January 21, 2014

"Deuces Killeen!  I'm out!"

Hey Y'all!!!

So I am leaving Killeen. Last Tuesday we were sitting down at a members house for dinner. We were talking about where Elder Hyde has served and some of the areas he has been to. One of the areas that he was talking about was up in Euless serving in the Tongan wards. He was talking about how they feed you all the time and you put on some weight up there. I then made the comment that if I have gained 30 pounds in Killeen, I don't even know how much I would gain up there. No joke, like 10 seconds later, I get a call from President Ames saying that I will be serving in the Tongan wards up in Euless. All because I didn't knock on wood. Haha! But that's where I am heading! After talking with Elder Hyde, I am really excited to go up there! So how this area works is that I only teach Tongans. So if we are tracting or street contacting and we teach someone who isn't Tongan, then we have to refer them to the Elders who work in that area. I don't have a designated area, or a car (Which means I can work off some of that food), but wherever the people are, I go to. Haha! My companion in Elder Ramsey. He is a Visa waiter and he will be going to Gana, Africa when it gets here.

So this past week was kinda a slow week for us. We were able to teach 11 lessons. But Sunday was awesome! We had 5 investigators come to church! So the first 3 people that came was a family, the Mendards. We have been teaching them for awhile and they are really awesome! They have been to church before when they were stationed somewhere else. We have been talking with them about the Book of Mormon and committing them to read it. As far as we know, they are keeping that committment. So when we saw them at church we were really excited.

The other 2 people that came to church was the Ford family. Bro. Ford is in his 80's and has bad knees. He is really outgoing though and has a fantastic laugh! Sis. Ford is his daughter and she works all the time. We haven't taught here that much, but she has been reading the Book of Mormon. Bro Ford has accepted to be baptized, but we haven't set a date yet.

One other really cool experience this week was on Saturday. They Sisters were having a baptism and had everything set up, except the person who was going to baptize her. So I got the opportunity to baptize her. It was awesome! The water was freezing cold because they forgot to turn the hot water all the way on, but other than that, it was a really awesome experience!

I'm really going to miss Killeen. I've been getting pictures with members and investigators for the past week. There are some awesome people down here and there are experiences that I won't forget. I am excited to go serve somewhere new though. My new Address is:

Elder Tyler O'Brien

105 E. Harwood rd. #505

Euless, TX 76039

Hope y'all have a fantastic week this week! Thank you for all your emails! Have a blessed day!

Elder O'Brien