Week 61: Goleta

December 6, 2021

We did our Zone Activity today, and got to go up to Solvang to play some volleyball and soccer. It's always fun to get to see all of our missionaries and unwind. We had a good rest of our night, we were able to start teaching this nice lady named Claudia, she has two little daughters that are going to be fun to teach. I think it'll be a good week, we had a good start. 

December 7, 2021

Today we had MLC, our goal is to help the mission become master teachers. There were some really good discussions given. 

On our way back from Oxnard, we decided to stop by and visit some people, and ended up getting to share a Christmas message with someone named Helen. She liked it, and we were able to start teaching her. We also made it to do the Stake Reports tonight, only because elder Tree remembered last minute haha. But it was a good day, still going strong. 

December 8, 2021

We were able to do all of our studies today, and have a weekly planning session, which doesn't happen too often. We had our ZLC, and then we got on with our day and did some finding. 

It was a bit of a slower day. We taught this Ukrainian guy named Michael, and he had some thoughts/beliefs that I had never heard before. We had an awesome lesson with the Villanueva's tonight, they got us Wingstop as well, it was a missionary's dream, a lesson and wings. Other than that, we counseled with Brother Pearce about a PMG calendar we're making for our Ward Missionaries, and then we called it a night. 

December 9, 2021

Today we did some studies, along with joining a Micro learning Zoom for the mission about how to be better at social media. Then we took off to Oxnard to do some exchanges with the Assistants. I went with Elder Scott, he is an amazing missionary. He taught me some great stuff, like how to ask better direct questions. Something I struggle with sometimes is zoning out when people are going on and on while talking. I'm working on being more attentive and staying with it haha. We also stayed the night, so that was super fun. It's always helpful to have an exchange and learn some new stuff. 

December 10, 2021

Today was super fun, and kept things interesting. We had to drive from Oxnard right as we woke up so we would have some time to get ready and get to CDC. We had a good CDC in Solvang, we had it in the chapel. I really liked Elder Parker's discussion on scriptures and how they need to have personal significance as we teach from them. 

After getting some lunch at El Rancho, we drove down to Santa Barbara and switched for our exchange. I went with Elder Swanson, and Elder Tree went with Elder Wilding. That means I was on a bike for the day in a Spanish Area. It was pretty fun, you get to screech to a halt when you see someone you want to talk to. We found this cool guy named Alex, and we'll pass him off sometime, to either Santa Barbara or YSA. We also got a French referral for someone named Lisa for Sister Pollard, she was originally assigned to Paris. 

But it was a good day, got to learn some new things, learn some new Spanish, and I realized that I need to be in better shape. 

December 11, 2021

Today was a walk day, and it went well. We walked and did a companionship study outside and tried to talk to some people. We had a lesson and shared a Christmas message with the Graybill's, we invited them to come to the Nativity tomorrow. We also ran into Lisa, who we were teaching a while back, and were able to set up another visit with her. She said that her mom and her friend were interested in getting with us as well. 

We had dinner with the Snarr's, it was really good, and then we had a Bible Study with Noah from Dallas! We had just been messaging him and did a Bible Study over Zoom, a classic example of how they want us to do social media missionary work. That was a really good way to end the night. We also had a visit with the Ball family, they're thankfully still doing well. 

I've had a good time the past few days, and I'm doing my very best to have fun and also make sure I'm doing what God needs me to. 

December 12, 2021

Today was an awesome day, we went to church and also attended a Nativity program tonight, because we had a couple of people that were attending as well that we wanted to say hi to. We had a bunch of member visits, and also a dinner with the Archibald's and their friend Claudia and her daughter Brianna. It was just perfect, the lesson went perfect and the member missionary work was perfect. We are very blessed to be in this ward, there are so many amazing members. I'm very grateful for the time I've been able to spend here in Goleta.