Aloha!
Wow, it sounds like it's been an interesting week in that neck of the woods! Always something new! And at least with Grandm this year, dropping te frozen turkey on her toe isn't quite as bad as spilling the grease all over her foot...was it the same foot? Maybe for Christmas, you can get her steel-toed boots to wear while making turkey! And maybe some of those heavy-rubber pants they use in fishing! It would be great!!
Thank you, and everyone, for all the birthday wishes!! I got a card from Grandma and Grandpa Black, a box from the Merrills, and cards from the Nores and one from the Osborns as well!! It was a very fun birthday - We made and ate arepas! They're a specialty from Venezuela. Super good! We made them with the Longobardi family (Jose Luis). I had some pictures I wanted to send, but then I realized that I don't have the card to transfer pictures from my camera to the computer...and the computer is locked behind a wooden case. SO! Next time, I'll have to make sure I bring it!
And by the way...I'm not getting transfered! Still here for another one! There is a lot going on here, and a lot to do! We just received some Senior Sisters in the ward, and we had the opportunity to meet with them yesterday, to talk about the area book, the area, and what we're going to do to work the area. It's going to be interesting - I've never done this before, and there's a lot to do! But the Sisters are awesome -One of them works in the mission home, so she said that she will be really busy today and tomorrow (with the departing and arriving missionaries), and so they will start on Wednesday around 3. We've got a lot of work to do, and on the 11th, we'll be meeting in the new chapel!! It's coming up quick! And it looks really cool, except for the fact that it doesn't have a baptismal font, so we won't be able to do that part on the Church Tours...
As for Thanksgiving (Kind of jumping around a lot in my responses to your letter), we celebrated with the Longobardi and Delgado families, both from Venezuela! They made some super good turkey, and they had empanadas, salad, potatoes, and rice. A super good Thanksgiving dinner! We tried to find some people, and we may have found some hopefuls. Unfortunately, they're in other areas, and I think they speak English...
Wow, everyone is already heading back to school, and James is getting all set! I'm super excited to hear about what BYU and BYU-I respond. It would be great if we can both attend there! Just going and having a blast (And, of course, studying )!!
As for what we're doing in our area...We're putting a lot bigger focus on the members. We've started to lose that a bit, even though this year is the year of the member. We need to get back on it. Especially with the new ward, we need to help all the members get to know one another and help one another to keep going strong, because there are a few people who had been attending Bering and Houston 1 ward for a LONG time, and they're having a lot of difficulty moving over. It makes me think about my first little bit of time in Oroville: We live in Table Mountain Ward boundaries, but the entire family goes to either Oroville 1st or 3rd. But after a while, I just really came to love Table Mountain. We have so many good people there, and the quirks that we sometimes think bother us end up being the things that we start to hold most dear, and then the ward becomes our ward, not just another ward somewhere. Just thinking about that a bit - Table Mountain really fell well with me, and I didn't even realize it! A great place to learn and grow!!
Elder Lyman and I have been doing pretty well. It's interesting how the good days and bad days come and go, and sometimes I don't even know why the bad days come, or what makes the good days good. It's a very interesting learning experience, but I wouldn't want to open up this area with anyone else! We're learning a lot together, and hopefully making some good progress!! I love the ward, the people who are trying so hard to make it work, and how, little by little, things are coming together. I feel really blessed to be here in the beginnings of Houston 8 (There was an old Houston 8, but only about 5 people from the original Houston 8 are in the ward boundaries, so it basically is a completely new ward), and I'm excited to see where it goes, especially as time goes on and more and more people begin attending. We've been asked to create a Ward Mission Plan, and then present it to the Bishop. Another learning experience, but the Lord wouldn't have put us here if we couldn't do it. We might have to struggle a little bit, but He always makes sure things get done; we just need to give it our best!!!
Well...as for Courtney - I guess she's not 'the one!' It really doesn't bother me all that much. Could you send a copy of it out here? I'm not really sure what to say, but I guess "Congrats!" works pretty well!! I guess life goes on! It's always an adventure! But let me tell you, it's AWESOME to have the work of the Lord be the only thing that we have to focus on. Everything else...it'll come in time.
How is the Torricelli family doing? Last I heard, they were going to Disneyland...but that was back when I was with Elder Rodriguez, so a little while ago...maybe in May. So just kind of wondering how they're doing. What they've been up to.
Well, time to get going!! Thank you, one and all for the birthday wishes! It definitely made it a great birthday!!
I love you! A infinidad, y mas alla!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Devin Collins
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Week 79 - "All these things shall give thee experience..."
Hola, y'all!
Hopefully, by the time you get this, I've already responded to the "orders of business," so then this should be all about how things have been going!
So, I got this box after District Meeting today. It was a pretty good size! I was super excited....and then I realized that it was medical supplies...Elder Lyman laughed when he saw what was inside. Kind of funny.
Well, the week went well. There was kind of a let down during the week, but not too bad. Jose Luis had his interview on Wednesday to be baptized. Just before that, he said that he was over at a store, and he got to talking about the Church with someone. He told her, "If you see a couple of young men on bikes with white shirts and ties, you need to talk to them. What they share will change your life." WAY COOL!!!!! Even cooler, because he hasn't really been open to the Church, even though he has been associating with the Church for about the past 10 years, until recently. He passed his first interview, but the next day we got a call that said he wouldn't be able to be baptized at that time. That was the day of the baptism. He wasn't very happy at all, but he's doing alright now. Even though that happened, I still feel like things are going according to the will of the Lord, even if I don't know what is going on. Fortunately, He always knows what He's doing, even when we can't see it. "All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good..."
As for President Rasband, he's a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and it was definitely a spiritual feast! He talked about some of the faith-building experience that he's had as a mission president, and also as a Seventy: some of the instruction he's received, and God's chosen that he's had the opportunity to learn from. I received some pretty good instruction from him on some questions I had, but more than that, I was able to receive some important confirmation from the Holy Ghost about the work that we do.
Elder Lyman is from Ceder City, Utah (I think it's close to St. George). He's a good, hard-working missionary, and fun to be around. This past week, when we found out that Jose Luis wouldn't be baptized that day, he was pretty upset. Kind of scared me a little bit, but we're all still here! He has one brother who already served his mission, and now he's at home and working. I guess he made a pretty good haunted house (his brother) that had people coming in to see all the way from Las Vegas. That has to be pretty good!
Hmm...I'm trying to think of what else, but I'm getting a little low on time...
How are y'all doing? It's always exciting to hear about the mission applications going in! I'm really excited to see where Corey and Spencer get called to!! And it's very weird to think about Justin already putting in school applications...still looking to study film? I heard from a friend from school (BYU-I) a little while ago -Kayla Seaver, who I took Ballroom with. She's planning on serving a mission!! I think she said she'll be going in May, around her birthday, so that's way cool! Definitely the best decision to take at this point in life - I'd recommend it, highly, to everyone!!
Well, about time to go. I'm looking forward to hearing about how everything is going, and how you all are doing! Have a FANTASTIC week!!!
Les amo, a infinidad, y mas alla!!!
Elder Devin Collins
Hopefully, by the time you get this, I've already responded to the "orders of business," so then this should be all about how things have been going!
So, I got this box after District Meeting today. It was a pretty good size! I was super excited....and then I realized that it was medical supplies...Elder Lyman laughed when he saw what was inside. Kind of funny.
Well, the week went well. There was kind of a let down during the week, but not too bad. Jose Luis had his interview on Wednesday to be baptized. Just before that, he said that he was over at a store, and he got to talking about the Church with someone. He told her, "If you see a couple of young men on bikes with white shirts and ties, you need to talk to them. What they share will change your life." WAY COOL!!!!! Even cooler, because he hasn't really been open to the Church, even though he has been associating with the Church for about the past 10 years, until recently. He passed his first interview, but the next day we got a call that said he wouldn't be able to be baptized at that time. That was the day of the baptism. He wasn't very happy at all, but he's doing alright now. Even though that happened, I still feel like things are going according to the will of the Lord, even if I don't know what is going on. Fortunately, He always knows what He's doing, even when we can't see it. "All these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good..."
As for President Rasband, he's a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, and it was definitely a spiritual feast! He talked about some of the faith-building experience that he's had as a mission president, and also as a Seventy: some of the instruction he's received, and God's chosen that he's had the opportunity to learn from. I received some pretty good instruction from him on some questions I had, but more than that, I was able to receive some important confirmation from the Holy Ghost about the work that we do.
Elder Lyman is from Ceder City, Utah (I think it's close to St. George). He's a good, hard-working missionary, and fun to be around. This past week, when we found out that Jose Luis wouldn't be baptized that day, he was pretty upset. Kind of scared me a little bit, but we're all still here! He has one brother who already served his mission, and now he's at home and working. I guess he made a pretty good haunted house (his brother) that had people coming in to see all the way from Las Vegas. That has to be pretty good!
Hmm...I'm trying to think of what else, but I'm getting a little low on time...
How are y'all doing? It's always exciting to hear about the mission applications going in! I'm really excited to see where Corey and Spencer get called to!! And it's very weird to think about Justin already putting in school applications...still looking to study film? I heard from a friend from school (BYU-I) a little while ago -Kayla Seaver, who I took Ballroom with. She's planning on serving a mission!! I think she said she'll be going in May, around her birthday, so that's way cool! Definitely the best decision to take at this point in life - I'd recommend it, highly, to everyone!!
Well, about time to go. I'm looking forward to hearing about how everything is going, and how you all are doing! Have a FANTASTIC week!!!
Les amo, a infinidad, y mas alla!!!
Elder Devin Collins
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Week 78 - A Baptism and a New Ward
BUENOOOOOOOS DIAS, FAMILIA!!!
Wow, it's good to be a missionary in the great Texas Houston South Mission!!! There's always more to learn and do!! We're looking forward to a zone conference tomorrow, so that should be pretty great. The leadership of the mission told us that we all need to bring our cars (We have a silver 2010 Chevy Malibu with a nice little dent about the size of my head in the back bumper. But don't worry! This time it wasn't me!), and to leave the car unlocked with the keys on the floor. All the cars are getting something new...I think it's XM radio, to listen to MoTab all the time, but I haven't met anyone who agrees with me so far...
Oh, and I wanted to wish Grandma Black a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I wasn't able to pick up a card, but I might tomorrow...so if I'm able to, it might get there a little late...but Grandma, Happy Birthday!!!
And I guess a couple of business-related things before I get into the big part of the letter:
In terms of white shirts, maybe one more long sleeve, but the rest short-sleeve. I'm still working on the garments part - I tried one on, and it was good in the sleeves, but super long, so I might bring them to the office tomorrow and see what they can do with them. We're having that zone conference tomorrow, so we'll see.
As for the other supplies, I think socks, maybe a pair of shoes (I'm kind of thinking about just taking the ones I have into the cobbler and getting the bottoms redone, because the rest of the shoes look fine.), snacks are always great, and ties are wonderful (even just the thrift-store ties!!!!!).
Okay, and the things I'm going to list next are WANTS, not needs (just wanted to put that there first!). The first is that the Saylin family has black scripture cases with the state of Texas on the front. I wanted to see if I'd be able to get those for my Spanish scriptures, but I forgot to measure how big they are... The person who makes them can be reached at mr.jake.whittaker@gmail.com . The other thing is called a morral (or something like that). It's a shoulder bag from Guatamala, about the size of a big binder. In the picture you sent me a while back of Elder Scherck standing next to Shrek, Elder Scherck is wearing one. I'm pretty sure they can be ordered online, but I don't know. Just thought those would be fun. But just remember, those are WANTS, not needs!!
Okay, and so on to the letter!!
WE HAVE A BAPTISM SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY!!!!! We're super excited!! His name is Jose Luis. All of his family are members, but he isn't. His wife has been 'encouraging' him for a while (She definitely thinks he should be baptized), and now he has decided to be baptized. Thursday is his birthday, and on the 10th his wife was baptized as well. He said on the 10th of next year, he wants to go through the temple and be sealed as an eternal family!!! We helped them to move to another appartment in our area all of yesterday after planning, but it went well. I don't think we really should have been there for 4 hours, but it went well. They're a great family.
Let's see, what else...
Actually, not a whole lot on this side. Oh! We have a new ward! The Bishop who was called is very young (late 20s, I think), but still awesome. He's been going to meetings, and even called us to see if we were still going over to visit with a family, to see if he'd be able to go. The family that we visited was the Ramirez-Longobardi family, and they had us come over to bless their new appartment before they moved in. It was a pretty great experience - Elder Lyman said the prayer, and then next day they told us that the house already felt different. Way cool experience!!
We have a bishopric in the ward, but they're still working on calling the other leaders, teachers, and presidents. I'm excited to see how it goes!
Tomorrow, we're going to have that Zone Conference, and then on Friday, Ronald A. Rasband is going to come and speak to the mission!! Actually, all 3 Houston missions on Friday morning. There is so much going on!!
I think I said this last week, but our area basically doubled in size, so we're working on managing it. Oh, and last week the building we'll be going to for Church wasn't open, so we went to Bissonnet - the building I was at in Houston 2 - And I got to see a lot of the same people I had seen just a few weeks ago!! It was amazing!! And so great just talking to everyone!! I had the BIGGEST smile on my face as we walked down the hall and I realized that all the people standing at the end were from Houston 2!!
Well, it's about time to go. This week looks like it's going to be an interesting week!! I love y'all, and I'm super excited to hear how everything goes during the week! Have a great one!!!
Con mucho amor, A infinidad, y mas alla!!!
Elder Collins
Wow, it's good to be a missionary in the great Texas Houston South Mission!!! There's always more to learn and do!! We're looking forward to a zone conference tomorrow, so that should be pretty great. The leadership of the mission told us that we all need to bring our cars (We have a silver 2010 Chevy Malibu with a nice little dent about the size of my head in the back bumper. But don't worry! This time it wasn't me!), and to leave the car unlocked with the keys on the floor. All the cars are getting something new...I think it's XM radio, to listen to MoTab all the time, but I haven't met anyone who agrees with me so far...
Oh, and I wanted to wish Grandma Black a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I wasn't able to pick up a card, but I might tomorrow...so if I'm able to, it might get there a little late...but Grandma, Happy Birthday!!!
And I guess a couple of business-related things before I get into the big part of the letter:
In terms of white shirts, maybe one more long sleeve, but the rest short-sleeve. I'm still working on the garments part - I tried one on, and it was good in the sleeves, but super long, so I might bring them to the office tomorrow and see what they can do with them. We're having that zone conference tomorrow, so we'll see.
As for the other supplies, I think socks, maybe a pair of shoes (I'm kind of thinking about just taking the ones I have into the cobbler and getting the bottoms redone, because the rest of the shoes look fine.), snacks are always great, and ties are wonderful (even just the thrift-store ties!!!!!).
Okay, and the things I'm going to list next are WANTS, not needs (just wanted to put that there first!). The first is that the Saylin family has black scripture cases with the state of Texas on the front. I wanted to see if I'd be able to get those for my Spanish scriptures, but I forgot to measure how big they are... The person who makes them can be reached at mr.jake.whittaker@gmail.com . The other thing is called a morral (or something like that). It's a shoulder bag from Guatamala, about the size of a big binder. In the picture you sent me a while back of Elder Scherck standing next to Shrek, Elder Scherck is wearing one. I'm pretty sure they can be ordered online, but I don't know. Just thought those would be fun. But just remember, those are WANTS, not needs!!
Okay, and so on to the letter!!
WE HAVE A BAPTISM SCHEDULED FOR THURSDAY!!!!! We're super excited!! His name is Jose Luis. All of his family are members, but he isn't. His wife has been 'encouraging' him for a while (She definitely thinks he should be baptized), and now he has decided to be baptized. Thursday is his birthday, and on the 10th his wife was baptized as well. He said on the 10th of next year, he wants to go through the temple and be sealed as an eternal family!!! We helped them to move to another appartment in our area all of yesterday after planning, but it went well. I don't think we really should have been there for 4 hours, but it went well. They're a great family.
Let's see, what else...
Actually, not a whole lot on this side. Oh! We have a new ward! The Bishop who was called is very young (late 20s, I think), but still awesome. He's been going to meetings, and even called us to see if we were still going over to visit with a family, to see if he'd be able to go. The family that we visited was the Ramirez-Longobardi family, and they had us come over to bless their new appartment before they moved in. It was a pretty great experience - Elder Lyman said the prayer, and then next day they told us that the house already felt different. Way cool experience!!
We have a bishopric in the ward, but they're still working on calling the other leaders, teachers, and presidents. I'm excited to see how it goes!
Tomorrow, we're going to have that Zone Conference, and then on Friday, Ronald A. Rasband is going to come and speak to the mission!! Actually, all 3 Houston missions on Friday morning. There is so much going on!!
I think I said this last week, but our area basically doubled in size, so we're working on managing it. Oh, and last week the building we'll be going to for Church wasn't open, so we went to Bissonnet - the building I was at in Houston 2 - And I got to see a lot of the same people I had seen just a few weeks ago!! It was amazing!! And so great just talking to everyone!! I had the BIGGEST smile on my face as we walked down the hall and I realized that all the people standing at the end were from Houston 2!!
Well, it's about time to go. This week looks like it's going to be an interesting week!! I love y'all, and I'm super excited to hear how everything goes during the week! Have a great one!!!
Con mucho amor, A infinidad, y mas alla!!!
Elder Collins
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Week 77 - A Halloween Family Home Evening
November 1, 2011
ALOHA!! And Happy (late) Halloween!!
Thank you so much for the Halloween package! I love it! I'm working my way through most of the sugar-free candy, and it sure is delicious! Thank you for the letter!! I loved reading all about how your preparations are going for Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. And yes, that would be AMAZING if Elder Nore came here while waiting on his visa! We actually talked to a sister missionary here who originally was going Portugese-speaking, but her visa didn't come through, so she was re-assigned here. Then, the Brethren changed her assignment to here in Houston...and then her visa came through. But that would be so much fun if Elder Nore came here, even for just a little while.
It looks like Halloween went well!! And yes - the Pebbles costume is AWESOME!! Looks like everyone had a great time!! Did Dad dress up, too? Halloween here was pretty low-key, but not too bad. We were really blessed yesterday. Usually, we have to come in at 7:00 unless we have a set appointment to go to. So we worked and had a really great lesson with someone named Daniel (And he has a date for the 26th!!!), and while we were there, we got a call from someone, but couldn't answer it while in the lesson. So we got back to the apartment, we called the number back, and it was from the Salazar family, asking if we could come over and do a Family Home Evening lesson at 8:00. We went, because it was a set lesson! We shared about listening to the Holy Ghost (One of the children, Michael, was blindfolded, and his dad was the 'Holy Ghost', and gave him directions to get to the 'prize.' Everyone else gave him bad directions and was yelling at him, but he had to really focus on his dad's voice to get to the 'prize', some candy we brought.). It was a very fun lesson! We had tried it before in Houston 2, but we didn't explain it very well. This time, we had a lot of help and we were able to explain it clearly, and it went well. Afterwards, we sang "Mas cerca Dios de Ti", (Nearer my God, to Thee), and we ate...you guessed it...PIZZA!!! And hotwings!! It was great!! And that was how our Halloween went!
Okay, and now on to the business section:
1. As for the Birthday and Christmas question - I guess I can throw a list together
Hmm....white shirts are always good, and ties are great as well ( Conservative ties). Then, MoTab CDs are great! (Especially the Christmas CDs!) I have 'Then Sings My Soul', 'Love at Home', 'Peace like a River', 'America's Choir', 'Heavensong', and 'Showtime!' Then there are a couple of other CDs from MoTab, like 'This is the Christ' and 'Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.' And I love food! Really, pretty much anything along those lines, anything that can help out in missionay work in that area would be great! And thanks the thoughtfulness! Even just a card is fine!
2. Yes, I'll start school in September.
The temple trip was great! And after the temple on Wednesday, we had the great opportunity to listen to the Temple President speak to us!! Definitely a very unique experience, and I learned a lot more about the importance of the temple and learned to appreciate it a little more.
We had a pretty fun experience on Saturday - Elder Lyman and I went down to Elder Lyman's old area, Alvin, so he could baptize someone who he had been teaching. On our way back (we were riding in the car of a member named Pepe), the car died on the side of the freeway at about 8:45 at night. So after trying to start it and get it going again, we called the Zone Leaders, they helped us to get ahold of a tow truck, and the other elders came and picked us up. At the end, we got home at exactly..11:00 at night. Definitely a fun and crazy day!
And with the last minute or two, we're now in Houston 8 - the Stake divided some of the wards and redid the boundaries. I'll let you know how it goes!! We about doubled in size.
Well, time to go. I hope this answers all your questions, and that everything is going well!
I love you! A infinidad, y mas alla!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Collins
ALOHA!! And Happy (late) Halloween!!
Thank you so much for the Halloween package! I love it! I'm working my way through most of the sugar-free candy, and it sure is delicious! Thank you for the letter!! I loved reading all about how your preparations are going for Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas. And yes, that would be AMAZING if Elder Nore came here while waiting on his visa! We actually talked to a sister missionary here who originally was going Portugese-speaking, but her visa didn't come through, so she was re-assigned here. Then, the Brethren changed her assignment to here in Houston...and then her visa came through. But that would be so much fun if Elder Nore came here, even for just a little while.
It looks like Halloween went well!! And yes - the Pebbles costume is AWESOME!! Looks like everyone had a great time!! Did Dad dress up, too? Halloween here was pretty low-key, but not too bad. We were really blessed yesterday. Usually, we have to come in at 7:00 unless we have a set appointment to go to. So we worked and had a really great lesson with someone named Daniel (And he has a date for the 26th!!!), and while we were there, we got a call from someone, but couldn't answer it while in the lesson. So we got back to the apartment, we called the number back, and it was from the Salazar family, asking if we could come over and do a Family Home Evening lesson at 8:00. We went, because it was a set lesson! We shared about listening to the Holy Ghost (One of the children, Michael, was blindfolded, and his dad was the 'Holy Ghost', and gave him directions to get to the 'prize.' Everyone else gave him bad directions and was yelling at him, but he had to really focus on his dad's voice to get to the 'prize', some candy we brought.). It was a very fun lesson! We had tried it before in Houston 2, but we didn't explain it very well. This time, we had a lot of help and we were able to explain it clearly, and it went well. Afterwards, we sang "Mas cerca Dios de Ti", (Nearer my God, to Thee), and we ate...you guessed it...PIZZA!!! And hotwings!! It was great!! And that was how our Halloween went!
Okay, and now on to the business section:
1. As for the Birthday and Christmas question - I guess I can throw a list together
Hmm....white shirts are always good, and ties are great as well ( Conservative ties). Then, MoTab CDs are great! (Especially the Christmas CDs!) I have 'Then Sings My Soul', 'Love at Home', 'Peace like a River', 'America's Choir', 'Heavensong', and 'Showtime!' Then there are a couple of other CDs from MoTab, like 'This is the Christ' and 'Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.' And I love food! Really, pretty much anything along those lines, anything that can help out in missionay work in that area would be great! And thanks the thoughtfulness! Even just a card is fine!
2. Yes, I'll start school in September.
The temple trip was great! And after the temple on Wednesday, we had the great opportunity to listen to the Temple President speak to us!! Definitely a very unique experience, and I learned a lot more about the importance of the temple and learned to appreciate it a little more.
We had a pretty fun experience on Saturday - Elder Lyman and I went down to Elder Lyman's old area, Alvin, so he could baptize someone who he had been teaching. On our way back (we were riding in the car of a member named Pepe), the car died on the side of the freeway at about 8:45 at night. So after trying to start it and get it going again, we called the Zone Leaders, they helped us to get ahold of a tow truck, and the other elders came and picked us up. At the end, we got home at exactly..11:00 at night. Definitely a fun and crazy day!
And with the last minute or two, we're now in Houston 8 - the Stake divided some of the wards and redid the boundaries. I'll let you know how it goes!! We about doubled in size.
Well, time to go. I hope this answers all your questions, and that everything is going well!
I love you! A infinidad, y mas alla!!
Con mucho amor,
Elder Collins
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