June 15, 2015

Loved ones,

Well, the heat has arrived here in Texas"...and there is none
to
escape...." (D&C 1:2). We did, however, have a break in the heat
yesterday.
It began on our way to Church early in the morning. Just as
we were pulling
into the parking lot, a little bit of rain was falling
on the windshield, we
didn't think too much of it. After we got out of
our meetings, the rain was
coming down pretty bad. Sacrament Meeting
began with only a handful of people
there, and few were filing in as
the meeting progressed. The downfall outside
was continuing to get
worse. Soon, the chapel was being echoed with many phones
going off
with "Severe Alert: Flash Flood Warning" (Let me make this
remark
here: Mom, everyone was okay, no one was injured in this
experience).
The Bishop ran out of the chapel to the backdoor. Why? Well, there
is
a large canal behind the Church, the top of it only a few yards from
the
parking lot.
He returned to report that though the canal was fast-flowing, it
was
not over-flowing. Sacrament Meeting continued, however the whole
time
alerts were beeping on people's phones.
Following Sacrament Meeting, we
went to the second class,'Gospel
Principles'. We enjoyed that class for about
ten minutes until a very
startled looking woman ran in and exclaimed, "The
water is flooding
the parking lot! Everyone needs to leave now!
Awwwhhhhh!!!"
....well, that got people's attention. As I walked out of
the
classroom into the hallway I felt like I was in the middle of
a
'jail-break'. Three wards worth of people were running around like
mad-men,
grabbing their children and trying to survive. The "river"
(It was now a river)
was filling the parking lot and approaching the
Church. Many cars were in the
water, some up to the windshield.
As I walked outside I was surprised to see
firetrucks and ambulances
all around the Church, helping to evacuate the
cars.

........ A memorable day in the Castle Hills ward.


Now to
important things:
--TUI & JODI--
Brother Tui is a less-active, big ol'
Hawaiian who wants to come back
to Church. Jodi is his girlfriend, and she is
incredible!
We met them for the first time last Sunday, as they showed up for
the
first time (I believe I mentioned them in last week's E-maill)
So, we went
over to their house on Wednesday, and had one of the
greatest lessons on my
mission. We taught her the Restoration lesson,
and she understood all of it
almost instantly. For example: After we
taught about the Great Apostasy I asked
her, "Jodi, what would God
have to do to bring back His Church". She instantly
responded, "He
would call a prophet, just like he always as". Good answer.
The
Spirit was incredibly strong throughout the visit, especially as
we taught
about the First Vision. After I taught a little about Joseph
Smith I was about
to recite the First Vision to her, when I felt
prompted to ask Tui to do it.
(Now, Tui is a returned missionary, but
has been completely inactive for over
10 years). Many missionaries
struggle to memorize the First Vision for the
first few weeks, but
here I was being prompted to ask a 10-year inactive member
to recite
it from memory.... well, I asked him.
With tears in his eyes, he
said, "....I saw a pillar of light, exactly
over my head, above the brightness
of the sun which descended
gradually until it fell upon me... When the light
rested upon me I saw
two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description,
standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling
me
by name and said, pointing to the other, 'this is my Beloved Son,
hear
Him!'"
He quoted it verbatim! Word for word! The Spirit flooded the
room.

Jodi is now set to be baptized :)    (Now we just need to plan
another
wedding...)


Well, I could continue with stories (trust me, I'm
full of stories),
but I will end this E-mail with testimony:
In the 29th
chapter of Alma, verse 10, Alma is praising his God for
all the blessings he
has received while being a missionary, "And
behold, when I see many of my
brethren truly penitent, and coming to
the Lord their God, then is my soul
filled with joy; then do I
remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even
that he hath heard
my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he
extended
towards me."
I echo the words of Alma. Every time I see people feel
redemption, and
freedom, every time I see people find purpose and clarity in
life,
every time I see people feel the Savior's love, "..then do I
remember
what the Lord has done for me.."

Only in God's Church, can the full
power of the Atonement be accessed.
Thankfully, there was a restoration.
Thankfully, Joseph Smith was a
prophet. Thankfully, we all know these
things.


I love y'all! Save some strawberries and creme for me!
Love, Elder
Giles