#DATES
Hey!
Seriously, this whole concept of time thing is getting really annoying. I really never feel that a couple of hours has gone by, let alone an entire week. I was looking at a calendar of the next month, and seeing how fast it will probably go... Scary stuff. But, you just gotta square up and hit!
SUPER WEIRD TO THINK YOU GOT MY FLIGHT PLANS. I knew I would be flying like all day. Airports freak me out right now. But it'll be chill. Cool to hear that Lachlyn got a call back! I do know the song, and I think it's great for her! Also, I saw that Elder Trump was in your Branch, and laughed about it. Also, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY HUDSON. Sorry I am terrible and forgot to say anything last week. My bad. I'll just school him at Madden when I get home anyways.
Hmm... YSA Conference... When are we leaving for the west coast?
My week has been pretty awesome.
Monday. We went mini-golfing again. That was fun. Had dinner with Brother Rust, and then we had to decide on some changes we were going to make to our monthly report that we give to the Stake Presidency.
Tuesday. In the morning we had to actually make the changes to the report. We pretty much just scrapped the old one and made a new one! It looks way good. Went and tried to see some people in the afternoon, and had dinner with Bishop Merrill and his family! I love them. They just had a missionary leave for England, and Sister Merrill had gotten her first missionary email that day! She was ECSTATIC. It was funny. After that, we had a lesson with Alex and James. It was such a neat lesson! We taught the first half of the Plan of Salvation, and then they both accepted baptismal dates of April 29th! Alex is really gung-ho about it. Not sure with James, but he is gaining momentum! We just need to get him to church.
Wednesday. We went and tried seeing some people in the morning. It was raining pretty good. But, still tried nonetheless. We were given an assignment for Zone Conference tomorrow, and we were trying to decide what to do for it. So we went to the family history center and tried to find some things that we could read and study in order to prepare. It's on becoming consecrated servants of Jesus Christ. That took up a good chunk of our day. Had dinner with the Herbaugh's that night!
Thursday. We did our Weekly Planning Session, and that went well. We were assigned to give a musical number in the District Meeting we were going to the next day, and we decided that I would play a piece on the piano. You may be surprised to see how much I have improved.... :) It took me about 45 minutes to basically memorize We'll Bring the World His Truth, and I smashed a bunch of songs together to make a 7 minute medley. Sounded pretty good actually. That was tons of fun! Had another appointment with Alex and James, and we taught the second half of the Plan of Salvation. They loved it! She started listening to the scriptures last week. On Tuesday she had read to 1 Nephi 4. By Thursday she had read to 1 Nephi 11. And, she also listens to each chapter 2 or 3 times, in order to understand them.... It's insanely amazing. She is the perfect investigator! Very in tune with the Spirit. Had a lesson that night with Patrick, and talked about forgiveness and strength through the Atonement and fasting. It was a beautiful lesson, and you could tell that he felt the Spirit very strongly.
Friday. Had District Meeting in Santa Maria, and my song went well. Went tracting for a little bit, no real "success" there. Had a lesson with Cruz, and we taught the first half of the Plan of Salvation as best as we could! It could have been a little more of a focused teaching environment, but it was still a great lesson :) Had dinner with the Petrusky's, and they were awesome! And then went to a baptism in Santa Maria. That night, we had Elder Judkins and Elder Gardiner over for exchanges!
Saturday. What a day. I was with Elder Gardiner, and we were covering half of our area. It was fun! We went and tried to see some former investigators, and then spent a loooong time tracting. We actually ended up giving six different people a copy of the Book of Mormon, and found seven people who have potential to become investigators! It was so sweet to experience the Lord putting us in the right place at the right time. Had dinner again with Brother Rust, and yeah. Good times!
Sunday. It was a good fast and testimony meeting. Nothing much really happened today, we had to get things figured out for our Zone Conference presentation! Had dinner with the Hursts, and then we were able to give a member a blessing!
I am beyond excited to watch General Conference this weekend! It's funny, my first Conference as a missionary was in Santa Maria, and so will my last one! I was reading this morning from last conference, the talk by Elder Nattress. He says this:
"One of the most incredible events in human history is the Savior’s ministering visit to the ancient inhabitants of America. Visualize in your mind what it would be like to have been there. As I have pondered His loving and tender care of that band of Saints gathered at the temple, I have reflected on individual children whom I love more than life itself. I have tried to conceive of how I would feel to behold our little ones, to personally witness the Savior inviting each child to come unto Him, to witness the Savior’s outstretched arms, to stand by as each child, one by one, gently feels the prints in His hands and in His feet, and then to see each of them stand and bear record that He lives! To have our children turn and say, “Mom, Dad, it’s Him!”
It touched my heart for some reason. I felt like I should share it. Included with me sharing this, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Christ truly is our Savior. He loves us. I have felt his cleansing and enabling power as I have gone through many trials and triumphs on my mission. I can truly say that I am, at the present moment, most likely not capable of serving. I shouldn't be able to walk as much as I do, work as much as I do. This is not me finding and teaching. I cannot merit any of this outward success to myself. Mom, Dad, it's Him! I know it. I cannot doubt it. It would be selfish and frankly condemning to do so. I would not be able to do this without Him, and I am so grateful for that. I couldn't imagine doing this alone. This is His work, and I am His.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I love you all!
Love,
Elder California Harvey
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