Mustache March!

So, first of all, Elder H. and I are both staying in Centinela. Second, I looked up Centinela in my Spanish dictionary when I read the word in the BOM. It means sentry or guard. :) We are the watch in this area, after all!

We have lots to do with the transfers. New areas have been opened, people need bikes and the zone leaders are both training new missionaries, too! There are also nine new ZLS who are being trained. Crazy times!

We have a new investigator named D. and her son H. They are awesome! We invited them to be baptized, but they say they are not ready yet. We did our best and they still want to meet with us, so that is good. This last transfer has been a deja vu transfer for me. It seems like everyone I meet is SO familiar. I really think I met D. and H. before coming here. I was praying the other night for them, and I could see them in white. I was also given the names of two women to fellowship her. More to come this week. We are meeting again tomorrow! :D

Something interesting I learned from Elder Holland's talk about the Atonement is that everyone here on earth already acted upon their faith in the premortal world and overcame Satan's plan. If they did it once, why not again!:) As we share and they listen, these things echo in their hearts and mind. They are remembering their own testimony as it rings true. That is why it seems so familiar to them. I love the apostles. They rock!

Temple service was great! I was able to work on the Birds of Paradise again! Woot! This time there were lots of us so it was more enjoyable.

This week was very busy and it went by fast. We won the clean house award/runner up! We don't know which because we had a meeting during the award lunch :( We have been focusing on members and they help a lot! Our new zone goal is all about them, too. Whenever we have a member present at a lesson, we take pictures with our mustaches. That is part of the game (Mustache March)... :) Well, I love you a lot and hope this week was a great one. If not, you can make it so!  Cuidate!

P.S. Tomorrow, 34 new missionaries arrive in L.A. Nine are full field sisters speaking Spanish! Our area is being changed and some sisters are coming to Hermosa Liahona! Now there will be five companionships in the ward!

March is upon us?!!

Santa MAPACHE! I cannot believe I have been in Centinela for a whole month! So weird. I also cannot believe it is almost March!  37 missionaries will hit Los Angeles next Wednesday!

So I was looking over Elder Bednar's “Becoming a Missionary” talk from 2005 and it gave me a lot of peace. I had been a bit worried about going home, but his talk helped me realize that I will always be a missionary. Elder Bednar discussed how missionary work is a priesthood obligation, not a part-time thing, and that will help me stay focused. That big transfer (going home) will eventually come but I don’t have to worry about it.

We had an awesome lesson with S. on Friday night! He feels more peace now. He came to church and stayed for the baptism of a family, too!

We met a lot of Vietnamese people last week and I wished I could speak their language. We found a referral for the Chinese elders; she wanted a Book of Mormon in Chinese which was super cool. We also found five new investigators and I feel really good about all of them. I could visualize them all in white, preparing to go to the temple. I believe I am beginning to see people as the brothers and sisters they are.

One new investigator is named L.; her grandparents are members. She invited us in but she was alone, so we set another appointment. She really liked the idea of the Atonement healing her life, and sounded interested in the Book of Mormon as well. A man named M. was a referral from a 9-year-old girl in his apartment complex. At first he was not too interested, but warmed up after a while and now we are going back to watch “Finding Faith in Christ” with him :) We met I. last night, and he told us he will be waiting outside his house on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. to go to church with us. I was happy to see his conviction. He is taking off work to give back to the Lord, he says.

We also met C. and M., who are former investigators. They were discussing the Pope and how their faith has wavered since he announced his resignation. We were able to clear up a lot of false ideas they had about the Church, and they seemed excited to learn more after that.  M. asked us how she can study the Book of Mormon.  Their schedules are busy, but Sundays are good and we will stop by to say “hi” before then.

This work is incredible. I love it! This last week we have been working hard on listening and discerning people’s needs, and it has brought a lot of success! I will report on all our investigators next week. :) Temple service on Friday this week! Woo hoo! Preparation day next week is on a Tuesday due to transfers! Love you!

P.S. We cut our hair today (see the attached picture).

In like Flynn

I love you all! Did you have a great week? Time is still flying by. I am loving being on bike, although my autoverk is getting sore. I like being out and about. The weather has warmed up a tad, so I don't need a jacket at night very often. I love it!

We found out that in July, President and Sister Weidman will replace President and Sister Baker... so weird! What will life be like without the Bakers! Santa mapache!

We found a girl named B. who may have some potential. Every time we have gone over though, she was not there and we ended up teaching whatever family member was home. We want to teach all of the A. family together, but we'll see how that goes. Lately my focus has been on listening and using the promptings from the Spirit to relate whatever our investigators say to the gospel. Mormon.org cards are AWESOME and help us to teach truth.

My new district here is great! We are all really close. We hope we don't get split up this upcoming transfer, but our ward may get a new companionship – possibly sisters. There are nine Spanish-speaking sisters coming in, and 27 English elders! That is insane! 

We taught S. about temples and also went to the visitors’ center with him and the G. family for the musical fireside last night! We didn't get to invite him to be baptized. A concern came up and we covered that instead, but he is still in the works!

The other night we tracted into a man who was watching an Errol Flynn movie, and I was able to use my classic movie knowledge to break the ice with him. Thanks Mom!

At stake conference, Elder Marcus B. Nash came and it was so incredible! I took notes, which I have never really done at stake conference before. :D

Make sure you are praying everyday, having FHE and reading the scriptures! I promise it will help us all! I love you!  Take care! It was a great week! Sorry it was a short one! I love you!!!!

Baptism news!

Buenos dias Familia!!! This last week was nutso! It went by so fast! Things are picking up here. We have appointments AND we got the Mobile Area Book in order so we are more organized in our work. It is Harry Potter themed and it is so fun to use in context. We live just outside the Womping Willow in the shrieking shack! Ha ha ha! We go to Azkaban all the time and we never go to the Forbidden Forest. The chamber of secrets is also a hard area to work in :D. We love it! We are pretty nerdy! We have a lesson set up with S, who was being taught before we got here. We are aiming to set a baptismal date with him tomorrow even though it will be the first lesson we have with him. He seems pretty cool.

The members here are great! One of them, Hermano S, has signed up to feed us for the third week in a row. I really love them already. Our ward mission leader, Hermano R, is really good. Yesterday he tailored the Gospel Principles lesson to two investigators, and now the whole family will be baptized on the 24th! Crazy! We received a note from a girl for Valentines Day at church yesterday, and if made me feel so good. It said, “Thank you for being good examples in my ward.”

Elder Bednar has a great talk entitled “Becoming a Missionary” that I really enjoyed last week; I also enjoyed Elder Tad R. Callister’s awesome talk about integrity in this month's Ensign. I highly recommend it!

 We helped tear out a wall at a member’s home, to re-convert the room back into a garage! It was so fun! We did so much service this last week. It's the most I've done in one week since being in L.A.

After being in an English area, I feel like my gospel foundation is more solid, and the Spanish is the new test. I am really grateful that I could learn how to be a better missionary during my time in English. I’m more confident about talking to people – now my Spanish just needs to improve!

The highlight of the week: While we were tearing out the wall, I got a phone call from Elder H. about A (the investigator we were teaching together in Baldwin Hills). I went to his baptism yesterday!!!!! We were nearly late due to traffic, so I didn't get a picture with him, but it was awesome!!! Brother H. (the member who accompanied us to all of A's lessons) baptized him and it was so cool! It was a really great service. I will try to get a picture from Elder H. somehow.

I love you all! The gospel does enable us to change and be happier! It does change lives! It has changed all of ours, so who do you know that needs that change in their life? Ask the missionaries, they can help you! ;) Have a fantastic week! Welcome back to Utah, Davisons!

We are family!

We played volleyball last Tuesday for our zone activity (my last in West Wood zone). We are also going to be playing today in South Bay zone, so fun day today! I am on a bike now, I cannot remember if I mentioned that before. It is really different, but my area is not too big so it is very bike-able. After 1.5 years in a car, I feel a little out of place.  My new companion is Elder H. He is from Kamiah, Idaho and is brand spanking new. Kamiah is a very small town (only like a thousand people live there) so LA is really different for him, but he is doing well. It is fun because he asks me a lot of the same questions that I asked when I was a noob. It is also very weird because it was a year ago that Elder D. came in. It must be a good time of the year to train. ;)

I am sort of going through withdrawals from my old area (which is normal, I guess). I miss Westwood zone and funny enough, I miss being a zone leader. I never thought I would say that, but I do. Everything is so different now. I think I could say almost every aspect of my mission life did a 180. I'm back in Spanish, flush training, on a bike, a normal missionary and in a new ward! Wow! I am learning to love it, though. It has been a slow start since neither of us has been here before. Now that we are beginning to know members and some former investigators, it is picking up. After six months in English, my Spanish took a bit of a hit, but in a week or two I should be back to normal.

I saw a few Inglewood 2nd ward members on Saturday, which was fun. This area is directly south of Fox Hills, with a bit more going east. Rosecrans was my south border in Inglewood, and now it is my northern border here. So funny! Three of my four areas touch boundaries! :D Elder M. also served here.

 Elder C. was in this area right before me; he is a ZL in a Spanish area by the temple now. They dropped most of their investigators right before they left and not too much was going on, but we have met some former investigators and some awesome members! I don't know what I would do without them. I appreciate them tons more now that we have no clue who anyone is.

We had two big service projects yesterday and I am beginning to love the zone. Time to make this zone/area the best that I have ever had! I love you all! Be safe!