One day at a time

Sister Ure and I had another great week out here in Castro Valley. It just flew by! I feel like I was just here sitting at this computer and writing an email home. But like always, this week was jam-packed with tons of sharing the gospel and working in the Visitor's Center and having awesome experiences and laughing and crying and collapsing from exhaustion and dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning and everything else that comes with being a full-time missionary.

Monday:

Monday was our preparation day so we emailed and did laundry and did some grocery shopping. Then, our whole zone got together and we played soccer and volleyball and basketball for a few hours. It's the only time of the week that we can do that so it was great. For our zone activity today, we're actually going mini-golfing! The mini-golf place is right down the street from our apartment and the managers are members so they're letting our whole zone - about 20 people - come play for free! It's going to be great - I'll write more about that next week. But last week, we went out for ice cream after playing sports in celebration of all the new investigators we found and it was DIVINE. I used to eat ice cream every night at home and in college (but in college, I would even eat it for lunch or dinner sometimes) but we never have time to eat it on the mission so it was a special treat.

That night, we went to see Noelle (I spelled it wrong in last week's email) and her mom Karen, the original referral, was there too so we taught them both! It went fine, but there was just so much energy and Karen had so many questions that it was pretty exhausting. We had to explain that we had to start at the basics in order to understand any of the answers to these questions, but we didn't have time to get a real lesson in. It was ok though because we were able to build really great relationships of trust with both of them, and they know that we're there to help them come closer to Christ, not to impel them or convince them or persuade them of anything. Karen was baptized in the Catholic faith and she had serious problems with the actions of the recent clergy and her questions were never fully answered. They are both so great and have so much potential. 

Tuesday:

We started another exchange Monday night, so I was with Sister Lao all day Tuesday. We got all of our studying in that morning and then went around trying to contact some investigators and referrals. We didn't have much luck, but we did get to see one of our less actives, Barbara. We see Barbara almost every week and it was a nice lesson on missionary work, since she's the only active member of her family. She tries so hard and loves people so much, but people just take advantage of it. She's come to church the past couple of Sundays though, so she was in better spirits than usual.

We worked at the VC that night, and had two significant tours. One was with a man named Bernard. He came to the Visitor's Center looking for people to pray for him. He was having a health problem for the past four nights where he'd wake up unable to breathe and it was really scaring him. We promised we would pray for him, and then we walked around the center, teaching him about the gospel. He came there because he has two friends that are members, and he felt like that was where he needed to go. He also said that his current health experiences had made him question where he can go for more peace in his life, and he felt that peace at the Visitor's Center. He was just a sweet man and so ready and prepared for the gospel - he tried to give me a hug before he left but I had to shrug out of it. It was amazing to see the peace slowly come over him as he was there.

The other person that came in was Vanessa. Vanessa was a different story. I greeted her when she came into the center and she just walked around, not saying anything to anyone. As she was about to leave, I saw her again and invited her to listen to the Christus narration since she had only been there for ten minutes or less. We played the narration and asked what she thought of it and she said "mixed feelings." What ensued after was a two hour conversation about all the trials she had gone through in life, including what she called "religious abuse". She just couldn't understand why bad things happen - there were A LOT of bad things that happened in her life. The conversation was spiritually and physically draining as I bore testimony after testimony that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love her, that she needs to have hope before she can have faith in that, and she has to desire happiness in order to find it. With everything she had been through, she didn't even desire to be happy anymore - she just wanted to get through it. I found out she has professional help, or else I would've called someone. But it just goes to show how important love is in every single person's life. Without love, we can't make it. A lot of the mistakes we make and sins we commit in life are because we're looking for love or trying to get by without it. Or because we believe that love just isn't that important. But it IS. If I've learned nothing else thus far on my mission, it's that EVERYONE needs to be loved and EVERYONE needs to understand the love God has for them as their Father in Heaven. Without that, there's no chance of progression or happiness. I worked and worked and pleaded, and cried to help get the missionaries to see Vanessa, or to give her a Book of Mormon that wouldn't remind her of her bad experiences with religion like the Bible would, or to get her phone number so I could contact her later - but I didn't get anything. All I can do is pray that she comes back, willing to look for, find, and accept the true love of God. Every child deserves parents that love them; every person needs to know that their Heavenly Father loves them. I've been so blessed to learn both of those things, and that has helped me get to where I'm at now. I don't think I'll ever take those two gifts for granted ever again.

Wednesday: I'll speed things up a bit.

We had a VC training, organized by my amazing companion Sister Ure, about short and powerful lessons where we only teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ: faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. Everything in our church relates back to this doctrine. I like to look at the doctrine of Christ as the instruction manual for how we can use the Atonement in our lives. That being said, we should be able to use it everyday. 

We were at the VC for the rest of the morning. Then we went to see Jackie and taught her obedience. It was hard to get her to focus - her baptism date is February 16th and we have to help her understand that so we can prepare her. She showed us a picture of what she looked like ten years ago - she looked AMAZING. I was literally in shock. It's so sad to see what ten years of drugs, smoking, and depression can do to someone physically, and I'm not sure if she can get all the way back to where she was, but she can definitely make improvements. I'll talk about this again later, but she finally came to church this week!!!!!!!! I was ecstatic, especially after the disappointment last week.

Wednesday night was just crazy. I left my purse at a member's home after dinner and it was there all night until we picked it up Thursday morning. We saw Noelle and Karen again and it was rocky. We've picked up that their relationship is really really REALLY not good. It's a complicated story, but I shared with them my own experiences with not getting along with my mom and how the gospel slowly helped us to work through it. We were able to teach the whole Restoration, but it jumped around a little bit. Then Noelle shared an experience where she was at another church and the Spirit flooded her body and she started speaking gibberish....and the Spirit just left the room and didn't come back until she started bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon and the true, restored gospel of Jesus Christ. She said she had been praying for something and then we showed up at her door. It was a pretty emotional lesson, and it ran WAY overtime. We sprinted over to see Matt and Dan, 45 minutes late, and taught them about church attendance. Matt promised to come and Dan said he might join them (sneak preview: they didn't come).

Thursday:

Thursday was busy but not satisfying. We had our apartment cleaning check and then we had interview with President Meredith. It's so weird - I can't hide anything from him. I talked to him about my concerns about how hard it is to be a missionary. Naturally, I'm good at talking to people and being friendly and I thought that was all I needed to be a missionary. But that's not all. It takes a lot of work. A lot of elders that serve are really shy, reserved people and they have to completely break out of that shell. I thought that wouldn't be a problem for me, but I'm starting to understand that the guidance of the Spirit is the only thing that made it possible for them to overcome their own personalities. It's hard work to better yourself, but that's why missions really can change your life. I'm only starting to understand that, but as I work on all the things I need to do, it can start becoming natural. And as long as I have the Spirit with me, it happens naturally. I just love President Meredith - he knew exactly what to say to help me. I didn't understand what people would say about their mission presidents, but it's really like him and his wife are my parents while I'm out here. It's so nice to have that support - like I said, everyone needs to be loved.

We tried contacting less actives and former investigators all day Thursday without much success. We did find one that night - she had been out of town for months and had just gotten back so we're going to see her this week. We contacted a referral for a less active that actually turned out to be an excommunicated member. She said some not so nice things and ordered us off the property. So that was an adventure. But it was really sad to see - she wasn't happy at all and she just had a cold, hardened heart. It reminds me of the scripture in Moroni 6 that talks about that "as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven." Heavenly Father gives us so many chances to come back; we can always come back.

We taught Raul Thursday night - Gerry was sick. We thought he would be there so we fasted for lunch (because we forgot to fast until after breakfast) and then ate dinner. It didn't really count because it was half a fast - and we didn't teach our awesome lesson about sacrifice anyways - but Heavenly Father made up for it because we were insanely hungry for lunch. We're just praying that the timing is finally right next week to teach him. But we taught Raul the 10 Commandments, focusing heavily on keeping the Sabbath Day holy. And lo and behold, RAUL CAME TO CHURCH. For the first time in MONTHS. It was a really good lesson, and just what he needed. 

Friday:

Friday was good, but no lessons. We had study time then district meeting - which is always great - then weekly planning and then the VC. I don't even know what happened at the VC that night. So.....yeah. That was Friday.

Saturday:

Saturday was another exchange with Sister Lau, but I was in her area this time. The apartment was in Alameda, but she's in the Mandarin program so she covers tons of different places. She doesn't drive so I got to drive her Chevy Malibu - I liked it. I also went with her to teach English class! I didn't learn much Mandarin in Chinaland, but it was so much fun teaching English. I always thought that would be so hard, but tons of people do it without having prior experience with it and now I understand it. Maybe I will do something like that after my mission.....

We had three lessons with recent converts. The first was with Brother Tam who doesn't speak any English. We used the Book of Mormon picture book and Sister Lau read the story while I simply pointed at the pictures. Then we taught Hong Liu - her English was very good and we just taught her in English so I was able to participate in that one. She instantly said she didn't want to go to church anymore when she saw us, but she changed her mind by the end of the lesson which I took as a good sign. The last lesson was with Janet and we got to walk to her place, which was nice. Sister Ure and I drive to every appointment, so it was nice to be in the city and walk around. It was weird being in downtown Oakland - I felt safe but it was totally different than Castro Valley. 

After that, we went to the VC for the night. We met Luke, who moved to Oakland to be a Christian rapper. He works at a legit studio in Oakland and he was super solid. We talked to him for a long time about how the Book of Mormon can help him get even closer to God, and he straight up refused. Nephi prophesied that people would say "We have got a Bible and there cannot be any more Bible." Luke was the perfect epitome of these people. He is still a great guy, but it's hard to understand that people don't want more revelation from God.
The VC was steady for the rest of the night, and some of the other sisters got some really good referrals. We saw Cathy, who had just been baptized that day - I had met her a week earlier when she came in and she had been by two other times that week. Everytime she came, she brought more of the missionaries that had taught her in the past two years, who had all come out for her baptism. It was just so cool to meet them. One of them worked at the referral center at the MTC when I was there! It was just so exciting to see her so happy with all of these friends that had helped her get to this point. 

I went back to Castro Valley late Saturday night - Sister Ure and Sister Chan were stuck in a long appointment and didn't come to make the swap until almost 9:30 so Sister Lau and I went over to Elder and Sister Clement's home (VC directors) and had hot chocolate while we waited for them. It was a fun little adventure. It was fun in Chinaland, but it was so nice being back in my bed on the third floor where I don't ever hear the floor above me squeak in the middle of the night.

Sunday:

And this brings us to Sunday. We had a meeting with Bishop before church, and then SIX investigators at sacrament meeting: Jackie (and she brought her son Zach), Gerry, Raul, Elena & Ariel, and Christine - Karen and Noelle didn't make it because Noelle's boyfriend was in town. Dan and Matt just stood us up, for church and for our lesson that afternoon. But we are so grateful for the six that were there. We were all sitting together in two pews and our ward mission leader texts us as church starts saying "Aw look at your cute little investigator club!" It was so great. The talks were PERFECT as well - one about Joseph Smith and the other about sacrifice and service. Christine felt the Spirit so strong that she cried during the Joseph Smith talk. Absolutely perfect.

Gerry and Raul didn't stay for the rest of church, but everyone else did! Even Jackie stayed and Zach went to Primary and actually behaved the entire time! That helped her to focus and learn a lot. In Gospel Principles, we learned about agency and then we talked about L. Tom Perry's talk, "Becoming Goodly Parents" in Relief Society. It was great having both Jackie and Christine there! We found an amazing fellowshipper for Christine this week, Sister McKirdy, and Jackie knows a few people already. It was just a really great day at church.

After church, we had a mega-long ward mission coordination meeting and then ANOTHER meeting with Bishop. They were all good, but we were at the church from 9:15am until 2:45pm which was crazy. But a lot of good things are happening in the ward with regards to missionary work, and I'm just praying that I get to stay here for just one more transfer! I'm just working as hard as I can so that I can have the most success possible in these next three weeks in case I leave for Spanishland soon.

I wanted to make this shorter than normal, but I failed. Have a great week everyone! It's so crazy that January is almost over - don't take any time for granted.

Love you!

Hermana Hunsaker (or Hermana H - no one here can say my last name haha)

Pictures:

Me and Barbara

At Leo's baptism a few weeks ago - it's so hard to get him to smile

Tender Mercies

I'm so uncreative when it comes to subject titles for emails, so I stole my companion's title. But it's definitely true. So many good things have happened this week...I don't even know where to begin!!! It was a long week, but I've also been able to recognize how quickly the time speeds by on your mission. I've already been out for four months and I'm slowly getting the hang of everything.

Sister Ure and I have focused a lot on prayer this week. We even had a district meeting on Friday and the topic was "praying with faith". It's something I've been trying to do, but it's not as easy as it seems. Prayer isn't just a mindless process; it requires a lot of focus and a ton of work. Prayer has to be coupled with action, just like faith is an action. There are A LOT of things I'm praying for, and I have no idea what the outcome will be. As stated in the Bible Dictionary, the purpose of prayer isn't to change God's mind, but to understand His will and His mind and come to terms with that - to bring our will in accordance with His. It's hard to do sometimes because there are a lot of things I want for my investigators, but everything happens in the Lord's timing. So in my email today, I just want to talk about a few of the experiences that I've had because I have been learning to pray with faith, mostly in regards to finding new investigators. Sister Ure and I have been praying for this for weeks and we haven't been able to see any of our potential investigators or receive any referrals from members. In a roundabout way, those prayers were answered as we were able to add FOUR new investigators in just one week because we were doing our part, working hard, and praying with faith.

Sarah: We had been trying to contact Valerie, a less-active member in our ward, since Christmas. Sister Ure had a lesson with her before I was here and we hadn't seen her since. This was our fourth attempt at coming to see her. Her daughter Sarah opened the door and let us in. As we sat with her, we learned that Valerie had collapsed a few days after Christmas and upon arriving at the hospital, they had found multiple health problems that should have culminated in her death. Sarah told us that her mom was okay and staying at a physical rehabilitation facility in San Leandro. Sarah was staying at the home taking care of her 13-year-old brother, Nicolas, who is also a member. We stayed with them for awhile and ended up learning that even though Sarah's mom and brother had joined the church, and she had the missionary lessons, she had never been baptized. But after her mom was admitted to the hospital, the first thing Sarah did was she brought a Book of Mormon to her mom. And when we were there, she ran back to grab a copy, wanting to read from it to find that comfort. Valerie is going to be okay, but this experience has strengthened Sarah's faith so much. I know that the Spirit prompted us to go see Valerie which led us to Sarah. We have a return appointment with her today so we can teach her everything again and really help her make those steps toward baptism.

Christine: On Saturday, I was on exchanges with Sister Li when my ward mission leader, Brother Brown, called. He had been at the church that morning for a meeting and just as the meeting ended, Christine walked into the building wanting to know the service times. He told us that he talked with her and introduced her to the Relief Society President, the Primary President and a whole bunch of people in the ward. He gave us her address so we went over to visit her that night. She was born in Utah and has a lot of extended family that are LDS but her parents did not raise her with any religion. She has two daughters - Fiona, 6, and Sasha, 9 - and she wants to raise them with that foundation. She came to church yesterday and wasn't quite sure about sacrament meeting - to be honest, it was a weird topic - but she loved Relief Society and her kids loved Primary. Sister Ure and I were able to go over and teach her the Restoration that night. She is so golden and just ready to learn. Before we started, we asked her about her belief in Christ and she said she believed he was a prophet but she wasn't super about the other "supernatural" stuff like his death and resurrection. So as we talked about Christ's life, we also talked about His mission as our Savior. We read Alma 7:11-12 - which has become one of my favorite scriptures ever - and asked her how she felt about it. The Spirit was so strong it brought her to tears as she expressed her gratitude. Here's a woman who wasn't even sure she knew who Jesus Christ really was, yet the Spirit testified through the Book of Mormon that He did what He did for all of us - and for her individually. That's the power of the Book of Mormon, and that's why I love it so much. It truly helps us to understand Jesus Christ's sufferings and death for us, so through that knowledge, we can know what we can do to express our love and gratitude for Him. Christine prayed at the end of the lesson, and it was so sincere and powerful. We're seeing her again on Wednesday, and we hope her daughters and her husband start participating in the lessons as well.

Dan: Sister Ure has this 19-year-old recent convert named Matt - he was just baptized in October but I've never met him. He's stopped coming to church, and doesn't even answer our phone calls anymore. Sister Ure has been discouraged, but we keep stopping by, trying to catch him at home. We usually end up talking to his dad Dan on the doorstep for a few minutes. Dan is Catholic, but in those doorstep chats, he has expressed interest in coming to church and reading the Book of Mormon. He said that he recognized the change in Matt after he was baptized, especially in their relationship since they don't get along very well. After yet another Sunday without Matt, we stopped by again yesterday. His car was in the driveway but no one answered the door - we were standing there for five minutes. Just as we were turning around to leave, Dan got home. He let us into the house and there was Matt, just sitting there. We brushed that off and Sister Ure just started talking to him and teaching him. We didn't have anything prepared, and I didn't know him at all, so she just went with the Spirit. We talked about repentance mostly, but in a very loving way. Matt knows he needs to change and acknowledged that coming to church makes him happier. Dan was out of the room for most of the lesson, but he came in for a bit and Sister Ure taught about how the gospel blesses families. At the end, we all knelt down and prayed together. Matt offered the prayer. And then - we made a return appointment to teach both of them, adding Dan as a new investigator. We know that as Matt starts doing the things he should and as Dan takes the lessons, they can heal their relationship. We're going over there Wednesday :)

Noel: This story might be the craziest miracle of them all! This lady in our ward, Sister Brown, gives us lots of referrals, but most of them are mega random. One time, Sister Ure taught this Russian man named Vlag who didn't even know English! So yeah, these referrals don't always work out. But a few weeks ago, she told us about Karen. When we talked to Karen on the phone, she was super excited to see us and wanted to give us dinner and read the Book of Mormon and all that jazz. It was incredible! She ended up cancelling because she got sick, and then we never heard back from her. We've been meaning to stop by, so we finally did last night. Karen was still feeling sick so we didn't even see her but her daughter Noel let us in. Karen had told us that Noel was a member and she sounded like one! She recognized us, asked us if we were out past our curfew, put on a sweatshirt because "modest is hottest", and was just talking in so much Mormon jargon that we assumed that she was a member like Karen had said. After talking to her for twenty minutes, we figured out that she is NOT a member. In fact, she's never even met with missionaries! Two years ago, she got pregnant and had a baby who she gave up for adoption through some adoption agency in Utah - maybe even LDS family services. It was an open adoption though, so she was able to meet her daughter's new parents and they let her come see her little girl whenever - she's almost two. The family has come here a couple of times as well. And this family - her daughter's adoptive family - have introduced her to the church. She's been to church, reads the Book of Mormon, lives the Word of Wisdom, prays, and everything like that. It's amazing. She knows it's all true and she's so ready. We taught her the Readers' Digest version of the Restoration, and we're going back tonight to teach her more in-depth! She is just so amazing and HILARIOUS.

So there it is: four new investigators we weren't expecting to find, and we found all of them through members in one way or another. Answers to prayer. Prayer really can work those miracles in our lives - we just need to recognize them.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are still a few people we're praying for, and we're not sure what the outcome will be. We just have to trust in God and have the faith that it will work out how it's supposed to (Mosiah 4:9).

Jackie: I've talked about Jackie a lot I think. I went on exchanges twice this week and we taught Jackie both times. Sister Ure wasn't there to see how Jackie was. She was doing ok the first lesson, and not so good the second lesson. But I started seeing changes. She started understanding the Book of Mormon, and she was BOUND AND DETERMINED to come to church this Sunday no matter what. I had my hopes high, believing she would finally make it this time. And she didn't. And it broke my heart to hear her voicemail as she cried saying how much she wanted to come to church but her depression was holding her back. Her baptismal date is the 16th of February, and I am so ready for her to make it, to make that step. I can't give up on her - I just want her to be happy, after all the horrible things that have happened in her life.

Gerry: We were supposed to have our awesome lesson with Gerry this week about sacrifice but our lesson had to be shortened and we didn't have time to dive into it. But we did teach him and Raul about agency and about how the choices we make affect our happiness. Raul has a hard time making choices in general, and Gerry is having a hard time completely committing to the gospel. We're praying for Gerry all week and fasting on Thursday because we know he's ready. People have told us not to get our hopes up since Gerry has been investigating for years and years, but we feel prompted by the Spirit that he will act this time. We are having that lesson on Thursday, and I know that this prayer will be answered according to our Heavenly Father's will. I think it's time.

Olga: We weren't able to see Olga this week - she cancelled our lesson. We are still praying that the things we teach will inspire her to act and recognize that she can change her situation so that she can be baptized. We have an awesome lesson set up for her too, and we know that our lesson plans have been guided by the Spirit. There might be a miracle waiting to happen there as well.

Elena/Ariel: We only got to see these girls once last week and we taught them the doctrine of Christ. They know that the Church is true, but their mom is pretty adamant on making sure they explain HOW they know. We are going to focus on the Holy Ghost as we teach them this week and we hope to set a baptism date.

I think that's everything. Like I mentioned earlier, I had the opportunity to work with other missionaries two other days this week, Wednesday (Sister Poon) and Saturday (Sister Li), and it also meant that I got to drive! So that was kind of a nice change. I forgot how much I love to drive.

Anyways, miracles happening here every day. This computer is still acting up so no pictures again. Next week, I'll put them on there FOR SURE.

Thank you all for your continual love and support!!!

Hermana Hunsaker

Another Fabulous Week in Celestial Valley!

Hello everyone!

I'm really going to try and sum this one up quickly - I feel like my whole day gets away from me when I email! First of all, I realized that I never mentioned all my friends that I saw this Christmas season at the Visitor's Center: David from freshman year, Sister Rachelle Simonsen from the San Jose mission (who should be home by now! and hopefully passing on my love to everyone), and Alex Lammi (who is now ENGAGED). And then I saw this girl named Taylor who went to Girl's Camp with me and I got a small little note from my friend McKay Scoffield. These little blasts from the past were so unexpected but so nice. It was great to see how the gospel really does connect us with the people around us - the world is so small, especially in the church.

We had another baptism this past week for Leo - his mom Ling was baptized three weeks ago. He was a tough investigator - he's only 13 but he had question after question after question. And I'm not sure if I was even able to answer his questions, but the Spirit did and he chose to take that leap of faith and be baptized. At his baptism on Saturday and then again at church on Sunday, Bishop Passadore introduced Leo and told him that as a member of the church, he has joined a community of friendship. There were people at his baptism from China, Canada, Africa, Mexico and various states of America. Bishop asked each of these people if the gospel was the same, true gospel of Jesus Christ in each of their homelands, and each person said yes. It is a continual testimony to me that this is the restored, original church of Jesus Christ because we have a prophet that oversees the entire world. Each congregation believes the same thing, and each congregation studies both the Bible AND the Book of Mormon. And when we are all unified in that belief, we have friends wherever we go, which was the point Bishop Passadore made to Leo. It was confirmed to me again as I thought of all the long-lost friends I ran into at the Visitor's Center this past month and I am so grateful for that little blessing that Heavenly Father gives us as members of His church.

Another thing that I've learned is that the teacher really does learn the most. I try so hard to help my investigators understand the doctrine that it opens my eyes even wider. We had an experience last Monday night where we were cranky, hungry, tired, and just ready to go to bed for the night but we had one more appointment left. So we sucked it up, and just went. We taught Sister Ruiz and her two grandsons, Raymond and Eric, about Nephi breaking his bow in the Book of Mormon. It was a nice bow - steel and everything - but it breaks and his whole family instantly starts complaining and grumbling, even his father Lehi, the prophet. But Nephi just goes to work - he instantly makes himself a new one and goes to the Lord to know where to hunt. As soon as we left the lesson, it hit us that we had started the lesson off like Nephi's family, but not Nephi. We couldn't help but laugh when we realized that the lesson applied directly to us. The teacher definitely learns the most sometimes.

We were so blessed this week to find three new investigators, and we were able to teach them all twice last week. The first two are Elena and Ariel - they are 10 and 11 and their mom is a pretty active member of the ward, but their dad is Catholic. They've expressed the desire to be baptized but their mom wants them to understand the gospel a little more so they can make an informed decision. I've seen their testimonies - they are the sweetest words I've ever heard. It's just a tricky situation because they are pulled to their dad's religion through the ceremonies and rituals of the Catholic faith that they've participated in in the past. I'm praying that they'll be ready for baptism before I leave, which will probably be the middle of February.

The third investigator is Olga - we met her boyfriend Jake last Sunday but she was at work. At first, we weren't sure what to expect, but she's met with tons of different missionaries before and she's totally ready for baptism! She knows the Book of Mormon is true, she knows Joseph Smith was a prophet, she watches General Conference with Jake - it's incredible. The only thing holding her back is the fact that her and Jake aren't married. His testimony is rock solid as well, and we can't determine what is holding them back from getting married. They've been living together for over six years but they say they can't afford to get married. It's frustrating (especially since they didn't come to church this Sunday due to NFL football) but we know the Lord can give them a miracle if they do their part. We taught her about obedience and read 1 Nephi 3:7 but it won't do her any good until she really puts forth the effort and starts looking for other options. It's hard putting God before everything else, but that's one of the biggest tests of life.

I'm also grateful that the Lord knows what I need to do better than I do. We had a day this week where we had three first appointments fall through. It was a little discouraging, but we ended up seeing the people we needed to see. And even though the day didn't work out perfectly, Sister Chipana (my temporary companion) and I had an awesome tour that night at the VC. These two boys came in - Jim and Porter. Porter was 16 and Jim was 14. Jim had joined the church when he was eight, but his family weren't members. They weren't really sure what they wanted to do, and it wasn't busy so we showed them a few Mormon messages. We showed some really powerful ones and had a great discussion with them about the gospel. After doing so, Porter gave us the name of his friend whose father had recently died. Porter wasn't sure what he wanted to send this friend, so I suggested that Jim and Porter watch "Together Forever" to see if their friend would appreciate that video. Afterwards, they said it was the perfect movie and filled out a referral card. Jim also opened up - his mother died this past October and his dad was taking it pretty hard. But Jim knew that he would see his mom again, and he was so calm and composed for a boy who just lost his mother two months ago. But miracles come from tragedies sometimes - Jim's dad has started coming to church and Jim said his dad was going to meet with the missionaries that weekend. There was also a language barrier since Jim's dad speaks Cambodian and doesn't understand too much English still. Jim and Porter live in Modesto, but the closest Cambodian ward meets in the building across from the VC. It's a hour-long drive, but Jim was really interested in getting the ward information so he could bring his dad there.

Jim and Porter were members, but they still benefited from their time at the VC. Their faith increased, they were able to share the gospel with their struggling friend, and Jim was able to learn about the Cambodian ward for his dad. My purpose as a missionary is to bring EVERYONE to Christ, even members. We can always come just one step closer. That tour taught me so much more about my purpose, and I'll never forget Jim and Porter.

I had a similar experience at Leo's baptism. One of our mission rules is that we have to do a baptismal interlude after the baptism for the attendees as people get dressed back into normal clothes. Everyone in the room was a member, but we had already planned on teaching the doctrine of Christ. Even though they all knew what it was, we taught a quick summary for ten minutes and then sat down. We thought everyone was bored to death - my companion even made a comment during it saying that everyone looked like they were about to fall asleep - but it was a rule. Then yesterday at church, Sister Fonnesbeck brought up this experience in Relief Society. She said that she didn't understand why we were teaching that since EVERYONE in the room knew it, but as we taught, she received another witness from the Holy Ghost that the things we were teaching are true. So much of missionary work is working with the members and helping them with missionary work by building their testimonies - and now we've been invited over to have dinner with the Fonnesbeck's this week. As she shared this experience, it also made me aware of how many things I might say that really touch people. I could bear my testimony to people in the street, and they might just ignore me, but the Spirit might help something stick in their mind. It's crazy to think about how much power we have been given as missionaries, and we may not always realize how strong the Spirit is that we carry with us but we have the opportunity to bring people closer to Jesus Christ every minute of every day, no matter where we are.

One more cool VC story: last Friday night, I met a family with six kids - three adopted from China and two from Vietnam. They had only one biological child. We took them through God's Plan and it solidified my testimony that families can be together forever. It took a while to find my little brother Trey, and I know that God didn't lead my parents to this little boy just for this life. There's more - there's an eternal plan. God wouldn't give us our families for this short time that we're on earth just to take them from us after this life. Especially having adopted brother, it's so comforting to know that even though we don't have blood ties, we have more than just legal ties to each other - we are eternally tied to each other. I know that without the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, that wouldn't be possible for anyone, any family. If we need each other in this life, we are going to need each other in the next. It really is one of the most important parts of God's plan. If any of you haven't seen God's Plan for the Family at any of the VC, I "exhort" you to find a nearby temple visitors' center and see this presentation. It can change lives.

Church was great yesterday, as usual. Gerry came to church, which was just awesome. I don't know if I've talked about Gerry before, but he and his wife Elizabeth have been investigating the church for ten years or something crazy, and she was finally baptized back in July. There's something still holding Gerry back, but we keep teaching him because he's so solid. He has a testimony and he's been at church every week for the past month - he even fasted last fast Sunday! We have a super awesome lesson that we're teaching him this Thursday about sacrifice and I don't know if I've ever prepared more for a lesson! We're preparing the lesson, but we're also working really really hard and being COMPLETELY obedient and preparing him with scriptures everyday to lead up to this lesson. We know we can see miracles through our faith and through the Spirit as long as we do our part. There's a quote from Sister Nelson that is pretty popular in missionary work: "Obedience brings blessings; EXACT obedience brings miracles." It's been a process to increase my faith in the past few months of my mission, but I know that the Lord can deliver miracles according to His will. I know if we try our hardest, this lesson might just be the tipping stone towards real progress (aka baptism). I'm not sure what will happen, but I know the Lord has power to make this miracle occur as long as my companion and I pave the way.

So - that sums it all up! Still long, I know - but no pictures this week because this computer is acting up. Have a great week everyone!
And Happy Birthday Dad!

Hermana Hunsaker

This week, I.....

1. Watched movies - Disney movies - for the first time since September! After a nice relaxing preparation day, we were allowed to watch two "normal" movies as our New Year's Eve celebration (since we had to skip the fireworks). Our whole zone of about 20 missionaries got together at a member's home and they had an AWESOME movie room - maybe even cooler than the one we have at home......I have a very low-quality picture of it because the lighting was weird, but it was Star Wars themed, with statues of Darth Maul and Darth Vader. There was also a little candy counter that they filled with candy for us, and a movie theater popcorn machine! We watched Brave and Toy Story 3 - I hadn't seen Brave and I couldn't even remember Toy Story 3. Brave had a somewhat disturbing element to it that really made me wonder if it was rated G, but it was a cute story, reminding me a tad bit of my relationship with my mom when I was growing up. I'm glad to say I've grown up and grown out of that attitude. And of course, any Toy Story movie is a classic. It was a fun way to end the year, but the next day was a new day, a new year, a new start as I started 2013, my full year as a missionary.
2. Stood on a doorstep for ten minutes. Sister Ure and I went to this apartment to contact a less active woman that's just about our age, but a man answered the door. We told him we were missionaries and he asked us if he was in trouble. We just told him we were looking for Nicole and he offered to let us come inside but warned us that there were drugs in the house. So we just stood outside, waiting for him to grab Nicole - and he forgot about us. It may have been intentional - or maybe his mind just wasn't very clear - but a couple people came out, assuming we had left. We eventually left, but came back a few hours later. This time Nicole was asleep, and the same man answered the door. We could tell this time that he definitely was not in his right mind, but we talked to him for a few minutes, trying to teach him. He started to say that he feels bad right before he starts taking drugs, but then his mind wandered off on a new topic. We're going to try seeing Nicole again this week, and we're hoping he answers the door again. The gospel really can change everyone - my companion Sister Ure taught and baptized a man who both smoked and grew marijuana. No matter how far you've gone, you can always come back. The word "repent" simply means "to change". We are always changing, we can always change - and we have the power to change for the better. Before my mission, I was afraid to share the gospel with everyone because I was afraid people don't want to change - I never wanted to change. But knowing that certain changes can bring more happiness to your life helps us change for the better. And EVERYONE wants to be better.
3. Learned to love the song "There is Sunshine in My Soul". I used to hate this song - it was too bouncy, too cheery, too happy-go-lucky. If you remember that fire alarm at the MTC, that's what all the sisters were singing in the gym at 6 in the morning, and I had to stay outside. But we have a convert named Michelle who was baptized last March. She lives in an assisted living facility after having a severe stroke five years ago. Still, she's the happiest person I know. We try to see her every week, and we were able to see her on Tuesday. She picked our opening song - There is Sunshine in My Soul (it's her favorite hymn). I sang along with Sister Ure and Michelle, but I heard a fourth voice halfway through the song. Michelle's roommate, Maureen, was singing along with us. It's hard to have a conversation with her because her mind is starting to go and it's hard to understand her when she talks, but I understood her as she sang. We always sing this song with Michelle, so Maureen had learned the words too. It was a really special moment for me - I had taken for granted this song I had grown up hearing my whole life, but it's a song that really does express where true joy comes from: "When Jesus shows his smiling face, there is sunshine in the soul". It's hard to find sunshine when you're inside all day and you can't get up and move around on your own, but the gospel brings that sunshine no matter your circumstances.
4. Saw the definition of charity. We went over to the DeVoe's home for dinner and they made enchiladas. It was so nice being back at members' homes to eat - with our VC schedule, we hadn't eaten dinner with our members for a couple of weeks. But it's not the charity the DeVoe's showed us that really struck me. We told them that we were heading over to see our investigator Jackie - Jackie's had a tough time recently and hasn't been progressing but we were confident that things were starting to turn around. As soon as we mentioned Jackie's name, the DeVoes offered us a whole pan of enchiladas to bring over to her, knowing that she didn't have a car and so she couldn't go get food for herself and her son very easily. They remembered EXACTLY who this person was, even though she hadn't been to church in weeks and had only come twice. They remembered EXACTLY what this person needed, and they just gave. All they asked was "Do you think she would want the rest of these enchiladas?" Instead of thinking about how those leftovers would feed their little family of 3 for another 3 days, they instantly thought of her. I have no idea how I'm ever going to become that selfless, but that's my goal. The members here in Castro Valley are the definition of Christ-like love, and I feel so blessed to learn from their examples.
5. Had another opportunity to learn from President and Sister Meredith. I've seen them almost every week that I've been here, and I instantly feel of their love when they are around. It reminds me of what it might feel like to spend time with Jesus Christ - radiating love. I hope to someday be able to show that love for everyone I know, simply by my presence. President and Sister Meredith conducted the second half of our New Missionary Training. We learned how to create family mission plans with members and how to begin teaching new investigators. As much as I hate roleplays, they are so helpful in learning how to become an effective missionary. There is power and authority in my calling, but we always need to practice. President Meredith also talked about how inspired Preach My Gospel is. It really is the gospel in a nutshell - it is so simple, so logical, so great. If anyone is interested in learning more about the gospel, Preach My Gospel gives them the basics to learn the gospel. President Meredith said something to the effect of "we have to have the gospel in our hearts in order to share it". I'm learning more and more everyday about how we cannot convert beyond our own conversion, and everything I'm learning is helping me to "write the gospel [and the doctrine of Christ] in my heart".
6. Realized yet again that the VC attracts people from EVERYWHERE. This couple from Mexico came in with their English friends who were members: Ricardo and Antonietta. I tried to bear testimony in Spanish, but they understood English as well - I'm pretty good at Spanglish at this point. Despite the fact that they are staunch Catholics, they both accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon as well as the missionary discussions. Something we said helped the Spirit testify of the gospel. I see experiences like that everyday here at the VC and I am so blessed to be part of it.
7. Went on exchanges with Sister Chipana at the VC while our companions had meetings all day. We met some great people, especially Elliott and Liza. Elliott and Liza were on their way to the Chabot Space Center, but they saw the temple and decided to stop in. They ended up staying for almost an hour, asking questions about our beliefs. We ended up teaching them the basic principles of the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation. Liza was a "Catholic" but Elliott knew a lot about the Bible. He had studied it extensively and had tried a few different churches, but fell away because the churches ended up splitting. It was an power-charged hour of bearing testimony and reading from the Book of Mormon and it was so much fun! It was a riveting spiritual discussion, and they're coming back to see the Joseph Smith movie. They accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and are excited to learn more from the missionaries. Sometimes, people change all their plans just to come over to the VC - and I know it's not a coincidence. The Spirit leads prepared people to the VC.
8. Decided to keep a quote journal for my mission after receiving the funniest voicemail I have ever heard. This crazy awesome old lady in the ward called us saying, "I think I've got a live one for you!" She was talking about a referral, of course. She told us that this woman, Karen, wanted a "Mormon Bible" aka The Book of Mormon. We definitely saved that voicemail. I wish I could find a way to attach it as an audio file. I'll work on that.
9. Committed a less active woman at the VC to come back to church! She came with her ex-boyfriend and their three kids, who had just received his patriarchal blessing after getting baptized recently. They came in real quick to listen to the Christus narration - they said they were all members, but something didn't quite add up. As we talked to them, Myra ended up telling us that she wasn't active. As we talked, she really opened up. She was so great and before she left, we committed her to come to church and she said she'd do it! She's trying to come back to church and we were just so inspired by her example.
10. ....well, Sister Ure almost killed the car. We were looking for a member's home so we could have dinner. We took a turn a little bit too tight and we scraped the rim up onto the curb. It sounded awful, but miraculously there were no marks. Miracle number 1. But miracle number 2 is that we found a referral from that! This security guard named Landell helped us back up off of the curb without causing any damage to the car. We started driving away and I wanted to give him a pass-along card out the window, but it seemed a little awkward. We pulled into a nearby parking spot and got out, looking for our members' apartment. We were totally on the other side of the complex - and it was a huge complex. Landell happened to walk by again and while I called our member, Sister Ure talked to him about the gospel. We got his address and phone number and we were able to refer him to the missionaries in Oakland! Just another little miracle that the Lord allowed us to be a part of.
11. Survived my first transfer call! I don't know if people can understand how nerve-wracking transfer calls are if they haven't served a mission. It's really hard especially since you plan for the whole next week without even knowing if you'll get to go to these appointments! Thankfully, I'm staying at least one more transfer. I want to get to a Spanish area so I can practice my Spanish, but I just love where I'm at in Castro Valley so much! I'm not ready to leave! Seeing as this next six weeks might be my last here, I'm so excited to work super super hard to help these people as much as I can before I go.
12. Met TONS of potential investigators on Sunday! We didn't have too many solid plans - our investigator Jackie was supposed to come to church and we were supposed to teach her afterwards but she didn't show. For some reason, she took a prescribed drug for her depression that she said she was not going to take anymore. And the doctors gave her an even higher dose which turned her into a complete vegetable for the day and we didn't see her. She hasn't been to church for the whole transfer (six weeks) that I've been here. We're thinking about dropping her, but it's completely breaking my heart. We had a great lesson with her this week about agency and making choices that will bring us happiness, and she just doesn't do it. But despite the disappointments, we had the opportunity to find A LOT of potential investigators. We've been praying for this opportunity all week, and so as soon as we had some free time to contact, we discovered a gold mine! We visited Jake, a referral we received from the Spanish sisters in the area. Jake and his girlfriend Olga just moved here from San Ramon. Olga wasn't home, but we talked to Jake out on the front porch for a long time. He has to be a member, but he never answered our question directly. He has a strong testimony, but there are a few things he needs to fix before he marries Olga so they can be baptized (or maybe just Olga). On our way to see Jake, we ran into Jonathon, who said he's met with missionaries before. All three of them work the graveyard shift so it's hard to get a hold of them but we're coming back to teach all of them! We also saw Erick Ross - Sister Ure had taught him before but we dropped him because his schedule was so crazy. But he was home and we're going back next week! Sister Ure also had the feeling that we needed to see Matt Timney, a recent convert that she taught. We haven't been able to get a hold of him for the past few weeks and he hasn't been to church since I've been here. But his dad Dan opened the door, and we ended up talking to him for a good twenty minutes. He mentioned that he has always wanted to try coming to the Mormon church and so we hope to get both him and his son there! We were so blessed with all the new contacts and new potential investigators that the Lord led us to this week.

Sister Ure, Sister Garcia, and Sister Mitchell

The weeks are long, but time is flying by. It's 2013, and I'm not new to the field anymore. But things here in NorCal are going just swimmingly. I just love being here and serving the Lord.

Hermana Hunsaker