Monday, April 13, 2015

April 13 - Chihuahua's in sweaters.....

So this week I accidentally drove to Modesto.... I think it is a foreshadowing of things to come :)  

(NOTE FROM SONJA:  Emily is referring to the fact that chunks of the California Sacramento Mission and chunks of the Fresno mission are being made into a new mission... the California Modesto mission. This will happen July 1. Emily may get called to a "new" mission).

I was a little sidetracked driving to Ripon from Manteca (talking in Spanish on a speaker phone and driving is just too much for me), and just kept going and never exited.  It was really funny because I noticed what I had done, and I couldn't turn around on the freeway and then I saw a Modesto sign :)  I was like, "WE AREN'T IN OUR MISSION!!!" This is the first time I have left my mission in 9 months.  No lie 20 seconds later from seeing that sign our Zone Leaders called us!! I was like, "HOW DID THEY KNOW!!!!" We answered and the first thing he said was "Where are you two right now?"  I was like "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOW DID YOU KNOW.  WERE IN MODESTO IT WAS AN ACCIDENT WERE COMING BACK!" 
WEIRD RIGHT?  But then they are like "wait..... what are you doing?  We are just calling because we got in an accident and we need an accident report form from your car. But you are in Modesto you say.....??"  HAHAHA.  It was hilarious.  OOPS.

 
This week a miracle happened.  We received a referral from the temple for a man named EXXXXO. He had called the temple for more information and they had talked to him for 3 hours!  He was at la pulga and received a card from a missionary there (totally HNA PORTER!!!) and was super interested.  So we contacted him and taught the Restoration and got him started on the book of 
Elder Yi made these for everyone from Post-it notes
Mormon, and the rest is history.  He is super ready for the gospel.  He was Catholic, and didn't really like it.  He tried lots of Christian centers but got kicked out because he couldn't pay tithing :(  He is a 60 year old man that doesn't work.  He worked with wood and now has ligament problems in his arms and can't work.  He hasn't worked for 5 years and hasn't had solid income.  He isn't married and his mom lives in Lathrop so he is still around family.  He had a pet bunny that died in his arms while he was running with it to the vet because it accidentally ate sprayed plants in the yard while he wasn't looking.  It broke his heart because he loved that bunny and feels really responsible.  He can't sleep at night and he said that he normally wakes up at 3, but since he has started reading the Book of Mormon he lasts until 4:30 (the Book of Mormon helps everything I tell you!).  I totally understand because I have had pets like kitty, and Baloo, and Depp.  But especially kitty, I would feel so sad too!  Poor guy!  I totally understand.  But he is really taking everything in, and I hope we can do the best we can with him because he trusts us a lot.  He even came to church this Sunday!  We have been working really hard to have someone come to church and he was the first person to come since I have been working in Manteca!  Definitely worth the wait!! He stayed all three hours!  He said it was really pretty.  He is really kind of quiet but super funny, which is how I feel like I am a bit, and Hermana Vergaray too a bit.  So we all get along really great.  I am excited, I will keep you updated on him!

I started a new Standard Works Study Journal. LOVE IT!
This week while outside contacting people I got my ankles bitten by a Chihuahua!  I have learned that Chihuahuas are all loud but once you try to approach them, they will stop or run away.  I was a little too confident in my analysis of these dogs because it went straight for my ankles.  It was like getting bit a million times over and over pinching me!!  It wasn't a pleasant experience.  It was wearing an sweater too..... grrrrrr.

Banana Spinach Strawberry Almond Milk shake
I actually got called to give another talk in church.  WHAT??  It has only been 3 weeks?  But I went really simple this time and used lots of scriptures and only talked for my 10 minutes instead of double what I was supposed to haha.  People liked it!  I talked about the part of the scripture that we need to REMEMBER how merciful the Lord has been from ADAM to YOU.  We are super included in that scripture.  What do we remember as members of this church?  Happiness, family, the gospel helping us.  Truth in the scriptures.  Relationship with our Father in Heaven.  Stuff like that that we all have felt I think as followers.  So I started with an investigators view, of remember and learn truth of all things, and remembering as a member.  I thought it was cool, and was pretty fun to write.  Then I exhorted the whole ward to do missionary work!!  It was great!

Hermana Vergaray's first time having KFC .... seriously????
We saw BXXXXo this week and he is busy busy busy with work.  He hasn't been able to come to church for a while so I am really sad.  We are working on that, and he knows and everything, but sometimes you just got to work I feel like.  Don't know if that is sacrelig or not, but I trust him!  He is doing everything he can!  Anyways we were talking about food and I was like "I like tamales!"  He was like "You do?? Hold on a bit"  Then he gets up walks out the door, a few seconds we hear his truck start up and he is gone!  His wife was like hahaha.  So we talked to her and 5 minutes later he came back with a bag of tamales he had bought from the Mexican market fresh!!  He is so awesome!!!!  I have had good times with him.
Benito with the tamales. I realized I had never taken a picture of him to show you before

But ya church was also awesome because DXXXa came for the first time!!  I am so proud of her because she has said church is a hard thing for her.  She was kind of the rebel child haha.  But she came and handled this random girl eating all her fruitsnacks for her children, a kid with a cough behind her and listening to me talk and all that haha.  Rough sacrament meeting.  Because we had 2 people there this week everything felt SOOOO LLOOONNNG... longest Sacrament of my LIFE.  But it was really just normal!

WE HAVE BEEN PRAYING FOR RAIN!! Also my Zen Garden View
My companion!
SERVICE DAY - and it RAINED!!!
California has also got me scared of getting cancer.  Everyone tells me I am going to get cancer if I drink the tap water so I think I might just not take the chance.  Quest to find a water bottle, and those 99 cent filtered water jugs are in my future!  Don't know how true it is haha but ya. 

Things are going good!  It is starting to get pretty warm down here.  We are planning our biking days AFTER consulting the weather.  But the work is going really well.  I love Spanish and Manteca and my companion and my ward and going running in the cemetery and playing sports in our district and walking outside and talking to everyone and helping someone who actually listens to us really good and ya.  Good point in my mission.  This week I am HALF WAY THERE.  Freaky.

Where we go running in the morning ...a really old cemetery.
I loved your email mom! I am excited for the Babylon box in the future, and DON'T OPEN THE BOX I SENT YOU!
You have to save it! 
Thanks for everything!
Love
Emily  


Hermanita Tersita always gives us GIANT boxes of cereal from Costco. It is her missionary tradition. I want a cool tradition like that when I come a member again! I want to be active with the missionaries!








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