Week 88

SouthGate Branch 2 - Week 3 - Dawn of the Dorman

Monday was a really rough pday. We were going to be picked up from the other elders around 10 when we normally start everything, but then they said that they had to go and do something and that they were going to pick us up around 1... That's 3 hours of basically doing nothing because we didn't have any coins for our laundry here in the apartment complex, plus the dryer sucks. And we could go shopping because we are on bike, and that just wouldn't end too well with a greenie on bike... So we decided to wait it out. I wrote my weekly letter on the iPad and we cleaned up the apartment pretty good, it's not even that bad at all. They eventually picked us up at 2 and that's when everything started. It was a pretty boring pday because we had to do our chore type stuff and so we really didn't do much during the pday time. We had bought pizzas because nobody fed us that day, so we figured that we could buy a handful of the 89c pizzas and eat those. Well, my companion basically melted his pizza so he was in a bad mood, which did not help the day at all. We ended up visiting the M family with President O and we talked about temples and about how everyone met the missionaries and how they felt, it was a good lesson. We are really excited for this family.

Tuesday was temple day, and let me tell you, it was a temple DAY. Every 4 months or so as missionaries, we are allowed to go the temple here in LA. Normally when we went we only went into sessions that were early in the morning, and with like maybe 10 people max. This time was way different. About half the mission was just in one session and the session started at 10. We started out in the chapel in the temple and there a member of the temple presidency spoke to us about symbolism in the temple, it was really cool. President and Sister Haynie were also there. It was such an AMAZING experience to be in the temple with missionaries, and our mission president and his wife. You could truly feel the love that they have for the gospel and their leadership of us while we were there. They were also in the session, they were the couple, so that was really special. So in one session there was about 90 people or so... Ya, super big. They did remodeling in the LA temple! Some of us older missionaries were going through and we were like "oh that's different! Wow! Look at that!" It was super cool, that temple sure is pretty. I liked going at that time too, because there was some natural sunlight coming in, so it made it cool for me at least. The Haynie's greeted all of us as we entered the last part, so that was really nice, and they know my name (I mean who doesn't ;) jkjkjk). So that was cool. Our DL (and our ride home) asked us if we wanted to go and try this one place that is a Lebanese restaurant, so we were all do to go. I have now tried shawarma! It was a little weird, the plate in general, but you could totally get use to the flavor, and they served a lot of food, so that was really good! Definitely have to hit up that food place later on. Well, traffic sucks in LA so we got back to our area around 5 in the afternoon, ya talk about a nap that should've happened there.. Goodness. We then got on our bikes and headed to R. We asked her if she read, and she didn't, so we had to read with her. We then were able to have the opportunity to meet O. O is the lady that is also a member, but for whatever reasons she just doesn't want to meet with us right now and she always is trying to avoid us. She also has her eyebrows tattooed on her, but that's just for laughs and giggles. We then went to go eat dinner at the Cs house. Hermano C is a member of the branch presidency and Hermana C is the Gospel Principles teacher, and both are returned missionaries. They have been married for 18 years and they are just a very easy going couple, super fun, love to laugh and make jokes, understand doctrine super well, awesome right? So they made a nice dinner and I saw something green on my plate that the Hermano told me was a pepper, and that because I don't eat spicy to give it to him cause he likes them, so I did. WELL, my companion who still doesn't understand Spanish apparently ate his WHOLE because all of a sudden he hiccups! That is always a sign that you ate too much spice. Well, he was dying because he doesn't eat spicy at all, and it was a Serrano which are hotter than jalapeños, and his eyes were watering and it was just awful. I couldn't help laugh because I mean, he was gonna live and we were all just laughing, even Elder D. To make matters worse he was drinking a cucumber and lime drink, lime enhances spice, so basically he was keeping the spice from going down. Finally we got him some milk and a banana to calm him down and he downed those like he was about to die, oh fun times... Fun times... Ya. So that was pretty exciting and the Cs had a good laugh too. We talked to them for a little bit and they told us about some people that we could go and visit. They told us about 3 part member families that we could go and try to visit, so we were really excited about that. 

Wednesday morning was a little rough, just doing training stuff is starting wear on me. It is so hard to train! We started out the day just walking around and talking to people. Well, it was really hot so that wasn't fun at all. We talked to some people and that was nice, but nothing really happened, no return appointment or anything. We then decided to go and try to visit those part member families to see what's up with them. Well as we were trying to go knock on the door for the house, we passed by the dad! We talked to him for a bit, and told him about the ward activity that was happening on Saturday, which he seemed excited about. It was a good chat, just out in the sun so that was wearing on us. We then went to meet with the R family. They go to a different ward building because the building is closer to them and her husband has a lot of health problems. Well it was nice to talk to her and to see that her family, generally speaking, are active. She says that they go to the temple 1 time a month and you can totally see how that has blessed them. We talked with them for a bit and got to know them. We then decided to share a message about family history and invite them to start working on that. She seemed stoked that we decided to talk about that, even more that we told her about the family history center. We then asked her for a referral, or someone that she knows that we could start teaching. She told us about her neighbors and that maybe they might be interested. We told her that what could happen is that next week we could come and do a FHE on family history and that she could invite her neighbor to join, she liked that idea. We then had dinner with the A family and she made some bomb tacos.. The meat was amazing! It was really good and the whole time Hermana and Hermano A were just telling us that whenever we need anything, to let them know and they would bring it to us. They kept telling us that if we don't have something to eat, to let them know because they live right down the street and that they can always make something for us. We then walked back to the apartment to wait for Hermano M to come pick us up to go to the church for our weekly class with the RC. It was really good, this time Elder D was in charge of the class. He was so stressed out the whole time, it was good though. I was so tired at the end of the day though, goodness.

Thursday we decided to cook up the chicken that we had bought and to put it in a Tupperware container so that way the chicken didn't spoil. I showed my companion how to season chicken and how to cook it, you know, cause I am "so pro" not. Anywho I ended up eating tacos that Hermana Arce had given us as leftovers the night before because the tacos were really good. We had weekly planning at the church again and that was good. After weekly planning we biked to go and see S. S is like the coolest Recent Convert ever. It's really sad that we only have a limited amount of time to talk with him because he is just so cool. A lot of the time when we tell him that we have to leave he gets very sad and says "I bored you didn't I?" And we just tell him that no, but that our time for the day is up. He is such a studious person. He has read like everything... And he has only been baptized for 2 months. He is already in the Pearl of Great Price and he has finished the Gospel Principles book. He loves to read! He is also the type of guy that defends the truth, like I have no doubt that if he was at a grocery store and someone was talking bad about Mormons that he would pick a fight with them and demolish them with the scriptures... Not saying that's a good thing to do, but he would totally do it. He bore to us his testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it applies to us, it was really powerful. We then had to bike all the from the most south -western part of our area to the most northeastern part... It sucked. We did arrive a little late to the dinner appointment, but that's fine cause it was with the best family, the Q family! They are so cool and earlier in the week she asked us what we were craving and we told her pizza and ice cream, and so she got that :) oh how I love that family. They had a neighbor over named R and oh man does that guy have energy (he also drinks coffee too) and he was just speaking so fast (in both languages) that half the time you just nod and smile cause you just don't know what's going on. We had planned to show the movie Meet the Mormons with the Q family because it is just such a good movie to show families cause everyone likes some part of it. The Qs are also a part member family as well, the husband is not a member. We were able to talk with them for a little bit which was really good and awesome. We then biked down to see R for the FHE and I was ready to hear an earful from her. Well, she was actually super nice. She told us that her family hadn't shown up yet and that she was really sorry and asked if we could reschedule for another time. We told her that that would be just fine because we arrived late anyways. We then went to go bike to the McDonalds where we meet with Hermana F. She is really nice, but she is also very quiet, so it's hard to tell if she's sad or just tired. We had a good lesson with her and we read in the Book of Mormon which was good. We then went to go and have a Noche de Hogar with the M family and play charades with them. It was super fun. For the spiritual thought we went over the baptismal interview questions with them and A didn't remember some of the commandments, like word of wisdom etc. so we invited the parents to explain it to her and they did! It was such a cool example of parents teaching the gospel to their kids and the kids understanding it! It was really cool, all thumbs up for them! We then played charades and that was really fun, especially Elder D, just cause he isn't really the sporty type guy.

Friday we had our district meeting and let me tell you, some elders just get on your nerves, but I guess that's why the Lord has blessed me with Elder D because he's pretty good. The district meeting was really good and I feel super bad because Elder D has all these questions about stuff so that makes me think that I am a terrible trainer, ugh! Well, we had a lot more motivation to just go out and talk with everyone, which was an interesting experience of its own. We ended up talking with this one lady who is a member of a religion that practices the law of Moses and she gave us a hug which was like - invasion of privacy there - and so it kinda scarred Elder D a little bit. We met with M and she is slowly progressing, it is really rough with her. We then went to go and meet with L and talk with him a little bit. L is doing good, it's just that whenever something new is brought to him, he has to really search it out, pray, ask some questions, and then he is ok with it. It's just a longer process (which is completely OK), it's just a little tedious sometimes to have to answer all the questions because how we explain the principle answers his question... Anywho. Next was the Ts family. They are super cool too. It's a huge family and we are slowly meeting with everyone. This time we met with 2 of the nieces. We talked about what we do as missionaries and taught a little about the Restoration. Well, it was super cool cause E, the main one that talks to us. Told us that she has noticed a difference in religions. She told us that other religions don't make her "feel" the way that she feels when she talks to us, or when we talk to her. We then explained to her that the difference is the Spirit, because it testifies of truth. She really wants to keep learning so we are definitely going to be in this for the long run. We then had dinner with Hermana C like every Friday and she is just a funny lady. She tells us crazy stories that, sometimes I wonder... But she's a sweet lady. 

Saturday was quite the eventful day. We had a early morning lesson with P and M (I have been spelling her name wrong this whole time) and that was really good. We went over the baptismal interview questions with them and filled out the TMR with them, which is basically the membership record paper thing for a convert baptism. It was so cool because M was talking a lot and she is just super cool. They are such a nice couple and at the end when M said the prayer she asked that "everything will work out for their baptism on the 30th" boom. Right there is what counts, nothing like a prayer to seal the deal for a baptism! We then went back to the apartment to have our studies and then we had a lesson right afterward. The lesson fell through, but it was ok cause we just started to talk with everyone. We were walking and we decided to turn down a neighborhood street. We saw about 3 adults sitting outside, just enjoying the weather and everything. We asked them how they were doing and we started to talk with them. It was a nice conversation because we got to talk to all of them, introduce ourselves, laugh, joke, and they even invited us back for a lunch! That was super cool. Too bad I am going to be on exchanges with the " " elder when the lunch is, but it's ok. We kept talking to people and unfortunately 1 guy just had to come up to us and start bible bashing. I called him out for wanting to contend and he left and then told us to "go back to Utah!" So I kinda chuckled to myself thinking... Haha, oh don't you worry, I will 😜 . It was sad that Elder D had to been involved in a bash, we didn't bash at all though, so that was good, glad those days are over as a missionary. We then said a prayer so that way we didn't feel all moody before our hand over lesson with the STL (sister training leaders). They have an investigator with a baptismal date who - long story short - lives in our area and has decided that he wants to attend with us. We met him and he is awesome. Super intellectual and funny so hopefully we get along :) anywho after that we went back to the apartment and waited for the other elders to pick us up to go to the Feria Internacional. Basically it's a party where all the members bring food from their country and have a little talent show. It was good and the food was good too. Elder Ddoesn't like Horchata (what?!?!) anywho, that's besides the point. I think all of us, everyone in the family, could've choreographed those dance numbers so much better and helped the show run so much smoother.... So it was a little painful for me to watch. Long story short, I just watched a bunch of 10 year old interpretive dance with their hands and shaken their little hips to any song that their parents thought was "hip". (Slap face). Anywho we left after a bit and then went to go talk to more people in the street we talked to this one kid named K who was really nice and told us ALL of the crazy drug problems and gang violence on every street in our area... Thanks kid. We then told him a little do and he listened to us. It was pretty cool cause he had never heard about Mormons before or about the church, so this was his first impression... Yikes! It was cool though.

Sunday was crazy. We went to church at about 8 AM because that is when Presidente O picked us up and got us there by. We waited and I started to write my weekly letter to y'all while we waited for church to start at 10:20. Anywho. Church was good, the classes were good too. I was asked to give a talk about the Restoration and I was super nervous, but Elder L told me that I did really good so that made me feel good. We then had 3 baptismal interviews with I, M, and A M, who are all planning on getting baptized next Sunday. That took FOREVER! We were at the church till 5!!! It's ok though... Salvation is happening.... It's ok. Then Brother G picked us up to take us to the baptism of J J! He's the guy that Elder Olive and I taught and we went to his football game... Ya that guy! He got baptized and it was sick! Plus R and M from that area were married just hours before and they were also there, so I took pictures with them. R is being baptized on Tuesday, so I'm super excited for him, I won't be able to go back to it though, but it's ok. That basically took the whole day because we did a lot of driving there and there was food afterwards.

Crazy week, but next week is going to explode!

Love y'all, send picks from anything that is about Halloween!

Love,

Elder Roberts

Week 87

SouthGate Branch 2 - Week 2 - Dawn of the Dorman

Monday was just crazy. Normally everything is planned out on pday so that way we get a lot accomplished and have some fun too, well that really didn't happen this time. There were some scheduling conflicts with the other elders... I don't know why... And some other stuff that happened so basically Monday was a big chore day for us. We got all of our stuff done and I am really looking forward to this transfer with Elder D, he is awesome. It was so funny because we were fixing a bike that he found for free at a garage, he paid to repair the chain, and we were all hungry. Well, down the street was a Taco Bell and a Pizza Hut (here in LA there are a couple Taco Bell shops that also sell Pizza Hut stuff there). Well I had never been before and the majority of us wanted pizza. So we went to go and get the pizza and I bought pizza. I thought I bought 2 large size cheese pizzas, but really they were these tiny little pizzas, smaller than the totinos you can get at the store for like a 1$. Anywho so that was embarrassing but kinda funny at the same time. We went back to the Lynwood building to email and to play sports and that was fun... Kinda. Elder S was there with his trainee and so we played basketball. One of the elders didn't want to play with the rest of us and he went of to just shoot hoops on his own, it was really weird. We played basketball and let me tell you, it was a rivalry between Elder S and me. Oh my goodness. None of the other elders have really played basketball and so it was terrible once Elder S and I were on the same team, they only ever scored 1 time. It was super funny cause we were doing all these trick shots and you just feel like you are playing with a sibling, it was awesome, I love Elder S! We then went back to the apartment to have dinner and because we had a little extra time, we cleaned up around the apartment a little bit. It was so funny because we got a lot of our cleaning supplies from a 99c store, which Elder D had never been to before. It was really funny because when we were walking through the store he was like "wow! Everything really is 99c!" And I kinda chuckled to myself because ya, it is! Anywho Hermano M then came to pick us up to go and teach the M family. They are the ones that got married. They are super cool. I kinda messed up during the lesson, but it ended out really good and they decided that they want to be baptized on the 30th of this month as a family!! 

Tuesday was overcast, most of the time right now in the morning it's really foggy and somewhat cooler, and then it gets super hot during the middle of the day, then it cools down, it's weird. Well, my companion has technically 2 bikes. One is a mountain bike and the other is a street bike. He got both of the bikes for free. Well, he paid for a new chain on the street bike and I am now riding that bike as a loaner cause hey, it's faster and cooler, plus it's not my bike ;) so Peggy right now is taking a long nap. We went to go and visit this former investigator who said that we could come by, but she stood us up and wasn't home, so that was a really long bike ride for nothing.. Shoot. We then went to go and give some service for Dr. H who is the boss and fellowshipper for an investigator named L. Dr. H is just one of those cranky old grandpa aged guys with health problems but he is really nice when you don't think about all the yelling he does. We picked persimmons and did some lawn stuff for about an hour when we had to leave. We changed in his house, but I had forgotten my tie. I asked Elder L if I could use his, so I did;) we then had to bike like cray just to go and visit S, one of the RC here in the area. Well, my companion had a flat tire so we were going a little slow, but that's ok because S had a pump to help us out! He is so awesome, he is just willing to do what the lord wants him to do, it's so cool. The lesson with S was really good, he really does love his children. He wrote a poem and shared it with us, it was pretty adorable. We then biked to go and see 2 investigators who have baptismal dates. One of them is named R G, or R. Well, we had planned to teach her one of the lessons and as I am getting to know her we had this awkwardly intense moment:

Mind you, the baptismal date is for the 6th of November.

"R, do you believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter - Day Saints is the true church?" - yes

"Do you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God who restored Christ's church and priesthood authority on the earth?" - yes

"The other missionaries told us that you are preparing to be baptized on the 6th of November, do you feel ready for that date?" - ....I was already baptized.

"....... ........ ..... You are a member????" - yes....

"................." - she then shows us her BAPTISMAL PROGRAM FROM 5 YEARS AGO

(Elder Roberts slaps face and thinks) are you kidding me? How could the other elders not know this??? One of the past elders is even Argentinian! Anywho, we were really excited because that means that if we find her records, then we can help her go to the temple!! My companion didn't know what was going on and so he was a little frustrated and said "I thought we were going to teach.... " and then I told him that she was already a member and so we switched the subject to that and he was like "how could the other elders not know that??" Oh I laughed pretty hard.

We then went back to the apartment for dinner. We then went to go meet with Hermana F who is just a sweet lady. We talked with her and the stuff that she is going through, we are really wanting to help her, but it seems like she is slipping away. I don't know what to do to help her.afterwards, we had E R pick us up to go the M family in a surprise visit. They were not expecting us, but we just decided to stop by and get to know them a little more and to read in the Book of Mormon. It was a good lesson and E is an amazing fellowshipper, he is just awesome. The M family even told him that they had a baptismal date for the 30th! E didn't know and so he was very excited when he heard that:)

Wednesday was just a rough day. It was that gloomy morning and we had very little plans. We decided to just go and visit everyone in this one specific part of our area and so we biked there (oh and FYI the seat on the street bike is not as comfortable as on Peggy...) and so then we just walked around for days. It was hot and we found a lot of people who aren't ready for the gospel yet in their lives, but hey, trials ya know. I then decided to call A O and she answered!! It was cool! I asked her how everything was going and that I hadn't seen her for a while. She told me a little bit of what was going on and I told her that I go to the branch still, and that I would love to see her on Sunday, she then said that she would try to make it. I was so happy that she answered the call! I really hope she gets back on her feet and keeps going. We then went to go and visit L R, who basically is a member, but not yet. He is super cool and he shared with us a little bit of his story of his journey as an investigator. He is so cool. You wouldn't think of it, but he has 3 kids. He is just a fireball. Super nice, hungry to learn more, everything. We had to bike our little hearts out to the O house for dinner because Hermana O specifically said not to be late... Which we were. I told her that we were really sorry for being late to which she really didn't care (phew). She gave us spaghetti and some salad which was super good. We then got a ride from Presidente O to the church and we were so excited, until we saw the other elders. Elder L looked horrible. He looked so stressed out and sick that it was almost scary. He is a really good missionary and he always works hard, that's why he is the DL. He looked at me and asked if we could give the RC class (we are starting to give a big class to all the RC) to which I told him that ya, we could do that. He didn't look so good so they went home for him to get some rest. We had the class with S and L, they are the only ones that showed up. We then had to get a ride from S back to the O house (because Presidente O has meetings and we thought that the other elders were going to take us home as always, but they went home a little early). So he was kind enough to take us there and we biked home. I ended up calling President Haynie about L and the process of him having to be reconfirmed in sacrament meeting, basically the last missionaries messed up, but it's all good. And then, he told me the news about Grandpa. I called up my DL and that's when I decided that I was going to call home the next day.

Thursday morning we had to have the gas company come to our apartment to check some stuff that wasn't working right, and so obviously we talked to the guy who was giving the stuff. The other elders picked us up so that we could go to the Lynwood building and do our weekly planning there. Elder L and I talked about some stuff that was going on and stuff that he is struggling with and he just wanted my advice on stuff. It was really good and it just made me know even more that I needed to call home. We then biked for DAAAAYZ! We biked all the way to R which is a long bike ride, but it's ok, no big deal. We then sat down and talked with her and she didn't read in the Book of Mormon:( it was really sad, but we ended up reading with her. She told us of the struggle that she has with keeping the sabbath day holy... And I about went of on a rage, but I didn't. Long story short, she makes food, idk what type, probably tamales, but on Sundays she sells them on the street. "People have told her how amazing the food is and that she should never stop selling them". So basically the inner sarcasm just wants to come out and be like "so random people like your food vs. Heavenly Father's commandments that you promised to obey when you were baptized....".but you can't say that as a missionary, that would be too rude. So you just teach the doctrine and hope that they use their agency well. We then went to have dinner with the Q family and they are super cool and she made us this cool dish that was super yummy. We talked to her sons about the importance of the sacrament and taught it very well, I think that the son that blesses the sacrament blesses it a little more meaningfully now, he doesn't rush through it like he use to. 

Friday we had ZTM and that was really interesting. Things in the mission just are not as organized as they use to be. Anywho, we arrived a little late and everything, but it's all good. One of the new announcements that they had for us was that the missionary calendar for the whole mission is now available to be put on our iPads and so everyone just saw how far the calendar was made to and the transfer that I go home ends on the 8th of February. As a zone we had a goal to have 72 member present lessons this week, I'll let you know how we did later on in the letter. We went to Subway after ZTM with the other elders on our way back and that was good, subway is just so bomb. We got a lot of stuff for our apartment so that way we have nice pots and pans, a nice dish drying rack, stuff like that, so our apartment is getting fixed up. We were right about to head out to go and visit Luis when, he texted us to cancel the appointment. We really really really needed to tell him about what was going on on Sunday about him being confirmed and stuff, so we really wanted to meet with him. We were biking to another area when he texted. Us and asked if we could stop by at 7 that same night. We had a couple appointments around that time, but we figured that if we showed up about 15 minutes early to the appointment and left after about 40 minutes, then we would have plenty of time to have the lesson with L. We went to the random area and started to knock some doors and try some potentials. One of the potential houses has a family of 7 living there and when we walked up to the front gate, boom, they closed the door, and you know that it was meant for you when you hear "mormones" so ya, that one was kinda awkward. We then came across this really frail elderly lady who let us teach her a little bit, and so hopefully we will be able to see her this next week. During this whole time I am dying of heat because I wore a sweater cause it gets a little colder at night when you are biking, so I was dying. Thankfully it was time for dinner with Hermana C. She is such a nice lady and she is like a grandma to the missionaries, she feeds the missionaries every Friday, it's awesome. Well we got to know her a little bit and she told us about a couple of her neighbors that we could go visit!! Boom for the win - Hermana C. We then went to go and see R G and what he told us was really sad. He is still reading and praying and he has bad health so that's why he didn't come to church last week, but what he told us is that he feels lonely :( . He says that nobody from the branch visits him and that because he changed religion that all his friends from before have stopped talking to him... Home teachers... What the heck guys. Anywho we talked about it for a while and he is just the sweetest old guy ever. We then saw L! He is super cool. We helped him out with a couple chores that he had to get done (it's funny cause as a missionary you always ask if you can help with the dishes and they always so no, but this time he said yes, so it was awesome!). We do a lot of dishes as a missionary, so we have a lot of practice;). We then went to go and see the M family with Hermano P. We decided that we wanted to teach about keeping the sabbath day holy because we really want them to be converted and get in the habit of coming to church for the right reason. It was a good lesson and we were able to get to know them a little bit more.

Saturday we went early in the morning to go and teach P and M C. We had originally planned to meet with them at 11 in the morning but then P asked if we could meet around 9:30, so we went at that time. We knocked on the door and he asked us in a funny way "do you guys ever sleep?" He then said how early we showed up because they just got out of bed, we were then like "you told us to come at this time!" Anywho they were chill. We taught them some of the commandments and we realized that they wouldn't be ready for their baptism on the 23rd of this month, so we moved it back to the 30th of the month. They are really awesome though, super nice and really awesome people. We were then going to lunch with a member when I got in a wreck. I was crossing the intersection on the road and a car wanted to turn to the right, well I was in front of it, but because cars go faster than bikes, he kind just scooted me off my bike and I got some scrapes and burns on my arm, everything else is fine. The bike is fine, head, helmet, everything. The chain to the bike was jammed with the wheel and so we figured that hey, we are right by P and M, let's ask them for some help. We called them and told them what had happened and so they were really nice and they helped out with the bike and then they were like "do you want to clean up?" So we went up and they gave me some stuff to clean up with, and they also gave us a breakfast. They then wanted to take us home, but that wasn't going to work so we biked back to the apartment because the bike was still functional and I was ok. We finally had our studies and I told the people that I needed to tell that I was in an accident, but that nothing really bad happened. We had dinner with Hermana A and she made MOLE!!! Mom, that is something else that you need to learn how to make... If you just learn how to make pupusas and mole... You will be a very versatile cook. We then went to go and see A, but he hadn't come back from work yet, so that was a little disappointing. We then went to go and visit a lady named M D. We were walking to try and find the address when we saw two kids, a brother and sister, standing outside a house. The younger brother had NO clothes on... Birthday suit. We looked away then looked at the addresses... It's that house. So we went and we talked to the mom, and the kid is still naked, and we are trying to talk to the mom, but she's not very talkative... It was rough. Kinda funny, but rough. We set a return appointment with her for this upcoming week, so stay tuned. We then got a referral from the other elders about a lady that had stopped them on the street and told them that she wanted missionaries to stop by ASAP. We then decided to stop by. We went and we met with the Ts family. They have a friend who is struggling with life problems right now and they heard that our church is very good at helping people. We talked with them for a little bit and told them more about us and if they would be interested in us coming by another time. They said yes so we set a return appointment with them. It's like a family of 10 I tell you... Amazing. We then had P and M call to ask how I was doing, they are so sweet! I called them back and they were glad that I was ok. A called us and told us that he was sorry his missed the appointment, but that he would try to make it to church the next day (he didn't, but it was nice that he called). We then got a text from the ZLs about how many MPL we had as a zone during the week. The goal was 72 by the end of Sunday and at the end of Saturday we had 76 as a zone!!!! WWOOOOO!!! That's a lot FYI. The week prior we only had 30 or so. That was cool.

Sunday was a really long day. We were taken to the church by presidente O really early in the morning, and so we had a little bit of our studies there. We then had a meeting in which there was a problem with L and what was suppose to happen during sacrament, vs. what didn't happen, vs. what did happen. It's just one of those things that I'll have to remember to say when I get back home;) anywho during church I saw a lot of the members from the other area, so that was nice to see, some have changed and some have the same problems... Ugh. L was sitting by this one girl named A during sacrament meeting and it was really weird... I'll tell you later on. Just know that she was very much a koala on him and he wasn't very much koala back. Church ended and I think the heat and stress got to me because I wasn't feeling to good. My companion made some chili so I ate that, but that didn't help the problem. We walked to go and see R, and ugh! Seriously some people it is just hard to have that good ol charity for them. So R is a member, she was the lady that was baptized and showed us her baptismal program. She is also the person that we have been trying to find her records and everything. We taught her last week the importance of keeping the sabbath day holy because she sells food on Sunday, something that she could completely stop, and she didn't come to church. We asked her what was up and she said that she didn't have any gas in her car to go to church... Really? Good grief. She then explained "how wonderful God is for blessing her with people that she sold her food to on Sunday"... For real?. We then told her that (we didn't say it this way but how we basically wanted to say it):

Look, you need to come to church so that we can find your records because we need your information like birthdate, full name, all that jazz, and it would help out SO much if you came to church 

Response - that's what they told me in the past and they couldn't find me. Over where I was baptized they couldn't find me

(Pause)

Her - the bishop over there even told me that they couldn't find me

Me - well, he was the bishop when you were baptized, and he was there, and he does watch over the people in his ward (and this former bishop is awesome just FYI) so then I asked her: did you go to church when you were there?

Response - (laughs) elder, you are going to make me mad in a little bit

(Pause cause it's getting a little hairy here, but me thinking, so you DIDNT go??) 

She then says that the members in that ward are a bunch of liars and would say that she never went to church and that it's the missionaries fault who baptized her and the church's fault for never putting her in, and that's why she became inactive.

(My thoughts) well look, do you want this or not? Cause if you want this and you really know that it's the true church, then you would come to church and want to participate in the ordinances of salvation... BUT YOU DONT SAY THAT AS A MISSIONARY!

So we just kinda got out of that situation and read with her in the Book of Mormon.... Ya I just needed to vent about that. We then walked to dinner with the H family. When we got there, the worst possible option looked like it was going to happen. The Hermana made... Menudo (shiver). Menudo is tripe, or cow stomach. Missionaries hate it, except for Elder D. My stomach was already hurting so somehow there was a miracle and she had made other food just in case. My companion tried the Menudo and told me that it has a texture of gum and smells like rotten flesh.. He is so funny and exaggerates a lot. We then left and looked at our phone, L had texted us.... Or not us. He had accidentally sent a text to A, the girl, but it got to our phone... Let's just say we are now involved in the middle of a soap opera right now.

That's the week! Hope your week goes amazingly and is full of fun experiences!

Love,

Elder Roberts

Elder Roberts' Grandpa passed away this week.

Week 86

SouthGate Episode 1 - Dawn of the Dorman

Monday was a crazy day. We had to get a lot done and we wanted to hang out with some elders too. It's kinda sad how good at packing I am now. Not gonna lie though, cause I have small clothes and everything, it sure makes it a lot easier to pack. I don't remember too much about this day cause I'm writing this part later on in the week, but I'll try to give some details. For dinner we went to Number One which is the Chinese buffet place that Tongans always take missionaries to. Sister S paid for us and she also snap chatted that it was my last day and sent it out to the relief society ladies. We then hurried over to the F / T, that's K FYI, and we had a little lesson with them and it was cool. We then went to try and go visit this one guy who told us to come by, but for some reason nobody was at home. We then went to the Js because earlier on in the day Sister J had called and basically told us to stop by later on. She had made peach cobbler and we talked for a little bit. They played backgammon and Sister J won once and Elder O won once too. Then we went home and I packed like a mad man!!! 

Tuesday was just nuts. Can I just say how stressful a mission is? Anywho, in the morning we had to go meet up with Elder M and Elder P because a member was picking up Elder P and so we had to go be with, and pick up, Elder M. We then went back to our apartment so that way we would be there when my ride came. Brother A was the one that said that he would pick me up. Well he was running a little late and Elder O's new companion arrived before Brother A came. I had a meeting that started at 9:00 and so we were running a little late (it's was about 8:30). Along the way Brother A was asking me if I had a way to get my stuff and my new companions stuff to the new area. Well thankfully the day before I mass texted everyone in both wards to see if they could help out. President S said that the only thing that he could do to help out was to take my new companion and I to our new area... PERFECT! So we arrive there a little late to the meeting and we are trying to take all of my stuff out and organize it in a random room in the church. I walk in and sit by a couple missionaries that I know and basically all the people that are training I have served around in the mission. People like Elders Bair, Nimori, Zabriskie, Saena, Holyoak, Moreira, Taylor, Pearson, Fierro, a bunch of people right? So we were all excited. I was a little nervous because I had NEVER been to one of these meetings before, even as a new missionary. When I came to the mission I met my trainer at the mission office and we went straight home. Well this was different. The meeting for the trainers was basically how important our role is as trainers and basically to love our companions. Well, the moment came. President Haynie was calling out names and I'm just here waiting for my name to be called. Then it came time. Elder D was called and my name was called. We came together and oh my goodness, I will not include here my first impression of him, let's just say that he is very similar to Elder H and Elder B that's for sure. We had a little meeting telling the new missionaries about some stuff about the mission and then we went to grab his luggage and my luggage. President S was there and we were trying to get everything to fit into his car, but Peggy didn't fit. We had to leave her behind and I texted our Zone Leaders that they would need to bring Peggy to me. So President S took us to our apartment and we opened it up and it is the exact same apartment that Elder D and Elder F were staying at before. It isn't the nicest, but with some cleaning it'll be a good apartment. The plus side is that it has AC so that's SUPER nice. So at this point I am trying to call around the Branch to find some families that we can go visit, because we didn't have any information on investigators when we arrived in the area. I am also texting and calling the RS secretary so that way she maybe could call around and find some of the hermanas that could feed us that week.... Talk about stressful right. Plus I am here with a new missionary who is probably already stressed out of his mind, so you can't show that you're stressed!!! Well, neither of us had a bike and so we walked to the store to buy food. THANKFULLY miracles happen and tender mercies of the Lord ARE REAL and the Elders in the other part of the Branch (where I was before) called us to ask where we were so that way they could give us the low down on what is happening here in the Branch. They also got some switched happen so they met us at the store and told us that they would bring our groceries back for us in their car... So nice! The other missionaries are Elder L and Elder B. Elder L is the DL and he is just super chill and hilarious. We had hung out a couple times on Pday before, he was trained by Elder J where I was trained at and so we have some good inside jokes and stuff. Elder B is in his 2nd transfer, but he acts like he is the most experienced missionary every. I tell you, I'm gonna have to have more patience with him than with my own companion. Anywho, so we are trying to find a way to get my companion a bike and we hear about some elders that have a garage that may have a bike in it. We go there and we see this bike, and so of course my companion takes it. The chain was a little weird and the tubes were a little messed up so we took it to a bike shop. This bike shop has some less active members working there and they have also helped out a lot of missionaries. So they kinda tuned up the bike, except for the chain. Basically one of the part of the chain is warped and so at any moment it could snap or break, and it sounds like that when you are riding the bike. They said that it would cost about 12$ to replace the chain. Elder D decided that he would last this week and then next week decide on whether he wanted to buy a new bike on Monday. So we went back to the apartment all excited that we were finally going to be able to bike, and then I look at my bike and something seems a little off. My brakes were completely detached and rusted. The line that goes along the body of the frame was rusted, and I think that is because when you don't use your bike, you leave it outside. So leaving it outside in the El Segundo area, which is right by the beach... Probably had something to do with that for sure. Anywho, so with nothing to do we decided to take the information that we had about members in our area and decided to go tracting for some members. We walked around and finally were able to talk to this family that I guess are members. They are super less active because it was just so awkward talking to them. You can definitely get a feel for the family based on how the kids and the parents treat you. Anywho, we set a return appointment with them and so that was a tender mercy that they would let us come back by. I felt so bad because we didn't have any food. What type of father am I that on the first night in the mission field my companion has no food? I am a terrible person. Thankfully K had given me and Elder O some muffins the day before and I had decided to take them with me to my new area, so we had muffins for dinner :p

Wednesday we had our morning studies and it felt good to actually have some meaningful studies. We practiced during companionship study a lesson and it was really good. Elder D is a new missionary so his Spanish is far from being able to communicate right now, but hey, he feels confident in what he knows so that's fine with me. We went to a bike shop to fix Peggy and her brakes, and basically the guy just replaced both brake lines, and put new tubes in my tires, the whole thing cost about 50$ which is probably a little more than what the other shop would've charged, but this one was closer and we needed the bike that day anyways. When we left the shop I decided to test out the new brakes to see if I liked them, so I got on Peggy (this is without a helmet mind you) and I try and be super fancy and show off in front of the other missionaries by drifting on Peggy. Well, what I didn't realize, like I just mentioned, is that they had replace BOTH brakes. So when I squeezed a little on the front, it ended up being that I squeezed a lot and I got bucked off of Peggy. It was funny. I felt so dumb, but kinda grateful that I know my brakes work! So we went to try and sync my iPad so that way we had some potential investigators to go and visit. It's really difficult because all of our information for the investigators and everyone in our area is in the area book app of the other elders because they covered this area last transfer. So wha they have been having to do is send all of the information over to us manually... So it's been taking some time. We got some people and we made plans to go and visit them. We come back to the apartment and I cannot find my helmet. We look everywhere and we ask the elders and everyone who we might not that might've seen the helmet and nothing. So I didn't have a helmet. That means that we couldn't bike. I texted a member from the Downey ward who was the former Stake President and asked hi if he had a helmet that he could spare me. Now he is just the most Christlike man that I have met on the mission. He told me that him and his wife wouldn't be home till late, but that he could bring me the helmet the next morning. He is so nice. We had to walk during the day! The sun was hot, and not a lot of people were out, but we managed to talk to a good number of people. We ended up visiting this one family named the H Family. We just kinda stopped in on them to introduce us as the new missionaries. They told us that about 2 years ago they were sealed as a family and that the missionary who baptized them was engaged to their daughter, or already married... Idk I'll figure that one out. We shared a Mormon message with them and then went to have a lesson with one of the RC in this area named J F. She is having some struggles right now with her family. Her family and some of her friends have basically disowned her because she joined the church. She also has been drinking coffee and is trying to stop. She is such a tender soul! I remember back when I was here how she would walk all the way to the bus stop, which is a little ways a way, just to take the bus to go to church, because the church is so far away. Seeing her going through these types of struggles... It just breaks your heart! We then didn't have any dinner unfortunately planned for that day. We did get a ride to correlation from Presidente Olea and I didn't know that he is an Uber driver. Anywho, we talked with him and he is doing good. We got there and I recognized a couple people. We talked to some of the members and they were telling us some stuff that is going on in the branch. I saw J there and he was so stoked that we were there! Hermano A didn't show up to correlation (he is out of town) and so there wasn't any coorelation, so it was a good opportunity at least to get to know the members. Right as we were about to leave, Presidente Olea asked us if we could help give a blessing to a member, and Elder D did the anointing. Well it was a good experience and it was super good. We had to get home because it was winding down on curfew, so a member named E R, I knew him before but just so y'all know, he gave us a ride back. He then asked if we got any dinner for the day and we said no. Well he texted the branch president, so sneaky, that we didn't and they tried to get us to go back to the branch. Well it was like 9:20 at this time so I knew we weren't going to make it by curfew, so we politely explained that it would be better for us just to go home on time. He took us home and then Hermana O made some food for us that E dropped off after we were already home. It was definitely a tender mercy and we were obedient to the rules!! Boom.

Thursday morning President Larson brought me a helmet to use and it is so nice! He told me that it is his personal helmet so he might just buy me a new helmet... What?! We then went to go and give service for Hermana A, who is like the adoptive mother of all missionaries who ever serve in this area. She has some health problems but she is just so sweet and looks after us. She was moving into a different apartment on the bottom floor because she has some ankle problems. Her sons were there and the other elders were there too, so moving was generally pretty easy. My companion was struggling riding his bike... It was kind a funny and sad moment at the same time. It was funny because of how easy bike riding is for me NOW, but I just wanted to make sure that he didn't feel discouraged or anything. Well good thing Elder D is awesome and he always keeps trying! He fell a couple times and crashed into some trees, but he is still riding!! Hermana A is the one that sent you the picture. While doing the service activity, Elder L and I found this HUGE spider... I kid you not it was a monster. It was red and we saw its huge web that it had made. It's pincers were at the ready and we both really really really wanted to take a picture of it, but neither of us had anything to take a picture with. I told Elder L that we were going to kill it, so I grabbed a rake and put the spider on the ground and elder L then squished it, guts everywhere... There you go Charlie, one less spider in the world ;) After service Hermana A told us to go to this place called La Casa Jimena which is a Mexican restaurant in our area and right down the street from Hermana A. It was good and I ordered flautas and they were super good. We then went to the Lynwood building to sync and to do our weekly planning, but it was really hard because we don't know any of the people in our area, so how can you plan for them? It was interesting, but we set some good goals and at the end we had a little biking 101 for Elder D. We then went to go and see a RC that is just so cool. His name is Salvador and he is from Mexico. He has already done baptisms for the dead and is super motivated to do family history work. We are going to keep visiting him and helping him out with all of that. We then biked to the Q's home and guess what? Hermana Q is the aunt of ABRAHAM!! The first person that I stood in the water with... AAAAAHHHHH! I was so happy:))))))) she said that maybe sometime they could get the family over and I was just so happy. Anywho she made us dinner and it was really good. A couple of her sons are less active, but that'll change in a little bit, no worries, we got this. We then went to go and see another RC named R. He has some health problems with speech and vision, but he is just so nice. He already has his temple recommend to go and to temple baptisms, so we are going to try and find a member to come with us to do that REAL soon! We then biked home to our apartment. Oh and my companion does Yoga.

Friday we had our district meeting and goodness, this transfer is going to be an interesting one. The companion of our DL feels like he is in charge of everything, so it's a good learning opportunity for me to respect other missionaries and listen to what they have to say. We had a special ZTM afterwards to help us get more members to come with us to lessons, so we will see how that goes this next week. Another missionary named Elder Rs who is also super cool is in the zone has a sword that a member gave him... Just cause. We went back to the apartment and had lunch and then went out contacting. We talked to this guy named A and oh boy is he a handful. He is a more theoretical type guy, but he told us that we could stop by on Saturday so we planned for that. We then tried to stop by some investigators with baptismal dates that we hadn't met yet, and they weren't home so that was really sad. We then went to try and see a RC who also wasn't home, but I guess he has a persimmon tree that we can just eat from so we tried that... Oh my goodness, it was awful. All of a sudden our mouths were just so dry! It was a terrible experience. We then ate dinner with Hermana G and she is really nice, she told us her story and what is going on with her family so that was really nice to hear, she is such a nice old lady. We then went to go and pick up a bike from a member cause he said my companion could have it and so we did that. My companion really likes this bike over the one he was using so he was happy. We then went to go and see the M family, who are like right about to be baptized. As we go and are walking across the street, the tire on my comps bike falls of for no reason! What the hey. Anywho we had the lesson and it was awesome, we even had them plan to be married the next day! It was pretty cool.

Saturday we had a lesson with P and M and they are super cool. They also have baptismal dates and we are going to help them be baptized this transfer. They are super cool. We then rode our bikes back to the apartment because the lesson was earlier in the day, and my companion crashed. He hit a bump and crashed into a car and scratched the car... And his hand. We followed the mission rules on what to do in the situation and then went home to get him all washed up. We then had the elders pick us up so that way we could go to the WEDDING!!! It was so cool and I guess they have been meaning to get married for the past couple months so it was a pretty big deal for them. It was so cute when the wife was giving her vows because she told her husband that she not only wants to be with him in this life, but that she wants to be with him and have an eternal family with him! Almost cried... Almost. We then went to go and see A and it was the first time Elder D really taught the Restoration, it was good. A himself is holding back from progressing because at the end he seemed like he would except the message, but just the fact that he is very skeptical about everything makes himself be held back.

Sunday was good, I don't remember too much that happened besides walking around and contacting after church. We did go and see the Hernandez family and they gave us pupusas and they also just had puppies, like the eyes aren't even opened yet... Anywho, ya.

Love,

Elder Roberts