Deep in the Heart of Texas

Family!

It seems that my journeys in Amarillo are coming to a close. My companion and I got our transfer call on Saturday night and we are both headed to Lubbock! We will be serving in college park, so that means we work with the young single adults. I am definitely feeling bittersweet about this transfer. I am thrilled to go and work with the singles ward there and to be going with my companion. I’ve just established some roots here in Amarillo and it’s hard to leave the people I care about. 

Probably the hardest person to leave is the last sister who was baptized. On Sunday, we couldn’t look at each other without tearing up. Finally after Relief Society, she came up to me and we both just cried. (I’m such a crybaby, I know. I get it from my grandpa!) She is amazing. We talked about how potentially the next time I will see her will be when she goes through the temple! Since our temple is so small, they are not equipped to have missionaries go through. But if you have a recent convert going through, Our Mission President will be sure that we are there.  I love the idea of being there with her. She came out to teach with us this week and when we took her home she said, “Is that it? I was prepared to go out with y’all all day.” I recently heard a quote that says “You can count the number of seeds in an apple, but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed.” I definitely see that in her. She has an amazing testimony and shares it with everyone. Even in opposition, she still holds true to the gospel!

We met a man this week that increased my testimony that this gospel is true and the Lord is truly preparing people to receive the gospel. He was a referral from some other missionaries. He has been taught two years before and then moved. We sat down with him on Tuesday night. The conversations started out with small talk and just getting to know him. When we asked about being taught previously, he bore a powerful testimony that he knows that the church is true and he wants to be baptized. He expressed how dark his life has been without the gospel in his life and he wants the continual companionship of the Holy Ghost. He even has a testimony of tithing. I was pretty much speechless the whole time. Let me tell you how many people sit down with us and ask to be baptized, none. So I didn’t know what to say. Luckily my companion took over and we went through the baptismal questions to find out where he still had questions. We found out that he has already read the Book of Mormon through till Alma.

Oh and Thanksgiving was fun! We have 6 turkey dinners still in our refrigerator. Ha! We stayed at a members home and played a game called Mexican train. So fun! We are playing when I get home. I’m sad to leave Amarillo before the Holidays. But it will be nice to be close to the mission home. 

Love, Sister Luke