Week Twenty-Seven: Six Months Down!

Area: La Cresta Spanish Ward
Companion: Hermana Perry

This week was pretty good. There wasn't a ton that happened, but we were still able to meet a lot of interesting people, teach some pretty good lessons, and have a lot of good experiences.

One of the biggest things that happened this week was that we were able to meet the new mission president, President Layton, and his wife. They are super cool. They are very loving and want to help us do our best. They are really spiritual and I have already been able to learn a lot from being around them. I am excited to get to serve with them for the rest of my mission!

Another exciting event that occurred: I hit my first big mile stone. I have now been out on my mission for six months! It was fun being with Hermana Perry when that happened because we are the same mission age and we were able to celebrate together. Recently, we have been trying to make a goal to eat healthier and not go out to eat, but we threw that rule out the window for our six month extravaganza. We went to Sonic because they were having half priced ice cream cones and we enjoyed a little treat. I had the opportunity to think a little bit about what I have accomplished so far in my mission and all of the people that I have been able to serve. I am so glad to be a missionary right now and to have the chance to dedicate this short time to the Lord. I have already seen so much growth in my self and it has only been a couple of months. I am sure that it will be over before I know it, but I am really enjoying the opportunity to serve while it is here.

Our 6 month celebration pizzas!

This week, I was able to experience one of the greatest perks of working with the Spanish speaking people of Bakersfield: grapes! Most of the people who we work with work in the fields and right now it is grape season. I guess that they field workers are allowed to take home some grapes every day after work. That means that when we go over to teach our investigators, they often give us some of their extra grapes to take home with us. This week, one of our investigators gave us the biggest container of grapes that I have ever seen in my life. Hermana Perry and I have no self control when it comes to fruit, though, so they were all gone by the next morning. 

This week, we had exchanges. While we were on exchanges, I went with Hermana White to the park to have a lesson with one of the less active members in our area. After the lesson was done, we decided to try and talk to some of the people in the park. While we were talking to some ladies, I felt something strange on my feet. I looked down and discovered that I was standing on a giant ant hill and that the stinging ants were swarming on my feet. I think that the ladies that we were talking to must have thought that I was crazy because I jumped about a foot in the air and started shaking my legs around to try and get them off. Ever since then, I have been trying my best to avoid making any insects angry.

Hermanas Blau, White, Perry, and Martineau

While we were on exchanges, we were asking an English speaking person that we met about smaller communities in the area with lots of Spanish speaking people. He said that we should go try out in a little town called Edison. When we went home, we looked on the map and saw that Edison is in our area, so we decided to go and try. When we got there, we discovered that Edison is about six roads in the middle of acres of orange trees and grape vines. It is a little run down, but we were able to find some people to talk to and to do some good up there. It is definitely someplace where we are going to try back!

I guess that that is just about it for this week. We are just chugging along. We have an investigator who is actually pretty close to baptism and she will probably be ready in a couple of weeks. I will keep you all posted on that! The work keeps going and we see miracles every day! I love that I am able to participate in the Lord's work. I am growing a lot and I love that I am able to help others grow as well! Have a good week.

Hermana Blau