We spent a whole week in Oxnard, and now we can write a really full letter home about what we are doing and how life is going here in California. Larry really loves it here, and for me, it feels so much like where I grew up. I am LOVING California! We are very happy on this mission.
First of all, this mission is night-and-day different from our Bogota temple mission. Yes, we do speak Spanish, but only with the older members. The youth and their parents grew up in California going to school, and they are actually more comfortable with English. So I'm still spending an hour a day learning Spanish, but when I lapse into English, the people here understand. There are 8 zones or stakes here in our mission, and each one of them has about 1500 members, of which only about 100 speak Spanish and meet in their own little groups. Dad and I are assigned to two of those groups, so we work with around 100-200 Spanish speaking members of the church.
This week, we spent our mornings, trying to get internet set up, grocery shopping, getting prescriptions, etc. But when we got some free time, we explored the beach (beautiful and chilly), a park with an amazing view (Ventura), the Navy Seabee Museum, the San Buenaventura mission, and the Ventura County history museum. We are learning so much about the area. We try to do laundry and cleaning on Monday, preparation day. We know where to go to volunteer when we return from grandpa's funeral. My father died on November 1, 2022, not unexpectedly and with a final phone call from me. It was a special day to know that he could rest. Our days have just the right balance of work and rest.
In the evenings, we have meetings with members. On Tuesday, we met Carlos, and Larry helped explain to him that he can still come to church and feel accepted when he uses curse words. It was a cute discussion. Carlos is such a sweet man. Then, on Wednesday, we met Francisco (or Fran). We learned that he is related to about a fourth of the members in Oxnard and he is really sweet, too. Larry helped explain to him in Spanish that he doesn't have to feel bad about working on Sunday and that we can have the sacrament with him later. The people here work SO hard, early in the mornings, most days every week, or the night shift. They need to feel loved and accepted. Loving them is a great part of our mission! On Thursday, we met Everardo. He loves coming to church, but his wife and six children are very upset that he comes. So we told him we love him, and we would pray for all of them. That's a tough one. (All in Spanish.) Mostly I would say the opening prayer and then a phrase or two like, "You look pretty" or "It's a nice day." Dad does the heavy-duty stuff. Then Friday we went to a Day of the Dead celebration, and I put a cell phone photo of grandpa on the table for ancestors. Carmella taught me that dying on Dia de Los Muertos is a beautiful thing, and that's when grandpa died. Pretty cool!
Our weekends are crazy! On Saturday, we cleaned the building, then we were witnesses at a baptism in which the boy was someone who my nephew Chase taught. Chase blessed him in Spanish and it was beautiful. The man in charge called us the "Waterfords" as so often happens. The boy who was baptized was crying and I asked Larry to help him, but he said he was crying because he was so happy. Precious! Then, Larry and I decided to go on a date, and I found a Mexican grill. But Larry said it sounded too "hoity toity" with its locally grown organic veggies and tofu. I said, "Welcome to California!" We're not in Wyoming anymore. That night we had a church meeting, then another the next morning. After the meeting, we had a potluck with some of the Spanish speaking members at their home. This was a $1 million home in Camarillo. It was nice. The father does not speak English, but he is an amazing artist, and he has been very successful. One guest had a persimmon tree, and I ate 4 persimmons. Just like when I was a girl.
