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. 
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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.

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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.
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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! 
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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
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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. 
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Love ya,

Hermana Cornwall