Adventures in the CLAM: "Oh, Come, Let Us Adore Him" (December 23, 2019-December 29, 2019)

Hey everyone!
Here's something I want to elaborate on about this letter.
Our spiritual experience singing "I Stand All Amazed". Of course no words can adequately describe how beautiful it was to sing about the Savior. But I want to just really emphasize how Spirit-led of an experience that was. Not only did we feel to sing the song out of nowhere, but it was genuinely musically beautiful. We all knew when to sing the parts and which parts to sing. It was the most beautiful moment. You can't make stuff like that up. God was there.
Enjoy!

 

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
Upon telling a member of our stake where my last area was, she said I have a perfect view overlooking Wilshire. It's true; Palos Verdes is pretty much a bunch of hills, so I'm looking down on the city on one side and the ocean on the other. It's beautiful.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
On Christmas Eve we had the privilege of doing a service at a nursing home! The zone sang for all the residents there and it was so awesome. We had spent some time rehearsing a few Christmas songs, but at the end we felt inspired to sing a song we hadn't practiced or even talked about, "I Stand All Amazed". It was one of the most pure testimonies of Jesus Christ I've ever heard, and one of the most spiritual experiences I've had in this area. Also had a great dinner with the Paullin family that night; they really made us feel part of the family and it was so sweet!
We had a great Christmas as well! We spent pretty much the whole morning with the zone and the Carson ward was really sweet to bring food to us while we just spent time together. That night I had the privilege of performing with my dear octet group at the visitors' center's Christmas concert. The concert was organized by my dear friend Sister Lemperle, who named the concert "Oh, Come, Let Us Adore Him". She called it that because upon asking her mother why "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful" was her favorite Christmas song. She said it was simply for that line: "Oh, come, let us adore Him." She said she thinks that that is something we can all do better at, first coming to the Savior, and then once we're here adoring Him with all we have. Sister Lemperle shared her beautiful testimony of the power of Jesus right before our octet sang the final two songs. Singing "Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful" after that to close the concert was one of the most spiritual experiences I've had on the mission too.
District council was as always a blast.... Our p-day schedule have been throwing us all off though so I can't really remember what happened haha.
We planned on teaching Nataly and John about the premortality this week, but the whole time we were planning their lesson we kept thinking about life after death instead of life before birth. So we taught them about the doctrine of salvation and exaltation. They shared many stories about what they know about life after death, and it was beautiful. What a joy to be striving for exaltation!
We taught Sophia about baptism, which she understands a lot about! Yet again, I am amazed by how prepared Sophia is to receive the gospel. When we invited her to be baptized on the twenty-fifth of January, she could hardly believe it. She felt so lucky and happy. She told us she had been telling her friend that she wanted to be baptized in our church but didn't know if she had missed her chance or what the qualifications were or how it was done. So when she was extended that invitation, she was simply overjoyed! We are so happy for her. She even brought her friend Khiara to church. She is so amazing and we love her.
One day we had a strong impression to knock on the door of Tony, someone who had previously taught. We knocked on his door and a woman named Lupe answered. We asked for Tony, and she told us he had passed away in October. Tony was her son and she misses him a lot. But honestly, it was a miracle that we found Lupe. She was glad that we came, and we had the opportunity to share scriptures with her about the spirit world and resurrection.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: "See the Line Where the Sky Meets the Sea?" (December 16, 2019-December 22, 2019)

Hey everyone!
In today's post I talk about the first lesson that I ever had with two of my dearest friends, Nataly and John. I mention a talk that we read together, "Christ: The Light That Shines in Darkness" by Sharon Eubank. I discuss the things we talked about and how beautiful the whole thing was.
What I don't mention is that the transition to Palos Verdes was extremely difficult for me. I absolutely adored Wilshire, and I guess I was just upset to be somewhere else, especially somewhere so unusual and quiet and dark, unlike anywhere I had ever been. I know that in hindsight this is so interesting because Palos Verdes became such a home to me, but it wasn't easy. I didn't even know any of the other missionaries in the zone, except for my trainer Sister Sanerive, who got emergency transferred out after just a few days of the transfer. And to be entirely honest, I had not yet started my anxiety and depression medication. This transfer is the transfer that I started taking medicine, because I felt like I was dying.
I left these things out of my letters because people at home worry about us. (Now that I am the one at home, I can confirm; today I was thinking about one of my missionaries and out of absolutely nowhere became concerned, without evidence, that he had the corona virus.) But there is really nothing to worry about. All of the hardships are part of what made the experience, and knowing these things will give you all even better insight into why the experience was so important to me. You are receiving a fuller understanding of why I loved it so much.
So you can imagine, now knowing the context of this week and this transfer, why I started crying in the living room of people I had just met as I read the words, "The lights will come back on." God had not left me, and He was going to make things bright again, and I knew that. And I knew He wanted me to know that.
So I really want to invite you all to give this talk a read (I provide a link in the post). Seriously, whoever you are, whether you're Christian or even religious at all or not. It is for everyone. Some of you think you are broken beyond repair. Some of you think you are too far gone and no one and nothing can make you into a good person. Some of you think you will never fit in. Some of you are just straight exhausted and don't know how you can go on. And all manner of other things that make life difficult. This article addresses directly each of these problems. Please, check it out. This is for you.
Enjoy!

 

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
One of the greatest things about my new area (more on that in a bit) is that there are Christmas lights EVERYWHERE and it is beautiful. It has been a fun way to celebrate!
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
For my last day in Wilshire 2/Olympic, we went out as an apartment to get Thai food. I miss the area dearly, but on to the next big thing!
I was transferred to Palos Verdes! My new companion is Sister John. She is a sister outbound from her mission at the Nauvoo historic sites and visitors' center. She is amazing and I love her. This area is unlike anywhere I have ever seen; I keep trying to think of things to compare it to and I can't. We are the very south area of the mission. There are trees everywhere, and everything feels really big, but it is the most quiet place I've ever lived. There are hills everywhere so we have beautiful views of the city on one side and the ocean on the other. I love being able to see the ocean from where I live; I can't believe there was ever a time I lived without that honestly. Palos Verdes is a great place to be!
We had our first district council of the transfer! I love my new zone so much. They are all so great. We learned about how to begin teaching, which is always nice, especially since as a zone a big goal of ours is to find people to teach!
We had a beautiful special church service for Christmas! There was a lot of amazing music about the birth of the Savior and it really touched my heart as well as all of the ward members and visitors. What a great way to celebrate Jesus!
We had a Light the World home evening with our dear friends, the Kakazu family, the Shoff family, plus Carl and Vi and their son Riley! It was a really wholesome night for a family Christmas party, and we had a great time watching "The Christ Child" and talking about what gifts we wanted to give the Savior in the coming year just like all the people back in the day did.
FRIENDS:
Nataly and her dad John are awesome. John has been a member of the Church for a few years and Nataly was just recently baptized a week and a half ago! They are so happy to be  part of the gospel and their testimonies inspire me. Nataly was simply glowing after her baptism. She said that receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost was like a long day of being out in the snow and coming home and sitting by a fire. We read "Christ: The Light That Shines in Darkness" by Sister Eubank together and I loved remembering taht no matter what happens, "The lights will come back on." John described the joy that they were able to feel in their lives when they "let Jesus work His magic." It was quite possibly the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard.
Sophia is a friend of ours who has been going through a really hard time. Our testimony to her and the knowledge that she has, however, is that God is her loving Heavenly Father, and He is always looking out for her. We taught her about how the gospel was restored to the earth. She said she felt so lucky to be alive in the last dispensation, with the priesthood on the earth never to be gone again--that was a reason to get up in the morning. When she learns about the gospel she knows it's true because it is the only thing that makes sense to her. The Lord has for sure, without a doubt, prepared Sophia to receive the gospel.
I am continuously appreciative of what all of you are doing for the missionaries of the Lord. I know you will be blessed for it, and I feel so honored to be a part of such a noble group. I love them all.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: "Prepare to Get Starstruck" (December 9, 2019-December 15, 2019)

 

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
I totally forgot to write about this last week which is sad, but I have been out on the mission for nine months! I hit my halfway! Honestly it is such a miracle to be a missionary. I have loved my time here and I glory in the power I have been given to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Nine months done, let's do it again!
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
Last p-day was an adventurous one. We spent the day together as an apartment. We started the morning with a trip to the temple, which is always so amazing and a great way to feel the peace and joy of the Lord. We then went to In-N-Out for lunch and did the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was a day full of LA icons, super fun reminder of where I live and a great time with three of my favorite sisters.
We had our last district council of the transfer. I have so enjoyed being in that district with so many of my favorite missionaries, and for how we have prayerfully worked and counseled together.
I had an opportunity to do a musical number in the ward! I got to sing my favorite Christmas hymn, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", accompanied by Elder Isaak. What a joy to be able to share our talents as servants of the Lord.
Our octet got invited to perform a concert at the visitors' center sisters taht are going home this transfer bore testimonies of gospel principles. It was a really enjoyable night and everyone felt the Spirit.
We had our transfer call. I will be leaving Wilshire 2. I have taken so much joy in this area. I have had a powerful teaching opportunities and made the best friends. Having to leave so many people behind will be the hardest part, but I am very excited to go to my new area. I am going to the Palos Verdes area in the Palos Verdes zone, and my new companion is Sister John, a missionary assigned to Historic Nauvoo who is doing her outbound time here! I look forward to getting to know her and everyone else in the new zone. Sister Birch will be staying in the Wilshire 2, and her new companion is Sister Westcott, Sister White's trainee! Sister Wall and Sister Weenig are staying in LA 6th 2. I know they will all continue to do great in their areas. On to the new transfer!
FRIENDS:
We taught Abulla about the beginning of the Plan of Salvation. He has a very strong testimony that true happiness comes from living the gospel. He inspires me and brings me so much joy as I see his happiness since he has joined Jesus Christ's church.
We visited the Mercado family! They ahve been showing so many of their friends "The Christ Child". I sure love them.
We met Jacob, who has never been very religious but always believed in God. He has a great understanding of how God always has a reason behind HIs plans for our lives.
We had lunch with Victoria who is so sweet! She also came to the concert at the visitors' center and loved it!
Destiny is preparing for baptism and things are looking up for her--she is almost there! We love her.
We passed Alex off tot he elders in Wilshire 3. We had a great time doing a lesson together and Alex has been so much happier since he started meeting with missionaries. He is finding joy in learning his purpose in life.
Rhona learned about living prophets this week! What a blessing to know that God has sent us someone to tell us HIs will for us all.
Brother Yoon learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ, faith, and repentance. He felt the Spirit and is excited to start the joyful process of repentance!
Monique came to a home evening at the Bakers' home. It was such a wonderful night where we were able to have fun together and watch "The Christ Child". Everyone shared what the birth of the Savior meant to them and bore testimony of Jesus Christ's atoning gift. Wow, we love Him.
I will miss this area. It has been the greatest joy to me. However, it's time to move on to the next thing! Let's go get it!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: "[SISTER DAY] AT THE GALA NIGHT" (December 2, 2019-December 8, 2019)

Hey everyone!
This was the week of the visitors' center Christmas gala, and I will never stop being grateful I had the experience to sing there. I love singing, and that's something I don't give myself enough credit for. Performing is something I enjoy doing, but not as a full-time gig. But since it's something I love to do, and I come from a family of performers (my siblings are on TikTok @jacobslitstuff and @emily.dimond and they are AMAZING actors/singers/creators), a lot of the time people assume that is something I  love to do full-time. And it's something I surely love to do--I love to create and singing and performing is an awesome way of storytelling--but I'm not great at it, and I don't intend to do it for the rest of my life. A lot of the time people assume I'm better than I am or that I'm more into music and acting than I am. So I spend a lot of time saying I'm not a performer just to get people off my back. I spend so much time trying to convince people that singing is not what I do. And honestly, I'm at a point in my life where I finally fully realize that it's hurt me a lot. Because it it is what I do! And now I struggle to get people to see value in my performances because I spend so much time convincing them that they shouldn't. I don't blame myself for this, because I really have had a lot of negative experience with people assuming that I am going into the full-time performing business like my sister and brother. But here's the truth of the matter:  I don't have to be a professional singer or actress. Not my job. But I'm allowed to like it, and I'm allowed to be an amateur at it. That is allowed. So I'm a singer! I'm an actress! I'm a performer! And I love doing those things.
Needless to say, more than even that I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to be in the mission octet for the wonderful experiences it gave me in some of the most beautiful places in Los Angeles, and that I got to get so much closer to my dear missionary friends. I love them with all my heart.
Enjoy! 
 

Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
We had a final dinner with the Di Niros before they go out of town for about two months. Ir was actually pretty bittersweet because the transfer is coming up so we don't know what is going to happen. We ate with them and the elders in the kitchen of our church at like 6:30 when no one else was there and it was pretty dang cute. Wow we love them and we will miss them.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
On p-day we had our final practice for the gala! We had a super magical moment where we got to practice in the Christus room of the visitors' center, singing at the Savior's feet. A favorite song of mine that we sing is "The First Noel". "Noel is a word referring to a song sang at the birth of royalty. This first noel was sung to shepherds by angels, breaking "a cold winter's night that was so deep"--the winter of sin. The world was finally free of that. And thus the first noel was sung. Preparing for the gala was super amazing and gave me an opportunity to see many familiar Christmas songs in a different way, more worshipfully.
District council was super fun seeing as it was the day of the gala and every companionship in our district was participating in the gala in some way. We learned about how to make our daily planning effective, particularly by planning a day ahead and making our areas balanced.
The night of the gala finally came! We did some warm-ups and performed for the people and missionaries in the family history library before we had a dinner break and got to talk together about what we've learned and felt and observed as we prepared for this event. Finally we got to go out to the front of the visitors' center to sing for all the guests! They loved it. We had many fans, cameras were on us and everything. We even had someone stop and start singing with us--only to find out it was Pat Boone! Gentri was doing a concert at the event and we sang for the guests ten minutes before the concert started--so yes I opened for a Gentri concert. We sang as the guests left the gala as well, and then we sang for Gentri while they were greeting their fans as well. It was an awesome night and we all had a great time singing together.
We had a sweet training by our dear zone leaders and sister training leaders on how we can use goals, plans, and accountability to help us with Light the World this Christmas season, and with all of our missionary work!
The gala octet also got invited to sing at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. It was an event at the Beverly Hills Hotel and let me tell ya it was amazing. We got to walk around the hotel (let me tell you this hotel is famous and beautiful), sing and talk together, and perform for the people as they socialized around the cocktail bar, and as they walked intot he ballroom for the event. Everyone loved it again, and we also got to do some missionary work by talking to some less active members! It was a great time with my dear friends of the octet, and our last adventure with Elder Bishop and Sister Bishop before they go home. We will miss them dearly but are grateful for this great opportunity to work with them!
We had our zone interviews this week. There isn't really anything cooler than first hearing your mission president pray for you and your specific needs and second counseling with him about the work that can be done in your area. I love President Cordon and I am so grateful to have him and Sister Cordon as my mission leaders.
Our ward had a super adorable Christmas party called "Let's Taco Bout Christmas!" Tacos and the Christ Child video, all with the amazing members of the Wilshire ward? It doesn't really get better than that.
FRIENDS:
We had an incredible experience with Destiny this week. We walked into the lesson planning to teach about baptism and confirmation, and define a tentative time that Destiny thought she would be able to be baptized. Well, in the middle of the lesson, as we talked about it, the Spirit impressed very clearly on the minds of both me and Sister Birch that we needed to set a solid baptismal date with this woman NOW. I pulled out my calendar and upon looking at it, I knew that day needed to be February first. Destiny committed to prepare herself to be baptized on that date, and we are so happy for her.
Rhona learned about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ this week. It all made perfect sense to her. She says when she reads the Book of Mormon, she knows it is true because it is a confirmation of the Bible to her. Her testimony is growing rapidly. We are so happy for her too.
Abulla is amazing! We taught him about temples and family history and how he will soon be able to help his ancestors be baptized and feel the happiness he feels, as well as bless him and his family on earth. This made him very happy because he said he knows his family will accept the gospel because they were very good people, they just never got that chance. He also helped pass the sacrament for the first time this Sunday! We love him and are so happy about the joy he has found in the gospel.
We had a lesson with Alex, someone we met on the street on the way out of a lesson. Honestly we didn't know much about him except that he was interested in learning more about the gospel. He told us he is going through a hard time in his life and is looking for a purpose and a way to happiness--that is exactly what we teach about! On one of his saddest days, that was the day we contacted him to set up a lesson. What a miracle. He is awesome and we are so excited for him to learn more about the gospel.
We shared "The Christ Child" with Brittany and Kyle, a part-member family in our ward! It gave them a great opportunity to feel the Spirit and learn more about the gospel. We had never met them before, but they were so nice! Gave us dinner and everything. We look forward to seeing them again.
To close, I want to share with you something that means a lot to me, something I shared with my dad after he talked about wanting the youth to know the joy they can receive from serving a mission. I was talking to an elder who is a dear friend of mine about why we served missions, and for him he said honestly because he was supposed to, but it was starting to be for the right reason (this elder is new), becoming a closer disciple of Jesus Christ. I hope the youth know this is true for many missionaries. And that they should not think the situation for elders and sisters is more different than it is. Many sisters and elders alike knew they needed to serve a mission before they wanted to, but like the elder in this story, and myself, and many of my other friends on the mission, they took a leap of faith, doing what they knew Heavenly Father needed them to do, and shortly after their desire followed. I hope elders and sisters alike also know that they can ALL receive personal revelation regarding their decision to serve a mission. That is not a sisters-exclusive thing. Every young missionary can receive that answer. Even with every worthy young priesthood bearer needing to serve a mission, they can also plead with the Lord to help them feel and understand the need to fulfill THEIR personal mission, to help them see why they need to go as they proceed in faith. This is an experience they will find joy in, and it really can be theirs.
Heavenly Father has a way for everyone to serve Him--counsel with Him and find out His way for you!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: The Tender Mercies of the Lord (November 25, 2019-December 1, 2019)

Hi everyone!
The theme of our letter today is the tender mercies of the Lord. Whenever I say this wonderful phrase, I am referencing a scripture that means a lot to me, 1 Nephi 1:20. It is beautiful and comes with a beautiful story, so I wanted to invite you all to read 1 Nephi 1 and think about what that phrase means to you. I'd love to hear what you all think in the comments.
Last night I found out that one of my angel friends from the Wilshire ward died this week. She's one of the most faithful women you'll ever meet and now she has returned home to that God who gave her life. (Alma 40:11) I miss all of my mission friends like crazy, so much that this week it has hurt. But I am grateful that missions are the things of eternity. I will see all of them again in this life or the next. Until then, Sister Elizete. I love you so much.
Enjoy!

 Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
The lights are on at the Los Angeles California temple! It is a beautiful sight to see! Come visit our temple and visitors' center if you want a special way to feel the Christmas spirit.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
On p-day we had another great week of gala practice. I love the missionaries I am singing with and the joy of Christmas that we get to share through music.
We had a great district council where we learned about finding people to teach and what it's all about--faith. If we don't have faith that the Lord is preparing people for us to teach, we will never find them. It was a great council because that is something Sister Birch and I have been working really hard on. We want to find people to teach, and we want to have the faith to be able to do it!
We had a Thanksgiving finding activity with the other companionships in our ward! We set up a poster ona busy street corner asking people what they were grateful for. People wrote on stickies and added them to our poster! We were able to invite them to our visitors' center and get some contacts as well. It was a great opportunity to remind people about the goodness of God in all of the blessings we have.
We had a great Thanksgiving! We spent much of the day delivering treats to our friends. We had dinner that night with our dear friends the Di Niros and the elders. The Di Niros do not even celebrate Thanksgiving, but they wanted us missionaries to have a dinner for Thanksgiving! We love them so much and it was great to spend the evening with them.
We went to a beautiful concert at the visitors' center with Abulla and Brother Duncan! It was a great night of classical and Christmas music. Abulla is seriously so famous; anytime we go anywhere with him everyone wants to talk to him.
FRIENDS:
This week with Abulla we learned about how God is our loving Heavenly Father, and I really mean WE learned, because the whole lesson was pretty much just Abulla bearing super powerful testimony of all the ways God blesses us and manifests His love for us, including guidance from scriptures, missionaries, and a living prophet. And in the closing prayer, he prayed to Heavenly Father to bless Sister Birch and I so much. Wow. We love him. He bore testimony on Sunday (I sadly missed it, being in the Olympic ward) and came to the temple with us to see the lights and the concert. We talked about him going to the temple soon while we were there, so stay tuned!
Rhona had read Alma 32 this weekend, and loved how Alma was quick to point out to the people that we can worship God anywhere we are. We talked about how much God loves us and how He blessed us with the gospel and our failies, and answered a lot of her questions about what we do as missionaries. At the end of that lesson we said we wanted to talk with her about prophets next time. To our surpirse and joy she said she had been wanting to talk about prophets too! We discussed how prophets work through priesthood authority, and how that authority must be given directly and physically from Jesus Christ, or from someone else who holds that authority and thus got it directly from Him. the priesthood is the power by which all miracles are wrought. She had a lot of questions about the prophets of the Book of Mormon too. It was our opportunity to testify that the prophets in that book were called the same way the prophets of the Bible were, and that the Book of Mormon is a totally separate and complimentary companion scripture to the Bible, another gloriously true testament of Jesus Christ.
We read Ether 12 with Destiny this week and discussed the role of faith in performing miracles. We also did a super fun activity where we all made a written plan of what we wanted to do to improve ourselves--Destiny's was a goal to be baptized, Sister Birch's to be a better missionary, and mine to have a happier life! We loved setting goals together and especially so we can support each other and keep each other accountable. Being called to repentance feels so good!
We had a great lesson with Brother Yoon! It was our first time meeting with him. Brother Yoon speaks Korean, but thanks to the translation of our Relief Society president Sister Lee we were able to teach him! He loves God and has a desire to be baptized. Despite language barriers, the Spirit was present in that lesson. God always find a way for His children to receive the gospel.
As you can see, Sister Birch and I have been working hard to achieve in our area, and it is beginning to pay off! Our faith is growing and thus our eyes are being opened to the tender mercies of the Lord.
I was contemplating the blessing of being a missionary and I would just like to take time to glory in my calling. It is so amazing to be able to serve God and His children and focus all my energy on the Lord's eternal purposes for eighteen months. There is no other foreseeable time in my life where I will get to have this level of romantic consecration. It is a beautiful thing and i need to do it while it's mine.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: "Repeat the Sounding Joy!" (November 18, 2019-November 24, 2019)

 Hello one and all!
LA LOVE:
This year to celebrate the Christmas season, us missionaries are inviting members of our church to take part in Light the World! We're inviting members to host a home evening with their friends featuring the new short film The Christ Child, and to invite their friends to our special Christmas church service! This Christmas is going to be full of great opportunities to teach people about the Savior Jesus Christ and I invite you all to take part in Light the World! Check out comeuntochrist.org to learn more about all of it.
Every year the visitors' center is decorated for Christmas with a new theme, and this year the theme is "Repeat the Sounding Joy!" There are tons of Christmas trees all around the visitors' center, each decorated to represent something that brings us joy--God's creations, ancestry, music, home, cultural traditions, the Plan of Salvation, and more. It is so beautiful and I can't wait for the Christmas season to begin here in the California Los Angeles Mission.
In Los Angeles, parking is super hard to find, right? So here it's just acceptable to turn on your hazards and leave your car in the middle of the street if you can't find a parking spot. If you turn on your hazards, you're good. It's actually my favorite thing ever haha.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
On p-day we had our first practice for the gala! I am singing with a lot of great missionaries and friends of mine--Sister Flinders, Sister Pond, Sister Hendershot, Elder Glade, Elder Rodenberg, Elder Jones, and Elder Isaak. Elder Bishop is directing us and he is amazing. It felt really good to sing in a choral setting again with other awesome singers. We hda a great time and things are already starting to come together! We also went to a Korean barbecue place with Sister Wall and Sister Weenig after weeks of living in Koreatown! We love having our roommates.
We got to go on exchanges! I was with Sister Slater in the Westwood 2nd area. Let me tell you that sister is the sweetest woman on the planet. I love her. A lot of interesting things happened on exchanges, but what I will mention here (more in a bit) is that I got to talk to a screenwriter in the park about how she got a job in the television industry, and I also got to help give a visitors' center tour!
We had a sisters' conference and brunch and it was seriously the greatest thing ever. There is nothing better than women of God gathering together. I love women, and I really love the women of the California Los Angeles Mission. They are all amazing. We learned about how we are daughters of God and what that knowledge can do for us, about how to better take care of our mental health, and from scriptural examples of righteous women. President came at the end and told us how much he loves us, and said there was something he needed us to do. He said this mission needs an increase in faith. And us sisters need to lead it, because women almost always lead increases in faith. When Jesus was resurrected, He visited the women first, because they were the ones that were going to believe. So I have been praying to be an even more faithful missionary so that even more miracles can occur in the CLAM. The miracles are already pouring in. I love being a missionary and I love being a sister.
FRIENDS:
Rhona is incredible. We learned about the gospel of Jesus Christ this week. Rhona has extremely strong faith in the blessings of the gospel. She also prayed for us this week and it's always beautiful to hear your friends pray.
We visited Elizete and Jay, a part-member family in our ward! They are so sweet. We talked faith and they both have a lot of faith in the Lord.
We had a transition lesson with William this week. He is in Wilshire 3's area now so we are really sad to let him go, but his faith is strong so we are sure will continue to make great progress in the gospel with the elders.
We had a lesson with Monique and her daughter Karina at Sister Anne's house. We taught about faith and repentance, and Sister Anne told great stories from her own experience that really strengthened our faith. Monique loved being reminded of how she can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13).
While I was in the Westwood 2nd area we had an absolute miracle. We were walking around after a Light the World lesson with some ward members but no one was on the street, so we decided to knock on a door covered in Christmas lights. A little boy named George answered the door and went and got his mother, Jodea. We told her about what we do and she said she didn't really believe in Jesus Christ. George came back up to the door and said, "I believe in Jesus Christ." Jodea said obviously her kids have different beliefs so if we'd like we could talk to them. She gathered George and and his older brother Orson and we talked to them about their belief and knowledge about Jesus Christ. Orson and George are so smart and faithful! We told them about Jesus, and about how the Book of Mormon testifies of Him alongside the Bible. orson said he had heard of our church before. We invited them to read 3 Nephi 11. They invited us to come back, and Jodea asked if we would even teach them how to pray before we left! They were so sweet. It was amazing. I won't get to teach them, but I am super excited for that family.
We met with Victoria and her friend Jocelyn this week. They are so sweet! We love them. They have incredible faith. We found out some of Victoria's concerns and desires about coming closeer to God and we are so excited to help her with them. There is nothing better than having a relationship with you loving Heavenly Father.
We read Moroni 7 with Destiny today! She is amazing. We talked about the power we have over the adversary and how even though he tempts us, we always have a way to overcome him. She is so sweet.
I am forever grateful for the miracle of being a missionary. Still sometimes can't believe I made it. What a blessing and privilege!
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day

Adventures in the CLAM: I'm a Famous Singer (November 11, 2019-November 17, 2019)

 

Hello one and all! Or as we say in Korean, annyeonghaseyo!
LA LOVE:
I went to the Olympic ward this week (they meet in another chapel in the back of our church building and they are seriously SO sweet. We weren't able to speak to each other very well--I know six words of Korean as of right now--but they were so loving and welcoming to me. We met with Bishop Kim after church and we really talked about coordinating the missionary efforts in the ward. We are so excited to be covering  both of these wards.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK:
We took Sister Birch's first trip to El Pollo Loco and then went to Ulta. It had free parking and was on an open second floor--there is not much I love more than rooftops. It was a super big Ulta too and it had SO MANY COLOURPOP THINGS. To top it all off, I got a free bag of makeup! Turns out I still got it when it comes to getting free and discounted makeup. Definitely one of the best p-days of my mission topped only by opening my mission call.
We had a crazy transfer day teaching lessons and getting everything organized in our new area! OUr roommates are LA 6th 2, Sister Wall and Sister Weenig! They are amazing and already great friends of ours. We also had a meeting that night with our new elders in Wilshire 3 to help them get settled in the area and tell them about the boundaries and their friends. We have Elder Sands and Elder Isaak, as well as (to our surprise) Elder Farr, who is waiting on a visa for Australia! They are so awesome and we are so happy to be working with them. We have seven awesome young proselyting missionaries in the Wilshire ward.
We had a great zone conference this week, with a special guest, Elder Klebingat of the Seventy! We learned a lot from him about how to have an even more consecrated and obedient service. A big takeaway for me was how much God loves me, and that He is my Father, and He sent me to earth specifically to gather His other children--to serve a mission was a decision I made long before I was even born. Now I have to follow through on that promise the best I can.
I got to teach an English class we host in the Olympic ward. I LOVED it. You all know there's not much I love more than language, so it was amazing to just get to teach about the way letters sound.
We had a great first district council of the transfer! We are in a new district this transfer but I already love them all. They are great friends of mine and we had the opportunity to teach each other and talk about Preach My Gospel.
We had a wonderful Friendsgiving activity in the Wilshire ward! We had a lot of friends there and our friends, the ward, and all the missionaries had a great time together.
I had the privilege of singing a musical number in the Olympic ward, "Be Still, My Soul". The ward was so sweet to me about it and I think it was a great way for them to get to know me a little better.
And we had another song practice for the musical number at the sisters' brunch--which we will talk about more when it actually happens, I promise.
FRIENDS:
We taught Isaac about prophets and Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. He is really receptive to the message of the gospel, and understands how we know about that message--through prophets!
We delivered a Bible to someone we met through our Bible finding activity, Joshua! He said he's always looking for ways to receive the word of God, because God got him through a lot in his life.
We met with Gustavo and Rossanna, and broke the news to them that the elders would be teaching them. We asked them what the gospel meant to each of them, and encouraged them to share their testimonies with others and to stay strong in the gospel. I love them so much and will miss teaching them, but I'm glad to still be in their ward.
We taught Rhona about the importance of prayer and scripture study. She loves the scriptures and how they bring her peace and comfort, and teach her more about how followers of Jesus Christ lived when He was on the earth.
We taught Abulla (with the help of the amazing Brother Hutchins) about the priesthood. He feels very confident about bearing it now. Since he's been baptized, he feels like a new person. I am excited for him to bear the preisthood.
We taught Ayanna about the gospel of Jesus Christ. She is so smart! She has a great faith and understanding of what the gospel's all about. The elders got to come at the end of her lesson (yeah... that was crazy) and meet her, because they will be her missionaries now. I love her so much and will miss her.
Destiny learned about the Word of Wisdom this week. I had the wonderful opportunity to share my testimony about the importance of taking care of our bodies due to the health issues I've had in the past--and especially about how it's never too late to change and turn to a better way.
More than ever I am realizing that Jesus Christ, His atoning power and sacrifice, and repentance are the greatest gifts of all. I am filled with gratitude, my friends.
Thanks and much love!
--Sister Day