What Was That Again?: In Which I Really Shouldn't Be the Navigator and Kumbaya Helps Alleviate the Stress Born From the Anticipation of Baked Goods

Okay. I know it's Texas, and I know that it's really not all that cold temperature wise. I spent all winter in Logan last year and wasn't cold, for goodness' sake. But it is COLD. They weren't lying about the wet cold thing. It's different, and it's miserable. My toes are going to fall off any second now. I can feel it.

Anyway. Enough of that. It's been a good week! Well, as good as it could be, seeing as my former companion left Sister Sylvester and I with 60 miles left for the week on Wednesday. (Cough, Quist, cough.) We had a lot of fun. I really, really like this kid. Sister Sylvester is from Boise, Idaho, has been out for 6 months, and is pretty freaking hilarious. She actually traded places with Sister Quist, who is now serving with Sister Sylvester's old companion in the Cypress Zone. People keep asking me if I miss Sister Quist, and I do, but at the same time, we talk all the time and we're going to be friends forever, so it's not too bad.

I picked Sister Sylvester up on Tuesday, and that afternoon we got a call from the Hermanas. We've been trying to find a time when we could take them with us to meet a recent convert's mom, and they said they'd be in that area in the afternoon. We had no plans, and so we obliged. Our recent convert comes from a family of thirteen children, at the head of which is their mother, who is quite the matriarch. When they were first being taught, she wouldn't even acknowledge the Sisters, but has since warmed up to us. She doesn't speak any English, and we never thought that she'd be willing to listen to us. When we arrived, Anais told us that she had told her mom that we were coming - and she wasn't happy about it. We talked for a while when her mom came in and asked her to go do something. She sat down after Anais left and started chatting with the Hermanas - I think it was just casual conversation, but I have no clue do to my extreme lack of Spanish skills. They talked, Anais came back in, and they still talked. Then, I started hearing gospel words, and all of the sudden, the Hermanas pulled out their planners - they got a return appointment! They've since taught her the Plan of Salvation and say that she was very receptive. Mir. A. Cles.

Finding stuff to do without miles or bikes? Not fun. Not fun at all. (Spoiler alert - we went about 45 miles over. If I have no toes next week, it is not because of the cold, but rather the fury of the vehicle coordinator. I'm the problem child.) We did a lot of trying to figure things out and sitting around. I'm not a fan of sitting around. This situation was also exacerbated by the events of Thursday night. So, here's the thing. The Houston area is the most ridiculous place on the planet Earth in which to drive. The drivers are ridiculous, the roads are ridiculous, and there are no shoulders or sidewalks anywhere. Also, Sister Quist took the GPS (she said something like she had bought and it was hers - lame excuses.) So, we may or may not have driven around The Woodlands after dinner on Thursday for a good while. And I may or may not have made us flip 57 fruitless U turns. And we may or may not have wasted 20 miles or so. However, we did build some companionship unity. Or, at least, that's what we tell ourselves.

On Saturday we went to visit Ashlee. She's just great. We took a couple of ward members with us (lessons with members cannot even compare to lessons without them.) We taught the Plan of Salvation, and she seemed to understand everything well and agreed with us. In our District Meeting on Friday, we had been reminded and urged to keep the mission standard to extend a firm baptismal date by the second lesson, and even though she's still living with her boyfriend, we decided to walk out onto the water a little and extend an invitation to prepare for the 21st of December. She said yes! It was so cool. One of the Sisters who came with us helped us a ton with giving her motivation and support to come to church on Sunday. It was great. It was a great lesson. She is really excited, and though she's not as focused or committed as I (as my prideful self) would like her to be, she wants to know the truth. She's told us many times that she's prayed to know if this is true and that she doesn't feel any bad feelings toward it, so she'll keep going forward. I like that answer. Patience.

Yesterday...she didn't come. Her parents randomly showed up at her house just before church started, so she stayed with them through most of the afternoon. It was disappointing at first, but we had such an excellent sacrament meeting, it didn't really get us down. The theme was on gratitude, but each of the talks found themselves turning toward missionary work - which is really the best expression of gratitude we can give our Father in Heaven, really. Each of the speakers talked of their prayers for missionary opportunities and the experiences that they had when their prayers were answered. It was so awesome. Just, great. I had to suppress the urge to run up and high five the speakers throughout the meeting. I love it!

We went to dinner with the Manns. I love the Manns so much, I can't even handle it. I've attempted to adopt myself into their family on more than one occasion, but they have an Allison Mann already, so that'd be a little awkward. Anywho, we went over for dinner, and since church gets out at 5:30, it was being partially prepared while we were eating. Brother Mann and Sarah, who's 14, really wanted the rolls. They were not done. When Sister Mann finally told them that they could take them out after one minute, they stood in front of the oven and held each other while singing Kumbaya to calm their nerves. For the record, the rolls were very excellent.

Then, Ashlee came! We had invited her to dinner with us, but with the whole parents thing, we didn't think she'd come. She ended up coming after we were finished eating and we got to read the Book of Mormon with her, Sister Mann, and Sarah. It went really well, and I think she enjoyed it. Brother and Sister Mann were so loving and welcoming, and I am so grateful for their fellowship. Fellowshipping works miracles, people. Having a friend makes all of the difference in the world.

So, remember how much I love you. Because I do - every single stinking one of you, and I miss you, too. With Thanksgiving this week, take some time to be grateful for what you have and share it with others, whether it be physical, emotional or spiritual. Just share the gospel. If you want to have that opportunity, ask for it. The Lord is just waiting to bless you with the opportunity to help someone else. I love you and am praying for you, and will think of y'all as I stuff my face with some delicious food on Thursday. Happy Turkey day!

Sister Liljenquist

This is Elder Anderson. He and I went to jr.high together. Craziest thing ever? Yeah, I thought so, too. He's just the greatest.