Week 30: Solvang

May 3, 2021

We had a good Preparation Day, we did all our chores, and then we got lunch at el Rancho and went to the park. Then we played some beach volleyball, which was fun. After we went to the church, we realized that the food we ate was beer-battered, the fish and shrimp, and we wondered if that was against the Word of Wisdom. After a little bit of research, apparently it is. President Hinckley said that we don't cook with alcohol, either. So now I need to repent of every time that I have eaten beer-battered anything.

For the rest of our night we had a discombobulated day, and felt kind of weird. We also had a visit with Bishop Paulson and his family, good people. But that's it for the day.

May 4, 2021

Today was a really busy day. We had to drive all the way to Goleta, to get our first Pfizer COVID shot. After that, half of the day was gone, we did some studies and then went street and park contacting. After dinner, we had a lesson with Nikki, at least we did until she texted and said she didn't want to meet with us anymore. She wants to go it alone, and we aren't sure why, but she said that she will read the scriptures and come to church. We also had a lesson with Ray again, and we went over his questions and concerns, but I don't know if he made any progress. He doesn't believe that God exists, so we have some work to do, and a lot of studying. 

May 5, 2021

Today we heard from Elder Holland. Actually, we had a zoom call with him, our mission and the Arcadia California Mission. He had some really good things to say. Something that stood out to me is when he talked about how missionaries view the life ahead of them, and going back home. He said people will say "when I get back to the real world" or "when I'm back in real life," and he said that this is as real as real life gets. That resonated with me, because I'm guilty of thinking that way. He also said that the mission is the most important thing in the universe that we could be doing right now.

Right after that, we were able to meet with Sheri, and she's awesome, such a nice, spiritual lady. But she has a coward boyfriend who is anti and tries to get her to break the law of chastity and the Word of Wisdom, and talks anti in her ear. He's really nice to us when we talk to him, and he's very friendly when we come by, but as soon as we're gone, he's very against us coming over. And he won't join any lessons or actually talk to us about it. Sometimes it's a little hard to have charity, but I'll keep praying haha. Also, had a friendly bash with Shane today, he asked where in the Bible it talks about the three kingdoms of glory, so we directed him to 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 and 2 Corinthians 12:2. But his heart might be closed to reading the Book of Mormon. Hopefully not, but only time will tell. It could really help him and his boys.

May 6, 2021

Today was pretty uneventful, we put in some good work, and tried to find some more people to teach. We were able to talk to a few people, but it's so weird how there's not that many people that are out and walking around. But we were able to have a good visit with the Colins, and we taught the lesson half in English and half in French. Elder Peterson was able to get some good advice for his French, so that was good for him. 

May 7, 2021

Today was good, we spend a lot of time studying and planning, and working on a video. But we were able to talk to some drunk guys and someone who was very not interested. But we had a really good dinner of Carnitas nachos, which was a really good and easy recipe. 

We had another lesson with Ray, and we seemed to make some progress today, however small. We just really hit home on what faith is, how we obtain it, and why it's necessary. (Hebrews 11:1, 1 Corinthians 12:3, Ether 12:6, Alma 32:21). He's a really funny guy, the Schmitter's are awesome. 

Then we had a visit with the Millet's, he used to be a patriarch, so of course he's very spiritual. I also am just over halfway done with the Old Testament now, and there is actually a lot of cool stuff about temples in there.

May 8, 2021

Today was really weird. We were lucky enough to have our COC here in Solvang, it's kind of the middle of all the Zone. Afterwards, we did some service for this lady at her thrift store, and it was kind of fun. It was actually pretty fun, we laid some brick. After that, we had some delicious burritos for only $6 at El Rancho. 

Then we had an awesome lesson with Michelle, she was asking all the right questions and we were all feeling the Spirit. The Spirit reminded me to ask for referrals, which I always forget to do. And she has a friend she's going to invite to her next lesson! All good stuff over here in Solvang, the work continues, and I'm feeling better and better about this blessing of a mission as it marches on.

May 9, 2021

Had a good church today, we were able to have Sheri and Ray make it. Then we were able to lead a good discussion in Elder's Quorum about Elder Bednar's recent General Conference talk about Gospel Principles. After our studies, we did a little bit of finding and had a great dinner with the Wade's, such an awesome family. Then we had some really successful contacting, and found someone who is actually an inactive member, and his wife isn't baptized, but they're super nice, and we'll meet with them soon. Also, we talked to a very nice couple who were interested in hearing more, so that's exciting. Then we had a phone call visit with the Hilton's, and Brother Hilton actually used to work cherries in Payson and went to Orem High. Good week all around.