Stolen Nametags, Easter, and Bed Bugs

I promise that we had several spiritual experiences this week. I

promise that we had many lessons and even found a new family and a

golden investigator. I promise that Easter was amazing and we saw many

miracles because we were able to testify of Christ.

Now that we have that understood, this is how the week went.

During the transfer period I left one of my name tags in my last

apartment. The missionaries there sent it on a letter to my new

apartment. When I got the letter Monday the side was slit open and the

name tag was gone, but the letter the missionaries wrote to me was

still there.

Wednesday we drove out to Lockhart for District Meeting. 10

missionaries gathered in a little town 25 minutes away from anywhere

in a chapel. The chapel is in a rented piece of a strip mall. On the

other side of it is a gas station and liquor store. Quaint.

Friday my companion noticed that I had bites all over me. We were

doing a lot of service outside this week, so we thought it was

mosquitoes, or something. That is when I found the bed bugs. The

apartment complex couldn't get an exterminator in until this Tuesday.

So Saturday was spent bagging all of our clothes and sheets and taking

them to a laundromat in South Austin. We spent hours there until a

member called us and let us know that you only need to to put clothes

in the dryer to get rid of bed bugs. We lost a lot of quarters that

day.

Because the closest set of Elders to us are about 25 miles away, we

are spending the nights in a member home. It turns out their son is a

world famous LEGO master builder, and the guest room is filled with

life-sized creations. I sleep next to Thor, Wonder Woman and her

invisible upper torso, Captain Kirk, and a Minion. There are heads and

arms laying around everywhere.

Sunday I forgot to tell our Easter Dinner appointment I was allergic

to coconut until after I was light-headed and swelling. It was the

first time I ever reacted to coconut oil. I took some Benadryl and was

fine, but tired.

Other than that, this week was fantastic. We were able to teach some

great people. I found out that two of my former investigators are

getting baptized this Saturday. I am definitely going to one of the

services. We had some great lessons with some honest hearts and I have

felt like a very successful missionary. During a sacrament hymn I

realized that Heavenly Father is much more compassionate than I ever

imagined. He recognizes success and effort just as much as he

recognizes failure. This is something I learned long ago, but like all

things, we need to be reminded of.

- Elder Richard Hall

1. A food place outside of the laundromat.

2. A view from my bed.