Because of the recent change in email policy, I've had A LOT of emailing to do and so this one has to stay short. I'll try to wrap everything up quick. We got our normal car back on Tuesday - it was so nice to be back. On Wednesday, we went tracting for a bit and ran into a less active named Rebecca. She was baptized when she was 8 but then her family stopped going to church. Now she has two little kids and is interested to come back. We didn't see her at church this Sunday, but we're hoping to meet with her this week. We also had district meeting that day and our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Meredith, made a special visit for our district meeting! We had the opportunity to roleplay with them and it was a lot of fun! Their companionship is the epitome of working in unity.
We had a lot of lessons on Thursday that were really rocky because Sister Sia and I have hardly taught this transfer. I was blessed to be trained in Castro Valley where the teaching pool was booming and there were so many lessons to be taught, but Sister Sia and I have not had that here in Oakland this transfer. We saw a couple of less actives and tried teaching, but it turned into some simple spiritual thoughts. We're working on it though, and we're finally finding investigators so we'll have lessons to teach this week!
On Friday, we did a lot of studying and planning for the upcoming week, which always drains us. We had dinner with a less active member, Sister Ryden, and her boyfriend Peter. They decorated the table for St. Patrick's Day and played some instrumental Irish folk music (hope that was mission-approved). We also got to see Chameka - I had met her once but we hadn't been able to get in touch with her since so we stopped by and talked with her for awhile. She still wants to meet with us but we need to see her progress; specifically, she needs to come to church. We also tracted into a woman named Angel who has been mad at God since her dad died but she's started going back to church and looking for answers. We left her a plan of salvation pamphlet and invited her to the Lamb of God performance here at Temple Hill. She is very interested and wants us to help answer her questions! We're hoping she wants to learn - she's African-American and is a little put off by claims that our church didn't initially accept black members, which isn't true at all but it's hard to explain the priesthood thing to anyone because I still don't understand it. oh well, all in God's timing.
We had two investigator lessons on Saturday!!! It was an absolute miracle. We're slowly building up our teaching pool!!! We taught the message of the restoration to Herman, a guy that came to the VC at Christmastime and wanted to learn more. He's studied a little bit of our religion before when he was in the service and wants to understand more. We're going back to see him next week! We also saw Miriam - some elders ran into her at the grocery store and she requested sister missionaries. She's Jewish and in the process of converting to Buddhism; originally, she just wanted help for her 7-year-old daughter Emma who doesn't believe in God. But when we went over on Saturday, she said she would be willing to learn as well! She has the kindest heart and gives to everyone - she doesn't have much, but I have never met someone with so much charity for each and every single person around her.
Sunday was a great meeting at church - we had Ward Conference. The focus was on one of my favorite scriptures, Ether 12:4 -
4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of daith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
We talked a lot about how in order to have faith, we must have doubts. Hope and faith are not perfect knowledge; we will always have doubts. It reminds me of one of my favorite Mormon messages if you have time for it.
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#mens-hearts-shall-fail-them
So...just remember that. Questions are good - keep asking them, keep praying and you'll find the answers.
So things are going great. I'm slightly nervous about transfers - I want to stay because we've just started to get the ball rolling in this area and find investigators, but I'm also ready for Spanishland. Sister Sia has been in the area for four transfers now so she's probably leaving, which means if I left, the area would be shotgunned, which is what happened when I left Castro Valley, and there would be two new missionaries to the area. Speaking from experience, it's stressful to have someone shotgunning your area. I think I'll go, but you never know! I'll find out Saturday night and let you all know next week! There have been a lot of great things happening in this area, especially this past week, and Sister Sia and I are excited to see all the miracles that happen in this last week of the transfer!
I am so grateful for everyone's love and support - and emails now! They really mean a lot to me, and I hope that these letters lift you all a little bit when you read them. In remembrance of my six month mark this week, look up that Hey Monday song. Listen to it for me since I can't.
Love you all!
Hermana Hunsaker
Me and Hermana Peña! Future compañeras
The shades
The lovely Hermana Thalman - she's going home next week and this is
her last missionary outfit!!!
Our first companionship picture. Sad.
Out on Bay Street!
