Utah boys in Texas snow

Well another week has already gone! I only have 10 months now. Holy cow the time really does go by faster and faster, and then faster. Unbelievable. 

In Redbud this week... Uh humm. I mean Seguin we had a pretty decent week. The whole town basically froze over, I read Kyle's (Elder Mohlman) emails and I feel pretty bad for complaining but it was probably in the upper 20's down here. Which if you didn't know is really, cold! Everyone basically freaked out and shut down the city. It was like a ghost town with two little Utah Mormon boys walking around in it. It "snowed" a couple of times this week. Basically it meant that someone in the sky unpacked their birthday present and some crushed Styrofoam balls fell on our doorstep, it was the biggest thing to the kids though. 

I suppose I will start with a miracle that happened this week. We got Megan back she is more golden than ever but she doesn't come to church yet. Anyway she wanted us to meet her Boyfriend and so she took us on a "date" and bought us some ice cream. So that was cool, I love Megan to death. She is so great, hopefully one of those friends that I get to keep after the mission. We had a lesson the next day and she brought her basher friend Mike, after I retired from bashing a few months ago, it completely makes me sick to do it. We started the lesson and we got to the part of baptism within the doctrine of Christ and boom. It all started up whether faith or something was enough. Elder Van Oene and I forsaw this and planned to split the lesson, so they went to one side of the Relief Society room and I went over to the other with Linda another student at TLU and Megan. We started talking and I taught her about the Word of Wisdom, she told me about how she believes it all and wants to pray about it and everything so she was set to live it. Then we went over tithing, she told me that she already pays it because her parents taught her to "pay 10 percent back to the Lord" Awesome! Ready for the kicker? To a different church, so I kindly explained what her tithing would go to and asked her if she would switch her tithing reciept to say the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. She said she totally would when she is baptized. Love it. People are prepared beyond anything we can do.

Mike and Elder Van Oene bashed for an hour and a half... Good golly we were at the church for 2 and a half hours after it was all said and down. I don't think I know an hour and half worth of doctrine on the Commandments in total let alone, just Tithing. So we ended up talking about alot of different things from Tim Mcgraw to The Book of Mormon, when we got to the Book of Mormon she showed me a verse that meant alot to her about how Nephi kills Laban. That was pretty awesome. Usually I have had people bring that up telling me that it contridicts God's laws, but it actually was an answer to her prayer. She told me about how she had been struggling with a certain issue and that one of my random tangents last week had actually been the exact thing that she had needed to hear. She cried and told me that she wasn't afraid of it anymore and it was another confirmation to me that "the spirit will give you in the very moment what things ye shall say." Love the Spirit.

We went and helped out Pastor Don this week (called him the wrong name last time) and it was pretty neat, it was freezing in the morning so not many people were able to get out and go pick up the food, which was sad but hopefully more people will come next week. They opened us with open arms when we came to help out, most of them were 80 year old women who were trying to lift big cases of food and when we came they didn't have to do that. I was able to do alot of the work and save them alot of energy, overall it was a neat experience to see exactly what the Gospel is all about. Taking care of the Poor and Needy. 

On Tuesday I felt this feeling that I needed to pray for a baptism, naturally you would think that I would be praying for that every single day, but sometimes it just seems like I don't mean it or sometimes I don't even say it. I felt like I needed to, so I humbled myself and prayed for the Lord to bless us with a baptism, we went on our way over the next couple of days and started teaching Felecity (a member's girlfriend) who has been coming to church for awhile, we were teaching her Tithing too, weird how sometimes your weeks have a theme, and when we got to the end, I asked her something that was about baptism and she told us the most amazing story about how Tuesday she had finally felt the need to pray and that when she did she was given her answer, despite Satan opposing her by trying to have her boyfriend call her right in the middle of the prayer... Twice. But nothing stopped her and now she is getting baptized on Saturday! Awesome!

Now... Here is the Irony. I have been poaching her! Where does she live, I know that yall are on the edges of your seats... Yep the Sister in Converse, now if you will remember that was the sisters that hated me, because they had to give us rides in UC, the very same sisters that I complained about alot... Da gum.. So now we get to pass it off to them... Not that the baptism is a big deal, but it's just sorta one of those things where now I have to talk to them again, and they hated me as it was. I think yesterday one of the sisters made a comment about how mean I was... What? Whatever, I don't really now. Anwyay. She is going to get baptized!! We are so excited for her. It will be an amazing experience. 

Probably the other best thing that happened this week, is that I got to milk a goat. Yep straight up. The members told us that we had some potential, so if ever I get stranded and I don't have anything to eat, and there is a goat nearby, I can at least get milk. Now that didn't really make sense probably, but I have skills is basically what I mean. Case and point. We got our truck back and I forgot to say that last week I think, but Elder Van Oene thought he was super man or something and saw a truck coming from a different way when I was backing up into the road (he thought I was doing something different than I was, so I was completely in the right) but when I gunned it to get into the busyish street, I heard a nice loud, Thud! and Looked back and he was limping away.. haha he was completely ok other than a nice bruise, but it was pretty dang funny. Backing people up is annoying, but we do it anyway!

Brother Tanner had us over again last night and I love to go there, he just bears his whole soul to us, he always talks bout answers that he has found for himself. I love that, never to stop searching. He is an amazing example to me of perserving even when all Hell seems to be going against you. He has such a sweet heart and will give you the shirt off his back. He lives in complete poverty and has nothing, other than the things that matter the most. 

So going with this Tithing kick to wrap up this week. The Bishopric got up and rebuked the entire congregation about Home Teaching and Tithing, seriously used the words "I call you to repentence this day." With his best Elder Holland voice, we were there with and Investigator that we found on the street the day before, he was an interesting case, has a ton of substance abuse problems but good guy, and he stood up and walked out again because he had anxiety, when he came back in during the middle of the next talk, he had a tithing envelope filled with all the money that he had in his pockets and said, "Thank you Jesus for giving me what I have, where do I give this Tithing." I was blown away! I couldn't believe it, he literally went and did what the Bishop asked and wasn't a member, had been inside a Mormon church for all of about 20 Minutes and had done what we struggle with for life times as members. I hope and pray that I can have that mentality when I get to pay tithing to the Lord, "Thank You Jesus, for giving me what I have, Now where can I help another." I love this Gospel with my whole heart and mind, and consequently my might and strength follow. I love the Lord and hope y'all have a wonderful week. I Love you.
Remember who you are and what He stands for!

Elder Paul Funk