Dear the always wonderful Irvine family,
I just sent off a package full of old letters and stuff from the MTC that also has a CD with a ton of pictures on it...so they're coming eventually. I sent it last p-day (last Monday). Y'all should be getting it soon...hopefully by parcel post. Whatever that means. Thunderstorms? You never hear thunder nor see lightning ever out here in California...it's kinda weird. It's just super dry here. And I'm pumped about the Celtics taking the championship, they just have to fend off the Lakers for two more games, just need one more! So many Lakers fans out here and I am proud to say I'm from the East Coast- Go Celtics! I'm hoping that Ray Allen, KG and #34 Paul Pierce get their championship rings. I heard (via hotline call TELL ME where it's free to get sports info over the phone) that the Celtics lost...but it's 3-2. Celtics still have a chance to seal it off. Yes! I don't like Kobe for his attitude and all the hype he gets, no one can ever be MJ.
And just a plea from the elder! May I please have a cell phone out here? We are always out and about, and sometimes it'd be really nice to have a cell phone. I won't use many minutes a month, just for setting up member presents on the go...seeing if people are home (potential investigators) and knowing about canceled appointments right when things come up...it'd be SUCH a luxury to have! I'll have to talk to President about it, but it'd really help! No texting or Internet is allowed, and I don't need it anyways. I just need a cell phone to use so we can operate more freely, cuz it's a lot of miles to go back and forth to see if someone canceled or if something happened...Can you please think about it...and get me one? Please? Pretty please? It'd help out a lot here! I'll send money from MSF card back home so you don't have to worry about it...it'd be a valuable asset here on the go.
This coming week is going to be HOT. Real hot. Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be 105 degrees Fahrenheit, and the rest of the week will be about 85 and maybe a 95 somewhere in there. Not looking forward to stepping outside, but then again I'm in a car area. Not too hard.
I'm starting to get to know the members here in this ward. They live all over the darn place, and it takes a while to get from one house in Panorama City through traffic all the way down to NoHo (North Hollywood). Traffic really stinks down here. It's really funny because the Valley is just one huge city. One big suburb, with some ghettos here and there. But back when, it used to be separate cities. Northridge had the citrus trees, some other place had milk, that farm atmosphere. But, it's all changed. The members here say it's way too crowded, and I feel that way too. I really enjoy English work because I feel more at home and more among family, but the work is really tough. A lot of potential investigators but no progressing investigators. People are so busy here it makes life difficult for a missionary.
News flash: Elder Irvine is NOT from the Phillipines so NO he does NOT speak Tagalog. Nor does he speak Korean or Japanese, just English and Spanish. Weird, eh?
I'm the newest Filipino in the ward now. Isn't that interesting? I get a new nationality everywhere I go! Chinito, Filipino, what's next?
One of the members, Brother Ballard (who is in a wheelchair), told us a hilarious Canada joke. He asked us how Canada got their name, what the heck is Canada? So Canadians gathered 'round a hat with letters in it. First one picks a letter, 'C, eh?'. Then, 'N, eh?' then 'D, eh?'. I died of laughter cuz there are a few Canadian missionaries down here.
This past week was a blur, but the highlights! The Ultimate Highlight brought to you by: The Church of...just kidding.
Friday night we found out we needed to pull off an emergency move of an excommunicated member (there's a lot of them out here!) the following day, so we got our district and Erickson got a member from the Mission Hills ward to help us out. We get to the trailer park, and it was straight up disgusting. Can't go into detail of how nasty it was. That was an eye-opening experience. So we got some of their stuff moved out into a U-Haul truck and left them to their own business. We got back, showered for a while (it was really disgusting) and threw our clothes in the washer and dryer in the complex. We went to the bishop to tell the grim news and he wasn't surprised. He didn't know about the conditions and all, but he's dealt with that stuff before. So the only thing I can say is that we'll probably have to get the government involved and clear it all out. That kind of disgusting. It was an interesting day to say the least. We ended our Saturday with a very fun time with a less active couple, the Smiths. We quoted movies, ate hot dogs and chips, talked about our hobbies, passions, interests, our backgrounds, and we really hit it off with them. The wife is a Polish convert, and the husband is an RM who served in her branch. She got baptized, he met her when he was transferred there, and then they wrote each other when he got home...long story... but they got married after a long time because to marry a Polish citizen, one must have government permission. But they're awesome! Just use the excuse, 'we're not fellowshipped' when they have been. We have that problem here. So the wife loves Jane Austen stuff, so we got along very well. Erickson loves that so much more than me, so he was naming this and that...I was lost. We had a great time with them, and I feel that we'll get them back to church more regularly. They came the past two weeks!
Sunday was great! I wasn't feeling great at all, just a bit under the weather for some odd reason, but I decided to go to church to learn. I've closed my mind sometimes because I felt in Spanish work that the members go through the motions (they do a lot but not all the time) and I got sick of it. But, when I put my effort into learning, I learned a lot. About prayer. About the importance of uplifting music. About the priesthood and my covenant with the Lord. I learned that we should ALWAYS have a prayer in our hearts, since a lot of scriptures say 'pray always' and 'keep a prayer in your hearts'...so now I am starting to understand it a lot more. I really felt the Spirit, I felt great, and it really made a great day! We left church to bless Bro. Ballard's wife, who was super sick. She had a hoarse voice and it hurt a lot...it was sad to see her in a lot of pain. But, we gave her a blessing, and I was grateful that Bro. Ballard asked us to do that for him and his wife. They trusted us right off the bat, and that's not easy here in English work. We then went to eat sopes (so-pays) at Jessica's (she's crazy!) and off to work! We talked to so many people, so many Latinos, and I felt good. I never realized the importance of opening my mouth to preach the Gospel to everyone. Yeah, contacting is rough, awkward sometimes. But, it's necessary to get over shyness and speak. Erickson showed me the example, and I followed him. We were able to talk to a lot of people, and hopefully someday they'll be an Alberto or Yadira Cardenas. Alberto was stopped countless times in the street, only to refuse the missionaries. Five years later...he accepted baptism. I am just beginning to realize the greatness of this work, of doing the little things to find the elect.
We have a good investigator, but is in a rough spot. Mike Price used to play football, and now he's retired and trying to start his own business...but it's rough with the economic downturn. And, he's living with one of our less active members who wants to kick him out. So we don't know what's going to happen...but he is applying what he learns to his life. He is trying to live Alma 32 about faith and knowing that this is good. He feels good doing these things we invite him to do. We know he's ready, but he just needs a push to go to church and to move out. We'll have to consult the Lord to see what we specifically need to do for him. But, he's our best shot at a baptism. I'm really hoping it'll all go well.
One other investigator, Joy, got a job that works her on Sundays so we're going to see how we can fix that problem, or help her fix it (much easier isn't it?). But, I really think if we get over this hurdle, she'll be baptized. She has so much faith, wants to believe, she's been to church since January...she just needs an answer to her prayers and to take that step of no work on Sunday. We'll see what happens.
This ward is so diverse...we have all kinds of nationalities, and backgrounds. But the Gospel is the same...and I love it. The Church is restored, and truly exists in our day. It bridges anger and differences, and really blesses us with peace and with many countless blessings.
I love this work! I love this ward! I'm getting to know people slowly, and it's really helping me feel better about English work.
Think about the cell phone, it'd be really nice to have (HINT HINT!). You know I wouldn't be asking a favor if it weren't important...would I? Thanks for being considerate! Do whatever is right...I just have my opinions!
I love you all, and stay safe!
Love,
Spencer
No comments:
Post a Comment