APRIL 20 - I AM 9 MONTHS OLD!

Alright some highlights of this week!

On Pday we had a district lunch in the church and we ate Korean Pasta!  It was basically ramen but better!  Ten times better than the squid leg that's for sure!!!  Elder Yi was really sad because he forgot chopsticks so Hermana Vergaray and I went on a mini quest to find us all chopsticks!   We went to Raley's and it was voted my favorite store once again!  Pulled through with some chopsticks.  It was a good surprise!  

We started off the week with a zone conference!  It was here that the entire mission received the DAP (Driver Assistance Program) box.  It is basically a black box that tracks where we are (you know just in case people leave the mission or something.... I am not the cause of this haha) and reports if you are speeding to the Mission President!!  Everyone is not happy hahaha.  We had a question and answer section and someone asked about keeping the norms with these crazy California drivers and they said, "Do what is right and you will probably have an old lady there, too".  That's what we need to hear haha.  I haven't heard mine talk to me yet though.  But ya we are being tracked and monitored for our safety now, so don't worry! 

We were riding bikes outside and stopped to talk to this guy and he wasn't very nice.  He blew cigarette smoke in my face, and then he was like "so what you girls pedaling?" and Hermana V was like "Oh only bikes". Hahahaha it was hilarious.  She is hilarious I tell you people. 

There is a family that we visit sometimes that are menos activo.  We stopped by and every time the lady (she is in her 80's probably) doesn't really want to talk to us.  And I was like this is enough!  We are going to help her!!  So we kept talking to her.  And I asked her, "When were you baptized in the church?"

Her: "Oh when I was really small, you know how it is."

Me: "Oh so like 8 years old?"

Her: "No when I was a baby."

Me: "Oh you mean in the catholic church, when you were Catholic before?  How about in this church?  The LDS church?"

Her: "I was never baptized in your church."

Me: "What? Wait! What's your name?"

Her: (name that is not in our ward list).

Me: "So (name that is on ward list) doesn't live here at all?"

Her: "No I have lived here for 2 years now."

Me: "Wait, have lots of missionaries stopped by and talked to you?"

Her: "Ya ... about every  month since I moved here!!"

Me:  "We thought you were a member of our church!"

Her: "Oh they all have thought I was a member since I moved here.  Two years of missionaries have come by.  I always tell them I am Catholic and they get sad and tell me I can't switch back.  They didn't understand that I never was a member. "

HAHAHAHA It was hilarious.  All of us for 2 years now have thought she was a member hahaha.  It was really funny!

I see the California Blue birds(sooo pretty!) all the time, and I actually got one on film.  Another one for "CALIFORNIA BIRD BINGO!" (anyone, anyone? ..... yaaa its all comin together)

I planted a new plant this week!  It was a birthday mission present to me so I was really excited!  I do love succulents!

We taught Exxxxo the Plan of Salvacion! (he is on the right, with a member on the left)  I normally never take pictures in lessons because I think that is a little weird but we seem to be good enough friends and this lesson was one of the best ones I have been in! I mean first off its the Plan of Salvation and it is just amazing.  I think it is my favorite lesson to teach.  Exxxxo really liked spirit "Exxxxo" haha.

We also have to teach our lessons outside because we can't be in houses alone with men so we were outside on his porch and it was WINDY and freezing.  We didn't have a problem with that but we were talking about death and how our body goes in the ground and our spirit to the world of the spirits and there was a gust of wind and only the little spirit bob goes flying, and I was like "ya resucito!" and Hermana V lost it haha.

 

IT WAS SO FUNNY.  I am so grateful for these experiences. 

I love this gospel it is so true.  There isn't a doubt in my mind. 

We have an investigator that is just the best!!  We met him on his first full day in the United States.  So he has been working really hard on his English.  I am super proud of how he isn't scared to just use what he knows and learn!  He is going to learn English so fast!  

If I can't have a hippie van because they are rare and expensive I have decided that second best would be a silver bullet!  Something like this.  I want it to travel the National Parks with my children!  But I would need gas money probably too haha.  That is the sweetest van ever!

We took Sxxxxxxa to the Family History center for the first time ever!  She made a family tree and then tried to find records.  IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE.  But it was really fun to try.  We aren't going to give up!

We are going to find Rxxxxxo Rxxxs Lxxxz if it kills us!!  She is from Chihuahua, MX!  So cool! 

 

I think family history work is a super good tool for missionary work, but I have never used it.  Hermana V and I are planning a Family History cultural event for the last Sunday of this transfer! We are going to invite everyone, and bring food from their cultures and do Family History Work introductions!  I am really excited!

Every Tuesday and Thursday we do some service at the local Second Harvest Food Bank!  We usually sit around giant tubs of food and sort good from bad.  It is really good to talk to other volunteers and it is just really good overall.  This week we did cabbages and I thought they were beautiful!  We sort them into bags that go out to local shelters and schools!! 

 

 

The whole crew!  (I made them all hold cabbages haha)  I love doing service!!

Manteca had a city wide do service day, so we got to help out!  We painted all the white lines on an elementary school playground and it was awesome!  I basically painted lines and remembered my childhood and then cried when I thought of education and when I saw the little cups growing plants in them.  Aaahhh I love education.  All those white lines were drawn by us haha.  

This is the week that I .... HIT 9 MONTHS OLD.  Ouch.  That is a little crazy!  It was perfect because my Awesome MOM sent me a hump-day package. hahahahahahahaha. Classic.  It was hilarious!  It came on my actual day too so it was awesome!  I am halfway there! 

Also another fun hump day surprise was we had a conference and President JARDINE TOLD US THAT IN 6-8 weeks we would have IPADS!!! I am pretty excited!!

Well got to go!  THANKS DAD  FOR YOUR EMAIL.  You make me crack up.  

TELL MOM THANKS THANKS THANKS!  Everyone at Zone Conference said they loved the eggs! 

Love you all a lot!

Love Hermana Sheffer

PSS TELL MOTHER EARTH YOU LOVE HER THIS WEEK