TEXAS!

Dear Family,

Okay... so you just send all the mail to the mission office address!!! They forward everything!!! That way when we transfer we still get our mail!! Just send it to the same address as the package you sent me and I got it, thanks!

Anyways, aside from that all is well in Bakersfield right? Well I'm doing good here in Texas. Well we got here Monday and took pictures at the temple and what not. We ate dinner at President Smith's house. He is awesome. Then that night like twenty elders all came and we slept at the assistant's apartment.

Then Tuesday we had the transfer meeting where all the elders get assigned new companions and whatnot. So I'm in a car area :) and our ward is called Casa Linda. But we only cover half the area. Our area covers a little bit of Dallas, Mesquite and most is in Garland. The ward is all Spanish, its pretty cool.

My trainer is named Elder Barney. He is from Utah (I thinks its called haramon or something like that... its like 40 min from SLC). Anyways he is the District Leader. He has been out for just over a year so his Spanish is really good. Oh we got 'doubled in' as they call it. So we are both new to the area. Its good b/c we get a new start with the investigators and the ward.

We have one baptismal date for next week. His name is Jesus Barraza. He is a ten year old who didn't get baptized when he was eight because his family was inactive. We have a few other really good investigators. José Naranjo is one. He is a 7th day Adventist but we had a great lesson last night. He is a great student of the bible and we taught him about the spirit world and how everyone will have the opportunity to hear the gospel. He loved it and it really opened him up and answered some of his questions about parts of the Bible.

The ward is really nice. The bishop is pretty great too. We met with him Tuesday night and the next night at the house of one of his counselors we found out we were going to speak in church on Sunday. So yesterday i gave like a 7 minute talk in Spanish. pretty crazy. I wrote it all out and practiced it a few times and it went pretty well. I spoke about prayer (or 'la oración'). It was good. I don't understand most of what is being said but I can pick up somethings.

Happy Late Birthday JQ!!!!! Well I officially am praying for you since you are sixteen. Scary...

Its weird actually being in the field and everything. It's tiring work. But it's exciting to be teaching and sharing the message of the restoration. So what we are focusing on is member work. We are challenging members to pray about their friends and ask if they are ready for the Gospel. We have them write the names of friends who they think would be ready to hear the gospel and then we will follow up with them. So you all should do it too! Whoever first comes to your mind, write their name down and then pray and ask if they are ready be taught be the missionaries. The Lord will answer you and if an entire ward did it, the work would move forward so fast. Its the Lord's work so we should expect miracles to occur as long as we are faithfully doing our part. Yeah everyone has their agency, but everyone needs to hear the Gospel.

Well I've written quite the lengthy epistle this time. Be faithful and keep doing the right. (or choosing... but I like "doing" more...)

Love, Elder Wagner

P.S. The people have a hard time saying my name.. Wagner... W isn't a Spanish letter so yeah... its funny.
P.S.S. There are squirrels everywhere here!!! all over dead on the roads and like in every other tree. Its also weird because there are no mountains on the horizon or anything like that. The weather is way nice right now here... The summer is brutal or so I hear.