Two Bs: Bike and Baptisms

Hello familia! Well, how was everyone's week?
We had a great week this last week! Vanessa Delgado and her son Andrew were baptized yesterday!!! She is super strong and amazing. She bore her testimony at the end and it was so good. The ward was really great at supporting her and being there, as well as her friends that she works with that are members. The support is always good and important. One guy sang a solo, and right after wards, Vanessa, her brother, and Andrew, started clapping. That was great. I love when people are new in the church! Vanessa also requested "Battle Hymn of the Republic" for the closing song. That's just great. End with a patrioticish feeling!
Now we just need to find some more people to set some baptismal dates with! This week we really have to focus on tracting and finding and talking to all of the part member families.
Last Thursday we had a district tract. All of the elders in our district came to our North Hills area (where not much is happening) and each took a different street and tracted for an hour. They each got us one name of someone we can check on, ironically some of them turned out to be very inactive members. That's okay. They all have non member friends! I know we'll be able to get the work going there; it just takes constant hard work!
Things are still going really well with S. Patten and S. Fatkin and I. S. Patten knows a lot of random church facts which comes from serving at Temple Square. So that's fun, because she brings a new viewpoint to the companionship. I'm sad though that S. Fatkin is leaving in two weeks. Super weird. She was my first companion when I came out, and now I'm her last companion as she leaves. I guess there was something we still needed to learn from each other. I've definitely learned a lot from her, she's amazing!

 

I finally feel like I'm getting to know the wards a little bit, it's just taking some time. That's okay.
I don't think we're doing anything special for the fourth of July. We're not allowed to go to really any ward activities or anything, besides our stake is doing the activity in the morning, and we can't move our study time. And fireworks are too late to watch. Well, maybe we'll go outside our apartment and try to see them from the high school. We'll think of something patriotic to do.
Today for p-day we and our district all went on a bike ride. It was sooo much fun. We borrowed these fancy bikes from these hard core bike riders in our ward and we went on a 7 mile ride. It was a pretty good one. Right in the beginning I tried to jump this curb thing, without really thinking that I might not be able to do it, and I did a good fall. I'm told I got some air, so at least I have that. And as long as the bike's good, I'm good. Though I got a bloody elbow and hand. Maybe I'll send a picture! It was just really fun and I'm sure we'll all feel it tomorrow. I have a really great district, all very nice elders.
Just so you get a little idea of our mission and how it's doing, this is a little from the e-mail our President sends us each week:

"It turns out that there were 10 baptisms this weekend. This gives the mission a total of 38 so far this transfer, with two more weekends to go. There is much work to do in order to achieve our standard of excellence of 57 for the transfer. For the same period in 2008 there were 27. As of the end of June, there have been 222 baptisms. Keep in mind that this total includes one weekend in March with 20 baptisms and two other weekends of 17 baptisms. The year-to-date total of 222 compares to 267 for the entire year of 2008. You are doing so well, yet there is so far to go. It is wonderful to stretch ourselves in the Lord’s service! Again I ask: If the Lord can bless our mission with 10 baptisms in one great weekend, why not 20? And if 20, why not 40? Is anything too hard for the Lord? Certainly not! All that is needed is worthy missionaries who have the faith to believe they can find the Lord’s lost sheep, and who are willing to work for the blessings that await. Our goal now is to reach 19 more baptisms (let’s just say at least 20 to make it a round number) over the next two weeks. The Lord could do that for us in just one week. He has done it for us before. Why not reach 20 each of the next two weeks? Our aim is to consistently meet or beat our standard of excellence each transfer. When we do so, the bar will be raised to greater heights. Thanks to each of you for your honest and humble efforts for the Lord and His children. Onward and upward."

So everything's wonderful and amazing and I'm happy doing this work and I appreciate all of the prayers and love and support from all of you! I hope that everything is going amazingly in all of your lives and that you're all happy too!

Love,

Emily

Back to Life in LaHabra

Hola familia!
I'm just trying to practice my espanol! Another week come and gone. It was kind of funny being back in La Habra, because it didn't really feel like my area yet. But it does now.
On Tuesday we spent all day at the President's house for trainers meetings and for the new missionaries to get all their info. I'm really glad I didn't have to do that my first day. They wanted Sister Fatkin and me to go to these meetings with Sister Patten (the new temple square sister here) so she could get the whole new missionary thing.
So we got to meet the two new sisters; one from Texas and one is from Salt Lake (she is Tongan and will be in that ward). Good to meet the people that could potentially be your future companion! Sister Patten is the oldest of 7 children and she is from Chicago. She is teeny tiny and can eat whatever she wants and is very particular about things. But, she isn't at all uptight, which she easily could be, so I appreciate that.
We had a great week in terms of being happy and all. We really do have a lot of fun and enjoy being missionaries together especially Sister Fatkin and I, who at this point, we've both learned and grown (a lot?) and work even better together. We're just so used to each other. It will be sad and weird to see her go in a couple of weeks.
Ah! The La Habra ward here is doing well. We are actually able to see quite a few less actives and members and recent converts during the week as well as that being the ward where there are baptisms. The North Hills ward is about a third the size of La Habra ward, and there's just not much happening. It's too bad and not that it doesn't have possibilities because every area does, it's just that so far the work has been in La Habra and so we continue to focus more time and energy there.
We think that the President might split these two wards up into two areas to get the work going more in North Hills. Our goal is also to have at least 20 lessons a week here. We have various different standards for different goals, but in general, 20 lessons. It's a little harder to get more than 20 lessons in these areas than it was in Santa Ana. Many more people let us in, and we did LOTS more knocking doors there.
This week we visited this woman, Debbie Duster. She's about 50ish and has been on drugs for about 35 years. She is a member with a scratchy little voice who is just little with blonde hair. She doesn't remember hardly anything about the church or gospel. We had her pray, and she was so excited afterwards. It's amazing and great to see people really feel that prayer is real.
We visited another woman, Sister Paxon, who is about 90. She's very active, drives a big red truck and drives her friends all over the place. She hasn't been to church in years; the ward didn't even know her. But we've now visited her couple of times and she went to church once and it's amazing the progress she has already made. She just seems happier. She told us she's happier. She always refused to say the prayer before, but she also prayed with us last week and also seemed so happy afterwards. She's a stubborn woman, but you could tell she was excited that she did the prayer. Yeah!
We have a baptism next week for Vanessa Delgado and her son, Andrew. She has worked for years with members in a care facility. She's just so ready. We saw her every day last week and she was getting a lot of opposition from family and friends, but she kept telling us, "I'm not ashamed anymore, I know it's true." She's really strong and just excited to be taking this step. Did you know that at temple square the sisters can call home on father's day? Yes, they can. Well, not here!
We ate lunch with some less actives, and then went to a baptism of somebody that Sister Fatkin taught who is now in a singles ward (singles wards seem so much more awkward outside of BYU life, but I'm sure they're the same), and visited some other people. Pretty basic, but a great day!
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,
Emily

No Sun in Yorba Linda

 

Araceli, Alfred, Hermana Sanders and Cibelly

Hello all. Well for an update on the last week, it was LONG. This area has, well, not much going on right now. I think maybe the elders dropped most of their investigators before the transfers were over, and the ones they still had, aren't very solid. So we were lucky if we had one set appointment a day. And usually, that was dinner.
Sister Kioa and I spent a lot of time really reading everything 39 times in the “area book”(where all the teaching records of everyone should be) and trying to visit every single person who were either former investigators, other investigators, and/or recent converts/less actives. There aren't any progressing investigators right now, so we also spent a lot of time finding good areas, and knocking doors for a couple of hours. It's different in these higher class white areas; people just aren't home. When they are home, they think they know everything about the church already so usually they don't even give us half a minute to say anything. Once they find out the church it's "Oh no, I'm not interested," and then the door is shut. I don't mind really, I don't really think people are being rude, they just assume they already know what the message is and they know better. Every area is different and you have to learn again how to be a missionary.
There also aren't many people out on the streets, so we don't have contacting opportunities. This is where member missionary work is even more essential, because that's how people are found. There are lots of part member families and inactives that we also tried to call and/or stop by, but they weren't home either. It just takes lots of hard work to get an area going, but it will happen. There's lot of potential here, and there are definitely people ready to learn and be baptized everywhere, it's just finding them.
The wards here do seem to be interested in missionary work though, so that's good. I think they're a little afraid of the fact that we invite people to be baptized the first time we teach them, but they'll get used to it. They probably think we're scaring their friends away. But if so, then they're just not ready right then.
Yesterday we were knocking in this little condo area, and we met someone who is of the Ba'hai faith from Iran (she gave us Iranian candy), a teenager who just moved from Russia, an 18 year old girl with an attitude who doesn't believe in religion and speaks Arabic and warned us from knocking any further because "they speak Spanish" or "aren't home," an entire household of women from Jerusalem who are Christian, a Hispanic “born-again” Christian, and a lady from Mexico whose boyfriend is an Arab Christian, and she says her only friends here are LDS. Well, we taught the last one. She was very nice. So that was some mixed knocking time, and I loved it! I just love those middle easterners and Hispanic people! And Russians I guess! Foreigners are fun. People make everything so interesting, even the ornery people. I miss knocking and having people actually talk to us. Plus, I was able to speak Spanish! Yeah!
And all week long the sun didn't come out once, except for yesterday. And we had a baptism yesterday in Yorba Linda whose name is Daniel Chavez and he has been taught by the missionaries for about a year. I had heard about him from the other sisters I lived with who used to serve in this area. We taught him once last week. He really studies the scriptures, and he has lots of questions. Apparently in the past those questions were stopping him from seeing the big picture, and really learning if the church was true. But he came to the missionaries when they were about to drop him and asked what he needed to do to be baptized. He is about 50 and Hispanic, but very Americanized. He is very nice. Everyone yesterday at the baptism described him as being very sweet and gentle, and it's true. When the bishop got up and welcomed him into the ward, he just cried and cried. The spirit was so strong at the baptism. It's taken him a long time to get here, but he's a true convert now. So it was a really wonderful thing to be apart of, even for just a week.
Love you all!

Love,
Emily

Yorba Linda or La Habra?

Sister Fatkin and Me


Hey familia! How is everyone doing this first week of June? Crazy! It's good to hear the update on everyone, job interviews, droughts, dogs, baby blessings, gardens, etc. Hooray! This last week was a great one! Change is good! I do miss the Spanish though. It's soooo fun to be with Sister Fatkin and Sister Jeung.
Sister Jeung is from Korea and is a temple square missionary. She has been out here the last two transfers with Sister Fatkin and is going back to temple square this Wednesday. She's a riot. Both Sister Fatkin and Sister Jeung mentioned right away how they aren't emotional, so that was a relief. I knew that about Sister Fatkin though; we just laugh all the time.
The area up here is just different. We cover two wards and really both of them just have a lot of work that can be done in terms of less actives and part member families. The sisters have been working really hard the last two transfers to get the work going with all of these people. So we don't knock doors very much. I actually miss it. But at the same time, its weird doing everything in English. Only a month and a half of my mission has actually been truly in English, and I've been realizing how awkward and weird it is to teach even basic lessons in English. But I'm adjusting. It will be good for me.
They also don't really have any investigators up here. Apparently they had a bunch just the other week, but they dropped all of them. Sister Fatkin's personality and style is much bolder; she really needs to see progress in people. So if someone isn't keeping commitments, then she drops them. And I don't blame her. I'm more that way, though at the same time, I probably have a little more patience for the people who go slowly. Though truly there are people who are ready to keep commitments and who are ready to be baptized. Someone shouldn't have to be convinced and bugged into praying and reading and getting baptized.
This last week we taught a lot of less actives and searched for a lot of people from the wards that we could visit that we're guessing probably have non-member family. It is weird being in wards where we are the only missionaries too. I can really see now how amazing the ward mission leader and bishop were that we had in Santa Ana. I miss them. They were absolutely devoted to this work. It's just different in these wards. But the sisters have been working really hard here so the work has started to move.
We actually have a baptism of a little 9 year old girl, Antonia Rodriguez, this Sunday. Her mom has been inactive, but Antonia has member friends and has heard about the church and told her mom she wanted to go to church, and then told her she wanted to be baptized. She is soooo excited. But I won't be there for it.
Because of the MTC pig flu and our new missionaries not being able to come out yet, there has been some rearranging of sorts; so for the next week, I will be with Sister Kioa (who has been with Sister Chriswell in the Tongan program for the last 7 months) in her new area of Yorba Linda/Placentia until her new comp comes out. This is a rich area. Like Irvine, but different. So it should be interesting. It will be fun to get to know Sister Kioa (who is from Tonga) because I've never been on exchanges with her or anything, but I've always wanted to.
And they have a baptism up here this weekend, so I'll get to be part of that. Then I'll go back to La Habra next Tuesday. Also, I guess I am going to continue being in a threesome. None of us were aware of it until the other day, because they didn't tell us when we got transfer calls, but the new temple square sister who is coming in Wednesday to replace Sister Jeung, will be with us in La Habra. So she will be with Sister Fatkin for the next week while I'm gone. Oh threesomes.
All of the gardens everyone has sound so fun. Too bad you can't have grapefruits and chiles and avocados. One of my favorite things out here is all the Jasmine. It's probably my favorite smell (that and Plumeria!). I'd always smell it and it reminded me of being in Italy because we'd walk by some of it everyday while I was there, but I never knew what the name was. Can Jasmine grow in Minnesota?
Oh yeah, up here they do work a little with Hispanic people. We met some and there are actually some in our wards, but they have translators. Normally if we find someone who speaks Spanish and who is interested, we teach them a little; then pass them to the elders in the Spanish wards. Sad.

Sister Fatkin and Me


Everything is going really well here though. This week I'll be seeing how Yorba Linda and Placentia are. Maybe I won't want to leave!
Oh yeah, last transfer we had 67 baptisms! That's a miracle, our goal every transfer is to have one baptism per companionship (a goal of faith of 2 baptisms)-which on average is about 57. We've gotten close, but hadn't reached it until this transfer and we surpassed it. We have 183 baptisms this year so far, and last year they only had 101 by the same time. Great things are happening! It's exciting! This week is my year mark. I can't believe it! It really does not seem too long ago that I went to the MTC. It's nuts! But it's been amazing! Thank you all for everything! I love you my family!

Love,
Emily

La Habra Here I Come!

Well my Spanish experience has officially come to an end. At least for a little while I suppose. All of us in my companionship are getting transferred out of the ward, and no sisters are replacing us. It's sort of sad, because for a little while, there will be no sisters in our mission officially speaking Spanish. Sisters Lewis and Yeom will be “whitewashing” an English area that hasn't had sisters for a long time. I think that will be really good for them-really push them since they are both still relatively new missionaries, and now they will have an opportunity to really lead and learn how to be missionaries.
And I...well, I am going up to La Habra. And my companion will be Sister Fatkin! Yeah! I'm actually really excited; I've really missed Sister Fatkin. The sad thing is that this is her last transfer, so for sure I will have another companionship in just a month and a half. I don't know anything about La Habra, except that they cover two wards up there and it's the northwest edge of our mission. And their apartment is really nice. That's all. And yes, it's English. So I will just have to take advantage of every opportunity to speak Spanish and read Spanish and do anything Hispanic. Sad! But I'm really looking forward to the change.
I think this is the right time for this change to happen with our investigators too. So many of them have gotten to kind of a stand still point in terms of progression. The elders in our area will now be teaching them, and I think it will help them. Especially because hopefully all the fathers/husbands/boyfriends maybe will be more receptive to listening to the elders and then entire families can be baptized.
It was sad to leave Araceli's family, and Lupe and Lulu and Big Boy and just everyone. I really love this ward. Eight months! It has been home. But last week time just sort of dragged on, and I knew that is was definitely time for me to get out.


We do have some new people that are showing really really good potential that hopefully will be baptized soon. We went to visit Juan Carlos on Saturday, but he had to leave, so he told his grandma to let us in. She's 82, and organizes quinceneras (big parties for 15 year olds) and teaches the kids how to dance. They're like fancy sweet sixteen parties. Turns out she got baptized a couple of years ago and has gone through the temple and everything. So Juan Carlos has even more contact with the church than we realized. So he's close to baptism.
And Araceli and her entire family came to church again, as well as Lupe's husband. Yeah! Mom, you will be happy to know, that I handed out my amazing little "business" cards to everyone. I haven't had much chance to use them before that. I told everyone I will be visiting next winter.
So that's what's going on around here. It's been pretty cloudy every day here, and I can't believe today is June. Where did the time go? Thank you again all my family for all of your love and support and advice and prayers! They all help soooo much! I love being a missionary, and I'm so thankful to have a family that's so strong in the gospel!

Love,

Emily