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!

Art, Soccer, Babies, and Blessings!

last p-day (Wednesday) my hermana and i decided to hit up some of Houston's museums because they are usually closed on mondays! we went to go into the fine arts museum but it costs $15.....so instead we crossed the street and popped in the contemporary art museum! ive never felt more hipster in my life. i dont know how to describe the experience because im still not sure how i felt about it..but it was an eye opener! i think you have to use your brain differently to really appreciate that kind of art, ya feel? dont get me wrong it was super cool and some of the art i really did like..the vibe there was just a little...peculiar haha idk. but i dont regret it!

when we went to go visit some members, they weren't home so we left to go visit someone else, but on our way we passed a park and BOOM there were our members!! so we turned our bikes around and played some casual soccer (in a skirt) with the cutest family from guatemala! why are so many latinos so good at soccer?! i dont get it..maybe its all in the delicious horchata they drink or something? idk but im hoping to improve my skills but for now im just doing a good job of making a fool of myself tripping over my skirt and trying to run around but still be a good representative of Jesus Christ...missionary work is hard sometimes ;) the coolest part though was this guy joined in with us passing the ball around and when it was time to leave we went over and introduced ourselves and invited him to church and an activity and prayed with him! he seems genuinely interested so im stoked to teach him this week!! lesson learned: playing soccer in the park IS missionary work!!! SO many opportunities to share the gospel if we just open our eyes to them :)

one of our investigators named carmen just had a baby named moises! she called us and asked if we would go with her to the medical clinic to help translate..so we got permission and went! but when we got there we saw it was a bilingual clinic so we were like shoot...but then the doctors ended up not knowing spanish! i mean she said something along the lines of "im going to check-o your baby-o..." bless her heart for trying..so we DID end up getting the opportunity to translate!!!!! it was the coolest experience! the doctor was super grateful and asked if we could stay there all day and everyday to help her out haha unfortunately the clinic isnt in our area but we told the other hermanas if they ever wanted a cool service opportunity the clinic is ready and willing to accept their help! I LOVE TRANSLATING!

oh! so we stopped at a gas station to satisfy an ice cream need on a hot day this week..and we were talking to this lady who was having kind of a rough day..and right when my hermana tells her " we are missionaries..." a guy comes out of the gas station and goes "Y'ALL ARE MISSIONARIES??? Y'ALL NEED TO PRAAAYYYY FOR ME! RIGHT NOW" he stands right in front of me, throws his hands up to the sides and puts his bald head right in front of me and keeps yelling "PRAY FOR ME" i then proceed to fold my arms and say "well we would be more than happy to pray WITH you" he goes "NAHHH! I DONT WANT CHO PRAYERS...I NEED YOUR HANDS ON MY HEAD! PUT CHO HANDS ON ME! PRAAAYYYY FOR ME!!!" man almighty i had NOOOOO IDEA what to do... i just asked for his name and said we would keep him in our prayers. he then said "well thank you. God bless..and while you're at it..you should probably pray for all of these fools too!" (pointing to the group of guys sitting on the curb haha) so we did! we pray for everyone out here...

my spanish is really improving day-by-day! sometimes i will forget if i had a conversation with someone in english or spanish because i can understand just about the same! i am still learning, dont get me wrong, and have soooo much to improve--but i dont feel hindered by the language barrier! people are so nice here that if i do say something wrong they just laugh and correct me ;) all of the little hispanic children of the families we visit call us "tias" with means "aunt" or they call us "manas" aka short version of hermanas. haha i love it! i never thought i would be a part of such a big latino family!!! but i really do L O V E the people here in houston!! it really has become a home away from home....a bit run-down and cockroach infested home away from home..LOVE IT!

have a blessed week! love and miss you all! find a friend that needs the gospel and give it to them! love love love

paz y bendiciones

hermana hull

 art museums!!

 adding a little "churchyness" to the funky art.. it says "God Loves You"
figured a friendly reminder never hurt anyone ;) 

 also houston has some saweeeet street art!! 

 baby moises in the clinic!!! i love my mexican nephew! 

 our stake had a talent show and the young single adults did "We Go Together" from grease!!! it  KILLED me not to be able to join in and perform!!!

 

and another darling latino baby! because i love him! and his mom!

I LOVE TEXAS!!!! if i could hug this state i would...but I love it mostly for the people haha

abc it's easy as 1, 2, 3 (months!!!!)

im already 1/6 done with my mission!!!!!!!!!!!! what is life??? lovin it. wanna know the crazy things that happened this week?

started on the bus last monday where this guy named Alan called us out ("hey! you guys are mormons right?" "YES WE ARE!!") and we were talking to him about his beliefs and what not...and when we asked him about his beliefs in our Heavenly Father he goes "so like God started out as water ya know? like have you seen terminator and there is that water guy? God was like that in the beginning...etc" WHAT?! it was too bad our bus came so we didnt have the chance to say much more other than "We know that God is our loving Heavenly Father that has a body of flesh and bones..We know He loves you Alan!! have a nice day!!" 

then there was a girl on the bus playing on her phone...i recognized the sound effects and casually asked if she was playing fruit ninja...she said yes..and dont ask me how it happened but next thing we know we are talking about Jesus Christ and the church and inviting her and she wants missionaries to come over etc!!! its amazing how when we have the gospel on the forefront of our minds, sharing it becomes e a s y!!! another example...a member took us to a desserts boutique called Ooh La La and i couldnt decide which cupcake i wanted..so naturally i turned to the man next to me and started asking about his favorite cupcakes and stuff..and then figured out he was Bocar from West Africa and next thing i know i am writing down the chapel address, mormon.org, etc and giving him a lesson right there in front of the cupcakes!!! (I ended up getting Ultimate Chocolate in case you were curious)

oh! okay remember Irving from last week? the one that wants to be president of the united states?? i think he really is serious..because one night after teaching him a lesson on faith or something he texted us the following message: " By giving counsel to me: God has given you a great responsibility. In the future, I have a feeling, people will talk about the historical events that happened in the critical moments of 2014 A.D. God bless you guys and have a great day :D" hahahaha if my name isnt in a textbook 100 yrs from now i will be severely disappointed!!! haha all joking aside, he really is making a change in his life and told us he decided to recommit to God and is coming to church this sunday no matter what!! yay!

so we were planning to meet with a recent convert and she asked us to stop by at 9am so we moved our studies around and what not to accommodate and when we rolled up 9am the next day she answered the door wrapped up in her blanket..we had woken her up! haha but she told us to come in and sit on her couch..and then left the room. we were like uhhh.....next thing we know we can hear the shower turn on!!!!! hahaha i couldnt believe it! it was hilarious haha sure ill just sit here on your couch while you take a shower real quick..no problem ;)
 

so  manuel (the one that went back to mexico and then surprised us) was super close to baptism but just had some questions about joseph smith...so we showed him and his mom the restoration video and answered all of his questions and what not and invited him to be baptized this last sunday...we had already gone through the baptismal interview questions so he was all set and then his mom Emilia asks if she could see the questions... "CLARO QUE SI HERMANA!!" (of course!!) so we went through the interview questions with her and she had a testimony and clear understanding of every single point! at the end she said "pues, me siento preparado" (well, i feel prepared!) so naturally we invited her to be baptized with her son the next day!! SHE SAID YES!!! and they were both baptized this last sunday!! my comp and i sang at their baptism and the spirit was UNREAL!! we made emilia cry..which was a HUGE accomplishment because she isnt one to show much emotion!!! it is amazing how happy this work makes me!!! i just cant wait for Emilia's husband to get baptized...he totally couldve but he cant let go of his casual "one beer a week to help me fall asleep"  pray for manuel please! that stinkin beer is the ONLY thing holding him back!! 

okay in general conference....one of my absolute favorite talks was "Approaching the throne of God with Confidence" by Jorg Klebingat. it is a powerful talk that maps out six steps for how we can increase our spiritual confidence! my comp and i are focusing on one of the six steps a week this transfer and ive ALREADY seen a difference!!! go read it! its the best..you wont regret it!

also, Gregory A. Schwitzer of the Seventy toured our mission this week...that was pretty cool.. I sat with him at lunch and asked him to tell me the first vision in German (he served in Germany obvi) and he did! if the Holy Ghost didn't testify to me that what he was saying was true he could've been saying anything. but the church is true regardless of the language! i promise! 

oh last but not least....language struggle of the week: first of all one day everyone i tried to talk to in spanish didn't understand the language and second, "Efectivo" means "Cash" in spanish and "Eficaz" means "effective"...its kinda awkard when you mix those up...multiple times..when talking to multiple people...whoops!!

well thats it for this week!! thank you for the prayers! im praying for y'all as well!!!

paz y bendiciones

hermana hull

a casual night in downtown houston..on my bike...I LOVE BIKE RIDING!!!!!!! LITERALLY ITS THE BEST!!!  

 nbd but we play badmitton on thursday mornings...it gets intense

 and  FINALLY hit up a taco truck!!!! that Gordita is about to make me Gordita because it was uhhhmaZING!!!!!

member named Yolanda and our cute mexican blouses!! she feeds us and teaches with us and loves us and WE LOVE HER!!!

and then got some gifts from a member from guatemala!!! I LOVE MY WARD!!!

 they were happy to get baptized i promise...they just dont smile for the camera.....

trio for the day with a new hermana!!  

 "neener nanner dogs" white bread, peanut butter, and banana...you get creative 

 sister mecham:the health advisor!!!!!!!! we love her

 and elder topham! he leaves the mission soon....nutzo

Three Month Pic! 

Chuck E. Cheese and Cockroaches

one transfer in houston DOWN!!! i feel like i say this all the time, but time is seriously flyyyyiinnnggggg! i am staying in this area for another transfer! yay!

okay so last monday we went to visit Manuel and his parents to teach them their final lesson before baptism...and when we rolled up at the apartment where they were staying, their cousins were like "oh...they went back to Mexico" PLOT TWIST! So that was kinda a surprise...

we recieved a referral and decided to call the number and it ended up being this guy named Irving who is 23 yrs old, from las vegas, and is going into the Marines. after only talking with him in spanish for like 5 minutes, we figured out he is bilingual! the funny part is, he thought we were native spanish speakers!!! he had met missionaries in las vegas four years ago and knew a TON about the gospel...like thomas s monson, gold plates, temples...he even said he had a bike and would ride around with the missionaries sometimes! we were like wait..we need to meet this guy...so we set up a time to meet the next day! he was NOTHING like we presumed...he looks like he is twelve! haha but he is full of questions and really intune with the spirit. when we were talking to him about the importance of being baptized by proper authority or something all of a sudden he goes, "okay..im not about to play you guys...ive actually been baptized in your church. like..im a member" PLOT TWIST!

 he came to general conference and could not contain himself..he kept saying "Wow! oh wow! that guy is talking RIGHT to me!" he also kept leaning over to me with questions so i gave him a pen and paper and told him next time he had a question to write it down and wait to see if one of the talks answered it...i was a little nervous when i saw him write the question, "I pray to God to ask if i can be President of the United States like Abraham Lincoln. This is my goal. i just want to know if God approves." but good ole Uchtdorf was up next and gave his talk on learning to recognize truth for ourselves by understanding how Heavenly Father speaks to us specifically etc etc etc Irving was so pumped that all of his questions were getting answered!! he leaned over to me again and said "Im ready." "for what" "I'm ready for God again" YAY!!!!!!!!

so on friday we went to swing by some members for the little daughters birthday and when they opened the door...MANUEL AND HIS PARENTS WERE BACK FROM MEXICO!!! PLOT TWIST AGAIN!!!! but it gets even weirder...they invited us to Chuck E. Cheese for Jashly's birthday...so (with permission) we went! and taught a causal gospel lesson in CHUCK E. CHEESE..definitely not something i ever anticipated to do on my mission...it was weird..i didn't really like it..but oh well! whatever it takes! Manuel and his parents ended up coming to a session of conference and LOVED it! its such a beautiful thing to watch people invite the gospel into their lives and really see that change in them...that change for the better...makes it all worth it! 

Oh! visited another family from Colombia and the grandma LOVES US!!! she gives us the HUGEST BEAR HUGS..kisses our cheeks for days..even pinches them! and she calls me "MAMI" which is like an endearing name for a daughter...ill take it! they had me try on one of Flor's big skirts/outfit from Colombia and taught me a Colombian baile!! they said they are going to make us our own!! LOVING THIS CULTURE STUFF!


speaking of culture stuff...yesterday in between sessions we wouldn't have time to run back to the apartment to eat so we decided to pack ourselves a lunch right? smart right? WRONG. inbetween sessions the hispanics have a FEAST!! tortas the size of footballs, rice, beans, eggs, potato salad, etc..AND one of the elders recent converts made a feast for JUST the missionaries: rices, chicken/soup, pie, ice cream, juice, etc...its like they think we are cows or something..i dont have four stomachs i promise..

last night we were getting a ride home from our last appointment and we were like a block or two away from our apartment at 9:20pm....the rule is to be in by 9:30pm right? we are in a car..no problem..but then there was a lady with her car on the side of the road we were going to help... and then people decided to pull over and help her out..bless their hearts...but that also meant we ended up sprinting home!! we tried to cut through an apartment complex, but when we got to the exit there wasn't a door! without thinking i threw off my bag and went to climb the fence when my amazing comp goes "hermana, dont you think hopping the fence would look bad? in a skirt and everything?" hahah she was right!! so we just ran all the way back around and looked like maniacs h a u l i n g down the street to get to apartment in time....WE MADE IT!!! just in time to catch a cockroach the size of africa on its way to our bedroom!! church is true.

general conference was amazing! i hope everyone had the opportunity to watch it!! and if not, go online! and also re-read the talks when they come out in the ensign!!! the prophet and apostles really are the Lord's mouth piece...its amazing how much we can learn in just four hours! this conference helped me realize how many things i need to work on...but im stoked for the chance to take the advice of the prophets and follow the saviors example in all that i do! this church is amazing and sooooo true, i promise!!! 

sorry this email was kinda all over the place but that's just our lives these days!!! have the best week ever and dont forget to pray about e v e r y t h i n g...the Lord really knows what he is doing--take his advice ;)

LOVE YOU ALL

hermana hull

 HOMEMADE JEOPARDY!! mission is making me...crafty...

casual couchin' with the best comp EVER!! we have too much fun

 and...CHUCK E. CHEESE...you best believe we turned some heads haha

 both named manuel!!! like father like son (chuck e cheese strikes again)

 

 cheesin' at chuck e's 

 matchy-matchy with the irhke

 dressed as a traditional Columbian girl!

and this is my colombian  (abuelita) grandma..she squeezes the living daylights out of me but i LOVE HER!!! 

KIKO with the sister missionaries!! 

and then the cockroach..just trying to figure out why they exist...

 why cockroaches...why?

Our favorite little girls!! they yell "MANAS MANAS" for hermanas whenever they see us :)