September 22 Email!

Hello Kinfolk,

Some updates from my week:

Donna: Donna, is the name of the woman I interview this past week for baptism. It was the first time that I met her, and she was so sweet! She lives in Kerrville, Texas and is married to a man from Ethiopia. She is around 40 or 50 years old, and is missing a few front teeth (nothing out of the ordinary). As we started to talk, she really opened up to me. She has had a hard life, and many trials and because of that she has tremendous faith. Her story was powerful, and her faith was pure. As we talked, I kept thinking about how humble she was. If a prideful person went through the same trials that she had, they would have been miserable and depressed. She, however, always trusted in The Lord. In some cases, she said, that was her only option. I have met many people on my mission who have taught me, and encouraged me by their examples and stories. She has shown me the importance of Humility. Humility is the soil for all the attributes of Christ. You can not become like Him, until you are humble enough to completely follow Him.

Sister Barbara: Elder Shorts and I were driving down a long road when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. What was it.. a bird?... a plane?.. It was a nun. A novice nun, actually, which means a nun in training. She is Coptic Orthodox (Egyptian Orthodox). As we pulled off the side of the road and I hopped out to talk to her, she looked a little nervous haha but once I introduced myself she was fine. Her name is Sister Barbara and she is so nice! She is a very caring person who loves God. She is giving her entire life to God, and doing what she believes He wants her to do. She deserves a lot of respect for the love and devotion she is giving to God. The world needs more people like Sister Barbara.

I did talk to her about the Book Of Mormon though, and she was very interested. We gave her a copy and she agreed to read it and pray to know if it is true. Awesome.

Old Friends: This past week was Transfer week. Even though Elder Shorts and I didn't get transferred, all Zone Leaders go to the meeting. I always love going to Transfer Meeting because you get to see your mission friends that you haven't seen for a while. I finally saw Elder Condie (my 2nd companion) again. We hadn't seen each other in over 7 months. It was so good to see him again haha. It's always good talking to old friends, because you tend to forget about stories until you're both together again. We just reminisced on Heritage Ward and all the hilarious experiences that we had. I also saw a lot of missionaries I have served around, and it was so good seeing everyone.

PRIESTS: The Priests in this ward are really good kids. They are maturing a lot, and they want more and more to come out with us. At first, they seemed like they didn't want to come out with us, but now they are fighting over who gets to come out first haha. One of the Priests, the one from last week's E-mail, bought Elder Shorts and I shirts that say "I'm on a mission from God." hahaha so cool! I'll send a picture of the shirts!!

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As usual, I could go on and on. I'm going to be like those old men that just tell story after story. I am glad that I write in my journal everyday. Now, I know that I will never miss telling ya'll the stories when I'm back :)

Each week, I get so inspired from the E-mails I get from all my family and friends, and especially the Preach My Gospel responses. I'm so proud of each of you, and I love you so much.

I love ya'll!

Texas Rules!

Love, Elder Giles