Week #25 - HE HEALS

I'M SO HAPPY Y'ALL.  TEXAS IS THE BEST PLACE ON THE EARTH.  I'm totally sounding like an annoying missionary but I'm so happy to be in the great state of Texas serving. 

This week was a blessing. We are teaching a bunch and have some amazing people lined up to come even close to Heavenly Father. I love feeling the spirit and coming close to my Father daily. 

Quick little sermon for y'all about my man Jesus Christ:

Read Luke 22:39-44.  It's powerful.  It talks about the Savior suffering for us in the garden of Gethsemene. We learn about the blood dripping. Think of the agony that came with that. Humans pass out when they get in so much pain they can't handle it. The Savior was the son of God and not just human, so He didn't have the luxury to pass out. He loves us so much that He suffered that pain just for us.  People also think that every sin had a drop but the truth is that His blood dripping was eternal and infinite.  No matter how many sins or pains we have, His blood will be sufficient for us. 

Now read Alma 7:11-13.  The Book of Mormon adds even more detail about this event. Christ suffered more than just bleeding for us. He suffer pains, temptations, and afflictions so He would know how to succor His people. That means He knows how to help us and how to fix us. Christ can heal. Christ can fix.  All we have to do is ask Him to and then follow Him. I love my Savior sooooo much. 

Now read 2 Nephi 9:7 then Alma 34:6-10.  His atonement is infinite.  It covers everything.  Reach out to Him when you need it.  I'm so thankful for my Savior and all that He has and will do for me.  He heals and He cleanses.  As we reach out to Him, we can be fixed. 

I love being a missionary and spreading the good word. Thankful for all my many blessings.  God bless and love y'all! 

ELDER SMEDLEY and ELDER PINSTER - TEXAS BBQ

ELDERS PINSTER, STULCE, SMEDLEY

Elder Stulce and I (my fav Spanish speaking older brother)

Week #24 - LEAN ON CHRIST

Isaiah 43: 2-3

“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour ...”

I am so thankful for my Savior and all that He has and does for me. This past week was a blessing. I saw miracles on miracles. We are teaching some amazing people and I love the light that the Gospel can bring to our lives. The key to success is to just keep trying. Elder Smedley and I are growing so much closer and can feel the spirit guiding us along. I love being a missionary and love being in Texas even when it's 105 and 90% Humid. God loves us all. Christ heals us all.  

Love y'all and prayers coming your way from Texas.

Elder Pinster

Kyle Field - Texas A&M University
Elder Pinster and Elder Smedley

For Elder Pinster's friends in Henderson Kentucky

Dreaming of Football!

Week #23 - PUSH ON

"In nature, trees that grow up in a windy environment become stronger. As winds whip around a young sapling, forces inside the tree do two things. First, they stimulate the roots to grow faster and spread farther. Second, the forces in the tree start creating cell structures that actually make the trunk and branches thicker and more flexible to the pressure of the wind. These stronger roots and branches protect the tree from winds that are sure to return.

You are infinitely more precious to God than a tree. You are His son or His daughter. He made your spirit strong and capable of being resilient to the whirlwinds of life. The whirlwinds in your youth, like the wind against a young tree, can increase your spiritual strength, preparing you for the years ahead."  

-- Neil L Anderson 

This week was a great week.  We set a baptismal date with Kale who is coming so much closer to Christ everyday. I look for miracles everyday. I had the opportunity to see one of the biggest miracles of my mission, Rudy, for lunch this week.  This is a gospel of love and of miracles.  Campus life is the best life and I continue to always push on. I'm so thankful for my Savior and the saving/healing power of His Atonement. We can always grow with Him. 

Love y'all so much and know that God loves you even more.  God bless. 

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths" 

-- Proverbs 3:5-6 

Hang'n out at the institute on campus

Horse'n around at the Food Bank with Elder Stulce

Rudy & Elder Pinster

Week #22 - CHANGING

Howdy y'all!!! 

This week changed my mission. I feel like I have found my purpose for being here and what my driving force needs to be. Missions are literally the best at helping someone grow because there is always something more that you can do. 

I got a new companion!!! His name is Elder Smedley.  He is from Inkom, Idaho and has been out for 10 months.  He is such a strong missionary and really loves the gospel.  He has already forced me to become better and to stretch myself even more.  It's going to be a great transfer!!!!

This week we set two dates!!  They are pretty far off, but we set goals with the two people and now will let Heavenly Father prepare them. 

The campus life is still the best life.  We get the opportunity to contact on campus from 10-5 pretty much every day and I seriously look forward to it.  We really focus on becoming friends with everyone we meet and gaining that relationship, then we invite them to learn.  It works really well and we find people with such pure desires. 

This week we had a lesson with someone who just wanted to know more about Mormons.  As we sat down, she had a list of questions and just wanted them answered.  After 3 hours of questions and answers she wanted to read the Book of Mormon and meet with us again.  I love how this gospel is all interwoven.  We can always find answers and it will all connect together.  God is so great. 

This week my scripture is 2 Chronicles 15:7, "Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded."  Every day I wake up and remember I need to be strong and the Lord will reward me, whether that comes in physical ways or in spiritual ways, Heavenly Father will always look out for me. 

The mission life is the best life.  Every day when I leave the apartment I just feel happy because my only job for that day is to provide light to others.  I am so blessed.  I can feel my habits and my tendicies changing daily.  I can feel myself becoming better all thanks to my Heavenly Father.  

Texas is the best place to be and I am so happy to be here.  I love y'all and God bless. 

1) Ponchos

2) The District 

3) The campus missionaries

ELDER SMEDLEY AND ELDER PINSTER IN PONCHOS

THE DISTRICT - saying goodbye to Elder Tweedie

TX A&M CAMPUS MISSIONARIES

Week #21 - WORD HARD AND SMILE HARDER

This week was another great week in Texas! This email will be kind of short but it was still a great Week! 

I've worked on doing something call "5 seconds of courage" when I am contacting on campus. It is something that I've put into my life because it really only takes 5 seconds to start a conversation then Heavenly Father will help you for the rest. As a missionary, sometimes you just have to jump and then trust in the Lord. So I just tell myself to have 5 seconds of courage then go for the contact. 

Because of Christ we have an unlimited opportunity to become!!! No matter what we struggle with or have as a burden we can always become if we rely on Christ. He gives us the ultimate opportunity to become if we call on him to help us. That is the Atonement of Christ, to have unliminited opportunities to become something. 

Elder Tweedie goes home tomorrow and I am way sad about it. He's become one of my best friends and it will be hard to say goodbye to him, but I thank Heavenly Father for giving me such a great example to live up to. He has helped me become someone better and I will be so thankful for that always. 

Being a missionary can be way hard sometimes. Some days you just push on and work hard with a smile. I love being a missionary and will always continue to push on!  God bless!

ADIOS ELDER TWEEDIE!  

Week #20 - ASK AND RECEIVE

This week was a wilddddd one. It was a great week. We saw miracles, felt the spirit, and had mad fun. I love being a missionary. 

On Monday we went to Kyle Field which is where Texas A&M plays. It's the tallest mountain in Texas. Football is for real here. We have a member in our ward that works there so we got a private tour of the facilities and stadium. It was way cool. 

LIV'N THE DREAM ...

We taught a guy named Nik who was a previous investigator but just got back from being deployed. He had met with missionaries a year ago and came back to continue the lessons. On Tuesday we taught him the first lesson and it went super good. We read 2 Nephi 9 with him and it made me appreciate my Heavenly Father even more. Nik is a sweet guy and has honest desires so we are hoping that he will feel the spirit and grow. I love seeing people become. Grow and Become. 

A super awesome thing that we are also doing is setting temple dates with recent converts and returning members to help give them something to work towards. We are seeing so much growth in the people we are working with. We had someone with a temple date of July 22nd fast and give tithing yesterday for the first time in a year. He has given up his old habits and is turning closer to Christ. I love seeing that as a missionary. We also had another returning member call us his "first response team." He said that whenever he is struggling he calls us and we save him.  Made my heart full.  We get to save him.  

As a missionary, it is awesome to gain revelation through teaching. There have been countless times where I have felt myself have questions and pray to know the truth behind them. Then I would have an investigator ask the same type of question to me and I could feel the answer come to me so I could relay the answer to them. Revelation is so awesome. We can receive answers to our questions and all we have to do is ask.   

One scripture that I have been really focusing on is Mark 8:34. It says, "...Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." I have really been trying to do that while out here. It is not about myself and I will have struggles but I must take up my cross and follow my Savior.  I love it.  Take up your cross and follow him. 

Texas is a great place. I love being in the south. The weather is hot and the people are amazing.  I can feel my Savior guiding me with every step and telling me to take up my own cross and follow Him.  Love Him and follow Him. 

Love y'all so much.  God loves you too.  God bless. 

Week #19 - WHEN GOD CLOSES A DOOR, HE OPENS A WINDOW

Happy Monday y'all!!! This week was so much fun and we had so many blessings that were given to us that it felt like we were drowning in blessings.  I love being a missionary. 

I hope everyone had a happy Father's Day yesterday!  I know I am so thankful for my Father both on earth and in Heaven. I'm so thankful for a dad who taught me how to work hard and love the Lord.  Fathers are such a blessing that God gives us.  

Our biggest miracle was on Sunday.  We had 5 investagators show up at church and the best part was that the members took the initiative to invite them.  It was so awesome to see so many of our investagators come and feel the spirit.  We even had someone just randomly show up because his friend invited him and now we are teaching him the lessons.  God is so good and can send so many blessings to us. 

On Friday, we had a jam-packed day planned out and then everyone bailed on us.  Our lessons cancelled, dinner fell through, and it felt like we had everything just like open up.  Sometimes that happens all the time but I love how Heavenly Father will still lead us.  We went tracting and found someone named Cole.  He is 19 and searching for a church in the area.  He invited us in, then after the lesson asked us to come back the next day.  On Saturday, we went back and had such a powerful lesson.  He told us he could feel the spirit teach him and he felt enlightened.  Cole is so solid and I can't wait to see him progress.  When God closes a door, He then opens a window. 

My invitation is to read Luke 22:39-46 which teach us about the Savior's sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemene. Then read Alma 7:11-13 and use the Book of Mormon to deepen our understanding and love towards the Savior.  I love how the Bible and Book of Mormon really teach us about our Savior and that they add a deeper understanding for us.  I'm so thankful for my Savior and for all he did for us. 

I love this gospel.  God is so good.  I'm so thankful to have the job of being happy and spreading light. God loves us all and wants us to know that. He is here and won't leave. 

Love y'all so much and God bless. 

Elder Pinster

CRUSIN' ON TEXAS A&M CAMPUS

TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL WORKOUTS (Elder Hill & Elder Pinster)

SIDE NOTE:  Turns out this lady is one of Elder Tidwell's (Pinster's brother-in-law) favorite members
from when he served in College Station!  Small world!

Week #18 - BAPTISMS FOR EVERYONE

This week was wild.  I feel like I had the opportunity to grow so much this week.  I love how Heavenly Father never lets us stay stagnant and will always try to create some growth within us.  We had a baptism on Saturday and it was such a spiritual experience. 

While on my mission, I have come to love hearing investagator/recent convert's prayers.  They are all smiles and so sweet that it just makes me remember how amazing our Father in Heaven really is.  Sometimes I think we forget that a prayer is a conversation with God and we start to repeat things or hold things back.  I've come to know that when we express everything we have in our prayers, Heavenly Father sees what we need and will help us.  Simple and pure prayers lead to miracles.  I love prayer. 

This last Friday was Faith Meets Families which is a night when all recent converts go to the temple and do baptisms for the first time.  I was so lucky to go with two of my converts, Rudy and Jeston.  The spirit that was there was so intense and pure.  I loved seeing their faces when they first came into the temple and saw the Lord's house.  The temple is a special place.  After Rudy had done the baptism for his father, he leaned over to me and said, "Now my Daddy is in paradise because of me."  I legit almost cried.  Such a simple phrase but so much meaning and power was behind it.  I find so much love and comfort finding that I have been able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to bring someone salvation.  I am so grateful to be serving. 

This week we met someone named Danielle who wanted to know more about God.  She is from the Ivory Coast and just graduated from A&M.  We met with her and taught her about how this was Christ's true church.  She told us that she wants to know for herself and has such pure desires.  I'm so excited to see where she goes with this journey. 

This week we had a baptism for someone named Sasha.  She had been meeting with the missionaries and then we came into the area and she asked me to do the actual baptizing for her.  I felt so honored to have the opportunity to do it.  I love baptisms.  They are such a strong spiritual experience that shows us how much God really loves us and wants us to follow Him. Baptism is the first real step to following Him and it really does help us come to know our Heavenly Father better. 

I feel so blessed to be a missionary.  Getting to see the light of Christ come into someone's life really makes me appreciate my Father.  God is so good y'all.  He loves us all.  Texas is the best place to be and sharing the gospel is the best. 

Love y'all and God bless. 

Elder Jarrett Pinster

Elder Pinster and Rudy at the Houston Temple

FOOD & FISHING - fun pictures from a member in Texas

GOOD COUNTRY FOOD

FISHERMEN

Week #17 - "LEAD ME, GUIDE ME, WALK BESIDE ME"

Happy Monday y'all!  

This week made me grow so much and depend even more on my Savior.  Thank you all for the birthday wishes!!! I super appreciated it and had a super good birthday!! Sorry for accidentally sending out an email on Thursday night.  I was writing down my notes from institute and somehow it sent. 

One of the coolest things about being on a mission is you realize that you get strength from Heavenly Father.  There is not anywhere else to get that Strength to keep going.  There have been countless times where I have felt small and weak but I have knelt down and prayed for strength and Heavenly Father has blessed me with it.  Ask for it and we can receive it! 

I also saw a quote this week that made me understand our job more on this earth and how we can tackle any problems that we have.  It said "Pray as if everything depends on the Lord, and work as if everything depends on you."  In order to progress in this life, we have to pray and put everything on the Lord, but then work as hard as we can so we can accomplish them with His help.  He won't just give us everything, but will bless our efforts. 

Another one of the coolest parts of being on a mission is you get to experience growth spells in your life.  This week I had someone ask me, "For someone to understand you, what do they really need to know?"  It made me stop and think.  I then realized that to really understand me, they had to understand my growth spells, or times in my life that I have felt and done the most growth.  I can think of multiple times and parts of my life that I have seen myself grow. Missions are so awesome because you are constantly changing and growing.  It might be hard sometimes but as I set goals for myself and work on changing little things I can see big pictures and things start to happen.  I feel so blessed to have a God that allows us to grow y'all. 

This week I have felt more and more spiritual discernment.  On campus it is kinda hard to pick which people to talk to when there are so many.  We rely on the spirit so much to help guide and show us who needs the message the most.  This week I have four instances where I felt the spirit tell me to go and stop someone.  So I went and started talking to them, and as I did all 4 of them wanted to learn more and are now investagators.  There are people out there who need this gospel to brighten their lives and the spirit will bring us to them. 

I'm sorry for overloading quotes but I heard another one this week during study that really stood out to me. "It isn't the sun that makes us grow, but the rain that makes us grow."  Trials make us stronger and without them we have no way of growing.  Life is hard, but without trials we wouldn't go anywhere.  God is so good. 

I'm almost done with reading the Book of Mormon and read Mormon 7 this week.  It is a short and to the point chapter.  It tells us exactly what we need to do to be saved.  I love it.  I love how the Book of Mormon tells us clearly and precisely what we need to do for Salvation. 

My last quote and uplifting message for the week is from Elder Jeffery R. Holland from his April 2003 conference talk. He said, “Our heavenly Father is more liberal in His views, and boundless in His mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive. … God does not look on sin with [the least degree of] allowance, but … the nearer we get to our heavenly Father, the more we are disposed to look with compassion on perishing souls; we feel that we want to take them upon our shoulders, and cast their sins behind our backs.” The closer we try to get to Jesus Christ, the more we see people the way he sees them.  We need to always try to come closer to him and see others the way he does.  As we want to come closer to Christ, we will help bare up their burdens. 

This week was a week of growth for me.  Missions are the best because they really do force you to change to and grow.  I feel extremely blessed to be on a mission.  I know my Savior is walking every step with me and picks me up when I need it.  I love being in Texas. 

Love y'all and God bless. 

- Elder Jarrett Pinster 

Our investigator has a dog and we became best friends!
I almost forgot we were there to teach a lesson.

Elders in the Zone

Elder Tweetie and I listening intently to our ward mission leader
(Check out the BLUE BELL ICE CREAM!!!)

Week #16 - Memorial Day/Birthday Week Celebrations

Week #15 - Transfer Week/GOODBYE & HELLO TO COLLEGE STATION

Last night I found out that tomorrow I will be moving to a new area and Elder Troy will be staying here in College Station. We were pretty shook because Troy has been here for 6 months. I am excited to try a new place and meet new people!

On Saturday, Rudy was baptized. My heart was so full during the program. Rudy is a miracle. Two months ago Sister Missionaries knocked on his door, but his wife told them they weren't interested.  Three days later a member referred him to us after he had been having lots of depression over his sister's recent death. He then agreed to meet with missionaries and Heavenly Father really wanted him to meet us.  When he met the sisters, his wife asked if he could meet with Elders instead.  A week later Elder Troy and I took over the area and were able to meet with Rudy.  God wanted him to meet us and put us in his path. 

Rudy has seen so many miracles between then and his baptism, and we are so blessed to be a part of it.  He now glows and has so much light in his life. He told us last night that since his baptism he has felt like a new person and that his depression has left him.  Christ heals.  Baptism gives us a new step.  God is soooo real y'all. 

We got to go to the recently rededicated Houston Temple this week.  I felt so refreshed after we went.  I was able to take a family name I had found and do all the work for him.  My heart was full.  I felt like I was in the perfect place to be.  The temple is such an amazing place and a place that brings us so much closer to Christ.  I am so thankful for it. 

Being a missionary is tough. When someone asks "What's it like being a missionary?" I laugh because it is like getting left on "read" by 15 people in a row that you text.  Everything is work and nothing is easy.  I am so happy to be doing this work though.  There is always something we can do to work harder and be better.  Missions make you stretch but stretching creates growth. 

I was reading 3 Nephi 13:21 which says, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Wherever we find our treasure to be is where we will also be.  I challenge all of y'all to find out what your treasure is and to have it bring you closer to Christ.  If Christ is our treasure, our heart will then follow and we will be able to become as He is.

I am so thankful to be in Texas.  The people here make the heat not so bad.  I love having my Savior walk with me daily guiding me along my path. 

Love y'all and God bless. 

Elder Jarrett Pinster 

1) Elder Troy and I (a member celebrated my birthday with us because he knew I would be transferred when it was actually my birthday)

2) Houston Temple 

3) Rudy's Baptism

Week #14 - HUMILITY AND OSTRICHES

This week flew by! I can't believe I only have one more week of training and then transfers.  College Station is a great place to be and the people here are the best!

Rudy is getting baptized on Saturday!  I am so excited.  This week we talked to him about coffee and he said that it has been a struggle for him.  We read Alma 32:27 which invites us to experiment on the word of God.  He told us he would go without coffee and would replace it with a morning prayer.  He has been so solid and we love him to death.  I thank Heavenly Father for puttng him in my life. 

This week we decided to go finding in a trailer park shanty town out in the middle of no where.  When we first got there I got a terrible feeling, but we decided to go ahead and try to find some people.  The trailers were sketchy but the people were amazing.  Everyone we talked to loved Christ. They clearly had made some poor decisions but did not let that stop them from believing.  It stood out to me because I need to be more humble.  I have so many blessings in my life but fail to be grateful for them a lot of the time and that needs to change. 

For P-day today we went to a drive-through safari. Best 15 bucks I have ever spent!  We saw so many animals and they were so cute.  We are also moving, so no more weird smells that come from a green substance anymore!  God really is blessing me constantly.

Tomorrow I get the opportunity to go to the temple and I am so excited.  I love the temple.  The spirit and the feelings that are felt there are like no other in the world.  It really is the House of the Lord. 

Texas is an amazing place.  I love being here and seeing lives change.  I always told myself that if I could see one person come unto Christ while I was here, I would love it. I am seeing several already and Heavenly Father is pouring out blessings. 

Love y'all and God bless. 

Elder Jarrett Pinster

MOTHER'S DAY PHONE CALL - Best 35 minutes ever!

Week #13 - GROW UP QUICK

This week was amazing. I'm officially 3 months in and 1/8 of the way through my mission. Time is flying by. I love being in Texas and can feel God guiding me along the way everyday. 

We started doing service for an elderly widow in our ward named Sister Kuttler. She is the absolute most sweetest woman I have ever met. She lives on 12 acres and has lots of projects we help her with. She cooks us lunch and then sits and talks with us on the porch. We love it. She has lived such a crazy life such as living in Kenya and Colombia and has so many stories about it that she loves to tell us. She works in the temple every week and just makes our Wednesdays a light in the week. She truly brings light into our lives. 

One of our investagators named Morgan is working on Prayer. We have been teaching her for as long as I have been in College Station. She is so sweet and loves having us over. This week we invited her to pray out loud with us for the first time ever. She has never felt comfortable enough to do it but finally did this week. The prayer was short and simple but the spirit was there like no other. I love how Heavenly Father loves when we pray or communicate with Him. Prayers are the way for us to talk to our Father.  We challenged her to pray more and to always talk with Heavenly Father and He will answer you. 

On Tuesday, we had an appointment bail on us. We were unsure which apartment the appointment was at so we decided to knock all the letter doors with the letter that he gave us. After knocking we found no one but were walking back to the car and saw a man. We ran up to him and he started talking to us. He told us he was in a dark place and his mom told him that God was going to be sending help. And that night we showed up. 

After talking with him we quickly realized that he had some serious life issues that he had been struggling to put behind him. We prayed with him and made a goal to help him. We even went and dumped out all the bottles that had been causing his issue. We stop by every night and pray with him and try to help him fight the addiction he has. It has made me grow up quick. This is a real child of our Heavenly Father and we were sent to help him. Sometimes I have no idea how to help him but I just try to bring Christ into his life. It is a process but through Christ I know his life can be made whole again. I feel like a little kid who hasn't experienced the world sometimes out here, but I can tell that I'm supposed to be helping the people I met. It for sure is maturing me fast. 

In stake conference this past week the stake president told us that we must get eye to eye with everyone we try to help. We need to see their issues with their eyes. The Savior saw people that way and we have to do that too to help them along. I have really tried to do that more with our investagator and have found way more love for him. As I look eye to eye with everyone I can feel the pains and sorrows they feel, but the good news is that we share a message to help fix those through the Savior. 

This week I have started reading the New Testament more. I love reading about the Savior and the example He gave to us. He was the perfect being who can always pick us up when we need it. I am so thankful for all that my Savior did and does for me daily. 

One quote I heard this week at stake conference was "Be grateful in the good times, be faithful in the bad times, be joyful always."  We can all use this in our lives no matter what point we are at. I pray we can always draw closer to our Father and be grateful, faithful, and joyous in our lives. Lives are changing in College Station Texas, especially my own life. 

Love y'all and God Bless. 

Elder Jarrett Pinster 

We found kittens while tracting but Elder Troy wouldn't let me keep them.  Kinda bummed . . .  :)