Destroyed By a Guy Riding on the back of a Brownish Giraffe Camel

Hey Everyone,

This week was fun, pday was spent first at Barksdale Airforce base playing pickleball, and then shopping. We spent the whole day in Bossier and Shreveport, and then in the evening we split up and double worked the Brownlee area. The other Elders dropped us off at a Taco Bell and we did some planning for Xaviers baptism, and then waited for them to pick us back up after 30 minutes cause that's when they said they would pick us up. We got talking to a guy at Taco Bell for a bit which was cool, and after a while we realized we were neglected. :(( So we decided to Adventure forth and find who we could talk to. We were on the side of a highway and no neighborhoods were near, so we decided to walk down the highway until we found something. We walked a mile or two, and found a train track! So, thinking that we could find a shortcut to another road via the tracks, we turned and walked down them. We passed under the freeway, and over the river. We started to get further and further into the forest, and it started to get darker and darker outside. We realized that there were no nearby roads, and we had come way too far to turn back hahaha-- as it got darker we started to hear more and more animals in the forest. Felt like Shawn Spencer who is thrown out of a carriage and then has to make the long trek back to his hotel in Canada and is trying to sooth the impending raccoons all around him! As we were walking we finally saw a faint light in the distance, and luckily it seemed like a road, and not a train haha

We marched forward in Earnest again, and then the other Elders called, and we told them to meet us at that road, and that because of their neglect we were now on the other side of the freeway and the other side of town, many miles from where they left us. We finally reached the end, and scolded them for their negligence tsk tsk they should have known we'd do something adventurous when left to our own devices. 

It was a great night!

Also we got transfer news and sadly Elder Davis is leaving. :( My new companion will be Elder Schneider, who is a Chinese speaking Elder!

On Tuesday we had the last district council of the transfer, and then had lunch at Popeyes. The customer service was horrible, I wouldn't ever go back to this Popeyes. :) But it was fun, and then we drove back to Magnolia. In the evening we had a lesson with the family Tyre is staying with. We taught who he calls his "adopted step-mom," and she seems nice. She told us that she steals stuff sometimes and is trying to stop, which is progress! We also taught Tatyana and her boyfriend, and answered her questions about excommunication. Then we went and hung out with the Flowers so Elder Davis could say goodbye, and may have ridden in Logan's Mustang...

Wednesday we did service at the Thrift store, and Elder Davis said goodbye to a bunch of people via phone. Then we had a lesson with Enoch who again had not read anything in the Book of Mormon because he "didn't feel inspired to." Bad. Then in the late afternoon we set up for the baptism and filled the font! We had dinner with the Flowers and then Xavier got baptized! It was so great, Xavier pulled up with his "WEED" bucket hat on! After the baptism we got to hear Logan play his saxophone, and then had a meeting with the Millers. Elder Davis finished packing as well.

Thursday morning we left at 5:30, and started the long drive to Allen, TX. We stopped in Rockwall on the way and I showed Elder Davis around, including some giant houses! I picked up my new companion at transfers, and then I payed a visit to In-n-out before we drove back. After the 4 hour drive, we got to Magnolia. We ate dinner, shopped, and then went out and talked to some nice people! We walked around and met a cool guy named Marquil, and a lady even pulled over and talked to us as we were walking. She wants to go out and be a missionary with us, and goes to SAU haha

We also taught Tyre and the friends he's staying with again, and this time the step-mom commandeered Elder Schneider's prayer right in the middle of us praying! She took over and completed it for him. Very nice of her.

On Friday we had a great lesson with Joel, and taught her about God's plan for us. On her wall every place you could look were pictures of her. Pictures of her with the same expression in every picture, and just her. Not anyone else in a single one of them haha, most of them were of her in different outfits with different backgrounds. She was super nice though, and is interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon. 

In the evening we were again stopped by a lady in her car! She told us she's really looking for a church and wants to come to ours!! Super cool. We also taught David and Charlien over the phone while we gathered everything up and drove to Bossier City for Stake Conference the next day. 

On Saturday Stake Conference was amazing, we went to the Leadership session which is a first for me. :) had an Area Seventy (Elder Gottfredson) come too which was great. We ate with Brother Harris at Mi' Mexico in the break between sessions, and had some of the best tacos I've ever had! Then we went back to the Shreve Stake Center for the evening session which was phenomenal. Maybe the best Stake Conference Ive ever been to! Got to see some old friends from New Boston as well. Tyre and Charlien came as well to both days of the conference! 

Sunday after the morning session we went to the recent converts session with Elder Gottfredson, and that was good too! President and Sister Taylor, the Atkinsons (service mission leaders for the area), and the Platts (returning Mission leaders) were all at the conference as well. We drove back to Mag after, and had some great lessons! Taught Tatyanna and Randy the Restoration super in depth, and found a new lady named Jacqueline who really wants to come to church and said she'd bring her family too!

-Abe

Brick

🦓,

We had a really good week! Had lots of fun, and met some really cool people. 

Monday Elder Freeman and Elder Haymond came up to Magnolia for pday, so we shopped with them, and the went over to the Flower's house! We spent basically all of pday with Logan and Sarah, got to play lots of board and card games (including Cover Your Assets!). We also ate all day as we played including:

▪︎ Andes Mint Cookies

▪︎ A cucumber

▪︎ Cuties

▪︎ Chips and Salsa

▪︎ Drinks 

▪︎ Mini ham and cheese sliders

▪︎ Popsicles

▪︎ Rotisserie Chicken

▪︎ Other cookies

▪︎ Apples

In the evening all 4 of us went up to Waldo and taught Xavier! It was super fun, we taught him the Word of Wisdom and he loved it all and is already keeping it besides the fact that he was wearing a big "WEED" bucket hat through the whole lesson haha-- Also taught him the Law of Chastity. Then we went and taught David and Charlien as well. 

Tuesday we has district council in Magnolia, and so Minden came up as well. After District council the Millers got us pizza, and then the APs showed up with all of their furniture and we helped them move into their new apartment! Then us and the Brownlee Elders drove to Springhill and had a member lesson with the Jacobs. Sam Jacobs likes to bash missionaries apparently, and so he started talking about the premarital life and so on, and the only problem is he didn't know anything about what he was talking about, and we didn't really know what he meant by his questions. Nothing was accomplished in this lesson, we all went out very confused and dumber than when we went in haha-- we also talked to a lady named Uganda who we found out was just talking to us to be nice tsk tsk. She also misplaced her Book of Mormon when she brought it to her pastor...

We had dinner with the Marchans, and then drove back to Magnolia and Elder Freeman gave Charlien her Baptismal interview while Elder Haymond and I went and taught Bill the Gospel. He loved it, and said he's been praying and reading the Book of Mormon every day, and as he reads the spirit has made it crystal clear and he thinks it's true! Once he can come to church he will get baptized for sure. Then the 4 of us walked around the campus and talked to some students who were wandering around. When we got in for the night we finally got to eat a giant bowl of banana pudding that we had been keeping hidden throughout the day so that none of the other missionaries would want it. It was given to us by Royce, and the 4 of us ate it very quickly :)

I also taught everyone in the apartment how to solve various degrees of Rubiks Cube.

On Wednesday we all did service at the Thrift store, and then went and ate lunch at Sam's Southern Eatery in Springhill. After that we said goodbye to the other Elders, and realized hours later we had forgotten to get the jumpsuit for Charliens baptism from them! Bad. We taught Tawanna, and Elder Davis said his goodbyes (which is always a mistake, because then you always end up seeing them again). 

Thursday we walked the dogs, and got to walk some new ones. Both of them walked with their rear ends up and their noses down to the ground for some reason. And they kept trying to eat the grass and jump in a puddle that we always pass. We got to teach Bill again, and afterwards walked around his area and got 3 new phone numbers!! Then we went with the Millers and taught Becky and her kids again, and they are going to try and come to church. We taught them about the organization of the church, and the kids seemed to grasp it better than Becky!

On Friday Mike Mass took us down to Taylor to help work on the Mayor's house again. We put a ton of joint compound on the ceilings and walls, and while we worked Brother Mass gave us lots of good life advice, such as not letting our future wives ask to do an accent room because of the extreme amount of work required. :)

We also taught Xavier about the Baptismal questions, and then went to Haynesville with the Millers! We stopped in Emerson first, and one of the people we were trying to visit was not accessible by car due to the roads being full of fire engines and ambulances. Much to the Millers dismay Elder Davis and I told them to stop the car and we embarked on foot! We aren't ever one to pass up a good fire. :) we walked past all the commotion until we were walking in the thick of Firemen running back and forth. We walked so purposefully that they didn't even bat an eye at us and we walked right up to the burning house. It was billowing black smoke and was completely destroyed in every way with the roof collapsing inward! The Millers were not near as confident as us and they got asked to stay out of the way haha

After Emerson we drove to Haynesville and I finally got to meet Quincy! He was going to get baptized right before I got here but then he went to jail. :*( But now hes out! :)

He is a very jolly guy haha--we also picked up the Baptismal clothing from the Minden apartment.

Saturday wasnt super eventful, but Charlien got baptized! It went so well she was so happy afterwards. We ate with her, the Millers, and the Masses at Atuguas afterward which was excellent as usual. 

Then we got in a bash with Kaitlyn and her recent convert friend from another ward that clearly didn't fully understand our beliefs yet and so he was just as confused as her when we talked about the imperfections of the Bible. He was nice though, and helped her see more reason than we could. Some people just dont think critically sadly. 

After the bash I finalized the Sunday program, and Xavier had his Baptismal interview. 

In the evening we taught Bill who got super excited when we taught him about Baptisms for the Dead! He wants to be baptized for his dad. 

Sunday we confirmed Charlien, and then we also had Becky, Carson, David, Farod, Fatima, Xavier, Star, and Jay come to church! Tyre also came as usual. After church we ate some Stew at the church with the Bahrs, and we taught some of Tyres friends in the evening!!

-Abe

Stinker Pinker

Good afternoon,

We had a fun week, it's been interesting adjusting to having a new senior couple here. Lots of coordination. 

Monday we had Zone pday which was good, ate some pretty good tacos Elder Day made for the Zone, and got to talk to some new missionaries. Also played some Gatorball. In the evening we double-worked Bossier City and walked around some neighborhoods. We also got some pretty good Peach Shakes at Chick-fil-A! The night got pretty chaotic once we went in for the night and may have included (but was not limited to) throwing actual ninja stars at watermelons and lighting things on fire :)

Tuesday we had District council and the Millers came to their first Minden District council! After that we drove to Springhill and taught a lady named Uganda. Got to give her a Book of Mormon, which she promptly said she would ask her pastor about haha--people are so gullible here. Then we went back to Magnolia and since the Millers are still staying in a hotel they asked to use our kitchen. So we let them in and they made dinner for us. It was pretty good curry, but it was very awkward just sitting in a small circle in our apartment. We never have anyone besides us in there so I don't like it when others come in. They must have not liked it either cause that was they only night they did that haha

In the evening it was beautiful, we walked around and talked to some people in some nicer neighborhoods, and then went to a couple lessons with the Millers. One with David in front of a barred-up abandoned dark building by the run-down train tracks, and one by a little trailer in the trees with Becky and with Mosquitoes everywhere! A good intro to Magnolia. They were super helpful on our lessons, they are going to call David and Charlien and read with them so they remember to read! 

On Wednesday we did service at the Thrift store and while we were there I found a nice North Face Shirt, and Elder Davis found some $5000 Orange and Green (fluffy) Grateful Dead Dunks for $2 hahaha

In the afternoon we met Brother Lowther and Brother Elliott (stake auditor) for our biannual audit. It was fine except for when Brother Elliott scolded us for not doing the proper proceedures regarding fundraising even though we had no fundraiser. >:( Since one of our YW raised some money on her own, and hung it up in the church, he thought that was a church fundraiser and no matter how much we tried to explain it wasnt it fell on deaf ears. He's right that it shouldn't have been hung up in the church, but that was before I even got here tsk tsk. 

We went to have dinner with Logan and Sarah after that, and had some amazing Chicken Alfredo, Salad, and garlic bread! Very good meal and more then we expected from the newly-weds. In the evening we talked to a lot of people, but didn't have much luck.

Thursday we did service and then ran over to the church to watch David after the Millers told us how they took Charlien to a woman's shelter and she missed David so they were going to let them meet up at the church. Apparently there was some more to Charliens past that we didnt know about which qualified her for the shelter and more resources. After helping David clean the bathrooms (very obvious he does not know how to clean well) we went home and changed. Then we went and found a lady names Joel, and taught her the Restoration. After that we did some service serving up some EXTREMLY RED hot dogs at the Stew Pot food pantry. 

In the evening we had a combined RS/EQ activity and played a bunch of card and board games. Of course we paired up with Logan and Sarah since they are our age and played a bunch of Codenames and Sushi Go. We had some of our friends come too, and had lots of sandwiches. After that we taught David and Charlien at the church.

Friday was super good, we went out with the Millers in the afternoon and taught Neena the Restoration at McDonald's. She told us again that her and her daughter want to be baptized! Then we had a lesson with Xavier and put him back on date for the 23rd. :)) Xavier is so funny, when you ask him a question he sounds like he's giving an AI generated response. It's usually on topic and mostly right, but key parts and concepts are missing haha 

In the evening we went out with the Flowers and taught 4 more lessons! We taught Devunkus even though none of us could understand him very well, and then Lois. After her we went and taught Becky, and she brought some of the neighborhood kids over so we basically taught a primary lesson! The kids were super cute and smart too, one of them even sees visions and claims Jesus told him in a dream to go do a handstand in a gas station, and when he said no Jesus said, "You said you'd do anything for me right?" So the kid said he went to the gas station and did it, and then apparently this lady said that was the sign she needed to not kill herself! So there you go. I can't remember the kids names they were all Laquarious and Felicity and so on. After Becky we taught Holly who went from teasing Logan for being a new member of the church, to commenting on Sarah, to flirting with us. 

Overall the night was great, it felt like the YSA days going out with people our own age again. Also we had popsicles

On Saturday we walked the dogs and today the black dogs Marble and Dime were cracked out. They couldn't even walk forward without slowly turning and bumping into us repeatedly. Bad. Then we had a lesson that turned into a bash with Kaitlyn at McDonald's, nothing interesting to report about it though. Nothing new. In the evening we walked around with Tyre and talked to people, and multitasked because we taught him another one of the new member lessons as we went! Also the Branch got him some Sunday Clothes! Also we taught David and Charlien, and Charlien is ready for her baptism this Saturday! We are super excited for her.

Sunday was crazy and absolutely packed with meetings as usual. Was at the church from 9:30 to 3:30. I got to give Tyre the Aaronic Priesthood though which was fun!

-Abe