Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
Here in the Palos Verdes zone, we express love to each other by sending the snowman emoji (for we all hope to one day have a love as true as Elder Jones and the snowman emoji). We have full conversations of just sending the snowman emoji. This is the purest form of love.
Also, they way my missionary friends show affection for me is by calling me Hermana Dia. It's just the best feeling when they call me that because you can feel the love in that statement, hahaha.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
Okay, I'm going to preface this by saying that I am entirely fine. I am happy and I am doing well. But I would be crazy if I left this part out of my account of the week, because it is pretty much the biggest thing that has happened to me this week. I didn't tell you all last week because I didn't know what was wrong, which is very typical of me because I have a difficult time understanding pain. But last week I got very sick, and I didn't realize t for many days. I had a severe headache, my throat felt like it was on fire and constantly dehydrated, and I felt too weak and exhausted to do anything. Us missionaries only work over the phone right now, and I felt too tired to even do that. I would pass out pretty much as soon as we got a break every second. Even more sneakily and subtly (my pain sensitivity is very low, do not judge me for my density), it was slightly hard to breathe. On Sunday I had finally realized that something was more than just a little off, something was in fact very wrong. I racked my brain for all manner of illnesses I could possibly have. Then Elder Jones sent a text to the zone stating that a missionary in the mission had flu-like symptoms and had been in contact with other missionaries. They were still waiting on their test results and all missionaries were quarantined for two days until the test results were in. But the crazy thing is, my friends, that the second I saw that text, I had an oddly spiritual experience because I just knew. I knew that was what I had; I had COVID-19. Sister Allred had me contact the mission nurse and I told President the next day, and he had a doctor reach out to me. I was told to wait it out for that day, but the day after, Sister Allred had me contact the mission nurse and I told President the next day, and he had a doctor reach out to me. I was told to wait it out for that day, but the day after, Sister Allred had developed my symptoms. So then there was NO MORE ignoring the fact that we had COVID. They ordered a test for us that day, and we were no longer allowed to pick up our new companion so she got assigned to a companionship in LA 3rd, and all the sisters in the Palos Verdes zone were put in quarantine. We took the test in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard (so that was a big tender mercy for me). President Cordon called us frequently and helped us treat ourselves--he said we were going to assume that we had COVID, which was nice because it really was a spiritual experience--I knew I had it, and I could tell President knew we had it too. WE got the official test results the following morning, which pretty much involved waiting around anxiously for President or the assistants to open it for us because our internet access is limited as missionaries. When we finally got the call from the assistants they told me my test results were negative. I just sat there and cried. I knew I had the illness, but even if by chance I didn't, I knew I wouldn't get medical attention if I didn't have COVID even though I was in fact very sick. President got the results. I cannot even begin to tell you how relieved I was when he said, "There are a lot of things that we don't know about the virus. In order to take care of both of you we are going to assume that you may have COVID-19. We will continue with your quarantine and monitoring your symptoms." President and I had a short little phone call together and pretty much decided we have COVID-19. I'm not saying a lot, I'm just saying this: this illness is unlike any other I have ever felt, I match the symptoms perfectly, and there is a 30% false negativity rate. Yes, I have corona. We had a virtual meeting as a mission right after I talked to President about working together in unity since so many wards now have multiple companionships. At the end of the meeting President asked if he could say a few things. After making a few statements about the importance of unity when doing the work of the Lord, he made sure to reemphasize the importance of maintaining good health practices during this time. I sat there and watched as my president told all of the missionaries in the CLAM that two of our number very likely had COVID-19. And then he told the elders and sisters, and his tone shifted the way it does when we are about to receive a very serious invitation to act, he called them to pray for our health, that they didn't need to know our names because the Lord knew who we were, but that they needed to pray for our health. It meant the world to me. To add even another tender mercy to that, Sister Sanerive said the closing prayer for that meeting, so I got to hear my trainer pray for me. So yeah, that's how I became the first missionary in the CLAM to get the corona virus! If we thought the version of being a missionary when other people had the corona virus was weird, I promise the version of being a missionary and actually having the virus is even weirder. I beg of you to not worry about me. It of course has been an interesting week, and I have indeed been sick, but I am getting better all the time. There have been so many tender mercies. People (those who know and those who do not) have been showing so much care for us. Our friends, who do not know we are sick, have been praying harder than ever for us, especially for our health and safety. To restate that, the Spirit has literally been prompting our friends to pray for our health that they do not of themselves know is poor right now. We have the prayers of the entire CLAM behind us! And now, I know we have your prayers as well. With that said, I implore you, do not tell anyone in the South Bay that we are sick. We do not want them to know; they will worry about us too much. We are doing quite well. Between President Cordon and Sister Cordon, Sister Malcom and Elder Malcom, Sister Galorath, Sister Eddy and Elder Eddy, Sister Price and Sister Wall, Sister Nault and Sister Torkornoo, and Elder Jones and Elder Judd (not to mention the rest of the missionaries in the Palos Verdes zone), we are well taken care of. We should be quarantined for about another week and a half--we'll keep you posted!
We had a wonderful last district council of the transfer. It was over video call again not just because all of the sisters in the Palos Verdes zone are in quarantine, but also because all indoor activities in California have been prohibited. We learned about developing the faith to succeed, not just to try out best. I love my little district; they are absolute angels. We have a lot of fun together and learn a lot from each other.
We had an incredible Makeup with the Sisters themed "Green: I am a Tree". Enough said.
Also a fantastic mission prep where we learned about many things, one being How to Begin Teaching, which many of you know I feel very passionately about because it is the only thing I didn't properly learn how to do before my mission and didn't properly learn how to do until my FIFTH TRANSFER. (For those of you that don't know, that is a LONG TIME to not know how to do an essential teaching skill.)
I got my last transfer packet of my mission as I prepare to start my final transfer. I always pictured this being such a dramatic moment of my mission, receiving my final assignment in the CLAM, but it was undoubtedly the least dramatic transfer news I've ever gotten. I am staying in Palos Verdes with Sister Allred, which was of course entirely expected. I knew we would not be transferred because we both have corona. Adding to the anticlimactic nature of this transfer call was the fact that we have been getting new missionaries every week for the past few months, so assignments are changing all the time. That does mean I could end up getting an assignment change again before the end of my mission, but I don't see myself leaving Palos Verdes. Leaving Palos Verdes feels the way leaving the CLAM did when I was waiting for my second mission call, not even realistic at all. I could not imagine it actually happening, and so it is with Palos Verdes. I cannot see myself finishing my mission anywhere else. It has become a home. I have experienced my greatest happiness and my greatest sadness in Palos Verdes. I have built a family here unlike I have anywhere else. I HAVE SPENT THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF MY MISSION HERE. I have to end it in Palos Verdes.
FRIENDS:
We shared the story about when Jesus visited the people of ancient America with Beverly this week. She really enjoyed it and also expressed her concerns to us. She is progressing in a very interesting way, but she is indeed progressing.
Cathryn is doing wonderful. We talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost and the process of learning how to recognize it. She is so amazing.
Khiara and Sophia are absolute angels! We talked about the divine mission of Jesus Christ. Sophia described how her conversion to Christ led to her realizing he is her friend that is there for her, and Khiara referred to Jesus as the friend that gives really good advice. We also talked about how we can pray anytime, anywhere! A lesson I learned from my parents that I am forever grateful for.
Things are starting to get real with Tomm. We brought up the concept of fasting, which was a really good way to introduce that sacrifices bring HUGE blessings! We also talked about eternal families and how to obtain those, and of course it all comes back to repentance. These are all great things we talked about! It all comes down to showing Tomm he can exercise his faith and see the miracles follow.
Craig has come to the point where he has decided to accept Jesus Christ! So we talked more about repentance and what that means, and how it fits into the gospel of Christ. Craig wants to be able to see his son again, so we are trying to help him know how to make that happen. Now that Craig has made the best decision he will ever make, we challenged him to pray to know what to do with his acceptance of Jesus. He said he has prayed but he has not yet had an answer. We made a list of things we can do to come closer to God. We told him that sometimes Heavenly Father withholds answers from us if we aren't willing to accept WHATEVER answer He gives us--why would He give us a gift we are going to abuse? So we told him to think about that. We are praying for him to come to the right answer, because I'll just say that we know what it is, but we feel like he needs to come to the conclusion on his own.
We had a conversation with Lisa, who I met on an awesome Bible study group I'm a part of! She is SO sweet. She told us her stories about how faith has helped her through her challenges in life and how it is important to turn to God in everything. She wasn't interested in learning more with us, but she said our conversation really made her day and it was good to see two young women standing strong in the faith! I love Lisa!
We had some amazing lessons with Raquel this week. We talked about the significance of the sacrament, which was a nice preparation for our Sabbath worship experience with our friend Eli the next day! We read the story of the prodigal son the next day and talked about repentance--then I realized we had made a fatal error, because repentance makes no sense if we do not first explain the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We talked about the depth of the Savior's gift to us, and how it enables us to all be made whole and free. One of the best have ever had together. I love the joy of repentance.
Today I wanted to invite you all to check out the speech we read for district council this week: "Developing the Faith to Reap" by Wilford W. Ansdersen. (You can hear the full audio on byui-media.ldscdn.org.) I have loved this speech since I first read it in my third transfer. It has opened my eyes to the TWO kinds of faith: the faith to try, and the faith to do. If we really believe in the Lord, we will always believe Him when He says we can accomplish His will.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day
LA LOVE:
Here in the Palos Verdes zone, we express love to each other by sending the snowman emoji (for we all hope to one day have a love as true as Elder Jones and the snowman emoji). We have full conversations of just sending the snowman emoji. This is the purest form of love.
Also, they way my missionary friends show affection for me is by calling me Hermana Dia. It's just the best feeling when they call me that because you can feel the love in that statement, hahaha.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
Okay, I'm going to preface this by saying that I am entirely fine. I am happy and I am doing well. But I would be crazy if I left this part out of my account of the week, because it is pretty much the biggest thing that has happened to me this week. I didn't tell you all last week because I didn't know what was wrong, which is very typical of me because I have a difficult time understanding pain. But last week I got very sick, and I didn't realize t for many days. I had a severe headache, my throat felt like it was on fire and constantly dehydrated, and I felt too weak and exhausted to do anything. Us missionaries only work over the phone right now, and I felt too tired to even do that. I would pass out pretty much as soon as we got a break every second. Even more sneakily and subtly (my pain sensitivity is very low, do not judge me for my density), it was slightly hard to breathe. On Sunday I had finally realized that something was more than just a little off, something was in fact very wrong. I racked my brain for all manner of illnesses I could possibly have. Then Elder Jones sent a text to the zone stating that a missionary in the mission had flu-like symptoms and had been in contact with other missionaries. They were still waiting on their test results and all missionaries were quarantined for two days until the test results were in. But the crazy thing is, my friends, that the second I saw that text, I had an oddly spiritual experience because I just knew. I knew that was what I had; I had COVID-19. Sister Allred had me contact the mission nurse and I told President the next day, and he had a doctor reach out to me. I was told to wait it out for that day, but the day after, Sister Allred had me contact the mission nurse and I told President the next day, and he had a doctor reach out to me. I was told to wait it out for that day, but the day after, Sister Allred had developed my symptoms. So then there was NO MORE ignoring the fact that we had COVID. They ordered a test for us that day, and we were no longer allowed to pick up our new companion so she got assigned to a companionship in LA 3rd, and all the sisters in the Palos Verdes zone were put in quarantine. We took the test in Beverly Hills on Wilshire Boulevard (so that was a big tender mercy for me). President Cordon called us frequently and helped us treat ourselves--he said we were going to assume that we had COVID, which was nice because it really was a spiritual experience--I knew I had it, and I could tell President knew we had it too. WE got the official test results the following morning, which pretty much involved waiting around anxiously for President or the assistants to open it for us because our internet access is limited as missionaries. When we finally got the call from the assistants they told me my test results were negative. I just sat there and cried. I knew I had the illness, but even if by chance I didn't, I knew I wouldn't get medical attention if I didn't have COVID even though I was in fact very sick. President got the results. I cannot even begin to tell you how relieved I was when he said, "There are a lot of things that we don't know about the virus. In order to take care of both of you we are going to assume that you may have COVID-19. We will continue with your quarantine and monitoring your symptoms." President and I had a short little phone call together and pretty much decided we have COVID-19. I'm not saying a lot, I'm just saying this: this illness is unlike any other I have ever felt, I match the symptoms perfectly, and there is a 30% false negativity rate. Yes, I have corona. We had a virtual meeting as a mission right after I talked to President about working together in unity since so many wards now have multiple companionships. At the end of the meeting President asked if he could say a few things. After making a few statements about the importance of unity when doing the work of the Lord, he made sure to reemphasize the importance of maintaining good health practices during this time. I sat there and watched as my president told all of the missionaries in the CLAM that two of our number very likely had COVID-19. And then he told the elders and sisters, and his tone shifted the way it does when we are about to receive a very serious invitation to act, he called them to pray for our health, that they didn't need to know our names because the Lord knew who we were, but that they needed to pray for our health. It meant the world to me. To add even another tender mercy to that, Sister Sanerive said the closing prayer for that meeting, so I got to hear my trainer pray for me. So yeah, that's how I became the first missionary in the CLAM to get the corona virus! If we thought the version of being a missionary when other people had the corona virus was weird, I promise the version of being a missionary and actually having the virus is even weirder. I beg of you to not worry about me. It of course has been an interesting week, and I have indeed been sick, but I am getting better all the time. There have been so many tender mercies. People (those who know and those who do not) have been showing so much care for us. Our friends, who do not know we are sick, have been praying harder than ever for us, especially for our health and safety. To restate that, the Spirit has literally been prompting our friends to pray for our health that they do not of themselves know is poor right now. We have the prayers of the entire CLAM behind us! And now, I know we have your prayers as well. With that said, I implore you, do not tell anyone in the South Bay that we are sick. We do not want them to know; they will worry about us too much. We are doing quite well. Between President Cordon and Sister Cordon, Sister Malcom and Elder Malcom, Sister Galorath, Sister Eddy and Elder Eddy, Sister Price and Sister Wall, Sister Nault and Sister Torkornoo, and Elder Jones and Elder Judd (not to mention the rest of the missionaries in the Palos Verdes zone), we are well taken care of. We should be quarantined for about another week and a half--we'll keep you posted!
We had a wonderful last district council of the transfer. It was over video call again not just because all of the sisters in the Palos Verdes zone are in quarantine, but also because all indoor activities in California have been prohibited. We learned about developing the faith to succeed, not just to try out best. I love my little district; they are absolute angels. We have a lot of fun together and learn a lot from each other.
We had an incredible Makeup with the Sisters themed "Green: I am a Tree". Enough said.
Also a fantastic mission prep where we learned about many things, one being How to Begin Teaching, which many of you know I feel very passionately about because it is the only thing I didn't properly learn how to do before my mission and didn't properly learn how to do until my FIFTH TRANSFER. (For those of you that don't know, that is a LONG TIME to not know how to do an essential teaching skill.)
I got my last transfer packet of my mission as I prepare to start my final transfer. I always pictured this being such a dramatic moment of my mission, receiving my final assignment in the CLAM, but it was undoubtedly the least dramatic transfer news I've ever gotten. I am staying in Palos Verdes with Sister Allred, which was of course entirely expected. I knew we would not be transferred because we both have corona. Adding to the anticlimactic nature of this transfer call was the fact that we have been getting new missionaries every week for the past few months, so assignments are changing all the time. That does mean I could end up getting an assignment change again before the end of my mission, but I don't see myself leaving Palos Verdes. Leaving Palos Verdes feels the way leaving the CLAM did when I was waiting for my second mission call, not even realistic at all. I could not imagine it actually happening, and so it is with Palos Verdes. I cannot see myself finishing my mission anywhere else. It has become a home. I have experienced my greatest happiness and my greatest sadness in Palos Verdes. I have built a family here unlike I have anywhere else. I HAVE SPENT THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF OF MY MISSION HERE. I have to end it in Palos Verdes.
FRIENDS:
We shared the story about when Jesus visited the people of ancient America with Beverly this week. She really enjoyed it and also expressed her concerns to us. She is progressing in a very interesting way, but she is indeed progressing.
Cathryn is doing wonderful. We talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost and the process of learning how to recognize it. She is so amazing.
Khiara and Sophia are absolute angels! We talked about the divine mission of Jesus Christ. Sophia described how her conversion to Christ led to her realizing he is her friend that is there for her, and Khiara referred to Jesus as the friend that gives really good advice. We also talked about how we can pray anytime, anywhere! A lesson I learned from my parents that I am forever grateful for.
Things are starting to get real with Tomm. We brought up the concept of fasting, which was a really good way to introduce that sacrifices bring HUGE blessings! We also talked about eternal families and how to obtain those, and of course it all comes back to repentance. These are all great things we talked about! It all comes down to showing Tomm he can exercise his faith and see the miracles follow.
Craig has come to the point where he has decided to accept Jesus Christ! So we talked more about repentance and what that means, and how it fits into the gospel of Christ. Craig wants to be able to see his son again, so we are trying to help him know how to make that happen. Now that Craig has made the best decision he will ever make, we challenged him to pray to know what to do with his acceptance of Jesus. He said he has prayed but he has not yet had an answer. We made a list of things we can do to come closer to God. We told him that sometimes Heavenly Father withholds answers from us if we aren't willing to accept WHATEVER answer He gives us--why would He give us a gift we are going to abuse? So we told him to think about that. We are praying for him to come to the right answer, because I'll just say that we know what it is, but we feel like he needs to come to the conclusion on his own.
We had a conversation with Lisa, who I met on an awesome Bible study group I'm a part of! She is SO sweet. She told us her stories about how faith has helped her through her challenges in life and how it is important to turn to God in everything. She wasn't interested in learning more with us, but she said our conversation really made her day and it was good to see two young women standing strong in the faith! I love Lisa!
We had some amazing lessons with Raquel this week. We talked about the significance of the sacrament, which was a nice preparation for our Sabbath worship experience with our friend Eli the next day! We read the story of the prodigal son the next day and talked about repentance--then I realized we had made a fatal error, because repentance makes no sense if we do not first explain the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We talked about the depth of the Savior's gift to us, and how it enables us to all be made whole and free. One of the best have ever had together. I love the joy of repentance.
Today I wanted to invite you all to check out the speech we read for district council this week: "Developing the Faith to Reap" by Wilford W. Ansdersen. (You can hear the full audio on byui-media.ldscdn.org.) I have loved this speech since I first read it in my third transfer. It has opened my eyes to the TWO kinds of faith: the faith to try, and the faith to do. If we really believe in the Lord, we will always believe Him when He says we can accomplish His will.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day
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