For P-day, we had to wake up early and help Sister Nosack pack her things up; she was going home early to serve as service missionary! I know she'll be great at that, and we hope the best for her! It was a very difficult situation, a lot even I didn't know about, but hopefully everything gets a little better for everyone! After working out and talking with our families, we headed up to Gilroy to hit some golf balls with Elder Rushforth and Elder Astle; we went to the range that we had gone to at the start of last transfer! After, we made a stop at Sonic and then headed back to Hollister to talk to our families at the church!
We were also able to visit with Dora and talk to her about her baptism! Juan was supposed to come but he wasn't able to since he had gotten off work late and was tired! We talked a little bit about how job searching is going, her family and her story! She explained to us her life story and how while one day while working at her job, she was praying and seeking guidance from God! Apparently while doing so, a Dove hit her window and apparently stared at her! At this moment, Dora knew that she needed to make more time for God and find a church! So, from her point of view, God sent a dove towards Dora as a sign! Now I don't know if it was God or not, but it helped her find us eventually, so we'll take it! Dora is so awesome and has such a strong testimony of the gospel and in the Savior! She has come such a long way since I've entered Hollister, and I'm so grateful I've been able to help her progress! We expressed our gratitude and love we had for her, and she felt the same! We explained to her the temple, endowment, and eternal marriage! We are going to try and get Juan progressing faster! We explained to her that we want to help Juan get baptized so that he can receive the same blessings that we have received! She said she'll talk to him while they go up to Los Angeles this week to visit her family! We are going to try and get him baptized before Elder Isaacson leaves so that he can receive the peace and joy that comes from the gospel, which Dora told us he needs more of!
Thursday me and Elder Isaacson were very sick; we've been sick for a while but today was especially bad. We spent the whole day resting and cleaning up the whole apartment! Since the Elders had moved out the day before (and the apartment had never been cleaned properly since missionaries are the dirtiest people I know), the apartment was pretty gross! I dusted, cleaned, and organized the whole apartment! I also got the bathroom clean for the first time in probably years 🤣; we also had to clean the car for Zone Conference the following day! Overall, super slow day but ooh well! We were just trying to heal up and get better for the rest of the week! Gabino also sent me a text saying that he was giving a talk at church the following Sunday which made me super happy! He is the best!
On Friday, we woke up super early so that we could work out, get ready, and head up to Salinas for Zone Conference! It was an ok Zone Conference! We talked about teaching and relying on the Spirit! A sister missionary made a comment I didn't like about how only "members of the church" carry the Spirit with them and that's why it's so important we keep our covenants while around those not of our religion! It was the MOST judgmental and untrue thing I've ever heard! As long as you're a good person, avoid sin, and do your best you can have the Spirit with you! Another Elder talked about how we have to pray first when teaching someone so that the Spirit can be brought! He basically was saying that out friends shouldn't pray with us to begin with since we have the "Spirit" and they don't! I was pretty fumed during the whole thing! Too many missionaries have the "holier than though attitude" because we're right and everyone else is wrong! Just because someone isn't part of our creed of Christianity doesn't mean that they aren't good disciples of Jesus Christ! A lot of the missionaries view people in such a bad way! They view them as misguided and wrong just because they have different beliefs than us! It's so WRONG! I have a testimony of the church, and I know the church is true, but I'll never put myself above others just because I have a different belief than them! I'm simply here to serve those who are in need and help those who are interested learning more about our Church! I'll never go robot mode and pretend to be someone I'm not! I'll always be myself and have genuine conversations with those around me! I am NOT here to Preach or teach the gospel! I'm here to share the gospel and help others understand what we believe in, listen to what others believe in as well, and invite others to find out for themselves! I could write a whole book on this!
Anyways, we finished the rest of the Zone Conference where we talked about using Preach My Gospel, the importance of carrying the Spirit with us as missionaries, and repentance! President Larson always gives very insightful and detailed trainings which I'm very grateful for! You can definitely tell and feel that President Keys is over us as missionaries! Also, I think missionaries way overthink what the Spirit is and isn't! At times, we'll question ourselves on whether or not it's the Spirit talking or if it's ourselves! One thing I've learned on my mission is too not OVERCOMPLICATE it! If it's good, it comes from God! I always love using Moroni 7 (it's a really good chapter)! We don't need to be praying every 5 minutes! Prayer, of course, is something good, but if you have to pray about every little thing, you are not putting your trust and faith in God! Don't overthink it and just do it!
Anyways, after, we went to the 7-11 gas station in Salinas and got In 'n Out with Elder Astle and Elder Rushforth! We talked for a while about our thoughts and feelings on Zone Conference! We're gonna go the Pinnacles with them the following Wednesdays! After, we left Salinas and headed back to Hollister to begin the day! We drove the backway up the mountains, and we saw some pretty good views! California definitely has a lot of natural beauty!
After navigating the windy backroad roads, we headed back to Hollister to begin the day! We came back and had to finish cleaning up the apartment before it gets shut down soon! After, we went and visited a couple people and had a really good lesson with Veronica! We just had a casual conversation about eating random food and how she once ate iguana while in Mexico haha!
After, we talked about how our church does humanitarian aid and how the church is centered on serving and helping others! We explained the Law of Tithing and the blessings that came from sacrificing 10 percent of what we earned! We went over how the gospel changes the way we act, think, and behave and how a positive lifestyle change comes from the gospel! We bore our testimony of the Doctrine of Christ and how we know it to be true! We also shared Dora's story and how God communicates with us! Gave her a physical copy of the Book of Mormon and marked Alma 32 for her to read! It was a good lesson and me and Elder Isaacson taught her the right way (by being genuine people, getting to know them, and showing them that you care for them, finding out what interests them, etc., and then applying the gospel to their lives). If you go straight into teaching/preaching mode, you'll never have success as a missionary haha! You need to have genuine conversations with the person you are talking too! We are not here to preach and teach the gospel but instead, share the gospel and have genuine conversations with others! I have a lot of thoughts about this haha! We ended the night with a couple contacts!
Saturday and Sunday were both pretty slow days; we visited a referral named Oscar Garcia! He just recently moved here from Oaxaca and is looking for a church to join! He seemed interested and was super nice to us! For these past couple of days, we weren't able to get much done; we visited the Lepez family and helped them fix their drying machine! We visited Perla and Mitchell and invited them to church but of course, they didn't come! Only Eddie and Daniel were able to come to church! It was good to see Daniel again! It had been a while since he had come, and he enjoyed the service! We had lost contact with him for a while since his old phone stopped working; however, when he got his new number, he reached out to us, and we were able to get back into contact with them! During second hour, we talked about the Priesthood, Priesthood ordinances, and covenants! We talked with him and Hermano Montuy after church, and he told us he's interested in getting baptized! We still have to help him understand the teachings of the church better but for the first time since meeting with him I can actually see him getting baptized (maybe). Juan and Dora weren't able to come since they were in Los Angeles visiting their family and Diego was pretty sick today! Something's going around because everyone is getting sick, including us; the rest of the Sunday was pretty slow and laid back, but we were able to go up to Freemont peak and see the sunset! It's only about a 100-yard hike straight up hill but the view was gorgeous! It made me appreciate God's creations even more! Gabino also let me know that he was able to go up to the temple for the first time with members of the ward over in Las Colinas! I was super stoked to see the photos he sent me and how well he was doing! Gabino is seriously the best and I'm so proud of him!
On Monday we had District Council! We talked about sacrifice and the blessings that come from sacrifices! My favorite saying for sacrifice is, "Giving up something now for something greater in the future!" I've gained a strong testimony on sacrifice during the mission! It also makes me appreciate the sacrifices my family have made for me! I'm so grateful for them and I'm so blessed to have all of them in my life! Sacrifice also helps us to understand the importance of the Atonement since it's the largest sacrifice ever given by anyone! The soldiers who died for us, the pioneers who crossed the plains, the leaders of the church, etc., have sacrificed and given us so much! Because of the sacrifices of others, I have all that I have! I'm very grateful for the sacrifices of others that have blessed me and shaped me into the person I am today! I hope that my sacrifice as a missionary and spending the time I am as a missionary allows me to serve and help others while also allowing me to become a better person!
We also got a picture in front of a Patriotic mural since it was Memorial Day! The rest of the day was pretty slow since it was Memorial Day and no one was home or wanting to talk!
We went to Lupita's Market and found a couple people! We talked with some guy named Josue for like 30 minutes haha; he kept wanting us to read and read in the Book of Mormon with him haha. We eventually had to leave.
We went over to the Kratzers and had dinner with them! Sister Kratzer had gone and visited Erika that morning and tried to invite her to dinner/talk to her; she talked to her son instead! She said her son was very kind but that she wasn't willing to talk to any of us anymore because of the Law of Tithing! We are still pretty sad about Erika, but we did all we could with her! Hopefully down the line she can come back into contact with the missionaries! The gospel would bless her life so much! It's gonna sting for a while! We ended the night by finishing with a couple contacts!
On Tuesday, we began teaching and finding some new friends! We were also able to meet with Daniel and have a really good lesson! We explained to him the Kingdoms of Glory and how we better understand the concept of "Heaven and Hell" because of the Scriptures and modern revelation! He agreed with what we were teaching, and he had even heard about this concept before! After, we went over the baptismal interview questions to see how he felt about being baptized potentially! He was good on all the commandments and agreed with all the questions we asked him except Joseph Smith; he's still not entirely sure if he has a testimony of the Prophet Jospeh Smith and his story! We bore our testimonies on the importance of reading and praying about the Book of Mormon to gain a testimony of Joseph Smith! It's the reason I have a testimony in Joseph Smith! The Book of Mormon is the MOST important tool for conversion! Since he had a little more time, we read from 3 Nephi 27 since it's one of my favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon! Every time he's able to meet with us and read the Book of Mormon, he definitely feels a special type of the spirit he doesn't feel anywhere else! Daniel is very well read in the scriptures, and he understands the doctrine very well! After, he explained to us how he felt that he still needed to get closer to God, so we went over covenants with him and invited him to be baptized June 7th! He accepted and he seemed genuinely excited about getting baptized! Daniel has really warmed up to the church and he's going to be a fantastic member of the church! We just have to help him further understand Joseph Smith so that he can have a firmer testimony in him! Pray for Daniel and pray that he progresses! He really needs this in his life! After Daniel, we went and visited an inactive member of the Branch named Juan; he was pretty drunk outside of his home but we talked to him a while; he was pretty hard to understand since he was talking so fast and he was drunk, but we helped him understand how all of us are children of God and how we are equal towards him! He loves reading in the scriptures, so we opened the Book of Mormon with him! To end the night, we visited a couple more people and taught English Class! Dora was able to come, which was amazing! She is seriously so cool! She had even gone and helped the sister missionaries teach a lesson the day prior! I love Dora! We are going to try and meet up with her and Juan soon! Elder Copeland
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