Week 82

Questions:

The reason why now the first Tuesday of each month is our pday because there are a lot of holidays that fall on Mondays, and there are some places here in LA that are fun to go and visit, and all of them are closed on Mondays, or they are free admission on Tuesdays. So it's the Haynie's way of changing things up a bit. I don't know if any of the places here in LA interest me right now as a missionary because it just feels a little weird. Because of the iPad's we update and download all the new additions to the church apps, so ya, halfway through this week I found out that my ward is the Placid Rose ward and I about died of a heart attack! Yikes y'all! 

Ok, let me explain something:

I am called to serve people in Spanish, BUT mission presidents can assign you to a non- Spanish area. I am in an ENGLISH area right now. So we teach English people. We also cover a Tongan ward so that means anyone who is Tongan, or married to a Tongan we go and baptize;) just cause that's how it works in the Tongan ward.

El Segundo / W3 (week 3)

Tuesday was our pday, which was really weird. I have been getting a lot of flea bites, or bug bites, and I have no idea why. We have been trying to figure out what type of bug it is that is biting me, cause I have about over 30 bug bites just on my legs, but we aren't sure that they are fleas. We thought that it might be flea bites because there was a stray dog around our apartment that was loose for a long time so we don't know if that have anything to do with it. We found out that a lot of our neighbors actually wanted to try to catch the dog because some people think that it was cute or something:) it almost looks like the shaggy dog so I think maybe that has something to do with it. We had to do a lot of chores with cleaning and getting ready for zone conference this week. We had to dry clean our suits (the dry cleaner sucked, didn't even do a good job and ruined a tie ugh...) anywho, while we were doing our laundry we accidentally locked our keys inside the church, because the laundromat is right by the church so we went there to chill while the laundry was going. So we had to play some phone tag with the members to see who had the keys to the church because our keys to the car and to the church were locked inside (we saw them on the floor). We went to Ross to get some socks for Elder O because his socks have a bunch of holes in them (mine don't, I'm pretty sure they are going to endure to the end of my mission). We then went to go to the church to go play some ball with some elders and it was not a good day for me. I tried to block my companion in ultimate and I tried to spin around him, but he is a lot bigger than I can spin around someone so I feel on my butt, and it hurt for about 3-4 days so that hurt. We then had dinner at a buffet from the Tongans (here we go) and it was just crazy how everything happened. Tongans are not the most obedient members when it comes to missionary work. It was really sad because they made an awkward situation with my companion involving a member skyeping my companions family and because my comps family doesn't know rules to the WHB rules, they were just talking to him like it was nothing. We talked about it afterward and he told me how awkward it was and how it was so funny and ironic how his parents were telling him to be obedient while they were skyeping... What can you do. We then ended the night off with a lesson with W. W has a lot of problems. Because of some stuff that has happened in his life and choices that he has made, he, as of right now, cannot be baptized until 2019 or something like that. He has WOW problems but he really wants to change. It was a nerve wracking visit because the next day he was told that he was going into a program that would help him get over the WOW problem, but he would stay there and that he couldn't see his family or anything like that. His wife, K, is a strong member. They have a little daughter who is about 8 months old and one that's on the way. We talked about the repentance process and trusting in the Lord and asked W to say the closing prayer for us. His prayer was so powerful and sweet, it was childlike. The whole family was in tears and afterwards W just left because he didn't want to be seen crying in front of all of us. So that was good I guess haha.

Wednesday started out crazy. We were cleaning the apartment and takin go it the trash when we saw our neighbors all around this hole to their house. Back story: our apartment building and our neighbors all have a mascot, it's this run away dog that looks like the shaggy dog (the one that has probably been giving me the fleas). So everyone has been wanting to catch it so that way it can get some medical attention and some people actually want to adopt it. We were taking out the garbage when we saw them putting a baby guard (the wall thing) around the hole and directly out of the hole would be a cage and to the side was a dog kennel. There was about 6 people there. They asked us if we had anything flat and heavy that they could use to help catch the dog, so we brought out 3 dry erase boards to help them. This guy came, I think it was a neighborhood friend who wanted to help catch the dog. And he went underneath the house, because that's where the hole went to, to get the dog out. Well the dog came out and it went straight into the cage like nothing (I got it on my camera) and so then the guy was trying to put a rope around its neck, like a leash, but what was gross was that the dog was literally getting the crap scared out of him. The dude tried moving the dog from the cage to the kennel, but it didn't work and the dog was jerking like a crocodile and biting the rope that was around his neck, I'm surprised that the dude didn't get bit. Well they eventually got the dog in the kennel and everyone was happy... Just a matter of time till we see if it really was what gave me fleas. I went on an exchange with my DL Elder P. He is from Kentucky and this is his last transfer. He is an English elder also covering a Tongan ward (the C2 ward) and an English ward. It was pretty fun because he is covering my first area in the mission, just in English. I saw sister J, the first lady I ever ate with on the mission and the people that we skyped with my first Mother's Day on the mission, and at first she didn't recognize me, but when she did she was pretty happy. I figured that would probably happen just because I wasn't in that area too long. It was really fun to go on the exchange, even though it was a really rough day of just walking and talking to people on the street. It was really rude to hear a white old man on a bike say a very crude word to Elder P, I about wanted to exercise the doctrine of the laying on of hands with that man and make him sing "Jesus said love everyone"... Ugh. We ate at a Chinese restaurant that a member paid for us. The only problem with the food was that it did not settle too well with me. We went on splits with a member in the English ward named Brother R. He wanted to go and visit this less active friend and home teaching person of his named R. He said that he was going to be "rough" with him and so we figured it was a good cop/bad cop type thing. We decided to show a Mormon message about our potential here on earth and it went really good. Brother R was, in my opinion, fulfilling in every sense of the word, being bold. He grew up with R and now he is his home teacher and so he ripped him pretty good, not too hard though. R was touched that we came over to see him and it just showed to me how important home teaching really is. Brother R at one point said "I want to see you at church, it helps me, and I love seeing you there pal. Not only did I come to see you because your my home teaching assignment, but your mine. You are my assignment. You are my friend and I want to see you back". It was just a huge moment of love from a friend, not mincing words, but being bold with love. We got a call at the end of the night from our companions who told me that with the lesson that they had with R, he told them that he would love to go and see the VC tomorrow. When they asked him about getting baptized and how he felt he said "I'm ready".... (This is the part when a missionary faints because of exceeding joy swelling in the heart). They also talked about getting the marriage license because he needs to be civilly wed to be baptized, and he said yes to that too!!!!! Wooooo!!! 

Thursday was a crazy day. We switched back from exchanges and we were originally planning to go to the VC with R. We were going to visit a random Irish lady as well. It started out though going to Home Depot and getting flea repellant stuff because we think that it was fleas that were biting me. Well the Irish lady had a lot of questions and I think we answered them pretty well. We then went to go see R because I guess there were some family stuff that was going on so they didn't want to go to the VC. We ended up teaching a good lesson to R and planned to go this upcoming week to the VC instead. We talked about temples and the WOW, it was a pretty scattered lesson, but it all went rather smooth, so that was good. We had a member buy us in n out and afterwards we had correlation with Brother J. I forgot to write this day Thursday night, so that's why it might be a little more boring than the others.

Friday we had zone conference so we had to wake up early in the morning to go and clean off our windows. For zone conference they inspect your car to make sure that it is clean and that everything is going good.  Anywho there were 2 members of the 70 at zone conference Elder Cook (and his wife) and Elder Cordon (and his wife). It was such a change to how zone conferences are run and how they are... Like completely. Normally wee brake out into trainings and learn how to do missionary situational stuff, but this was just pure talking about conversion and how to help investigators become converts. President Haynie is really pushing that the people that we baptize are converted. Zone conference normally lasts from 9-2 I'm pretty sure, and this one went from 9-4... We all were so tired. Just imagine sitting in a chapel that long only with about a 40 minute break for lunch. Well, I got to see some old companions and they are doing really well. I saw Elder B and oh how much I miss him! He is still doing good and we talked for a bit. Elder S also sang for zone conference because he has an amazing voice, so that was cool. He is also doing well. Afterwards we had a packed day. We tried to go and visit some potentials and everything, but nobody was home. We talked to this guy outside his house and his name was D. We chatted for a bit and I think his first impression was a good one, so hopefully maybe in the future missionaries will be able to teach him. We also stopped by the house of this guy named S, he wasn't there, but his roommate M (these guys are all a bit older) was there. M is Irish to the core and he is a little older, so he needs to take things at a slower pace. I don't know how the conversation went this way, I think we were talking about age or something, when I mentioned the movie The Quiet Man... Oh how his eyes lit up! He was like "you know that show?!!!" And he went off on all the parts that he likes about it. I should've mentioned Darby O Gill and the Little people or something like that, goodness. It was really funny because I don't remember much about those movies, but hey, I think it made his day so that's what counts. Dad, there you go, the old movies actually did something, even though I don't remember them at all. We had a member pay for us to go to Hometown buffet, but they didn't stay to eat with us (this is how Tongan wards do it here in LA) and so we ate at a buffet again in the same week. We then had a lesson with W and K and that was really good too. We watched a Mormon message and talked about it and they liked it a lot, tears, again... Everything. W is definitely progressing:)

Saturday in the morning we were getting ready to go to the VC and so we showed up at W and K and when we showed up at their house, they were not feeling up to go to the VC. We were a little sad, but we figured since we were already there and they were too, that we could watch Meet the Mormons with them because they had never seen it before. W is definitely not your regular guy, but he is awesome. The ENTIRE time the movie was going on, he was watching intently... It was perfect. Both K and W were crying and I'm sitting here like "man they are very emotional", but you wouldn't say that to a pregnant Tongan and her husband that has been in the streets his whole life. We had a little testimony meeting at the end of the lesson and that was really cool. We went back to the apartment to have lunch, because it was about that time of the day. We don't need to buy food at all just because of how much food the Tongan members give us, it is really sad and awesome at the same time. We went to go and see a less active member named M who is struggling real bad. He grew up Mormon his whole life, but then when he went to college he fell off the boat. He now has very humble circumstances and feels almost unworthy to go back to church. He wants us to help reactivate him and he really is a nice guy. We had a lesson with him and he enjoyed it a lot. He invited us to his bday party on Monday and told us that we just might be the missionaries to reactivate him... Sweet! We had a member from the Tongan ward buy us food from The Habit which is a burger joint, have y'all ever tried it? It is pretty good. We then went to go and see M S, but she was sleeping so that didn't happen

Sunday was Stake Conference for the Inglewood Stake and that was interesting. We get there early so that way we could save seats for our investigators and before Stake Conference there was a special meeting for the Spanish wards with Elder Cordon before it started, so all the good seats were taken by the Latinos.. Ya, the Tongans weren't too happy about that. Anywho, we tried to save seats for our investigators, but none of them really came. R didn't come because M, his fiancé, had to go to the ER the night before and is really sick, so I guess that that's ok;) Stake Conference was good, I saw a lot of people that I recognized from wards that I have served in before and so that was nice to see them. After that we swung by W and K because we rescheduled to go to the VC with them on Sunday, but we were worried because they didn't show up to conference. They said that they still wanted to go to the VC so we waited for them to get ready and then we left. It was an awesome visit! We watched Meet the Mormons 2 and all the family was crying during it, ya that's right! We brought the whole family of K and they all cried.. Bam! We then went and walked around the temple and took some pictures with them. We got back to the apartment in time to change and then go to our dinner appointment with the P, a super Mormon family. I mean they have a BYU den of just BYU paraphernalia and fan lore so that is just cool. They also said that they are heading down to Utah this week to watch the BYU - UCLA game and that I could give them the package and that they could give it to y'all! After the dinner we went to go and see J J. He is the boyfriend of a member and he plays football at El Camino college. He was pushed a little too much by missionaries in the past so we are trying to work at his speed. He has said that he wants to get baptized, so that's good. 

Have a fun week! 

Love,

Elder Roberts