Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is doing well! I wasn't able to put out an email last week because I ran out of time. Nothing super interesting happened that week anyway! I basically just had Zone Conference.
This week went ok; we had a couple good lessons and met some new people. Me and Elder Johnson continue to get along really well together, which is great. I only have one more week until transfers. I'm most likely moving to a new area, which I'm ready for. I love Watsonville and our ward but I'm ready to get off bikes and start walking/driving again. This week is also supposed to pour, which I'm not looking forward to 🤣. I'll be alright though! I still have a long way to go on my Spanish, but I'm definitely getting a little better each day.
WEDNESDAY (2/21/24): After going to Target and GNC, we spent most of our P-Day hanging out at the Santa Cruz Stake Center. We played basketball, went to the Family History Center, and hung out. It was raining pretty hard most of the day, so we weren't able to do much. I'm genuinely surprised how much it rains here! Also, I was able to test out the Polaroid that was left in our apartment and it worked! I'm definitely going to be using that thing a lot.
THURSDAY (2/22/24): After weekly planning, we tried heading to our lesson with David Leon (an inactive recent convert in our ward). Sadly, he wasn't able to and canceled on us. We met a man named Felipe Valentin who had been taught in the past by missionaries. We talked with him about the Book of Mormon and the importance of church and the Sacrament. After, a man came up to us asking if we were Christians. We explained to him who we were, and he seemed pretty interested. He was pretty drunk, but we still left him with a Book of Mormon and a return date. After, we had a lesson with Christopher. While biking to his house, I skimmed the corner of a curb pretty hard and fell off pretty badly. My elbow got scrapped up pretty bad and to make things worse, my pants got torn. It didn't hurt too bad, but I got scrapped/bruised pretty badly. It's alright though. It's all part of the fun.
When we got to Christopher's house, we asked him why he wasn't interested in being baptized anymore, but he didn't give us a clear answer. I probably bore the best testimony of my mission with him on the importance of making covenants, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, reading the Book of Mormon, surrounding yourself with good influences, etc. I'll be really sad if he doesn't progress any further, but I can rest easy knowing I tried my best.
FRIDAY (2/23/24): Salvador cancelled on us today which was unfortunate. While walking around, we went through a farmer's market going on near our apartment. We met the daughter of Salamon (one of our friends that we had been teaching) and asked if we could stop by; she said she wasn't sure. Before doing so, we biked 30 minutes to a referral we had received. Unfortunately for us, the person wanted nothing to do with us and was confused on how we had his number and address. After, we went knocking at an apartment complex and didn't have much success. To end the night, we met a man named Darius. He told us he didn't believe in God/Religion and has put it off all of his life. We testified of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel and the peace and hope that it brings. He laughed at us and told us off. It was pretty sad to see, but we tried our best.
SATURDAY (2/24/24): We went contacting at this apartment complex for awhile but didn't have much success. We met a pretty hardcore Catholic man named Ermilo. He told us he attended church four times week. We tried teaching him about the Restoration, but he wasn't really having it. After, we had another good lesson with our friend Felipe. We taught him about church and how to pray properly. We tried visiting our friend Josiah again, but he told us he had to go to work. I haven't gotten the chance to know him that well, but I can tell he struggles with some pretty serious addictions and problems. We're definitely going to try our best to help him out! After, we went contacting and met some people. They weren't very interested. Luckily, we were able to get in contact with a man named Mario. He had requested missionary visits in the past, but no one had ever gotten to him in the past. He said that he needed change in his life and that he needed to commit his life towards Jesus Christ. We said a prayer with him and his family and left him with a little card. To end the night, we tried visiting Salamon and his family, but they weren't home.
SUNDAY (2/25/24): Pretty good Sunday! We went to church, studied, and then had dinner with the Durans. They told us some pretty funny stories about how they raised their kids and their experiences in Watsonville. After, we had night church. A member and her kids came, and we administered the Sacrament to them. She was going through a pretty hard time with her husband/family so we gave her a blessing to end the night.
MONDAY (2/26/24): We had Zone and District Council today. We talked about the importance of teaching our friends how to pray correctly, social media work, and how to have effective personal studies. After, we had to spend most of the day deep cleaning our apartment for inspections the next day. We made sure it was spotless! After, we had a long lesson with Salamon. We found out he and his family were moving in a couple days for work. It's sad to see him move but I'm happy for him and his family. We taught him about the Restoration again, read Mathew 3 with him, and talked about all kinds of random things. We got his Facebook info so we're gonna stay in touch with him! We're planning to refer him over to the missionaries where he is moving.
TUESDAY (2/27/24): I went on exchanges today with Elder Pepper in his area. We taught and met some of the people they were teaching in their area. We were able to teach one of their friends by the beach, which was pretty fun. Also, pretty random, but we had to help a member in our ward put on her spare tire. We ended the night by playing soccer with Bishop Duran and his family. Love, Elder Copeland
