Friday, November 25, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Thanksgiving Week!
Hey Everyone!! I love you! Mom, I think you asked what we are doing for Thanksgiving, but we don't really know. I know we have a service project in the morning, and I think several families have invited us to dinner....fat time! Which brings me to my weight. This Mexican food is very fattening and it’s really hard to say no to the families who feed you. We eat with a family almost every night and I have gained about 5 lbs since the MTC. I can feel my pants tightening around my waist which has NEVER happened to me before. I am getting chubby! Don't laugh too much ok. I am trying. It is pretty inevitable to gain weight. I just need to keep it as low as I can.
The other day we knocked a door that was answered by a French woman named M. She was very nice and had had good relations with "Mormons" before. She was impressed when I said "I don't know" in French. She also guessed that I had Swedish blood in me.... Crazy huh, Dad? We will go by again to see if she wants to learn more, because she kind of shrugged us off. She did give us a referral though, which was very unexpected.
I taught a blind man while on splits with our English zone leaders and that was cool. He was making herbal tea (instead of coffee!) and being very efficient. The weird part was turning off the lights as we left his house. It made me realize how horrible it would be to live in complete darkness for a lifetime. That is what the Church is for!! To bring light to people’s lives!!
We finally made contact with a referral we almost gave up on. He is 44 years old but looks 24; he wants to know more and wants to come to church. When we gave him a Book of Mormon (given to me by the Primary...:D) he asked "Well, ..where do I start?" I have never had an investigator ask me that in the first meeting!! Super cool! We assigned him Moroni 10 for next time! We also found two new families who seem to have lots of potential. The C. family let us in on the first contact last night! The work is going forth and I love to be on the front row!!!!
On Saturday we served a member family by hauling dirt. The funnest part was making our own lemonade and orange juice right from the trees afterward. They are baby trees, but the fruit was pretty sweet. We had a blast! The LA Galaxy also won the cup yesterday so it is fun to be a part of the city. Actually not too many people are fans of MLS here. It is all Chivas and other national clubs. Having played soccer really makes a connection with a lot of people out here. I hope to play with some members or investigators one day. They'll probably school me. I know the Lord blesses us in ALL we do. Que les vaya bien! Les quiero!
"Christ's love is for ALL, but He NEVER loses sight of the one" -Elder Jose L. Alonso
The other day we knocked a door that was answered by a French woman named M. She was very nice and had had good relations with "Mormons" before. She was impressed when I said "I don't know" in French. She also guessed that I had Swedish blood in me.... Crazy huh, Dad? We will go by again to see if she wants to learn more, because she kind of shrugged us off. She did give us a referral though, which was very unexpected.
I taught a blind man while on splits with our English zone leaders and that was cool. He was making herbal tea (instead of coffee!) and being very efficient. The weird part was turning off the lights as we left his house. It made me realize how horrible it would be to live in complete darkness for a lifetime. That is what the Church is for!! To bring light to people’s lives!!
We finally made contact with a referral we almost gave up on. He is 44 years old but looks 24; he wants to know more and wants to come to church. When we gave him a Book of Mormon (given to me by the Primary...:D) he asked "Well, ..where do I start?" I have never had an investigator ask me that in the first meeting!! Super cool! We assigned him Moroni 10 for next time! We also found two new families who seem to have lots of potential. The C. family let us in on the first contact last night! The work is going forth and I love to be on the front row!!!!
On Saturday we served a member family by hauling dirt. The funnest part was making our own lemonade and orange juice right from the trees afterward. They are baby trees, but the fruit was pretty sweet. We had a blast! The LA Galaxy also won the cup yesterday so it is fun to be a part of the city. Actually not too many people are fans of MLS here. It is all Chivas and other national clubs. Having played soccer really makes a connection with a lot of people out here. I hope to play with some members or investigators one day. They'll probably school me. I know the Lord blesses us in ALL we do. Que les vaya bien! Les quiero!
"Christ's love is for ALL, but He NEVER loses sight of the one" -Elder Jose L. Alonso
Monday, November 14, 2011
A Jam-Packed Week
I am approaching my third week here!! Crazy! I have not been bitten by a dog, but we ran into several drunk people -- one of which accused Elder C. of doing bad things. Every day I learn something new; it's great! I am feeling a lot more at home and the Spanish is coming bit by bit. I have had several conversations where I just started talking and took NO thought what to say. It's awesome! I saw Elder Matheson at zone conference this past week and we stayed together for most of the conference. It was fun. I would never have guessed we would be in the same mission, let alone me be receiving training from him as a zone leader.
I am so happy to hear about Sister B. and her successes (and bites). We have seen some nasty looking pit bulls here. It really is a lot like Mexico; most people drink soda and if they drink water, it is ALWAYS bottled. Recycling bottles is another big thing, too.
We had an awesome lesson the other night. We watched the Joseph Smith movie in Spanish and talked about the Restoration. Y. (who never used to come out of her room when we taught) straight up said we could teach her now! We were tap dancing in our hearts it was so cool! Her mom is also praying to know if she should be baptized. :D AND another incredible thing happened... Hermana M. and her son L. will be baptized on the 27th of this month!!! We are so happy for them and excited! My first two baptisms! We also got a return appointment from a man we met fixing a car anoche. My new goal has been to talk to everyone and not be afraid. Last night it worked awesome!! P.S If anyone is keeping up with MLS, Galaxy is in the finals!! I hope they win!
I had a cool experience on Saturday. We were talking to a drunk man named M. He asked us to pray for him, so I said we would. He didn’t believe us, so I said a prayer with him and Elder C. right there in the parking lot. It wasn't weird at all actually. It was kind of fun!
I am so happy to hear about Sister B. and her successes (and bites). We have seen some nasty looking pit bulls here. It really is a lot like Mexico; most people drink soda and if they drink water, it is ALWAYS bottled. Recycling bottles is another big thing, too.
We had an awesome lesson the other night. We watched the Joseph Smith movie in Spanish and talked about the Restoration. Y. (who never used to come out of her room when we taught) straight up said we could teach her now! We were tap dancing in our hearts it was so cool! Her mom is also praying to know if she should be baptized. :D AND another incredible thing happened... Hermana M. and her son L. will be baptized on the 27th of this month!!! We are so happy for them and excited! My first two baptisms! We also got a return appointment from a man we met fixing a car anoche. My new goal has been to talk to everyone and not be afraid. Last night it worked awesome!! P.S If anyone is keeping up with MLS, Galaxy is in the finals!! I hope they win!
I had a cool experience on Saturday. We were talking to a drunk man named M. He asked us to pray for him, so I said we would. He didn’t believe us, so I said a prayer with him and Elder C. right there in the parking lot. It wasn't weird at all actually. It was kind of fun!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Nacho Time
Hey everyone! Can you believe I have been in L.A. for almost 2 weeks now? Time blows by! This past week was super cool. Hermana M. chose her baptism date for next Sunday. Her son was just waiting for her to commit, so we'll hopefully have his baptism soon, too.
I have felt an immense amount of love from the members here. They treat me like family. The R. family has us over for dinner occasionally; they fed us the second night I was here. I can't explain my love for them and the 2nd Ward! My companion and I have fun working together; we are a lot alike.
The reason this email is called Nacho Time is because of the awesome Nacho Libre experiences I've had here lately. The other day a member offered to buy me some elote. Elote is a cob of corn on a stick with mayonnaise and chile -- like what Stephen throws into that one dude's eye in the movie. The next time the elote man comes around, I'm going to buy one and take my picture with it!
Another time we were stopped at a red light and I saw a legit Lucha Libre sign on the light post! The last Nacho-like experience was a toothless crazy lady. I was on splits and she swore that I knew her and had given her a Book of Mormon. Yeah, I was a little creeped-out, but not too bad.
I have felt an immense amount of love from the members here. They treat me like family. The R. family has us over for dinner occasionally; they fed us the second night I was here. I can't explain my love for them and the 2nd Ward! My companion and I have fun working together; we are a lot alike.
The reason this email is called Nacho Time is because of the awesome Nacho Libre experiences I've had here lately. The other day a member offered to buy me some elote. Elote is a cob of corn on a stick with mayonnaise and chile -- like what Stephen throws into that one dude's eye in the movie. The next time the elote man comes around, I'm going to buy one and take my picture with it!
Another time we were stopped at a red light and I saw a legit Lucha Libre sign on the light post! The last Nacho-like experience was a toothless crazy lady. I was on splits and she swore that I knew her and had given her a Book of Mormon. Yeah, I was a little creeped-out, but not too bad.
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