Lots of Rain!

It's been a wet, wet week in the woods! The remains of the hurricane
in Mexico came this way which resulted in a 48 hour down pour. I don't
think that is was as bad as a lot of people heard it was going to be,
but there still was quite a bit of rain! That doesn't stop the work
though! If anything, it provided us with opportunities. Hispanics
don't leave the house when there is rain outside, so we were able to
catch a lot of people at home. I'm pretty sure we looked pretty
ridiculous, soaking wet and knocking on the doors in the rain, but we
did see a lot of miracles as a result.

Yesterday, I was at the mission president's fireside and the
missionaries in H10 told me that
KEVIN GOT THE PRIESTHOOD!!!! Seriously the happiest news of my life!
Now we gets to go the temple!

We had a really cool lesson this week with Mayeli! We were teaching
her the last half of the Plan of Salvation. I started talking about
the three kingdoms of glory and we lay out a sun, moon, and star to
show her. She immediately started smiling and says that she needs to
tell us a story. She began telling us that 8 days ago she was at work
with her husband and he had told her that he loves her (they are like
so in love it isn't even funny). She asked him how much and he told
her to the heavens and back. She then proceeded to ask her husband "to
which heaven" because "there are three. and God and Jesus Christ live
in the third".  After telling us this story, she got so excited
because she hadn't ever read about the different kingdoms before, but
she had received personal revelation from God, and us telling her that
there are in fact three different places confirmed to her that she
does know how to listen when her Heavenly Father speaks. She was so
happy! Mayeli is such a special lady and so incredibly close to the
spirit!

I am so grateful to be out here! I love the people here and I love
being a missionary. I have never been so happy in my life!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

Setting Goals.

It's finally starting to cool down here! I swear Houston has the
longest summer in the entire world. It was super nice today so we went
hiking as a district. They call it hiking here, but really it was just
a nature walk since there are no hills or mountains!

It was a really good week! One of the people that we met last week is
so awesome! We went to her house to visit her for the third time and
she started asking us about when she could be baptized! She even wants
to come out with us and do missionary work! She is so cute. I asked
her if she had thought she had received an answer about the book of
Mormon being true, and she was like, "Well yeah. That's why you guys
are here!"
I have a really strong testimony about the Book of Mormon. Especially
using it to help people get their answers. We were going over the plan
of salvation with her and talking about the fall of Adam and Eve. As
we read about why the fall is necessary and how it was a part of the
plan, she got really excited and told us that she had had that
question for years. She told us that she felt like a weight was lifted
from her heart. Then as she prayed at the end, she gave thanks to God
for finally understanding why it all happened. It was so cool!

I also have a really strong testimony of setting goals. I can sure
tell you that I didn't before my mission. I thought they were so lame!
On Friday we did exchange and I stayed here in the woodlands. The
night before as we were planning, I felt like we could get 3 new
investigators the following day. I knew it would take a lot of hard
work, but I knew with faith it was possible.
We went out to tracting for over two hours. Most of the people didn't
really want to listen to us. We got a few people that said that we
should come back, but they did not want to let us in. We decided to go
to a different area to contact a few potentials. Before we went in, we
set a specific prayer that we would be able to find the three
investigators. About five minutes later, we knocked on a door of
somebody who had said we could come back and she immediately invited
us in and called and her two boys to listen to us as well.

I know that the hand of God is in our lives. I see it everyday out here!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

Random Calls.

We are seeing so many great miracles and blessings here in the
Woodlands! It was an awesome week!

On Wednesday, we got a call from a random number. It ended up being a
lady that missionaries had contacted a long time ago, but she didn't
have time for them. Well she called, asking us if we could come to her
house and teach her because she wanted to learn more. We went over
Thursday and taught her half of the restoration. She loved it and let
us come back the next day and we finished it. As we introduced the
Book of Mormon to her and showed her the promise at the end and how
she can come to know for herself, she told us that she already knows
it is all true! She is so special and I am so excited to teach her
more.

Not only did we get a random call from this lady, but also from
another little family who let us go to their house and teach them too.
Then they came to church on Sunday!

The church is true!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

Fasting Increases Your Access to Heaven's Help.

"Fasting increases your access to Heaven's help, as it intensifies
your prayers."
- President Nelson

All week, I had been praying about some specific questions that I have
been having for a while. I have always had a strong testimony that
answers to whatever questions that we have come as we listen to the
prophets and apostles speak during general conference. Friday
afternoon, I decided to fast to show Heavenly Father just how serious
I was and that I was in need of some answers. The next day, the time
came for me to break my fast. I said a prayer and told Heavenly Father
what my concerns were one more time and my heart was full of a lot of
hope that I would receive some divine guidance. Right when I finished
up praying, the second session of conference started. The first
speaker got up and began speaking, and immediately began addressing
everything that had been on my mind. The Holy Ghost spoke peace to my
heart and I knew that all would work out.
I know that fasting and prayer are real, and that Heavenly Father will
always answer in His own way and in His own time! I know that the
prophet and his apostles are called of God and that they receive
inspiration and guidance from above! It's not too late to listen to
the life changing messages that they shared! Check these out and
spread the joy!

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/category/october-2015-general-conference-picture-quotes?cid=HP_SA_10-3-2015_dOCS_fMLIB_xLIDyL2-3_&lang=eng

The church is true!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

So I forgot to add this before I sent off my fasting thing. So to
continue.... (This is a different story).

I always seem to learn valuable lessons each and everyday being out
here. Last night I was taught an important one. I learned the
importance of having faith and following the promptings of the spirit.
Our mission has standards and one of those is how many new people we
start teaching each week. Throughout the week, we always spend time
finding and trying to invite people to learn more. Yesterday came
though, and we were having a hard time reaching our goal and nobody
seemed to want to listen to us. It was 6 PM and I was positive. I knew
we had three more hours to talk with people and that if we put in our
part, Heavenly Father would lead us to those He has prepared. Time
went on until finally, it was 8:45 and we still had not found a single
person who was willing to let us in. At this point, I was feeling a
bit discouraged. I wondered why we hadn't been able to find anybody.
We decided to try one more apartment before it was time to go home,
where a referral we had been given lived. As we were making our way
towards building where he lived, I heard someone sneeze behind me. I
looked back and saw a lady sitting on the stairs. At this point, we
were headed the opposite direction and far away. I told myself that if
she was still there when we got back, I would talk to her.
We continued walking only to find that the apartment we were looking
for was on the other side and we would have to walk back the way that
we came. We turned around and got walking towards the direction of the
lady on the stairs. I could see her again, but she was still across
the parking lot from where we had planned to go. A thought that I know
came from the Holy Ghost came to my mind, that I had been praying to
find people all day and Heavenly Father had placed this woman in my
path, so I had better go talk to her. I told Dryden that we needed to
head over to her and that we could try the referral after, but I knew
we needed to try her first.
Not only did we end up talking with her, but also with her kids. We
shared a message with them and they were so excited and willing to let
us come back!
I am so grateful for the Spirit which guides us to where we need to go
if we just listen!

Culture Shock.

It's been a bit of a culture shock going from H10 to the Woodlands.
They are two very different places! Its only been a week though, and I
love it here so much!

For starters, it is so pretty and green! It is called the Woodlands
for a reason! I am living in a shed at a member's house. When I say
shed though, I don't mean a dinky little thing where you keep your
garden tools. I'm talking a two floor, 3 bedroom place with animal
heads mounted on the walls. It is huge and it is super nice. To make
it even cooler, it is in the middle of a really the forest  and right
next to a state park. I am in love with how gorgeous it is here! It's
like camping everyday!

I am back to working in trailer parks again which can always be quite
the adventure. The people are always interesting and the dogs are
terrifying. I don't think there is ever a dull moment when we are
tracting by trailers! One thing that is different that I haven't seen
until coming here is that people will paint purple lines on trees and
such around their house. Crossing that purple line means bad news for
you. It is supposed to be a warning to stay off of the property of
whoever lives there. We keep our distance!

The people here are wonderful like they are everywhere! We are
teaching a really cool guy who is an ex gang member. He has had a
pretty crazy life, but the gospel has completely changed him. I was
especially able to see that on Wednesday when some stuff happened and
he reacted the complete opposite way than he would have had he been
his old self. I think that is one of the best parts about being a
missionary; getting to see people change. There isn't anything better!

I am so happy to be here! The church is true!

Love,
Hermana Rupp

P.s
Watch conference this weekend! It will change your life!