Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
A favorite thing Sister Birch and I like to do is watch Book of Mormon videos (Have y'all seen those yet?!?!?! I'm literally obsessed with them they're so good, go check them out if you haven't) and eat ice cream after 9:00. So if you were ever wondering how missionaries party, that is how.
The drivers in LA are actually pretty patient and kind for the most part because everyone here has accepted that they live in LA and are definitely not going to get where they're going quickly. It's pretty nice.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
We had a zone p-day where we all hung out and carved jack-o-lanterns, which was super fun because the majority of us are not American so we got to help them make their first jack-o-lanterns. I love the Los Angeles zone so much. I'm so lucky to be best pals with some awesome missionaries.
We went to our ward's family home evening that they hold once a month. We invited a few friends and were really hoping someone would come. Well, our friend Monique did! It was our first time meeting her. It was a miracle that she came. That night we learned about the Holy Ghost, and Monique said she had been avoiding us for over a month now because she was feeling alone and unworthy. Us and all the ward members told her that that wasn't true and everyone welcomed her back into the group. We loved meeting her, and she said she will be ready to be baptized at the beginning of the coming year.
We went to lunch at El Coyote again thanks to the generosity of dear Brother Christofferson. We were there with Sister Child and Sister Zegarra, as well as Brother Caphart and our dear friend Kim! It made Kim feel really special and happy, and since Brother Caphart invited her to church she agreed to come!
We did a finding activity as a district! We stood on the corner of Wilshire and Western with some posters and Bibles, and had a sign-up list where people could write down their contact information so we could deliver a free Bible to them! It was absolutely amazing; we had a lot of success. It helped us feel more comfortable in our callings as well, and we definitely got closer as a district. I love them and it was a great way to find people to teach.
At district council this week we practiced delivering Bibles since we will all obviously be delivering a lot of Bibles very soon! Sister Birch and I have a few favorite things we love to do when we deliver Bibles so it was nice to get to practice that on Elder Kiyabu, one of the senior missionaries over the Los Angeles zone.
ABULLA WAS BAPTIZED!
More on that in a bit.
We went to LA Heart, an interfaith community activity celebrating and promoting religious freedom. It was absolutely amazing. We sang in a small choir with a bunch of other missionaries (named by our zone leaders, Elder Franco and Elder Chew, the Chanco Choir) and let me tell you it was wonderful. Not only did I love getting to sing on a stage again, but I loved getting to sing for others about how we are children of a loving Heavenly Father, the most important thing we could ever know. It was cool as well because we sang in all different languages: English, Spanish, American Sign Language, and Farsi. People of all religions were smiling, cheering, and crying. I know we all felt the Spirit there that day.
We went to an event at the visitors' center where an amazing blogger (yes, it definitely made me miss blogging) Corinne Stokoe talked about finding hope and healing during addiction recovery, specifically about the Addiction Recovery Program. We went with our friends Monique and Destiny, plus a bunch of our ward members that are in charge of the Addiction Recovery Program in the Los Angeles California stake. We all had a great time together and felt a lot of peace and hope as we remembered the healing power of repentance. Something Sister Stokoe said was that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real--it's not a fairy tale, it's not something we say at church because it sounds nice. It's real, and it works.
FRIENDS:
Wow, Sister Birch and I are hardly teaching William a thing but he still knows the entirety of the gospel. Hey, that's what happens when you read the Book of Mormon, pray, and desire to know the truth!
We had breakfast with Rossanna this week and it was wonderful. There are a lot of blessings she wants that she is closer to than she thinks! We love her and are so happy for how hard she is working.
We, first of all, got to have lunch with Abulla and some other pals, food from his native country so that was super awesome. We taught him the final things he needed to know before his baptismal interview. Then finally he was baptized and received the Holy Ghost. I respect Abulla so much for how seriously he takes the gospel. I am so excited for him as he continues to walk down righteous paths, because I know even greater miracles are happening. We also taught him how to use the Gospel Library app in his native language so his family can learn more about the gospel. We are so happy for them.
We met Rhona, who has a really strong faith and love for God. He is the center of her life. We started teaching her about the Plan of Salvation and she understands it all really well.
We taught John about the importance of praying, reading the scriptures, and especially the Sabbath day. He seemed to really see the seriousness of all of those things.
We introduced Kim to Come, Follow Me and she loved the resource to help us be more responsible for our own learning!
We could tell Destiny hasn't been doing well for awhile. We finally asked what was wrong and she opened up about a lot of terrible things she's gone through in life. We told her that God doesn't want her to hold her burdens on her own, that she always as Him--and her missionaries. Since she has opened up to us we have been able to help her more and I can see she has already felt happier.
We did another Bible study with Ayanna--she truly sees how God is the reason she can do everything despite her trials. We love her and she is awesome.
Alvaro is a new friend that requested a visit from missionaries because he wants to learn more about God. His faith is very strong and he asks very good questions!
We read the Book of Mormon with Monique. We were glad to reassure her that God sees all of the effort she is putting in to be baptized. She is amazing.
We saw an insane amount of miracles this week. Our work is really praying off and we are so happy for that. What a joy to be participating in the work of salvation!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day
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