Letters from Kelsey - 27

Howdy y'all!!

Yes, y'all read the subject correctly I am emailing you from Galveston, Texas! I see the ocean every single day and I feel like I am living in the Princess and the Frog- okay well not totally but just a little bit. Everyone down here is very southern and Texan. I have never seen houses on stilts before and I love the cool ocean breeze. It is more humid than Houston but the breeze doesn't really make it feel like it. I got burned a little the other day, which I didn't think was possible because I had been in the sun for 6 weeks already but it happened because of all the humidity! So I almost died the other day because it was so humid that my hands were sweaty and my hand slipped off my handlebars and I veered into the road, thank heavens no cars were coming but now I have a sweet bruise on my forearm. (Mom I promise everything is okay and I was wearing my helmet ;) ) Galveston is great though and I love it when I get the glimpses of the ocean. There aren't a whole lot of Hispanic people but we have a branch that has awesome members who work hard with us. Now a quick Investigator Weekly:

Emma: She is 17 and her mom is a member. I guess in the past when the Hermanas have come over she has always gone into her room but when we went over the other day she stayed out and talked to us and asked us questions and we taught a rough first and gave her a Book of Mormon. When we went by on Sunday she said that she had read the first two pages and loved it! I'm super stoked for her and she accepted a baptismal date for the 9th of July. The only problems we might have is her cousin and her boyfriend are JW's (Jehovah's Witnesses) and they don't like us very well, but we know that the Lord will help her. I'm really excited for her- she is super cute.

Leonel: He has had a baptismal date in the past, twice, but it dropped because he didn't come to church but he came to church this week for the second time so now he is eligible! We went over yesterday and watched the Restoration with him and he accepted another date for the 16th of July! He reads the Book of Mormon by himself and asked us yesterday what the law of Moses was! He is awesome and I'm excited for him too!

Well this Investigator Weekly was a little short this week again- I know- but these two are solid and I would rather have a couple solid people that a bunch of people who aren't going to commit or change. That is one thing I have learned on my mission so far is that I don't like begging people to change- I have decided to let them use their agency and just trust in the Lord that things will work out how they are supposed to. I have learned to tell the people who really want to change and better their lives and then there are those people who don't want to do anything and just let God do everything for them. Its interesting to see all the different thoughts out there and see the way the Spirit bring thing to people's remembrance when they hear the truth. I'm excited for this transfer though- I was a little stressed at the beginning with it being my first transfer as the Senior Companion but my companion was well trained and we are going to rock this area. It is so much fun to work on the island with these people who have been through so much. Its interesting to ride down the streets and see houses that still haven't been rebuilt from Hurricane Ike back in 2008 and to just talk to these people that have such hard lives and see all that work in their eyes when you talk to them. It really is amazing and I love the island- I just wish that sometimes it was a little cooler. I love not being in apartment complexes all day and not having that stuffy Houston air. I love the ocean breezes and seeing the pelicans dive bomb the water.Galveston has such cool history too and I feel like this has kind of rekindled my fire a little bit.

Anyway... I hope y'all had a fantastic Father's Day weekend! I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my Daddy-o and all those great examples of Fathers in my life. Thank y'all for being great men and magnifying your calling of a father because I see everyday people who haven't had this type of example and I can't imagine my life with out y'all. Thank y'all so much for everything! I love and miss y'all and hope that the Lord continues to bless you and your families!

Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg