Week 10: Camarillo

We had a beautiful week this week. Our mission is made up of eight zones, with about 18 missionaries in each zone. For Christmas, each zone was divided into two groups and each group was assigned to share thoughts and music about Christ in two special zone meetings. On Tuesday, we met with the missionaries who are serving in San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. They spoke and sang, and the love in the meeting was really beautiful. Then on Thursday, the missionaries in Camarillo, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Newbury Park did the same thing. Dad and I arrived about 2 hours early to decorate tables and help prepare lunch. Then after the meeting, we served lunch to 140 cute young missionaries. We really enjoyed getting to know them, wishing them Merry Christmas, and feeding them. 

As Dad and I were driving and talking about the conferences on Friday, Dad said to me, "I think you have more faith in Christ than you did before the mission." He's right! I began the mission with goals to serve (not easy to measure), become more outgoing, and to improve my Spanish. I didn't think about how I might come to feel as I served here, but truly, this experience touches my spirit, and I'm so grateful for that. The other blessing is that I can feel generous more easily. Dad and I spent the weekend visiting people we love, giving them copies of Dad's booklet and a Christmas ornament, telling them that we love them, and trying to remember all the ways we love the people we meet here.

To make the week exciting, we were invited for a Mexican celebration of Christmas at our friends, the Aparicio's home, and we had an amazing meat roll (hamburger rolled up with green, red, and yellow peppers, lots of cheese, then wrapped in probably 50 pieces of bacon and baked. When we got to the home, we saw that the door was wide open, and we felt so welcome, knowing that the Aparicios would leave the door open for us. But as the evening grew cold, they kept trying to close the door and the smoke from the meat roll would trigger the smoke alarm, thus causing them to open the door again. We had so much fun trying not to laugh and to eat that thing! 

When we went to church on Sunday, the choir director had prepared a copy of the music for O Holy Night and O Come, O Come Emmanuel for each of us. We sang those two songs together like a choir, and I loved the experience and the music. Those are beautiful songs that we don't usually sing at church. It was a special day. In our other ward, too, a man created stockings for each of us with our names on them and the name of the ward on the back. We were treated like kings that day and it was very fun!

Week 9: Camarillo

We are doing well. This week, Elder Weatherford and I had a few meetings to attend. We enjoy them. However, at the beginning of every meeting, the leaders of the Spanish groups ask (almost beg) the participants to turn off their cell phones. Then, the leaders remind people to turn off their cell phones before the sacrament prayers. Then, during the sacrament, at least one phone rings with some funky ringtone and the sound goes on and on. We just laugh a little because it's a different culture. The ward had a blood drive and I saw that no one reserved a time. I was sure that no one would come, so I went and donated, and there were a TON of people there. Again, it's a different culture because our friends never know when they will be called to work, and they can't plan their days like we can. The beauty of living in another culture is that we can learn from their willingness to work when needed and their more open and relaxed approach to life. 

We had a discouraging week in some ways. I suppose that is very typical. A few of our friends had hard times, and we felt their sadness and carried that with us. We invited a friend to come to the family history library, but we didn't realize that the man who runs the library is not mentally sound. So our friend got discouraged and had to leave. But by the end of the week, there seemed to be good news for most of our friends. Still others needed our prayers. In one family, where the grown children live with the parents and help pay the bills, two of the three cars they own have been wrecked and the family members are struggling to get to work. Yes, the drivers in California are pretty crazy! Dad has done all the driving so far, for which I am very grateful. 

Dad and I spoke again in church, this is the second time. We performed our musical number with our friends. And Dad led the music while I played the piano. AND at the end of that meeting, several people gave us big hugs with tears in their eyes. Wow! It's hard to describe the depth of this experience. We love it. One of our friends in this ward loves soccer, and so we have been following the World Cup as much as we can and we share it with him. I think we are developing a new love of soccer. The final game was a thriller!  Now Dad has a soccer-buddy.

On Monday, we went to Thousand Oaks. Besides Santa Barbara, it is probably the most wealthy of the areas in our mission. And yes, Oxnard is probably the poorest. In Thousand Oaks, there is a huge church built by a wealthy donor, and at that church, the members set up a town of Bethlehem and gave us "shekels" to spend. After we spent our shekels (pennies) on homemade bread, oil lamps, and bracelets, we went to the theater and watched a musical representation of the nativity complete with donkeys, lambs, and a baby almost as cute as Ariana (it's not possible to be as cute as Ariana). We loved it so much. We are so happy to celebrate Christmas here in California. 

Week 8: Camarillo

I would like to tell you about some of our friends. We have truly incredible friends. 

Abraham. He first met Chase Bethers in Santa Maria, a city about 100 miles north of Oxnard, where he lives now. He struggled with alcohol, and he needed help. He wasn't quite ready to quit in Santa Maria, but when he saw Chase here in Oxnard, he knew that he could have the support he needed to make a change. He gets up every morning at 4:00 to cut celery (strawberries in the spring). Some days he works until 6:30 PM. But then, he meets with Chase and Elder Larsen and often us, too, and they read with him, pray with him, and he says that their focus on Jesus Christ has helped him develop a new mindset and he has been going without alcohol for a few weeks now. (picture with blue shirt)

Abraham dropped out of school in Honduras at 3rd grade, so he doesn't write. But he wanted to give all 33 men on his crew a copy of the Book of Mormon, so he dictated his testimony to the missionaries and to us, and we wrote down everything he wanted to say. In all, 33 books!  The next day, Chase and Elder Larsen helped him give them to his crew. 

Augustin. He showed up at our church tonight and told Chase and Elder Larsen that he has walked by the church several times when no one was there and thought that if only someone were there, he could find help for his alcohol problem. So we met with him, and Abraham told him how happy he was to have Jesus Christ in his life. Augustin is going to come to the church every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday to meet with Chase and Elder Larsen, and often we will be there, too, to read and pray together and to help him find a new way of living. (no picture)

Everardo. He loves everything about coming to church. His wife and his children tell him not to come, but he loves it here, and he is patient with them. He gets up at 5:00 to maintain the grounds on a golf course 5 or 6 days a week. Such a strong man. (picture with white shirt and tie)

Felipe and Alejandro. They are 20-year-olds and we give them rides to meetings sometimes. They work long hours in a calamari factory. Alejandro offers to pay us for gas, which is incredibly generous, as they live in an apartment with 15 or 20 people. Last Friday, he left his phone in our car and we didn't notice it. We drove for about 30 minutes when it started ringing, and we finally found a way to return it to him. He was completely patient with us. (picture with two young men and me)

Rogelio. I love meeting with Rogelio because he speaks Spanish very clearly and he has a big, beautiful smile. I understand him well. He has read a lot of the Bible. He loves coming to church, and he is hoping to find an American wife. He is the only friend who I am taller than, and sometimes when we are with him, we think of Mary and the blessing (although it is not easy) of getting the shots to help with growth. (picture in white shirt and vest)

Gilberto. He was baptized three weeks ago after learning about the church for several months. He wanted to commit himself completely when he was baptized. He said that he chose this church, and he was "all in." His enthusiasm and his strength are obvious. He runs his own electric repair business. He pushes himself to learn English. His drive and courage are very impressive. 

We meet with these loving and humble men in our evening hours, and we love this part of our mission. Each one of them brings a joy and kinship to our meetings. We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to love people who are so different (and yet not really so different at all) from us. They have so much to teach us. They feel so much gratitude for the things that really matter. I feel really blessed to be someone who loves and encourages them to be their best selves. I am grateful for their great examples of hard work, of working for a better life, and of being willing to do hard things. That's one of the reasons that I truly, deeply love this mission. I hope that you can feel how much you are loved by us and by Jesus Christ, too. Before our mission, with all the daily routine of life, I almost forgot what a precious gift that love is. 

Second 3-Week Update for President Carter

Hello dear Pres. Carter,

We're doing well and hope that you and Sis. Carter are doing the same.  We pray for you both often.

In the past 3 weeks, we have given rides (to airport, or medical appts) to the following missionaries:

E. Gustafson, Hna. Valentine, Hna. Braun, Elder Nunley, E. Pickrell, Hna. Marshall

We were privileged to teach 15 lessons with the junior missionaries!  Always a highlight for us.  One particular lesson i wanted to share with you re: Abraham (who you first met in Sta. Maria, then later at an Oxnard baptism)...he is so excited about the new principles he's learning from the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, that he asked his missionaries (E. Larsen, Bethers, Rosenlund) for 33 Books of Mormon to share with his fellow 'celery field' workers!  We obtained the books and had him dictate his testimony to us 5 missionaries (he can't write) and we wrote it in the front of these precious books.  The next morning, the Elders hauled these books out to the field and distributed them with Abraham!  wow, so impressive!

I must say wrt Abraham, that i was super impressed with your memory of meeting him in Santa Maria, when he didn't even remember it himself.

We went 3 times to Catholic Charities in Ventura and helped with their food pantry and have also helped them organize a new clothing closet.  Now that we've moved to our Camarillo duplex, we will probably transfer to their OASIS services (older adults) in Camarillo.

We have spoken in the Camino Real ward Sacrament meeting (and are scheduled to do so again next week).  we also had dinner with the EQ President and his wife (Miguel & Belia Soto) to get to know them better.  Lastly, we attended an English Connect Class in Lompoc and they did a good job (4 attendees).

Week 7: Camarillo, CA

I'm supposed to write to all of you on Monday, and yes, today is Wednesday. Of course, we have had a crazy week! Last week, we took some missionaries to the Santa Barbara airport, which is beautiful. We taught several lessons. One memorable lesson was a young man who slipped up and drank way too much over the weekend. It was nice to tell him that everyone slips up and that we love him dearly. That's our message -- love. We took a couple of hours on Friday to visit the Santa Barbara aquarium, and we loved it! On Saturday night we found a really fun restaurant and ate dinner while watching the sun set. We love living here.

Our weekend was crazy! The couple we are replacing have just gone home. So our Spanish groups threw them big parties, and the people here really know how to party! First, we made tamales at a member's house. I LOVED learning how to make them. Then, we practiced our musical performance. We were singing Away in the Manger, and a man who is a professional musician was leading the music, but we sounded so bad that I could barely keep from laughing. We tried to add a junior high student who plays the flute, but he can't read notes, so his "melody" was pretty crazy! We all tried to transpose to the key of B-flat so he could play more easily. Yikes! Then, we tried to have the men sing the harmony, and that was not working. Our conductor kept making people change seats to see if the music might sound any better, but alas, no. Finally, he gave up.

Both groups had goodbye celebrations for the couple who went home. We ate at Golden Corral with some lovely members, and we had a posada feast with others, complete with a pinata. These were the choir members, and they decided to sing Feliz Navidad. They sang with all their hearts, using all sorts of noisy instruments and laughing so loud. Our conductor made them record themselves and he asked if they could hear the singing over all the maracas, tambourines, scrapey things, and other instruments. At this point, our choir is scheduled to perform Feliz Navidad and Away in the Manger next week. We shall see how it goes! Our conductor will probably have a panic attack. 

Yesterday, we moved into a new place. This one is a duplex with two bedrooms. It is beautiful. We were swamped with cleaning and moving, but everything went well, and now we are preparing to take a sick sister missionary up to see the doctor. We took a sick missionary to the LA airport on Monday to go home for treatment. His mom flew from Utah to meet him in the airport because he was too sick to fly alone. He had a positive attitude and we loved him. As he was saying goodbye, he told us that he signed on to be University of Utah's kicker when he returns from the mission, so we should watch for him. We were impressed. We had a little time in LA so we went to the Santa Monica Pier and to see the Christmas lights at the temple.