Meanwhile... Deep in the Heart of Texas

From the Dallas-Fort Worth area

It's been a while since I've gotten some photos from my nephew, Elder Anders, who is currently serving in the Dallas-Ft Worth area of Texas.  He says the snow has been so bad they weren't allowed to drive their truck for over a week.

He writes:

There are no snow plows here whatsoever. We weren't allowed to drive our car for more than half of the week. We weren't able to drive to our baptism, so our Elder's Quorum President picked us up, and the ward mission leader gave us a ride home. On the way there we passed many cars that had ended up in ditches because they slid on the snow. Also, we've seen many fences and signs that have been knocked down due to folks hitting them. Who knew 6 inches of snow could be so devastating?

Yes!  You read that right:  six inches of snow - and a baptism!

It must be a wonderful experience to help teach someone the truths of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and see them embrace it and want to be baptized. Our Heavenly Father's plan is a plan of happiness for all His children all over the globe.  Baptism, performed by one having Priesthood authority from God, is a first step along the path back to our Father in Heaven.

Elder Anders' companion (in white), the young man being baptized, and Elder Anders (right) 

In case you haven't guessed, Elder Anders isn't much of a communicator.  I still don't know the name of his companion, and I have no idea the name of the nice young man who is in the photo getting ready to be baptized.  But, hey, Elder Anders sent a photo!  I'm not complaining!

He further writes:

We did have a cool experience this last week. I was on an exchange with a missionary in our zone who is still pretty new. All of our appointments for that day canceled, and we didn't have anything to do. But I told the new missionary, don't worry, we'll find someone to teach! So we went and drove around a little bit until we felt like we should stop, and then we got out of the car and started knocking on doors (even though it was freezing cold!). Sure enough, the first one to open the door to us was a guy who was willing to be taught! We taught him a great lesson, set up a return appointment, and everything! When we left, the missionary I was with was really excited! He kept saying, "Wow, that was awesome! 

Awesome experiences do happen when we follow the promptings of the Spirit.  That's perhaps one of the hardest lessons we learn here in this life.  I'm glad Elder Anders has figured that out.

I love our Elder Anders.  He's had some tremendous challenges during his missionary service, but has kept his positive outlook throughout.  He's a truly good guy.

Texas is an interesting place.  This is the view from the Elders' balcony in a nice, upscale apartment complex:

Longhorn cattle foraging in the winter landscape

Yes, Ma'am, that's Texas!  Those cows are Longhorns!

Elder Anders ends his message this week by saying, "I love Texas!"  I'm sure there are many of you out there that would agree.