Hurricane Harvey..

On Friday August 25th we heard from Sam via email asking us to put funds into his debit card account cause they heard of the storm coming and they needed to get supplies as soon as possible before Hurricane Harvey made landfall.  Over the next couple of days after that we heard bits and pieces of what was going on, but we do know for sure that he is ok.

Timeline

Friday August 25
First off we are fine right now, just everyone is freaking out haha! Ya I just wanna be safe and first off I wanna make sure everyone else is ok but we will be smart! So ya we are probably gonna be inside tonight and tomorrow but we are going to see what food they have left haha! Love you guys and thank you! Don't worry dad said he would put some money in!

Élder Stringfellow
*******************
Monday August 28

- Just want to let you know I am still alive and doing fine haha! Just lots and lots of water! Love you guys ❤️ - Élder Stringfellow

 - We asked if there was any water in his apartment when he had to evacuate and this was his response

 - There was none when we left, but if me and elder Romero didn't leave when we did, I have no idea where we would be right now. Just thankful we decided to leave when we did - Élder Stringfellow

- This is a photo of him and his companion out front of their apartment.  The walked a mile in chest deep water to get to a member's house to stay

Walking in the water

Out front of their apartment

Top floor of member's home where they are currently staying

 - This is what he took with him...about all that he could fit in the backpack...

- I got 3 shirts, 3 pairs of shorts and garments, I pair of work pants and yes I have my card and everything. We just got word that by our house the water is up to people's necks!  - Élder Stringfellow

- Ya I got everything and we are watching the news and they are keeping us up to date. - Élder Stringfellow

After this, his email went out as did the family's WiFi connection.  From there we were able to communicate via text into the evening and that was permissible by his mission president.

Here are some excerpts from his Mission President's Blog:

https://texastimesandseasons.blogspot.com/

This was on KUTV News from Salt Lake City on Tuesday, August 29th

http://kutv.com/news/local/lds-mission-president-and-family-in-houston-rescued-by-boat

We are anxiously waiting to hear more but we know that Sam is safe.  Things lost can be replaced...lives cannot!  He is ok!

Calm Before the Storm

Don't have a ton of time to write anything this week! We have been kind of busy but the work here is good! It's freaking hot all the, time, but the Mexican food is still on point like always! Anyways I didn't take any pictures, but here is a video of my last comp Elder Nabo fighting a rooster haha! Love you guys and hope you have a great week!

Riding a Horse...Sort Of

Hey everyone hope you guys had a good week. Is was a good week, but it was super hot and humid, with a lot of rain, and we where on bikes pretty much all week haha!

Other than that not a whole lot happened. We had MLT which is where all the leaders in the mission get together and talk about how we can help the people in our districts, and zones work better, and have more success. President hewlett was their and all I gotta say is that man is a spiritual giant! He talked a lot, but I learned so much and I can't wait to try and apply the things I learned! I also got to see some of the homies I served around and it was good to see them again. 

In our own area we have been working with a lot of old investigators who are ready! Well I think they have always been ready, but most of them just went on vacation to Mexico haha! I am excited to work with them and see how they turn out. 

Something funny this week was we had dinner with la familia Rodriguez and they had one of those toy horses and the hermano said " I bet you won't ride it around like a cowboy", and I was like alright you watch. We took a video so you guys can see how much I've learned down here in Texas. Make sure you listen to hermanos laugh haha, super funny :) 

Things are going great! I am really loving the mission and I can't believe how fast time is going! I love you all and hope you have a good week! 

Love Elder Stringfellow 

MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Email is Back

Hey everyone sorry it's been a while, my email has stopped being stupid but it's working now hopefully! 

Things have changed a little bit since the last time I sent an email, both me and Elder Nabo where transferred from galena park... I am gonna miss my boy Nabo but anyways  I am the district leader here in Houmont park, with my homie Elder Romero! Things over here have changed a lot, we are now in a all Spanish zone, and everyone in my district is Spanish speaking, so we are pretty much speaking Spanish 100% of the time. Not gonna lie it was kind of hard at first because it was quite a big adjustment but I am doing better. I had to give district meeting in Spanish and that really helped out a lot! 

Not gonna lie I really don't know a whole lot about this area, but the ward is awesome! They are so nice and helpful, and they are will to do anything for the missionaries, I love it! We have some people we found this last week that seem solid and I can't wait to work with them! 

We had a small miracle this week that was pretty cool! We where eating a Chick-fil-A and I went up and asked the lady for a refill and I really didn't pay too much attention too it and after we went on our way. Later that day we went and did an hour of power, which is when we just go knocking doors for an hour straight, and we decided to bring a member and his non member brother with us. We knocked a couple houses and got doors slammed in our face and we where kind of bummed. So we asked Omar the non member to choose a house and he choose this one house that had a cool car in front of it. We where like alright sure, so we go and knock it and a nice lady answers the door and we start talking with her. As we are talking her daughter comes and starts to listen. Then out of the blue she looked at me and said I know you, I saw you earlier today, and I was like OK where? She said I filled up your drink at Chick-fil-A and I was wondering what you guys where doing and who you where. So we told her that we are missionaries and we talked about the restoration, and we are going to talk with her some more this week! She is really solid and I am excited to work with her! 

That's all I got this week. I will probably have some more interesting things to write next week haha! Love you guys and hope you have a great week! 

Love, Elder Stringfellow 

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK