Hey everyone!!
Well another week has come and gone and this is the last full week of the transfer!! That is so weird- this transfer has just flown by. Transfers are next Wednesday and this is the first time so far that I hope my name or my companion's is not on that list. I would absolutely love another transfer like this one, but the truth is next transfer is going to be even better!! There is so much potential and so much on the horizon that we are just going to rock this area and August is going to be a huge month! This week was a little rough, Hermana Wallet was attacked by ants- as I said last week- and then got a weird rash thing on her foot and we were told to not leave the apartment and then we went to the doctor on Friday so we really only had 2 days of work this week, Saturday and Sunday. Our trip to the doctors was pretty awesome but I'll tell y'all about that a little later.
This weekend was amazing this and LEONEL GOT BAPTIZED!!! Oh man funny story though. So when we called him Saturday morning to make sure everything was still good and he asked us how long the baptism was going to be. We told him probably about an hour and then asked why. When he first answered we though he said that he was just going to Louisiana, and we were like... what? He told us again and he said he was MOVING to Louisiana right after his baptism! Well it will just be easier to say the conversation: Us: "What! So you won't be at church on Sunday?" (of course this was all in Spanish, but I will save y'all the hassle and translate it for you) Leonel: "No". Us: "No Leonel you have to come to church on Sunday because that is where you will receive the Holy Ghost, everything else doesn't matter if you don't get the Holy Ghost on Sunday!" Leonel: "Oh... (medium length pause) I guess I can move after church on Sunday." Us: (breathing a huge sigh of relief). So yes, we had a baptism but we don't have a recent convert though- Kenner, Louisiana has a recent convert. He did call us yesterday though making sure that we were going to send him the church address by him. He is legit and will be a huge blessing to his new ward.
Anyway... now on to the Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She is slowly coming along, not making huge progress but she is willing. Our focus now is getting her to ask for a change in work schedule so she can come to church!
La Familia Barillas: They are super awesome and all excepted baptismal dates for August 6th!! They are starting to read the Book of Mormon as a family and we are super excited to get members involved and just see their progress take off!
David: We are trying to help him have faith in the Atonement so that he can have the faith to be baptized. We have a lesson with him tonight and we are just going to lay it down- after 7 months he is ready and he just needs to take that leap of faith and accept a date!
Thats it for this week... kinda short I know, but I'm a little short on time today and I want to tell y'all about our little trek out west! So the doctor we go to is out in Bay City which is about 2 hours west of us in the middle of Southern Texas. We followed my TomTom and it took us through all these little towns and I saw the first horses, cows, and wheel lines that I have seen in 8 months. I loved it. Our GPS took us on little dirt roads that I wouldn't have known existed if it wasnt' for the GPS, but we got there and back and it was a great adventure through the heart of Texas!!
Well I hope everything is going well with y'all!! I hope the Lord will continue to bless you!! Love and miss y'all!!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 30
My dear family and friends!
How is life on the mainland? I hope that it is just fantastic!! Things are still good here in Galveston and it is as hot as ever. Today when we were on our way to the library the car said it was 93 degrees- at 9:30 in the morning, I'm sure glad that we have interviews today! We have been told that after August things start to cool off so we only have about a month and a half left of the heat and as long as we still have that ocean breeze I'm fine. Well week 4 of the transfer is over and in 2 weeks it will be transfers all over again... I can't believe it- this transfer has just flown by! I'm hoping that things stay the same and that Hna. Wallet and I stay together. This is the first time on the mission that I have wanted things to stay the same at transfers. I love Galveston and I'm happy here- Hna. Wallet and I get a long pretty well and this area is just on the brink of exploding. We had some first time lessons this week with some people that I'm really excited about, which leads me into... The Investigator Weekly!!
Leonel: His baptism is set for 7:30 Saturday night!! He passed his interview this week and everything is going well. I just don't know what else to say... I mean its just been really cool to see him progress these last couple weeks and it was nothing that we did- it was because of the feeling he gets at church!
Emma: She is still coming along, slowly but surely. We are going to try and change some things up so she can make sure and come to church and hopefully her work schedule is changing soon so that she can come to all 3 hours. We watched some I'm a Mormon videos with her (if you haven't seen these yet, go to Mormon.org and check them out- they are super legit and I could watch them all day long) and she really liked them. She liked to see people that have had kind of the same background has her and the changes that have come in their lives. We will keep pushing forward.
David: AWE MAN!! He was so close to accepting a baptismal date this week! He was right there!! But then Satan grabbed him again and the fear crept back in. He is so worried about failing, making a mistake, and falling back into his old ways after baptism because he knows how big the promises are that he is making. We will keep working with him and praying for him- he came to church this week and is making more progress so we have hope!
Guadalupe: He is one of the news that we taught for the first time this week, he's about 45 from Mexico/ Corpus Cristi. He is pretty cool and is open to learning more. He is very sincere and I'm excited to teach him!
La Familia Barillas (The Barillas Family): They are the new family we found, we have only taught them once but we have an appointment with them this week. I have to say that it is pretty obvious that we were supposed to meet them and baptize them and I'll tell ya why! They have 2 kids- Alex age 14 and.... KELSEY age 8!! Yup spelled the same way and everything! It was all I could do to not tell her that we have the same name! They are a super cool family and were excited to read the Book of Mormon. I feel like if we can get them reading it together and coming to church they will see the blessings in their lives!
So yes... life is good on the island. The days and weeks are just going by and it just amazes me to see how fast they are flying by. I know that it's kinda hard to believe and I'm sorry to disappoint y'all this week but this is really all I have today! No big thoughts that have been weighing on my mind this week that I want to share with y'all, this week was just a good one and I feel like I was just here yesterday! I hope y'all have a good and safe week on the mainland. I do want to tell y'all how grateful I am for all of your love, support, prayers, and letters, and the examples y'all have been to me through out my life. Every single day I meet people who didn't or don't have those type of examples or influences and I see the negative effect that it has had on their lives and every night I thank my Heavenly Father for all the people in my life. So, once again, thank you!!
Love always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
How is life on the mainland? I hope that it is just fantastic!! Things are still good here in Galveston and it is as hot as ever. Today when we were on our way to the library the car said it was 93 degrees- at 9:30 in the morning, I'm sure glad that we have interviews today! We have been told that after August things start to cool off so we only have about a month and a half left of the heat and as long as we still have that ocean breeze I'm fine. Well week 4 of the transfer is over and in 2 weeks it will be transfers all over again... I can't believe it- this transfer has just flown by! I'm hoping that things stay the same and that Hna. Wallet and I stay together. This is the first time on the mission that I have wanted things to stay the same at transfers. I love Galveston and I'm happy here- Hna. Wallet and I get a long pretty well and this area is just on the brink of exploding. We had some first time lessons this week with some people that I'm really excited about, which leads me into... The Investigator Weekly!!
Leonel: His baptism is set for 7:30 Saturday night!! He passed his interview this week and everything is going well. I just don't know what else to say... I mean its just been really cool to see him progress these last couple weeks and it was nothing that we did- it was because of the feeling he gets at church!
Emma: She is still coming along, slowly but surely. We are going to try and change some things up so she can make sure and come to church and hopefully her work schedule is changing soon so that she can come to all 3 hours. We watched some I'm a Mormon videos with her (if you haven't seen these yet, go to Mormon.org and check them out- they are super legit and I could watch them all day long) and she really liked them. She liked to see people that have had kind of the same background has her and the changes that have come in their lives. We will keep pushing forward.
David: AWE MAN!! He was so close to accepting a baptismal date this week! He was right there!! But then Satan grabbed him again and the fear crept back in. He is so worried about failing, making a mistake, and falling back into his old ways after baptism because he knows how big the promises are that he is making. We will keep working with him and praying for him- he came to church this week and is making more progress so we have hope!
Guadalupe: He is one of the news that we taught for the first time this week, he's about 45 from Mexico/ Corpus Cristi. He is pretty cool and is open to learning more. He is very sincere and I'm excited to teach him!
La Familia Barillas (The Barillas Family): They are the new family we found, we have only taught them once but we have an appointment with them this week. I have to say that it is pretty obvious that we were supposed to meet them and baptize them and I'll tell ya why! They have 2 kids- Alex age 14 and.... KELSEY age 8!! Yup spelled the same way and everything! It was all I could do to not tell her that we have the same name! They are a super cool family and were excited to read the Book of Mormon. I feel like if we can get them reading it together and coming to church they will see the blessings in their lives!
So yes... life is good on the island. The days and weeks are just going by and it just amazes me to see how fast they are flying by. I know that it's kinda hard to believe and I'm sorry to disappoint y'all this week but this is really all I have today! No big thoughts that have been weighing on my mind this week that I want to share with y'all, this week was just a good one and I feel like I was just here yesterday! I hope y'all have a good and safe week on the mainland. I do want to tell y'all how grateful I am for all of your love, support, prayers, and letters, and the examples y'all have been to me through out my life. Every single day I meet people who didn't or don't have those type of examples or influences and I see the negative effect that it has had on their lives and every night I thank my Heavenly Father for all the people in my life. So, once again, thank you!!
Love always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Letters from Kelsey - 29
Howdy y'all,
Well I hope y'all had a fantastic 4th of July! We had a tender mercy and were able to see the fireworks from our balcony and they just happened to be through the only hole in the trees, so we did get to see some Galveston fireworks (which, I learned yesterday, are called cohetes in Spanish). We spent most of the day in the apartment doing weekly planning and then we pretty much just rode our bikes around for about 4 hours looking for people to talk to, we did have one lesson that I will tell y'all about later. There was nobody out on in the streets though, they were all either at the beach or in their backyards having parties so yeah... we biked like 15 miles yesterday but I did add more sun to my tan! ha ha Galveston is good though we are working hard to find new people that we know the Lord has prepared. Well now on to Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She didn't come to church this week but she is accepting the lessons and is reading what we give her, but she hasn't prayed yet. That is our next big step is to get her to pray and as God if the things we are teaching are correct and if she needs to be baptized. I feel like she might know that the church is true but is a little afraid of what answer she is going to receive, so I'll let y'all know how that works out next week hopefully.
Leonel: He is just so awesome and has come to church for a month straight! He is still on track for his baptismal date of July 16th and we are super excited! He is becoming buddies will all of the guys in the branch and he doesn't have any hold ups! I really don't know what else to say about him except that he is just super great and I'm excited to see continue! I have truly gained a testimony about how important going to church is and how important it is to go looking for something so that we can receive revelation through church every week, because I think that was the key to Leonel. Ever since he came to church the first time he has been solid ever since.
David: Oh David... we aren't really sure what to do with him. He keeps the commandments, reads, changes the things he needs to, he just won't accept a baptismal date and hasn't come to church the last 3 weeks. We looked over the teaching record this week and learned that he hasn't accepted a date since the beginning which was back in January. We might have to give him an ultimatum this week when we go by because he still says that he is afraid of falling and not being able to do the things that the Lord tells him too- which also means he hasn't prayed yet about whether or not he needs to be baptized because he knows the answer he is going to get. I know that he knows the church is true and he knows he needs to be baptized, he just needs to know it and have faith that there always is a way and that God doesn't give us commandments we can't follow. We just don't know... we are going to make a strong push for him to come to church this weekend too. I will let y'all know how it goes.
Juan Ramero: He is a new guy that we first taught on Saturday, he came to church on Sunday, and then we taught him again last night. He has been to a lot of different churches and hasn't found what he's looking for yet. He really enjoyed church and I hope that he will read and pray like we have asked him to do. We haven't had a chance to extend him a baptismal date yet because he kinda likes to get side tracked. He lives with this older lady, we have decided that they are just friends and that he just rents a room from her and helps out around the house and watch out for her, but she likes to talk a lot too and has talked to missionaries before and likes to put in her two cents but the good thing is she isn't against the church. Fact of the matter is they both like to talk and sometimes makes comments that are just so random and off topic that it's hard for us to keep the Spirit there enough to be able to extend the date at the end of the lesson but we will keep working on it. I feel like he could be pretty solid though.
Things are going good here though! We keep trying to work hard and find new people to teach. We are trying to improve our faith and our obedience so that we can be qualified to receive the blessings the Lord has in store for us. I have learned a lot these last couple weeks and I have learned something about happiness. I have learned that knowing that you would make the same choices and not change things is happiness. I would not change my decision to go on a mission and I would make the same decision over again. I didn't want to go before my mission and even for a little bit while I was out here, but I have finally become happy with my decision and I wouldn't change it. I'm thankful for all the lessons I have learned and for all the experiences I have had in these short 7 months, and I'm excited for the next 11!
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! I hope y'all have a good week and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Well I hope y'all had a fantastic 4th of July! We had a tender mercy and were able to see the fireworks from our balcony and they just happened to be through the only hole in the trees, so we did get to see some Galveston fireworks (which, I learned yesterday, are called cohetes in Spanish). We spent most of the day in the apartment doing weekly planning and then we pretty much just rode our bikes around for about 4 hours looking for people to talk to, we did have one lesson that I will tell y'all about later. There was nobody out on in the streets though, they were all either at the beach or in their backyards having parties so yeah... we biked like 15 miles yesterday but I did add more sun to my tan! ha ha Galveston is good though we are working hard to find new people that we know the Lord has prepared. Well now on to Investigator Weekly!!
Emma: She didn't come to church this week but she is accepting the lessons and is reading what we give her, but she hasn't prayed yet. That is our next big step is to get her to pray and as God if the things we are teaching are correct and if she needs to be baptized. I feel like she might know that the church is true but is a little afraid of what answer she is going to receive, so I'll let y'all know how that works out next week hopefully.
Leonel: He is just so awesome and has come to church for a month straight! He is still on track for his baptismal date of July 16th and we are super excited! He is becoming buddies will all of the guys in the branch and he doesn't have any hold ups! I really don't know what else to say about him except that he is just super great and I'm excited to see continue! I have truly gained a testimony about how important going to church is and how important it is to go looking for something so that we can receive revelation through church every week, because I think that was the key to Leonel. Ever since he came to church the first time he has been solid ever since.
David: Oh David... we aren't really sure what to do with him. He keeps the commandments, reads, changes the things he needs to, he just won't accept a baptismal date and hasn't come to church the last 3 weeks. We looked over the teaching record this week and learned that he hasn't accepted a date since the beginning which was back in January. We might have to give him an ultimatum this week when we go by because he still says that he is afraid of falling and not being able to do the things that the Lord tells him too- which also means he hasn't prayed yet about whether or not he needs to be baptized because he knows the answer he is going to get. I know that he knows the church is true and he knows he needs to be baptized, he just needs to know it and have faith that there always is a way and that God doesn't give us commandments we can't follow. We just don't know... we are going to make a strong push for him to come to church this weekend too. I will let y'all know how it goes.
Juan Ramero: He is a new guy that we first taught on Saturday, he came to church on Sunday, and then we taught him again last night. He has been to a lot of different churches and hasn't found what he's looking for yet. He really enjoyed church and I hope that he will read and pray like we have asked him to do. We haven't had a chance to extend him a baptismal date yet because he kinda likes to get side tracked. He lives with this older lady, we have decided that they are just friends and that he just rents a room from her and helps out around the house and watch out for her, but she likes to talk a lot too and has talked to missionaries before and likes to put in her two cents but the good thing is she isn't against the church. Fact of the matter is they both like to talk and sometimes makes comments that are just so random and off topic that it's hard for us to keep the Spirit there enough to be able to extend the date at the end of the lesson but we will keep working on it. I feel like he could be pretty solid though.
Things are going good here though! We keep trying to work hard and find new people to teach. We are trying to improve our faith and our obedience so that we can be qualified to receive the blessings the Lord has in store for us. I have learned a lot these last couple weeks and I have learned something about happiness. I have learned that knowing that you would make the same choices and not change things is happiness. I would not change my decision to go on a mission and I would make the same decision over again. I didn't want to go before my mission and even for a little bit while I was out here, but I have finally become happy with my decision and I wouldn't change it. I'm thankful for all the lessons I have learned and for all the experiences I have had in these short 7 months, and I'm excited for the next 11!
Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers! I hope y'all have a good week and that the Lord continues to bless you and your families!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Friday, July 1, 2011
Letters from Kelsey - 28
Hey everybody!!
If sweat is a measure of progress that I'm doing AWESOME!!! They tell us it's supposed to get hotter next month but I don't see how that is humanly, physically, and environmentally possible. My companion and I- Hermana Wallet- have decided that the Lord puts a veil over us so that people don't see the sweat dripping off of our faces and will talk to us. Galveston is awesome! We cover the west half of the Island. There are 4 sets of missionaries- an English and Spanish set for each side, there are a lot more English people than Spanish on the island so we talk to a lot more English people. My companion is Hermana Adrienne Wallet and she is from Southern Cali and is a transfer younger than me. We are still on bikes but we get to use the car just a little bit more here than in Houston 2. We went to a place called Queen's Bar-B-Q last week and that was totally awesome Texas BBQ. I loved it. So on to the Investigator Weekly:
Emma: She came to church this week! She went to the English sacrament meeting because she had to work and its better to have them go to sacrament. She really liked it and is really searching for the truth. We have an appointment with her today and I'm interested to see if she is ready to change and do the things she needs to. She hasn't read any more in the Book of Mormon since she read the first two pages so we are going to try and get her to change that. She is super cute and I'm excited to see where things go with her.
Leonel: He is awesome and came to church this week for the 3rd week in a row and he was on time all 3 weeks!! (that's a big deal for Hispanic people- I think that Hispanic time is worse than Mormon time... ha ha) He is so great is totally on track for his baptismal date of the 16th! We went over the Word of Wisdom with him this week and he has never drank coffee which was also a big surprise because Hispanics start drinking coffee when they are like 4- that's just what they do. He is reading the Book of Mormon by himself and I'm really excited for him.
David: So last week I forgot to talk about David. He has been meeting with las Hermanas since January. He is a great guy, 21 years old, and he goes to volleyball on Tuesday nights and Institute on Thursday nights. His big hold up is the fear of falling after he is baptized. He says he wants to serve a mission and have an eternal family but his fear of falling back into old sins is, what he says, is holding him up from getting baptized. I have to wonder if that is his really doubt or if that is just the tip of the iceberg and there is some other hold up that he isn't telling us. We are going to fast this week so that he will get his answer that baptism is what he needs to do and that it is what our Heavenly Father wants him to do. We will see!
So things are picking up- well we had some really long days this weekend on the bikes in the 100+ degrees and 90+% humidity, with lots of appointments falling through but we are looking forward to this week and we have some new people that we are excited about. I really do love Galveston. Everyone is pretty nice and its just so cool to talk to people and hear stories from their past. Everyone is still cleaning up from Hurricane Ike, they all refer to it as 'the storm'. Some times people are cold when we tell them that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I haven't had anyone be mean yet- now that I just said that I'm sure it will happen this week. I had a 15 year old ask me for my number, after I got done getting his information for the English Elders to come by he asked me for my number and I told him that we only taught in Spanish and then he told me that his mom speaks a little Spanish. I just had to get on my bike and laugh- it was a first that's for sure. The people here really are great and our little branch is great as well. They are the greatest member missionaries and always have people for us to teach. I feel super blessed to be able to serve on Galveston and Hna. Wallet is awesome at Spanish grammar so that is helping me as well. We are both just pushing each other to be the best we can be and to make sure that we are doing all that we can to get this area to explode. We broke the record this year in our area for people at church this last weekend with 3 (which is actually pretty sad), but things are only going to improve.
Its weird to think that I now officially have under a year left on the mission and with the way these last weeks have flown by- this is week 3 of the transfer- I can just see the next few months flying by as well. My Spanish is getting better, my tan is AMAZING!, I sweat more in one day than I ever have in my entire life put together, we are finding people to teach, the work is progressing, and I am continually amazed at what the Lord can teach me and what more I still have to learn. I really feel like Galveston has been a turning point on my mission where I changed from just enduring to persevering. The days are still super hot and my butt is still sore after a long day of sitting on that little seat, but it's all in the work of the Lord and I am excited to see what the next year holds. I love y'all and miss y'all tons. I hope that everything is good on the home front and that the Lord continues to bless you and your family!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
If sweat is a measure of progress that I'm doing AWESOME!!! They tell us it's supposed to get hotter next month but I don't see how that is humanly, physically, and environmentally possible. My companion and I- Hermana Wallet- have decided that the Lord puts a veil over us so that people don't see the sweat dripping off of our faces and will talk to us. Galveston is awesome! We cover the west half of the Island. There are 4 sets of missionaries- an English and Spanish set for each side, there are a lot more English people than Spanish on the island so we talk to a lot more English people. My companion is Hermana Adrienne Wallet and she is from Southern Cali and is a transfer younger than me. We are still on bikes but we get to use the car just a little bit more here than in Houston 2. We went to a place called Queen's Bar-B-Q last week and that was totally awesome Texas BBQ. I loved it. So on to the Investigator Weekly:
Emma: She came to church this week! She went to the English sacrament meeting because she had to work and its better to have them go to sacrament. She really liked it and is really searching for the truth. We have an appointment with her today and I'm interested to see if she is ready to change and do the things she needs to. She hasn't read any more in the Book of Mormon since she read the first two pages so we are going to try and get her to change that. She is super cute and I'm excited to see where things go with her.
Leonel: He is awesome and came to church this week for the 3rd week in a row and he was on time all 3 weeks!! (that's a big deal for Hispanic people- I think that Hispanic time is worse than Mormon time... ha ha) He is so great is totally on track for his baptismal date of the 16th! We went over the Word of Wisdom with him this week and he has never drank coffee which was also a big surprise because Hispanics start drinking coffee when they are like 4- that's just what they do. He is reading the Book of Mormon by himself and I'm really excited for him.
David: So last week I forgot to talk about David. He has been meeting with las Hermanas since January. He is a great guy, 21 years old, and he goes to volleyball on Tuesday nights and Institute on Thursday nights. His big hold up is the fear of falling after he is baptized. He says he wants to serve a mission and have an eternal family but his fear of falling back into old sins is, what he says, is holding him up from getting baptized. I have to wonder if that is his really doubt or if that is just the tip of the iceberg and there is some other hold up that he isn't telling us. We are going to fast this week so that he will get his answer that baptism is what he needs to do and that it is what our Heavenly Father wants him to do. We will see!
So things are picking up- well we had some really long days this weekend on the bikes in the 100+ degrees and 90+% humidity, with lots of appointments falling through but we are looking forward to this week and we have some new people that we are excited about. I really do love Galveston. Everyone is pretty nice and its just so cool to talk to people and hear stories from their past. Everyone is still cleaning up from Hurricane Ike, they all refer to it as 'the storm'. Some times people are cold when we tell them that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but I haven't had anyone be mean yet- now that I just said that I'm sure it will happen this week. I had a 15 year old ask me for my number, after I got done getting his information for the English Elders to come by he asked me for my number and I told him that we only taught in Spanish and then he told me that his mom speaks a little Spanish. I just had to get on my bike and laugh- it was a first that's for sure. The people here really are great and our little branch is great as well. They are the greatest member missionaries and always have people for us to teach. I feel super blessed to be able to serve on Galveston and Hna. Wallet is awesome at Spanish grammar so that is helping me as well. We are both just pushing each other to be the best we can be and to make sure that we are doing all that we can to get this area to explode. We broke the record this year in our area for people at church this last weekend with 3 (which is actually pretty sad), but things are only going to improve.
Its weird to think that I now officially have under a year left on the mission and with the way these last weeks have flown by- this is week 3 of the transfer- I can just see the next few months flying by as well. My Spanish is getting better, my tan is AMAZING!, I sweat more in one day than I ever have in my entire life put together, we are finding people to teach, the work is progressing, and I am continually amazed at what the Lord can teach me and what more I still have to learn. I really feel like Galveston has been a turning point on my mission where I changed from just enduring to persevering. The days are still super hot and my butt is still sore after a long day of sitting on that little seat, but it's all in the work of the Lord and I am excited to see what the next year holds. I love y'all and miss y'all tons. I hope that everything is good on the home front and that the Lord continues to bless you and your family!
Love Always,
Sister Kelsey Berg
Saturday, June 25, 2011
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
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
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