be performing in in three weeks and said we would be his VIP guest! guys ill be honest....i want to believe him sooooo bad, but the spirit of discernment was making it a little difficult to let me buy it all! but dont worry..we will get more info on that concert and what not and see if our little rockstar friend is legit!!! he was tight though....let us bless his home, called us angels, asked for book of mormon, AND invited us back so...ill take it!! 

we actually met a toooonnnn of cool people this week...we are super excited for our new teaching pool!! we have a TON of work to do...but its better that way!! 

well im going to stop now so im sure to have loads to talk about when we SKYPE ON MOTHERS DAY!!! SOOOO PUMPED FOR THAT!!!!!!!!!!

have the happiest week! share the gospel! 

hermana hull

got to visit cute little claudio this week!! he is the BEST member in the WORLD!!! reads different church scripture and such for like 4 hours a day....he told us he wanted to receive the holy ghost kneeling down with his arms crossed like a pharaoh....STUD!! he did get confirmed...but we told the sweetheart it would be just as good sitting in a chair ;) when we go visit him we have to stay outside...the little gem was worried about us getting a sunburn so he brought us out a huge umbrella to use! we asked him to take a picture for us....but he ended up taking like 4 selfies without even realizing it!!! we just didnt have it in us to tell him to turn the camera around hahahahaha 

CANT BELIEVE MY MAMA DIED (aka went home)!!! peace and blessings hermana heckel...this just see you later. 

MLC is always a good time with these ladies...STL LYFE

I LOVE HERMANA TAYLOR

wait wait wait Tim Nixon from BYU?! should be in Taiwan right now..but he broke both of his wrists or something?! idk. but it was a happy reunion!

post-service CHILIS <3

bye bye sister taylor!! wait for me to go skydiving!!! its a date ;)

FELIZ CUMPLEANOS JESS! TE QUIERO ;) delish persian food for the birthday girl!

the district

diana and benja!! 

later skater! but wait..missionaries dont actually go home...

also...wilson is THE MAN!!! came out teaching with us EVERYDAY this week!!!!! my members are the B O M B!

Good Ole Claudio :)

SO THIS WEEK WAS THE ABSOLUTE BESSSTTTTT!!!!!! 

i definitely have a testimony of repentance....because last week was the worst right? but we repented and were blessed like crazy! 

so, at district meeting this tuesday we all came together and thought about the people that could be baptized this weekend...we then knelt down and asked the Lord who WOULD be baptized...everyone got a strong confirmation that one of our investigators, claudio, would be baptized....so we were PUMPED!! we werent able to get contact with him until thursday...but the first thing he says when he sat down with us  was "so whats your advice on baptism?" wait wait wait....what?!?!?! so we went through the baptismal interview with him....everything was going awesome but then we got to the word of wisdom...he goes, "wait..i drank coffee..." (we have a rule that they have to be keeping all the commandments for at least a full week before they can be baptized..) and so we freak out a little..like when e x a c t l y did you drink coffee claudio? he said he had some when it was raining...which was the prior weekend...so we were good!!! so we set up the  official interview with our district leader for that night, got a member to give him a ride...set!! we told our district leader to give us a call after the interview just to tell us how it went....confident that he would pass..right?

post interview call went like this 

"hey guys hows it going? you ready for some news?..............................claudio drank coffee"

"thats not real. its a joke. thats not funny"

"no really guys. he drank coffee this morning before yall went over...."

W H A T ?!?!?!?!?! we were confident we had received confirmation from the Lord that Claudio Antonio Ventura Reyes was to be baptized THIS SUNDAY....so there had to be some sort of mistake!! after questioning the District leader's spanish....hoping that maybe in his old age claudio mixed up today and a week ago.....we asked our district leader to call President.....

A MIRACLE HAPPENED!! president ashton said that if claudio didnt drink coffee for the next three days before his baptism, and then covenanted with the Lord to NEVER EVER drink coffee again that he could be baptized...

AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED!!! OUR BOY CLAUDIO WAS THE CUTEST LITTLE OLD MAN IN WHITE THIS SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!!!! he is amazing...he studies the scriptures for like four hours a day...and his wife does not support him at all...but he always says "i know i have found Gods path and this is what he wants for me so it doesnt matter if my wife likes it or not!!" i hope to always mimic his faith and confidence in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

miracles happen yall, i promise!!!  this work is the best work!!!! give it a shot!

love yall too much! 

hermana hull

first of all, roadtrip to kemah was an absolute BLAST!! 

it was so nice to see some ocean!! and go on some crazy boardwalk rides...

and go to an aquarium and feed sting rays for freee!!!

 

goodbye elder andersen!!! missionaries dont go home...

speaking of which, HERMANA HECKEL GOT TO COME ON AN EXCHANGE WITH ME BEFORE SHE GOES HOME MAY 5TH. NEEDLESS TO SAME ONE OF THE BEST DAYS OF MY MISSION LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

SO OF COURSE A "PASTELASO" WAS INVOLVED...(BEFORE)

 AND AFTER THE CAKE-FACE-SMASH)

priscila was visiting for the week! she is from chile and going to serve in buenos aires, argentina!! it was sooo fun getting to know this little dime!

JUST LOOK AT THAT CUTE LITTLE MAN!!!!!!!!! I LOVE CLAUDIO!!! 

found out he is 88 years old...straight STUD!!!

SOOO PUMPED TO BE A MEMBER OF THE TRUE CHURCH!!!!!!!!!

REPENTENCE IS THE BOMB

hey guys! so i need to be honest. this week was rougghhhh :/ nothing particularly hard happened, nothing particularly out of the usual....other than the fact that i did not give it my all this week and it was the worst! i felt horrible about it. but guess what? i got a chance to put my money where my mouth is and REPENT!!!! yesterday and today i did a lot of repenting and talking with my heavenly father...and the way he answered me was through hermana whitehead's study of the scriptures! this morning during comp study..she shared these scriptures with me that straight up are my heavenly father talking DIRECTLY to me!

D&C 3:7-10

 7 For, behold, you should not have feared man   more than God. Although men set at naught the   counsels of God, and despise his words—

 8 Yet you should have been faithful; and he would  have extended his arm and supported you against  all the fiery darts of the adversary; and he would  have been with you in every time of trouble.

 9 Behold, thou art HERMANA HULL, and thou wast chosen to do the work of the  Lord, but because of transgression, if thou art not   aware thou wilt fall.

 10 But remember, God is merciful; therefore, repent of that which thou hast done which is contrary to the commandment which I gave you, and thou art still  chosen, and art again called to the work;"

i am not a perfect missionary. i know that...but so does my Heavenly Father! i may have had a bad week...but He still calls me to the work :) i cant comprehend why God is so willing to give me soooo many chances, "its because he loves you" i mean i know..but like its UNREAL how much he loves us guys!!! he has given me a second chance and i am sooooo pumped to go out there and KILL IT this week!! i never ever want to feel sick to my stomach for not giving my 110%...i promise yall, wont happen again!! the atonement is SO REAL! GOD LOVES YOU I PROMISE! 

GO OUT THERE AND KILL IT!

love hermana hull

(sorry for the short email, we are going to the kemah boardwalk today!!! and i have a bunch of pics...)

we may have had to walk to the museum....but we found a cool telephone booth!! and we got free tickets!! including the special butterfly exhibit!! and a private tour of the samurai exhibit...what?!?! it was tight 

post-museum adventures in a neighboring park!!

this little asian garden was a little reminiscent of san fransisco at stowe lake!! 

this little lady is from uruguay and knows ANDREW WHITE!! what?! said she used to cook for him on the regular

yeah for easter activities two weeks late!!!! 

little andy and his mom came to the activity!! love this kid <3

had the chance to sing in a family history kick off meeting!! these temple dresses were ON POINT

casually watching a LIGHTING STORM with my girl whitehead

HUMP DAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!! YOU BEST BELIEVE YOUR GIRL IS ROCKIN NINE MONTHS!!!!

TOOK FOR GRANTED

exchanges into the english world with sister smith!

hello hello! another crazy week here in houston!! 

and when i say crazy..i mean it. yesterday we went to try to find a lady we contacted in the street who gave us her address, but when we knocked on her door a dude all tatted up answered the door. we asked for the lady and he said she wasnt home, so we took advantage of the opportunity to tell someone about our Savior and Redeemer!! but things got weird...fast....starting with the fact that the man wouldnt shake my hand. what? he said it was against his religion to touch something so pure.. i was thinking "pure? this hand? honey..you dont even want to know how many hands ive shaken, how many doors ive knocked..pure is the last adjective i would use to describe my hand..." but the literal cleanliness of my hand was not was he was referring to......come to find out he is a devil worshiper. he told us straight up. he signed a contract to the devil and is trapped. i was devastated. not scared one bit--just felt so horribly sorry for this poor man who thinks he has sinned too much, gone too far, and is out of reach of the saviors merciful arms....usually in these sort of situations we would say "well, hope you have a nice day!" and book it right outta there....but in my heart i felt like we HAD to stay and testify to this man that His loving Heavenly Father still wants him--there is still hope. that the Saviors atonement paid for ALLLLLLL of his sins--he can be free from his guilt. the evil spirits that surround him and tell him he has fallen and there is nothing he can do about it are liars. they have no power. only the power he gives to them. i felt impressed to tell him that he can be free. he is loved. God is pulling for him, and thats why he put us on his doorstep. to tell him that if he makes the decision, he can be made pure. guys, it was unreal. as i was bearing testimony to this man, i knew without a doubt that the holy ghost was with me...because i could feel it pulsing through my veins. tears were brought to my eyes as the love God has for this man rushed over me....after i closed in the name of my Savior and said amen i held out my hand to shake the mans hand goodbye....he told me that he couldnt because he knew i had the spirit with me and it would shock him...said that he could feel the good energy emanating from my body. 

shortly after leaving his doorstep, hermana whitehead and i felt like we needed to say a prayer and thank heavenly father for being with us...hna whitehead offered the prayer...and in it included the phrase, "and we are so thankful to know that we can be forgiven for our sins...". as soon as those words slipped out of her mouth my eyes welled up with tears for the second time. how many times have i said that in a prayer, or heard that in a talk, or a testimony...it wasnt until yesterday that those words and their full meaning really hit home. i mean think about it! we can be forgiven for our sins. THAT IS AMAZING!!!! how much joy and hope and comfort and peace and happiness come from that simple phrase?!? i mean shoot! we're talkin about salvation!!!! eternal life! eternal peace!! being forgiven for my sins is definitely something i have taken for granted.....i mean every time i take the sacrament, am i really thinking about how the Savior literally takes upon himself piece by piece every ounce of my burdens? this experience was one of those perspective moments...even though maybe the devil worshiper will forget what was said, i know i never will. i am so thankful for the truth and light that surrounds me daily and for the happiness and peace the gospel brings! (met a lady from the kongo this week...she said hakkunah mattata really means no worries!!!) 

i love you all so much! have the best week! and thank the heavens for repentance guys...its the BOMB! 

paz y bendiciones

hermana hull

mosiah 4:9-12 

english training turns into reunion (we are starting up a "daily dose" program in our mission where we will start teaching english at schools and at the church! pumped about it!!)

BIG BOY JUSTIN WITH THE BOM!!! he stopped US to ask some gospel questions....sad we had to hand him over to the english elders..but not before snappin a pic!

we got to go to RICE UNIVERSITY in downtown houston this week to get CPR training and then offer service! we helped other people learn how to save lives...and got our own little dummy things to take home so we can teach other people too!