Fast N Testimony Meeting

One of the best things about having an area that covers a third of the mission boundaries is we can go, what feels like, everywhere. With this time of season, all the towns are lighting up their town squares and putting up MASSIVE Christmas trees in which the people are blessed by the beauty of such magnificent towers of fake evergreen trees. A goal that Elder Greene and I have given ourselves, is to try and get a picture with as many as possible within our area.

So far, we are mildly successful with trees. The Christmas tree in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, Georgetown, and Leander. With hopefully a few more to come.

As we have been finding all these wonderful Christmas Trees, we have been going to the signs for these places. Elder Greene can backflip, so part of what we want to do for Facebook is get him to do a flip in front of all these signs.

As we were looking for the Leander sign we started having to ask around. We ran into a group of ladies and asked them if they knew where the sign was. They didn't know and we started to walk away as one girl was still talking to us. She had a cross necklace on so we complimented it.

We talk for a minute and she asks us why we need to find the sign. We tell her about the backflip and Elder Greene decides to go for it and do one for her.

After some interesting choice of vocabulary and excitement, we got to talk with her a little bit more about the church. She expressed a rough situation that she is going through right now and we offered a scripture. As we shared we all knew that the Spirit was present in our conversation. Who knew that doing a backflip would be able to find someone to teach?

Fast and Testimony meeting was a couple of Sundays ago. (Just a couple...The beginning of this month) We had 4 friends that decided to come and enjoy the Sunday with us. Jason, Abraham, Nelson, and Tiernan. All wonderful people. As the meeting goes on, the congregation is invited to bare testimony if they feel so inclined.

Tiernen starts it off strong with a powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. I lean over to Abraham and ask if he wants to share his testimony. One quick thing to mention about Abraham, I knew him from about a year ago when Elder Iloa and I were in the Vista Ridge ward together. We had taught him together. Since we had built a bond and friendship I could push him a little bit.

Long story short, Abraham gets up to bare his testimony, then Nelson, then Jason. All 4 of our friends who were in attendance, 3 of which are on date for baptism, all got up to bare powerful testimony of Jesus Christ! This Sunday was a Sunday to remember. God had a hand in that meeting that day.

I have a strong feeling that God favors the Young Adult community. Although that isn't true, let me share with you a few experiences that have been happening in the Avery Ranch YSA Ward recently.

Between us and the Sister missionaries in the ward, we have a total of 7 people on date for baptism! How wild is that?!
Nelson, Harish, Dakotah, Tiernan, Jason, Alberto, and DJ. Please keep them in your prayers. We, as in the missionaries in the YSA, have been gifted all of these people by God. These people have been prepared for this moment to follow God and make a covenant with him. It has been crazy to see how God has been orchestrating his work in the world of Young Adults.

I just get to be here, throw my lawn chair on the grass, and watch it all take place. I couldn't be more grateful.

I don't have much else to say currently. The work continues to move on and it has been an absolute pleasure to be a part of it.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christ-Centered Christmas! Find JOY in serving others! Because that is what He did.

That's about it. See ya.

• Elder Payne