Oxnard, Interviews, Craziness

What is up friends and family, I really hope you all are doing good, I feel your love, support, and prayers everyday!!! 

Monday we played ping pong and pool as a district which was super fun! We also celebrated Elder Pickrell's birthday!!! Then we went to the Griffeths for dinner and she made lemon fluff, which I had never had before, but it is so good! Then we went and had some fun at the YSA activity and helped our friend Pablo meet some new people! 

Tuesday we had district council that was all about finding joy in missionary work, what makes a successful missionary, and what our purpose is as missionaries. It was really nice to ponder those questions and recognize the joy I am feeling and be reminded of what our missionary purpose truly is. I got to be with Elder Hill for the day here in my area and it was a good day! We had a great lesson with our friend Jeff, a super spirit filled lesson with our friend Vanessa, and started teaching a lady named Maria who we'll have to pass off to the Oxnard Elders. 

Wednesday I spent the day in Oxnard with Elder Fields! He is an awesome missionary to serve with. We went and visited a lot of the friends they have in the area and we met Brandon. Brandon remembered the missionaries, but they hadn't been back in a while and he wanted to learn more, so we taught him and his 15 year old sister about the Book of Mormon and taught them how to pray!!! 

Thursday was interviews!!!! I love talking with President Rodriguez and learning from him! We had a discussion on becoming a consecrated missionary and the importance of putting other things aside and truly just becoming a missionary rather than only being on a mission. After interviews I went back to Oxnard with Elder Fields and we had an awesome lesson with Sylvia and her daughter Savanah, helped them pray and learn more about the power of the Book of Mormon!

Friday I finally got back to my area and had a great day!! We did service for a lady named Nichole which was super fun, plus she took us to lunch and we got to talk to her and her friend Nancy about the Book of Mormon and they're interested learning more!!! Then we had a lesson with Alexis!!! She brought us amazing gifts pictured down below. The Book of Mormons are amazing and she is the sweetest for getting them for us. All 3 of us are still going crazy over how amazing they are!! Then we ended the day on a sad note telling our friend Erick that he needs to wait to be baptized... But he is willing to do what it takes and has high faith! 

Saturday was a great day! We went to the swap meet which is a fun way to mix up the ways we find people. While we were there we found a family that wants to learn more about the gospel!! Then we went to our favorite part of town and I had to pull out the little bit of Spanish I know and it worked out and we got some phone numbers for the Hermanas to call!! Then we visited the Ramirez family and found out the mom won't be able to get Baptized this Sunday, but the kids are able to and hopefully they want to!!! 

Sunday was a crazy busy day. We went to a stake missionary meeting, had an awesome sacrament meeting, Elder Pickrell gave a great talk, and we had the Ramirez family come and they loved it again, our friend Nichole that we helped move absolutely loved relief society and our friend Ron came just in time and enjoyed sacrament meeting!! We visited Brother Shepard who told us some good war stories and the Mansfields who have an adorable bunny! Then we had a powerful lesson with Enrique about the Plan of Salvation an amazing lesson with our new friend Jj who shared some great experiences that are too long to put in here... 

"A powerful testimony does not depend on eloquence or the volume of your voice—but on the conviction and sincerity of your heart. Be careful not to rush or dramatize your testimony. Give people a chance to feel the Holy Ghost bear witness to them that what you have taught is true." PMG ch. 10

I love how powerful testimonies are no matter how profound they are, they always invite the spirit! I hope you all look for opportunities to share your testimony this week!!!

There's my week, hopefully this was filled with miracles and you got to see God's working in your life!! 

Pics: Elder Fields, The cross,Alexis and our gifts from her, Nichole/ Nancy, Mansfields and cute bunny

An Amazing Week!

This week was amazing, I had a blast and we saw some really amazing miracles!!!! 

Monday was great. We played some real life Angry birds as a district. We also went to the Channel Islands National Park center and learned about them! We had FHE with the YSA and made some Valentine’s cards, had a dinner, and talked to our friend Pablo! He is loving activities! 

Tuesday I was on an exchange with Elder Bergstrom in Santa Paula. It honestly reminds me of Brigham, but it's a little bit more ghetto. But I loved being there, we were able to have an awesome lesson with one of their friends, hand out a record amount of pamphlets and helped that area grow. 

Wednesday was awesome! We went boothing on the Ventura College campus and started teaching a handful of YSA aged kids which I'm excited about! Then we got to sing with some missionaries at a senior living center and the sweet old people there are precious. Then we had institute and the lesson was on Kolob... but the way Sister Johanson explained it wasn’t too bad and our friends didn't seem too confused. 

Thursday we went shopping because our cards didn't work Monday and we met Sister Jensen who just moved into the area and she paid for our groceries!!!!!! I've never had that happen, but she is so sweet and loves missionary work!!! Then we went to our favorite complex and taught our favorite family(Ramirez's) and then met a super nice girl named Destiny and she wants to grow closer to God! 

Friday I was on another exchange with Elder Winterton in a Spanish area. We biked all around and had a fun time. There wasn't many Hispanics out and about, but we met a couple nice people that want us back! Got a nice workout in as well which is a plus! 

Saturday we had a service project where we got to feed the homeless which always brings a smile to their face, which makes me happy! Then we went to a swap meet and started teaching 3 people because of it! Then we had another awesome lesson with the Ramirez family as well as our friend Ron and his son Huey!  

Sunday was pretty great! We had a visit with Brother Shepard who shared some war stories with us, then Bro/Sis Borst who are amazing and Sis Borst is working on a tie for all 3 of us! We also had dinner with Bro/Sis Orosco who are super sweet!! We had Ron and Huey come to church as well as Roni and Erick who are preparing for baptism this Sunday!!!!! 

"The road has bumps and detours and even some hazards. But don’t focus on them. Look for the happiness your Father in Heaven has prepared for you in every step of your journey" 

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf

It's truly amazing what happens as we focus on Jesus Christ we are able to find true joy and make it through any hard times!!! 

Pics: 

Elder Bergstrom, Beautiful sky, Channel Island National Park, Sister Jensen, Cyber truck, Elder Winterton 

Baptism, Super, Amazing!

What is up friends and family, I had an amazing week, I hope you had a great one as well!!!!! 

Monday was awesome, we played pickle ball at the church and President Rodriguez showed up and beat us all. It was fun to see him not dressed up and trash talking a little bit! Later that night we taught Alexis's 2 kids Kiko and Alexander while she was being interviewed for baptism(she passed)!!!! 

Tuesday we had a great district council all about how as we develop Christlike attributes we become better missionaries. It's amazing that we're able to become more like the Savior, it's truly amazing the joy we feel as we develop these attributes. Then we had a lesson with Alexis to review any questions that she had! Then we got to have a zoom with our friend Elizabeth who is so sweet! She is so kind and it's awesome to see the peace the gospel brings to her as we share it! Then we taught the Ramirez family about the Word of Wisdom, which we thought they would fight to have, but they gave up everything they were struggling with in a heartbeat and haven't had any substances since!!!! 

Wednesday I got to be with Elder Maus for the day and he is a fantastic missionary. We were able to start teaching a lady named Yvette who loves members of our church, but has never looked into it and she is loving learning more!!! We also had an awesome lesson with our friend Billy, who had just lost some loved ones and found comfort through the Plan of Salvation. We also ran into Donald, which is someone we've been looking for, for 4ish weeks and now we have good contact! 

Thursday was Zone Conference which is always amazing. I got to see some familiar faces which is always fun and also learned a lot!! President talked about the principles of missionary work which are: Love being the motive, obedience being the price, the Atonement of Jesus Christ being the principle, the Spirit being the key, and Jesus Christ being the reason! Then we learned from the assistants about being bold, talking about baptism with everyone and really letting people know why we are out on missions. Loved the zone conference, the spirit was amazing! 

Friday I had an exchange in Fillmore with Elder Price! He is not only super tall, but a really good missionary as well! He is in a spanish area, so I didn't do a whole lot of talking, but I was pretty proud of the couple of sentences I was able to throw into conversations! We met a super cool man named Victor and his family who are ready to grow closer to Christ, and a man named Elroy who has a sick car and wants to learn more about baptism!!!

Saturday was the best day ever!!!!! Alexis and her son were Baptized and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!!!! It was an amazing experience seeing the joy they had and the joy of the ward members there supporting them. Made my week! Then we had a lesson with our friend Jeff who said he wants to be baptized soon, so we're excited for that!!! 

Sunday the Ramirez family came to church, it is amazing to see a family of 5 get ready and come to church!! I'm not sure how my mom did it with all of us... they loved it. The ward recognized Alexis and Alexander, and have welcomed all our friends with open arms! We had a great visit with a Vietnam Veteran who has some fun stories that he shared, our recent convert Chris is preparing to receive his patriarchal blessing, then we had a sneak at the superbowl with an awesome part member family!! 

I love this quote from Neil L. Anderson from his talk in Apr. 2014, "Challenges will come to you, but as you trust in God, they will strengthen your faith." As we trust in God, our trials can refine us, and allow us to grow closer to Jesus Christ!! 

Hope you all had an amazing week, love you all!!!! 

Pics: 

1-3 baptism

4. E. Price 

5. Zone conference 

Rain and Shine

Friends and family, I hope you had an amazing week, here is how mine turned out!!!!! 

Monday for our activity we played sand volleyball which was super fun, my team won of course. Then we went and played gatorball again which is also pretty fun! We had a short lesson with our friend Jeff who asks a lot of really good questions! Then we had our friend Pablo show up to the YSA activity which was more fun than I thought it would be. We played real life Angry birds! 

Tuesday we had district council, which was super great! We talked about the power the Book of Mormon has and the importance of sharing it! We also talked about effective ways to study the scriptures and the importance of applying them! We had a great lesson with the Ramirez family, they have changed so much and all recognize the impact the gospel has had in their lives! We helped a lady in our ward move out of a storage shed and in doing so met Lauren and Joseph who want to learn more about baptism! 

Wednesday we went boothing on campus and started teaching an awesome girl name Monse who is looking to grow closer to God! Then we had a great lesson with our friend Stephen who loves learning! Pablo came to institute and loved it! At institute we talked about Joseph Smith and the sacrifices he made, and the love that he had for the gospel! 

Thursday we got to hear from President Rodriguez and he talked about the blessings of being obedient and how we become consecrated missionaries. He mentioned how we need to "lengthen oir stride and enlarge our vision". He also talked a lot about setting good goals and smaller goals to get us to a number that seems unreasonable! After that we had an awesome lesson with our friend Alexis who is so amazing and is preparing to be baptized Saturday, but has a big interview today(Please pray for her!!!!) 

Friday was Alexis's birthday and she took us to I Love Sushi and it was so good! She is so sweet and has such high faith and loves learning!! We stopped by our friend Auggie(prayers for him). We walked down Ventura Avenue and I got to use the little Spanish I know and send 4 referrals to the Hermana's which was way fun! We also met Jose who felt "good vibes" as we were talking to him and invited us to his daughters birthday party!!! 

Saturday was great. Went to Jose's daughters birthday at a roller skating place, met his family and he was telling them all that they need to come to church with us! After that we went to main street Ventura and met a guy named Chris who didn't believe in God and asked some dumb questions, then we met John who wanted to bash politically which was tough to get out of.... then we had an amazing lesson with the Ramirez family!!! 

Sunday was awesome! We had Jose come to church with his wife and daughter which was awesome, they enjoyed it!! We had a couple other friends come which was a big step for them and they also loved it and felt the spirit! We met Adriana who is super kind and we're excited to teach her!!

“No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do so]. … He will [always] stand by us." 

- George Q. Cannon 

It's truly amazing the love and support God gives us as we turn to him in our trials and truly lean on him to get us through!!! 

Love you all, hope you had a great week!

Pics: 

1. Sunset from our church 

2. Funny sign

3. Bananas 

4-5. Sushi 

6. Roller skating 

7-8 cool sky