Week Fifteen: A Week of Stretching

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana Gonzalez

This week was strangely long and probably one of the weeks that has stretched me the most so far on my mission, but I feel like I have come out of it a better person and more able to share the gospel with everyone!

This week, I had my first Zone Conference. It was super good. I love listening to President and Sister Wilson. They are both so inspired and I can feel the spirit so strongly when I listen to them. I feel like every time that we speak, I want to be a better missionary. During the Conference, we received a talk about having the faith to reap. It talked about how we need to have more than the faith to try and the faith to start doing something. We need to have the faith that the lord will help us to accomplish all of our righteous goals when it is something that we need in our lives. I really liked the talk and it has helped me to improve.

One of the other things that happened at the Zone Conference was that all of the mission cars received the infamous TiWi units. They are little devices that are attached to the windshield and monitor anything and everything that we do when we are driving. We are not allowed to stop too  fast or make sharp turns or speed. I am generally a super cautious driver, so none of those things really affected me that much, but the thought of the TiWi has made me even more of a granny driver. The day after we had them installed, I found myself going 35 mph in a 55 mph zone because I was so afraid of speeding. Nothing has happened so far, so hopefully I will be able to go back to being my normal terrible driving self soon.

Things are super busy here, but I know that the work that I am doing is super good. It is really strange because nothing that we do is extremely physically taxing, but every night that we get home, I am absolutely exhausted. 

I don't know if Hermana Gonzalez has a blog, but I don't think that she does. Hermana Gonzalez says that she doesn't have a facebook, but she is cool. Funny story. When we introduce ourselves and say where we are from, she always says Mexico and when people ask what part, she says del D. F. (said como el de efe). For about a week, I thought that she was saying that she from de jefe. I thought that it was super weird that Mexicans called their capital the boss, but I didn't question it until a little bit ago. Then I realized that she was saying that she was from the Districto Federal. We have been laughing about that for a couple of days.

This week, we stopped at a Starbucks because Hermana Gonzalez had to use the bathroom. It all went well (we didn't buy any coffee!) and we went to walk out. When we were on the way to our car, this lady stopped us. She asked us, "Are you Mormons? Can you give my one of your Mormon books?" We told her that we could definitely give her one of our books. After we gave her one, she started talking to us about how she used to be homeless and how she just recently got a house off of the streets. It was super nice. I just realized how much the Lord directs his work. We got her information and gave it to the English missionaries. I don't know how much she will progress (I'm pretty sure she has schizophrenia. She kept talking to us about voices that she hears and that she is a prophet.), but I am sure that the missionaries can help her out, at least a little. I am convinced that there are no coincidences!

The Sister Training Leader came over to our area and did exchanges with us this week. I went out with Hermana Cartwright. It was super fun. She is super nice and supportive! While we were out, we were talking to this lady who had already talked to the missionaries before. Her one problem with the Book of Mormon was that it was not a part of the Bible. She kept telling us that she couldn't believe in the Book of Mormon because it was not in the same physical book as the Bible, it was always separate. We kept trying to tell her that you can buy copies of the scriptures with the Book of Mormon and the Bible included, but that we didn't carry them because they are more expensive and heavier, but she would not listen to us at all. We must have tried to explain at least 15 times, but we finally just invited her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray about it.

Things are going well here. We have investigators who are progressing and moving forward. I have faith that the work will progress because the Lord wants it to. Nothing can stop the work of the Lord! I love missionary work and I feel like it has been helping me to become a better person each day.

It is kind of hard to believe that spring is just coming in some places in the world. Here, it is starting to get REALLY hot. Every day it is over 80 degrees. People are really nice though, and everyone always gives us bottled water even if they don't really want to listen to what we have to say. The trees had just lost their leaves when I came in February and they grew back about two weeks later. This is a really strange place. This week, I saw someone watering a cactus.

Thank you all for your support and your prayers. I can feel the difference that it makes and I love being able to know that I am receiving support and help from the home front. I pray for you all as well! Have a good week!

Hermana Blau

Week Fourteen: A New Companion

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana Gonzalez

This week has been crazy! I feel like everything has changed in the last couple of days, but I think that I am getting the hang of our new transfer. Everything is different now, but we are still having good experiences and growing a lot.

First of all, I have my new companion. Hermana Gonzalez is originally from Mexico City, but for the last three years on her mission, she lived in California (only about an hour and a half away from our area). With that being said, she speaks perfect Spanish and really good English. That is a good thing for me because she is able to help me with Spanish so much. I feel like I have become a lot better in speaking and understanding in this last week alone. Hopefully, I will be able to speak much better Spanish by the end of this transfer. 

We have been doing well this week going around and getting to know the area better. At the beginning of the week, we talked to a couple of really outspoken Jehovah's Witnesses. The first one only spoke English and he kept wanting us to show us scriptures in the Bible. We kept telling him that we only had scriptures in Spanish, but he wouldn't let up. Eventually, we were able to finish sharing our message and leave. Talking to people like that really makes me reflect on the way that I am teaching people. I don't want to be the kind of person who makes people uncomfortable and is confronting. Hopefully, I am not!

We talked to one really awesome lady this week named Hortencia. We found her while we were going through our area book and decided to try and see her again. She used to be an investigator, but she was always too sick to go to church because she had cancer, so the missionaries dropped her. When we went to see her, she told us that she loved talking to the missionaries and that she really like the messages that we shared. She even had pictures up in her house of the missionaries who had first taught her. We have started to teach her again. The best news is that she only has three more weeks of radiation therapy until she is officially in remission and is hopefully on the upswing. She has a super cool relationship with God and I hope that she will start to come to church. I am super excited to start teaching her again!

Another person who we started teaching this week is named Juan. He actually used to learn from the missionaries before as well, but was always too scared to come to church. Early this week, he called us and asked us to come over and share a message with him. He said that he has felt like he is missing something in his life and that he wants to gain a closer relationship with God. We told him that that was perfect and that we could definitely help with that! He is super cool. Normally, people try to avoid us, they don't ask us to come over and teach them. I have high hopes for him.

Hermana Gonzalez got sick this week. One day, she was feeling really bad, so we had stayed home for a while. We had appointments that night, so I went out with Michelle (one of the young women in our branch) and Hermana Gonzalez stayed with Michelle's mom. It was super intimidating and I felt a little scared to go out and teach a lesson in Spanish without my safety net, but I feel like I was strengthened by the Lord and I was able to receive a lot of help. The lesson went pretty well and we got a return appointment, so I counted the night as a success.

On Saturday, we had dinner at a ward party. The party was for a couple who had gone to the temple that day to get sealed. It was so beautiful and super fun. The family was so happy that they were able to go to the temple and be joined together for all time and eternity. I am so happy that I get to share that message with others during my time on the mission. I hope that I can make many other families happy like that.

This week has been a time of great growth for me spiritually. I feel like I have never been closer to Heavenly Father than right now. I am just so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission and to be a representative of the Lord. I am becoming so much better and I feel like I am able to help other people become better at the same time. What a blessing!

Thank you so much for all of your support and for all of your prayers. I can definitely feel them and I really appreciate it. I love you all! Sorry that this letter was so lame. We didn't really do much this week. Next week will be better!

Hermana Blau

Week Thirteen: Exploration and Adventure

My district. I'm the only one left after transfers!

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana White

This week was super crazy! General Conference, transfers, getting lost in the mountains, and bomb rocking lessons. This week has been strange!

Starting with last Monday, after we emailed, our entire district went out into the mountains to go hiking and kite flying. I thought that our entire area was just dirt and Joshua trees, but the ride up to Devil's Punch bowl was so beautiful! The entire time, I was just in awe. I will send some pictures. While we were on the hike, we decided to go off trail and follow a little creek. It was okay until we had to get back up to the trail. Hermana White had decided to wear flats instead of tennis shoes, so it was a little hard for her to go straight up the hills. Eventually, we made it up to the top. It was so windy while we were up there, I was a little afraid that I was going to fall off the cliffs. Everything ended up being okay.

On the road to our mountain adventure.

The mountains are so pretty!

Later Monday night, we were knocking on some doors. At one of the doors, we started talking to this lady who was wearing pajamas and slippers. That night, it was only 45 degrees, so I guess that we were looking a little cold. After about three minutes, the lady stopped us and said, "I don't want to be rude, but it is really cold and dark outside . . . and I am sure that you would much rather be home . . . so . . . I'm just . . . going to close the door now." She looked so nervous and awkward. After that, she just closed the door. We stood there for a couple of seconds before we started laughing and we left.

On Monday night, we were looking at our area and we learned that there are actually three or four little towns in our area that we have never even been to. We thought that there must be people who need the gospel in Llano (about 15 miles outside of Littlerock), so we went thereon Tuesday night. It turns out that in Llano there are only old, retired golfers who already have their religion, so we decided to go to Pearblossom instead. There, we found a lot of really cool people who seemed prepared to hear the message of the gospel.

What had prompted our journey to the farther reaches of our area was the fact that we received a referral for a man who lives in a little town called Juniper Hills. In reality, he doesn't really live in Juniper Hills. He lives about five miles from Juniper Hills in the heart of the mountains. None of the roads that go to his house showed up on the GPS when we tried to go there, so we took directions from Google Maps and decided to try and see him during the week. It turns out that the only roads that lead to his house are something akin to four-wheeler paths that wind and twist through the mountains with cliffs on either side. We got about one mile into the path before we decided that we couldn't do it in the mission vehicle. We still have to contact our referral, so I don't know exactly what is going to happen.

The night that we went on our mountain adventure, we got our transfer calls. I am staying in Littlerock, but I am literally the only person in the entire district who is. Hermana White is going to Bakersfield. It is super sad ...

... especially because we are finally starting to see a lot of our investigators progress. Hopefully, it will turn out okay!

The Salgado Family (Chris, Kate, Jenny, and Mia) 

A member family ... The Lopez Family

General Conference was so good. I feel like I appreciate it so much more as a missionary than I did before the mission. I was so sad when it was over. We got to watch it in English. I feel like every talk was really good. I came to Conference with a lot of questions that I have been pondering for some time, and I feel like every single question that I had was answered in a really specific way. One of the impressions that I was feeling really strongly during the Conference was the need to do service. I feel like I am so much happier on my mission than I was before, and I think that at least one of the reasons for that is that I am constantly serving people. I think that the value of service is one of the biggest things that I have learned during my small time on the mission.

Me with Mia Salgado. She is six (almost seven) and just about the
cutest little girl ever. When we taught her family about the First Vision
she said that she wanted to try seeing God the next time she prayed. 

This week, we have had a lot of really spiritual lessons. The part member family that we have been teaching lately is really progressing. While we were in the lesson, we asked Stephanie if she would like to know if the Book of Mormon is true. She said that she already knew that it was. She told us that she had read and prayed to know, just like we had told her. We were shocked! Nobody does that after the first lesson. They are super prepared and I am so happy that they are progressing.

Everything is going well here. The work continues to press forward. I know that the Lord directs this work because it is so important for the happiness of everyone. I love being a missionary and being able to share the gospel with everyone I meet. 

Until next week,

Hermana Blau

Week Twelve: Missions are such a blessing!

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana White

This week has been good and we have been able to teach lots of people who are really prepared. I am super excited for the work to move forward and for the people who we are teaching to continue to progress.

It is starting to turn into summer here. It feels strange because it is only March, but I think that everything will turn out fine. Hopefully I don't die. Apparently it is a lot cooler here in Palmdale than it is in Bakersfield, so hopefully I don't get transferred there. My first transfer in the mission is seven weeks long because they are trying to balance out the change in the MTC training schedule for the native language missionaries. Transfers are next week, so we will see what happens. There are only fourteen Hermanas in the mission, so it is not actually that hard to guess where everyone will end up.

One of the interesting things that has started to happen with the warming weather is that all of the families come out and sit in their lawns together in the evenings. A lot of people will bring out their charcoal grills and cook pollo and carne. A lot of times, we will come by and teach the entire group. They won't really accept the message, but they will give us some of their food. When we walk down the streets, there is constantly loud Mexican music playing. It feels like we are sharing the gospel with a soundtrack!

This week, we started teaching a really cool family. The mother is a less active member who hadn't been to church in like 20 years. One day, she just showed up to church with her two children. She said that she wants the church back in her life and she wants to help her children get baptized. They are super prepared. They have already been to church three times, even though we have only taught them once. I am super excited to teach them!

Both Hermana White and I got sick this week (although Hermana White was much worse than I was). We were out talking to someone on the streets and Hermana White was telling him about the First Vision. About halfway through, she started looking sick and almost passed out. At the same time, I was feeling sick to my stomach and was thinking about leaving to find a place to throw up. Luckily, we made it to the end of the contact. Afterwards, we kept on talking to people and nothing bad happened. We are better now. 

This week, we got to watch the General Women's Conference. That means that conference is almost here! I don't think that I have ever appreciated Conference as much as I am now. I feel so blessed to be able to listen to the words of the living prophets. The Women's Conference was so cool. I feel like I should be serving people so much more. I love that I have the opportunity to serve others literally all day long. Missions are such a blessing!

Easter was this week as well. It was super strange being here on a mission during a holiday. It felt just the same as any other day. I guess that this is how all holidays should feel when we are really focusing on the reason for them. Still, it was strange seeing other people celebrating with their families. Despite that, I am so glad for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and for the fact that I can live through him. I love that I am able to come out and share the message of the Atonement and Resurrection with others.

I love being here on a mission and being able to teach everyone about the truths that I love. I know that the work that I am doing is good. I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life every day.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. I love you all.

Hermana Blau

Week Eleven: I love meeting people!

This was a bad week for pictures. This is about the best that I have. I'll do better next week.

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch

Companion: Hermana White

This week, we have been having a lot of really cool experiences and have been meeting a lot of really cool people. The work is really coming along here!

It is super strange serving in the Spanish Branch. I think that one of the strangest things about serving Spanish speaking in the United States is that we speak Spanish to the adults and English to the youth. The youth groups and classes for the Spanish Branch and the English Ward are combined. Sometimes, it gets a little confusing, but I think that it is super cool. I wish that I was able to speak two different languages from such a young age.

About piano playing, I sure do get lots of opportunities to play. There isn't anyone in the ward who knows how to play the piano, so I play in every meeting that we are at. It is super cool. I love listening to all of the members sing here. They sure do sing with all of their heart and soul.

Recently, Hermana White and I have been trying to work with our members more. For the past couple of weeks we have been finding like crazy, but most of the people that we have been finding are not really all that interested in the message. This week, we decided to change up our approach. Instead of doing pure street and door to door contacting, we have started working more with our less active and part member families. This has the double impact of helping us to strengthen the ward and letting us find more solid investigators.

One of the part member families that we have really been working with is the Salgados. Our two investigators, Jenny and Kate, are in their teens. Their brother, Chris, is older and has recently moved back into the house. While he was living away from home, he met with the missionaries and was baptized and now that he is living at home again, he has asked us to meet with his sisters. They are super cool and really friendly. For the past couple of weeks, we have been trying really hard to get them to come to church. Last week, we even went to their house before church started, but they would not wake up. This week, a miracle happened. Jenny came to church with Chris! We were so happy because she had been feeling nervous about attending. After the sacrament, she said that she really liked it and that she would like to come back. Hopefully, she really will. 

Just because we are doing less street contacting doesn't mean that we have stopped meeting our share of interesting and strange people. For example, we met a lady yesterday who was super friendly. She was open to the message of the gospel and the Restoration and she asked lots of questions. She was one of those "student-of-the-universe" kind of people, but she was really kind. We were making small talk and she started talking about how she loved going to music festivals and raves. Then she invited us to go to one. We told her that we would love to go, but that we couldn't right now. After that, she told us that we needed to watch some movie on Netflix. We told her that we didn't have Netflix right now and she told us that she would give us her account information. She invited us into her house while she wrote it down, but as we entered, she said, "Don't mind the smell, I was just smoking weed. Next time you come, I will clean up first". She gave us her Netflix (the paper with her information is currently residing in my journal). In the closing prayer that she offered, she called us her "new friends". I hope that she really wants us to meet with her!

Last night, we went to visit one of our investigators who lives in a trailer park in Littlerock (actually that same trailer park where we were visiting when someone threw Barbecue sauce at our car). He lives in the very last trailer, so when we go in we always talk to everyone on our way to see him. Last night, we met this old man who was sitting outside his trailer. He was very hard of hearing, but he kept trying to trip us up by asking questions and not understanding our responses. For example, he asked us "Who is Jesus?" and we replied, "The Son of God". Then he said, really loud, "Huh?!". We had to repeat our response about 7 times before he finally understood us. Then he asked us how many scriptures were in the Old Testament. We were kind of confused. Then he said, "There are [how ever many books are in the Old Testament] books in the Old Testament. Go back to school, baby." We gave him a confused look and finished sharing our message. As we were walking away, the man started making this witch cackle. I always know that when we start walking into that trailer park, we are going to come out with an interesting story.

On Tuesday night, all of the appointments that we had set up cancelled. There is nothing stranger than walking around the streets at night looking for people to teach. That night, we found this man walking the biggest German Shepard I have ever seen in my life. When we stopped him to share the message of the Restoration, we asked him if he believed in God. He said, "I believe in aliens. So I guess that I believe that God is the alien that put us here." We asked him if he prayed, and he said, "I pray that they stop abducting me." When we started talking about Joseph Smith, he said, "Oh, I know about him. He is the one who was given the Book of Mormon by an alien." This entire time, he was straight faced and didn't even smile. I love meeting people!

This week has been a good one. I feel like the work is really moving forward. When we work with the members, I have noticed a special spirit enter into the work. We work with their friends and family, so it makes sense that the only way that we can really be successful is through helping them. I love the members in our area. They are so kind and they always willing to help. I am so happy to be serving a mission and to be in this area. I know that I am supposed to be here at this time. The Lord directs his work!

Thank you so much for all that you do and for all of the time you spend thinking about me and the prayers that you send my way. I am so happy for you guys and I hope that everything goes well for you!

Hermana Blau

Week Ten: Strange Things Happen in Mission Life

Area: Littlerock Spanish Branch
Companion: Hermana White

This week has been really interesting and strange. I love the mission life!

I guess to start out, one of the biggest things that has happened during this week is that I am now the designated driver in our companionship. This Thursday, Hermana White and I went to the gas station to fill up our car. All of the gas stations here are always super full, so it was a struggle to find a parking spot. I was outside the car directing Hermana White as she backed out and she started to get super close to the car right behind us. I tried to signal for her to stop, but I guess she could not see me. Long story short, we got into a small accident. Nothing really happened to either car, but mission rules say that you aren't allowed to drive mission vehicles if you have gotten into a preventable accident. So, I am now the driver. I feel so bad because I am a really bad one. I am 100 percent positive that we are more likely to get into an accident with me at the wheel than Hermana White. Oh, well!

The "massive" damage done in our accident

The weather here is going crazy. Some days it is super sunny and really hot. Other days, it rains super hard and is really cold. I thought that I was serving in the desert! I guess that they need all the rain that they can get here. The roads are not really designed for water drainage, so when it rains, the roads turn into giant lakes and rivers. It is a struggle (especially since I am the driver now).

Yesterday, I was really struggling. Everything that I did seemed to be really embarrassing. As an example, we went to a member's house to pick up some food. As we were getting ready to leave, we were giving all of the hermanas hugs. When I was hugging the last hermana, I don't really know what happened, I guess I didn't turn my head or something, but her nose ended up in my mouth. I didn't know what to say, so we just laughed and left the house. I think that I laughed about that for 20 minutes.

A typical road in Littlerock

Also, we were driving down a long dirt road in Littlerock. We were leaving the area when we saw a man walking to his car. He was old and we thought that he would be super cute, so we decided to stop and talk to him. He ended up being super strange. We were talking about the Restoration and he kept interrupting us and telling stories about his life. Then he stopped us and started telling us about an experience that he had. I will paraphrase it as following:

Jesus came to me and took me by the arm. Then he took me down to Hell. When I got there, I saw an angel. He tried to give me some food, by I know that they don't have any food in Hell (not even salsa). That was when I knew that he was a dirty angel. Then I saw all of the people there. They were crying and screaming and they were NAKED! There was a man and he had a long stick and he was hitting them with it. And my cousins were there. I went to Hell that day.

All during that conversation, Hermana White and I had to keep a straight face. Hermana White had tears coming down from her face and I was sitting there saying, "Oh, really!" and "Wow". We were dying, but he would not let us leave. We talked to that man for about 30 minutes and he kept saying things like that. In the end, we invited him to visit church and told him to read the Book of Mormon. He told us that we needed to accept Jesus in our life. Just normal everyday in Littlerock. What a strange town!

Strange things happen in mission life, but I think it is so fun. I love all of the people that we get to meet and all of the things that we get to do. I also love the spirit that I feel all the time. I know that the church is true and that we can all find true happiness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary. I am so glad that I can share the message of the Gospel with individuals and families everyday!

I love all of you back home. I hope that you are all doing okay and that things are going well for you. Keep up your good work!

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!