Elder Tristin Tidwell - Texas Houston Mission: Week 102

What's up!?!

Well, it's crazy to think this is it... I don't know about you, but time really has flown by over all... 2 years done. And it's really weird but I'm definitely gonna miss the mission, not so much for some things as with others, but I'll especially miss the friends and families that are here in Texas. I love them dearly and wish them luck in there endeavors here and I'll come back to wreak havoc when I come back to visit ;) haha

I've definitely grown a lot in the past 2 years and it truly is crazy to see it all go, but I'm not done learning yet, oh no it's only just begun! Hahah I'd like to just share a few stories and then head on my way. First... Was the moment I truly knew the spirit in my mission and how sensitive it was. When we were all in the MTC, I had an experience there that changed my mission and it started with teaching the restoration of the church. When your in the MTC they try to teach you as much as they can in the language you are serving for a certain amount of time so for me I got 6 weeks. Around week 2, we were teaching a guy who's name was Rolando and he was from Mexico. We had taught him the restoration all in Spanish and then had moved on to the plan of salvation the next time we taught him which was later that week. Now at the end of the plan of salvation I had, had this very strong impression from the spirit to ask him to be baptized, now already that day me and my comp weren't too in sync and a little contention had arose that day. Needless to say the spirit had its foot out the door but I had this one chance I to ask him to be baptized and I didn't do it, I thought, no we just need to end the lesson and walk out. Right as I left that room, I instantly knew that the spirit had let go. I asked one of the teachers to talk and I broke down in front of this teacher saying, I know I should have asked him but I thought it wouldn't work right now, with the love this teacher had for me he said, with his voice full of hope congratulations, "Elder Tidwell, you've learned a lesson it took me almost my whole mission to figure out." He said to learn from this experience and to always listen to the voice of the Spirit. That next day, when we were to teach Rolando, he had left and we never saw him.... Until the next day when I found out he was one of my teachers. (We were teaching him just for practice but I had no idea he was a teacher in the MTC) :p But regardless that experience has changed everything in my mission and has made me more conscious of the voice of the spirit and to always listen and go with it. When we deny the prompting of the Spirit, it's like a teacher asking if you need help on an assignment, the teacher might not give you the direct answer sometimes but will guide you in a way to get there quickly and correctly, and if you say no I want to try this on my own, then it'll take more time and you have a stronger possibility of getting it wrong. The Spirit like the teacher will respect your decision and back off let you do it on your own.

The 2nd thing is, that the power of prayer is real. I've had numerous occasions where we were struggling to find investigators or where we had a goal in mind of finding someone and it happens! As long as we got the faith that it'll happen and when we don't, if we ask our Father in Heaven for the help to have that faith, I know miracles will happen. And I say these things in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen.

This has been an amazing week in the mission and it has been very bittersweet, but I know I have much more to do and my whole life is awaiting me, so I'm going in head first! Thanks for everything you've all done to help me in my journey and I truly have enjoyed every minute of it. I just hope they're ready for me back at home! ;)

Love Elder Tidwell 🦆