Week 36: Solvang

June 14, 2021

Had another fun and relaxing day. We weren't able to get haircuts, but we will next week. We went to the old historic Catholic mission in Lompoc, and it was pretty cool. Sometimes it's easy for me to get up in arms about other religions and how they're wrong, but that's prideful and I think today helped steer me to change. Because our Catholic brothers and sisters are just worshipping in the best way they can and the way that they're used to. 

After Preparation Day, we did some FHE with the elderly folk in the ward and got some good insights, especially on repentance and forgiveness. But we're back to some good work tomorrow.

June 15, 2021

We had another good day. We did some early finding, and then some more service at the Bethania Lutheran Church. After that, we had some finding, some dinner, some more finding, a member visit, and also a lesson with Ray. That about sums up the day. 

I've liked this work so far, I'm just worried about Sheri right now. It's been almost a month since the last lesson with her, and I'd be surprised if we haven't lost a lot of progress with her. But we'll get her back on track and help her get going again. Ray's been doing good, he has a lot of support and has been keeping up. It just might take a little while for him to break through whatever's holding him back. But I'm hopeful for him, and it would mean so much for Sister Schmitter as well. 

June 16, 2021

Today was kind of weird, and we used a lot of miles, which is concerning because the mission is cracking down on miles and they're saying if you use up too many miles they'll put us on bikes. If that were to happen here, we'd only be able to go to about 25% of our area, and we wouldn't be able to go to District Councils or activities or Zone Conferences or interviews. But I don't think it'll happen. 

We were able to teach Sheri today as well, she's so awesome. She just got back from her vacation with her family, and they tried to talk bad about our church, but she let them have it and really told them off. She just needs to come up with a solution to the Dan situation. But she is still progressing. We also had a Zone Blitz finding thing. We went down to Lompoc and Elder Anderson and I were able to get one English number and two Spanish numbers. Good day, trying to help Ray Schmitter figure out his "why" of the Gospel, and then he should do just fine. But there's still something holding him back.

June 17, 2021

Had a productive day today, we were able to really cut back on miles. But it was also very hot, about 100 degrees for most of the day. 

Also we finally got to contact without our masks on, because the mask mandate ended a couple of days ago. So that's been nice, makes contacting easier. We tried to teach Dale today, but when we got to the park he said he wasn't feeling up to talking about religious stuff. But we were able to make some progress elsewhere and talk to some people. I read a bunch in the Bible and Book of Mormon today, and it really reaffirmed my testimony that what we teach is the only Gospel that is 100% true. It's the Restored Gospel, and all the scriptures I have read support it.

June 18, 2021

Today we had a district council. The Zone Leaders were there, and so we talked to them about getting bikes for our area. We think we could cut down on miles if we were able to get a couple of bikes and we could use those some of the time. 

After council, we did some finding and then some dinner, and then more finding in Santa Ynez, and then a visit with the Colin's. We talked to a guy who is a country dancer, real estate broker, teacher, salesman, etc. and he's running for Vice President in 2024 so look for him on the ballot. He'll be wearing a cowboy hat, and a giant belt buckle. Clint Orr for 2024.

June 19, 2021

Had a lot of finding today, then after some studies we went to Nati's grill to talk. But he didn't seem to retain too much of the information we taught him, so we'll need to meet at his home and get him progressing. We did a lot of contacting around the main Danish town, and we were able to get a referral for L.A. again. We did a lot of street contacting, and called people, and did Facebook, but Facebook kind of came to a screeching halt this last month. I think it's because it's transitioning to the member's control, but hopefully it will pick up again. 

June 20, 2021

Today we had Ray at church, and we also got Ali there. That was one of the funniest sacrament meetings I have ever been in. She didn't want to sit next to me, she wanted to sit next to Elder Peterson. She also asked him for his suit coat because she was cold, but of course Elder Peterson didn't give it to her haha.. She also had a very loud whisper, and it was so funny, after she took the bread, she said "Well, that didn't fill me up." And when the Primary kids were singing for Father's Day, she said "This is fun, man." And she also asked if the bread was sourdough, and if the water was tap water. Also remember she's saying all this in a heavy Russian accent.

After church, we had a good lunch of tri-tip with the Agin's. Then after some studies, we did finding until dinner and then some finding afterwards, and then a visit with the Hilton's. We also learned tonight that we are going to get bikes in addition to our car, and that way I can have a bike and we can cut back on our miles. So I'm gonna need some powerful antiperspirant, and some smaller pants because I've lost a lot of weight already, and that will probably continue.