I'm forced cut this email short today as I only have 18 minutes left before heading up to the VC for the rest of the night. This past nine days has been really special. Hermana Ivey and I only have two investigators as of now (one we added this past week - I'll write more about her next week - and Poll), but the mission is great. Poll is still struggling to know the Book of Mormon is true - he loves reading it, but he is caught up in the details. He's having a hard time seeing that the Book of Mormon compliments the Bible - he gets hung up on the little differences. We brought him to the VC last week and we're bringing him again Friday night to really focus on the Book of Mormon.
We had some cool VC experiences - one young couple, Peter and CeCe, came in and straight up asked us to explain what we believed. CeCe is from El Salvador and Peter is from San Fran - they met when he went down there for a trip. They dated long-distance and then just decided to get married. She doesn't know any English but they were so golden and so open! The missionaries have already passed by and we're hoping that everything goes well!
We didn't have much luck contacting this week. Actually one lady's daughter opened the door, and immediately closed it after seeing us. And another lady had her door open and she was cooking in the kitchen, but turned the lights off and hid after we knocked on the nearby window. But oh well - the rejections are worth it to find those people that are ready. We still have seen Blanca, our miracle from last week, but we're working hard to see her. There's no way running into her in Berkeley was a coincidence - we were led by the Spirit and she's ready to learn.
It was a week full of special events though. We went to Porque Yo Creo Sunday night where recent converts share their testimonies - Raquel got up and bore a simple sweet testimony. We were so proud. We also had Zone Conference where we received a whole bunch of inspired training. It was much needed. Hermana Ivey and I are working hard to implement everything, especially goal-setting. When we set goals in faith and do everything to achieve those goals, the Lord will provide a way for us to accomplish them. This is something I learned in the MTC, but I'd since forgotten. we have high goals this week but Hermana Ivey and I are working hard to achieve them. We have only two investigators but we're trying to have 7 member present lessons. As of now......we have one. But our plans are set and Heavenly Father will help us do it. When we trust in the promises of the Lord and do our part, He promises us success. Hermana Ivey and I also taught district meeting this week - in Spanish. And it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. We were at the VC in the morning so we had no time to plan and then we forgot to bring the simple plan we had to the district meeting! But it turned out with the help of the gift of tongues and the Lord's recognition of our (imperfect) efforts. And last but not least - the temple today. I've got to go, but I just want to say that there's nothing more peaceful than going to the house of the Lord, even as a missionary. It was much needed.
literally. one more minute. I love you all.
Hermana Hunsaker
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Another great week!
Unfortunately......I don't have time to write every little thing that happened this week like I usually do. It was less eventful than last week - no more car business thank heaven. I don't know what it is about Oakland but if I ever move back here, I think I'd ditch the car. First time in Oakland - hit and run. Second time in Oakland - smash and grab. Oy.
The most exciting story this week......Raquel and Geovanni's baptism yesterday! They had their interview last week at the VC where half of Raquel's kids fell asleep haha. It was stressful because we have a brand new ward mission leader so we had to do everything ourselves. And I couldn't figure out how to use the TV during the intermission. And we ran out of programs and had to copy some more. But they looked awesome. And the ward helped a lot - they were more than willing to give talks and they brought TONS of food. There's always a guarantee of food in Spanishland :) Raquel was so happy and her family was so well-behaved. I just love them all - I'll have to take a picture with all of them soon but this is all I got so far.
And I get to go to two more baptisms in the next month back in Castro Valley! And our investigator Paul came to the baptism. He's our most solid investigator - we're probably going to drop all the other ones because they're moving or we just can't contact them. Ramona is probably moving this week - we're trying desperately to get her to the VC before she goes but we're not sure if it's going to happen. She's just always relying on other people's schedules. But I adore her - I'll make sure to take a picture with her this week. We're also going to try seeing Paul at the VC tomorrow to help him commit. He's reading the whole Book of Mormon on his own and he's getting really far!
What other cool stories do I have.....we went to visit a member this week, Hna. Cornejo. She's single and has four little kids. Her friend was living with her so she wanted us to come over and teach her friend but when we got there, her friend was planning to move to NY the next day! Regardless, we had a lesson with all of them (including another friend, Sergio) and they ended up going to the VC that night and are going to meet with missionaries!!! So that was cool.
But the miracle story of the week: we went out to Berkeley FINALLY (it's in our area but it's the first time we've been out there since I've been here because we're so busy here in Oakland). Our less active member cancelled our lesson so we contacted some referrals in the area. We were trying to find a lady named Maria but her phone was disconnected and we had two different address for her. We tried the first on - nothing. Then we got to the second one and there was a locked gate in front of the complex. Soon after we parked, a Hispanic lady that we had driven by ten minutes earlier happened to be walking right past the complex. She didn't go in, but she opened it and held it for us. We started talking to her and she expressed that she lived here but it was too crowded inside for her kids so they were walking around outside. We asked her if she had been to the VC and she said yes and told us about her experience and even showed us the pictures she took there. She said missionaries had come by once before but it was hard to get a hold of her so she couldn't meet with them. After trying to contact Maria unsuccessfully, Hermana Ivey told me that she had tried to contact Blanca in the past but they hadn't been able to get in touch with her. This happened on Saturday and Blanca even specifically said that Saturdays are the hardest day to get in touch with her but we just happened to run into her! It was a total miracle and we're seeing her on Wednesday!!! When we're doing all we can do, God blesses us for our works and prepared people are put in our path.
We have two other lessons with potential investigators this week and we are so excited. I love speaking Spanish and I love being a missionary. I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that this is God's work. It's such a blessings to be involved in the bringing to pass "the immortality and eternal life of man" as I serve God and others with all my "heart, might, mind and strength." May we all find that purpose in every day of our lives.
Next week my email will come a little late because our preparation day isn't until Wednesday. We have Zone Conference this week and the temple next week! So many opportunities for revelation. It's going to be so great.
Have a great week everyone!!!
Hermana Hunsaker
This is Donney, asleep at the VC,
Raquel and Geovanni. And Donney again.
The most exciting story this week......Raquel and Geovanni's baptism yesterday! They had their interview last week at the VC where half of Raquel's kids fell asleep haha. It was stressful because we have a brand new ward mission leader so we had to do everything ourselves. And I couldn't figure out how to use the TV during the intermission. And we ran out of programs and had to copy some more. But they looked awesome. And the ward helped a lot - they were more than willing to give talks and they brought TONS of food. There's always a guarantee of food in Spanishland :) Raquel was so happy and her family was so well-behaved. I just love them all - I'll have to take a picture with all of them soon but this is all I got so far.
And I get to go to two more baptisms in the next month back in Castro Valley! And our investigator Paul came to the baptism. He's our most solid investigator - we're probably going to drop all the other ones because they're moving or we just can't contact them. Ramona is probably moving this week - we're trying desperately to get her to the VC before she goes but we're not sure if it's going to happen. She's just always relying on other people's schedules. But I adore her - I'll make sure to take a picture with her this week. We're also going to try seeing Paul at the VC tomorrow to help him commit. He's reading the whole Book of Mormon on his own and he's getting really far!
What other cool stories do I have.....we went to visit a member this week, Hna. Cornejo. She's single and has four little kids. Her friend was living with her so she wanted us to come over and teach her friend but when we got there, her friend was planning to move to NY the next day! Regardless, we had a lesson with all of them (including another friend, Sergio) and they ended up going to the VC that night and are going to meet with missionaries!!! So that was cool.
But the miracle story of the week: we went out to Berkeley FINALLY (it's in our area but it's the first time we've been out there since I've been here because we're so busy here in Oakland). Our less active member cancelled our lesson so we contacted some referrals in the area. We were trying to find a lady named Maria but her phone was disconnected and we had two different address for her. We tried the first on - nothing. Then we got to the second one and there was a locked gate in front of the complex. Soon after we parked, a Hispanic lady that we had driven by ten minutes earlier happened to be walking right past the complex. She didn't go in, but she opened it and held it for us. We started talking to her and she expressed that she lived here but it was too crowded inside for her kids so they were walking around outside. We asked her if she had been to the VC and she said yes and told us about her experience and even showed us the pictures she took there. She said missionaries had come by once before but it was hard to get a hold of her so she couldn't meet with them. After trying to contact Maria unsuccessfully, Hermana Ivey told me that she had tried to contact Blanca in the past but they hadn't been able to get in touch with her. This happened on Saturday and Blanca even specifically said that Saturdays are the hardest day to get in touch with her but we just happened to run into her! It was a total miracle and we're seeing her on Wednesday!!! When we're doing all we can do, God blesses us for our works and prepared people are put in our path.
We have two other lessons with potential investigators this week and we are so excited. I love speaking Spanish and I love being a missionary. I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ and that this is God's work. It's such a blessings to be involved in the bringing to pass "the immortality and eternal life of man" as I serve God and others with all my "heart, might, mind and strength." May we all find that purpose in every day of our lives.
Next week my email will come a little late because our preparation day isn't until Wednesday. We have Zone Conference this week and the temple next week! So many opportunities for revelation. It's going to be so great.
Have a great week everyone!!!
Hermana Hunsaker
This is Donney, asleep at the VC,
Raquel and Geovanni. And Donney again.
Monday, May 13, 2013
Bienvenidos a mi vida!
Hola todas! Como estan??? I should be getting better at this, but I'm not. I'll try to squeeze this week into this email quickly but it'll be tough. I should probably just stop apologizing.
Monday - Last night in Castro Valley. We tried contacting a few people but couldn't get a hold of them. We had Family Home Evening with the Schaffer family - they have three teenage daughters. Actually, one of them is only 11 but she looked like she was 15. My sister Mia is 11 and she definitely didn't look like Mia's age. It was good because I didn't have to say goodbye to any of my investigators; I already did that - twice - and that's one of the hardest parts of being a missionary. They're a great family though - we talked about the doctrine of Christ. One of their daughters is planning on serving a mission and another is struggling with her testimony. We discussed all the steps of the doctrine of Christ: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We wrapped it all up by watching this video and talking about missionary work. It was a very powerful lesson and the Spirit was so strong. If you have a minute and haven't seen this video, watch it.
Tuesday - Transfer day. Always crazy. It's fun because we get to see a lot of people but packing and moving and switching all your luggage to another car and unpacking - it's all a little draining. And that afternoon, we were out and about having lessons with our investigators. First we met Ramona. Her son joined the church a while back and referred her to us. She has a lot of health problems and her husband is abusive. I was expecting a sad woman but she was in pretty good spirits and we were able to teach her all about the Restoration and she prayed out loud! Teaching people to pray here in Spanishland is difficult because most of them are Catholic so they are used to saying memorized prayers. We also met with a recent convert, Rosa, and another investigator, Raquel. They both have the most adorable kids EVER. Rosa has three kids - Rosita, Valeria and a bebe (I don't know his name). Raquel has FIVE kids under the age of 10, single mom and PREGNANT. But she's amazing - she has so much faith. We're teaching her and her 9-year-old son Giovani and they're getting baptized this Sunday! We're so excited. Planning baptisms is a tad bit stressful but they are the greatest experiences.
Wednesday - All of our plans fell through. We did go running around Lake Merritt for our exercise - it's about 3 miles around and we're hoping to get to the point where we can run around the whole lake. But it means we have to wake up a little bit earlier......so we'll see. Nothing super exciting happened Wednesday, but we had an awesome tour at the Visitors' Center that night. Some missionaries brought in their investigator Wilmer. His girlfriend of 12 years is a very less active member but she has two kids serving missions right now. It was a very powerful tour in which she bore her testimony and her desire to return to church. It's so amazing to see how the examples of her sons brought her back to the fold - missionary work really blesses everyone. During this tour, Wilmer also accepted a baptismal date. I'm not comfortable with Spanish yet - nowhere near as this is my first Spanish area - but the Spirit makes up for the words I lacked and I was able to feel it so strong in that room. They came all the way from San Fran so I'm not sure if I'll see this family again, but it's amazing how helping everyone come closer to Jesus Christ creates this immediate bond of love. I'll never forget that tour.
Thursday - Jueves. Ay ay ay. So....we woke up and left the apartment to do exercise - and found that our car had been broken into. In our parking garage. So no exercise for us that day. They had broken the drivers window, and they stole our GPS, a 72-hour kit and - we think - our map. Our elders live in the apartment complex right next to ours so they came and cleaned it up all the glass for us. So that just started the crazy day. We had a district meeting after our shift at the VC and then we were late to dinner with Elder and Sister Wiese, one of the senior couples that works at the VC with us. They actually attend our Spanish ward even though they don't know any Spanish. They're the best and they invited us over because Sister Ivey's birthday was the next day. After we went and bought a map and decided to go home and do our weekly planning - driving around at night without knowing where we were going didn't sound like a good idea haha.
Friday - Today was Sister Ivey's birthday!!! I didn't plan for it very well because transfers were crazy and I didn't even think about it, but I made her breakfast. I wish I could have done more, but it was fun to be companions again for her birthday! We're also going to be companions for our halfway mark at the end of this transfer! So it's fun. We've been working hard but we've had a lot of fun. The elders in our area give us a lot of referrals for single women because they can't visit them and they realize we have limited time to contact in our area because we're always working at the VC. So we have tons of people to see all the time and we're keeping busy. But her birthday started off pretty well. We saw Ramona - she wasn't as happy as before. We brought her a big Libro de Mormon to read - she hadn't been reading because it was too small. Unfortunately, we found out that she's moving back to Mexico in one week. We're going to continue talking to her through the Visitors' Center, but we're so sad to see her go! One thing that I REALLY love about working in Oakland Spanishland......most of the Spanish speakers that come to the VC live in Oakland! We met Maria and Maria Esmeralda (everyone is named Maria in this place) at the VC. Maria already had a Book of Mormon but wanted a large print, and Maria Esmeralda wanted a Book of Mormon. We're going to stop by this week and set up a time to see them! We are SO blessed in this area - and there are prepared people everyone, but the Visitors' Center helps us find them easier :)
Saturday - I don't really know where to start with Saturday. So many things happened. First of all....news from Celestial Valley. The lady that we contacted by finding her stray dogs? My old companion Sister Li and her new companion Sister Pena set up a return appointment to go see her! I'm excited to see what happens there - I definitely felt prompted by the Spirit to turn down that road so we'll see what comes out of it. Also...my recent convert's friend Noelle, who I taught when I went back to Castro Valley, is getting baptized June 15th! I'm so excited - I'll get to go back for it! I absolutely love baptisms. Also, my aunt Jami and cousin Daniel came to the VC. I didn't expect to see them at all so it was a nice surprise! Daniel leaves in August to serve a mission in the Dominican Republic - that's so crazy! That'll almost be my year mark! I don't want to think about that right now. Another VC story - two Hispanics came to the VC after trying to get into the temple. The temple workers sent them to us to "learn how to get a temple recommend". So that's how we met Orlando and Veronica. They live in Oakland and they want to come to church even though they know NOTHING about it - they just want to go to the temple. They didn't make it to church this Sunday but the elders are going to contact them. Miracles happen all the time at the VC, especially when you work in the Oakland Spanish program! We taught Raquel a quick lesson about the law of tithing - she had no problems with it. She's so ready for her baptism, it's not even funny. Last but definitely not least......I finally got to see a Latino party. Holy. Cow. Everyone says they have crazy parties, but I had no idea! Our ward had a party for Mother's Day - they had a DJ, professional dancers and stand-up comedy (which I couldn't understand). TONS of people showed up, and a lot of them weren't even members. We were there for three hours, and have a few potential investigators as a result, but when we left it was STILL going strong. I couldn't believe it. Our ward is going all out for the 30th anniversary of the creation of the ward next month and I just hope I'm still around for it!
Sunday - Mother's Day started out perfectly with a call home. It was so good to talk to everyone. It was a little hard to snap back into the work after starting the day talking to my family but that quickly changed. We had meetings and then church from 2-5 where I met way too many members and I couldn't focus well enough to understand what everyone was saying. Then we had the VC. We gave another Spanish tour for missionaries who brought in their investigator who was preparing for baptism, along with his recent convert wife, and his mom and brother who are both non-members. Once again, I felt the Spirit so strong. I know that when we rely on the Lord to make up for those things that we can't do, we can feel His guidance in our lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to learn and teach in Spanish. It requires a lot of prayers but I've felt the answers to those prayers as I lose myself on the work here. Remember, it all starts with prayer.
Gracias por leer! Que tengan un buen semana!!!
Hermana Hunsaker
Monday - Last night in Castro Valley. We tried contacting a few people but couldn't get a hold of them. We had Family Home Evening with the Schaffer family - they have three teenage daughters. Actually, one of them is only 11 but she looked like she was 15. My sister Mia is 11 and she definitely didn't look like Mia's age. It was good because I didn't have to say goodbye to any of my investigators; I already did that - twice - and that's one of the hardest parts of being a missionary. They're a great family though - we talked about the doctrine of Christ. One of their daughters is planning on serving a mission and another is struggling with her testimony. We discussed all the steps of the doctrine of Christ: faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. We wrapped it all up by watching this video and talking about missionary work. It was a very powerful lesson and the Spirit was so strong. If you have a minute and haven't seen this video, watch it.
Tuesday - Transfer day. Always crazy. It's fun because we get to see a lot of people but packing and moving and switching all your luggage to another car and unpacking - it's all a little draining. And that afternoon, we were out and about having lessons with our investigators. First we met Ramona. Her son joined the church a while back and referred her to us. She has a lot of health problems and her husband is abusive. I was expecting a sad woman but she was in pretty good spirits and we were able to teach her all about the Restoration and she prayed out loud! Teaching people to pray here in Spanishland is difficult because most of them are Catholic so they are used to saying memorized prayers. We also met with a recent convert, Rosa, and another investigator, Raquel. They both have the most adorable kids EVER. Rosa has three kids - Rosita, Valeria and a bebe (I don't know his name). Raquel has FIVE kids under the age of 10, single mom and PREGNANT. But she's amazing - she has so much faith. We're teaching her and her 9-year-old son Giovani and they're getting baptized this Sunday! We're so excited. Planning baptisms is a tad bit stressful but they are the greatest experiences.
Wednesday - All of our plans fell through. We did go running around Lake Merritt for our exercise - it's about 3 miles around and we're hoping to get to the point where we can run around the whole lake. But it means we have to wake up a little bit earlier......so we'll see. Nothing super exciting happened Wednesday, but we had an awesome tour at the Visitors' Center that night. Some missionaries brought in their investigator Wilmer. His girlfriend of 12 years is a very less active member but she has two kids serving missions right now. It was a very powerful tour in which she bore her testimony and her desire to return to church. It's so amazing to see how the examples of her sons brought her back to the fold - missionary work really blesses everyone. During this tour, Wilmer also accepted a baptismal date. I'm not comfortable with Spanish yet - nowhere near as this is my first Spanish area - but the Spirit makes up for the words I lacked and I was able to feel it so strong in that room. They came all the way from San Fran so I'm not sure if I'll see this family again, but it's amazing how helping everyone come closer to Jesus Christ creates this immediate bond of love. I'll never forget that tour.
Thursday - Jueves. Ay ay ay. So....we woke up and left the apartment to do exercise - and found that our car had been broken into. In our parking garage. So no exercise for us that day. They had broken the drivers window, and they stole our GPS, a 72-hour kit and - we think - our map. Our elders live in the apartment complex right next to ours so they came and cleaned it up all the glass for us. So that just started the crazy day. We had a district meeting after our shift at the VC and then we were late to dinner with Elder and Sister Wiese, one of the senior couples that works at the VC with us. They actually attend our Spanish ward even though they don't know any Spanish. They're the best and they invited us over because Sister Ivey's birthday was the next day. After we went and bought a map and decided to go home and do our weekly planning - driving around at night without knowing where we were going didn't sound like a good idea haha.
Friday - Today was Sister Ivey's birthday!!! I didn't plan for it very well because transfers were crazy and I didn't even think about it, but I made her breakfast. I wish I could have done more, but it was fun to be companions again for her birthday! We're also going to be companions for our halfway mark at the end of this transfer! So it's fun. We've been working hard but we've had a lot of fun. The elders in our area give us a lot of referrals for single women because they can't visit them and they realize we have limited time to contact in our area because we're always working at the VC. So we have tons of people to see all the time and we're keeping busy. But her birthday started off pretty well. We saw Ramona - she wasn't as happy as before. We brought her a big Libro de Mormon to read - she hadn't been reading because it was too small. Unfortunately, we found out that she's moving back to Mexico in one week. We're going to continue talking to her through the Visitors' Center, but we're so sad to see her go! One thing that I REALLY love about working in Oakland Spanishland......most of the Spanish speakers that come to the VC live in Oakland! We met Maria and Maria Esmeralda (everyone is named Maria in this place) at the VC. Maria already had a Book of Mormon but wanted a large print, and Maria Esmeralda wanted a Book of Mormon. We're going to stop by this week and set up a time to see them! We are SO blessed in this area - and there are prepared people everyone, but the Visitors' Center helps us find them easier :)
Saturday - I don't really know where to start with Saturday. So many things happened. First of all....news from Celestial Valley. The lady that we contacted by finding her stray dogs? My old companion Sister Li and her new companion Sister Pena set up a return appointment to go see her! I'm excited to see what happens there - I definitely felt prompted by the Spirit to turn down that road so we'll see what comes out of it. Also...my recent convert's friend Noelle, who I taught when I went back to Castro Valley, is getting baptized June 15th! I'm so excited - I'll get to go back for it! I absolutely love baptisms. Also, my aunt Jami and cousin Daniel came to the VC. I didn't expect to see them at all so it was a nice surprise! Daniel leaves in August to serve a mission in the Dominican Republic - that's so crazy! That'll almost be my year mark! I don't want to think about that right now. Another VC story - two Hispanics came to the VC after trying to get into the temple. The temple workers sent them to us to "learn how to get a temple recommend". So that's how we met Orlando and Veronica. They live in Oakland and they want to come to church even though they know NOTHING about it - they just want to go to the temple. They didn't make it to church this Sunday but the elders are going to contact them. Miracles happen all the time at the VC, especially when you work in the Oakland Spanish program! We taught Raquel a quick lesson about the law of tithing - she had no problems with it. She's so ready for her baptism, it's not even funny. Last but definitely not least......I finally got to see a Latino party. Holy. Cow. Everyone says they have crazy parties, but I had no idea! Our ward had a party for Mother's Day - they had a DJ, professional dancers and stand-up comedy (which I couldn't understand). TONS of people showed up, and a lot of them weren't even members. We were there for three hours, and have a few potential investigators as a result, but when we left it was STILL going strong. I couldn't believe it. Our ward is going all out for the 30th anniversary of the creation of the ward next month and I just hope I'm still around for it!
Sunday - Mother's Day started out perfectly with a call home. It was so good to talk to everyone. It was a little hard to snap back into the work after starting the day talking to my family but that quickly changed. We had meetings and then church from 2-5 where I met way too many members and I couldn't focus well enough to understand what everyone was saying. Then we had the VC. We gave another Spanish tour for missionaries who brought in their investigator who was preparing for baptism, along with his recent convert wife, and his mom and brother who are both non-members. Once again, I felt the Spirit so strong. I know that when we rely on the Lord to make up for those things that we can't do, we can feel His guidance in our lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to learn and teach in Spanish. It requires a lot of prayers but I've felt the answers to those prayers as I lose myself on the work here. Remember, it all starts with prayer.
Gracias por leer! Que tengan un buen semana!!!
Hermana Hunsaker
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Here goes nothing
Transfer week.
But before I get to that, Sister Li and I had a pretty good week. We added two new investigators, Douglas and Casondra. We met them Monday night and set up a return appointment but they had to cancel and they weren't at church. Douglas has a lot of health problems that can hit anytime so it's hard to meet them. Douglas and Casondra actually have a very unlikely story. Douglas couldn't hold down a job because of his poor health and Casondra's company fell apart during the recession and they both ended up in a shelter. They didn't talk to anyone else there but each other and they fell in love. It's an amazing story - sometimes our plans are not God's plans for our lives. When one door closes, our Heavenly Father always opens a window, even if we don't recognize it.
We also had a lesson in a truckbed this week. We showed up to the church Monday night to teach Ashley and the doors were locked. I forgot that even our key doesn't work on Monday nights (because families are supposed to be home doing Family Home Evening) so we ended up sitting outside with Ashley, Noelle and John. It was ridiculous but so fun and the weather was great. My allergies had started up after going on a hike with our zone that afternoon, but it wasn't too bad at that point.
We saw Chris A LOT this week. Almost every day. And not even on purpose! We had lessons two days of the week and then one day we did service and she came and another day she went to the Family History Center while we were at the Visitors' Center so she popped in to say hi. She is so great - she's getting baptized June 1st and we're so excited!!!
We saw Jackie. Finally. She said she can't come to church because Sunday is the only day she gets to spend with her son and so her mom drives them around during the day so they're not bored at home. I wish there was more we could do for her, but there just isn't. We gave her a copy of the talk from President Uchtdorf this past General Conference and we're hoping that helps her to move on from where she's at. I'll probably come back and work with her even after my mission, but I want her to find happiness before that.
On Thursday, I went to Spanishland on an exchange with Sister Garcia. She's the greatest - we'll probably never be companions because she's always training, but she is such a great missionary. She grew up Catholic in Guatemala but her cousin referred her to missionaries through the LA Temple Visitors' Center and the rest is history. She is so strong - she was the first to join in her family but most of them have now with the exception of her dad. When we train together and practice together, I learn so much. And I understand almost all her Spanish because I'm so used to it. We taught a woman named Maria about the Word of Wisdom - I didn't say too much but I talked about the importance of obedience. We were also going to teach a family that I had found at the Visitors' Center. The mom was a less active and her husband and son were not members. I gave them a tour at the VC - in Spanish - and she wanted missionaries to come to their home. Later, I found out from Sister Garcia that she had been looking for this less-active woman for a whole year in San Leandro (Sister Garcia has been there for her whole mission). I don't even remember what I said, but it prompted this woman to come back after months of avoiding missionaries. That's the power of the Spirit :) we didn't end up seeing them but that was another cool story of the week.
Sister Li and I went to an assisted living facility to teach them the tune of "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today." Our member lives there and it's her favorite song. She asked us to make a copy of it so they could sing it at their morning meetings but no one knew the tune so we went to teach them. It was a funny experience - we got pretty much no response from them at all. The stark contrast between our member and her cheery attitude (who suffered a serious stroke five years ago) and their sad, worn-down faces was so significant. Most of them have memory problems so we can't really teach them, but I know the Atonement can heal all pain, even physical and emotional pain, and I saw that as Michelle sang this beautiful hymn.
We served in the community by catching two lost dogs and returning them home to the owner. All our plans had fallen through so on our way to go contacting in a park, I felt like we needed to turn and stop by a potential investigator. Sister Ure and I had tried stopping by hundreds of times and he was never home. This time he was home, but didn't have time to talk to us and said "come back in six weeks." So I was a little confused why we were on that street - there was no one outside and tracting is not very effective, so we got in our car to leave. When we tried to leave, there were two little dogs running all around the street. So....we pulled over, checked their tags and brought them home. The owner hadn't even realized that they were out! The gardeners had left the gate open in the back. We left her a pass-along card to get a free copy of Finding Faith in Christ and she said she would do it. But if she doesn't.....we'll stop by there sometime this week :) so hopefully that was inspiration. You never know if it's a prompting until you act on it!!!
We gave a really awesome tour on Saturday at the VC. This guy's name is Andrew and he was so ready for the gospel! He came in with missionaries - he had only been meeting with them for 2 weeks but had a baptism date and everything. He explained that his mom is a member but his dad is Jewish so his mom converted for his dad. Secretly, though, she gave him General Conference talks to read and they talked about the church. It's an amazing story! Not everyone we meet is prepared with that knowledge, but there are prepared people everywhere - even if their parents are Jewish, even if they don't seem like the type to join the church. There are so many people prepared - the Lord has promised us this and we just have to keep our eyes open and look for these people. As we pray to find them, we will recognize us and they will recognize the truth we stand for.
And now - transfers.
I'm going to Spanishland! Oakland 6th branch! I don't know what the Lord is planning for me - making me bounce back and forth between Castro Valley and Oakland - but His plans are perfect. I'm nervous but excited - and I'm pretty much packed. I'm getting good at this - I used to hate packing but it's not so bad anymore. I have no idea what's going to happen but I'm ready for it.
And I'm serving with Sister Ivey again!!! She has always had Spanish-speaking companions and her last companion was a native speaker, but they were only together for one transfer. She was trained in an English area for her first two transfers and she's had two transfers in two different Spanish areas. It's so weird to think that we're in our 5th transfer. By the end of this transfer, we'll be halfway done with our missions! That's kind of crazy - but it'll be good to spend my 9-month mark with my MTC comp :)
I'll miss Castro Valley - I always will - but I'm ready for this change. As Paul says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" I know the Lord is with me - and with each one of us - as we do what's right and spread His word. So - here goes nothing!
Hermana Hunsaker
But before I get to that, Sister Li and I had a pretty good week. We added two new investigators, Douglas and Casondra. We met them Monday night and set up a return appointment but they had to cancel and they weren't at church. Douglas has a lot of health problems that can hit anytime so it's hard to meet them. Douglas and Casondra actually have a very unlikely story. Douglas couldn't hold down a job because of his poor health and Casondra's company fell apart during the recession and they both ended up in a shelter. They didn't talk to anyone else there but each other and they fell in love. It's an amazing story - sometimes our plans are not God's plans for our lives. When one door closes, our Heavenly Father always opens a window, even if we don't recognize it.
We also had a lesson in a truckbed this week. We showed up to the church Monday night to teach Ashley and the doors were locked. I forgot that even our key doesn't work on Monday nights (because families are supposed to be home doing Family Home Evening) so we ended up sitting outside with Ashley, Noelle and John. It was ridiculous but so fun and the weather was great. My allergies had started up after going on a hike with our zone that afternoon, but it wasn't too bad at that point.
We saw Chris A LOT this week. Almost every day. And not even on purpose! We had lessons two days of the week and then one day we did service and she came and another day she went to the Family History Center while we were at the Visitors' Center so she popped in to say hi. She is so great - she's getting baptized June 1st and we're so excited!!!
We saw Jackie. Finally. She said she can't come to church because Sunday is the only day she gets to spend with her son and so her mom drives them around during the day so they're not bored at home. I wish there was more we could do for her, but there just isn't. We gave her a copy of the talk from President Uchtdorf this past General Conference and we're hoping that helps her to move on from where she's at. I'll probably come back and work with her even after my mission, but I want her to find happiness before that.
On Thursday, I went to Spanishland on an exchange with Sister Garcia. She's the greatest - we'll probably never be companions because she's always training, but she is such a great missionary. She grew up Catholic in Guatemala but her cousin referred her to missionaries through the LA Temple Visitors' Center and the rest is history. She is so strong - she was the first to join in her family but most of them have now with the exception of her dad. When we train together and practice together, I learn so much. And I understand almost all her Spanish because I'm so used to it. We taught a woman named Maria about the Word of Wisdom - I didn't say too much but I talked about the importance of obedience. We were also going to teach a family that I had found at the Visitors' Center. The mom was a less active and her husband and son were not members. I gave them a tour at the VC - in Spanish - and she wanted missionaries to come to their home. Later, I found out from Sister Garcia that she had been looking for this less-active woman for a whole year in San Leandro (Sister Garcia has been there for her whole mission). I don't even remember what I said, but it prompted this woman to come back after months of avoiding missionaries. That's the power of the Spirit :) we didn't end up seeing them but that was another cool story of the week.
Sister Li and I went to an assisted living facility to teach them the tune of "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today." Our member lives there and it's her favorite song. She asked us to make a copy of it so they could sing it at their morning meetings but no one knew the tune so we went to teach them. It was a funny experience - we got pretty much no response from them at all. The stark contrast between our member and her cheery attitude (who suffered a serious stroke five years ago) and their sad, worn-down faces was so significant. Most of them have memory problems so we can't really teach them, but I know the Atonement can heal all pain, even physical and emotional pain, and I saw that as Michelle sang this beautiful hymn.
We served in the community by catching two lost dogs and returning them home to the owner. All our plans had fallen through so on our way to go contacting in a park, I felt like we needed to turn and stop by a potential investigator. Sister Ure and I had tried stopping by hundreds of times and he was never home. This time he was home, but didn't have time to talk to us and said "come back in six weeks." So I was a little confused why we were on that street - there was no one outside and tracting is not very effective, so we got in our car to leave. When we tried to leave, there were two little dogs running all around the street. So....we pulled over, checked their tags and brought them home. The owner hadn't even realized that they were out! The gardeners had left the gate open in the back. We left her a pass-along card to get a free copy of Finding Faith in Christ and she said she would do it. But if she doesn't.....we'll stop by there sometime this week :) so hopefully that was inspiration. You never know if it's a prompting until you act on it!!!
We gave a really awesome tour on Saturday at the VC. This guy's name is Andrew and he was so ready for the gospel! He came in with missionaries - he had only been meeting with them for 2 weeks but had a baptism date and everything. He explained that his mom is a member but his dad is Jewish so his mom converted for his dad. Secretly, though, she gave him General Conference talks to read and they talked about the church. It's an amazing story! Not everyone we meet is prepared with that knowledge, but there are prepared people everywhere - even if their parents are Jewish, even if they don't seem like the type to join the church. There are so many people prepared - the Lord has promised us this and we just have to keep our eyes open and look for these people. As we pray to find them, we will recognize us and they will recognize the truth we stand for.
And now - transfers.
I'm going to Spanishland! Oakland 6th branch! I don't know what the Lord is planning for me - making me bounce back and forth between Castro Valley and Oakland - but His plans are perfect. I'm nervous but excited - and I'm pretty much packed. I'm getting good at this - I used to hate packing but it's not so bad anymore. I have no idea what's going to happen but I'm ready for it.
And I'm serving with Sister Ivey again!!! She has always had Spanish-speaking companions and her last companion was a native speaker, but they were only together for one transfer. She was trained in an English area for her first two transfers and she's had two transfers in two different Spanish areas. It's so weird to think that we're in our 5th transfer. By the end of this transfer, we'll be halfway done with our missions! That's kind of crazy - but it'll be good to spend my 9-month mark with my MTC comp :)
I'll miss Castro Valley - I always will - but I'm ready for this change. As Paul says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" I know the Lord is with me - and with each one of us - as we do what's right and spread His word. So - here goes nothing!
Hermana Hunsaker
Literally.....no time.
I have eleven minutes to write this email. Our zone is going for a hike at Lake Chabot and they told us not to be late. I'm always late. Everywhere. Oy.
So....Sister Li and I are good. Just teaching and (trying to) find more investigators. We got a couple of great referrals from members this week that we're going to start teaching! Our bishop rolled out a new edited ward mission plan - 300 member referrals and 30 baptisms this year. Sounds completely crazy but I know it's totally inspired.
Noelle's doing well
Jackie's home from the hospital but trying to drop us
Christine hasn't come back to church yet
Joseph is still alive - his mom is in the hospital which is why we haven't heard from him
Lesson with Dan - but he taught us all about Catholics
Yardwork with our ward a school for Mormon Helping Hands (got the shirt to prove it!)
Chris has a BAPTISM DATE - May 25th (but under negotiation, could be sooner or later)
BRAND NEW COROLLA - only 149 miles on it
Ashley didn't like the singles ward so she came to church with us (yay)
The Garrison family went to the temple to do baptisms!!!!! Got to see Sister Ure again :)
Interview with President Meredith
Gerry knows the Book of Mormon is true but that's not enough for him to be baptized
New investigator Lucy....speaks Chinese so we'll have to transfer her soon
Banana bread from Barbara - she's a doll
Cleaned Bishop's daughter's house (super less active)
Douglas and Cassondra - solid referrals - we are meeting them tonight!!!
That's a synopsis. I thought I could make it even shorter but alas, I could not.
Love you all! Have a great week! And give your missionaries some referrals!!! :)
Hermana Hunsaker
SHORTEST EMAIL YET. Parker will be proud. And will actually have time to read it.
So....Sister Li and I are good. Just teaching and (trying to) find more investigators. We got a couple of great referrals from members this week that we're going to start teaching! Our bishop rolled out a new edited ward mission plan - 300 member referrals and 30 baptisms this year. Sounds completely crazy but I know it's totally inspired.
Noelle's doing well
Jackie's home from the hospital but trying to drop us
Christine hasn't come back to church yet
Joseph is still alive - his mom is in the hospital which is why we haven't heard from him
Lesson with Dan - but he taught us all about Catholics
Yardwork with our ward a school for Mormon Helping Hands (got the shirt to prove it!)
Chris has a BAPTISM DATE - May 25th (but under negotiation, could be sooner or later)
BRAND NEW COROLLA - only 149 miles on it
Ashley didn't like the singles ward so she came to church with us (yay)
The Garrison family went to the temple to do baptisms!!!!! Got to see Sister Ure again :)
Interview with President Meredith
Gerry knows the Book of Mormon is true but that's not enough for him to be baptized
New investigator Lucy....speaks Chinese so we'll have to transfer her soon
Banana bread from Barbara - she's a doll
Cleaned Bishop's daughter's house (super less active)
Douglas and Cassondra - solid referrals - we are meeting them tonight!!!
That's a synopsis. I thought I could make it even shorter but alas, I could not.
Love you all! Have a great week! And give your missionaries some referrals!!! :)
Hermana Hunsaker
SHORTEST EMAIL YET. Parker will be proud. And will actually have time to read it.
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