Fat and Happy!

Buenas Tardes Familia! Espero que todos estan seguros y feliz! Thanksgiving was a crazy day full of food! We ate at two different members’ houses and I was thoroughly filled.

We have not been able to see E. and we heard someone inside as we rang. No one answered and she has not returned our calls...:( Sad day! We had to drop her. We think her mom may have talked to her when she went to visit. She will come around one day.

The other afternoon, Elder K. and I were pondering which street to tract. I saw a street called T. and was intrigued. We decided to tract there. We had some good success in one complex and were leaving to another appointment when we got a referral from HQ. It was through a member I met at a baptism last week, and was for a man named V. We looked at his address and SURPRISE! It was two apartment complexes in front of us on our way to the car. Coincidence? I think NOT! V. was so excited to see us that he let us in right there. We have an appointment to teach him tomorrow at 1:00. I hope and pray he is there and as eager as he was.

We had a lesson with J. and his cousin. J. also came to play basketball with the Elders and other men who play on Wednesday nights! I hope that will be a way to keep him connected to the ward members.

Two of the visitor center sisters in my district said they met my cousin Carmen the other night and that was cool! Brother H. (from Orem) also was at the temple and left a note for me at the mission home. Both of these experiences were little hugs from Heavenly Father. I love the way he does that! :D

We had team-ups with President Baker on Saturday evening and got to talk to some potentials in our area. It was an interesting experience. I was in the front seat and seemed to get most of the "grilling" from President. I would like to see him as a proselyting missionary – he is a powerful teacher. Although it added a bit of stress to our planning, it was worth it and I learned from it.

The best has been saved for last! A. is this week's MVP!!!! She came to church again! She has exploded in her Book of Mormon reading and she prays every day! She chose the 16th as the day she wants to be baptized! We have seen her almost every day and she is so excited. The best part is that her memory has been improving! She remembers more and seems to always be thinking about the gospel. Last night she opened up a lot about why she has been doing what she is doing. She is sincerely changing because she wants to be the best example for her daughter. It was an emotional lesson and I could feel Heavenly Father's love for her almost pulsing around us. It was insane! She has fasted the last 3 days straight (drinking water) and the Spirit has been with her so strongly! Goodness. She has completely TRANSFORMED! I am eager to see what the Lord has in store for her! The gospel is true. I want to help everyone have the same experience April is having and I cannot wait. We all can experience this joy. We need to share the gospel with every one we know and don't know!

I love you all! I hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving and that you didn't eat too much!;) Be safe!

When you're a professional pirate . . . you don't have to wear a suit!

Hey Family! Can you believe that there will be no more Twinkies!?? They will probably last forever if you have one lying around somewhere, though!)

There is a new policy in the mission (effective 12/1/12) that everyone needs to run for 20 minutes every morning. This means I will be in a lot better shape, as will everyone else! The first 3 weeks will be killer, though. I am excited!

We had our Thanksgiving potluck on Saturday and that was a blast! Then on Sunday, A. and M. came to church!!!! It was awesome! They also came to a baptism in the zone! The members were great to give rides and I was extremely grateful. M. has a baptismal date for the 16th of December, which he set on Saturday.:) 

The Turkey Bowl was fun and I worked hard. I 'm not quite sure that we won or not, but I feel like a champion, so we must have!

Our favorite thing to do in the middle of our weekly planning is to take an elote/raspado break. The elotero comes by at the perfect time and all 4 of us run out with our change! It is awesome! Next time I will take a video and picture so you can see it too! Just keep the elote away from your eyes, ‘cause people tend to throw them  around....;) [Editor's note: think Nacho Libre.]

Our zone is doing well and we look forward to an awesome month of December! Can you believe it is almost December? Wow. No puedo creerlo!

Questions to consider: What are you doing today to help someone learn about the gospel? Do you know all your neighbors? Who can benefit? I love the joy that I feel as I see lives changed. I know you will feel it too!
This December, check out www.mormon.org/christmas for opportunities to share the gospel! I love you!

Turkey Bowl today!

Hey family!  It's going to be a brief one today.  We have the Turkey Bowl in 20 minutes, so I need to write quick and get changed.

First, I met Elder K. today, the younger brother of Julia's companion! He just arrived last week to start his mission here in the CLAM. Cool! Maybe we'll be companions someday, too. I will attach a picture.

On Tuesday we went to the Visitor's Center with J.!! He loved it! He said he wanted to spend more time but couldn't.  He sadly did not make it to church on Sunday, though.

L. from Silver Lake was baptized yesterday, and Elder C. and I got to go back for it. It was awesome! He bore his testimony afterward and talked about the day when we tracted into him. It was a special moment. I felt peace, joy, and immense gratitude. I love this work! I am excited for Elders Wood and Toomey to get under way! I love you all!

To the northwest, dirty dishes!

Well, another month gone by. Transfers are this week and I have not even had enough time to think about it really. I think we will both stay here, but I think our zone will be getting a new area. I think President will start planning for all the new missionaries (he is probably way ahead of me... :D).

We had another small lesson with E. on the Book of Mormon and the Plan of Salvation! She was very intent on what we were teaching, and I felt like I could almost see the Spirit working with her. She invited us to come back the next day, but that day was really packed. Hopefully she can come to church one of these days. She works as a nurse and usually has a shift on Sunday...:( We'll see, though. Everything with her is so smooth and natural, like we've met before.

We had a combined zone activity on Halloween night because we had to be inside by 6:00. We played some sports, and a different version of that Quidditch game. It was really fun and I hardly even realized it was Halloween. We ran into a member from the Santa Monica Stake, whose son is serving in Armenia. I asked her about Elder Woolley and he is in her son's district! Small world no?

The other night we were biking and we had no idea what we were going to do for dinner. We rode past a man, and I waved. He then yelled, "Would you like a hamburger!?" After we knocked a few houses, we took him up on it..:) His name was E. and he is an Episcopalian. He was very kind and we also found our dinner! Thank you Heavenly Father.

The highlight of our week was finding J., who is a referral from HQ. The text read, "ready for baptism". As "seasoned" missionaries, we did not believe it right away. We had to investigate a little bit. Eventually we were able to meet with him. He is 22 and big into soccer. His girlfriend is a member and plays soccer for Northridge. She introduced him to the Church and he is currently taking a Book of Mormon class at Santa Monica College. He showed up at the church and we gave him a tour. He said "I think it is time I join the Church" in a thoughtful tone. I was flabbergasted! So then we invited him to be baptized and he said "I will". This guy is unbelievable! He later told us an interesting story. He was driving home from work and he was praying to ask God if he should go to church, even though his girlfriend would be out of town. Immediately following his prayer, he saw two missionaries leaving a house that he was passing. He knew he had received his answer, so he called and referred himself to HQ! Later still, when he saw our car, he asked us if we ever worked on a street called Angeles Vista. That street is in our area.... so it was Elder K. and me that he saw leaving that house two weeks ago, after he prayed! Spiritual twilight zone music was playing in my head!  I know that we are placed in the paths of people who need the gospel and vice versa... It was amazing!

We invited J. to church on Sunday but he wasn't there by the time it had started. We tried to call him but he didn't answer. I was very down. In Gospel Principles class, I said a prayer and asked that he would show up if it was God's will. The next hour, we got a call from J. telling us that he had just arrived, and we literally ran out to meet him! He came to church!!!!!!!!! We are going to the Visitor's Center with him tomorrow! Hopefully he will be ready by his date on the 18th of November! I love you all!!! Our Heavenly Father loves us and I love you, too! Hope you have an incredible week!!!! Stay safe!

Hello from Wild, Wild Westwood!

Since Halloween is coming up, we got all suited up in our mustaches after coordination meeting. I will attache a picture. I thought of the German guy from Stalag 17 and the one from Get Smart.

The biggest news of the week was our Visitors Center trip with A. and D. (her mom). It was AWESOME!!! When we arrived to pick them up they didn't answer the door at first. As we were getting back into the car to leave, A. opened the window and told us not to go so, you know, we decided we should probably stay. :D They absolutely loved the VC! Even after the sister missionaries finished helping us, they wanted to explore a bit more. The next day, we went over and followed up with them. A. had been thinking about it all night. She had a dream that the Christus was moving and talking to her. D. has already decided that she wants to get baptized on her birthday in November!

Last Monday we had a zone activity at the Westwood building; we played soccer and this other game that was a mix between rugby, ultimate frisbee and quidditch.  We had a blast and I was incredibly sore the next 3 or 4 days. It hurt SO good!

I cannot remember if I told you about E., but she read the pamphlet we left and had questions! We also left a Book of Mormon and she promised to read it (part of it) before Tuesday! We have been really excited and have been FLOODING Los Angeles with the Book of Mormon! Some Elders in our zone even got 2 referrals from people who read an ad in the play bill for the Book of Mormon Musical. We also get asked about Mitt Romney almost every day, too.

We started teaching a 19-year-old named M. He has a lot of questions. He read all of the pre-book stuff in the BOM. He kept asking us, "What more can you tell me?" I wanted to hit him with everything, but I knew he would probably explode! He offered the closing prayer and after he finished, he was moved by the Spirit. All he could say was "That was a trip". He described his mind expanding and being filled with light!

We taught a member with the help of our powerhouse, Elder Holland. It was an awesome lesson. I got the heeby jeebies! We taught a woman named H. yesterday and I started crying as my companion shared the story of the First Vision. I love those confirmations from the Spirit. It was a packed week, full of the Spirit!