Eyebrows on FLEEK!

Hey Y'all!

It was another great week out in the field of the Texas Houston
Mission. First, a tender mercy!

Elder Mattson and I were knocking doors in the same complex where that
man had a seizure a week ago (the Palms) when a young man in his early
twenties opens the door. Elder Mattson is more of a fashionista than
he would likely admit, and one of the first things he notices about
this guy is his sharp haircut. He compliments his haircut and then
we're chatting with him and his fiancé about styling. She mentions
that as a trained stylist she did his eyebrows, and Elder Mattson asks
if he can come over and get his eyebrows done, and we schedule an
appointment for Monday (P-Day) with Anne Marie and JR to get his
eyebrows done.

Fast forward to Saturday. On Saturdays we invite people to church that
we've seen earlier. We're always pressed for time on Saturdays, and
Elder Mattson and I debated whether to go invite Anne Marie and JR
since we merely had a passing interaction with them rather than a
lesson. We first visited their neighbor who we're also meeting with,
and walked past their apartment back to our car when the Holy Ghost
told me to go back. I debated with the prompting and yet again, it
told me to go back.

Elder Mattson agreed we should try them and so we did, intending to
simply invite them to join us on Sunday. When we knocked, JR opened
and somberly said it wasn't a good time. But Anne Marie rushed to the
door to tell us that she had just received news that her Mother had
just had a motorcycle wreck without a helmet, and was on life support
with 0% chance of recovery.

We visited with them for two hours and taught the plan of salvation
and restoration, bouncing back and forth to answer her desperate
questions. She poured her soul out to us - her troubled history as a
foster child, her search for happiness and misery in her sins.

Today we went back, as scheduled, to get Elder Mattson's eyebrows
done. We brought as much peace and happiness as we could. I even got
MY eyebrows done (something I never expected to do) and we laughed
together.

Today she took her Mom off life support. She says she wants to believe
us when we say her mother isn't in hell, and that her own daughter
will get to meet her grandmother. I can't wait for her to discover the
joy of the Eternal Family, which no 'til death to us part' faith can
explain.

Prayers for Anne Marie please!

On our splits with the priests we also found five people and taught
seven lessons in two hours to exactly reach our commitment. God is so
good to us!

We also took a district meeting picture (my hair went crazy), and I
hit my five month mark last week! Time is flying by.

Best of luck out there. Never take the gospel for granted!

Elder Derek Troy

Elder Mattson, fashionista, getting his brows done.

Crazy hair!

Listening to their mission president.