29 July 2013

Hola,

WOW WOW WOW! It seems like a lot of fun things are happening in each of your individual lives. I love to hear about them so keep it all coming! 

We were little tourists last week taking our pictures for a birthday gift for Sister Kaiser's mom.  That is why I have had some fun pictures. P-day is always a good one and it is really fun to just have one day where we kind of do more normal things though most of the time it is not relaxing, but that is ok. We went to the Stapps for dinner. He is our ward mission leader and is awesome. (Like other ward mission leaders I know in the family.) They are lots of fun and are very loving to us. It is nice to have someone that wants to take care of us, even when there are 8 of us. We had all this fired food and it was just one big party! The funny thing about Mondays is that we do not do much proselyting so no news there.

.

On Tuesday we had our district meeting and Sister Kaiser and I became determined to make at least 10 contacts each day. We have been trying, but after our district meeting we became determined to do it. We taught a lesson with Gabriel and Maria and their family on the Restoration. They are a pretty strong Catholic family so we have trouble getting them committed.  We have hope that we are the missionaries that can get them to the waters of baptism. Then we had dinner with the Contreras who feed us every Tuesday. They are two sisters and one is the Relief Society President. They are awesome and stalwarts in our ward. Our two after dinner appointments were not home. We luckily were able to contact and just barely got 10 contacts. 

.

Wednesday was not a really big day either. We just did contacting. It ended up that we got 14 contacts which was awesome and it wasn't even too hard. Then we went to coordination meeting [with the Branch Mission Leader]. I don't know if I have explained about it, but it is really important and also really fun. The first fun thing is that they have had their cute grandson with them and man he is cute. Sadly we can't really play with him, but he is really fun to watch. Then something that the Stapps do is provide muffins and milk. They are always really good and it makes for a fun tradition. 

.

Thursday we had a day of miracles. It was an awesome day! So our first miracle was about Yolanda. Yolanda is in her 80s and is wheelchair bound. She was a referral for service from one of our contacts a few weeks ago. We coordinate everything to see her through her daughter Hilda. The first time we met them they told us that one of Hilda's brothers was a member and that they had wanted help from the Church to spend time with their mom. So, we answered her prayers by calling and it was an enjoyable experience for us also.  This week, we were invited to eat lunch with Yolando. Hilda set our the food and left so we got to talk and get to know Yolando. The miracle is that Yolando is a member too! She has been inactive for over 10 years and we found her from a referral to do service. It was amazing and we are excited to see what happens. Then miracle number two was that while we were trying to contact everyone we saw we actually ran into a former investigator and at first it was a little tense conversation, but then it turned into a nice discussion. We don't know if anything will happen, but it was good. Then we had the opportunity to go the English class they have at the church building here in Davis and we met another girl that might be interested in the church and we had 14 contacts again with 3 lessons out of 3! It was an awesome day.  The funny thing was all the rest of our appointments totally fell through, but it all worked out and was an awesome day.

.

Then Friday we learned a little bit more about the Lord's timing. We were going to visit a former investigator very near our apartment.  No one was home. We started our short walk back and ran into Guadelupe a 93 year old women who walks everyday for her health. It was awesome and we gave her a Book of Mormon. While talking to her out in the street we saw that the person we were going to visit came home, so we walked back and had a nice little lesson with them.  It was great. Then, I got a whole bunch of mail telling me all the wonderful things that are going on.  Then we had weekly planning - the essential part of our week. We had our traditional dinner with the Hoglunds at Costco which consists of hot dogs and our family's favorite ice cream bars. It is super fun and becoming a regular Friday tradition. Then we talked to everyone we could and got 11 contacts. 
.
Saturday we had our regular study in the morning, which we haven't had in a while, and went to the mission car wash. Feel free to steal the idea you ward missionary leaders if you want. What happens is that you give a free car wash and while the people are waiting to have their cars washed you give them a Church tour. We weren't there for long but we heard that it went really well. Then there was a baptism from the Davis Elders.   I played the piano for it. It was fun to be a part of a baptism from Davis. The crazy thing was that while I was playing the prelude the Albas walked in. I couldn't believe it. All of us missionaries perked up after that.  It turned out to be a really wonderful meeting. The worst part was that I was not as prepared as I should of been for the closing song and it was a little one sided but it was ok. Later we had a lesson with a young mother in Davis about the Plan of Salvation.  We hope that much will come of it. We went to a dinner for the Sister that got baptized, which was fun. We actually met their neighbors that speak Spanish.  That was nice. Then we contacted this woman named Blanca who has been looking for where our Church is.  I was so glad that we stopped her.  We will see where all of that goes to. Our total for contacts on Saturday was 15. 

.

Sunday was a normal Sunday with dinner at the Perez home. He is the Branch President and like the Stapps, they just take care of us. On Sunday, because of driving and studies we have little to no proselyting time, but because of our goal we knew that we had to get 10 contacts. We stopped at the first apartment complex in Davis and contacted 17 people in 40 minutes. It was awesome and the Lord always pleases you when you want something. In Preach My Gospel is talks about how to set goals.  The first sentence talks about the desires of our hearts and that when our goal is the desire of our heart and we have a vision of what we want to accomplish our hopes will turn into action through the the Lord.  My mini-commitment/ advice this week is make your goals your deepest desires or they probably won't be accomplished.
.
This week has obviously been one of amazing contacts. Elder Ballard has asked that we have at least 10 contacts a day and so I am hearkening to an apostle's voice and it has been awesome. We have truly seen great blessings come from talking to everyone. It hasn't been easy. but it has been fun. The things I have learned about contacting this week are: People are sometimes much more receptive at 8:30 at night than 3:00 in the afternoon. People are ok with coming to the door half dressed. People know about Joseph Smith. Another thing is to always knock one more door. A lot of the time our last door was always the most rewarding. We need 10 contacts or we won't see the blessings. Even though it is hard to contact, it is easy to find at least one door or person out in the street that makes all the rest of the contacts worth it! I have a testimony of at least doing 10 contacts a day. We have seen grand blessings come from it and it actually makes it really fun too. I love having 10 contacts.

.

Keep being member missionaries, keep giving referrals to the missionaries, and keep remembering the peace the Gospel brings and share it with others. Think of how the Gospel blesses your life and have the courage to share so that it can bless others, the Lord will help with it all.  You at least have to try and I promise it will be a blessing to you and to others. I love being a servant of Jesus Christ and for me right now I wouldn't have it any other way.

.

Love ya,

.

Hermana Cornwall.

Pan dulce shop (A real hole in the wall, right?)

Woodland

22 July 2013

Hola,

How is everything going out there in the normal world?  Time is flying here so I am sure that you are accomplishing just as much there too. Life here is always pretty crazy. We do so much in a day most of the times I can't believe it.  

.

On Monday we had a good p-day. Soccer is always a good break for me in the week and I am slowly getting better since we do it so often. We had dinner at a member's house. Well... a kind-of member's house. He is in the English Ward but used to be the Branch President. The odd thing was that we ate at their house with out them in it. He was busy, so we used the door code to get in, ate, did the dishes and walked out. We taught a lesson in the evening with our part member family, the Rodas. The husband that is an actual investigator didn't attend so we did a little FHE with the family. Man, I definitely did not think that I would need to use my Recreation Management games, but I already have a few times. We made a contact of this single mom out on a walk. We went into her apartment and had a nice little chat. Sometimes I think that it is weird that people actually let you in the door, but I guess when you are a Servant of Jesus Christ it shows in your countenance. 

.

Tuesday we had District Meeting. Can I just say, it so nice to have our little support system to progress in the work. We talked a lot about contacting and talking to everyone we see. So, my advice for future missionaries today is to start now. Talk to people. You don't have to talk with everyone, but if you have the basis already it would be that much easier to do when you are talking to someone about the Gospel when you would have just been comfortable in real life. Afterward, we had a mini-exchange with the Elders. Our Zone is so small that we only have two sets of Elders, so two are Zone Leaders and two are District Leaders. The other 8 missionaries are all Sisters so the Elders have no one to exchange with. Their solution is to have a group study session after our meeting.  It was so helpful. I am glad that I got to learn so much from them. Then in the afternoon we taught a lesson to Gabriel and Maria. They are good investigators but they are caught up on a few key doctrines, so we are just trying to clear that up. We didn't have any more lessons, but it was still a good evening. Oh, one thing that I have forgotten to mention is the 10, 3, 1. It is our daily goal of having 10 contacts, 3 lessons, and 1 baptismal invitation. We don't accomplish it every day but we really do try. Usually, out of 1 of the contacts comes someone good so it is nice to always have that in mind. 

.

On Wednesday we had a no show appointment, but we had some interesting contacts. ( Family: Then the weird part was setting up Facebook. I had to go onto my old Facebook and deactivate which was weird and then had to create a new one. I am so interested to see what the future of Facebook in the missionary work. We didn't have any lessons but we did have out 10 contacts.) 

.

On Thursday we had an FHE with another part-member, less-active family. The weird part was that the member was not there, but it went well and it was fun to teach the kids. We helped some of the Sisters in Woodland switch apartments. We had to clean up a lot because the Church had owned the apartment for 10 years.  It was fun. We went to dinner at the Lomeli's. The food was really good and the company was even better. We finally saw Ada again. She was the investigator that we committed to baptism my second day. We had not seen her since then but finally she was home and we taught her. She told us that she wasn't ready for baptism yet so she didn't get baptized like planned on Saturday.  She said that she is close. 

.

Friday we did our awesome weekly planning. It is exhausting but good. We had another lesson with Gabriel and Maria. The problem we found was that both of them don't understand the need for baptism. The are Catholic and think that their old baptism should count. We have hopes for them and hope that we can help them to understand. We had this slightly interesting and kind of awesome contact. She is Pentecostal and has a lot of the same beliefs. She talked about repentance, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and preaching the gospel. Most people just don't know about those things so it was interesting for someone to know them when they don't have the fulness..

.

Saturday morning we did service for Celia, a member in the Ward.  She asked us to come by to clean her back yard. It was fun, but it was dirty. Then we had an introduction to service. It is an interesting story. So we were referred to this woman by a contact but the funny thing is her brother is a member of the church. She wants us to help with her aged mother so we will see what comes of it. She wanted us all to meet just to see if it would all work out. Who knows what will happen but I am sure there will be more to come. We had the baptism of one of the other Sisters investigators. It was special to see one close up and personal. She was so nervous and excited and afterwards happy and tired. She is a wonderful girl and I might get some pictures next week to show you all.

.

Well I love all of you so much. The Church is true and that is the only reason why I am out here serving. Thank you so much for all of your love and support and also the prayers. Keep them coming I couldn't do it without you. Have a wonderful and missionary filled week.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

The path where Sister Cornwall runs every morning.

The lovely sunflower fields

Metal elephants at a complex that Sister Cornwall frequents.

Sister Cornwall and her companion's favorite trailer park.

15 July 2013

Hola,

Como Estan? How is life out in the real world? At times I forget how cut-off we are. For me it feels like time should  have just frozen, but I know that it has not. Life here as a missionary in Davis is Awesome. It is crazy, but it is truly awesome. This week brought a whole new set of experiences. 
.
On Monday I went on my first exchange! I was a little nervous on what to expect because I was going to Dixon. [Click Here to see where Dixon is.] I had to pack my bags and say goodbye to my companion and work in an English area. The weirdest thing was to eat at a members home. Number one-  it was Thai food.  I am sure Rachel might now disagree that it was truly Thai food.  Number two - the family sat down with us to eat. Number three - we had plain water for dinner.  And number four - we dished up our own food. Obviously it wasn't that weird but it was an interesting experience. The neighborhoods were also very different. I am so used to being in a college town with apartment complexes everywhere but it was still a fun experience to learn from other missionaries. The next day I stayed until just before our dinner appointment. so I got to do some teaching and some door knocking. The person we taught was a less active with the nickname Nefi which, as some of you might know, is Nefi in Spanish, and Portuguese. She was very interesting.  It sounded like she had a rough life but she is dedicated to being a member of this Church now despite the challenges. It was nice to just give her understanding and love. Then, we traded back and went to dinner at the Contrerars. They feed us weekly. We had a rougher night and I ended it hot and tired but luckily we get to come home and have a good nights sleep so it all works out.

Hermana Cornwall's Zone and the Albas

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference. It was great! We had the four Zones around us meet, Woodland, Vacaville, Fairfield, and Woodland Spanish(that is me), all met together in Vacaville.  [Click here to see where Vacaville is.]  Zone Conference is the opportunity for the Mission President, his wife and the Assistants to the President to teach us. President Alba spoke on The Joy Of Complete Conversion. Sister Alba spoke about our purpose as missionaries. Elder Johansen(AP) spoke of the difference between a routine and a skill. Elder Mahoney (AP) told us to bring it back to Christ. And the third AP Elder Vance talked a little about how technology is going to play a role in the Santa Rosa Mission. ( - To Family only - The big Announcement was that I will now have a Facebook as a missionary. We start with it this week but the sad part is that I ahve to deactivate my old facebook, but that isn't the worst thing that could happen. I do not want to make it a big deal that I have one or really to have people know at all.  I just figure it would be easier that way so only the family knows. It doesn't really affect any of you because I can only be friends with those in the area I serve, but now you know and I am sure there will be more announcements to come.)

It was a wonderful conference.  They only come every few months, so I was honored to have it so soon in my time as a missionary here in Santa Rosa. As a little treat and to save on miles we had a little sleepover with the Sisters in Woodland. It was fun to just have some bonding time. We had brownies and ice cream and pancakes the next morning. It was fun.

.

Thursday we had our District Meeting. It is so fun to have a group of missionaries on which you can depend  to support you. We had pan Dulce again which was so good. I have always seen the bread before but I always thought that it wouldn't taste good or would be hard.  It is good. It is like moms rolls with sugar on top. Then later we had a lesson with Crystal our 14 year old investigator. She is so awesome. She totally gets the gospel and we hope that she will enter the waters of baptism soon. Even though she is 14 she is very mature and very open and I hope that she really commits to being a memember of the true gospel on the earth. Then we taught this women named Yesica. We had contacted her husband earlier and have just been wanting to teach the family all together.  They have been busy or not all home.  Today we just decided to teach her anyway. It was an interesting expereince to talk to someone who didn't really know much about God or Jesus Christ. It is also very hard to simplify the gospel when to use all the complicated things seems so clear. We see a lot of potential with their family and hope that things work out, but we will see.
.

On Friday we had our normal weekly planning which takes hours, but it is essential. It is when we look over all we have done and set goals and make plans for what we will do. The most crucial part is planning for investigators. They always need something or some lesson and we have to plan for it. After planning we went and taught some former investigators named Gabriel and Maria. It was a tough lesson because they got kind of stuck on the need for prayer and Church as family. The most difficult part for me was to really understand what was going on in Spanish. I didn't say much.  I hope we were able to emphasize how important everything is as a family. Then in the evening we went to see if we could teach another former investigator for the first time and we were able to meet the father of the family and he asked us to come back for a lesson later the next week. We were so excited to meet him and excited to teach them. Then we also met up with the Rodas family. They are a part member, less-active family and the miracle about it was that they were going to come to Church this week and we were so excited! 
.
Saturday we had a stake picnic with hot dogs, softball, and soccer. The cool part was that the Stake President was playing alongside everyone. We didn't participate in any of the games but it was fun to meet so many people from the Stake. Then we went to an appointment. She was a no-show so we took a chance and went to another part of town and taught an interesting, but awesome, lesson to another former investigator. She was a pretty devout Catholic, but still willing and open to hear what we were talking about. The most interesting part was when she started to pray to Santa Maria in the middle of our lesson.  It was still good. We had dinner with a recent convert.  That was fun to just see the glow in her eyes and because of our fun filled morning. We ended the night with finishing our studies
..

On Sunday we had our regular schedule and our part-member family came to Church. It was so exciting to see them in their Sunday best. It was a great Sunday, always a little confusing and tiring because of all the Spanish, but it was good. We had dinner at the Branch President's house. He is really just an awesome man willing and dedicated to do the work.  It is also nice to see him in his home. We had fun finishing up studies and went to bed. 
.
This morning we started something new. We did our laundry at an English member's home. She gave us a key and everything.  It was just weird to be in a stranger's home using their washer and dryer.  I am sure it will become more normal. They are so kind to offer their services and I hope that they get blessed for it.

A little more about my companion Hermana Kaiser (at the request of Mom). She is from Broomfield Colorado which is near Boulder.  (Mom you know that one?) She is the 3rd child of 4 and her three other sibiling are all boys. Her Spanish is awesome. It is so awesome that not only is she training after her first transfer, but she only had to go to the MTC for two weeks (which is how long native speakers go).She went to the Mexico MTC as a tester of  it. She is awesome.  I learn so much from her everyday. If you would like to know anything else please send me specific questions to answer.
.

All in all this week was a good week. We were able to teach a lot of the people we found and our regular investigators. I am excited to see what missionary life will be like once I settle into it, if it ever really settles down. This work is so important and there isn't anything I would rather be doing than teaching people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Thanks for all of your love and support. I feel it carry me through every day.
.

By the way how did your commitments go. Did you give out a referral. I hope you did because the missionaries usually need and want names.  I have a second commitment - Will you read in Preach My Gospel the section on the Importance on Members. It might just change the perception of what role you take in missionary work It is on page 160 of Preach My Gospel.  [Click Here and scroll about 1/3rd the way down].  I know this work is scary but it is worth it.
.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

08 July 2013

Sister Kaiser and Sister Cornwall

Hola!

So I would definitely consider myself a Northern California pro. Not actually but it is weird to be in the same state but not know a thing about it. A lot of people know about little Monrovia which is weird at times but cool too.  So... What a week it has been. Time flies and yet is very slow as well. 

.

Last Tuesday was an interesting day. Our car wasn't working and it really made us have some trouble. But, it was alright and we got to our Zone Meeting. This was a pretty historic event in the mission because it was the first ever all Spanish zone in the Santa Rosa Mission.  Our whole meeting was in Spanish.  It was great! Our biggest thing right now is that we are trying to meet and find people and especially investigators. 

.

Wednesday we had to go get our car fixed.  We had a messed up battery.  It is sure confusing to try and deal with all the technicalities to get it fixed. We got to see some former investigators and then we headed out to Woodland for dinner. We ate at a Mexican restaurant and had carne asada fried. They are like animal fries but even better! It was awesome. Then we had our weekly coordination meeting. It was great. It is kind of crazy because we have 8 missionaries, but we make it work. 

.

Thursday, we had a Stake breakfast which was fun for the Fourth of July.  We went home with a lot of muffins. The funny thing about missionary work is that it doesn't stop even on the Fourth of July.  We kind of flipped around our schedule to proselyte in the morning and study at night. We didn't have much success, but the day passed as all do. The exciting thing is that we got a new phone. (ours had broken) It is nice. We don't know what we did to deserve it, but we don't mind. Then after our studies we tried to see the fireworks from our apartment with no luck, so we had a little party instead. 

.

Our Friday we had our regular weekly planning which is awesome but strenuous. We had dinner at Marichuy Rubios' home with a missionary lead FHE after. The missionary lead FHEs are part of the rescue effort of our branch. We have only done it once but it was nice to be aware of the family. Then we decided to go see one of our investigators and it turned out they she and her friend, that was there, committed to be baptized. It was awesome. They committed for the 27th, so we hope it all works out.  I got my awesome greenie package from mom. It was full of every type of green food item that I think you can find in stores. Everyone in my apartment loved it and so did I. Those snacks will last us for weeks. 

.

Saturday we went out early to go for an appointment and check up on some other contacts but with no success. It was tough because it is hot and it is tiring, but then the Lord usually blesses you with a nice experience.  We had two. We got to teach two new contacts about the Book of Mormon. They seemed so receptive and excited and it was nice to teach them. Their names are Cynthia and Ada. I hope that they can become progressing investigators, but we will see. We also met some nice contacts and that was good as well.  

.

Sunday we had our usual crazy day with Ward Council, which is awesome, even when it is hard to understand. We had no investigators at church, but church was still good.  Because it was fast Sunday we had a Mission wide hour of prayer. We all take an hour to just pray and read scriptures and receive revelation. I was a little worried because the time seemed really long to just pray.  But it flew by. Then we had a meeting with our stake president. He  wanted us to be involved in the Stake vision of the Work Of Salvation. There are 25 missionaries in our Stake, so it was pretty large.  It was awesome. To explain a little more - we have two zones in our Stake, one is English and one is Spanish. Basically, for every English area there is a Spanish area to match.  It it is really cool.  

 .

Monday is p-day - we do our regular schedule of exercise, get ready and study and then at ten we start our errands. We do laundry, shopping, cleaning, and emailing before 5 then if we have time, we play soccer as a Zone. It is really fun, but really crazy. So there is my week.

.

Here are a few questions, from Mom, that I will answer: Sis. Kaiser and I live with another tri-companionship that serve in the Davis YSA Ward. Since we are in a college town they are over the YSA Ward. For my Branch there are 4 Sisters and 4 Elders in the Branch. It covers such a wide area that it is just what has to be done. The work is hard out here. Our area isn't to lush right now, but we are working hard on getting it there. This work is odd at times but awesome.  It is scary, but it is necessary. This week has been a hard one because of the heat and the lack thereof of people.  It all works out because this is the work of salvation and we cannot fail in the end. 

.

So, all being said, I have a challenge for each and everyone of you this week. GIVE A REFERRAL TO THE MISSIONARIES. They are dying to have people to teach and help and if they already have a friend in the Church so much the better. I truly believe in what they said in the broadcast that we shouldn't have to knock on doors, but that the referrals should just come from the members. This work is so important that you can't wait until tomorrow to tell the missionaries to come by your neighbors because they need the gospel today! I promise that as you do this the missionaries will be lead by the Spirit on how to help them. Then, there is a follow up to this - after you invite the missionaries to go visit your friend you need to go to the lessons with them. The missionaries would love it if you are ready and willing to help them. Well, good luck with your challenge and I hope you all are able to accomplish it. 

.

I love all of you so much, but there isn't a better place I could be then here. Remember the Work of Salvation because it is the most important thing on this earth.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall

The sunflower fields in the countryside

 

01 July 2013

Tha packages Sister Cornwall mentions in the first paragraph of her letter.

The last photo of MTC companions

The last photo of the great MTC district

Heading off to the airport to fly to Santa Rosa

The hotel for the post flight afternoon nap.

The fabulous MTC foursome have a last goodbye before heading to their areas.

I forgot my camera I am SOOOOOO sorry I will have a lot of pictures next week!

New Address:

4735 Cowell Blvd. #10

Davis, CA 95618
.
Hola,

This letter is coming from the other side of California. A place that I have never been before! It is so wonderful to be here, but it has been one crazy ride since my last letter. So... thank you all for your love and support.  I have loved everything.   I have received packages and mail and everything THANK YOU! 

.

My time at the MTC was amazing but it seems a lifetime away now that I am in the field. A little about my last few days ---  Sunday, the fireside was amazing. It was powerful to be in the presence, and sing for most of the Brethren. I started to cry at the beginning of the first song it was just so powerful. I have pictures of my last few days but forgot to bring my camera to the library, so you will just all have to wait until next week. So, lets skip to the good stuff.

.

On Tuesday we left at 4:30 [a.m.] to go to the airport.  It was so crazy to think about actually going to the field and out into the real world. When we got to Oakland [CA] it was raining and I loved it. We met President Alba and the APs and it was crazy to actually meet them in person. We headed out to the Mission Home where we ate lunch and then had a little meeting all together. The Albas said some amazing things and it was just awesome. One thing that they introduced to us was the figurative soapbox where we give 30 second teachings on one of the 42 principles of Preach My Gospel. All of the APs went and then President Alba looked around for a willing target --- I was chosen. The funny thing was that I volunteered to do it in Spanish.  I had to explain "repentance" in 30 secs in Spanish. It was pretty hard but I was glad to show that I was ready and willing to do the work I needed and was asked to do. 

.

In accordance to tradition, we were then taken to a hotel, owned by a member, and were told to take a nap. I couldn't believe it, but I loved it. That night we did some testimony bearing through some practicing and training and it was awesome we were just practicing doing the work and feeling the Spirit and it was just awesome. For some reason I have become completely willing to do the work I need to do.  I even volunteered for a lot of the things we did that night. I was an awesome feeling to be so willing. Needless to say we had a very comfy sleep in our hotel (picture to come). There is the rule that you can't sleep on the same bed so we had double beds all to ourselves it was awesome. 

 .

Wednesday we woke up and had our Continental breakfast and went to the mission office. We had an orientation of using cars and stuff and then we met all the missionaries transferring and all of us new-bees and heard a few words from the Albas and it was great. They told us that for the month of July we want to get 101 baptisms -- just like the freeway -- so please keep us in your prayers. [The 101 highway is the main north-south artery of the mission] Then we were assigned our new trainers. My ned companion is (drum roll...) Hermana Kaiser. She has been awesome. She has only been out one transfer and went to the Mexico MTC.  We whitewashed an area together and it has been an amazing few days. My new and first area is Davis CA, Spanish speaking. There is one branch that covers 4 or 5 different areas, but it is awesome. We don't have a Branch in Davis but we have one in Woodland and it is just great. The first thing that we did was to go to dinner at the Lopez family home. (Side note- The crazy thing about having multiple areas in one Branch is that it means the branch has to feed all of the missionaries. So, the average number of missionaries at a meal out here is 8. So keep feeding you missionaries and be grateful that it is not 8 missionaries.) Then we had our Ward Coordination Meeting with the Ward Mission Leader and it was just awesome to be thrown into the work.

.

Thursday was kind-of a semi P-day we spent a lot of time unpacking, packing and learning about the people in Davis. Then we went to the Mario Robles home. The are a young part-member family. The husband is not a member and he is actually one of our investigators. After that we went to visit Ada one of our investigators. It was pretty crazy to just jump in with the Spanish but it was awesome. The best part was that we committed her to Baptism on July 20th. It was awesome. She still has a lot to learn, but we can do it.

.

Friday we had a District Meeting.  They will normally be on Tuesdays but because of all the changes it was on Friday. Then we had our weekly planning which just takes hours and hours but is essential and it is crazy to decide what to do to help people change their lives. We had dinner with the Hoglans. The Hoglans are a white family but the husband speaks Spanish so they pulled him from the English ward and put him in the Branch Presidency. They fed us hot dogs and ice cream at Costco which was super fun. Then we tried to go and meet some more of our investigators without success. 

.

On Saturday we had a branch party. It was to celebrate and thank the old Branch Presdiency who had recently changed. It was a great opportunity to meet many of the members of the Branch. They are awesome and I only hope to be able to help and understand them in the future. My Spanish is a little shaky now that I am here in the real world, but it is good. Then we went out contacting to those that seemed like they could be potential investigators. We talked to a lot of interesting people but my favorite was Sofia. She is a Muslim woman who has talked with the missionaries before but she just wants to talk about Jesus and not be lonely, so she isn't really progressive investigator material.  She was really nice and so awesome to talk to. 

.

On Sunday we had Ward Council. It was all in Spanish, but I got most of what was going on. We didn't have any investigators come to Church but we have high hopes for next week when we get to know them a little better. There weren't too many people at Church so it felt a little different, but it was awesome. We had dinner with the Branch President. He is Presidente Perez and he is awesome. He is a really powerful leader. He is fresh in the position but is ready to do the work. His family is so wonderful. After dinner in Woodland we came back to Davis and didn't really have any success seeing anyone but it was still good.

.

The things I have learned so far are that Latinos love fruit flavored water. They take any fruit, blend it with water and drink it. I have had Peach, Strawberry, and Blueberry flavored water. It is pretty good and it has been fun to expereince a little of the culture through the food. I have also learned that the work can often be very unsuccessful, but that isn't the point because it is the work of salvation and everyone needs it. Another thing is that all people are pretty nice. There are very few who tell you to go away or will not hear you out for a minute or two. Also,it gets very hot in Davis over the summer. We have been near the hundreds for the past week. Also, there is a lot of planning that goes into the work.

.

I know this letter isn't long [:)] but we are running short on time. I love you all so much. Support your Ward in the Work of Salvation because there is nothing better that we can be doing! Give the names of your friends to missionaries and everyone because there should no procrastination of the faith and knowledge of the gospel. Support the Missionaries, love the missionaries and continue on faithful in the church.

Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall