Week 72: Newbury Park

February 21, 2022

Had a great Preparation Day, we got a bunch of chores done, and also do some skating. We went to the only Cafe Rio in our mission with the Agoura Elders. We also hit some Goodwill's on the way back to the church. 

Had a couple member visits, one of them was with the Pace's; we taught a fun lesson using the Ten Commandments hand signs. Had a good Zone Leader Zoom as well, we've been discussing raising the level of the mission and going back to the regular schedule. Should be an eventful week. 

February 22, 2022

We had interviews today, and were trained on a bunch of different stuff. We are going back to the standards and trying to take away extraneous rules. I think President and Sister Carter have received some really good inspiration on this. We also took care of a bunch of technology stuff, they are rearranging the Tech Council. I'm trying to change my current mindset about Social Media, and put some more faith into it, because it really does work. We had a couple of other member visits tonight after some finding, and that was pretty much the day. We also had to bring up some updates from the Carter's on standards in our Zone Zoom. 

February 23, 2022

Our day was jam-packed with meetings until 4:00 today, with Tech Council, goal settings, and ZLC. We were still able to get some good stuff done, even though we were inside most of the day. We had a visit with the Lee's, and also with the Congelliere's. A good day, we are just really busy tonight getting ready for apartment inspections tomorrow. 

February 24, 2022

We went on exchanges today, and I went with Elder Burkhart into the Los Robles Area. He is a very hard working Elder, and very humble, just like a missionary should be. We had a lesson with Rosa today, she wanted to give us dinner and so we started our lesson off with fish soup, tortillas, oranges, cookies and eggs. Good stuff, I discovered how good Tajin is on oranges. 

After another lesson, we taught an English class over Zoom. I don't know much Spanish, but that's what makes me such an amazing English teacher. We also had a lesson with John, one of their friends. We are trying to help him switch from an "analytical" mindset to a faithful mindset, a switch that has been hard for many to make. I think in those situations, it's important to note that 98% of all human beings on the earth consider themselves uniquely intellectual and analytical. By now I think it's just a resistance to having to grow and take chances; for many it's been a shield to not have to actually change until compelled and convinced to the fullest, which is something that can never ben accomplished with that mindset. Spiritual things need to be learned by faith and the Spirit. 

February 25, 2022

Today was jam-packed with meetings, we started with a really good district council. We talked about spiritual gifts and why it's important to gain a spiritual foundation here on the mission. We had a tech council meeting at Oxnard today, and there were a lot of big changes that were made. We didn't have a lot of time today to find, just a few people we were able to stop by. We sadly weren't able to meet with the Boyce's tonight, but we have a good hope for them in the future. 

There is a really awesome member in our ward named Mariela, and we met with her, we're trying to help her come back to church. We really helped her to see the blessings of coming back, and so we're hoping to see her this Sunday. We're trying to bring about salvation any way we can.

February 26, 2022

Today we did Personal Study, and then worked some more on our technology discussion. After lunch, we did goal settings with the Agoura district, got to share parts of a talk called "An High Priest of Good Things to Come." We then got to go street contacting and talk to some people. Our focus this transfer has been trying to teach the people that have already shown interest in the past, rather than make more records over and over again. 

We had dinner with the Merril's, they are one of the best families I've ever had the pleasure of breaking bread with, really strong people. We got to talk with a guy named Oscar, he is a guy we are hoping will make some more time for us to see him. If there's one thing that has stopped people's progression more than anything, it's not giving the Gospel a real chance to be the most important thing in their life. It's a hard thing to ask of people, but we know for sure that it's worth it. 

February 27, 2022

Shane and Channing came to church today, it was awesome that they were able to come back after being busy for a few weeks. 

We got to hear from President Nelson today in a broadcast message to Californian members. He spoke about the important need to use our unique circumstances to share the Gospel and influence the world. He told us to contemplate our purpose for being here at this time. 

After some weekly planning, we had a dinner with the Eschenberg's, and then had visit later with the Jones family. Had a good week. Trying to find new and creative ways to reach out to those looking for the Gospel.