So, there’s lots to talk about this week, but I will probably forget everything. I gave your phone number to a recent convert in Liahonna third so that he could call Mathew. He’s 11 and going to turn 12 this summer his name is Christian and this is his phone number is: XXX. Hna Lamb and I went over to teach him and his mom because his mom hasn’t been going to church. She wasn’t really interested in meeting with us so we asked Christian if he wanted to read out of the Book of Mormon with us. I had my gospel art book with me, and I flipped it open for ideas and it opened up to a picture of Jesus Christ with the blessing the children. So we read from 3 Nephi 17 and we asked him lots of questions about how it would feel to be there and what he would say to Jesus if he was there. He said he’d tell him, “Thanks for taking care of my Dad.” So we were talking about how much Christ loves us so he gave us eternal families and that someday he’d be able to hug Jesus Christ like the kid in the painting, and he started to cry. Anyways, he’s having a really hard time because his mom is going through a lot of things and falling away from the church. So, it would be really cool if Matt and Elly could call him and explain stories from the Book of Mormon to him. And don’t worry, he speaks English better than Spanish. You just might have to ask for him in Spanish because it’s his Mom’s cell phone number.
I also got to visit with Ana before I left which was really nice. We watched God’s Plan for His Family with her and she cried because she always crys and made the VC sister who was helping us listen to her testimony. She’s so excited about the gospel it’s awesome.
I moved to the Valencia branch, which is a much wealthier neighborhood than what I’m used to. When I saw the member home we were moving into the first thing I did was take a picture to send to you. It’s pretty ridic. Anywho, they changed the borders of our area right as I was getting here so now it’s really really small, and we’re full field so it’s going to be a little tricky to find ways to fill up all our time. Carmen and Luis are really golden, but I kind of think the Elders might be better for him. Most of his questions have been about whether or not mormons can date, and the other day he asked if I was considering coming back to AZ for school after my mission. Side note, the answer is an absolute no. This place is a burning pit of sunny doom. Also, my companion flirts with him. Not a huge fan of that.
The other dramatic for me, but will make all of you laugh, news is that I had to finally ride a bike. The first thing that happened was my chain came off, but someone pulled over and showed me how to fix it. Then the first crash I got going too fast, hit the curb, fell, took all the skin of the top of my right foot, right knee, and made a hole in the toe of my toms. Then I almost got hit by a car, and two different cars pulled over to see if I was ok. After which I just started crying because I was so embarrassed/ freaked out. Then I ran into a bush and added some more scratches to my left leg. The other delightful thing that happened that day was we were helping someone move and I dropped a box on my left ankle so there’s a nice lump on my leg. I also found a bunch of bruises on the back of my right leg that I’m not sure how I got. Anyways, delightful. Oh, it’s also about a million degrees, but not to worry, I called last night and got us some more miles. Also there’s really good members in this branch that are pretty willing to help out with rides.
I think this transfer is going to be a little bit rough in comparison to some others so, if you’d like to write me more. That would be cool.
Questions:
Are you already on your fourth companion!?
Yep, I have a feeling that I’m just going to switch companions every 6 weeks.
How long does it take a letter mailed through the post office to get to you? Do you know how long it takes for a letter to arrive through pouch mail? Is it better for us to use the post office?
I think this question is for Rebekah. If not, I don’t know. I do know that I did not recieve any mail this week, and I am not very happy about it.
Have you realized that you are already about half way through your missions? Do you feel like it has it gone fast?
Not really… It feels like I’ve been here forever.
What is the most beautiful thing about the area you are in? (Talking about the nature side of things.)
There’s lots of orange trees here in my new area, and it’s actually really pretty. My areas before didn’t really have any nature besides dessert.
How are all of your investigators doing?
We only have 2 progressing ones right now. Carmen and her brother Luis. Carmen has been taking lessons from the missionaries for about a month and a half. She’s had a couple of baptismal dates that she hasn’t made it to because she can’t quit smoking. She always says it’s because she hasn’t recieved her answer, but that’s clearly not true because whenever we have lessons with Luis she helps us teach. Seriously, she needs to get baptized. She hasn’t missed church since she started meeting with the missionaries and she’s even going to preform in a cultural event the branch is putting on.
How was your first week in your new branch Rach? Is your companion going to make you a even better Spanish speaker?
Probably. She’s not as fluent in English as the other ones have been.
