Relying On The Lord

Howdy yall! 

       Man I don't even know where to begin. The growth I've had just in this week has been insane. We didn't get into Alpine until late Wednesday evening due to our tire exploding on the highway, but we arrived safely and I'm grateful. I've heard many stories and fairytales about alpine and the shack, but what I saw when I arrived is not what I was expecting. We live in a literal tin shed, and it's been very humbling. The first thing I noticed about this area is just how beautiful it is. I never would have imagined seeing mountains in Texas, but I guess Texas ain't so flat. I also noticed many challenges I would soon have to face and it became obvious that I am going to need to work harder than I have before, and I am really going to need to rely on the Lord. Elder Aden, bless his heart, has just completed his training and doesn't know anything outside this area and his trainer. I dont know anything about this area either, so we are growing and learning together. His previous companion would just tract the college all day and "find" lots of people, but that was it, and the college semester is over, so now we have absolutely no one to teach. Elder Aden and I were basically tech support, and called every person in our area book, only to find out no one is interested in meeting with us. So now we are at square one. We hit restart on this area, and we are going to try and rebuild it from the ground up. We have the 2nd biggest area in the mission which is cool but it will prove to have many challenges. Firstly, the closest missionaries to us are in fort Stockton which is about 70 miles away from us. We also have lots of small towns that border Mexico, and they are all run by the cartel. Let's just say if you knock doors there, they will open up and you will be walking into heaven. Our branch is made up of about 6 families, who all live at least 40 minutes away, so it's hard to recieve help from them. Basically we are camping in the middle of nowhere with nobody around us, but I know that the Lord provides. 

      Apart from being separated and having no work to do, I love this area and I can tell this is the area where I am really going to grow and learn so much about myself and also about God. I came into this area on a spiritual high due to a personal miracle in my life, and a fire has been lit underneath me. My last two areas I have grown and learned something different in each of them, but to be honest I feel like I wasn't the person or missionary that I could have been. I know I have more potential to do better and to become better, but I was too busy trying to have fun or I lost myself trying to help other people, and while those things aren't bad at all I also need to learn to take care of myself spiritually. Now that I literally have no one else around me and no other distractions really, I can start working hard and working on myself and my spirituality. I have never felt more connected to my savior in my life and its only been less than a week. Being outdoors and in nature while reading scriptures or meditating and feeling the breeze and hearing God's creations has really elevated my spirits. We also sleep outside sometimes and just appreciate the views and mountains and all of God's beautiful creations. It's hard to sleep when you're just admiring the stars and everything around you. It brings me so much joy to be out on the mission and experiencing all of it, good and bad. 

      

      Unfortunately today I don't have any new people or work to report on due to us restarting from nothing. But I'm very hopeful that we can jump start this area and give it what it deserves. I'm so excited to see where it takes me, and the person that I become. My new companion (elder aden) is a really cool guy, and the vibes are good. We hit it off right away and we have been pushing each other which is really good. I was told by a friend to go easy on him, but he really needs to go easy on me! I am a little rough around edges, but he's been helping me to gain better habits and to feel the spirit more, so I'm grateful that we have the desire to push each other and the desire to work hard, because this area is going to need it. I normally list my address so people can send stuff if they feel like it, but I'm worried the border patrol will mess with the packages and I also am very lacking on the whole room situation. But in closing, I have a strong testimony that the Lord provides, and he is very aware of what we are going through and what we need in our lives. I learned that I need to trust in him and his timing. There's many things in my life that I need help with, but I know it's all in his hands and on his timing. I'm learning that his timing is always so much better than mine, if I got what I wanted when I wanted it, I don't think I would have appreciated or cherished it as much and definitely would have taken it for granted. God won't give us more things to be ungrateful for. So now I pray and thank God for everything, even all the things that I have been through, because I know some hoe some day it will all be worth it, God willing. 

Godspeed yall! 

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