Happy Birthday Mom!!!
And Happy Valentines Day everyone else!!! ❤❣

This has been a good week. It's crazy to hear about your weather back home, I hope the flooding isn't too bad. Sorry you have to deal with the shop again - lame! It's been super nice here, I think about the 70s, sometimes popping up into the 80s. I hope y'all stay safe with the snow and ice, that’s kinda scary. But it's awesome that Will was able to make it home for your birthday! I love imagining y'all together for that. I hope you like my gift, Mom. It's not much. And how did you like the hot chocolate dad? Hopefully it's good :) and isn't that a fun tin? I think when I perfect my own hot chocolate recipe, I want to put it in some sort of tin like that.

You should have Kylie send me those pictures of the dinner. It sounds cool. And I would totally try lobster tail. I'm actually thinking about trying catfish here before too long, because there are a ton of restaurants here that sell it (it must be a Southern thing?) so I figure I'll try it eventually.

My investigators seem to be few and far between recently. The only one that is still meeting with us weekly is Joe. We have a few others, but they won't text us back or keep appointments, so we've been doing a lot of "finding" that means tracting, and contacting less actives and part member families. So far we haven't happened upon anyone that is begging for the Gospel, but I believe it will come! There must be someone the Lord is preparing for us to meet here. And there must be someone here that needs me, or else I wouldn't be in Azle. I guess I'm just still looking or that person. Lucky for them, I'll find them, because I'm looking!

Joe is doing great though! He has been doing a great job overcoming his Word of Wisdom problems, and we are excited to move forward with him.

We had a funny experience the other day, though it really isn't the first time I've seen this happen. We were tracting, and we came to this house that had a sign that said, "No Smoking. Oxygen in Use" when the woman opened the door, not only did she have a cigarette in her mouth, but she wouldn't even take it out when talking to us! Haha J I honestly don't even know what to think when you walk away from a house like that... hehe.

I've been thinking a lot recently about why we are put in the companionships we are put in. Sis Martin and I are getting along great, and I definitely think we are supposed to be companions, even if just because I know how to deal with people with migraines... speaking of, we've had to be inside quite a bit this week because of Sis Martin's migraines. We've been working with the mission nurse, though, and I think she said she was going to try to set up something in Fort Worth for her to get an MRI. I'm hoping that the neurologist there will be able to help.

Actually, because of everything with Sis Martin, I've been thinking that with my major in neuroscience, I would love to be a neurologist. I was thinking I wanted to teach, but I think maybe being a doctor working with people would actually be more fun and fulfilling. I could work with people, and not wield a scalpel.

Anyway, it's been a great week! I feel the honour of putting on the name tag each morning, and I am so thankful for this opportunity that I've been given. I just passed my 4 month mark, and that is kind of scary - how fast it's going. I know that the Lord really does hear prayers. I've felt answers come to my heart as I try to live my life in line with how I know he wants me to. He is truly so merciful and loving, all powerful, yet all caring. It blows my mind. He really does want what's best or each of us, even when it feels like "what's best" is the absolute worst. As we strive to keep an "eternal perspective" He blesses us with patience and understanding.

I love you all soooooo much! I hope your birthday is awesome, mom.
You're in my thoughts!

Love,
Sister Erika Marks

P.s. "Got on the scale, get off the scale, pick up the box, get back on the scale... slow down professor! .... I still can't read the NUMBERS!" Haha love ya!
 
P.P.S - I love hearing from ya, and I bet the pulled pork would be good! I totally miss the City Beach, it's so pretty even in the snow and cold! I’m glad you liked that hot chocolate, I hope it reminds you of me when you have it! ❤️

Hey!

So, another week in the history books! I can't believe how far time flies in the mission! Sometimes it feels like forever, and yet each week when I sit down to write y'all, it feels like I just barely did! Anyway, it's been a good week, but it was actually a pretty slow one.

First off, thanks for those pictures! I can't believe how hard y'all are gettin’ hit with the snow! Man, I miss that. I took a screenshot of the trees and I'm going to set it as my background on my iPad ☃. I'm sure you're ready for it to stop already, though! And with the threat of ice next, hopefully you stay safe! You're in my prayers, always. I bet Garrett is loving it, no school! It's almost 80 degrees outside today, and fairly sunny. Though, it did rain last night, and this morning when we left the apartment, it smelt so good! It actually totally reminded me of the Oregon Coast, because there were birds chirping, it was barely warm enough for a tee shirt, and it was slightly overcast, and the smell was awesome. Good memories!  Dad, if you need a place to push the snow, there's some extra room down here you could put it! Haha J

I'm happy to hear everyone is on the up swing from being sick. That's never any fun. But that snow and cold really does a number on ya if you're not careful! However, I think that for some people it's all psychological that they almost have to get sick in the winter. Because even out here, where the weather’s been beautiful, people are getting congested and stuff. Apparently there's a bug going around, but I haven't been touched by it. Knock on wood!

So, Sister Martin and I are getting along great! I found out she actually gets migraines, poor girl. I found out because on Thursday, we knelt down to pray and begin planning, and I could tell something was wrong, so when I asked she said she could feel a migraine coming on, but that she would work through it. I told her that wasn't going to happen, so I shut her in the room with the eye pillow grandma made me to block out the light, and we tried to catch it before it got too bad. She usually has medicine for the migraines because apparently she gets them regularly, but she hasn't been able to fill her prescription yet. Anyway, we got permission to go to Walgreens to get her some Excedrin, and I felt so bad making her go out with a migraine, but sight and sound! :)  Anyway, that made it so all day Thursday, and half of Friday, we were in the apartment. That's what I mean by a slow week. I had some time to study extra, clean some stuff that I haven't been able to get to, and I took a super long nap also, which was actually super awesome! I miss naps, and that made it so that I'm all caught up on sleep, and good to go!

I love that you're studying faith, Dad, cause that's been a large focus in my studies recently also! I've been thinking about a few different aspects of it recently. Partly, how desire and faith are connected. Over and over in the scriptures (not just Alma 32:27) it talks about how desiring (or hungering or thirsting) is enough to start. When Christ is visiting the Americas, He actually speaks of that a few times, and I thought that was super interesting. I've also been thinking about how our faith, no matter how great, cannot force the will of God. However, it clearly does have some influence, otherwise the Brother of Jared never would have seen the Lord. We're also told that we will see miracles according to our faith, and yet only if those are miracles God already wants to show us. If it is not his will to give us a particular miracle (say a healing) then that doesn't mean we have less faith, it just means that we'll have to take the faith we were using to ask for a miracle, and apply it differently. I'm not sure how, but maybe use the faith then for patience and endurance. Anyway, that's been on my mind a lot, and though I wish I could talk with you about it, it's a fascinating experiment to have to just try to study it out on my own, and try to reach my own conclusions, with no outside influence besides the scriptures.

I really can think of any particularly cool "missionary" experiences this week. We've been having a really hard time setting appointments with people, so that's been a challenge. In the meantime, we've been knocking doors and denting sidewalks! I actually love tracting, because you never know what's behind a door, and it is pretty fun just to be able to walk (when the weather is nice) ☀ also, I got some funny pictures from it! So enjoy those:)

I love you sooooo much! I hope you have a great week! You're in my prayers, stay safe, warm, and close to God! ❤

All my love,
Sister Erika Marks ❤