We had an interesting P day today. We found out that Tony, our close friend from Greenfield, was in the hospital preparing for heart surgery. Apparently, his family has a history of heart issues. Elder Isaacson and I decided to visit him in the hospital in Salinas. He was so happy to see us, and we were able to catch up and talk for a while. His son was there, too, so we introduced ourselves. Tony mentioned he was having open-heart surgery the following Monday. We did our best to calm his nerves and offer support, and we also gave his son a blessing of comfort. He isn't a member, but he has a basic belief in Christianity. Hopefully, he will speak with the missionaries one day and learn more about the restored Gospel. After visiting Tony, we went shopping and tidied up our apartment. We also checked in with our families. We ended the night by visiting the Lepe Martinez family. It was Juanito's birthday, so we brought him a cake and Oreos. He was very grateful! While we were talking, Martha suddenly asked us, "What comes next after being baptized?" Elder Isaacson and I were surprised! We explained the Gift of the Holy Ghost, callings, and the Temple. It was a great sign because it shows she's been thinking about it. We invited her to pray about the 25th of May. Hopefully, she continues to progress!
On Thursday, we started the day by watching the weekly morning devotional. Afterward, we tried to visit a few friends, but no one was home. After finishing weekly planning and taking the Sister missionaries out to lunch, we met some people at an imagination camp located 10 minutes outside of Hollister. During picking season, many immigrants come from South America to work in the fields. They live in temporary housing during the season and then leave and return homes when the season is over. Later, we did a service project at Sister Cruz's house. Her lawn was overgrown, so we weed-whacked it. The weed-whacker wasn't great, but it got the job done. Arturo helped us, and we got to know him better. He used to be a butcher in Mexico and still has family there who do it. I never realized how much work it is to butcher animals! He showed us some videos of his cousin cutting up a hog's head. We ended the night cleaning up the yard and contacting a few friends.
On Friday, we quickly taught our friend Erika about the Atonement and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We also told her about the Easter service this Sunday. Afterward, we knocked on doors. We spoke with a lady named Diana about the Book of Mormon and our purpose as missionaries. She was very nice but couldn't make it to church. She had just given birth three days earlier but was cleaning and cooking like nothing had happened! she was a strong lady! After lunch, we visited a trailer park home in the fields. We didn't find anyone, but we had a good conversation with a former member of the Church. We didn't ask why she left but reassured her that she mattered to us and that we would always be there for her. Hopefully, we left a good impression. After getting gas and knocking on a street, we spoke with a nice lady and some funny guys who were working. Later, we visited Veronica and Javier. Javier was tending to the sheep and farm animals, so we walked around with him. We shared Mosiah 16:7-9 with him and testified of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the blessings of following the Gospel. We invited him to church, and he said he would come! After talking to Javier, we visited Perla and Mitchell and invited them to church. Perla had questions about the Resurrection and whether we are Resurrected here or in Heaven. We explained the spirit world, the Second Coming, and the Kingdoms of Glory, especially the Celestial Kingdom, and shared resources about the Plan of Salvation. Hopefully, she can come, but she struggles with crowds and leaving home. After dinner, we had a late lesson with Diego about the Fall of Adam and the importance of the Atonement. Diego is awesome!
On Saturday, we went to the Temple to do an endowment session with Elder Isaacson's recent convert, Marianne. She was going through the Temple for the first time, having been taught and baptized by Elder Isaacson, Elder Pepper, and Elder Smith over a year ago. She was super cool and really enjoyed it! I was happy to see her go through. Afterward, we took some pictures. I even saw Mitch, Bishop Welch's stepson from the Watsonville ward where I served almost a year and a half ago! It was good catching up with him. I've been on a mission for so long! It reminded me of my time in Watsonville with Elder Empey and Elder Johnson. After returning from Oakland, we taught our friend Daniel about the Restoration and the story of Joseph Smith. We read through Joseph Smith History to help him understand it better. Halfway through the lesson, President Larson called and invited us to dinner the following Sunday! He said we were wrapping up our missions and he wanted to spend time with us before we headed home. He felt inspired to invite us after talking to Elder Bednar. Elder Isaacson and I were confused but accepted. We don't know what he's going to say, but hopefully, it's not about splitting us up or making us Zone Leaders! After a couple more contacts, we ended the night by visiting the Lepe Martinez family and reading Mormon 9 with them. It's an amazing chapter about the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ that I'm going to share more often!
Sunday was Easter! We had a great service, and many of our friends came, including the Lepe Martinez family, Juan and Dora, Daniel, Eddy, and Javier! I was stoked to see Javier there! We've been trying to get him to come for a while. Veronica couldn't make it, but we'll try again next Sunday. Overall, it was a really good service! Diego came looking sharp, having bought a white shirt, pants, and a tie for a Sunday outfit. It's cool to see how fast he's progressing! There was a lot of music, and a member of the first ward gave a good talk. After the service, we had a Linger longer and talked to the members and friends who came. We went back to the apartment and took it easy, not wanting to bother anyone celebrating Easter with their families. It was my dad's birthday, so I called him. I'm so grateful for my dad and everything he's done for me. He's my biggest role model and the best example for me! We ended the day by visiting some less active members of the branch.
On Monday, we began the day by having Zone Council! I've been out here so long so I don't really gain much out of them anymore; it's still always good to go! After Zone Council, we had district council which was actually really good! We looked back at our Mission Call openings, and we reflected on the experiences we've had out here! I explained how at first when I received my call, I was pretty devastated. I really did not want to go to California and honestly a mission for many reasons! But looking back at my mission, I completely understand why I had to come to California and a mission in General! The mission has taught me so many life lessons and it has allowed me to meet and experience new cultures and people! The mission definitely hasn't been the best years of my life but it definitely has been the best change in my life! After District Council and getting lunch, we headed back to Hollister to finish off the day! We tried knocking on a bunch of doors but nobody was home; however, we were able to talk to a nice lady named Irma! Apparently, she has talked to the missionaries a bunch in the past but didn't really have any time to continue meeting with them; she even knew about the story of Joseph Smith! We invited her to read the Book of Mormon again and meet with us again! Maybe this time around with us she will be able to progress! The best and honestly only way a person can progress is if they have the desire to go to church and learn! After a couple more contacts, we visited Juan and Dora! They had brought a bowl of fruit to the Linger Longer the day before and they had left it so we brought it over to them! We talked with them for a minute and checked up with them! They let us know that they had dinner with a member of the branch named Arturo the following Wednesday! Apparently, they were going to talk about the Gospel as well! Pretty awesome that we have members of the branch reaching out to our progressing friends and helping with the missionary efforts as well! Juan and Dora have so much potential! We just have to keep working with them and hope and pray they can get baptized on May 18th! After Juan and Dora, we went over to teach Laura Gladys with Hermana Kratzer! We went over the spirit world, the resurrection and judgement, and the Celestial Kingdom! We explained to her exaltation and how the way we gain the celestial kingdom is by following the Doctrine of Christ and making Covenants! She's still being pretty stubborn and saying that she believes there isn't one true church! We bore out testimonies on the Book of Mormon and how spirit and reading and studying the Book of Mormon and the Gospel is the way one can be converted! I bore a pretty strong testimony on the necessity of doing so! Lets hope she can eventually act upon her faith and do the spiritual work that is required for conversion! To end the night, we went and tried to contact a couple people, but nobody was home!
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