Send stuff to my mission address Iam moving
Happy New Year!!!
Time is flying fast. It feels like I Haven’t been gone that long but it has been 8 months. That is crazy!!!! I really have a hard time realizing how long I have been out. It seems like so short a time but at the same time feels like forever.
I love you all so much and thank you for all of your gifts and letters and cards and everything. It was very thoughtful for all of those things especially the Prayers. So of all the gifts that I feel like I have been given in some way this Christmas my favorite is very special to me. We had our zone conference and Christmas activities this week on Tuesday. It was a lot of fun. Part of it was watching a slide show of people in white about to be baptized. It was Really nice To see it and Here peoples testimonies of the Savior. But at the end there was A picture that I never knew if I would see. It was from Rosenberg and a family of 3 were getting baptized who I had met and taught. It just hit me hard. Of all the things that I am grateful for this season one of them is that these three individuals have been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. That they made the choices to hear the message and to act on the answers that Heavenly Father has given them. I am so happy for them. Also the family I have mentioned before that he changed and was able to baptize his wife and son. Their family is doing great. There other daughter is getting baptized along with her boyfriend, and Mark’s niece and most likely sister. All of them come to church and have felt the spirit change their lives. It is great news to hear.
The work here is going well as well. There are a lot of people we are teaching and talking to every day. The problem this week was most everyone was out of town and those that were in town were busy. It has also been cold so hardly anyone is outside. Except on Saturday a TON of people were fixing their cars. It was strange. It was wet and cold and we saw about five people fixing their cars all in the same neighborhood. It was strange. But most people have been staying inside.
Our zone conference was a lot of fun and I really had a great time there. I got to see several people who I have been pretty close to. There were also missionaries who were visiting the mission who have been home that I know and it was great to see them at lunch at the conference. It was a lot of fun.
Christmas was awesome. Christmas Eve we went to the Gladwell’s home for dinner and games and such. They put out almost everything that we have every year for our traditions. It was spooky. The food was great though. They are a large family and they are really great. When I send home pictures I will send some of them. We had a fun night and played games then went home. On Christmas we got together as a zone at the church building. We talked and we were going to cook pancakes but half of the building’s power was out. You see there was a storm that came through about 3:40am on Thursday that we actually got a tornado watch for. No tornadoes but the storm woke Elder Robertson and I up. It was really windy and it was a thunderstorm. So we think that the storm might have something to do with the power. Anyways we got together at the church and played different games. We played scrabble and had a lot of fun. I never thought that Scrabble and fun could be in the same sentence but I guess it can be.
Then we bounced around different member’s home’s we visited the Coopers and we saw the Oliver’s and the Horman’s. At the Horman’s we had the opportunity to call home. That was awesome. I was so happy to be able to call home and talk to so many people. Thank you all so much for talking with me and for even wanting to talk with me. It was great. I talked about a lot of stuff on the phone but I do have to say that Kira sounds a lot older and it is weird. Time flies by so fast.
There really isn’t that much that has happened out of the ordinary. We taught people this week and we have been trying to come up with new ways of finding people to teach and talk to. We did hug a drunk guy but that is a story for another time. I love you all so much and I hope that you enjoyed Christmas and you will enjoy New Years.
love
Elder Devon J. Marr
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
CHIRSTMAS!!!!!!!!!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
I love Christmas time. It is so nice. The people are so happy and the spirit is in more abundance with people. If everyone thought of the Savior as much as they do during this season then the world would be like this all the time. That would be very nice. That is something that I like about the general authorities in trying to tell us to keep the spirit of Christmas year round.
Life has been good. I am in Friendswood for at least another transfer. We will have a car once a week which will help a lot. It is actually a van. Which is kind of funny. But at least it is something. Elder Robertson is still here. The only change in our district is Elder Persian went home. So Elder Schwartsman is our new district leader. He is an amazing missionary and a great man. On Monday we went to Sugar Land to drop Elder Persian off at the mission home. On the way he wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings. So we went and four members of our district took the blazing challenge. That is when you eat 12 of the hottest wings in 6 minutes and you get the meal for free and a free tee shirt. They all did it. Elder Persian got 4:23 which was crazy fast.
About the actual missionary work it has been good. An investigator who hasn’t been to church for quite a while has started to come back again and noticed that things weren’t as good without church. He is a great guy. He may not be a member but he already does his home teaching and he does a lot of stuff that a lot of members don’t even do. He is a great guy and friend. One thing I have noticed is that it is so easy to love people. Even if they give you grief. I realized it is a choice not just something that happens. You can choose to love someone and care about them. That’s not to say that it won’t just happen but it is a choice.
This week we saw Santa Claus on a truck. He rides around on a fire truck before Christmas. He goes through the neighborhoods and throws candy to the children. We just saw him. I didn’t get any candy. But it was nice to see him. Do you think he is a member? Hmmm….I wonder….Oh well.
Life has been great. I know that this is very short but for some reason I am really slow at typing this week. I just want to tell all of you that I now that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he has a perfect body of flesh and bone. I know that he was born almost 2009 years ago and that he loves all of us. I know that He loves each of us more than we could love anyone or anything. He wants what is best for us and he is willing to take upon himself the punishment of our sins if we turn to Him and do His will.
Love,
Elder Marr
P.S. I will be calling at 6:00 Washington Time. I will be calling on a member’s phone so if it is a number you don’t know then answer it. We should try to keep it within 45 minutes and I want to talk to Mom first and last. Figure out times for yourselves and what to say if you have anything you need to tell me or ask me. I love you.
I love Christmas time. It is so nice. The people are so happy and the spirit is in more abundance with people. If everyone thought of the Savior as much as they do during this season then the world would be like this all the time. That would be very nice. That is something that I like about the general authorities in trying to tell us to keep the spirit of Christmas year round.
Life has been good. I am in Friendswood for at least another transfer. We will have a car once a week which will help a lot. It is actually a van. Which is kind of funny. But at least it is something. Elder Robertson is still here. The only change in our district is Elder Persian went home. So Elder Schwartsman is our new district leader. He is an amazing missionary and a great man. On Monday we went to Sugar Land to drop Elder Persian off at the mission home. On the way he wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings. So we went and four members of our district took the blazing challenge. That is when you eat 12 of the hottest wings in 6 minutes and you get the meal for free and a free tee shirt. They all did it. Elder Persian got 4:23 which was crazy fast.
About the actual missionary work it has been good. An investigator who hasn’t been to church for quite a while has started to come back again and noticed that things weren’t as good without church. He is a great guy. He may not be a member but he already does his home teaching and he does a lot of stuff that a lot of members don’t even do. He is a great guy and friend. One thing I have noticed is that it is so easy to love people. Even if they give you grief. I realized it is a choice not just something that happens. You can choose to love someone and care about them. That’s not to say that it won’t just happen but it is a choice.
This week we saw Santa Claus on a truck. He rides around on a fire truck before Christmas. He goes through the neighborhoods and throws candy to the children. We just saw him. I didn’t get any candy. But it was nice to see him. Do you think he is a member? Hmmm….I wonder….Oh well.
Life has been great. I know that this is very short but for some reason I am really slow at typing this week. I just want to tell all of you that I now that Jesus Christ lives. I know that he has a perfect body of flesh and bone. I know that he was born almost 2009 years ago and that he loves all of us. I know that He loves each of us more than we could love anyone or anything. He wants what is best for us and he is willing to take upon himself the punishment of our sins if we turn to Him and do His will.
Love,
Elder Marr
P.S. I will be calling at 6:00 Washington Time. I will be calling on a member’s phone so if it is a number you don’t know then answer it. We should try to keep it within 45 minutes and I want to talk to Mom first and last. Figure out times for yourselves and what to say if you have anything you need to tell me or ask me. I love you.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Christmas is coming. Elder Marr is getting fat. Please don't send him icecream or candy in a hat. If you don't send candy some pictures will do if you
make sure to send your stuff to
701 Mary Ann Dr.
Friendswood, TX
77546
A family from my last area has had some great blessings. The member in the family, who is the father, stopped going to church when he was 15. He is now in his mid 30’s. He has had a rough life but when the missionaries found him he changed. He gained an early testimony of the gospel and wanted to know and do everything we asked him to do. When he found out that he shouldn’t drink tea he was surprised. He drank, not exaggerating, almost a gallon a day. But when he learned he shouldn’t he stopped. His main hang-up was smoking. Meanwhile we were teaching his family. Mainly his wife and one of the three kids. The wife and son would come to church and listen to what we were teaching when we would come over. This man changed. It was a testimony to me that if you do everything that you are supposed to do than the Lord blesses you. He progressed very fast and his family saw that. It was amazing. So I get a call the other day and his wife and son are getting baptized. Also that the rest of the family and some of the family’s friends are very interested in the gospel. I was also told that the father had been talking with Elder Garcia and Elder Whippy about getting off smoking but that it would take him a long time because he had been smoking since he was I think 16. One day he went to the store to buy tobacco because he making his own cigarettes. So he reaches for it and feels like he shouldn’t buy it. So he doesn’t. He hasn’t smoked for about 3 ½ weeks. Since he is committed to be off them for good he was able to be ordained a priest on Sunday and baptized his wife and son. It is a testimony to me that if we do what the Lord asks us to do and we are obedient that he will bless us. There is no if and or buts about it. Blessings may come a lot further down the road but he always blesses us for the things that we are asked to do.
This week has been going well. We had our ward Christmas party which was a lot of fun. The food was really good as well. There are a lot of great people in this ward and one of the families that we have grown close to is the Olivers. Their son is the one who is home because of medical reasons from his mission and will be going back in February. Also we have been over there for several dinners. Two in the past week as a matter of fact. They are great. Last week on Monday we rode our bikes over to their house to watch “The Testaments” and to eat dinner. They are all so nice and so friendly.
We have a couple that we are teaching that I just love. They are so fun yet reverent for the lessons. They are a great family and so easy to get along with. Sometimes people are too gloomy or not happy but they are always happy and friendly. I have realized on my mission that doing good things brings happiness and choosing to be happy makes you happy.
So this email is pretty lame I know but I have to send something. For my call home… as of right now we don’t know a specific time but I will be sending that in my next email. Plan on 3 or 5 your time. (If in Washington). I am so excited for Christmas. Try not to cry.
Love,
Elder Devon Joel Marr
701 Mary Ann Dr.
Friendswood, TX
77546
A family from my last area has had some great blessings. The member in the family, who is the father, stopped going to church when he was 15. He is now in his mid 30’s. He has had a rough life but when the missionaries found him he changed. He gained an early testimony of the gospel and wanted to know and do everything we asked him to do. When he found out that he shouldn’t drink tea he was surprised. He drank, not exaggerating, almost a gallon a day. But when he learned he shouldn’t he stopped. His main hang-up was smoking. Meanwhile we were teaching his family. Mainly his wife and one of the three kids. The wife and son would come to church and listen to what we were teaching when we would come over. This man changed. It was a testimony to me that if you do everything that you are supposed to do than the Lord blesses you. He progressed very fast and his family saw that. It was amazing. So I get a call the other day and his wife and son are getting baptized. Also that the rest of the family and some of the family’s friends are very interested in the gospel. I was also told that the father had been talking with Elder Garcia and Elder Whippy about getting off smoking but that it would take him a long time because he had been smoking since he was I think 16. One day he went to the store to buy tobacco because he making his own cigarettes. So he reaches for it and feels like he shouldn’t buy it. So he doesn’t. He hasn’t smoked for about 3 ½ weeks. Since he is committed to be off them for good he was able to be ordained a priest on Sunday and baptized his wife and son. It is a testimony to me that if we do what the Lord asks us to do and we are obedient that he will bless us. There is no if and or buts about it. Blessings may come a lot further down the road but he always blesses us for the things that we are asked to do.
This week has been going well. We had our ward Christmas party which was a lot of fun. The food was really good as well. There are a lot of great people in this ward and one of the families that we have grown close to is the Olivers. Their son is the one who is home because of medical reasons from his mission and will be going back in February. Also we have been over there for several dinners. Two in the past week as a matter of fact. They are great. Last week on Monday we rode our bikes over to their house to watch “The Testaments” and to eat dinner. They are all so nice and so friendly.
We have a couple that we are teaching that I just love. They are so fun yet reverent for the lessons. They are a great family and so easy to get along with. Sometimes people are too gloomy or not happy but they are always happy and friendly. I have realized on my mission that doing good things brings happiness and choosing to be happy makes you happy.
So this email is pretty lame I know but I have to send something. For my call home… as of right now we don’t know a specific time but I will be sending that in my next email. Plan on 3 or 5 your time. (If in Washington). I am so excited for Christmas. Try not to cry.
Love,
Elder Devon Joel Marr
Monday, December 7, 2009
SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That’s right boys and girls snow! It snowed on Friday in the morning and afternoon. In the morning it stuck on the ground and covered it with a small layer. Then in the afternoon it snowed very hard but didn’t stick much. The snowflakes were very large and it was very cold. I took plenty of pictures so you can all see the snow. I will send them home soon. It was the earliest snowfall in Houston in recorded history. Thanks “global warming”.
So this week was all right. It rained allot and many people were busy or out of town. It was slower but it was good. One of our investigators is showing a lot of interest in the church and is willing to try it out. She came to mutual on Wednesday and liked it. It was one of the first times that a younger person has done something they said they would do. It built my faith. Not to say that younger people are flakey or anything but people get busy and usually religion gets put on the back burner. Her parents are not that interested in the church and are very catholic. But the spirit can touch anyone. There is a member in our ward who wad married a member for I believe 20 years and he said that he would never join the church and Catholics were right. He was like this for a long time and would run away from the missionaries. Then a few years ago the spirit touched his heart and he joined the church and loves having the Holy Ghost and the blessings of the gospel. His wife told us that she did not want to pressure him and he should join because the Lord told him it was right not that she told him. It is true that anyone can change because of the Holy Ghost and the change it can bring to your heart.
So last Monday we had a nerf war in the gym of the Alvin church. Our whole zone showed up and it was a blast. Some of the missionaries borrowed Nerf guns from members that had been modified and they dominated. It was fun.
SO this week I got my haircut. Elder Robertson cut it for me and I like it more than when I go to cheap hair salons. It is shorter than it has ever been but I like it. My hair got pretty long for being a missionary. But I got it cut so it is good now. Elder Robertson cut his hair as well. On a completely different note the Oliver family in our ward has a son that just got sent home from his mission on medical leave for 2 months. He is a really nice kid. His name is Rhett Oliver and he has been driving us around lately. He is taking us to lunch today actually which will be awesome. There are some nice restaurants around here. A lot more Italian than in Rosenberg. Anyways He is very nice and has put my mission in a different perspective. I would never want to go home from my mission early! He doesn’t like it and he can’t do much except watch TV. If I got sent home for a time on medical leave I would read as many books to find answers for people as I could. Like parts of the “journal of discourses” or “Mormon Doctrine” or “Day of defense”(I think)
They are literature I can’t read that I will when I get home. He is helping us a lot and I am glad that he is willing to still be as much a missionary as he can be.
I really loved the devotional last night. If you missed it they should play it again sometime on BYUTV or have it on lds.org. I loved it. President Uchdorf’s talk was my favorite but they were all great. The music was great as well like always.
I love you all and I am sorry that this email is so much shorter than usual. There was not much that has happened this week. But next week will be a lot more busy and we will be having our ward Christmas party this Saturday. I am really looking forward to that.
Love,
Elder Devon Joel Marr
So this week was all right. It rained allot and many people were busy or out of town. It was slower but it was good. One of our investigators is showing a lot of interest in the church and is willing to try it out. She came to mutual on Wednesday and liked it. It was one of the first times that a younger person has done something they said they would do. It built my faith. Not to say that younger people are flakey or anything but people get busy and usually religion gets put on the back burner. Her parents are not that interested in the church and are very catholic. But the spirit can touch anyone. There is a member in our ward who wad married a member for I believe 20 years and he said that he would never join the church and Catholics were right. He was like this for a long time and would run away from the missionaries. Then a few years ago the spirit touched his heart and he joined the church and loves having the Holy Ghost and the blessings of the gospel. His wife told us that she did not want to pressure him and he should join because the Lord told him it was right not that she told him. It is true that anyone can change because of the Holy Ghost and the change it can bring to your heart.
So last Monday we had a nerf war in the gym of the Alvin church. Our whole zone showed up and it was a blast. Some of the missionaries borrowed Nerf guns from members that had been modified and they dominated. It was fun.
SO this week I got my haircut. Elder Robertson cut it for me and I like it more than when I go to cheap hair salons. It is shorter than it has ever been but I like it. My hair got pretty long for being a missionary. But I got it cut so it is good now. Elder Robertson cut his hair as well. On a completely different note the Oliver family in our ward has a son that just got sent home from his mission on medical leave for 2 months. He is a really nice kid. His name is Rhett Oliver and he has been driving us around lately. He is taking us to lunch today actually which will be awesome. There are some nice restaurants around here. A lot more Italian than in Rosenberg. Anyways He is very nice and has put my mission in a different perspective. I would never want to go home from my mission early! He doesn’t like it and he can’t do much except watch TV. If I got sent home for a time on medical leave I would read as many books to find answers for people as I could. Like parts of the “journal of discourses” or “Mormon Doctrine” or “Day of defense”(I think)
They are literature I can’t read that I will when I get home. He is helping us a lot and I am glad that he is willing to still be as much a missionary as he can be.
I really loved the devotional last night. If you missed it they should play it again sometime on BYUTV or have it on lds.org. I loved it. President Uchdorf’s talk was my favorite but they were all great. The music was great as well like always.
I love you all and I am sorry that this email is so much shorter than usual. There was not much that has happened this week. But next week will be a lot more busy and we will be having our ward Christmas party this Saturday. I am really looking forward to that.
Love,
Elder Devon Joel Marr
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