Week 24

Hola! Well another week has passed and I can hardly believe it. This week has been warm and I love it! It was in the high 80's yesterday and was about 70 when we went shopping at 630 this morning. I love Southern Cali! Well there was an earthquake on Thursday but we didn't even know it. We came home and the Chase's asked us if we had felt it and we hadn't. Sister Hoover was pretty bummed. She wanted to experience another earthquake before she goes home. Maybe she will. Who knows? Tuesday night we had an enrichment activity. It was game night. One lady brought Ticket to Ride and I wanted to play so bad but we can't play board games. Sad day! We ended up playing a game called Rage. It was really fun. Everyone got to see the competitive side of me. It was really fun to visit with the sisters and to spend time with them, getting to know them as people. Wednesday we were able to do some service. It was really fun. We helped a lady in our ward clean up her house. Sister Jenkins is a great help to us. Thursday we got a media referral which hasn't happened in this area for awhile. We were pretty excited. We taught him last night with Sister Wheeler. His name is Carl. His friend had been talking to him about the church and he got on the website and sent in a request. I'm not sure that he was completely interested but he was very open minded and nice. I'm pretty sure he thought we were crazy. But he has a Book of Mormon, a Mormon friend so only good things can happen. The seed has been planted. We also talked to Nick who is eleven and living with a family in our ward. He comes to church every Sunday. We will probably take it a little slow at first so we don't overwhelm him but I don't doubt that he will be baptized. Thursday night we had dinner at the Bishop's house. It is always so fun there. They have 5 girls. When we taught them the lesson we
challenged them to write their testimony in the Book of Mormon as a family. We are going to prayerfully give that Book of Mormon and then if we continue to teach this family we wanted to involve the Johnson's in the teaching process. Bishop loved the idea! I'm excited to see what happens. I know that the Lord will place it where it needs to be. It will be a wonderful experience to see a family help someone come to Christ. Friday we taught the Capps. Brother Capps seems to be struggling a little. The last 2 times he has been different. I think the reality of being baptized scares him. He has never been interested and now he is seeing how important it is. I know he will be baptized but it is going to take more time than we had hoped. Satan is working hard on him and his wife. His wife is trying to quit smoking and is doing a remarkable job. She used to smoke 2 packs a day and now she has only had a couple since Christmas. We gave her a framed picture of the Newport Beach temple to help her remember why she is stopping. That is where she wants to go and she knows how to get there. They loved it. I just love this family. Friday night Sister Hoover had an interview with President. It was so great to see him. I just love that man! Sister Sexton called us the next morning and told us that they wanted to have a sister's lunch. After talking to us Friday they decided that they were going to do it. So today we are having lunch at President's house! I am so excited! I am super excited to see Sister Colwell! I really just miss her! I feel so privileged to be invited to eat at President's home. There are only 8 of us. 2 weeks from today there will be 6 and then one short transfer later only 4. There are bonuses to being small in numbers. Friday night we also taught Brooklyn Flacks. She is a recent convert but hasn't been to church since I have been in this area. Her mom is less active and it's hard. It makes me sad to see people make these sacred covenants without realizing how important they are. We can't just be baptized and be saved. It is something we have to work at for our entire lives. This was the first time that we have taught them since I got here. They have a standing appointment but they always cancel. We went and picked up my clean coat and helped Juanito with his fractions. It was fun to do math. Sister Hoover gave me the job of explaining it in Spanish to his dad. That was interesting. I don't know if he understood. I didn't practice that one in the MTC. Saturday was a fun. I was feeling sick but I just worked anyway. We had lunch at the Bautista's. Cleo made this soup that tasted exactly like spaghettios but much better. She also made a soup that had half a cob a corn, huge pieces of chicken, potatoes, winter squash, and carrots. It wasn't bite size pieces. It was crazy. And of course we had tortillas. You never eat a meal without tortillas at their house. We visited Gretchen randomly. She has been sick all week. The poor dear. She was having a hard time. Noah luckily was a big help but he can't do much for the baby. Jayden is a chunk! He is just like Matthew. He is about as big as Noah. I bet they are pretty close in weight. It is always comforting to act on the spirit and to see that it wasn't you but the Lord working through you. We had a ward party that night. It was a chili cook-off. I promised President Chase that I would eat some of his chili which was loaded with jalapeños. It was good though. I really liked it. There was a huge turnout. We even had an investigator come. Noma came with Sister Wiseman. We visited Noma the day before. We had a wonderful lesson about faith and repentance. We are committing her to baptism on Wednesday. I really think that she is ready, just as long as her health cooperates. She has some great friends at church. Fellowship is one of the biggest keys to having successful missionary work. Sister Wiseman taught everyone how to dance. She was dressed in boots and a fancy western dress and the biggest smile you ever saw. She is a riot. She is 80 and never stops. She just returned from her own mission about 2 years ago. She is truly amazing. We then took some chili over to Gretchen and Monica. They were excited because the chili sounded good but they couldn't make it to the party. Sunday was ward conference. We didn't have an went to the Bautista's and had Osvaldo follow us to church. He was really nervous about coming to the English ward but he loved it! We introduced him to Bishop Johnson and he is super excited to come back next Sunday. He only needed translating at some points which I think surprised him. Sister Hoover told me that he understood my jokes in english. He said "She doesn't just do that it Spanish?" I guess it is just part of my personality. The meetings in church were wonderful. The spirit was so strong and I just love this ward! I love the bishop and everyone. It is an amazing experience to be in a ward as a missionary. You have the opportunity to learn and see the love of the ward members. You get to see how everything works and how much time and effort and thought and love are put into everything. I have a gained a deep appreciation for all that goes into the organization of the church. It is truly inspired of God. After church we did our studies and then went to the Wheeler's. Our dinner appointment cancelled so we went to their house to eat. We had some great laughs. They are such a great family. They always bring up how I broke the gas cap. I feel right at home with them. Yesterday we had a busy day as well. We walked around in the warm sunshine for awhile in the morning. It felt so good! We then went and taught Monica and Gretchen. We talked to them about the gospel and why it is important. It was a really great lesson. The spirit was so strong. We convinced Gretchen that see needed to go to the doctor. That is one place she refuses to go. We went to the Johnson's to ask if they would come to the Bautista's and help us teach them about the priesthood. It is hard to teach the priesthood as a sister. I know the blessings of the priesthood but we aren't involved like the brethren are. We taught the Bautista's about tithing. It is a sensitive subject for them. It is hard to see that it will be a blessing when you don't have a lot of money and a lot of things to pay for. It really is a trial of our faith. I am grateful for the testimony that I have gained of tithing. I know that this gospel is true. I am truly amazed everyday at the love my Heavenly Father has for me. He is real and He knows each and every one of us. It is a beautiful thing. I love being a missionary! I love you all and hope that you have an amazing week! Thanks for all of you love and support!