WEDNESDAY (6/5/24): Pretty relaxing P-day. After my daily workout, we cleaned up the apartment, did our laundry, went shopping, and got haircuts. The barber I got a haircut from was pretty cool! I've gotten a haircut from him before, so he knew what he was doing. He was telling me how he was moving down to Vegas to start sport betting full time; pretty interesting career choice, considering he's a good barber and a family man, but he claims he's going to make a lot of money 🤣. We also talked about our Church, our work as missionaries, and fun things we could possibly do on our days off. After getting lunch, we walked around the streets of Soledad. After, we headed back to Greenfield to start the day. We visited with Natalia and her family and taught them about temples. We watched the Rome Italy temple tour with her and explained to her the significance of temples and how our church is a worldwide organization (the way Jesus Christ's church should be). We were supposed to take them to the temple with Hermano Mateo the following day, but he canceled. After, we tried visiting Clemente, but he wasn't home. We set up a lesson with him the following day though.
THURSDAY (6/6/24): We went finding again and found some pretty cool people again! We went around most of the day teaching and contacting as many people as possible! We're trying to invite as many people to church as possible. What me and Elder Candia did most the day was go up to every single person we could find, teach them principles that apply to their lives/questions they have, read from the Book of Mormon, get their number afterwards, and then invite them to church! I'm really excited to try and continue applying this strategy. The people who come to church will be the ones who are most interested in progressing along the covenant path!
After Spanish at the Chapel, I was able to talk to my family for my mom's birthday (my mom is the best). It was also fun to see my new little niece again (shout out to my wonderful sister).
After talking with my family, I realized that I had accidentally left our keys in the clerk office, where I had been studying, and closed the door when I left to go talk to my family. So, we had to wait for a member in our ward to come open the door for us 🤣. We contacted people on our phone while waiting. After, we visited Susana, the sister of Natalia, and taught her about the Apostacy. We read from Thessalonians 2:1-3 and explained to her the falling away. We taught her how when the Apostles and Jesus Christ died, we lost the Priesthood here on the earth. We also explained to her how we had prophets on earth and how we have a living prophet today! We explained to her the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings that come from following the principles of Jesus Christ's gospel (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring the to the End). We have her on date for the 22nd of June! We're going to visit with her every single day and help her progress! After, Hermano Mateo (one of the coolest members in our whole church) came teaching with us. We visited Brian and Cesar's dad to see if he'd give us permission to baptize them. Hermano Mateo bore his Testimony about his baptism and the blessings that he has received by being converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we all bore our testimonies on the blessings and the opportunities that the kids will receive if they were to be baptized. The dad told us no and that they weren't ready to be baptized yet. He told us they need to learn and grow more before being baptized. I could understand where he was coming from, but I was still heartbroken; these kids are so ready! We're going to continue teaching them; they'll be baptized one day! We ended the day by teaching Clemente and Irma about faith and repentance. We also talked about how we can apply the "word of God" in our life by reading the scriptures, praying, etc.
FRIDAY (6/7/24): We started off the day by finding again! We first helped lift Hermano Villa into his wheelchair before doing so. We found a lot of really cool people! We were able to find a referral that had given us the wrong phone number. We met with the mother of Luis and taught her about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we can overcome trials in our life. I've been sharing Alma 36:3 with a lot of people lately; it's a really powerful verse! While walking down the street, we saw Brian, Cesar, and their siblings. They were celebrating finishing school and decided to go get some ice cream; I bought it for them. I had never seen them so happy. Ugh, I wish their dad would just let is baptize them; they're so ready! Me and Elder Candia's plan is to try and meet and get as many people to church as possible! From there, we can find out who's interested in learning more from us! If a person has a desire to come to church, the chances of them wanting to progress and get baptized is much higher.
After lunch and studying, we helped lift Hermano Villa again. After, we started by visiting Silivia and her daughter, who is somewhat interested in our message but doesn't really have the desire to progress. We talked to them about our purpose as missionaries, the restoration and the importance of making and renewing our covenants through the sacrament. Hermana Silvia loves when the missionaries come and visit her! She is so awesome! She was roasting me for my Spanish which was pretty funny 🤣. I'm doing a challenge right now where I can only speak Spanish the rest of this transfer! I really need to take that next step with my Spanish. After, we taught Natalia and Susana the whole Plan of Salvation. They really liked the idea of the Spirit World and the Kingdoms of Glory! We're going to continue to help them to progress towards their baptism on June 22 by visiting and teaching them every single day!
After, we visited Sheila and her sister, Tania, and taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Tania is interested in learning more and progressing towards baptism eventually. She wants to learn everything and has a desire! We ended the night by visiting our friend Luis. Luis is such a dawg! We talked about the apostacy and the need of a restoration! We explained to him the Priesthood and how the Priesthood is necessary for us to be able to perform ordinances such as baptism and giving the Holy Ghost. He loved the examples we shared with him from Acts when the Apostles gave to the Gift of the Holy Ghost to others through the laying on of hands. We talked about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings and opportunities that we can receive when we focus and center our lives on Jesus Christ. We talked about how all of us have the chance to be disciples of him! He has such a strong desire to progress and learn more about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ! We're going to help him get there! This guy is so awesome! He loves Jesus Christ so much; he gave us hugs as we left.
SATURDAY (6/8/24): One of the girls being taught in Soledad, her name's Autumn, invited us to come to her graduation in Soledad! Autumn is practically a member; she's really cool! She is getting baptized on June 20th! She also has an amazing conversion story! She was a social media referral; she began taking lessons with the missionaries earlier this year and fell in love with the teachings and doctrine of the church! She grew up without parents and has lived in a foster home her whole life; she's had a really hard and sad life! Seeing how the Gospel has changed her life has been amazing! After being baptized, she will be attending BYU this summer!
After taking Autumn home, we began the day! We spent a lot of the day inviting, texting, and calling the people we had found this week! We shared scripture verses, spiritual thoughts, and invited every single person we possibly could through text and calls. After, we had a really good lesson with Suzana and Natalia. We talked about the Sacrament and watched Jeffrey R Holland's testimony about the importance of partaking the sacrament! I'll try linking the video, it's so powerful! We also explained to them the symbolism used during the sacrament! After, we explained to them the Priesthood and how it binds ordinances here on Earth and in Heaven. The Sacrament is a sacred ordinance that we need to partake in every single week to renew our covenants! It's the main reason we go to church every week! The talks, music, and classes are just extra! After visiting a member in our ward and giving her a blessing, we went to Tony and Adri's. After, we taught Tania and her sister about the Apostacy and explained to her the loss of Priesthood Keys, the death of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, and the role Prophets have here on earth! We taught her the Restoration and about Joseph Smith. The video wouldn't work on Elder Candia's phone, so I had to recite the first vision 🤣 (the video is so much better). We ended the night by trying to visit Luis, but he wasn't home.
SUNDAY (6/9/24): We had a really good Sunday! After helping out Hermano Villa, we headed over to the Chapel. When we got to the Chapel, we saw a man sitting there that we had never met before: his name was Adrian. Adrian was sitting on the couch reading the Book of Mormon. He told us that he had been visiting other churches and that none of them had felt right. We're still trying to figure out if he had met with missionaries in the past or not, but he had a Book of Mormon and knew a little bit about the story of Joseph Smith. We explained to him the story of Joseph Smith and showed him the First Vision video: he really liked it! He said it was the best church he had ever gone to! Also, Natalia, Susana, and Freddy came, which was awesome! After the sacrament was over, we went to Elders Quorum with him! Clemente and Irma, the coolest couple, came to church again! This is their third time in a row! They're going to get baptized so soon! They've developed friendships with the members in the ward and have been reading the Book of Mormon on their own! They're practically members 🤣. We're going to continue teaching them and helping them progress! Also, Cesar and Brian and their friends came! THEY WERE WILD DURING SACRAMENT! We're going to work with them this week and teach them more clearly about the importance of being reverent during the sacrament. We also are going to start bringing some suckers.
After helping Hermano Villa, we tried visiting some inactive members, but they weren't home! We talked with Vilma about how we can help a recent convert named Generado come back to church. He feels like he can't come to church since he can't pay tithing right now; we got his contact information so we're going to try and reach out to him. After, we had a lesson with our recent convert Generado about the Fall of Adam and Eve and the importance of Jesus Christ in our lives. After, we played Uno, kickball, and football with Brian and Cesar. We also talked with Freddy. Israel was there as well! He was able to get his telephone fixed as well; it was definitely the miracle of the day! While talking with Freddy and Israel, we saw some kids walking around with tequila bottles and liquor. Unfortunately for them, the cops drove right pass him and arrested them real quick. After, we taught Tania about baptism and the symbolism used during a baptismal service. We read from 3 Nephi 18. We ended the night by going to Tony and Adri's and listening to our mission's devotional on the importance of member present lessons.
MONDAY (6/10/24): We had Zone Council and District Council in Seaside! We talked about the importance of representing ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ as missionaries through our thoughts, actions, and words. We also talked about the importance of having members present at our lessons when given the opportunity! They can add powerful testimony and insights to the friends we're teaching. After eating at Chipotle, best restaurant in the world, we headed back to Greenfield. Some of the friends we are teaching and who are progressing, Natalia and Susana, had told us in the past that they loved watching movies. For some reason, the thought came into my mind the other day that we should watch the Restoration movie in the chapel with them and Freddy, our recent convert. After struggling to set up the TV, buying snacks and getting the room ready, we were able to watch the whole movie; they loved it! Susana was crying during the part Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith were killed in Carthage Jail. After, we were able to explain to them the Priesthood, the importance and necessity of the Restoration, the Plan of Salvation, and the need for prophets. Me and Candia bore our testimonies on the Book of Mormon and how it has strengthened our testimony on the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith and the Restoration. They're starting to understand really well! I keep praying that they'll be able to progress and eventually enter the waters of baptism soon!
After, we tried having a lesson with our friend Israel, but he wasn't home. We had a long phone call with a semi-new member of our ward named Gabriel. He's been baptized for over two years but experiences problems with addictions and relationships in the Church. He still has a strong testimony but doesn't feel welcomed at church. We read from 2 Nephi 26:33 and talked about how all are alike unto God, the importance of renewing our covenants through the sacrament, and how all are going through their own personal trials and tribulations and how church is a sanctuary where we can go to heal. We're going to work with him!
We ended the night by visiting Vilma. Vilma is so amazing! She works in the field every single day even at her age! She's such a sweetheart and absolutely loves the missionaries! We talked about the fall of Adam and Eve and why difficult things happen in our life. We watched a video of people sharing their testimonies on how they've overcome difficult challenges in their life! The Spirit was super strong during this lesson. We ended by sharing our testimonies on how the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses our lives here on earth and our life. Life is so incredibly difficult, but Jesus Christ and the Plan of Salvation makes it so much easier and gives us eternal hope!
TUESDAY (6/11/24): We started the morning by participating in a service project for Hermano Villa's brother-in-law. We helped him move a bunch of boxes from one storage unit to another. After, we did some phone contacting trying to invite as many people as possible to the Father's Day Activity. I was going crazy sitting in the apartment, so I was like, "Lets go walk around the park." So, we went finding in one of the parks near us. The first person we visited yelled at me and told me, "Yeah, right," when I told her that the Book of Mormon could change her life 🤣. After, I had one of the coolest experiences of my whole mission. We saw a lady and her brother sitting by her and went and talked with them. We taught them about the Book of Mormon, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the importance of the Plan of Salvation. While talking, she asked what happens after we die. We explained to her the Spirit World and how every single person has the chance to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this life through spiritual missionaries and temples. She began crying and telling us how she had recently lost two sons. She also explained to us how she had been going through difficult times with her husband. She told us one day she was praying with God for guidance. She told us that she had felt inspired to come to this park for no particular reason. What's even crazier is that she said she doesn't even live in Greenfield, but in Soledad! She called us "Angel's sent from God" and told us we were answers to her prayers. We got her information without even asking her! It was an amazing experience.
After, we visited Susana and explained to her the doctrine of baptism. We watched the 2 Nephi 31 Book of Mormon video and explained to her the importance of being baptized and receiving the Holy Ghost through the Priesthood. After, we taught Brian and Cesar about souls and the importance of coming here to earth! We've started a point system where every time they swear or misbehave, they get a point. But they also have the opportunity to get points taken away by behaving/doing kind acts. The kids love me so much that they're on board with the whole idea. The goal is to try and not reach a certain amount of points or else they don't receive a "reward" (still trying to figure out what the reward is). After, we tried visiting a couple members, but they weren't home. After helping getting Hermano Villa transported to the church, we had a Father's Day dinner for the Spanish Group! It was such a good time; the group is super reunited. Clemente and Irma came and absolutely loved it; they're so ready to get baptized! They're practically members of the ward; they're a miracle! Cesar, Brian, and Autumn came as well! We ended the party by dancing and playing games! Elder Copeland
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