Week 48

11 Months! Tomorrow! 7 months left to rock it! I'm gonna work so hard, it's ridiculous :)

So I'm going to start out with the best news ever... Sister Hunt and I are going to the temple next Tuesday!!! Last Tuesday I got an email inviting me to the temple, and I accepted, of course. Then last night we got a call and Elder Duffin said that some room opened up in the van, and asked if my companion would like to go too. She did, so we both are going! The trip is July 26th. What a great birthday present, right? Woohoo!!

I've got a story. So we have this family that we've been teaching off and on for the past few months. They are super hard to get ahold of. We found out a few weeks ago that the Elders have found that family too, at a different time than us, and have been working to try to teach them as well! But we found different parts of the family. Sister Hunt and I have been teaching the father and the son, and the elders have been teaching the mother and the daughter. So we talked about it a little bit with them, and have been trying to figure out what to do with who's teaching them. So then we had interviews, and I talked to President Cooper about the situation. He said we need to coordinate with the elders and then call President and let him know what's happening. But President told me that it seems to him that Heavenly Father really wanted this family to be found. So we met with the Elders, and after we prayed with them and talked about it, we felt like we needed to have a lesson with both sets of missionaries and the family. So we've been trying to set that up. The family is going out of town on Tuesday, though, so I'm not sure if we will be able to teach them before they go. It's a crazy complicated situation!

Other than that, this past week has been okay. We've been working hard and doing everything we can to find new people to teach.  I definitely am growing closer to God. Actually, my studies are really carrying me through this rough spell. My personal study is going awesome! Yesterday I read "A Summer with Great Aunt Rose", and it helped me learn about the importance of being happy even when things don't work out the way you want them to. Also, I am reading in Helaman right now, and the stories about Nephi as a missionary/prophet are so cool! They apply pretty on point with my situation, so I am learning from his example and applying it. I am finding so much spiritual enlightenment as I read and ponder the Book of Mormon and conference talks. That is one of the reasons why I am so excited to go to the temple next week. I'll be able to receive more spiritual enlightenment as I feel the Spirit there.

I also took a picture that is just iconic of Odessa:

 I can't get over the Florida weather and ecosystem. That's the right word, right? Ecosystem?

Here is a picture of a CRAZY storm that blew in a few nights ago. I didn't edit it AT ALL. It looks kinda like a dust storm back home! Except there was lots of lightning.

 A cool picture of the trees, a street, and our car. Look at how big the plants are!

I love the spiritual lessons I am learning on my mission. These are memories I'll treasure forever! Have a great week!

With love,

Sister Minson