WEEK 79 (CORRECT) * 82

Monday was our preparation day!  I packed, helped Elder Rushforth clean our apartment, and talked with my family! Later, we picked up some food for Elder Rushforth and got haircuts.  The barber did a pretty good job, even though he made a slight mistake on the top—it turned out fine, and he was a nice guy!  Afterward, we went to the Institute building to sign transfer journals.  To finish off the evening, we said goodbye to the Esquivels and headed to the hospital to give a member a blessing, but it was closed.  Elder Rushforth and Elder Ayerids planned to visit the next day.

On Tuesday, we got an early start to finish packing. After gathering everything, we headed to the Mission Office.  There, I ran into Elder Isaacson, and we both immediately burst out laughing!  As we were moving my things to the car, President Larson came over for a "pep talk," encouraging us to show the other missionaries how to have fun while working hard, respect leadership, and help the other missionaries. Elder Isaacson and I have had opportunities to be in leadership, but we prefer to be ourselves instead of putting on a fake "act."  We focus on the good in people and are genuine with those around us, and we're not here to "correct" other missionaries.  One thing I've learned on my mission is that no one is perfect.  Trying to point out or fix little things people do is never successful.  Instead, focusing on your successes, minding your own business, and leading by example is the best way to help both others and yourself.  We're here to love and support those we're teaching.  We understand their perspectives, meet them where they are, support them, and do what's necessary.  Sadly, many missionaries can't see the different perspectives of the people we teach and talk to.  I'm glad Elder Isaacson and I are together; we truly know how to do missionary work the right way. 

After getting together, we finished packing and began the hour-and-a-half trip back to Hollister.  We had a great time catching up and laughing.  We stopped at Walmart for some supplies and talked to an Oaxacan couple, getting their contact information.  While at Walmart, I realized I still had the gas card from Las Colinas!  We had to meet the Elders halfway in Morgan Hill to return it.  Finally, we made it back to the apartment and reorganized.  We live in a quad here with the ZLs (Elder Leauni and Elder Stocking), and it's a pretty small apartment.  We only have one bathroom and one bedroom, so we sleep in the living room and use a corner for our study desks and workout equipment. It's a bit tight, but it works. After settling in, we visited Dora at the church. Elder Isaacson and Elder Parry had found her before the transfers. She's super cool and has a lot of potential. We helped her with a job application (she works for an obituary) and taught her about the importance of faith. After a few contacts, we had Noche de Rama. Not many people came, but we discussed the importance of Easter and why we celebrate it. We read some General Conference talks and shared videos produced by the Church. We ended the night visiting the Lepe Martinez family, who Elder Parry and Elder Isaacson had also found. They're an extremely nice family from Jalisco. Alfredo Sr. and Martha are the parents, and they have three kids. They've been having the missionaries over for a while but haven't progressed much. We talked about the importance of faith and repentance with them, reading from Helaman 5:8-12.

On Wednesday, we started by visiting a few people, but no one was home.  We did get to talk to Erika, who Elder Isaacson and Elder Parry had been speaking with.  We discussed her work as a janitor at the local high school and reviewed the process of repentance. After finding a few people, we went to "Little Mexico," a group of apartments outside Hollister where many Latino people live.  We taught a nice kid named Jesus Garcia about the Book of Mormon and invited him to read 3 Nephi 11.  We also spoke with a really nice man named Salvador, who had recently had a stroke.  We had a good conversation, shared the basics, and gave him a Book of Mormon.  While walking around and knocking on more doors, we met Fernando and explained the Godhead, the importance of feeling the Spirit, and also introduced him to the Book of Mormon. After a few calls, we heard from Rafael, who owns a ranch south of Hollister.  He invited us to watch him brand and vaccinate his cows the following Saturday, which we gladly accepted.  Rafael was found by an English member of the ward who lives near him and connected with him through his son's teacher. Later, we had a lesson with Maria Ochoa, who owns several restaurants and whom we met at her Italian restaurant. She's a super smart businesswoman.  She was found through Laura Gladys, who was found through Hermana Kratzer; this area has a lot of potential!  We taught Maria about the nature of God, the creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  We'll probably have to re-teach her some things since she was busy with work, but she's a very nice lady.  After her lesson, we visited Hermana Claudia and her family.  We brought the little girls some brownies, and they loved us.  We also visited Juan, Maria's husband, before the night ended.

On Thursday, we had the morning devotional.  We discussed the importance of patience and controlling anger in difficult situations, qualities I've been developing throughout my mission.  After studying, we went out and found some people!  We talked to a nice lady named Angelina about the restoration and the importance of the Book of Mormon!  She told us she already went to another church but that she was willing to give us her contact information.  After, we talked to a lady named Angela who definitely was not interested, but we still gave her a Book of Mormon though!  After saying hi to an inactive member of the ward and a couple other contacts, we had lunch!  After lunch, I introduced myself to Hermana Maggie and William! She's a super nice member of the Branch and has one of the strongest testimonies I've ever seen!  She has a son serving in the Army and another son named Henry! Henry is slightly on the spectrum, but he's a super nice kid!  He's already playing with my mission belt and stuff.  After, we found a couple new people and talked to a lady named Crystal, who the Elders had been previously teaching!  We explained to her the Godhead, Book of Mormon, and the importance of reading to feel the Spirit and testified that God is our loving Heavenly Father!  After setting up a return appointment, we met a really cool man from Oaxaca named Acento!  We explained to him the principle of faith and read from Alma 32 and explained to him that faith is a principle of action and power!  We gave him a Book of Mormon to read and invited him to meet with us this Saturday!  After, we went and visited an older lady named Maria!  She is neighbors with Laura Gladys (the lady we are teaching).  We explained to her how God is our loving Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ is our Savior, and how he makes repentance possible!  We testified that the church/service is a place where we can feel the Spirit, learn more about the gospel, and where we can take the sacrament!  She's pretty hardcore Catholic, but she was willing to give us a return date!  After, we visited Morris (a member who's only been baptized for around 3 years) and introduced myself to him!  He's a super funny guy from Mexico!  He has a pretty crazy conversion story!  He basically told us that he prayed to God and told him that the first religious missionaries he would run into would be the church he joined!  A couple days later he ran into the missionaries at McDonald's, so that's how he found the church!  It also helped that his wife was a member haha!  After, we had dinner and ended the night by playing soccer with the ward!  Henry was able to come and play with us, which is fun, but I am beyond terrible at soccer.

On Friday, we had to begin the day by paying a fine from last transfer!  When we went and visited Stanford, we had to cross the bridge to get over to Los Altos.  I guess crossing the bridge requires paying a fine!  Let's just say Elder Butcher was not happy haha!  After a couple contacts, we found a nice man from Oaxaca named Serratino!  We explained to him our church services and introduced him to the Book of Mormon! He had a little kid who was acting crazy during the whole contact haha!  After, we tried visiting a couple people, but none of them were home! After, we talked to a really cool lady named Veronica!  She was found by Elder Isaacson and Elder Parry out in the middle of nowhere!  Her parents are from Oaxaca, but she was born here in California!  She has a partner named Javier, but he was working while we were there!  I got to know her a little better!  She lives behind Javier's parents' house in a little trailer home!  They have a bunch of animals living there!  They have goats, huskies, etc.  Elder Isaacson and I got to hold the baby goats 🤣!  We taught Veronica about the Restoration and the importance of the Book of Mormon!  She took the story of Joseph Smith pretty well, and she was interested in learning more about him!  We invited her to read the Book of Mormon and come to church!  After a couple more contacts, I introduced myself to a recent convert (she had reached over a year) named Veronica!  We tried talking to her about the importance of Enduring to the End, but she wasn't really having it! It always breaks my heart seeing recent converts become inactive after being baptized!  All we can do as missionaries and as members is continue to love and support them! After Veronica, we taught and found a couple more people before visiting the Lepe Martinez family!  After chatting for a bit, we showed them President Nelson's video where he read the proclamation of the restoration!  After showing them the video, we testified of the Priesthood, the restoration, the Book of Mormon, the importance of praying and acting upon our faith to find truth!  We also explained to them the blessings of the temple and how the temple allows us to follow Jesus Christ and his Gospel!

On Saturday, we got to go up to the ranch where Rafael was working!  It was a long drive up, but the drive itself was nice!  It was fun being in the countryside and seeing the fields!  After getting to the ranch (we got there a little late since we made a wrong turn haha; we accidentally knocked on the wrong house and the kid living there was so confused haha) we introduced ourselves to Rafeal, his three kids, and the oldest son's girlfriend!  They showed us around the ranch, and we got to know them better and we explained to them our purpose/what we do as missionaries!  It turns out that the girlfriend was actually being taught by the English Sisters!  Elder Isaacson had even given her a blessing last transfer! Elder Isaacson didn't even remember it until she mentioned it!  We were able to help her get in contact with the Sisters again!  It was definitely a small world moment! After, we got to see the cows get branded and vaccinated!  What they basically did was gather the cows up on one side of the fence, force one of them to come into a cage and when they got into the cage, lock them in their so they couldn't leave!  I was able to get a video of him doing it since it's pretty hard to explain haha; it was a fun time!  The cows also got the tips of their ears cut as another way to brand them!  After finishing up at the ranch and driving back, we began the day by visiting and contacting a couple of our friends!  We stopped by Mateo's home and talked with him for a second!  Mateo is an older man from Oaxaca that has been living here in Hollister for 10 years!  He works in the fields near his house!  We were able to introduce myself to him, talked about his work and then shared a spiritual thought with him!  We explained to him a little more about the Book of Mormon, the Atonement, and the Doctrine of Christ!  We read from Alma 34:8-10 and testified of the importance of the Atonement and how we can apply/use it in our lives! We invited him to come to church, but he was kind of iffy about it!  In all honesty, Mateo doesn't have much potential to progress right now, but he enjoys when we come over!  At least we are able to give him something that he can look towards!  After Mateo, we went and contacted a couple people but none of them were home 😔; we were able to steal all the pamphlets that the Jehovah Witnesses had left on all the doors haha!  While walking, some nice gentleman invited us over for water!  He and his family were having a baby shower for his daughter!  He told us that he had a couple buddies who were members of the church and that he respected what we did!  He was a super nice guy, and it was a great contact!  To end the night, we taught English Class and gave the English Sisters blessings! 

On Sunday, we had church!  I was able to introduce myself to the members of the branch and ward!  Well, my first Sunday here was actually the Sunday that the Branch was getting a new Branch President!  President Starkweather is now the Branch President!  President Starkweather served a mission in Mexico and can speak Spanish almost fluently!  In addition to that, we had a pretty good sacrament attendance!  Juan and Dora came, Eddy (a long-time investigator of the church), Laura Gladys, Erika and a new friend we haven't met named Daniel!  Daniel was a really cool guy!  He was a friend that Morris had invited, and we were able to introduce ourselves to him!  Daniel has a very strong belief in Christianity and is looking forward to joining!  We were able to introduce ourselves to him, explain to him the basic beliefs of the church, and set up a lesson the following day!  It was a pretty cool miracle that me and Elder Isaacson experienced!  After church, we had to go pass the sacrament to members who weren't able to make it to church!  We stopped by Tom Olsen's home (a member of the English Ward who isn't able to make it to church due to health problems/Dementia) and another member of the branch who has to take care of her disabled daughter! We took Henry with us, Hermana Maggie's son, to help us out!  It always feels good to be able to serve and help others!  After a short Sunday nap haha, we contacted a couple people, had dinner with the Starkweathers, and ended the night by having a fireside with the branch where we talked about the Resurrection and the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and why we celebrate Easter!

On Monday, we had a mini-Zone Council where we got together as a Zone and introduce ourselves to one another!  Elder Astle, one of my previous companions, was there and we were able to talk it up for a while! After district council, we talked about the importance of sacrifice, joy and finding our "why" out here as missionaries, we went to lunch at Panda Express! However, while walking inside, we experienced a really cool miracle!  A man named Diego walked up to us and introduced himself to us!  He told us he wanted to learn more about the church and what we do as missionaries!  We got his number and set up a lesson in the church this Friday!  It was so unexpected but cool at the same time!  He seems really cool!  After lunch, we had to daily contact and make sure our progressing friends were doing ok!  After a couple failed contacts, we were able to organize our member dots into dots that were active, dots that had moved, and dots that were inactive!  To my surprise, most of the dots (or members) here were either active or had moved away!  Now we know who we need to go visit and minister to!  After, we were able to go say hi to the Sister's friend (the girlfriend of the son at the ranch) and see how she was doing!  After, we had a really good lesson with Daniel!  We were able to bring a really cool member from the Branch named Hermano Montuy!  We explained to him the Godhead and how they are three separate beings in purpose!  He kinda had the wrong perspective of the Trinity, so we had to help him understand it correctly!  After, we explained to him how we pray (correctly)!  We read from 3 Nephi 18 and let him experience the power of the Book of Mormon!  After, we testified of the importance of the Restoration and how the Savior plays a key role in it! After the lesson, we had dinner with the Kratzers and then visited Mateo and his grandchildren!  Mateo was pretty drunk (we were joking around with him), but we were able to share a video with the boys about prayer! We ended the night by teaching a friend named Alberta about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and read Ether 4:12 with her! 

On Tuesday, we began the day by teaching our friend Erika the first half of the Plan of Salvation!  We explained to her the nature of God, the creation, and the fall of Adam and our purpose here on earth!  We shared the pamphlet with her so she'd understand more clearly!  We set up a time to visit her the following week!  After lunch and daily contact, we visited a couple people--none of them were home!  We were able to pass by and talk to Veronica about the Plan of Salvation!  We essentially went over the Plan of Salvation but explained simply and thoughtfully so that she'd be able to understand!  She really enjoyed it and was eager to learn more! After visiting and teaching a couple more people, we had Noche de Rama!  Laura Gladys, Hermana Kratzer, Hermana Booth, and a couple other members of the branch were able to come!  We taught about the Sacrament and the importance of covenants!  We also talked about the Priesthood and the necessity of it! After Noche de Rama, Laura and Hermana Kratzer wanted to have a study!  I introduced myself to her and got to understand her situation a little better!  Laura is interested in learning more, but she currently considers herself Catholic!  We went over the Restoration with her again and we went into depth on the nature of God, the importance of Prophets and Apostles, Priesthood authority, the establishment of Christ's church, and the Apostacy!  Elder Isaacson demonstrated an example of the Apostacy to her!  We explained to her about Jesus Christ's life and his mortal ministry!  We explained the loss of the Priesthood Power and authority after the death of Jesus Christ and the 12 Apostles!  We briefly went over Joseph Smith and the Restoration!  We bore our testimonies on the importance of the Book of Mormon and how it leads to conversion! She enjoyed our discussion and is interested in learning more about the Plan of Salvation the following week!  She has potential to progress as long as we keep nurturing and ministering to her!       

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 78 (CORRECT) *81

Hello everyone,

This week was shorter due to Transfer Sunday, and I'll admit my motivation was low knowing a transfer was coming. I did my best, though! On Thursday, we followed our usual routine but also enjoyed a sports night. Friday was movie night, and we invited members and friends to watch "Soul." Afterward, we connected the movie to the Plan of Salvation and the significance of receiving a physical body on Earth. It was my first time seeing the movie, and I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was! The ward members and their friends enjoyed it as well, and they brought snacks and popcorn. However, it was also a sad week. We spent the days leading up to Sunday helping Alexandra prepare for her baptism. Everything seemed fine until Sunday when she didn't show up to church. After many ignored calls and texts, we finally reached her an hour later. She initially said she was busy with laundry but would be at the chapel at 1 PM. Elder Rushforth and I were a bit skeptical but started filling up the font. She then tried to postpone the baptism, claiming she was "too busy." We explained that we couldn't reschedule because we had already coordinated the service with the members and Bishop. After further discussion, she finally told us that she was not going to be baptized and wanted nothing to do with the Church anymore. Her ex-partner, whom she's trying to get back together with, told her that she couldn't be baptized in our church because he is Catholic. She didn't want to divide her family and wasn't willing to join a church her ex-partner wasn't a part of. It was definitely one of the most discouraging moments of my mission. We had worked so hard to teach her, invite her to church and activities, and plan her baptism, only for her to back out at the last minute. I was frustrated and sad because I had developed a close relationship with her and her family. I felt like the time I spent working with her was wasted, but I've had to adjust my perspective. Even though she wasn't baptized, we helped introduce her to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and planted a seed. She might not have been ready for the covenant of baptism, but perhaps future missionaries will be able to help her further down the line. The Elders will continue to contact her. I was pretty bummed after the baptism fell through, but talking to Gabino and Andy lifted my spirits. My day improved even more when the transfer news arrived! The roster was released Sunday night, and my dream with Elder Isaacson came true! I was informed that I'd be going to Hollister to serve with Elder Isaacson as his Junior Companion! Both of my wishes were granted: I was taken out of leadership, and I get to serve with my best friend in the mission! Elder Rushforth is getting Elder Ayerids, which is perfect for him. I'm truly grateful for my time in Las Colinas. I grew and learned so much here. Elder Perschon and Elder Rushforth were great companions. My transfer with Elder Perschon was the best transfer of my mission. He taught me valuable skills and helped me change my perspective of missionary work. He's a diligent missionary and will go far. Elder Rushforth was also a great companion. I'm happy I was able to train him and show him how to do missionary work the right way. He was probably my most challenging companion (not because we didn't get along, but because he struggled with his testimony, language barrier, and work ethic), but I learned valuable lessons during my time with him. He and President Larson told me that I'm the reason Elder Rushforth stayed out here. I'm glad I could help him, and I hope he continues to become the best missionary he can be. I met so many amazing people and friends while serving here: Andy, Mario, Juventino, Hermano Leon, the Esquivels, Bishop Garcia, Hermano Norlan, Jared and Hermano Perez, Hermana Lorena Rica (whom we found through Bishop Garcia), the Astrada Family, and many others! Me and Andy grew a really close relationship! I'm definitely going to stay in contact with all of them! The Las Colinas ward is such an amazing ward with incredible members, and I'm glad I could support and help grow it. I was also blessed to teach and help baptize and confirm three people. Lucas is one of the most genuine people I've ever met and taught. I always enjoyed visiting his workshop (where he lived and worked). I'm glad I could help him receive the restored Gospel. He already had a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and the Bible, and we were able to help him learn and receive more. Despite the challenges he's faced, he's always positive and upbeat. He's currently in Modesto, but I can still communicate with him through Facebook. Edmon is another amazing person I helped teach and baptize. He came from Nicaragua seeking a better life, and we were able to help him receive that. He loved the Gospel and was always eager to learn more. We even helped him with his immigration papers and prevented his deportation (in all seriousness) I'm so glad we got him baptized and confirmed. He was grateful for what we did for him and how we blessed his life. I'm also grateful I met and taught Gabino. He's probably been the most amazing person I've taught and baptized on my mission. He was so prepared from the start. Before meeting us, he didn't have any community or anyone to turn to. We were able to help him find a community where he could have family and friends. He loves the Gospel and has a deep understanding of it for a recent convert. Despite his difficult life, he is one of the most wholesome and kindhearted men I've ever met. He works hard and never gives up, regardless of the challenges he faces. He truly taught me the importance of gratitude, humility, and Christlike love. Gabino now has the Priesthood and is preparing to go to the Temple. He's one of the most solid members of the ward, and I'm proud of him and excited to see him progress! Overall, I met and taught some amazing people. I hope those I taught will progress and continue learning from the missionaries serving them. I'm grateful for Las Colinas and the opportunity to serve in San Jose. I'll definitely come back and visit! I'm excited to begin what will probably be the last area of my mission!

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 77 (CORRECT) *80

For P day we didn't do much; kind of a boring P day tbh; we just went to the church and played some basketball! I was able to catch up on my emails and stuff! After going shopping, we tried visiting a couple people but none of them were home . Luckily, Edmond was home and we were able to talk with him! We made sure he was ready for his baptism the upcoming Sunday and read from the Scriptures! 

On Thursday, we weekly planned and visited a couple people! 

On Friday, we had to do a mentoring session for Elder Rushforth! Afterwards, we went and found a couple people! We ended the night by playing soccer with the ward! I'm terrible at Soccer but it's always fun to spend time with the ward! 

On Saturday, we taught Alexandra! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and the importance of the Doctrine of Christ! We bore our testimonies on the importance of Baptism and how covenants bless us! We invited her to come to the Baptism of Edmond and she said she would! After finding a couple more people, we visited Edmond to make sure he was ready for his baptism the following day! He was ready to go and was excited for his baptism! 

On Sunday, we had Stake Conference! We went up to a chapel 45 minutes away from where we lived! We didn't end up inviting our friends to church due to the travel haha! Wesley Thompson (my first trainer in the Mission) was at the Stake Conference! It was pretty crazy to see him again! It made me realize how long I had actually been out here! After Stake conference, we headed back to our chapel to plan out the baptism for Edmond! We printed out the pamphlets and set up the room and invited our friends and ward members to come! We ended up having a really great baptismal service! Sister Trochez gave a really good talk about the covenant of Baptism! Afterwards, Elder Rushforth was able to baptize Edmond! It was his first time baptizing someone! He actually did a really good job, and it went incredibly smoothly! It was super satisfying seeing Edmond finally getting baptized! It took a while to get him there, but it was worth it! It's still crazy to think we found him by calling him and inviting to Church! 

After his baptism, we had a testimony meeting while Elder Rushforth and Edmon were changing! We heard some awesome testimonies but the one that stuck out to me the most was Gabinos! He bore his Testimony on how me and Elder Perschon changed his life and how he was able to find the Gospel through us! It was one of the most special moments of my mission! It really made me realize that I have accomplished more out here than I often give myself credit for! I'm so proud of Gabino and how dedicated he is to church and the Gospel! After the testimony meeting, Andy was able to confirm Edmond and give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost! During the service, Alexandra and her kids came! They acted a little crazy but they were able to go outside during the confirmation! Alexandra really enjoyed the service and let us know that she was ready to be baptized the following week! It was a great service and I'm so proud of Edmon and his desire to be baptized and confirmed! Afterwards, we cleaned up the chapel and went to Night Church! 

On Monday, we had Zone Council! We talked about the importance of teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ simply! After my final DC as a District leader! After District Council, we decided on doing Weekly Planning too! We ended the night by visiting and teaching some of our friends and going to Noche de Hogar with Gabino! 

Tuesday was my birthday! I am officially 21 years old! That means I get to go to Vegas now haha (just joking). My birthday was nothing special; We taught some friends of ours and had a really good lesson with Alexandra! We went over any last questions or concerns she had for her baptism the upcoming Sunday; she was feeling a lot better about it this time! We read from Moroni 7:27-31 and talked about how we can have and receive miracles in our lives as long as we have faith in the Lord and keep the commandments! After a couple more contacts, we ended by having ward council with Hermano Perez and then having a Birthday Dinner at Chick-Fil-A with a bunch of the members in the ward! They threw a surprise party for me and even decorated the Chick-fil-A! Andy, Mario, the Sister Missionaries, Jared (the son of Hermano Perez: He's hilarious) Juventino, Angel, and a couple of friends of the Sisters came and celebrated with us! It was super sweet of them and I had a really good time! They even brought me a cake and sung Happy Birthday to me! It was a good time! A lot of other people were able to shout me out for my birthday! I'm so thankful and so blessed with my family and friends and those who God has blessed me with in this life! 

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 76 (CORRECT) *79

For P day, we got to go to the Temple! I always love going to the Temple! It really is a blessing that we are able to go to the Temple once a Transfer! We were able to do initiatorys  and go to the Celestial Room! I can't wait to take my family and friends to the Temple after my mission! It really is one of the most incredible Temples in the world! After, we got to go to Texas Roadhouse which was fun! After, we headed down to Palo Alto to visit Stanford! Elder Rushforth, my companion, has a buddy who was attending Stanford! We got to meet up with and walk around the campus with him for a sec! I can see why it's the third ranked university in the United States: it was absolutely amazing! I don't know if I could ever go to Stanford since it's so liberal, but it truly is an amazing place! After heading back from Stanford (the traffic was terrible coming back) we headed over to Edmonds house to help him continue to fill out his papers for his court case the following Monday! We had to translate the questions into English so he knew what to write; we ended up helping him out a lot! I seriously don't know what he would have done without us! We helped him answer all the questions and gave him advice for his court case the following Friday  

On Thursday, we had a couple of lessons fall through unfortunately but we had another good lesson with Alexandra! We read from Alma 5 and talked about the importance of repentance and the power we can and have recieved through the Atonement of Christ! We helped go over the Baptismal service with her and answered any further questions she had! Her kids were out of control once again but it was alright! After working for a little more, we visited Edmon and reviewed some things with him, helped him with his papers and prayed with him for continue success and blessings! After, we went to English class where two of our Referrals came! We had a friend named Valencia and another friend named Jordan come! We were able to find them through referrals on Preach my Gospel! After English class, we gave a spiritual thought about the Commandments and how the commandments are a blessing given to us from God! 

On Friday, we had Zone Conference! Before Zone Conference, we had to go get our car washed! It was actually a really good Zone Conference! We talked about the importance of Lifelong discipleship, working through trialing and difficult times, putting your faith in God, etc. It was one of my favorite Zone Conferences President Larson has given us; since Zone Conference took up most of the day, we ended the day going to the Chapel to gave a baptismal interview for one of the Sisters friends named Israel! It was a pretty long discussion; he was telling me how he didn't feel prepared to be baptized/how we wasn't sure if he was willing to keep the commandments, his testimony, etc. He didn't end up passing his interview but that's not to say he wasn't going to be baptized; we just pushed off his baptism for a couple weeks later so that he could a little more time to prepare! We ended the night by playing some sports to lift our spirits up; 

Saturday was one of the most interesting days of my mission! We had a really good lesson with Alexandra! We went over any last questions she had about her baptism and talked about the importance/blessing it us for us as disciples of Christ to make and keep sacred covenants with God! We read Moroni 7:25-32 with her and talked about the importance of putting faith in God to recieve Miracles! After, we had to go to do a MASSIVE service project for a members neighbor! She was moving apartments and needed help moving her furniture from her apartment to her uhaul! She lived on the fourth floor of her apartment and her elevator was out of order; so me and Elder Rushforth spent the whole day moving/carrying couches, bed frames, mattresses, chairs, desks, etc. from the fourth floor of her apartment down to her uhaul; we had to carry everything down the stairs and it was quite the task! It was hard but I seriously enjoyed doing it! It took a couple hours, but we were able to do it! The hardest part of the whole thing was trying to unscrew the nails of her bed frame; we only had a little screwdriver as well which meant it took twice as like to do so; one of the nails was so stuck! The craziest part is while moving her furniture, apparently multiple people had called the cops saying that their was a drunk or dead person in the apartment complex where she had lived! So while moving furniture, the cops were looking around the apartment for the body; I don't know what exactly happened but I'm pretty sure it was just as miscall ; since that took most of the day, we ended the day by going to the church to make Alexandras baptismal pamphlets and plan her baptism the following day ! 

However, Sunday did not go as plan! While preparing to go to church, we received a text from Alexandra saying that she wasn't going to be able to be baptized ; she told us she wasn't sure if she was willing to keep the Law of Chasity and commit to the covenant of Baptism; I was devastated! We had to push the baptism off a couple weeks! I was so beyond frustrated/mad! Our friends Rigo and Jose came to church but regardless it was a pretty miserable Sunday for me; I was so mad/aggravated that we ended up leaving church a little early since I was so upset; we were able to go to the apartment for a little bit, take a a nap and then go out and work! Instead of feeling sorry for myself we went out and worked! We were able to visit Edmond and go over the Baptismal interview questions with him! He knew them super well and was now ready to be interviewed and baptized the following Sunday! He also let us know that we had helped him out tremendously with his court case; they pushed it off until September now! Me and Elder Rushforth seriously helped Edmon not get deported! After, were able to go finding throughout the day and found some pretty cool people! We also visited Carlos! He let us know that he was moving to Santa Clara and that he wouldn't be living in San Jose anymore; he was pretty sad when we told him that other missionaries would be reaching out to him instead us: apparently he really liked us . For night church, we had a pretty cool referral come to Night Church named Manuel! He was from Nicaragua and was interested in learning more about our Church! We explained to him our fundamental beliefs as members and the importance of the Book of Mormon! He was a pretty witty man; definitely one of the most interesting people I've met on my mission so far! We set up a time to meet up with him again! We also learned that the service missionary who pasted out a couple weeks ago during night church was ok! I didn't include in my email but a couple weeks ago, an older gentleman of the ward, who was a service missionary, had passed out and hit his head on the door! Everyone rushed over to him to check up with him and see if he was ok! The paramedics had to come and check up with him; it was good to learn though that he was only low on blood sugar! I was super happy to learn that he was ok! 

On Monday, we had District council! We listened and talked about Dallas Jenkins "5 loaves and 2 fish" talk that he gave at a BYU devotional! It's one of my favorite talks ever given; it especially relates to us as missionaries because our job is to not feed the 5000 but to provide the 5 loaves and 2 fish (our efforts). It's one of the best District Councils I've given; after District council and lunch, we went and visited some inactive members! We talked a member named Lituania for a little while about her experience in the Church, her testimony of Christ and the importance of keeping our covenants with God! We read from the Book of Mormon with her to help her understand the importance of Enduring to the End! She told us she works Sundays so we invited her to Night Church! Hopefully she's comes; after finding a couple new friends, we went over the Anahis apartment and taught her about the Temples! She had a TV so we showed her the Rome Temple open house! We tried to get her husband to join us but he wasn't interested sadly: we going to keep trying with him! After, we were able to teach a lady with the cutest puppies! It seriously made me miss Luna haha! After a couple more contacts (and a very dramatic drop text from our friend Manuel: the guy who had come to church the night before: he was not interested in learning anymore for some reason) we ended the night by going to Noche de Hogar with a couple of referrals that we had received and invited! One of them was not interested in learning more and only came to see what the church was like while the other guy (Alfredo) said that he would be down to come to English Class! We've also been able to get into Lucas! He's beee texting us throughout the weeks! He's currently living/working in Modesto! He told us that he has been able to attend the church up their which was really good to hear! I hope I'm able to say goodbye to him before I leave next transfer! 

On Tuesday, we spent most of the day downtown! We went and tried to visit a couple people but nothing to excited happened until our discussion with Jesus! We had like a 2 hour conversation with him about aliens, evolution, the purpose of life, the gospel and variety of other topics! He's pretty smart but pretty set in his ways; Hermana Rica was able to bear a powerful testimony to him! He invited us to come back and have another discussion! He runs the supermarket where he works so he gives us free snacks and drinks haha! He's actually a really good guy! He's just not really set on religion! After, we had dinner with Hermana Ivette! We hung out with her and her little kids, they are hilarious, and I even got to help her make tortillas! I had no idea what I was doing but it was fun regardless! We ended the night by going to missionary correlation meeting and ministering to the Sister Missionaries! 

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 75 (CORRECT) *78

Hola! We had a great P-day!  We cleaned the apartment, bought groceries, played sports, and talked to our families.

On Thursday, we did our weekly planning, taught Carlos about the Atonement, and found a cool man named Orlando. Afterward, we had a wonderful lesson with Andy.  He lives behind a house on the hillside and has an amazing view of the San Jose Valley.  While sitting on his porch, we taught him about the first half of the Plan of Salvation, explaining the premortal life and the fall of Adam and Eve.  We read from 2 Nephi 2 and parts of Alma 42 to help him understand the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  Afterward, we tried having a lesson with Alexandra, but she was tired from working all day, so we rescheduled.  We ended the night by teaching English and giving the spiritual thought.

On Friday, we had exchanges!  I went back to Yerba Buena, where I started my mission with Elder Thompson and Elder Hammet.  It was surreal to be back; it took me back to my first night on the mission and made me think about everything that was to come.  It's strange knowing how long I've been out here; it feels like years!  I got to serve with Elder Larsen, who was my MTC companion, for a day.  The whole experience definitely had me thinking about the beginning of my mission. Overall, it was a good day!  We found several people and taught some of the Elders' friends.  It was great to see how much I had improved since the beginning of my mission.

On Saturday, we began the day with Alexandra's interview.  It was a long one!  While Elder Gardner was giving the interview, Elder Rushforth and I contacted a bunch of friends, inviting as many as we could to church.  Alexandra passed her interview but wanted one more week to prepare.  So instead of having her baptism the following day, we planned to have it the following week.  Apparently, her kids were freaking out and running around the whole time during the interview; Elder Gardner said it was the hardest interview he's ever had to give!  After finishing daily contacting, we visited a couple of people.  We ran out of people to visit, so we began visiting grey dots in the area; we knocked on the door of a family named Rodolfo and Dolores.  They were so happy to see us and invited us in.  Apparently, they had been taught by missionaries in the past but had to be dropped because they weren't progressing; they are pretty involved in a church in Hollister and aren't looking for a change but love when the missionaries come and teach them.  We tried teaching them about the Book of Mormon, the importance of the Priesthood, and how our Church is the literal church of Christ.  They loved what we were reading from the Book of Mormon; we tried inviting them to church the following day, but they said maybe, which meant they weren't coming.  Regardless, it was a really good lesson, and we planned a time to go back.  

Afterward, we talked with Carlos and explained to him the importance of reading the scriptures.  We helped him download the Gospel Library app and showed him a video explaining the Atonement of Christ.  He seriously loves having us over; it's always great visiting him.  We ended the night by visiting a couple of other people and inviting as many people as we could to church.

On Sunday, we had a really good Sunday!  Alexandra and her family came, as well as Edmon, Jose, Rigo, and Ricardo.  Rigo and Ricardo were referrals that we had received the previous day; we were able to contact them through Preach My Gospel and invited them to church.  They were great.  After the services, we explained more about the church and fundamental beliefs.  We set up lessons with both of them. After a day of hard work, we went to Night Church, where two referrals we had also invited were able to come.  Their names were Mario and Jorge; we got to know them better, participate in the Sacrament/service with them, and then talked some soccer with them. I don't know a single thing about soccer, but Elder Rushforth is super knowledgeable.  I just sat there trying to understand what they were saying; it was nice being able to enjoy Night Church instead of having to teach it.  It went really well.  We had a discussion about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

On Monday, we had a district council where we talked about Sacrifice. We watched "The Stonecutter" and talked about the sacrifice of the pioneers and what it means to give everything we have to the Lord.  After finishing District Council, eating, and finishing daily contact, we got a message from a set of 

Sister missionaries serving in the Bakersfield mission that a recent convert of theirs had recently moved into our area. We were able to get her information and contact her.  We felt inspired to visit her in person.  We knocked on the door of the address that the sister missionaries had given us, and to our surprise, Anahi and her husband were home and let us inside. We talked with them for a while and introduced ourselves. Anahi had been a member for a little less than a year, while her husband was not a member; he told us that he wasn't interested in learning more and how he essentially didn't believe in organized religion. I think he has a chance to maybe progress if we continued to try and visit him and Anahi. It was a good visit; we were able to share the information for the ward down here and set up another time to meet them. 

After finding a couple of new people and visiting Hermana Lorena Rica (the member from Mexico who Elder Perschon and I helped find the church down here in San Jose; thanks to Bishop Garcia), we even talked to Jesus (Lorena's boss). Elder Perschon and I had talked to him a while ago about a variety of topics.  He had some pretty crazy/interesting takes the last time around.  We talked with him for a little bit and planned another discussion with him the following week.  After, we had a really good lesson with Edmon!  We went over the major commandments with him (Law of Chasity, Tithing, the Word of Wisdom, etc.) We had Andy come along as well and share his testimony/insights on them!  We didn't even have to teach from the Scriptures!  He had no problems whatsoever with them!  I'll always be amazed and astonished at the amount of faith Edmon has in the Lord and gospel! He had been put on and off of a baptismal date for a couple weeks now, but we set a firm and sure date for his baptism to be in two weeks; he gladly accepted our invitation and was all in! After the lesson, he began explaining to us how he had to go to court the follow Monday for his asylum case; the problem was that the paper they had given him was English!  So, for like an hour, we helped Edmon fill out his court papers 🤣; all we basically did was translate the questions for him into Spanish.  We weren't able to do the whole thing, so we planned another time to go over and help him.  We ended the night by going to Noche de Hogar and gave a blessing to the daughter of Christian and Roxie (the couple that was just recently married and baptized) since she was pretty sick.

Tuesday was a pretty regular day; nothing too special happened.  We taught our boy Carlos Rivas real quickly before he had to head out to soccer practice; overall, kind of a pretty bland day.     

-Elder Copeland

WEEK 74 (CORRECT) *77

Hi, everyone, It was a great week!  After P-Day, we cleaned the apartment, went shopping, and spent time at the Institute building with the Zone.  The Institute is a pretty cool library with a bunch of historical books, and they also have a gym where you can play basketball, ping pong, pool, and more.  It would definitely be fun to go there if I lived nearby! After P-Day ended, we tried visiting some people, but no one was home. 

On Thursday, we spent most of the day proselyting.  We taught Carlos and Raphael the first half of the Plan of Salvation, explaining the pre-mortal life, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the importance of the Atonement.  We used a whiteboard to draw out the Plan of Salvation for them, which was a really good idea as it helped them visualize it.
After a couple more contacts, we had English Class.  Our referrals, Daniel and Aurora, came and were able to learn a little more English.  Daniel was a referral we received from the Elders who were serving in Hollister, and he was super cool to teach!  We also had a friend named Aurora come.  She was super nice but wasn't interested in learning more about the Gospel; apparently, she was already part of a church and wasn't willing to change. 

On Friday, we weekly planned and taught a couple more of our friends!  It was a bit of a slower day which was a bummer; we tried to teach and visit our friends but none of them were home and the ones that were home weren't interested in talking.  We did have a good lesson with Alexandra though! We continued to review the commandments with her and explained to her how to pray more often!  

On Saturday, we had a really good day!  We taught a good amount of our friends, and we had a really good lesson with Edmon!  We talked about the Ten Commandments with him (read Mosiah 13) and talked about the importance of the two great commandments!  He already knew them, so it wasn't too hard to teach!  

After, we had to go set up for the Valentines Day party.  During the Valentines Day party, the sisters had the wedding of their friends Roxie and Christian!  The bishop was able to get them married and performed their ceremony for them!  It was super entertaining!  We had the ceremony, ate food, played games, danced, and celebrated their wedding!  After the wedding, I gave the baptismal interview for Christian, Roxy and their daughter Milagros!  They wanted to get baptized but couldn't since they weren't married; that's why we had the wedding combined with the party!  They all passed their interview pretty easily!  They were super solid and were all super excited to get baptized! 

On Sunday, we had a good Sabbath!  Our friend Luis, who was an English referral that we had received throughout the week, wasn't able to come to English Class but he was able to come to church!  He really enjoyed it!  He was also able to attend the baptism of Roxie, Christian, and Milagros!  We had a pretty good Sunday ourselves!  Edmon, Alaxandra and her kids, Jose and a couple other of our friends, all came to church!  After church, we had the baptism of Roxie, Milagros, and Christian!  It went super well!  Sister Higgins was able to come down and perform a musical number on the violin!  It was super cool to see a whole family be baptized and confirmed!  After talking with the other missionaries and members of the ward, Elder Rushforth was throwing up (smh) so we had to stay home; 

On Monday, we had Zone Council and District Council!  For Zone Council, we talked about the importance of keeping and making covenants and for District Council, I taught the District the importance of prayer and how to pray with more intent!  After finishing daily contact, we went and visited some people!  We had a really good lesson with a referral that we had tried contacting in the past named Andy! He was from Columbia and had recently just moved from Columbia!  He lived in the back of a pretty nice house on the hillside!  We read from the Book of Mormon and explained to him the importance of the book and how it allows us to grow closer to Jesus Christ and understand the importance of the Atonement!  We left him a copy to read!  He was genuinely one of the nicest people I have ever met on my mission!  He was so excited to read more; it was definitely one of the coolest lessons of my whole mission! 

After, we headed back to the church to have another solid lesson with Alexandra!  We went over the five principles of the Doctrine of Jesus Christ and read Mosiah 18 with her to further prepare and progress her towards getting baptized!  She's super solid and is continuing to progress little by little every single day!  We had a lesson with Luis planned, but he never came 🤧; we ended the night by participating in Noche de Hogar with Daniel (the guy who come to English class and the Valentines Day party) where we talked about the Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Priesthood!  

On Tuesday, we had to do our daily contacting and then had to help Hermano Esquivel with family history!  He's pretty funny!  We had to help him organize, print, and register his family names for the temple!  We also helped reorganize his account! Hermana Esquivel also explained to me the story of her conversion and how she had met the missionaries!  She said that a couple sets of missionaries had to go through her to eventually be converted!  She said the day that she read from Book of Mormon and prayed about it for the first time was the first time she had felt the Spirit!  She's an amazing member and has an extremely strong testimony of the Gospel; after helping Hermano Esquivel out with his names for the temple, we taught Edmon Alexandra a little more about the Book of Mormon and read 3 Nephi 11 with them!  I always love reading that chapter!  It's amazing to me how every time I read through that chapter, I'm able to learn something new!  We ended the night with missionary correlation meeting and Ward Council!  

-Elder Copeland

Week 73 (CORRECT) *76

Wow! This was a long week!  Because of transfers, we had a Monday P-day!  It was a super fun P-day though!  We got to go golf at a local municipal course!  It was pretty fun!  It was only a 9-hole course and pretty run down, but regardless it was a good time!  I was pretty rusty haha; I couldn't swing to save my life!  After P-day had ended, we went to Noche de Hogar! Gabino was having a pretty hard time with his work and a couple other things in his life; so, we were able to give him a blessing which helped him out a lot!  It's always a spiritual/special experience to give people blessings! 

During the long week, we were able to get a lot of things done! On Tuesday, it was raining pretty hard the entire day!  So, we decided to weekly plan and get our week planned!  We taught Raphael and Carlos, in the rain, about the restoration of the Church through the Prophet Joseph Smith and the many special things and blessings that we have received!  I had to almost yell to teach the lesson because of how loud the rain was!  Regardless, it was a pretty good lesson!  After finding and teaching a couple of other people, we ended the night by teaching a referral from the San Francisco Sisters named Carlos about the Book of Mormon and pray!  

On Wednesday, we taught our friend Franisca about the Atonement and read from the Book of Mormon!  We also talked about the importance of having faith, how we obtain it, and how we have to act upon our faith!  She lives up in the hills and her porch had a pretty amazing view of the City of San Jose!  I wish I would have taken a photo!  

After finding a couple more people in a nearby apartment complex, we also taught Ruby about the restoration; she's still pretty stuck on being a Catholic, sadly; After, we had a really good lesson with Alexandra!  We reviewed the Plan of Salvation with her and extended her a baptismal invitation, and she accepted!  We are going to continue prepare her to be baptized!  Her little kids are adorable, but they are insane haha!  After, we read through the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith to help him understand the story of Joseph Smith a little better!  It was surprisingly pretty hard to read out loud haha; there were words I had never seen or heard of before!  It was a learning experience for all of us haha; Gabino was pretty sick, unfortunately, so we gave him another blessing!  

On Thursday, we had lunch with one of the members of our ward; she had a really cute granddaughter that reminded me of Navy!  We taught some of our "mas o menos" friends throughout the day until English!  We had a really good English Class!  One of the referrals that we had received named Moises came!  After the English class, we had a spiritual thought, and he gave one of the best testimonies I've ever heard!  We invited him to church and set up a time to meet with him again!  

On Friday, we talked with Elder Rushforth's infield mentor!  We talked about the importance of extending invitations and helping our friends keep those commitments; after teaching a couple people, I got one of the worst bloody noses I have ever gotten!  We had to run to Foodmax to find some tissues!  Blood was getting all over my shirt!  It looked like I had just gotten hit, but I was fine haha;  the bathroom inside of the store of course didn't have any toilet paper so we had to go and buy some; overall it was a pretty interesting experience; after, we taught Carlos about the first of restoration and the nature of God, the importance of prophets and the Priesthood, Jesus Christ's church, and the Apostasy; we'll probably have to reteach it to help him further understand, we ended the night with Sport Night! 

On Saturday, we began by teaching Alexandra about the Doctrine of Christ and read from 2 Nephi 31!  We talked about the importance of covenants and how we renew our covenants through the Sacrament!  After getting rejected by a couple people haha, we talked with the Sisters' recent convert, Juventino, about crypto, his experience as a member so far and soccer, of course!  He's an amazing guy and we've become really good friends with him!  After, we had to head over to the Esquivels to give Sister Esquivel a blessing since she was pretty sick; she gave us some orange juice after, which was awesome!  After, we visited Carlos and explained to him the story of Joseph Smith again; he's from Honduras and not gonna lie, his Spanish was really hard to understand haha! He's really good and is genuinely interested in learning more! After, we taught Carlos Rivas about the Fall of Adam and Eve and read through 2 Nephi 2 with him!  We explained to him the importance of the Premortal life, the fall of Adam and Eve, and how Christ and his Atonement helps us overcome both spiritual and physical death!  It can be a pretty hard concept to understand at first, so we tried and explained it as simply as possible!  Hopefully, he can continue to read through the Book of Mormon!  The night ended by a couple lessons and contacts falling through unfortunately 😔. 

We had a really good Sunday!  Alexandra, her kids, Moises, Edmond, Jesus, and a couple other of our friends came to church!   During the first hour, Alexandra's kids were out of control during the class haha, so we took them out and showed a video of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and read from Alma 32 to help her better understand the importance of Faith!  After church, we had a really good lesson with Moises! We explained to him some of the principle beliefs of the church, read from the Book of Mormon and explained to him the importance of the Atonement and the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ's in our lives!  We also testified of the importance of prayer!  He understood what we were saying really well and was so excited to continue learning!  After, we went to one of the Sisters' friends to give him a blessing!  He had hurt his back at his work and was in pretty serious pain!  I was able to give him a blessing and help him find some relief! After a couple other contacts, we ended the day with Night Church!  

On Monday we had Interviews; it was pretty good!  I expressed my desire to serve with Elder Isaacson and figured out plans for my return date!  To be able to make it home for school, I'll have to come home a transfer early!  So, my return date is July 23rd which I'm pretty excited about!  After our interview, we had our comp. study with the Zls and the Stls which was kind of a waste of time, but it is what it is haha! Elder Rushforth had been pretty sick the whole entire day, so we had to stay home and let him rest; luckily, I never get sick, so I just planned our week for us as he rested!  He was able to make it to Noche de Hogar, luckily!  Alexandra and her family came which was really good!  The lesson was about the restoration, keeping the commandments, and the importance of helping others!  She was able to give insight during the lesson as well which was really cool to see!   She also got to meet the bishop and a couple other of the members in the ward!  

On Tuesday, we really didn't have much success haha; it really was just one of those days!  We were able to meet with Alexandra and Carlos Rivas though!  We began teaching Alexandra about the commandments, began with the 10 commandments (read from Mosiah 13) and the two great commandments (read from Mathew 22: 35-40)!  It was a super good lesson and the Spirit was strong!  We then taught Carlos Rivas about the Doctrine of Christ and read from 2 Nephi 31 with him!  We also explained how the Atonement of Christ makes the doctrine of Christ possible!  We ended the night with Missionary Correlation Meeting!       

-Elder Copeland