THE BERG #7

HELLO HELLO!!! hope everyone had a week as good as mine!! transfers were super exciting because i got a BRAND SPANKIN NEW MISSIONARY AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! i really love getting missionaries hot off the plate because their zeal and gusto for the work is contagious!! it helps me re-commit to KILL IT on the daily ;) 

so...my new companion is Sister Lenhart from Nephi, Utah...and I STINKIN LOVE HER!!!! she loves volleyball and singing and guitar etc etc etc...we get along SUPER well and are so similar it's weird sometimes...i am sooo excited to be working with her! even though i am training in english for the first time...its tight because sister lenhart really really wants to learn spanish and took it in college so i can keep mine up! also, we realized that our voices blend really well so we have major goals to get some baptism so we can sing little duets at them ;) and it looks like we will be able to make our dreams come true because Heavenly Father blessed us with a MIRACLE!! ok..more like a million miracles a day..but ill just mention a couple ;)

*so stacy...she has a date for the 15th right? but her biggest obstacle is to quit smoking...when we asked how she was doing a couple days ago she said that its gotten bad and that she was worried about how much she was smoking...we committed her to read a scripture and say a prayer anytime that she wants to light up a cigarette...the next time we saw (saturday) her she informed us that she had gone from 2 packs of 20 cigs a day..to only 5 or 6!!!!!!!!!!!!! TALK ABOUT PROGRESS!!! she is doing amazing and strengthening my testimony of the power of scripture and prayer :) 

*before leaving stacy's on saturday we asked her "who else do you know that could benefit from our message?" she thought about it for a second and then mentioned a neighbor of hers...so we left and immediately knocked on said neighbor's door! a sweet lady named Shirley answered the door and as soon as we mentioned "Jesus Christ" she said "Come right in!". we only had about 7 minutes before we needed to leave to make another appointment...but we sat down with her and boldly testified of the restored gospel of jesus christ and invited her to be baptized. she said yes so fast i almost questioned it! and then came even more "yeses" yes ill come to church, yes ill read the pamphlet, yes please come back tomorrow, etc etc etc.....

the next morning we knocked on her door to pick her up for church and she was all dressed and ready to go with her Book of Mormon in hand!!!!!! she LOVED church and when we stopped by later in the day the first thing she said to us was, "ive been to a lot of churches..but i like yours best! i like the aura....can i go back next week?? id really enjoy that.." WHAT THE GOLDEN?! and it gets better!! we read a chapter in the book of mormon with her and she asked if we could read another with her...and she wanted to keep going, but we had to jet so we asked her to read it on her own..she said she would read the next four chapters, and then asked if we could come back "tomorrow" (aka today) so we will!! i love this lady soooo much!! she is amazing! pray that she also can quit smoking..we are teaching the word of wisdom tonight!!

i love love loooovveee this work guys..for real..nothing is better!!!! trust me, you wanna share the gospel..you wont regret it ;) so do it!! 

love yall muchooooooo!!

hermana hull

goodbyes that are actually see you laters....

sister lenhart and i <3

Shirley and her grandson elijah!!!!

oh! and their puppy ;)

THE BERG #6

so i am the lamest and have zero time this week but here is the biggest news..

MY COMP IS GETTING TRANSFERED AND I AM TRAINING AGAIN!!!

sooo bittersweet because i really love sister schumacher...but we go and do what the lord wants!!!! and i am PUMPED to get a newbie!! 

okay literally have a second and so ill send pictures!!!

love yall BIG TIME!!!! ps read this the other morning and i felt like words were robbed right out of my mouth  mormon 3:22 "And I would that I could persuade all ye ends of the earth to repent and prepare to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ."

a random dude gave me this angel bear

GONNA MISS THIS GIRL SOOOO MUCH!!

love love love the masters!!! from california so go figure ;) they take good care of us!

saying bye to missionaries is all i do these days!! elder alexander and elder baird are both THE MAN!

GOT TO SEE TWO OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE BERG #5

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES!!!! YALL ARE THE BOMB!!! 

seriously great week out here!!! we traveled out to some of the outskirts of our area...like m a j o r country roads!!!! we even saw an armadillo!! to answer mom's questions..on average we drive anywhere from 30-60 miles a day...(the 60 mile days are when we hit up the boonies)..but as a consequence of the excessive driving...we are running short on miles and were on bikes almost everyday this week!! which is AMAZING because ive missed my bike...but at the same time NUTS because let me tell you...it is getting H O T down here!!! i almost wish the floods were back! my birthday was great!! jessica and alvaro (member and investigator from my last area) drove up and SURPRISED ME FOR LUNCH!!!

oops. too soon!!

anyway, those two sweethearts took us to a nice restaurant called "Gringos" (punny huh ;)) and got me balloons, a pinata, presents, and TWO CAKES!!! i didnt get my face full on smashed this time because i had to go out and teach after..but jess made me promise to smash my face later....so sister schu and i had a great time with that!! haha it was sister schu's first face smashing experience so definitely was a hoot!!! 

what else happened......we say a drug deal happen in the middle of the day as we were walking to our investigators place (the girl involved goes "i know yall saw that..pray for me!" haha) and then the guy involved walked directly to the apartment of our investigator!!!!! haha word of wisdom and honoring the laws of the land will be taught ASAP and that's a PROMISE!! 

oh! i had a super humbling experience this week...(mom just plug your ears..or i guess close your eyes? becuase im fine.) so as we were driving out to the boonies this thursday...we came to an intersection..where i and the car across the highway have a stop sign, but the cars on the highway inbetween us keep cruising, right? does that make sense? anyway...so i stop, and the car across the road stops..and then a truck coming from my right stops! and im like "why the heck is he stopping? he doesnt have a stop sign??" so im like cool. i guess ill go...BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just as i started to cross the highway, a Cadillac zooming by (from my left) honks and swerves out of the way--just missing the front of our car. HOLY HEAVENS DID I FEEL DUMB!! there i was calling mister truck guy an idiot in my head and goin' for it..when really he was more aware of the situation and being safe...

spiritual connection--sometimes we are quick to judge the actions of others...we think they are idiots that dont know what they are doing....but more often than not, there is a method to their madness and maybe we need to slow down, and "look both ways" before we label them and move on. i am sooooo thankful for the lesson learned and for the testimony that Heavenly Father really does love and protect us!! here's to driving safe and not judging!! haha 

well anyway..more stuff happened but i think the pictures will pick up my slack ;) LOVE YALL MUCHO!

HERMANA HULL

OH! ps i encourage everyone to re-watch these two conference talks....read them both this week and i LOVE THEM

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-music-of-the-gospel?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/latter-day-saints-keep-on-trying?lang=eng

BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES

MY CUTE LITTLE COMPIE DOESNT LIKE PICTURES...BUT IM TRAINING HER TO LOVE THEM

TWELVE MONTHS DOWN PATT!

teaching with sister kerr is the BOMB!! her first language is spanish so it feels like HOME!

chalking the plan of happiness with our little lost boys <3

got this dress for FREE at a garage sale we helped some investigators set up...offically my country dress. its ridiculous! i just need to put on my hat and get me some boots and im SET

sister schu LOVES minions and some cuties in the ward know it so they made us these little guys!!

this is norma. adopted grandma. i LOVE HER!! just started reading the book of mormon and says she'll come to church as soon as her leg heals!! <3

THE BERG #4

how's it goin?! another great week in the berg!

*interviews with president hall...LOVE THIS MAN!!! straight up best friend. legit. he is super easy to talk to and super knowledgeable of the gospel! answered all my questions and let me pray in spanish!! he served in chile and has kept up with his spanish so it's super fun chatting with him in that language i miss speaking all the time!!! i recieved BIG TIME confirmation that he in EXACTLY who i need as a mission president at this time!!! i think he will make sure i enJOY the rest of my mission and push myself like crazy to finish strong!!!! 100% sustain this man!!

*got a call from a member from dallas about his sister-in-law needing help moving because of a recent divorce....he notified us that she is not a member but would LOVE the help.....so we said of course!!! this lady is an absolute ANGEL!!

whoops! sent too soon!!! 

but anyway, she is literally like a disney princess and helping her has been an absolute BLAST!! we really feel a lot of potential from her...especially since she is basically a member already...wish us luck!!

*sunday morning we were running around like crazy before church with a member..knocking doors and trying to get people to church..and NO ONE was answering. we had gone the night before and made sure everyone was expecting us in the morning, got rides and everything all lined up..but door after door remained closed as we increased the callouses on our knuckles....ill admit i was a little bummed when we got to church and were sitting in class "empty handed"..i just prayed that Heavenly Father would make our efforts sufficient and apply grace where we fell short...shortly after praying a sweet member in our ward walked up to us with a HUGE smile on her face! she explained that her neighbors had come up to them the night before and asked about the church and they invited them to come! sure enough when sacrament came around a family of five walked on in!!!! AMAZING!! and if that wasnt enough....after the service ended i get a tap on my shoulder "sista hull?! is that you??" STACY WALKED TO CHURCH AND WAS THERE FOR ALL OF SACRAMENT MEETING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was such a tender mercy!!!! the lord hears and answers our prayers...and that's a PROMISE!!

more stuff happened..but pictures speak louder than words ya? LOVE YALL!

HERMANA HULL

ps thanks for all the birthday wishes!!! and the year mark congrats!! cannot believe how fast time flies...

my current zone is ginormous...so not what im used to...but i love them all!! its fun having spanish, english, AND chinese missionaries all in one!!

our cute member lydia went out teaching with us and then let us love her horses!!!! IT WAS THE BEST!!! dakota and montana STOLE my heart <3

same zone AGAIN as elder alexander! third times the charm? haha 

ove teaching these little boys!!! they are THE CUTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!! make me think of the lost boys in peter pan....<3

met obispo ramos's mom!!!! hna regalada es hermosa :) la quiero ya!!

THE BERG #3

HEY YALL! just another BUSY week in TEXAS!!!

fo real. these weeks are JAMPACKED with exciting stuff....sooo much to say, sooo little time so here are some highlights!!

*MET PRESIDENT HALL AND FAMILY!!! holy heavens i LOVE them!!! we are cut from the same cloth which is cool...high energy, lots of enthusiasm and have that "lets get out there and DO IT" mentality. we will get along just fine ;) when i met Sister Hall she was like "You're Emily, right?!" and i just about fainted...no lie it took me a sec to register and then struggle out the response "uhh..yeah..thats me!" turns out President Hall and his wife turned into excellent facebook stalkers before coming here to try and get to know us hahaha i love them!!

*went to church with blake!! the first hour was like a concert..everyone on their feet clapping and singing as loud as all get out!!! the drums and guitar were on point, but the Spirit was a mile away hahaha...when the pastor started it was super crazy because he would say like two words and the whole audience would yell out "PRAISE JESUS!" or "HALLELUUUUUJAH" or "THAT RIGHT! COME ON PASTOR!!" no joke!! people also got like super pumped and would start jumping up and down and "speaking in tongues" and stuff.....when we first walked in blake turned to me and said it would be an experience i would never forget...and let me tell you..the man's not a liar!!! it was interesting to see the similarities...they really are soooo close! they use the King James version of the Bible and everything....but i know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and cant be complete without it! i just pray that hearts will be softened and that blake and others will recognize truth when we teach them!!

*fourth of july!! only time i will ever say i was pretty bummed that we have a missionary curfew...we tried waiting out for some fireworks with some members but....by the time it got dark enough we had to head home! our drive home was a party and a half though!! things getting blown up all over the place!!! we did get some quality bbq and had our fair share of red/white/and blue though!! #MURICA!!!!

welll time to shoot yall some pics! hope you have a great week and enjoy yalls religious freedom!!!! IT'S THE BEST!

PAZ Y BENDICIONES 

hermana hull 

lunch with the ladies after meeting president hall!! a cute little man walked up to us and said.."are you four together? i will be paying for your meal." turns out he is a member from the galveston area!! THE SWEETEST!

exchanges in sienna plantation with this little cutie!! i love sister boehme<3

fourth of july with sister cooley out in needville to kick off the day!! black cherry pie and all!! 

RED WHITE AND SCHUUUUU!!!! i love my little comp!!! she is a crack up!!! 

THE BERG #2

the new district!

HAPPY WEEK OF RED WHITE AND BLUE!!!!!!!!!! im really pumped to see how texas celebrates this holiday. i mean they say everything is bigger in texas right?...i know i shouldnt get my hopes up but...too late!!

anyway..this week was JAM-PACKED with good stuff!!! ill try and hit as many of the highlights as possible ;)

*i went on exchanges to a spanish area <3 and we biked <3 but we got SEVERELY sunburned!!! like i couldve fried an egg on my arm probably....but i didnt even notice it was happening because i was just soooo pumped to be back on a bike!!! and we even got authentic mexican food!! so basically it was worth the skin cancer. sorry mom. ill use sunscreen next time probably!! 

*got a mini-missionary!! the neighboring stake did this awesome thing where they invited the youth to serve a mini mission! aka thurs-sunday night! so we roadtripped it up there to get our little sister kent for the weekend!! it was cool because she was set apart as a full-time missionary and everything..what?! we decided to take advantage of the third player and go on splits (sister schu with esmeralda and me with the mini) to cover more ground in the area!! sister kent (the mini) and i decided to go try some formers at this one complex...we prayed beforehand to have a miracle and find people to teach...we got three new people within the hour!! prayer works!! we were talking to this one lady (turns out she has been to our  church before and has a book of mormon..what?! awesome.) when all of a sudden this teenaged  boy comes walking over and goes "DANG PRETTY LADY HOW YOU DOIN?!?!?! WHATCHU DOIN ROUNG HERR?" haha to which i responded something along the lines of "im a missionary from the church of...and we would love to teach you more about Jesus!" he said of course we could stop by whenever and asked for our number etc etc etc....the next day...

*we knock on Dion's door and he is like "shoot! i didnt think yall was really gunna come you know what im sayin? but alright we cool..come on in beautiful! thats just fine!" haha so we did. and we started teaching him....next thing we know he's all "wait a minute bae im finna call my boy ova her cuz he cool people. you know what im sayin?" so he ended up calling two other guys over....turns out they are extremely active in their church and came to bible bash.....but like we dont do that..so we just kinda took it. then testified, prayed, and invited them to church. AND ONE OF THEM SHOWED UP WITH A DIFFERENT FRIEND!! it was awesome! he said he felt good :) we will see what happens...Dion called us this morning saying him and the guy that came to church want to take us out this saturday night so we'll have to evaluate "real intent" pretty soon if you know what i mean ;) 

*we also had our farewell conference with president and sister ashton :( i CANNOT believe they are leaving!!!!! they just dumped pure knowledge and wisdom on us for like three or more hours. they gave some pretty solid advice!! not just for the mission..but for life in general!! they are an AMAZING couple and will be missed BIG TIME!! ive learned SOOO MUCH from them and am just honored to have served with them :) 

*this sunday i was asked to give a talk in the spanish branch...when i asked what my topic was they just told me to pray about it and share what i think the branch needs....uh...funny thing about that is i dont even know a single member of the branch...BUT what was cool about that is...i did pray about it..and somethings did come to mind..and i gave the talk and afterward multiple people, including a brother from the stake who was there, thanked me for my talk and said it was EXACTLY what the branch needed!!! and again i say: PRAYER WORKS!!

well i promised a ton more happened this week but my poor brain cant keep up with all the new stuff that happens on the daily!! this work is awesome! 

i hope yall have the happiest 4th!!

LOVE YALL MUCHO! 

hermana hull

my and sister schu<3 

on exchanges...tried to feed the cows :/

exchanges with sister christensen!!!

SOOOOOO FRIED!

matchy matchy at farewell conference!

sister vanoverbeek! 

bye president ashton

teaching the mini-missionary the ways...

sister kent! the mini <3

and this is josh whittingham! served in the sacramento california mission what?! knows the porters!!