ADVERSARY IS SO REAL.....

  Elder Babb and Elder Houston

Elders he got to hang with last week.... silly boys




JUST GOT ELDER HOUSTON'S RELEASE DATE:
HE WILL BE HOME ON FRIDAY MAY 24TH AT 10:30AM


Elder Houston's Email:
April 23, 2013

hey everybody!

     hows it going ?? thanks mom for the awesome huge letter. hey so not alot of time today and i kinda feeling sick, so sorry for the short email. but know im doing great and had an wonderful week haha its been interesting. i love my companion so much hes so nice and way fun. i have been doing all i can to just try and help him see how awesome a mission is and how much better you feel when you follow the rules. hes taking a little bit to get the picture haha but i can defiantly see SOME progress, which makes me super happy. he can really do soo much good. by the way mom thank you soooo much for what you said in your letter it was EXACTLY what i need to hear. it totally opened my eyes and i hope i will be able to stay strong and prove myself and prepare for the adversary and the trials God has prepared for me to test me.

    the adversary is so real and it scares me to see it in the world today. we know ! how he works his tricks, but yet many are still tricked by him and dont see him right there in front of us. its just like in the scriptures, i always thought it was so crazy when the people begin to become prideful and sink into sin again especially right after they just saw the Savior in the book of mormon! but many of the world today do the very thing and dont even recognize it. 2 nephi 28 lays it down in front ha especially 20-22 says it pretty well. it kills me to say, but i even see it out here in the OTM my mission!!   oh na uh! haha.....

     but its true like verse 20,"for behold, at that day shall he rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good." there are missionaries that are so strong and courageous that stand up to missionaries that want to go do something or talk about some thing that is not appropriate and he is hated for it, is called a party pooper or said he is a jerk! i bout cryed when a i saw that happen. i wanted to punch them elders in the nose.... and in verse 21, " and others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security, that they will say: all is well in zion; yea, zion prospereth, all is well. and thus the devil cheateth ther souls, and leadeth them away CAREFULLY down to hell." i hear it all the time "oh its no big deal its just this little thing like tea, you think the Lord will condem me for drinking tea." no i dont think he will, but it NEVER stops at that once the door is opens. figureatively speaking the devil will open it ever so slightly until he can come in. so it might not be a big deal to do that BUT obediance is the reason for it ! to keep us safe and show our love.

    i am the farthest from being perfect but it just totally weighs me down with "much sorrow " to see the wonderful people and even missionaries out in my mission! that just cant see the importance of the gospel and these things

:(.       pres Shumway is on this new thing that is a cleansing of the mission. he wants to rid our mission of all evil and disobediance. there are some that might think that it is going to make us all into stiffs and make the mission so boring! but its not true. in my 23 months i have defiantly seen sooo many elders and learned that the gospel is universal. there are sooo many shapes and sizes you can still have so much fun and do sooo much more when you are obedient to the mission rules.

     i was able to have to coolest expirence with 6 elders this weekend that i will never forget. so on sunday there was going to be a special mission conference with bishop dean m. davies of the prosiding bishopric and it was going to be in tulsa. my comp wanted to go to tulsa to see it and i think he just wanted to see all our missionary buddies. but so i said ya to it. so we asked the zone leaders to make sure, we didnt go behind there backs about it. because anyone out this far in the mission was just going to watch it on the broadcast. but they totally said it was fine because they trust me. anyway we left saturday to go bout half way and meet some elders and stay at there place. so in the morning we could still get sacrament, we just went to there church that was the only way we could do it and get the sacrament. and we picked up some elders on the way. anyway that night the elders we were staying at had a teaching apointment that night and dinner at the bishops house, where the lesson was going to happen. so he invited all 6 of us to come haha. at the presiding bishops!!!! we got to hang out and get to know all the people there, lots of non members where there for a party :) haha but they got to all get to know us. elder babb played some music for them. it was great!! but then time came for the lesson and it was going so great, the spirit was sooo strong. and the spirit hit me so hard.... as i saw 6 elders so very different in the personalities and all from different back grounds and lived in different places in the US... bore powerful testimony of the wonderful message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon.

     the love i have for my mission and the missionaries in it, grew 100 fold. we are a big family. just like every family, we have our weaknesses, each of us with our own individual weaknesses, but i love everyone of them! and want more then any thing to help each missionary i meet with what ever i can do to help them enjoy there mission to the fullest.

     i love the gospel !!!! it is so true with out a doubt. we are all on the same team. the team of Christ trying to defeat satan and his followers so we can save all our brothers and sisters :) and strengthen EVERYONE. God answers prayers through his Followers. we are answers to prayers :) 

    haha well i had more time then i thought haha. hope i made sense. kinda just said what came to mind thanks soooo much for all your love and support!

 

im soooo blessed. i have never in my life felt that i was not loved. best family anyone could ever ask for :) haha and best mission i could have ever been called too. talk to ya next week stay safe and talk to ya soon !!! woooooo ! 

love elder houston 

LAST TRANSFER.....PRAY FOR ME

Elder Houstons email:

April 15, 2013

 

hey family!!

so this week was transfers and i sent off elder godfrey and got elder babb he is a pretty funny guy. a old time rocker kind dude. he is super nice and is way fun. but he reminds me alot of elder hamlin from pawhuska... :/ he doesnt mind too much for rules, nor working hard. hes got a sleeping disorder, i forget what its called so his schedule is all wacked out. this is going to be one interesting last transfer. a real test to see my will power ha and my desire to finish strong, not just to have fun. im going to do all i can to keep the schedule and do what i can with what i have. i felt the Spirit so strongly impress me the importance that i need to help him see the importance of the gospel and how you can follow rules and still have fun. and be yourself. any one can be disobedient and go their own way but it takes a strong person to follow and humbly obey. the advisary really wants us to think other wise, that a person is weak and un cool or what ever they want to call it to follow commandments or rules. we do not come out here do do what we want, but to do what the Lord wants. he lived his entire life in service of others and His Father. and we are ask to just give two years for the full time service to live apart from the world. but for some reason it is hard to do. not to say i am perfect at all, because it is really hard for me with some stuff. we all know how mornings are for me haha but it is the sacrific and the effort that we make that counts. he knows that we are going to fall short, its not a suprise to Him. He just ask us to give it our all and i have found out some times thats hard to find out what our all is. i know i can do better so its hard to say i have given it my all. but progression is the key i think and i hope that i have progressed better then when i first came out or then i was yesterday and i hope that i was able to help others progress better each day.

    boy do we have such a loving Heavenly Father, dont we,, and the perfect elder Brother Jesus Christ. i love them soo dearly. haha i loved it when elder Holland said it must be frustrating that all our Father has to work with is us, imperfect people haha. but oh how much he loves each and everone of us. :) so true ha and so humbling to know how much we depend on Him and His Son and the atonement!.

   ha man oh man am i greatful each day for that!!! wow am i ever!  ha. no greater love then this, that a man layeth down his life for his friends, and wow did He, DOES He, ever love us soooo much still and for ever will. :)

    i pray, i need yalls prayers, to help me help my companion to see the potential he has. he is a leader ! people look up to him and will follow him, but he needs to lead them by example by leading from the front in his choices. i dont think he really knows yet the importance of these things and i pray i can show him my love for him and my desire to help him see his potential to do good! and he doesnt have to give up who he is. the spirit bore such a powerful witness that i need to do this but keep too the work and make sure i do all i can these next six weeks im here.

   its going to be an interesting transfer and it will be a test to me if i can stand up for my standards i know to be right and the standards the Lord has asked of me. to dare to stand alone as Pres Monson would say. its alot harder then i thought it would be, my mission has taught me ha. but i know the Lord will help and he needs me to learn this. im greatful for the oppertunity and to give it my all and trust He knows what He doing haha.

    well i got to go sorry this email was kinda scaterd brained and me just venting. but know i love yall and will leave ya with a quote, i love short powerful combinations or words :) haha

 

i aksed God for strength,

   that i might achieve,

i was made weak,

   that i might learn humbly to obey

i asked for heath,

   that i might do greater things,

i was given infirmity,

   that i might do better things

i asked for riches,

   that i might be happy,

i was given poverty,

   that i might be wise,

i asked for power,

   that i might have the praise of men,

i was given weakness,

   that i might feel the need of God

i asked for all things,

   that i might enjoy life,

i was given life,

   that i might enjoy all things,

i got nothing that i asked for, but everything i had hoped for.

almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

i am, among all men,

Most richly Blessed.

  

LOVE YA Elder houston:) 

LOVED CONFERENCE!!!!!

Elder Houston's email:

April 8, 2013

 

hey family!!!

   wow what a conference!! there were so many awesome talks!! its been such an amazing weekend with conference and the weather here so beautiful the trees are starting to bloom! so much of Gods beautiful creations all around us.

    so first off we got transfer calls on saturday !..... im dying in lebanon haha elder godfrey is getting transferred and im getting elder babb. im sad to see elder godfrey go. he was a great guy even tho we didnt always get along. we really grew close over the time together. im little scared to get elder babb though too haha. one thing i have learned on my mission is you cant always trust everything you hear about some one, no preconceived judgments, but i have heard that he is not the best obedient missionary and that scares me. we all know what happen last time i heard that. :/ but i know the potential that pres shumway wants to see in him. he will become the next district leader when i leave and its my duty now to help him meet that goal by that time. i hope i can help him see his potential and want to reach it and am a good example for him. he is a really out going crazy and funny elder so im excited!:)

   my district also was way changed too. my area was moved into, get this, my first ever district!! haha my first area i came out in, mt grove west planes and houston missouri!! so awesome!! it was a revelation come true!! 

   when i was in my first area right before i got transferred, i had this crazy thought that i would be back at the end of my mission to see everyone i first came out to teach. i took it as i would just be transferred back to mt grove and houston my last transfer. well as my mission went on, i totally forgot about it. until i got the call that i would be the dl for those areas now. i now will be going on exchanges to my first area and fullfill that revelation i received and make sure those people that were not ready at that time for the fullness of the gospel would not be prepared and from the bad past events that happened in that area cause them to slip through the cracks. i knew that there was a reason. i remember that area so well still :) and names of people that i taught. its so exciting !! a great way to start this last transfer off. 

    wow.... so many wonderful talks about missionary work and member missionary work in conference. its got our ward pumped ! and me too!!! i especially liked, i think it was in priesthood session, i cant remember who but they said, " and you return missionaries, find your missionary tags, dont put them on," haha, " but put them somewhere where you can see them. you are needed now more then ever." im totally doing that. those talks where answers to my prayers of what i should do when i get home to not forget all that i have learned and how i can stay close to the Spirit and the Lord.

   im so excited for all that i have learned and all that i can continue to learn and grow and find and have new ways to try and be more obedient to what the servants of the Lord have ask of me. like even down to making a garden haha ...mom i have acquired some new knowledge and skills in the garden so now i can try and help you :) haha notice how i said try haha... i might not have the green thumb like ya. i still not sure if its hereditary ha.

     i defiantly am still not the most obedient person by far, but i love trying to be better now that i know just like pres Uctchdorf, haha (i know that not spelled right sorry), said in conference. ...we are like a toddlers learning to walk. we try and try but we undoubtedly fall but our Love and Merciful Father in Heaven does not shun or scowled us for it. He is so  happy and wants us to get back up again and try try try. and as we turn to the Lord for help He will help us get better and better and better :). i love the church so much i kinda want to try and find a job that revolves around the church like work for them or something. that way i will always have it on my mind i need the constant reminders im bad at remembering ha.

   well i got to go oh and thank you mom soooo much for telling me about brother waddups calling, that made my entire week already. i love them so much. i will forever remember the wonderful people that i have been so privileged to meet. i might forget their names but they will always find place in my memories and heart. he is such an awesome dude. that was an answer to my prayers, so thank you so much for telling me.

     he makes me love everyone of Gods sons and daughters we are all in this together and need to help each other out to forgive faults and let go of pride even when we think it not our fault. only then will we have happiness to know we did all we could to get ALL our brothers and sister back to Him. thats what our Savior did for us he forgave us all for all we did to Him, every drop of blood ever pain and sorrow that He had to suffer for us so we could just choose to be happy we have to ask for and allow forgiveness to all. i hope that i can do all i can to be forgiving of all the pain and wrong i have done to others and i will probably continue to unintentionally hurt others and i pray that i can always be forgiven so i must also forgive. D&C 64:9-11 we are required to forgive all and need to ask it as well or we cant be forgiven. wow i pray i can right all the wrongs i caused its going to be a life time goal but itll be worth it, i know it :) i love you all so much !!!! and pray all is still going well. tell jessica i said hey!!! and congrats!! as well as taylor when he gets home on may 1st! tell them i love em and give a em a hug for meee.

 well talk to you later!

love,

 elder houston

OH BABYLON!!!!

Elder Houston's email:

April 1, 2013

 

afternoon family,

  so wow this week started out a ton different then it ended haha..... so poor lebanon in going crazy.. but! before i talk about that HAPPY EASTER/ APRIL FOOLS DAY! haha. haha

wow she called quick haha... sister talbat is the old lebanons bishops wife. haha she just showed up for easter and they were originally from mesa and moved to lebanon, then lost job so had to go back to mesa like a month before i got to lebanon. but she was like hey! i want you number... im going to call your mom haha i was like sweet! she was funny.

 

glad everything went well yesterday! we had some awesome weather here too. such a blessing. lets just say its tornado season and our weather has not been the best ha. hahaha no drownin tho. darn ha we need to sick em missionaries on papa and georgia ! get em baptized. by the way it was georgias and houstons b day. if i dont get a card out too them or a letter at least tell them happy b day !for me .

   soo ya this week started out really awesome! we had some awesome lessons and were able to meet with some people that really needed to talk. like larry that guy couple weeks ago that stabed himself. we met with him and got his spirits way up. he was literally jumping and skippin around... like picture how funny it is to see a 60 year old man trying to jump skip around trying heel clicking haha. safe to say he couldnt so he just danced haha funny guy. he is very bad alcholic and had depression meds that he should NOT be taking with alcohol and well he is.. so about mid week we found out he skiped out on work and no one had heard from him in few days so we text him and he said back he was going back to heavenly father. so safe to say we broke in to his house and found him up stairs talking to himself. he finally came too and ask if we would take him to hospital. i could smell the alcohol on him. we took him too the hospital and told them everything. the doctor was very rude to us and all this mess happened later that night. we got a message from him saying dont ever come over again :(. after all that we did for him and gave him true friends not the people he hangs out with and he is angry with us very sad.

   wednesday, we had a wonderful district meeting and then thrusday we had an exchange come with us to see the family that had the dad go a-wall. he has major stuff with his mind because of the military. he also last week tryed to kill himself and got sent to a hospital. something just set him off cause that old stuff them demons to come out. its so sad because he is soo awesome!! such a humble sweet dude. wouldnt hurt a fly, but had lots of probs from all that army stuff and a head injury. he is doing really well tho, he back to his good ol self. mostly. but anyway we went and saw his family with a member of the ward that is a old war dude too, with some PTSD as well and he could really help and relate. such an awesome guy. i about broke into tears when the youngest girls one 10 and 8 i think, came in crying. its so sad how much this family has been through. the 8 year old just barely got over leukemia ! just getting over all that stuff and feeling better really sad.

 

 as a missionary, we get to already feel so much of Heavenly Fathers love for all his children and to see and realize all the thing that these poor children have to go through in this world today,,, just tears me apart. "suffer the little children to come unto me for such IS the kingdom of God". it makes me sooo grateful for the loving family that i grew up in and how strong we were raised in the gospel. that is something this family has strayed from, that i so wish they would come back too. makes me wish, like when i was little that i was a super hero so i could help all these people ! i might not  be able to do big things, but i can do a little," by small and simple things", right haha.

 

the Lord has a mission for each of us to do. thats why we are here, because if we finished all we needed to do, we would be taken back to that God, who gave us life. some of us are too live till we are 100, some not so long. but all we can do is live the best we can and do great small things all our life and serve the Lord, "he that loses his life for the Lord shall find it."

  

 my eyes were opened to a loud awakening, to the reality of this world and the battle going on between good and not so good ha. it really showed me how small i am and how big and omnipotent our Heavenly Father is.

 

 He loves us!! He is watching over us and weaps when we fall and rejoces when we do good. He wants to help us with His streched forth hand. thats why he sent us :) His saints and all his sons and daughters.

 

 i was defintely brought to a new level of humility this week, and i hope i will always remember it and be stured up in rememberance for the rest of my life, of the goodness and mercy of our wonderful loving Father  and Savior. we knew this life would be hard and would get really bad BUT.... we knew it would be worth it. if we just lived our lifes right and did all WE ,each of us as a whole and individual, can to choose the right and love one another. isnt that why he died for us. wow i love our Savior ha.

  

we went over to a members house last night and she was very upset and was telling us all that is going on with the world and with our country. wow its getting very sad out there things are defianly changing in babylon and for the best im not so sure. we have seen it first hand that the Lord truley is hastening the work and not only with all the new missionaries and the age change. the members were saying thats why they think the age change happend because the Lord is prepareing the world/ quickening the work to find the ones prepare for the message of the gospel. i felt some thing big was going to happen at this last conference address to the world by the Lords apostiles and prophet. maybe this is why im super excited to hear the next or new council from the Lord. every one prepare this week pray for answers and inspiration!! 

haha... so i know i was kinda freaked out a lil, with all that they were telling us. so sorry if i talked to much about it. but it is always time to be prepared and keep familys close and keep the Lord in our families. small and simple things will bring Great things to pass.

   i love you!!!!! so excited to talk too you in a month ha and then see ya that next week haha kinda silly but hey :) ha pray to find what it is each of us can do to better the world and bring out lost sheep brothers and sisters to the wonderful and happness of the gospel :) feed the sheep! haha

  love ya so much stay safe and talk to you next week

love elder houston

 

ps didnt get you package yet when you send it ? i will look for it today thanks :) love ya mama tell hunter i working on his letter sorry taking lil while love ya

CRAZY WEEK!!!

Elder Houston's Email:

March 25, 2013

hey family hows it going !!

 first off thank you so much for writing hunter!!! it made my day!!!1 i flipping miss my brother!! super excited to see ya!! :)

 and second pa im still waiting from that promised letter ?? hahah must be a LOOONG letter :)

  it is so crazy to think gerneral conference is here already ! im sooo excited !! and its the last one on the mission :( i am praying for guidance and direction and also that pres Monson gains revelation that missions will be extended to 30 months haha... i can hope right??

   that is so crazy about the merkleys that lived accross the street from us!! going on a mission!! so awesome ! she is going at a mavelous time! the work has been hastened. we are breaking numbers, breaking records in lessons and many other thing in our mission. our mission pres. is being asked to speak to a bunch or mission presidents about what it is he is doing haha.. he said hes just going to say, its easy you just keep sending me the best missionaries haha... he so funny and awesome. i love the shumways. i have been so lucky to have the greatest two mission presidents ever. speaking of i wonder if the merkleys are related to the merkleys that use to live accross the street from us? hm..

    by the way, im going to send a cd home soon with a talk on it that you all should listen to. its awesome like for FHE... i think hunter would really like it. oh and i was meaning to ask you in letter but did papa danny get my card i sent him? and shalyse haha hers was funny :). OH and hey if you are not planning on sending a easter package its ok you dont have to but if you were could you see how much the mormon messages 1 and 2 are and send those :) that would be awesome!! they are awsome teaching tools and very powerful. 

 oh! and mom you will love this book a member showed me its called kelsey in korea, letters home, its of this missionary, a sister named sister lund. its all her emails home about her mission and she is soooo funnny you would like reading i.t i think i might be able to get one for ya and ill send it home when i get money from the mission for like easter or something my gift to you. its suuper funny.

     any way so this week, so sorry about last week ending so ubrupt. i ran out of time haha and just saw it so had to end and send. but i was talking about this lady that was going through alot with her room mate and he stabbed himself. well so this week there is this less active family that the dad he has PTSD really bad from the army and he went bunkers and was having crazy dreams and fell back into old habits and gets really depressed and tried killing himself because he didnt want to hurt his family!! it is so sad one of the daughters who really liked listening to us teach and learning, the only one that came to church activities is getting forced to move to her real dads and she is so upset and really shook up from all this. she got on face book and added me and elder godfrey and got our address so we can keep in touch. i feel so sad for the family. satan really is doing all he can to tear families apart. if we are not careful and fortifing our selfs against him and the evils of the world, he will attack with no mercy and bring us down into the depths of misery and darkness.

   i have really been thinking so hard about being a missionary and how even with all of us out here trying to teach all we can and find, we still need more the forces of the advisary will never stop and never rest. so we can never let our guard down. there are people every day dieing with out a knowlage of this wonderful message of hope and love. we really must once we are converted never stop and never rest untill we strengthen our brothers and sisters. it makes me so sad to know, even with all our efforts some people go all there life with out the gospel, but it also makes me feel so happy and blessed to know that there is a time after this wonderful perfect plan, does not end after this life the work goes on!

   we truly do have a mercyful loving Heavenly Father whose love is in His Son, Christ the Lord. He gives us ALL the oppertunity to have this joy of the gospel. and im sooo greatful more then words can describe, that i was blessed to come into this world with goodly parents and been taught in the church of Jesus Christ and the Lord found me worthy enough to recieve this knowlege to make them known unto the inhabatants of the earth. all of us have that blessed oppurtunity and obligation to share these things. everything we do and say makes a difference even the small and simple things. i had to learn this out here, but i know it to be true.

   but we can count how many seeds are in an apple, but we cannot count how many apples are in a seed. everything we do the way we live makes a difference. 

  oh awesome story about this week... we were lead to a family that has been so prepared to hear the gospel. it was a referral  from the missionaries in st robert and we went by and finally caught them at home. as we were sitting there and they were telling us the things going on and their beliefs and their questions, i had to hold every thing back to not jump out of my chair and say YEAHHHHHH!  EXCACTILY!!! this is what we have been trying to tell everyone! will you get baptized!!! haha everything was so prepared for the message we had. and it was so crazy too how much the adversary was trying to distract them. they had these three dogs that were running around and going crazy and i could totally see satan or his followers hidding, pokeing and prading them dogs to get them all rilled up. ha and he was like ha ha nea ner nea ner haha. and then the guy just stopped and said man it just seems like somtimes when  God puts something in our familys path to bless us, the adversary puts a distraction in our way. satan probably went oh...poo he knows, and left haha. because right after he said that the dogs just stopped and layed down. it was crazy!!!  

all i could think of was like daniel in the lions den haha so cool.

no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. once we recognized the opposition the Lord aided us in our efforts as he always does. if we just do our part and do the little things, like go to church and pay tithing and pray and read scriptures, when we put on the armor of God, we can have his aid and protection. thats all the commandments are is protection like the string of a kite might seem to be holding  the kite down but , really its the reason it soars so high :) haha i love the gospel. its so cool sorry enough preaching.

    so ya it was a eventful week... wish i could talk all day about it but im about out of timelll oh you might be getting a supprise call from brother ellis who is like the man! him and his wife are both converts and wow spirit giants!! they are awsome and have been teaching me and helping us soooo much.

well i hope you all have an awesome easter!!! remember the real message it holds of our Savior :) i love you!!!! oh and if papa and  georgia are there sick the missionaries on them :)  

love elder houston