Starting Another Transfer?!?!

Hey y'all! Don't have much time to update everyone on the happenings out here in Northeast Texas, so I figured I would just give a story for the week. In case you were wondering, it is freezing up here! I can honestly say the only time I have ever felt it get this cold was up on the top of the mountains at the Canyons Ski Resort. This Texas wind and humidity will for reals just cut you right to the bone and send chills up and down your spine ...and I don't mean the good chills...but ones that just make you cringe! Like we had to book it inside on Saturday because my hands were starting to get purple enough that they'd match Kobe's jersey, but I hope that sets the tone for what the weather is like out here. And last Sunday, all of North Texas fasted that it would rain for the crops and end this drought season. To put it simply, we got what we were fasting for, and in bucket amounts that normally froze over or just turned to sleet and give us an ice storm, but for the most part of it, we got TONS of rain! But for some reason, we seemed to be getting the most this last Wednesday as we went to an appointment out in a town called Commerce Texas (famous for the Texas A&M Commerce school and the second biggest town in Hunt County area that we cover.) To our disappointment, the appointment ended up falling through, and we went to go find other work or people to find/old investigators in the small town of Commerce. As we got to teach only a few less active members, we got a text message from the Assistants warning us to stay close to home due to the flash flood warnings that were coming in for that particular day. Since we were about 20 miles away from home, we decided it was sadly time to wrap it up in Commerce and head back. It was a bummer because the night before, Elder Downer said that he really felt that we should be knocking random doors instead of ones by member families and such, but the weather was getting worse and worse by the minute, and I wasn't feeling any inspiration on the subject, so we headed back down to Greenville. As we made our way out of Commerce, we passed by a trailer park and It made me think of the success I had in Oak Cliff with trailer parks, and just out of the blue said, "Hey check it out, a trailer park. We definitely need to go there sometime." Then right after I said it, I felt this warm sensation in my stomach, and as I reluctantly thought about it more and more, according to the scriptures...it was definitely the spirit, and I felt it stronger than I had in a long time. As a missionary, you feel the spirit all the time and are pretty used to it, but when it has a shockingly strong force like it did back then, you know something big is up. So I started to feel the Spirit stronger and stronger, but kept thinking "you can't be serious, if we go knocking now we'll get super wet and then nobody will come close to letting us in their house." But the more I kept trying to think about something else, the stronger I felt the need to go, but what fueled it most, was the the promise I remembered I had made to heed all the promptings I get. I kept looking at Elder Downer to see if he had any expressions that he was feeling the same, but he didn't. So I started asking him about his impression to knock doors, and then he started to see that something was troubling me. After a short conversation, we came to the conclusion that his impression plus mine, meant that we needed to turn around and head to the trailer park, in the pouring rain. As we made our way back up to Commerce, the rain came down so much harder than before that it seemed like we were driving through pools at Hurricane Harbor with those huge buckets constantly falling on us. We finally made it to the trailer park, and instead of getting my backpack out to get soaked again (I learned that lesson back in the Cliff), I got my little pair of scriptures (thanks Bryce!!!) and was able to fit them in my jacket pocket as we went off to start knocking. At the first door to answer, we got to meet a couple named Jose and Kristina, and as we started chatting with them, they had a confused look on their faces (probably wondering what we were doing in the rain), and as we started to introduce ourselves, Kristina bit her lip and reluctantly said, "....You know what....go ahead and come on in so y'all don't have to stay out in the cold rain." We graciously thanked her and went on inside the house. We got to learn a little about them and how they were a couple that was trying to meet each other's beliefs, and in doing so, started to attend the "Cowboy Church" as a "happy medium." Jose being grown Catholic, and Kristina, being grown Baptist, still had contrasting beliefs and let us know that it was a part of their lives that they had been constantly working on to improve. With that being said, we were prompted to go straight into the Joseph Smith story explaining all of the confusion and contrasting beliefs back in the year 1820, and just like that, things seemed to click and principles applied, and the spirit lead us around the whole time to what would not be a scripted lesson in 'Preach My Gospel', but it sure did accomplish the goal that is printed on the cover; D&C 50:14 which reads "To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth." After they agreed to pray to know of the truth of these things and seeing things click in their understanding of what the message of this Church really could mean, we closed with a prayer and headed out with the Spirit still impacting their home. Once we walked out the door, we had a feeling of satisfaction that beats no other, confirming that the Lord knew he could trust in us to follow his direction and guidance. We kept knocking and to say the least, it was the best street I've knocked with the most accepted invitations and all sorts of other hidden jewels, but to keep it short, the best experience was being able to teach in the first door and gaining a stronger testimony that we are instruments in the Lord's hands...and more than that....TEXAS INSTRUMENTS haha new Texas Dallas Mission Logo.

Well I love and miss you guys and hope that this winter isn't as brutal as it is out here...and in case you were wondering...it is currently snowing
outside. So yeah...second time of a snowy winter in Texas of all places. Love yall!
Elder Justin Wilson