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

Week Thirty-One: Miracles

Me with Rocio, our investigator. She is super cute and really nice.

Area: La Cresta Spanish Ward
Companion: Hermana Perry

This week was CRAZY!!! It hasn't been as hot lately (we have been chilling in the upper 90s. I think that I am slowly going crazy. . . I am going to get home and be immune to the heat!). This week is transfers. I will keep you in suspense for just a little bit.

This week, we had a couple of really cool experiences. We were walking in one of the lower parts of our area and we decided to walk across the road to an area where we had never been before. When we walked across the road, we saw a house and felt that we should knock there. Before the actual door of the house there was a little sun room. Hermana Perry suggested that we should walk into the sun room and knock on the actual door. That is what we ended up doing, but we felt a little strange about it. When we knocked on the door, it opened up right away and the people inside told us to come right in. We thought that they must have not known who we were, so we told them that we were missionaries. They said that they knew and that we could come in.

When we walked into the house, we thought that they were going to end up being ax-murderers or something because nobody ever lets us into their house like that. While we sat down, one of the people went to get her sister. When the sister walked in, she said, "I am so glad that you are here. I have been praying for the missionaries to stop by!" She told us that she and her sister were less active members who hadn't been to church in a couple of months because they didn't know where to find one. I guess that they have been driving around Bakersfield, trying to find a church building. Guess who knows where church buildings are in this area? We were able to tell them about the services here. It was super cool. I think that we are going to try and start teaching the other people in the family as well. Miracles!

This is for Dad. We saw a big old field of them as we were walking,
and it made me think of you!

Another day this week, we were going to check up on an investigator who we met the other day. When we got to her house, her husband opened the door. He has a bit of a drinking problem, but he doesn't want to drink anymore. He told us that he knew that we could help him and that he wanted to change his life. We have high hopes for him!

Funny story of the week: Today, I decided to try something that I have only heard about in legend. . . Chocoflan. It is pretty much flan on top of chocolate cake. I have been wanting to try it ever since I was with Hermana Gonzalez. She used to talk about it all the time. Today, I decided that it was the day. We went to Vallarta to buy a slice. I can't even describe my joy as we were driving back to the apartment. I even put it on a fancy plate. When I took the first bite, I discovered to my horror that it was probably one of the worst things that I have ever eaten in my life. The flan was really rubbery and the cake was super dry. It was the most depressing moment of my entire mission. We are still holding out the hope that it was just because we bought the cake from Vallarta.

The piece of chocoflan. That was the last moment of happiness that I felt
before all my dreams were ripped away.

Big news for this week. . . I actually won't be here to teach any of those people who we talked to. I am going to be going to open a new area in the southern part of Bakersfield (Buena Vista) that has been closed for Hermanas for a while. Hermana Perry will be staying here in La Cresta and we will both be training! It is going to be super crazy and we have been going a little insane thinking about it, but we are both really excited. Our two trainees will be coming into the mission today and we will be picking them up tomorrow. This next transfer will be crazy. All of the Hermanas around the mission have been joking that I am doing a mission tour. There are only two hermana areas that I haven't been to yet. Soon, I will have served in them all! I am sad to be leaving Hermana Perry. This last transfer has been a blast. Hopefully, the next transfer will be just as good.

Well, that is pretty much it for the week. I am super glad that I am out here in Bakersfield. I know that this is the best place that I could ever be in this moment. I have really been able to see the hand of the Lord this week! I know that he knows what we need to be doing and where we need to be going to help the people who need help right now. I hope that you all have a good week!

Hermana Blau

Hermana Perry and I decided to take pregnancy pictures because we are about to have babies in the mission. That might just be a mission thing, but I think that they turned out pretty good. [Mom note: When a person trains a new missionary, they sometimes refer to them as their "baby." That's why they decided to take the fake pregnancy pictures before they meet their "babies" this week.]

Week Thirty: Following Impressions

Area: La Cresta Spanish Ward

Companion: Hermana Perry

This week has been pretty crazy! All of the area around Bakersfield has been catching on fire, so the smog is really bad right now. We always go running in the morning out in the hills and we see a new burned patch every couple of days. When we are out driving, we can't even see the mountains that surround the city. Hermana Perry and I have been joking that we are going to become so accustomed to the smog before the end of our missions that we will leave and gain super powers like Superman did after he left Krypton to Earth (if that is too nerdy of an analogy, feel free to take that out Mom!) I love it here!

The Smog ... gross!

The last couple of days have been really hot. The thermometer in our car said that it got up to 111 degrees the other day. The people here are really nice about the heat, though. They are always helping us out by giving us water bottles and free fruit. Everyone has fruit trees in their yards and they will tell us to go and take what we want! The Lord really does send us tender mercies in our times of need.

Hermana Perry and I have been trying to work on following the Spirit. This week, we were driving down the road and I was joking with Hermana Perry that we should knock on the door of someone who would give us grapes. Then Hermana Perry said, "If we turn right, we will find grapes, but if we turn left, we will find a prepared person." We both laughed. We actually had someone to see on the right side, so we turned right. Our appointment fell through, so we decided to start walking to the left. While we were still on the right side of the intersection, we saw some grapes spread all over the ground. We laughed again. When we crossed to the left side, we knocked on a door and this lady opened and was super interested. At that moment, I realized that Hermana Perry was a prophetess! haha

The other day, we met a couple outside of their house while we were walking around. This week, we went over to see them again and we were able to talk to the wife. We talked to her for a long time and she told us that she really has been trying to make changes in her life to help her come closer to God. She wants a family that is close and loving. She was super cool and she loved talking to us. GOLDEN!

A couple of weeks ago, we picked up an investigator named Teresa. She was the one who saw a vision just like Joseph Smith (I think that I wrote home about her). We lost contact with her right after we talked to her, but we felt impressed to keep trying by her house. The past couple of times that we have gone over, her husband has answered the door. He told us that she had a stroke a couple of days after we talked to her. She finally came home this week and we were able to talk to her. She was super frail and sick, but we were able to talk to her some more and share with her about how the Atonement can help her through her trials. It was nice. Hopefully, we were able to help her out!

On Friday, we went up to have exchanges in the STL's area, Arvin. It is pretty much little Mexico! It is just a little town right in the middle of all of the fields, but pretty much everyone there is Spanish speaking. We went out running in the park in the morning, and there were a ton of old Hispanic people and they all said, "Buenos dias" to us. So cute. Hopefully, I will be able to go there for real someday. Dream area!

Yesterday, we were walking down the street and an old man was mowing his lawn. He started talking to us. It turns out that he wrote the book on butterflies and he has a giant collection. He was telling us about how there are a ton of butterflies out in the mountains, but how they are all in the same area as the marijuana growers. It really made me want to get into the butterfly scene after I get back.

That was pretty much it for the week. I hope that everything is going well at home. I am really enjoying my time here and I know that I am doing the things that the Lord wants. I love being a missionary! Have a good week!

Hermana Blau

Week Twenty-Nine: We Get to Wear Sombreros!

Me and mi novio [boyfriend], the Joshua tree!

Area: La Cresta Spanish Ward
Companion: Hermana Perry

Another week, another email. This week was super crazy and SUPER hot, but it was also really cool. We were able to see a lot of miracles. I think that I am just starting to get to the part of my mission where everything starts to go by really fast, because I can't even believe that everything has gone by so fast.

Speaking of the heat, I looked at the weather on the missionary website and it said that it was going to be about 110 degrees for the rest of the week. I heard that some parts of the missions are just randomly catching on fire. One part of our area was actually part of a pretty bad wild fire, but it is about 30 minutes away from everything else in our area, so we were really safe. I think that we will probably be okay in the heat. Recently, they changed the dress standards for missionaries so we can wear wide brimmed hats, so Hermana Perry and I went out last P day and bought some sombreros. It has completely revolutionized our street contacting. We actually have a lot of our appointments for the next couple of days set up for when it is going to be blazing hot, so I guess that the Lord has been blessing us in more ways than one. 

In the spirit of companionship unity (and also because our apartment is really hot at night and we were getting tired of wearing our pajama pants to bed. . .) Hermana Perry and I decided to get matching nighties! Here are a couple of pictures that we took of them in our excitement!

It is so interesting to be in Bakersfield for the summer. We have been getting so many grapes from the people that we talk to that work in the fields. I don't know how I ever survived without eating so many grapes! During the days, all of the streets are pretty dead and everyone asks us why we are out walking in the heat. When it cools down at night, everyone comes out and every street is a giant party. We see mariachi bands practicing and people practicing for their fancy party dances.

This week, we decided as a district to work on finding new people to teach. As part of that, we were doing a district fast. All week long, at least one companionship in the district was fasting at any given point. I have really gained a strong testimony of fasting on my mission. We were able to find a lot of cool people in the last couple of weeks.

One of the things that has also been helping us to find more people to teach is that we have started walking. . . a lot! Following our mission president's advice to use our car like a bus, we have been parking our car at least half a mile away from all of our plans and walking to them. It has made a huge difference. We talk to so many more people.

On Tuesday, we were about to go back to lunch after walking around all morning. Right when we got next to the car, we decided that we should try to knock on one more car. No one answered the door, so we were going to go back to our car when a guy walked out of his house and called out to us. We started talking to him and he was super cool. He learned a lot about religion and the Bible while he was in prison. We ended up talking to him for a long time. When we finished talking, he asked us if we could come by the next day. We were able to stop by again the next morning and we had another lesson. It went really well.

One night, we passed by an old man's house. We were talking to him and he said that he was a little busy at that moment but that he would love for us to pass by again. Most of the time, that is the signal that we aren't wanted there, but we set up a time to stop by again. When we went back for the return appointment, we weren't very hopeful, but when we knocked on the door, he opened it right up and we were able to have a really good lesson with him again.

We worked a ton this week, and we were able to see a lot of miracles in our area. We were really able to see the hand of the Lord and many prayers were answered. I love working with the people in this area. They are so loving and they always want to help us out! I am so glad that I get to help them to receive the Gospel in their lives!

I hope that you all have a good week and that you are able to stay cool! 

Hermana Blau

Week Twenty-Eight: Miracles

Area: La Cresta Spanish Ward
Companion: Hermana Perry

This week was really good. We saw a lot of miracles and we were able to talk to a lot of people. There was a lot of craziness, but by the end of the week, we were able to see the hands of the Lord in many different ways.

After emails on Monday, we went over to have dinner with some members of our ward. They live in the nicer part of our area and their house is pretty fancy, so we felt really cool while we were sitting in there. I asked to use the restroom and it was super nice. There was a really cool vase with flowers sitting on a table in the bathroom by the hand towels. After I had finished washing my hands, I went to dry them. While I was moving towards the towels, I accidentally knocked the vase off of the table and it instantly shattered into a million pieces. I was mortified. When I walked out, the members were really cool about it and they told me that it was not a very expensive vase, but I still have a little heart attack when I think about the sound that the vase made when I knocked it onto the floor!

We had interviews with President Layton on Wednesday. He is super cool and super in tune with the Spirit. While I was talking to him, I asked him for advise on how to find more prepared investigators, so he told us that we should start using our car like a bus. Based on that, we have started parking a couple of streets away from our front plans and then walking, talking to all the people that we see on the way. It has turned out to be a really cool thing for us. We have been able to meet a lot of cool people!

This week, we had an interesting adventure. We decided to go out to a rural part of our area where we had never been before. When we were there, we walked by a house with a gate that was hanging off of its hinges. We are never ones to pass up an opportunity to walk into a creepy yard, so we decided to go in. There was a ton of trash in the yard and there were about a million chickens and cats running around. When we finally got up to the door, it was wide open and creepy piano music was coming from the inside. We knocked on the door frame and I tried to ring the doorbell, but it was covered with spider webs. Nobody came to answer us, so we ended up leaving. It felt like part of a horror movie. When we were talking to the neighbors, they told us that a old lady lives there with about twenty snakes. 

The best part of this week was definitely church. We saw a lot of miracles there! One of our investigators comes to church every week. She was there even though she felt sick because she loves the feeling that she gets when she takes the Sacrament. We were a little late getting to Sunday School because we were getting information from a nonmember friend of a member who lives in our area who wants to start taking lessons from us. When we got to the class, we sat down in some empty seats in the front. When we sat down, we looked over and got a super big surprise. We had been teaching a lady named Dana for a while, but we decided to stop going by because she wasn't going to church or really progressing. When we sat down in Sunday School, she was in the seats next to us. When we asked her why she came to church, she told us that she had moved out of her boyfriend's house into the house of a close friend (who is also a member of our ward). When she was introducing herself to the Relief Society, she said, "Hi, I'm Dana. This is my first time here and I really like it!". It was super cool. We are going back to see her this week!

Things have been going along. I love being a missionary and getting to see all of the miracles that the Lord sends into people's lives. I am positive that he directs this work! Things have really started to groove and the days are flying by! I hope that you all have a good week and that everything goes well. I am keeping you in my prayers!

Hermana Blau

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

Week Twenty-Six: New Mission President

Our adventure that we took today in making tortillas. They actually turned out pretty nice.
Someday I'm going to be a sweet old abuelita!

Area: La Cresta Spanish Ward
Companion: Hermana Perry

This week was pretty good. It has really started to get hot. Unfortunately, in our car, the air conditioning goes out if it is over 100 degrees. We told the manufacturers about it, but I guess that it is something normal for the type of car that we drive. I feel like that is just about the worst design flaw that could ever exist in an air conditioning unit, but we just have to live with it.

Other than the heat, everything is going pretty well. The past couple of days, we have been trying to contact some referrals that we were given by one of the members from the Young Single Adult ward who lives in our area. We have been able to meet some pretty interesting people that way. We talked to one of the people who we were referred to, but he was super tired because he had just been working a night shift, so he asked us to come back another day. When we came back, we met his three daughters. One of them is about five and any time we walk down that street, she follows us around. She is super cute! It turned out that their dad wasn't very interested, so we don't go over to their house anymore, but they always talk to us when they see us walking down that street.

One day this week, our dinner appointment cancelled. We hadn't been expecting it, and it was the last day of June, so we didn't have any money that we could use to buy some food for dinner. We were a little concerned about what we were going to eat, but we decided to just continue on with our day and see what happened. While we were visiting with a member and his sister-in-law, they offered to feed us some quesadillas. They actually gave us quite a lot of them, so we were grateful and a little full. After that, we had a lesson with one of our investigators, Rocio, who works in the fields. Right now, it is grape season, so while we were over there teaching her, she gave us a huge bowl of grapes to eat. They were super good! After that, we were feeling even more full. While we were in the lesson, we got a couple of calls from one of our members. After we got out, they told us that they had made us food, so we went over to their house to have some more dinner. It was super good food! After we were done, we had had three dinners and I was so full, I could hardly walk to the car. I had to take a second to let all of the food settle in my tummy before we could go back out. I guess that just goes to show that the Lord will always take care of his servants.

This week, we were back on the street where the dog attack from last week happened and we were going to see a member. While we were there, the family who owned the dogs was back outside. We felt impressed to go back and talk to them some more. We walked up their driveway (making sure to avoid the dogs who were now safely chained up) and we met the mother of the family. We started to talk to her and she was actually super cool! She has had a hard life and has struggled with drugs and finding a stable relationship for a long time, but she really wants to become a better person and be a good example for her children. She said that she wished that she was more like us and we were able to teach her a little bit. She doesn't really speak Spanish, but she was super cool and we were able to tell the English missionaries about her. 

This week, the mission changed a lot. President and Sister Wilson are now home, so now our new mission president is President Layton. I haven't met him personally yet but I have heard tell that he is a giant man and that the only thing bigger than his hands is his heart. I guess we will have to find out. We have a Zone Conference this Thursday, so I guess that we will meet him there!

Well, that is about it for the week. Today we have all day Preparation day because the mission doesn't want us out proselyting with all the drunk and crazy people during the Fourth of July. We hardly know what to do with all of our extra time!

I hope that you all have a good week and that you can have fun during the Fourth of July. Make sure to light a firework in honor of me. Stay cool! I love you all so much.

Hermana Blau

A picture Hermana Perry took of me while I was driving. It is an adventure!