Week Forty:Nine: A Little Winter Wonderland

Hermana White and I with our investigator, Julio

Area: Arvin Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana White

This week has been a crazy one. It was the last week of Hermana White, so we were working extra hard to squeeze every little bit of the time and energy that we had to make the most of it. We saw a lot of miracles and we were able to see the hand of the Lord.

One day this week, we went out to go work before having lunch. We were talking to everyone and sharing with all with such intensity that we didn't realize that we hadn't eaten lunch until almost 3. We went home and ate a relatively large lunch rather quickly because we had a four o'clock appointment with our investigator Julio. When we got there, we discovered that he had bought us a TON of tacos and hot chocolate (he recently gave up coffee when we taught about the Word of Wisdom :)). We ate a ton there and taught him a little bit. After that, we continued on to our dinner that a member was giving to us. After that, I was feeling more than a little full, but we continued on to a lesson that we were having with a recent convert. When we got there, we discovered that he had bought pizza. I feel like I have never eaten more food in my entire life! Missionary struggles!

Arvin is a little winter wonderland! Most of the people around town keep their lights up all year long, but now that the Christmas time has come, all of the lights are up and it is absolutely stunning! As we drive down the street, I can't help but look at all of the beautiful houses and the Christmas cheer!

This week, Hermana White and Hermana Martineau went down to the temple with a couple of their recent converts who were taking their own family names with them. While it was going on, Hermana Zambrano and I were left to be companions again. We didn't have our normal P-day to do normal P-day things (except for emails), so Hermana Zambrano and I were on mini-exchanges for our P-day. It was really fun to be with Hermana Zambrano again and to go around Bakersfield running errands.

Last night, we decided to follow the spirit and let it guide us to the places that we needed to be for the last couple of hours of Hermana White's missionary service. We started out by stopping the car when Hermana White saw someone that she wanted to talk to. When we talked to him, he wasn't really interested, but he was able to refer us to his Aunt who was really cool. We finished talking to her and we went to go visit a part member/less active family that we met a couple of days ago. We weren't able to talk to the member father, but we did talk to the son, who was actually super cool. On the way out of the apartment complex, we saw a man sitting on his second floor balcony. We called up to him and shared a little with him while he was looking down on us. He actually had been through some really tough things and we were able to help him to find some peace in his situation. After that, we went to a trailer park and started talking to the people there. We were able to pick up a really cool investigator who was sitting with his girlfriend outside. That was the last moment of the night before we had to go home and do planning. It was a night full of miracles!

This upcoming transfer, I am going to be staying in Arvin with Hermana Luquette. I am super excited to be able to be companions with her. She is pretty much the nicest person that I have ever met and I am sure that we are going to have a blast this upcoming transfer! 

I hope that you are all having a good time at home and that you are able to appreciate the spirit of Christmas. I think that the Light the World campaign is so cool. I love how we can be like the Savior in that. We can't all make as big of a sacrifice as He did, but we can help all the world in our own little ways. I hope that you all are able to find service opportunities during this special time of the year!

I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!

Hermana Blau

The packing tornado of Hermana White

Week Forty-Three: Happy Halloween!!

That is the reaction picture of me after the dog ate the Book of Mormon.
You can't really see the bites, but they are there!

Area: Buena Vista Spanish Ward

Companion: Hermana Zambrano

First of all, Happy Halloween! Today, we have somewhat of a free day because we have to be inside of our house at six o'clock. It isn't really that exciting because we have been given some talks that we have to study during the time that we are inside. Also, I will be packing because I am going to be transferred tomorrow! I still don't know where I am going to go or who I am going to be with, but I will be leaving good old Buena Vista tomorrow morning, heading for greener pastures. It makes me a little sad, because I really love the members and the area, but it will be good to keep doing the work.

Another exciting thing that happened this week was my birthday. I am officially no longer a teenager. It was a little strange celebrating my birthday on the mission because there wasn't a lot of time to think about it, but everyone made an effort to make me feel loved. The STLs called me and sang Happy Birthday and President and Sister Layton called to wish me a happy birthday as well. Even Sister Ball, one of the missionaries from the office, came over and brought me a cupcake.  Our investigator, Claudia, took us out to dinner. It was all super nice and sweet. I opened the package that I got from home and discovered all of the candy inside. It was a wonderful surprise. Now, the only worry that we have in our apartment is not to get diabetes from all of the sugar that we have inside.

One funny story from the week: We talked to a lady who was sitting in her garage while we were walking down the street. She said that we could come back and share a little bit more, so we planned to come back another day. Right before we left, I saw a couple of little dogs in her yard and made sure to ask her if she had any big dogs. She told us that she didn't, so we foolishly thought that we were safe. Flash forward to a couple of days ago. We went back for our return appointment and we noticed that the little dogs were a little vicious, especially one little white one that started biting at the chain link fence when we walked past. We waited a little bit and the dog started to calm down, so we thought that it would be safe to walk inside the gate. I walked in and told Hermana Zambrano to stay outside (I just read the scripture where the Savior said that the greatest love is that one lays down his life for his friends. I thought that would apply to companions as well). I made it all the way inside the gate and decided that it would be a good idea to try and pet the vicious dog to make sure that it knew that we weren't going to kill it. No sooner did I touch the head of the dog but it started making moves to bite me. I put the Book of Mormon I had in my hand close to the dog so it would bite the book instead of my hand. It latched on to the book, but I was able to escape through the gate and yank the book out of the dogs mouth. Now, I have a souvenir  Book of Mormon with teeth marks all the way through to Alma!

We had a pretty cool experience with one of our less active families this week. We started working in an area and I felt like we needed to be somewhere else. We decided to try and see a sister who we knew from our records but who we had never met before. We had previously tried knocking on her door, but no one ever answered. We got to the sister's house and she opened the door and invited us in. I guess that she had a really bad day at work and she prayed for comfort. Right after she prayed, we knocked on the door. It was a witness that the spirit really does guide the work.

Right now, we are working with a really cool family. We have taught them a couple of time and they really want to learn more. The other week, we invited them to come to church, but it was Stake Conference, so they got lost looking for the Stake Center and ended going home. This week, we invited them again to come to church. We confirmed 30 minutes before, but as the meeting was starting, they still weren't there. We called them again and it turned out that they were lost again. We were able to guide them over the phone and they made it just in time for church. Everyday is an adventure!

Well, it has been another week and another transfer. I am sad to leave this area because I really love the people here, but I am excited to see what comes ahead. I love this gospel and I love being a missionary. I hope that you all have a Happy Halloween!

Hermana Blau

Hermana Zambrano is all trained up!!!

Week Nineteen: A Week of Firsts

Me with Chris and Stephanie. I love them!

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana Gonzalez

Another week, another email. This week marks the end of the transfer, and I guess that the big news of the week is that I am getting transferred! I think that I will miss this area. The people here are really special. More about that later in the letter.

This week has been really interesting. We have talked to a lot of interesting people and done a lot of interesting things. I am still being introduced to the food of the people who I am serving here. It's kind of funny. We were having dinner with one of the members here and we were telling her about all of the food that I haven't tried yet. She asked me why I hadn't and I told her that there weren't a lot of Latino people in Missouri. She told me that I had no excuse because I have been here for almost five months. This week, I tried my first pupusa (I am not sure if that's how you spell it). We went to a dinner with a member and she gave us mangoes for dessert. At that point, I realized that I don't really know how to eat mangoes. It ended up okay. I just looked at Hermana Gonzalez and followed her moves. I end up doing that a lot during dinners when we are eating strange foods, and I think that she has started to notice because she starts giggling when I do it. 

This week, we have been trying to find more quality people to teach. In addition, we don't have a lot of miles to drive on our car, so we have been walking a lot. I officially got my first California sunburn. It wasn't that bad, but I think that it is a bad sign for the times ahead. One morning, we were knocking on doors in an area where we hadn't been before. At one of the houses, a man opened the door just a crack and poked his head out. We asked him how he was doing and he replied, "I'm naked". I guess that he must have seen the strange looks on our faces because he said quickly, "just kidding". We talked to him a little bit, but he wasn't really interested and he kept saying strange things, so we asked him if we could leave him with a card. When he opened the door to grab the card, we could see a little bit more inside the house. That was when we discovered that he wasn't really kidding when he told us that he was naked. Awkward!

This week, we had an exciting event. Before all of the departing missionaries go home, they go down to the Los Angeles temple for the day. The one of the Hermanas from the other side of Palmdale is going home this week, so her companion, Hermana Van der Toolen came over and stayed with us for the day. It was really interesting being in a trio instead of just having one companion. It was really awkward because we didn't know who was going to say what or when we should say it. Trio life is weird.

Later that night, we got our transfer calls. I am leaving and Hermana Gonzalez is staying. The exciting part is that I am not going very far away. I am going to be going to the Esperanza Ward in. . . the other side of Palmdale. I am still going to be in the same zone and the same stake as this transfer. My new companion is going to be Hermana Van der Toolen. I am really excited to be going to a new area and meeting new people, but I am sad that I will not be here with the people who I have met and the members here. I love the people in this area and I feel like I have been learning so much about Spanish and the Gospel here. I will miss the dirt roads and giant pit bulls of Littlerock, but I think that I will be going to a place where I am needed.

Well, that is it for this week. Nothing really big happened, but I bet next week is going to be really interesting. I love being a missionary and getting to love the people in this area. I am so grateful for the Gospel in my life and for the love of my Heavenly Father. 

I love you all so much. Have a good week!

Hermana Blau

Palmdale Zone Meeting

Week Eighteen: Dog Adventures

A present that a friendly balloon artist gave us when we were out walking the other day.
She was super nice, but she only spoke English sadly. Que triste!

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana Gonzalez

Hello, all. This week was super crazy and a lot of interesting things happened, so I will try to remember them all and get them into the letter. The struggle is real when it comes to once-a-week emails!

This week, we have had a lot of adventures out in Littlerock. I love the people in that area and I always feel like I am in a movie while I am walking out there. One of the things that I did not realize about the area is the surprising amount of interesting wildlife. For example, while we were teaching some people at their door this last week, we noticed a lot of giant caterpillars. It was kind of gross, but we were all okay with it. . . until one of the people who we were teaching looked at my foot and told me that one of them had started crawling on me. I immediately jumped up about five feet in the air and freaked out a little bit! For the rest of the contact, I kept looking down at my feet about every 30 seconds to make sure that the caterpillars weren't encroaching on my area.

Something eventful happened this week -- I got bitten by my first dog! It wasn't actually an impressive story. We were walking down the street and we saw a fence that was left open. We thought that that must have been a sign that we should go in and talk to the people inside. When we went to enter the fence, two big dogs came up and started barking at us. We thought that they would be nice because they did not run at us while we were outside the fence, so we continued forward. Suddenly, out of the blue, a little dog ran out from in between the two others and bit me on my ankle. It didn't draw blood and it didn't really hurt my body, but it did hurt my pride.

My dog bite. (It looks pretty bad. The dog was vicious!)

Later that same day, we were going to enter a different fence when Hermana Gonzalez told me that she could see a big dog and that we shouldn't go in. I couldn't see the dog that she was talking about, so I decided to go in anyways. Hermana Gonzalez stayed by the fence (I guess she could see what was coming) and I walked up by the door of the house. Right as I was about to knock on it, I saw a giant dog. It started to growl at me. I think that I did the worst possible thing to do in that situation and ran back to the gate. I made it in time, but in my haste to get out, I fell down and scraped my knee. I guess that is what I get for not listening to the advice of my companion.

Later this week, we were in a lesson with a family that we met in Littlerock. I guess that we lost track of time, because by the time that we left, it was already pitch black outside. One of the funny things about Littlerock is that there are not any streetlights. I did not realize how far away we parked our car until we had to walk back in absolute darkness. It was just about the scariest moment of my life.

This week, we had a lesson with Chris and Stephanie again. They are super cool and really want to progress. During the lesson, I realized the power of church in helping people achieve personal conversion. We were talking to Chris, who had previously expressed some doubts about our message and we asked him if he would still like to be baptized. He said that he had had a really spiritual experience at church where he realized that we really do have continuing revelation and a prophet on the earth today. It was super cool. I am positive that they will continue to have positive experiences in church.

It was super fun getting to talk to the family this week. I guess that it just reminded me about why I am out here on my mission. I love my family so much and I know that I would be really depressed if I did not get to talk to them or hang out with them when we get to heaven. I am so glad that we know that we can be together as families forever. I love that I get to share that message with everyone!

I love you all and I hope that you all had a good week. Things are going pretty well here. I know that we will be blessed as we follow the counsel of the Lord in all things that we do. Have a great week!

Hermana Blau

Week Nine: We Can Do All Things Through Jesus Christ

At the Indian Outpost

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch

Companion: Hermana White

What a week. I can't believe that I have already hit my two month mark. Time really does fly by in a molasses kind of way. Every day seems really long, but I get to the end of the week and can't believe that so much time has passed.

This week, the weather has been really strange. It started out being really hot and miserable. Luckily, the people that we meet when we knock doors will give us water even if they do not want to listen to our message. That keeps us from dying in the streets. Right now, on the other hand, it is constantly drizzling and kind of cold. I have to remind myself to be grateful for the rain in this desert.

This week has been really interesting, as far as what we have been doing. Last P-day, after we were done emailing, we went to an Indian Trading Post on the outskirts of Littlerock. They had all sorts of trinkets and strange things. I eventually settled on a clay ocarina shaped like a face and a machine woven Indian pattern blanket. There are actually a whole lot of strange stores like that in Littlerock, so I don't doubt that I will be able to pick up a lot of strange souvenirs.

The work here is really going and we are finding like crazy. One day, we were able to find 11 people! Hermana White has no fear of going into parties and sharing the message of the Restoration to everybody. The day that we found 11 people, we went up to a gazebo outside of a house and there were five teenagers sitting and playing the guitar. It turned out that they all spoke Spanish and wanted to learn more, so we picked them all up as investigators. It ended up being a good thing, but while we were there, it was a little awkward.

We always end up going to people's houses while they are throwing parties. One night this week, we went to an investigators house for an appointment. He didn't answer the door, but one of his party guests did. While we were teaching about the Restoration, the music was super loud and it sounded like a crazy party was going on. At one point while we were teaching, the biggest, most muscular man I have ever seen in my life came out, pointed at us, and said in a deep and scary voice, "You're Mormons?". I thought that he was going to kill us or kick us out of the door, but he just said, "I'm Catholic, but I respect what you are doing" and then he left.

We had a Zone Training Meeting this week and we learned about asking inspired questions. That day, we decided to start asking more inspired questions during out street contacts and door approaches. As soon as we started doing that, I could feel the spirit so strongly while we talked to everyone. The first lady that we talked to told us about how her husband was really sick and needed a transplant. We were able to tell her about how we can all find comfort through Jesus Christ and she started to cry. The spirit was really strong!

Yesterday, we talked to a couple of Seventh-Day Adventists. It was actually really interesting. I love learning about what other people believe and being able to share with them our beliefs as well. Anyway, one of the people that we talked to was in college and we talked for a while about religion. In the end, we asked her to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and she told us that she would as long as we would read a couple of pages from her Bible study guide.Then she told us to come back in and hour and a half. When we got to the car, we had a crisis of conscience because it says in the missionary rule book that we are not allowed to read books that are not approved, so we had to go back and tell her that we couldn't read her book. She told us that she wouldn't read the Book of Mormon. In the end, we convinced her to keep the copy of the Book of Mormon and she let us keep the copy of the Bible Study Guide. #MissionProblems

I am so happy to hear about everything that is going on at home and about all of the things that you are doing. I love to hear from you and to know what is going on in real life. Spanish is coming along, but I know that we can do all things through Jesus Christ.

Hermana Blau

Hermana White and me with a picture that one of our members painted. He is a crazy painter, and there are tons
of paintings all over his house. So jealous!