Cosmopolitan

Sisters Sanders & Jeung
Zone Conference
June 10, 1009

Hello familia! It is September. Weird, huh? Well, California recognizes the fall by heating up. So we've been enjoying warmer weather lately! Let's see. Well, for my birthday we didn't do too much. Not much to do here. We went and got frozen yogurt. At our Zone Conference I did get a couple of packages from home (my favorite part is the digital frame with the pictures of my cute family!) and everyone sang to us August birthdays, so I did get that!
We had a really good week. We didn't get quite as many lessons as the week before, but that's alright. We are still teaching Raven in the singles branch. He does his reading and comes to church and seems to get it. Though we're not sure that he REALLY gets it, and that he really has a testimony of the restored gospel. But luckily (I guess?) he will probably have some time to continue learning, because of the probation and not being able to get baptized yet. And there are a couple of girls in the branch who are really great about coming to the appointments with us; so we definitely appreciate that!
As I mentioned, we had zone conference, and that was really good. More training is always good! It's so weird; everyone started asking me when I'm going home-not yet! So we talked about being obedient and diligent and how to find people to teach. Later that day we were able to go teach our Jamaican family. Well, it's a dad, his grown daughter, and her two daughters. It was sort of odd because they were sitting/standing in their little kitchen, and we stood in the doorway of the kitchen as we taught the restoration. But it went really well! The dad, Antony, was a little more reluctant. But Shakira seemed really excited. When we talked about the first vision you could tell she liked it and when we asked her if she felt it was possible to Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet, she definitely believed it. They didn't want to commit to baptism, but they want to keep learning. Yeah! It was a really good lesson. We're going back to teach them tonight. There are a couple of guys in our ward who served their missions in Jamaica, so we have some built-in fellow shippers already that at least will get their culture.
We taught a couple of really good lessons on tithing and fasting this week to some less active-ish members in the ward. That's one lesson I really enjoy teaching because most people struggle with those things and don't seem to get the blessings that come through obeying the commandments. I've just always known that there's so much power in following those commandments, and I've been blessed and seen people on the mission blessed by being obedient to them. We actually like to teach these people by having them teach us. We tell them they have to explain tithing/fasting/fast offerings to us as if we didn't understand, and we basically ask them prompting questions the entire time. They end up realizing they know more than they thought, and it helps them see what they need to understand better.

There's this family, the Lucero’s, that are part members. The mom is a member; the husband and two daughters are not members. The mom's sister was in Santa Ana 10 and I knew them well. And I actually did exchanges once and met this family back in December and she remembered me, which was good. The sisters really haven't been able to get in and teach them for months. But apparently she likes Spanish speakers. So she likes me which is good, but awkward; I don't really like people playing favorites. Her husband is American and she is Mexican. The girls aren't baptized because Dad had never given permission, but they have permission now and are apparently waiting for some old elders to come back and baptize them. It's very lame. Anyway, it was a breakthrough that we were even able to visit them this week and it went really well. So that's great!
Oh, and there was a baptism! Cheryl Baldridge was baptized Saturday. It was an amazing baptism; the spirit was so strong. Cheryl actually was excommunicated years and years ago, so this wasn't a convert baptism, but that's alright; it's still exciting. The sisters were still teaching her. She's in her 50's and was once married and has some kids, but they weren't raised in the church. Cheryl met this English guy online about 2 years ago on some LDS link thing, and they've basically been dating for a while. He's a very active member, also divorced, and he'd been out to visit her, and she went to England this summer. Basically because of him, she decided she needed to come back to church and figure things out again. So she did, and he flew out from England to baptize her and she had all kinds of friends and family there too, and after the baptism he proposed. No surprise for us. But she was surprised! He is very hilarious, which I think he has to be; he's an undertaker. So now she's a member and engaged and it was a wonderful day!
Next time you talk to the missionaries in your ward, ask them if they have the video "Finding Happiness." It's probably one of my top top top favorites of the mission. It's like 5 minutes long and was originally made to introduce the idea of God to people who didn't have religious backgrounds. But it's amazing. I love showing it to members at dinner appointments and talking to them about how they've been blessed through the gospel. Then we give them the SLC temple pass along cards with the web site on the back. Every single time we watch that movie, at least for me, the spirit just comes right in. And I notice something new every time. It talks about there being a "designer" and how we can communicate with the designer. It's so good and you should ask your missionaries to show it to you!

Hermana Sanders & Lewis
Elders Cruz, Hall, Parker, & Staheli
Santa Ana April 19, 2009

Well, I guess a bunch of other things happened last week too, but those are some of the highlights. So this week we are moving. Our apartment lease is up and I am grateful! New apartment! I don't know why, but they've actually chosen for us a very very brand new apartment to live in that is very expensive and very nice. Washer and dryer in the unit! Crazy! So last week we had a lot of our extra furniture removed from our apartment and we will be cleaning all day today and then moving in on Thursday to our "high-end, cosmopolitan" apartment. It's too bad though that it will take up quite a bit of our time to actually go out and work this week. There's no time to lose!
Okay, family! I love you all! I hope the move to Philadelphia goes well for the Sanders when that happens, and that the sisters are feeling all better and that the babies are good and jobs are good and everyone is happy happy happy! Thank you for everything!
Love!
Emily

Hermana Lews, Sanders & Fatkin with Jung at her baptism
March 14, 2009