Week Seventy-Four: Tremendous Trio

Our new district

 Area: Delano Ward
Companions: Hermana Galvez and Hermana Ruiz

This week was pretty exciting and we have been working hard throughout the whole time. We have been able to see some really cool things as I have started to work in my first trio of the mission. Things are good here in Delano!

I guess to start out, I should talk a little bit about Hermana Ruiz, our new companion. She is really nice! On Tuesday morning, we headed out to Bakersfield and the entire time, we were wondering what she was going to be like. When we got to the training meeting, it wasn't hard to know who we were going to train because she was the only Spanish-speaking sister there. We knew that she was going to be a good companion the moment that we saw her! She is from Utah and has some Mexican heritage, but she is a language learner. It has been super fun to help her to learn a little bit of Spanish during the first week, especially because we have Hermana Galvez to help us both! :) It reminds me of my first couple of weeks in the mission. She is super excited to work and to learn, so it has been fun to go out and work hard during this week!

I got to see Hermana Luqette at the transfer point!

It is a little strange being in a trio. I never thought that I was going to have the chance to be in one, but now that I am here, it is super fun! It if really nice to be able to have three testimonies instead of just two and we are always talking and laughing. I already liked working with Hermana Galvez and like working with Hermana Ruiz. Sometimes, it is a little weird because there is never enough space on doorsteps for us all, but we manage to make it work. The other night, we were teaching one of our investigators and there was only one love seat for all of us. We just all squished in like sardines and sat really close together for the entire lesson (even though it was super hot in the house and we were all sweating). It has been fun!

We have still been teaching Eliseo (our eccentric investigator). This week, he invited us to come over to his house to eat carnitas. When we came, it turned out that he was having a giant family party. When we knocked on the door, they said that we couldn't come in and that we should come back later. When we said that Eliseo invited us, they let us right in and put us to work turning tortillas. It was all worth it because we had some bomb carnitas!

This week, we have been able to teach a lot of people. One person that we started teaching this week was a little old man named Gonzalo. He was a referral from the English elders and we talked to him a little bit last Saturday, but he was really busy and said that we could come back on Monday night. We only had a Plan of Salvation pamphlet, so we left that with him and didn't think anything else about it. When we came back on Monday night, he was waiting for us outside and said that he had read the pamphlet and told us about all of the questions that he had and the things that he understood. Then, he told us that he feels that he needs to be baptized and that he wants to come to church. It was really fun to teach him and he was super nice.

We have also still been working with Victoriano and things are going well with him and his family. This week, we invited him to come to church again and he said that he wouldn't be able to because he was going to work in the morning and later he was going to go up to Santa Maria in the afternoon to go to an Amway conference. We were really sad and when we went to church, we were praying for a miracle. When the service started, he wasn't there and we were sad. After the Sacrament was over, the priesthood opened up the doors to the chapel and Victoriano, his daughter, and his aunt were outside! It was an answer to prayer. Victoriano wasn't able to stay after the first hour, but his daughter and his aunt stayed for all three hours. We had never really talked to the aunt, but during the second hour there weren't enough people to do a Spanish Gospel Principles, so we decided to teach her the first lesson instead and then to take her on a tour of the church. It was super sweet and she told us that she liked the service.

This week was really good. We had a lot of fun and we saw some miracles. Things are going well here in Delano and I love being a missionary here. It was super strange starting my last transfer, but I am still working hard and it is good to have Hermana Ruiz here to instill us all with her greenie fire! I know that the gospel is true and that the gospel brings blessings! I hope that you have a good week!

Hermana Blau

This last one is a little funny. President told us recently to stop making signs in our pictures. The Zone Leaders and the District Leader were trying to demonstrate to us what we shouldn't do and Hermana Galvez's camera accidentally went off. This is the candid photo. :)

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 Thirty-Seven: Cool Enough to Walk

Area: Buena Vista Ward
Companion: Hermana Zambrano

This week was pretty good. We were able to meet with some pretty interesting people and have some pretty spiritual experiences. The summer is winding down, so things are starting to get pretty interesting around here.

This week, it was a little bit cooler than it has been recently. One day, I was actually able to wear my sweater for the entire day. I don't think that it ever got to be below 75 degrees, but I am still taking everything that I can. One of the benefits of the weather is that we are able to walk around a lot more than we used to. One afternoon this week, we decided to pretend that we didn't have a car, so we walked for hours. We were able to meet some people who were selling fruit and elotes and some hobos sitting in the parking lot. We were also able to meet a really cool old man named Belindo. It was an adventure!

We ate dinner with one of our members named William. We finished up eating and we were about to share a message with him and his Grandmother when we heard a knock on the door. It turned out that it was a traveling salesman. William invited him in to eat a home cooked meal and we were able to share our message with him while he was eating. It turns out that all of his coworkers are Mormon because the company recruits returned missionaries in Utah. It just goes to show that you can make dinners be effective as well.

We have been having a lot of encounters with Punjabi people recently. It is always a little strange when I try to talk to someone and they don't speak English or Spanish. I guess that this area is here just to show me how the English missionaries feel when they try to have a conversation with people in Spanish. It is always super funny when we get referrals of Spanish speaking people from the English missionaries. They will tell us that they are pretty sure that the people are super nice and that they really want to learn from missionaries. When we talk to them, they will tell us that they were really telling us that they wanted the missionaries to go away and that they already have a religion.

Last night, we had a really cool experience. We didn't really have any set plans, so we decided that we wanted to go see one of our former investigators. When we showed up at his house, his son was being picked up by his grandparents. It was a pretty heated situation. After the grandparents had left, we went up to talk to the man, Oscar. He was telling us about how he was just trying to help his son out in this life and that he really wanted to do what was best for him. We were telling him about how we could help him with that. In the end, we asked him if we could say a prayer with him. After we were done, he did a big sigh and told us that he felt a lot of relief. He has a crazy work schedule, but hopefully we can go back and talk to him again.

Last news for the week. I am staying in Buena Vista with Hermana Zambrano this next transfer. She broke my curse of having a different companion every transfer. We are changing apartments, though, so after I am done emailing, we will be going back home and moving our stuff across town to live closer to the area that we work in.

That is pretty much it for this week. Nothing too crazy has happened, but things are just chugging along. Life as a missionary is great and I love the work. I know that the gospel is true and that it really can help families eternally! I hope that y'all have a good day!

Hermana Blau

Week Thirty-five: Rapture-Ready

A tiny book exchange that we found. Guess what we left there?

Area: Buena Vista Ward
Companion: Hermana Zambrano

This week has been pretty good. We have been working a lot and finding out a lot of new things about the area. It has finally started to cool down out here, so we have really been taking advantage of the weather to go out and talk to everyone who is hanging out in their yards. We have been meeting a lot of cool people.

Yesterday, we met a lot of interesting people. I don't know what was going on in Bakersfield yesterday, but there were a lot of strange people out. While we were walking down the street, we looked over and saw a man who looked like a mix between a hobo and a hippy, so we decided that he needed the gospel in his life and that we should talk to him. We went up and started talking to him about Jesus and he told us that he had just been having a conversation with Him. He then started asking us about what we believed about the Rapture and the second coming of Jesus Christ. We were talking to him a little bit about our beliefs. Then he looked us right in the eyes and said that we looked like we were "Rapture-ready". I guess that that is a compliment. We started to give him our card and we told him that we could put him in contact with the English missionaries. Then he stared at us again and said, "I love you". Hermana Zambrano and I are hoping that he meant that more as a "I love what you all are doing" rather than an "I really love you". We gave him our card and beat a hasty retreat. I love talking to everyone!

We are still trying to get used to the sun going down earlier now. Generally, we park our car far away from our plans and walk for about 30 minutes to get there. The other day, we were doing that and we lost track of the time. It was getting to be a little dark and we needed to get home on time, so we started walking back to where we thought we had left the car. When we got there, we realized that the car wasn't parked where we thought it was, so we ended up walking around for about 20 minutes trying to find it. Luckily, we were parked in a pretty nice neighborhood, so there were a lot of street lights around. We made it home that night!

Hermana Zambrano likes to takes pictures as we are driving.

On Wednesday, we had a couple of adventures. We were talking to a lady at her doorstep and she wasn't very interested. We had asked her for some water bottles and she was about to go in and get them when her cat walked right up to the door with what we thought was a dead bird in its mouth. The lady started freaking out and she slammed the door and the cat was freaking out a little because we were all making a fuss. It dropped the bird and we discovered that it was still alive. It flew away and the cat chased after it. The lady came back to the door and she gave us the water. We told her that if her cat ever brought a dead bird into the house, she could call us and we would come by and clean it up as service.

This week, we have still been working with Claudia and Jose. We went over to talk to them last Monday and they said that the father had started making a fuss about them coming to church with us. He said that he is okay with them learning with us still, but that he doesn't want them to go to any church that is not the Catholic church. We have been working with them and we are continuing to teach them. Hopefully things will get better in that regard. They both are progressing really fast and they love to meet with us.

This week has been really good and we have been having a lot of good experiences out here in the Buena Vista ward. We are finally starting to get to know the members and their needs. I really like this area and I am super glad that I am able to help the people who live here for a little while!

That is just about it for this week. We have been working hard and getting to know the area more. It is always an adventure to be a missionary and I love this experience. Tomorrow, I hit my eight month mark. I can hardly believe that I am almost halfway through! I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!

Hermana Blau

Photo evidence of me teaching Hermana Zambrano to sew.

WeekThirty-Four: Cool Experiences Continue

Hermana Zambrano took this candid shot of me during the week.

 Area: Buena Vista Ward
Companion: Hermana Zambrano

This week was crazy. So many things happened and we were able to have a lot of really cool experiences. This area is a really great place to be and we have been able to see the hand of the Lord multiple times over this past week.

Things are finally cooling down a little bit over here. When we go out running in the mornings, it doesn't feel like we are dying from the heat. I realized that I have been becoming immune to the heat. When it is only 90 degrees outside, I feel like it is a real fall day! It is crazy to believe that it is almost September. The time sure does fly by!

On Tuesday, we had a crazy experience. We were walking down a street in a really sketchy part of our area to get to a return appointment. While we were walking down the street, we saw a giant pit bull walking down the street. I was a little freaked out by it (I guess I have picked up a negative stereotype of pit bulls), but we were close to the house and we decided to keep walking. When we got up to the door of the appointment we had, the pit bull followed us. Then it came up to us and was super nice. I don't think I have ever met a kinder dog! The person who we were meeting wasn't there, so we kept walking down the street. The dog followed us. Suddenly, two massive dogs ran around the corner and went straight for the nice dog. They were attacking it when a man ran out of nowhere and started chasing off the other dogs with a propane tank. The nice dog had an injured leg, so we knocked on all the houses on the street until someone was able to give us the number for animal control. Everything ended up fine! That wasn't the way that we thought we were going to spend our morning! We are now a little more wary in that part of our area.

After our district flour war last Monday.

Funny story for this week. We were in an area to try and meet with a former investigator when I remembered that there was a part member family in the area. I guess that I didn't really tell Hermana Zambrano who we were planning on visiting, so when the nonmember husband opened the door, she started talking to him as if we didn't know who he was (which I suppose she didn't). It was really awkward, so I decided to go along with it and we "found out" that his wife was a member of our ward. It was a little awkward, but not that bad. Then, while we were writing down his phone number, I asked, "Your last name is [his last name], right?" He gave me a super strange look and said that it was. It was then that I realized that if we really had just walked down the street and randomly knocked on his door, we wouldn't know what his last name was. He was a little creeped out after that. We are still going back to see him this week.

We had Zone Conference this week. It was super good! I love listening to President and Sister Layton and receiving direction from them. It really strengthens my testimony that this mission is lead by the Spirit and that we are doing the Lord's work.

Claudia, Jose, and the Tia

We have still been meeting with our really cool investigators, Claudia and Jose. They are really prepared. The other day, they fed us dinner (it was some really yummy Mexican soup). A different night, we had another lesson with them. Claudia's mother was visiting from Los Angeles, so Claudia invited her to sit in on the lesson. After we were done teaching them, the mother started asking us questions about if we worshipped Joseph Smith or not. We were able to explain a little more about the Restoration and Claudia bore her testimony about it as well. Later, she told us that before we came by, she had been praying to find more direction in her life. She said that we were an answer to her prayer. It was such a cool experience for me. Claudia's aunt, who is a member, is went back to Mexico this weekend. Before she left, she thanked us for helping to share the Gospel with her family. It was super sweet!

A fuzzy picture of our new car. They took the truck away. It was a sad day!

That is about it for this week. We have been having a lot of cool experiences and have been learning a lot as a companionship. I can hardly believe that we are already half way through this transfer. I know that this church is true and that we are doing the work of the Lord out here in Bakersfield. I hope that you all have a good week!

Hermana Blau

All of the planners I have used so far on my mission.
I am almost halfway through!

Week: Thirty-Three: Finding Those Who Are Prepared

Area: Buena Vista Ward
Companion: Hermana Zambrano

This week was really good. We were able to see a lot of miracles and a lot of good things have been happening in the area. Last week, we were just figuring out the area and it was taking a little bit to get started, but this week, things have been rolling.

One of the interesting things about opening an area is that you never really know where you are going to. The other night, we ended up in a relatively sketchy area. It is always pretty fun. The people there were interesting. This area of Bakersfield is full of really interesting people, but I am still having a lot of fun. I think here, we are dealing less with people who aren't really interested and we are able to really see who the people who are prepared.

While we were doing daily planning, we were thinking about who we could visit. We felt impressed to go and see one of the less active members in the ward. When we went over there, he was sitting down on his couch, playing his guitar. It was a little dark outside, but we thought that he could see us. Turns out that he couldn't. I don't think that I have seen someone jump as high in a long time. We started talking to him and we could feel the spirit pretty strongly. It was cool and I think that it really helped him. It really was a testimony to me that the spirit will help us to do this work.

Yesterday night, we had an appointment with a person who we met the other week. He was a little drunk when we met, so we didn't really think that he was going to be there. We got out of dinner a little late, but we headed over to his house. When we got there, he was waiting outside for us. He actually was really excited to talk to us and he was talking about how we were the first step to help him change his life. He asked us to come back.

One of the big events that happened this week was that we started teaching a family. I actually wrote about them last week. They were the family that have the Mexican aunt. We went back to see them two times this week. They are super cool and really prepared. When we were talking to them yesterday, the mom told us that she has always been looking for answers. She has gone to the Catholic and Christians churches and they didn't give her answers. Then she told us that we were able to give her the answers that she was looking for. It was super cool! The family is super cute and I think that they have a lot of potential. They are feeding us dinner on Wednesday and then we are going to teach them some more. We are super excited!

This week has been pretty exciting. Hermana Zambrano and I have been working really hard and it has been paying off. We have been able to see a lot of miracles and we are starting to figure out the area. I love this area and I love serving the Lord. The missionary work here is really good. The Lord is blessing us a lot.

I hope that you all have a good week. I hope that you are all enjoying the end of your summer.

Hermana Blau

Week Thirty-Two: I'm a Trainer Now

Area: Buena Vista Ward
Companion: Hermana Zambrano

This week was super interesting. I met my new companion, Hermana Zambrano, on Tuesday and we have been getting to know our new area. It is super cool and really crazy.

On Tuesday morning, we went to the stake center where we normally do transfers. Right when we got there, we got to know the two new Hermanas in the mission. We still didn't know would be going with Hermana Perry and who would be going with me, so it was a little nerve wracking until we found out. After a little meeting, I went with Hermana Zambrano and Hermana Perry went with the other hermana. Hermana Zambrano is super cool. She is from San Fernando and went out with the missionaries almost every day when she was at home. She is a native Spanish speaker as well because she lived in Ecuador until she was 12. It is like I am barely training!

When we left from the transfer meeting, the Assistants handed us our new phone and the keys to our car. They didn't tell us what our car was going to look like, so we went out to the parking lot and started to wander around trying to find it. We looked all over and couldn't find any cars that looked like they should be ours, so we walked in and asked one of the Assistants to help us find it. He took us out to the parking lot and showed us to a giant pickup truck. One of the areas up in the mountains in the north of the mission was closed, so we were chosen as the companionship that would get their truck. It is quite a sight to see two sister missionaries climbing into a four door pickup! All of the elders in our districts are jealous.

When we got to our new apartment, we realized that we didn't even know what our area boundaries were because they had recently formed the area out of two others. We went to turn on our phone so that we could call our Zone Leaders, but we soon found out that the phone was not activated and that we needed another working phone to activate the number. Luckily, the Zone Leaders stopped by after a little bit and were able to help us out.

Hermana Zambrano is super diligent and hard working. I have really enjoyed the past couple of days. When she came out, she was a little sick. On the second night, she started to feel super bad, so we called the mission medical elder and he told us to go to the doctor the next day. Don't worry, it looks like she is going to live! They put her on some medicine and it looks like everything will be fine.

It has been really interesting exploring this area. It seems like it wouldn't be that much different from my last area because it is only about 20 minutes away, but it is like a whole new world! There are a lot of Hispanic people down here, but there are also a lot of people from India. I feel like we knock one door and it is English, the next door is Spanish, and the next is the people from India. It is really interesting. During the beginning of the week, we were ending up in a lot of areas where there weren't a lot of Hispanic people, but we are starting to understand where all of the good areas are now. Adventures!

One of the coolest things that happened this week. We were walking down the street when I decided that I would like to have a bottle of water. We saw this group of people sitting on their lawn, so we went up to ask them. When we got there, it turned out that one of the people was an extremely active member of the church down in Mexico and that she was visiting with her niece. I guess that the niece had always wanted to talk to missionaries, but they had never stopped by. Her son had also talked to the missionaries before and was super interested in learning more. We taught them about the Restoration right there and the spirit was super strong! They went out of town this weekend, but they said that they would love to learn more and that they were super excited to keep meeting with us. It was a super miracle for our first week in the area!

That is pretty much it for this week. We have just been trucking along. I am super glad that I am here and that I am able to serve the people in this area! I hope that everything is going well at home! I hope that you have a good week!

Hermana Blau