You really never know what's going to happen in the field. This week has been full of surprises - most notably: transfers. I am not staying in Oakland. I've only been here for five weeks and I hardly know ANYONE but we were finally starting to find investigators right in time for me to leave. My companion is not staying in Oakland either - I think I'm cursed. Every area I go to gets shotgunned by other missionaries when I leave. Sister Sia is training a new missionary this transfer in the Berkeley singles ward - she's going to do awesome. I probably mentioned this before, but we went into the MTC the same week but she's one transfer ahead of me because she didn't have to learn a language. That means it's her 5th transfer. This is my 4th transfer. I could be training next transfer. That's a frightening thought but with how many new sisters are coming in over the next three transfers, it's almost a guarantee. So we'll see. Sister Sia has been in this area for her entire mission and it's been really hard for her to leave - I think I was supposed to help her with that as well. I can't sum up exactly why I came here to Oakland, but I think it was mostly to help me learn to overcome my fear in finding people to teach and to help Sister Sia prepare for training in a new area. I'm just hoping and praying that those prepared people that we found stick with it and stick with the new sisters!!!
But here's the real crazy thing: I'm going BACK to Castro Valley. Where I was just five weeks ago. My first area. And the ward that broke my heart to leave. And now, after Noelle's baptism and closure from everything there......I'm going back. I'm so excited but so in shock that it doesn't even feel real. And it almost seems too easy.......transferring to a new area should never be easy. I'm sure I'll have a few curveballs while I'm there. We'll see how it goes! There are a few people I know I have to teach: Elaina/Ariel, Jackie, Christine and Gerry. They're all ready and so close! So it'll be nice to be back home in Celestial Valley :)
I want to do this last week justice by writing every single detail, but I still have so much packing to get done. Hopefully this will suffice.
And now that I think about it, not too much happened. Sister Sia woke up sick Tuesday morning and slept in until we went to the VC that afternoon. It was slow, like it usually is on Tuesdays. On Wednesday, we were at the VC from 9-5, like a full-time job. Sister Sia was planning for a training with Sister Garcia and so I spent some time with Sister Cooper. She came one transfer after me, and I just love spending time with her. It's nice to hang out with another American who understands everything I say haha. That doesn't happen often now that I'm not with Sister Ure.
We had dinner with Sister Hall, Sister Palfreyman and her daughter Mandy. We don't get dinners here as often as we did in Castro Valley (I'm looking forward to that), but the difference is that dinners ALWAYS include dessert which probably isn't a good thing. Sister Hall made strawberry shortcake - we left there feeling sick. We went to see Chameka after dinner - I don't know if I've mentioned Chameka before. Sister Sia was visiting her before I got here, but lost touch with her soon after some of her ex-boyfriend's family members came and beat her up in her own home. Chameka showed me the pictures - she looked awful. She said that the Bible and the Book of Mormon were sitting on her dresser the whole time and she got through the ordeal because she could see those two books. She is looking and feeling so much better and is starting to read again. She's finally going to come to church this Sunday, but neither Sister Sia or I will be there. We talked to her about faith and repentance, but it's been so long - the new sisters will probably have to teach her all the lessons all over again. We saw Jerome that night for a few minutes, but Sister Sia wasn't feeling well so it was a quick visit before heading home for the night. Jerome is the less-active member that we found just by going through the ward list and contacting people that nobody knew. It's such a cool story - he's so ready to turn his life around and come back to church. He wants the priesthood and he wants to go to the temple. He's going to do just great, we know it.
Thursday was full of trainings. We had VC training in the morning then a power nap for Sister Sia and then a meeting for all the new trainers and their companions that afternoon before the VC. I don't know much about Sister Sia's meeting, but mine was really great. We learned about listening and asking the right questions in order to teach to the needs of our investigators. Sister Sia and I applied that concept a lot this week, especially with Angel and Myriam.
We added a new investigator on Friday! We finally met with Anthony, the guy we met watering his front lawn after a cold welcome from the wife of a referral a couple weeks ago, and he seems pretty solid! He makes his own schedule right now as he's starting up a new company, but it's still hard to get a hold of him to set up a time to meet. Hopefully the new sisters will be able to get in touch with him! After seeing Anthony, we went to Sister Hawkins' home for lunch. It was just soup and sandwiches but it was a great meal. She's 91, has 6 children, 18 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren, lives on her own in almost perfect health and looks like she's 75! I don't think I'll have that much luck but we'll see. If so, I have no problem living past 80. We visited a lot of people but weren't able to meet with anyone. We mostly went to visit all of our African-American investigators and potential investigators to invite them to a special event: a Why I Believe program where African-American converts shared their testimony. We found out about in only a couple of days before the event, so we scrambled to invite everyone. One of our potential investigators came out in practically no clothing so that was interesting. We also got to see the daughter of our other investigator Angel making out with her boyfriend in front of the house as we talked to Angel. So...it's a different world out here. But it was good to see Angel - and we learned more about how she needs the healing power of the Atonement. Her husband had two daughters with another woman while they were married and the daughters were coming into town so she told us. She needs the gospel so much and she says she is keeping an open mind - we're praying for her.
Saturday and Sunday were both mad dashes. The VC was busy all Saturday morning - a group of Cub Scouts came without a reservation and hung out for three hours. There was just so much going on. Afterwards, we ran over to see Myriam - it's breaking my heart to leave Myriam and her daughter Emma. I'm SURE I've talked about them both, but we learned so much about them on Saturday. Myriam totally opened up and told us EVERYTHING. She needs the gospel so much. We found out that she has early on-set Alzheimer's - she's only 42 years old and she has two young kids at home. She was so tired when we came over - she is so stressed with her older daughter being in town. The Alzheimers started because Emma and Jeremy's father beat her into a coma for six months and so she suffered an aneurysm. Despite everything she does to help people around her, despite her very limited means, she has no friends. She has no family - only her dad and her kids. Her parents got divorced and her dad got her mom deported back to France. Her mom died without her even knowing. Her one sister Rachel died two years after suffering from stage IV breast cancer for eight years - she died when she was 36. Her whole life is just so sad, but she seemed so happy. That's the biggest thing I've learned this week: everyone has a story and we don't know it. But as a missionary, I need to be able to find their stories in order to help them. Heavenly Father is the only one the knows every person perfect but as we listen with the love of the Savior, we will know their needs and know how to help them like He would and like Heavenly Father will. We ended up talking about the Book of Mormon a lot; she mentioned that Jeremiah was her favorite prophet and so we showed her in the Book of Mormon where Nephi mentions Jeremiah. We invited her to church and she said she'd be there - she told us to call and remind her several times in the morning, but she said she'd come.
We had dinner that night with the Cupp family - they're a part member family. The wife Kim was an investigator for awhile but stopped investigating when she was unable to quit smoking. In the past couple of weeks though, she's been coming to church on her own! She may be ready soon and hopefully the whole family will keep moving towards higher church attendance. After dinner, we went to the Why I Believe event. There were some great testimonies -Sister Sia's convert Barbara spoke and Jerome came - and it was an interesting perspective coming from African-american members of the church who went through a lot of trials before joining the church. It was super interesting, but some of the speakers spoke very slow. It drained all my energy just to stay awake at times. After the program, we rushed home and waited for transfer call. Sister Sia recorded it - she knew where she was going but I had no idea what was happening. My reaction was pretty typical - I totally jumped with surprise. I never expected to go back to Castro Valley so soon. But it'll be good!
We had a really cool sacrament meeting where we shared our favorite hymns - we sang some of my favorite ones but there wasn't time for me to share my hymn. This isn't even my favorite hymn - everyone who knows me knows my favorite hymn is #193 - I Stand All Amazed. But instead, I want to share #335 - Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy. I love this song, and it's really been an important one for me to remember on my mission, and especially in this area where a lot of people have really hard lives. But the gospel saves every wandering seaman, looking for the light along the shore. Another thing about the lighthouse along the shore is that it can't move - when the sailors see it, they steer their boats in that direction. The lighthouse cannot force anyone to come - as missionaries, it's the same. We can invite people to embrace the gospel of Christ, but we can't make them do anything even when we know how much it will bless them. Myriam didn't come to church yesterday and it was incredibly frustrating. But she knows what she needs. And when she's ready to put in the work to get to that lighthouse, she will be so happy. I can only hope and pray that will happen soon for her - there's not much more I can do.
The rest of church was great as well. Sister Sia said her goodbyes - she was just going to sneak out but I didn't let her - and I stood there. I didn't know too many people well enough to give them personal goodbyes. It felt like my first Sunday in the ward again. After church we went to the VC. Once again - super busy. We were able to devote some specific time to a large family that came in - a mom, a dad and NINE children. We took them all around the VC and we took pictures and then they sang "I Want to be a Missionary Now" for us. It was so fun. I don't think I could handle nine kids, but I love seeing big families come into the VC. After the VC we went to dinner at the Pritchett's home. Brother Pritchett teaches institute for the UC Berkeley students and Sister Pritchett teaches in Relief Society - she has taught some really great lessons. They are both very intellectual and teach in very different ways. Brother Pritchett taught an institute class about Mormonism in art and the letters of Paul. They are pretty cool. We ate mushroom barley - despite my hatred for mushrooms, I got through it and it didn't taste too bad! They were so sweet - they were the perfect members to have our last dinner here with.
We rushed out of there and went to see the Lamb of God at a Catholic cathedral in Oakland. We met Angel there but she left early and got there super late so we didn't get to tell her that we're leaving the area. But the performance was beautiful and the building looked so cool! It was nowhere near the feeling I get in the temple, but the performance filled that huge room with the Spirit. It was absolutely beautiful.
I can't believe I'm leaving this area and these people that I was just starting to fall in love with. But the Lord has a bigger plan for me that I can't understand right now. I'll figure it out someday.
Have a good week everyone!
Sending all my love your way -
Hermana Hunsaker
