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This week was ZONE CONFERENCE. It was really cool. It was a lot better than last Zone Conference because I was actually feeling good and not sick like last time. President Saylin talked a lot about how well the mission is doing and what we can do better to progress the work farther and faster. His main focus was how we can help invite our investigators to church. That is something that the whole mission is having trouble with. People coming to church. I understand why. It is really hard for people to go to a new place were there are a bunch of people that they don't know. Especially in a church setting. But this past week a family came to church that I have not seen come to church while I have been here in Angleton. They are way cool. There name is the Godson's. I may have mentioned them before but they are a great family. They already have strong testimonies that they know that this is the restored Church of Christ. They love coming to church and they love the people and how they treat them and how it just seems like a family. Anyways back to Zone Conference. It was really great. The only downside was that it was with the Spanish zones and our zone. So I didn't get to see a lot of the missionaries that I am close with. But it was still a lot of fun.
 
This week we also put together an open house with the other missionaries of our building. We didn't have a ton of people show up but we did have a few. Most of our ward was at the temple so we didn't have very many members invite friends or things of that sort. It was still good though. It was for three hours on Saturday and the other wards got a lot of members to help out. If anything the members really had a good time.
 
So transfers are coming up in a week. Elder Jensen and I don't have a clue what is going to happen. Either he is staying here for 2 more transfers and then going home or he is leaving this next transfer and going back to Spanish. He loves it here and wants to be here for the rest of his mission. I hope that we are together for at least one more transfer. He is a great missionary and we get along very well. He is hard working and a good friend. Hopefully we will both stay but time will tell. If you send a package send it to the mission home if it is after Thursday.
 
A good story from this week. Well not good just a little random. On the way to church yesterday we were driving on the freeway and two birds were on the side of the road. So I veered around them a little so i wouldn't hit them if they decided to randomly take off. But they took off and one of them ran into the front windshield of the car while I was going 60 mph. Miraculously the bird was just fine and didn't crack our windshield. It flew away like it has just been bumped. It was pretty random and kinda scary that the bird hit us. That is the second time I have hit a bird in my life. Both of the times on the way to church.
 
This week we also helped a member rebuild a part of his shed. It was old and you could shake one of the walls so we took it apart and put up a new wall and made a new door. It was pretty fun for service. He also cooked us briskit and ribs for dinner. They were amazing. I love Texas BBQ.
 
Well that is about it for this week. We had a few great lessons with some of our investigators. One of them, Oscar Oliver, is very learned in the Bible and we read from the Book of Mormon this week and he told us that he doesn't deny at all that it is the word of God. He says that it is just as much a testament as the Bible is. That is pretty cool. For an investigator to really research it and to find the similarities shows that they really want to know if it is true and what God's full gospel is.
 
I love you all. Have a great week. This week is the last of this transfer and it seems like I just got here. Angleton is awesome. The peoples my favorite part about it. Anyways have a good week.
 
love,
 
Elder Devon J. Marr

RAIN AND HEAT

This week was a good one. It is scorching hot and humid today. The sun just seems to beat on you when you are outside. I have been sweating like crazy. You can feel the heat the second you walk out the door. Luckily earlier this week we had our first real rain. It rained really hard and there was a thunderstorm. Our car almost got stuck in a driveway of an investigator because it is gravel and it got all muddy. The rain just covered everything. Many missionaries this transfer are volunteering to be on bikes the whole transfer but our area is too big. I just can;t imagine what being on a bike would be like in rain like that. We probably got a good few inches in a few hours. It just rains so hard.

There have been many sick missionaries in our mission, including President Saylin. We saw him yesterday and he sounded terrible. Elder Jensen is feeling much better, but he is not feeling nearly as bad as President Saylin. From what it sounds like he has been sick for weeks now. I hope he gets feeling better soon.

So I will give you all a funny story. So we were walking around talking to people and just walking around. There was a man in his car with his windows down so I went over to talk with him in this parking lot. I walked up and bent over and talked with him or a few minutes. Right before our conversation was over I heard something hit the top of the car. I got splattered in the face with whatever it was. I thought it was someone throwing an egg or something. But I look and I see on the top of this mans car bird poop. IT was disgusting. We ran inside the store right by where we were and I washed my face off and got the splatter off of my clothes. I normally do not get mad on my mission but this made me fuming. I got over it and went back to work but it was soooo gross.

There really isn't much to talk about this week. I always hope t hat something cool or random is going to happen but not much different stuff than usual. We had a couple of really great lessons this week. In one of them we watched a church movie called "To this end was I born." It was really good. I hadn't seen it in a long time. It is very powerful and the spirit was strong while watching it. The church has made some very powerful videos and movies in the past 10 years.

Sorry this is always so general. Life is good but there hasn't been anything crazy this week. Besides all the rain everything has gone by pretty normally. I continue to love my mission and teaching the gospel. Elder Jensen is a great companion and friend. He will either be leaving the end of this transfer or he will be staying the next two transfers to end his mission. Part of me hopes he stays because he is a great missionary but part of me wants him to be able to end the rest of his mission in a Spanish area instead of an English one. He loves speaking Spanish and speaks it very well. Part of me wishes that I could have been a Spanish missionary but that is not what the Lord wanted for me.

I have loved my time in Angleton already. It is so much fun and it is a great area. There is of course a part of me that misses my last area and is still in love with it. But Angleton is great. Thanks to all of you for your letters and your support. I love you all and I hope that you have a great week this week.

love,

ELDER MARR

A WEEK

There is not a whole lot to report besides the phone call that we made yesterday to our families. That was great. I loved hearing from my family and I like to hear that they are doing well. Luckily we can still communicate through letters and stuff so that is great. Happy Mothers Day to all of you mothers who work so hard and are such great people.
 
This week was slow. Elder Jensen got sick the end of last week and has been battling it for the past week. Sister Saylin told him to stay inside and don't do anything for 3 days. So I luckily got to go out with some other missionaries on exchanges so we could teach a little bit but for the most part I have been in the apartment. I have done a lot of studying this week which has been awesome. The Lord is helping my knowledge of the scriptures and what they really mean a whole lot. Especially this past week. Elder Jensen is feeling much better now and we have been working the past few days like normal.
 
We had a crawfish boil yesterday at the Mcown's home. It was great. They are such nasty looking little creatures but they taste really good. I love Cajun food. It and BBQ are the best. I am trying to learn how to cook well like the Texans. Hopefully I pick up on some of the styles of their food preparation.
 
Sorry this email will be short and rather boring. That has been the past week besides yesterday But there have been some cool things that have happened. We went out with the ex-stake president Pres. Martin. He is a great teacher and now he is a sealer in the temple. We had some wonderful lessons with him. He is able to teach with power and has been a great help and fellow shipper for a number of our investigators. He is such a great guy. This week he will be going out with us a few times in the evenings. I love that guy.
 
Also on Monday we had another Nerf war. It was a lot of fun and we had a blast. Our district and the Lake Jackson district got together and we had fun. I didn't take any pictures this time cuz I left my camera at home.
 
I am at a loss for what to day. My brain is in a stupor. There just aren't very many stories to tell from this past week.
 
IT has been hot this week. the temperature has been around the mid 80's. It kills ya when the humidity is high but it isn't that bad. You get used to it pretty fast. I am also happy not to be on a bike for the summer.
 
Well that is about it. Everything else is pretty boring. Oh there is one story I can share. So we were driving to a member's home in Lake Jackson. We turned off the main road and drove into this neighborhood. The road kind of passes through a park. In the park right next to a tree is a racoon. This is at 3:00pm in the afternoon. It was crazy. At first I thought it was a large cat but it was for sure a racoon. It slowly walked over to the tree then climbed it. We were both shocked about the whole situation. This area isn't even out in the country it is pretty developed. It was funny. Again I didn't have my camera on me so I didn't get a picture.
 
I love you all and I will make sure this week fun stuff happens. With Elder Jensen feeling better we will be out more and we will be teaching a lot more so this week will be full of things that I can talk about in an email.
 
love,
 
Elder Devon J. Marr

An eventful week

This week was full of events and things out of the normal. However, it was a good week. First I will talk about the weather, it has been in the high to low 80's this week. Yesterday with the humidity it was almost unbearably hot outside. But I am lucky to be in a car area for this transfer at least. It is beautiful though. Lots of sun and no clouds. It is hot but I am more used to it than I was last year. I have had time to prepare for it I guess. It is hot though.

So some of the events of this week. I think that I am going to tell some of the events of this week in order so that I can tell them all. Of course this week we had a lot of lessons some of which were very very great. I love the spirit and having the spirit in the lesson powerfully. We had a lesson last night that brought the spirit very strongly into the room and it was a great experience. Apart from the regular stuff, here are the events.

First off in the beginning of this week we had an exchange with the Zone Leaders for a day. I went with Elder Carol in their area. the area they are in is Wharton. An hour away. The drive seems like you travel across a state because there is nothing on either sides of the road the whole way. Just open space. It was a great exchange. Their town is rather small and very country. Their church building is the smallest building I have ever seen. It is ridiculously small. But they don't have very many members in their area so it is just the right size. We had a good time and worked hard. We met alot of people who only spoke Spanish so when we taught them Elder Carol had to carry most of the conversation in teaching because he speaks Spanish. My Spanish has improved but it is not very good. I can understand alot of stuff but I don't know how to speak it at all.

After the exchange on Tuesday we got back into regular missionary life. Except Elder Jensen got sick and that owed everything down this week. Luckily he is feeling much better and has been able to get over whatever he had. As a missionary being sick is 10 times worse than at home. You have alot to do and you want to preach the gospel. On top of that you can't lay there and watch TV or anything you have to just lay there and it gets really boring.

So the next event would be interviews with President Saylin in Alvin about 45 minutes away. That was great and I care for President Saylin very much. He is a great man. It was also my year mark that day. MY YEAR MARK!!!!!!! I cannot believe that I have been out for a year. It feels like I just came out here. It is sooo crazy. It still isn't hitting me yet that I am a year into my mission. AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! A year. Wow. I can't handle thinking about it. It is too crazy.

So back to the events of the week. Next we have Zone meeting. That was on Friday. It was in Bay City an hour away. I got to see some great missionaries I haven't seen in a while and some new missionaries that I have heard about. It was a good meeting and we had a good time. That took up alot of the day. The meeting and the travel.

Next we have Patience Stoddard's baptism. She is someone I taught the whole time while in Friendswood. It was awesome. That was on Saturday. Oh ya it was an hour and 20 minutes away. I loved it sooo much. I was so thankful the whole time that she has made these steps in her life to change and has seen the blessings of the gospel. When I first started teaching them they were kind of happy at times but not filled with joy. Now I see them and they are always happy and their family is sooo strengthened. They have found such peace in the gospel and so much joy in living the gospel. It was a privilege to be able to serve the Lord and be a tool in His hands to help share the gospel with them. I love the Lord so much for all that he has done for these people in Texas and that he has answered my prayers and helped those who had faith in Him. It was soooo awesome. I took several pictures that I will be able to send home soon.

Also church. That takes up alot of time. On Sunday after our services we went to the Brazoria branch. Elder Jensen is the district leader and he wanted to see what is was like. They have a very small branch. They meet in an old store. It is part of a strip mall that the church is renting. There were 20 people. 8 of them adults. There were two Melchizedek priesthood holders besides the missionaries in the sacrament meeting. It was small and it was alot different but the spirit was the same even though it was so small. The Brazoria Elders have alot of challenges and they work so hard and have such great faith. I love to see their example and their hard work.

I love you all and I look forward to being able to call home Mother's Day. Thank you for the support and the prayers and the letters.

love,

Elder Devon J. Marr