Week 5: Thousand Oaks

November 9, 2020

Today was my first official p-day. It was fun, we slept in a little longer, went shopping, and a member actually took us to the driving range. It was pretty fun, and it was a nice way to relax. We went to Burger King, and then we relaxed for a little bit, and then went right back to work. I felt kind of like p-day made me lose my focus for little bit, so I was glad to get right back to it. 

We had a really good visit with the Cotto family, some converts from El Salvador, who are just awesome people who have strong testimonies. I love the members, and every time I meet with them I can feel God's love for them. Anyway, I'm excited to get to work again this next week.

November 10, 2020

Today we did exchanges, so I went with Elder Phillips from Dallas. We don't have a whole lot in common, but we get along well. He's really good at teaching, and has some really good techniques for learning the doctrine. I learned a lot today, including how out of shape I was. Elders Phillips and Geraud-Carrier have a biking area, so I got to ride the "Red Fury" today, apparently one of the crappiest bikes we have haha. We taught a good lesson with Trish, and then we met with former Bishop Rackneigh. I learned more about how to teach real people, because we still haven't found anybody yet. Anyway, I'm very blessed to be able to go on as many transfers as I'll be able to because Elder Maeser is the district lead. The grind continues.

November 11, 2020

Today was a pretty uneventful day, but we really put in the work. I was really tired, and nothing has really happened in our area yet, but I am still very motivated. I can already feel this time slipping away faster than I ever thought it would and I'm trying to use every moment to do a good job.

November 12, 2020

We went on another exchange today, so I spend the day with Elder Kelson. He's been in the field for five months, so he's pretty new for a trainer. I learned how to be more friendly to people, because Kelson is a super nice guy. We did a lot of calls, went on a faith walk, and had a pretty normal day. I'm still doing great, and we finally found someone today! We taught Paul, and he really likes the Bible and reads it a lot, so of course there were some deep doctrinal questions that we couldn't answer. But we did get a return appointment, and the teaching begins! We're finally starting to get this area turned around. We found just the first of many.

November 13, 2020

Today we had combined district council, so I learned some good tips on how to be a better missionary. We kept putting in the work today, and we talked to a bunch of people. We met with the Baker family, and they were super nice. All the elders here are great, and I'm getting to know them much better. Anyway, I'm going to bed because it's late.

November 14, 2020

We had another exchange today, and this time I went with Elder Hawkins. He's a great guy, and a good missionary. We got along well. It's awesome just getting to know all of the elders better, but sometimes I wanna just focus on my area. But I have learning to do, and I'm more than willing to work hard. I don't really have much to write tonight either.

November 15, 2020

Today was a really good day. We had a really productive day, and we found two people to teach! That doesn't sound like much, but that's huge for us and our area. We found Joel and Susanna eating lunch today in the park nest to TOHS. They didn't know a ton of English, and after we told them we could teach them about Jesus Christ, they said that they would meet us again to teach them more. So the rest of the day was pretty dang great. 

We had dinner with the Pollard's tonight, and got to meet the rest of their family. We taught them a lesson on focusing on the good during bad times. 

But most importantly of all, I finally learned how to do a Rubik's cube.