Week 57 - A ward party at the park for Easter

Back again!

Well this week was a lot of fun! 

On Monday, we went laser tagging which was awesome! Then we went to visit a few families and went contacting. Tuesday, we had a mini conference about family history which was so awesome! They've really gone crazy with the whole family history thing and they introduced a module for us to use and they really want us to teach it! I think it'll be an awesome opportunity! Then we had a few lessons with some of our investigators that fell through and then just ended up going finding hah. Wednesday we had family history and I found a ton of names I'm so pumped to keep putting them all in!! After that we had to get our car inspected which took FOREVER and then had enough time to go visit our investigator J with Hermano R. Thursday we taught English class at this school which was pretty good! There is one guy who comes and then like 13 ladies hahah it's pretty great. We had weekly planning that day so it took up most of our time and then we went finding and tried to see Pepe and the Garcias. Friday, we had district meeting which was good! My favorite part is always language study hahah. We were playing this game on the chalk board where you have to translate a sentence into Spanish…I got to the last one and got so pumped I threw the chalk and it hit a leg on a chair and like disintegrated it was pretty funny hahah. We then tried a ton of people we hadn't seen in a while and we got in with a few it was a pretty good day! Now Saturday is a day all on its own hahah. We had a ward party planned at this park for Easter and we’re like struggling on miles this past and next week so we're trying to get as many rides as we can. So the only ride we found was from Hermano R, who was going to go to a temple session at 7 a.m. so we had to be up at 5 a.m. to get ready and then walk to the church for him to pick us up hah! We get there and the party doesn't start until 9 a.m. so we just waited on the temple grounds and then another member came to pick us up. So this part is key... I looked at what the weather was going to be like, it said it would be cloudy and like 70’s so I didn't put sunblock on thinking I won't need it... We get there, help set up the bbq and out comes the sun. There was this huge soccer field next to the picnic tables if you can tell where this is going…so we played soccer and then all the members showed up and then the Louetta ward showed up at another spot. After we ate we played soccer for like 4 hours... I got sunburnt so bad and had a crazy watch tan line hah I'm really glad I know a ton of Hispanics who are always packing that aloe plant ;) But then the sisters had a baptism that went really good! Then Sunday of course was Easter and we ate with the Cabrera family and had this stuff called ting it's like chicken and some other soup stuff on a tostada hah :) That's my week! Hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Love Elder Tidwell

The temple very early in the morning...

A little bit of sun....

A little pday kick ball at the church...

A bike I found in the bayou...yeah it may need some work...

Not sure what's going on here...lunge training???

Me and Elder P

Me and S...she is headed back to Mexico. She will be missed.

Week 56 - Fun with my district...surprise visitors...and Happy Easter!

Hey y'all!

We this week was good! We had an awesome pday… our district is so big!! We played human battleship and ate cake because it was Elder Pescis Birthday. Tuesday we had exchanges with Elder Cabrera and Elder Child and then Wednesday we exchanged back. Then we went to this training for English class that was pretty fun, they just taught us how to play games and stuff like that. Then I got the crazy opportunity to see my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Chuck! We met up at the church and then went to go get some dinner. It was so great getting to see them and see how they were doing. Then right after, we got called by one of our members to go out and eat with him.... I'm getting fat... Hahah. Then Thursday we went to the temple! It was so awesome and definitely an experience I won't ever forget! I got the opportunity to take one of my family history names and do all the ordinances for them and I definitely felt the spirit so strong while doing it. After that we picked up this young adult in our ward and had a mini mission! It was pretty cool! We probably won't do one during district meeting again, hahah we asked him if he liked it and he said it was really long and kind of boring hahah. We did some lessons with him and met some really awesome people!  Saturday we went to a baptism and that was really good! I also got to see one of my favorite English homies Elder Seamons! Hahah Then Sunday, well, we’re low on miles for the month so we've like walked all over Hahahah.

I just want to bare my testimony that I'm so thankful for this time of the year with Easter coming up… I'm thankful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. We have the opportunity to remember why he was sent here, he set an example for us that we all should follow and he had so much love he died for us so that we can be forgiven for all of our sins and all the mistakes we have made can all be forgiven. We have the chance to move on. I'm so thankful for my family and all my friends that I have. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thanks for checking in!... Until next week!
Love Elder Tidwell

Aunt Debbie and Uncle Chuck!

Such a nice surprise!

Cici's!

Fresh cuts!

At the temple!

At the baptism...

Me and Elder Seamons!

Elder Cabrera before we went to laser tag!

Laser Tag!!

Me and Elder Backsteen!

Week 55 - Saying goodbye and a new comp...

Hey guys!

Well this week’s been tiring let me tell. My new comp really likes to get everything set up before we do anything else hah. We've done so much contacting this week my knuckles are starting to get all cut up hahah. Besides that, it was a good week! It was really hard the starting of the week… saying goodbye to Elder Curtis and stuff. I haven't gotten close with a comp like that since Elder Christensen. So needless to say it was pretty hard hah. I know he's going to do awesome things in his mission and change hearts.

This week I've been learning a ton about patience yet again ;) Just trying my best to keep a good mood all the time no matter what's going on. We were in kind of a trio with Elder Banzo for a few days and it was so much fun! Then we went with him to pick up his new baby and he's perfect for Banzo hahah. We’ve been taking them around everywhere because they got put back on bikes. I even got a picture of it, pretty great if I do say so myself ;) hah This transfer is going to be long but it’s going to be awesome and I'll definitely learn a lot from it. Hopefully next week I'll have a longer email with more to write! Have a good week! 

~Elder Tidwell

Saying goodbye to Elder Curtis...

The sisters...

District photo

Week 54 - Exchanges and Transfer time!

Well this week’s been good! Hahah After something like the baptism story things are kind of chill hahaha. Monday we hung out with our sisters and played some really fun games and then did all of our pday things haha. Tuesday we had English class and I met the English Elder version of me hahah. Then later that day we had a bunch of lessons and stuff but ended up dropping some people again kind of sucked1 :/ Then Wednesday kind of the same thing happened. Thursday we contacted all day long and then had English class that night. Friday we had zone meeting! The last time I'll see Hermana Larson and then it's just me and Banzo from the original district hah. It was really good… we talked a lot about baptism and its importance. Then we went on exchanges, I went with Elder Pesci in Bear Creek. Let me tell you… I was not to excited for it! :p Their apartment is cockroach infested! :p hahah Pretty gross I guess there not as big as I thought they would be but still super gross!! :p I slept for like 30 mins that whole night. I thought they were crawling on me all night long… kind of freaked me out :p Then Saturday we exchanged back and had some lessons going on and then played soccer. Sunday was Sunday and we got our transfer calls Elder Curtis is out and I'm staying. It's kind of bitter sweet …I hate saying goodbye after I've gotten so close with some of my comps, so it's just a little hard. That's pretty much how my week went! 

Thanks for checking in! Until next time! :)
~Elder Tidwell

Last pday with Elder Curtis!

For three...

Saw  this while on my exchange!

The last of us from left from our district...

Week 53 - Crazy baptism story complete with an unexpected plunge into the water!

Hey y'all!

Well this week was a lot better than the last one! Monday was a pretty normal pday, we played basketball and cleaned and all that good stuff then had some lessons with some of our investigators and then had a lesson with this less active lady Hermana M, which went really, really good! :) We shared this video called… The Will of God, which is probably my favorite video from the church. Tuesday we went to family history training! Our mission president told us we could go to the temple and do work for our families sometime this month. We met there with a bunch of other missionaries and then had exchanges afterwards. I finally got to go with Elder Banzo! Or well he came with me to my area in Jersey Village. It was a lot of fun but every appointment we had fell through :p hah. Wednesday was kind of just a regular day. Thursday we ate two dinners…we had the first dinner then and hour later we ate again :p! Then we were going to teach English class but no one came! Friday we had district meeting which was awesome! Every time we have something like that I learn so much from Elder Curtis. Then we had English class with all the Vietnamese people hahaha, they make me laugh they are so awesome haha! :) We had some lessons after that and then did some contacting for the rest of the night.

Saturday will be a day I will remember forever! The sisters had a baptism with this lady we started teaching first (p.s. Should be our baptism hahaha) and well it started a half an hour late and in the middle of the opening prayer we all hear this "shloughhh" and are all like crap... So I decide to go back to the font and the plug had gotten sucked down the drain. So I was like I got to fix this!! I rolled up my suit pants and take my shoes off and stuff and then I jumped in. Well the water was a little higher than I thought and the rolled up part of my pants got wet, but regardless I reached down and pulled the plug out and set it in there again. While I was trying to dry my suit pants off and shirt I heard that noise again so I took my pants off this time and dove in to put a new plug in, while this is happening the 1st counselor is giving a talk and then Hermana Parslow comes in and is like, "It's time to sing are you done?" I'm like nope! I'm soaking wet and I told Elder Curtis just to go on and do a solo (we were supposed to sing a duet) it sounded quite good from inside of the bathroom hahah. As I was changing they come in and are like we need you to be one of the witnesses and they can't start without you so I go out in my soaking suit pants and my wet shirt and well the baptism was awesome to say the least haha! I left some puddles everywhere I went haha! Then at the end we realized we forgot to ask them to take the plug out when they left… everyone asked me to just jump back in and I was just not having it hahah! So Elder Curtis was chosen next and he told me to close the curtain and lock the two doors and he jumped in naked...... Never in my life did I think I'd have to do this on my mission hahaha. Sunday was good, we went contacting all day long. 

Well that's my week! Until next week...

~Elder Tidwell

My planner after I plunged into the baptismal font.

Eggs I made...complete with my ketchup in a smiley face...Just like mom  used to do!

Papusas! 

Nacho libre corn!

My exchange with Elder Bonzo!

Week 52 - A little b-day video for Mom...and Half way done this week!

Hey y'all!

Sorry I didn't do a weekly email last week we got super busy with stuff. But this week was good! A little hard though not going to lie. We had a bunch of lessons this week and had to drop a lot of our investigators which sucked :/! On Tuesday we had a zone conference with President Mortensen that went really, really good! We talked a ton about the Book of Mormon and how it came to be and where we receive our inheritance in the gospel and just a lot of deep and crazy stuff… it was awesome! While we were there some of the missionaries I knew were giving their last testimonies at the conference and it's going to be crazy seeing so many of them go! Wednesday night we decided to run instead of doing it in the morning and I was shocked! I was able to run a lot faster than I thought I would! Elder Curtis is like scary fast he hasn't run in a while and ran a mile in 5 min 27… I rode a bike hahah. Friday we had district meeting and then we had English class which went good but, we probably won't be teaching that class anymore :/. Saturday we gave the sister’s investigator her baptismal interview wich went wonderful! Then we went and got breakfast with them and man we got that all you can eat buttermilk pancake deal! I only ate like 4 :p hahah! Then we went to visit a few people and played soccer with Suamy!

Today was a great day! We had church and I got to meet this younger guy from Mexico who got baptized like 3 years ago and then just like decided to move here! And one of the Elders who baptized him lives here in Houston but he doesn't know where or anything. Then we had a training for missionaries, ward missionaries and ward mission leaders which was just for our stake and it went really good! I learned a lot! To top it off it was my mom’s birthday today! I miss her a ton but only a year left to go Thursday! Crazy how fast time goes!

Well thanks for checking in guys! Love you lots,
Elder Tidwell

At zone conference! 

Week 51 - Just pictures...

A few words from Mom...

First of all I would like to thank you all for checking in on Elder Tidwell and reading his weekly blog emails! I apologize for getting behind and not always updating every week!

As far as this week's update goes...there wasn't a group email. He sent a couple of personal emails but not one for this blog. There have been some issues with emails that are being felt all over the mission world. Some emails are taking hours even days to go through. Tristin was also somewhat short for time this week. He did however manage to send a few photos. (He didn't leave any captions for these photos besides the Zone Conference)

Elder Tidwell is doing really good and will be hitting his halfway mark really soon!! Thanks again for checking in!!

Zone Conference!!

Week 50 - A full week...and mattresses!

This week was pretty good! On Monday, we had an activity with our district again and played some mean beach volleyball and had lunch haha. Tuesday Elder Curtis and the other leaders had a meeting they had to go to so I went with Elder Childs for exchanges, we had an English class at like 10 a.m. to go to and that was a blast! Hah we had a ton of people come too and as you might assume I did make them all laugh hah. We also met up with the Galianos to eat at Panda which was good, still not as good as his wife's cooking though hahah. On Wednesday not much happened until later in the day when we visited our investigator Manuel and had a bomb lesson! Friday we went to zone meeting and wow it was probably one of my favorite ones like ever! One thing we talked about was positive affirmations hahah Like telling yourself things are great or things are going to be good and you really start to believe it's going to be! I've used that a lot on my mission not going to lie hahah. Another thing we talked about was just putting a smile on your face, not worrying about anything and just be happy about it… another thing I've just learned how to do out here. We also talked a lot about faith and well like faith in finding. I realized if I wouldn't have had faith to find someone I don't know if we ever would have found Marco and Mayte in College Station. It's all so key to being a missionary and it's absolutely key to the work! After zone meeting we went to Jimmie Johns with a few sisters and talked for a little while, It was nice haha. Then we played soccer with Suamy and a few of these guys came to play with their kids and we ended up playing with all of them… it was fun! :) Then we had a few lessons planned after that and went over to this family who's investigating the church, the Rivas, they bought us papusas which were seriously so good! We really got to know the family a lot more. Saturday we helped someone move up to their third story apartment but it kind of sucked because we got there and the lady was like, "They’re coming with the truck… they'll be here in about an hour. I'm going to go to the store, be right back" and had us wait in her apartment until she got back. Then when the truck finally came it was filled with temperpedic mattresses!! That kinda sucked to carry all 7 mattress and then the box springs for them all up 3 flights of stairs:p hahah And…they didn't even help at all which was kind of a bummer… but whatever, it was an opportunity for service! Then on Sunday we were going to have a ton of lessons but because of the Super Bowl, every one of them cancelled. And… well that's pretty much how my week went!

Thanks for checking in!
Love Elder Tidwell

Elder Bonzo and myself!

Elder Curtis and I ....

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