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.
