Week 56: Goleta

November 1, 2021

We were on our feet today, really busy getting ready for the new week. We were in our gym today for district activity, had a fun time playing some basketball games. After Preparation Day, we had a lesson with Anthony, where we talked about 1 Nephi 13 and 14 and about the Church of the Lamb. We were super happy he showed up, because a bold baptism invitation can scare people away. But he's still been reading and praying about it. So the path continues! Excited for him and to keep teaching him. 

November 2, 2021

We went to Oxnard for another MLC this week. Elder Holmstead is the new Assistant! We talked a lot about having high expectations and keeping missionaries accountable. We also brought Elder Tautkus and Elder Turley back with us, they're staying with us until Thursday morning, when they fly out to Brazil. We had a good day, taught Keanna. Had a little trouble in the fellowship department. We hit the road, did some finding just long enough to get back in time for Stake Reports. Afterwards, we had a member visit and then a Zone Zoom. Solid day. 

November 3, 2021

Today we planned a double day, because we have Elder Tautkus with us. It was pretty discombobulated, but were able to get a lot done. We split up a lot of the member families today, because we are trying to be equally yoked with the other Goleta Elders. We did a ZLC to plan for our upcoming CDC, I'll be giving a discussion on high expectations and obedience. 

We had a good rest of our day, got to start teaching someone named Ronnie. We had a few member visits, and also had a bunch of stuff to do after 9. We'll be dropping Elder Turley off at 3:30am tomorrow, it'll be an early riser. 

November 4, 2021

We had a good day, we woke up early to get Elder Turley off to Brazil. We had a good day where we did our studies, and got those in. We also did some service for Sister Reese-Upton, saw Christy again. We had some weekly planning, and then went though with Elder Tree's idea of taking cookies and an inspirational message to all the members of our district. 

We got some good finding in today, and found someone new to teach, Luis. We also had two really solid member visits tonight, one with the Jones family and one with the Dunnings. After that we took care of some business and are now turning in to a much needed night of sleep. 

November 5, 2021

We had CDC, I gave a discussion about high expectations and obedience. It all went well, I hope everyone was spiritually uplifted. We also had exchanges, I went with Elder Barnes. What an awesome missionary. 

We had a lesson with Jason, but we decided to discontinue teaching him because he just can't give himself the urge to act in faith. It's sad, but you do what you can. We also taught Keanna today, we taught the Plan of Salvation and we used the whiteboard function to draw our way through it, it was fun. She's still on track to get to baptism! We also got to teach Anthony, and he opened up more to us, and he's doing awesome, he just needs to keep it up. Excited, once again, for what lies ahead. 

November 6, 2021

Today we got to attend a baptism for Chris, someone the YSA sisters have been teaching. It was spiritual, and he is really solid. We got to visit Dennis today, we're trying to get him to the temple and keep him progressing down the covenant path. We didn't get too much time to find today, but we did have lots of opportunities to test our charity, haha. We got to pray over the phone with Leticia again, and hopefully we'll get to meet her in person soon. We went over the last half of the Plan of Salvation with Dave, and he said he believes everything we've taught him. We would give him a baptismal date, but he has some more things to work out before we do. It was a productive time. I just hope we can find some more people to teach this week, so we can keep our area as an escalator area. 

November 7, 2021

Today we went to church, and we got to have another lesson with Keanna. It was fun, we taught her through the hand signs of the 10 commandments. We were able to have a cool experience, a faith building one. I have been trying to follow spiritual promptings more, and we followed one while we were street contacting. We were in an area, and we felt like we should try a different place. And lo and behold, we were able to find someone named Greg, a nice guy. It was comforting to know the Lord will guide us to people who listen to us. We had an awesome breakfast dinner with the Hardin's, and then had a pretty regular night. 

I'm grateful for this week that we have had, my love for the Savior has grown.