Happy birthday Day! I'm sorry you can't have corned beef and cabbage, but I'll let you know next week what I eat. As far as the Mexican life here, the best thing I ate was probably homemade pico de gallo. You can't beat it. Also, fresh horchata twice which was awesome. I also ate like the last three inches of a Serrano (the hottest part) just to show off. It was hot, but sabes que, I didn't even shed a tear.
Our first full proselyting week of the transfer! It's been a good week. Working hard, hitting the pavement, and pounding doors. We found a really cool new family, the V. family. They have a 7 year old daughter named Alejandra. She hardly speaks English since they just barely came from Mexico, and the parents on,y speak Spanish. They're looking for a church to go to! He has a lot of questions about the trinity and Saints and stuff, but they're looking pretty good. We are working pretty close with this young, unmarried couple that has a baby. They're pretty cool. So pretty much with them and Veronica, we have three people that we're teaching in English. But the rest is pretty much all Spanish. And Elder Teran and I talk in Spanish all the time. It's super nice having a companion I can actually talk to in the mission language.
We had Stake Conference yesterday. President Cuvulier extended and ivitation to all the members
1- invite a less active member or non member to come to church, an activity, nconference, or a baptism etc.
2- perform a temple ordinance for a deceased relative
Both of these can be done by all four of you guys! So get to work and go do it!
Also, thank you so much for the Girl Scout cookies! Samoas are the best. I remember eating them in the MTC, which I can't even believe was a year ago. Time flies.
I had to translate in stake conference. I translated one talk Saturday night, and a different talk Sunday. You know how they always talk about how right when they needed it, the gift of tongues came and they spoke perfectly? Yeah, not Saturday night. It was awful. I was so nervous and forgot all of my Spanish, I swear. The guy who was in charge of tech looked at me like I had an IQ of .008. But on Sunday it was way better. I just closed my eyes, listened to the talk, and said what he said but in Spanish. Way better on Sunday.
Everyone told me I did a way good job.
So things are good! The mission is going great. One of the things that I loved studying was on page 32 of the Spanish Preach My Gospel it talks about Ammon and Aaron teaching about God. I compared how they did it to what Preach My Gospel says in the God Is Our Loving Heavenly Father principle. It was a great study. You guys told me you were going to be studying it. How is that going?
Keep reading and praying! Love, Elder Mufosta
Love,
Elder Foster
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Week 55
First week into the new transfer! And I have got to say, it was a good week. To start off, Elder Contla and Elder Fonseca had to go to Santa Rosa Tuesday since Elder Contla is training. Well, Tuesday night, I get a phone call from their phone and I answer and it says "Que hubole guero!!!" And I was like hey Elder Contla, what's up? And then the person on the phone says "puchika papichulo! You don't know who this is?" And it was Elder Wright! Elder Fonseca stayed with him that night. So I got to talk to him for about 15 minutes. I love that kid. He told me I was his favorite companion, and it was just good to talk. He and I have a solid relationship even though there were some hard times.
Then the next day I went to Davis with Elder Boswell while I was waiting for my comp. we went to this apartment complex looking for a member, but we didn't know where he lived. So we knocked around and then decided to ask the manager. Well, as we were talking to the manager, the phone rang and she put it on speaker. "Hello, this is Sheila from apartment 26 calling."
"How can I help you Sheila?"
"Well, there were just some Jehovah's Witnesses knocking at my door."
"I think they're Mormons."
"Well I wanted to know what the policy is for soliciting here."
"There's no soliciting, but they're not selling anything."
"Well they want my time, that's something."
"What exactly do you want me to do? They're not breaking the law, they're only ministering."
"Ummmmmm well I just wanted to know the policy on soliciting, thanks."
So yeah, I'm pretty sure that one day that nice manager lady will get baptized.
Ok also, while in Davis, I received revelation. So when explaining what exactly missionaries do to E, she was confused at why our missions are just converting people instead of building houses or schools like other Christian churches do. Well, I kind of wondered that as well. But then, I realizes something. Read John 6:46-58. What other churches (and ours too) do is humanitarian work. And that is awesome, but also temporal. Those things go away. It is mana, which is temporarily satisfying. But the bread that we offer as missionaries is the bread of life. Does that make sense?
Ok and now for my companion- he's awesome. He is from Southern California, but originally from Puebla, Puebla. He kind of talks like a cholo in Spanish, but it's cool. He actually teaches. He actually contacts. He does what he's supposed to do and I don't have to drag him around like some puppy. He's humble (well, at least he doesn't say things like "I would be a great District Leader") and all around just a funny guy. We get along very well. And also, on Saturday, a less active invited us over for Menudo. So I ate menudo. It wasn't bad, but I'd still rather have posole. I guess most restaurants make it pretty poorly. If the tripe is cut up small it's supposedly better. But anyway, he's awesome and we get along really well. I like his work ethic and he still has fun, which is awesome.
Then the next day I went to Davis with Elder Boswell while I was waiting for my comp. we went to this apartment complex looking for a member, but we didn't know where he lived. So we knocked around and then decided to ask the manager. Well, as we were talking to the manager, the phone rang and she put it on speaker. "Hello, this is Sheila from apartment 26 calling."
"How can I help you Sheila?"
"Well, there were just some Jehovah's Witnesses knocking at my door."
"I think they're Mormons."
"Well I wanted to know what the policy is for soliciting here."
"There's no soliciting, but they're not selling anything."
"Well they want my time, that's something."
"What exactly do you want me to do? They're not breaking the law, they're only ministering."
"Ummmmmm well I just wanted to know the policy on soliciting, thanks."
So yeah, I'm pretty sure that one day that nice manager lady will get baptized.
Ok also, while in Davis, I received revelation. So when explaining what exactly missionaries do to E, she was confused at why our missions are just converting people instead of building houses or schools like other Christian churches do. Well, I kind of wondered that as well. But then, I realizes something. Read John 6:46-58. What other churches (and ours too) do is humanitarian work. And that is awesome, but also temporal. Those things go away. It is mana, which is temporarily satisfying. But the bread that we offer as missionaries is the bread of life. Does that make sense?
Ok and now for my companion- he's awesome. He is from Southern California, but originally from Puebla, Puebla. He kind of talks like a cholo in Spanish, but it's cool. He actually teaches. He actually contacts. He does what he's supposed to do and I don't have to drag him around like some puppy. He's humble (well, at least he doesn't say things like "I would be a great District Leader") and all around just a funny guy. We get along very well. And also, on Saturday, a less active invited us over for Menudo. So I ate menudo. It wasn't bad, but I'd still rather have posole. I guess most restaurants make it pretty poorly. If the tripe is cut up small it's supposedly better. But anyway, he's awesome and we get along really well. I like his work ethic and he still has fun, which is awesome.
The branch is good. We do have a lot of member support. And.... a few problems with the branch president. Over stuff like getting a Gospel Principles class started. But we went out with our branch missionary and Joel Rodriguez. I'm, trying to work more closely with the members. So trying to get solid appointments to have members come out is great.
Well, that's it for the week. Just contacting, tracting and teaching. A good week! Love you and miss you guys.
Elder Foster
Well, that's it for the week. Just contacting, tracting and teaching. A good week! Love you and miss you guys.
Elder Foster
is that kind of what you want?
Week 54
Well here it is! We received transfer doctrine on Friday. I'm staying here in Woodland! My companion will be Elder Teran. When I was in Napa, he was serving in Sonoma. I know who he is, but I don't really know him too well since Sonoma was pretty separated from Napa in that zone. He is from Mexico, but he came out here from LA. He's been out the exact same time as me, but he went into the field when I went into the MTC. Right now he's coming from my old area in Napa. I'm way stoked, I didn't think I was going to have a Native. He will be co-district leader with me. Most people say we will get along. Elder Fonseca, unfortunately, is leaving. He's going to Roernart Park (it's spelled wrong) to be able to be closer to doctors for his back. Elder Contla will be a district leader and trainer here. Hopefully his greenie is cool. Because even with my comp problems I have never been such close friends with the Elders from my pad. I'm thinking it should still be great next transfer. Outside of the zone but in the branch, Hermana Billat is coming to Davis! I'm super stoked. She's one of my best friends in the mission. Hermana Witt is leaving Woodland, and Hermana Thompson will be training. Hermana LeMmon (not from the branch, but serving in the Spanish group in Dixon) is going to Fairfield and she is taking a letter to the Diaz family from me. The only bummer is now that Hermana Fernandez from Spain is no longer in my district, I have a different set of Hermanas though. One of them is Hermana Cornwall, who I served with my last transfer in Fairfield!
It's been rainy here. Despite my companion's complaints, we are going out walking in the rain a lot. Because biking in the rain isn't fun, and plus, if you pros walk/ knock doors in the rain, it makes your future wife lose weight. Which is something I need, because in the course of my mission, she has gained some weight from all of the copies of the Book of Mormon that I have dropped. Whoever she is has been dropping copies of the Book of Mormon as well though... But it does break the Spanish people's hearts to see the missionaries all wet and trying to talk about Jesus, so they are a lot more open in the rain.
On Friday night, driving back from Happy Hot Dog ( have I explained this?) the four of us get a text from the NOAA that said there was a tornado and to seek shelter. So we weren't sure what to do. We called President, and he told us to be safe, and head in for the night, but to make it productive. So, naturally, we called all of our people, then had language study while we made planner covers. I'll send a picture of mine.
Every other Wednesday we eat with a family in Esparto called the Lopez family. My seat (that I assigned to myself) has a view of the tv. Two weeks ago, I saw the first hour of Finding Nemo in Spanish. This week, I saw the second half. And then got beat up by their grandson, Thomas. He's hilarious. And violent. He's like three, I told him "Elder Contla quiere pelear" so he rips off his jacket, throws it down, and starts attacking him. Super funny.
Joel, the one from Mexico who served a mission and is getting married comes up to me Sunday and says "See Elder Foster? We are brothers. We both speak spanish and we are white!" Even though he's Mexican. He's an awesome member. We have a lesson planned that he is coming to tonight.
Well, as far as this week goes, it's been going well for teaching! We are actually teaching two different people in English, which is actually quite a challenge. They all want to come to the Spanish branch since they are friends or family with people from the branch, we just teach them in English. It's fun! One of the people we are teaching is Veronica. She is super cool, like 23 years old. She told us this last time that all 3 of her brothers are in jail. It's super sad. She really needs the gospel. She works on Sunday, but will be trying to get work off. We have picked up some other new people this week. I feel like the area is about to explode.
Well, that's probably it for the week. I'll let you know all about transfers and how they are work out and I will let you know all about my new comp and the new greenie that we will be living with.
I love you guys! I miss you. Have a wonderful week! Keep reading and praying.
Elder Foster
Well, as far as this week goes, it's been going well for teaching! We are actually teaching two different people in English, which is actually quite a challenge. They all want to come to the Spanish branch since they are friends or family with people from the branch, we just teach them in English. It's fun! One of the people we are teaching is Veronica. She is super cool, like 23 years old. She told us this last time that all 3 of her brothers are in jail. It's super sad. She really needs the gospel. She works on Sunday, but will be trying to get work off. We have picked up some other new people this week. I feel like the area is about to explode.
Well, that's probably it for the week. I'll let you know all about transfers and how they are work out and I will let you know all about my new comp and the new greenie that we will be living with.
I love you guys! I miss you. Have a wonderful week! Keep reading and praying.
Elder Foster
Monday, February 24, 2014
Week 53
Well, here it is! I hit my one year mark. Can you believe it? I can't. It's flown by. Without a doubt it has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my whole life. It's definitely the most important thing I've ever had to do. And the most rewarding. I've grown a lot, but I'm definitely not even close to where I want to be. In Preach My Gospel I read a super cool part that said (when referring to prayer and a prayer scale, but I decided that it applies to life) Where are you? Where do you want to be? What are you going to do to change? I decided that those three questions combined with prayer are pretty much the basis for any self evaluation on a Spiritual level. So I hope to be applying that daily.
I'm actually super sad I've been out this long. I can't really describe it. But I'm not like sad... It's just like sad that... I don't know how to describe it. But I love every moment of it. Even the moments that suck. It's all good!
To celebrate, we went to the temple! It was amazing. Probably the best session I've ever been too. I can't really talk about it too much, but it can say that I had a great prayer. I'm still riding the Spiritual High. It's probably the best I've felt since I've been here in Woodland, and I hope to keep it up for a long time. I bought a journal at Deseret Book, and I'm using it as a study journal/ spiritual journal. For the things I learn and sacred experiences. I love it.
I just really can't describe how good I feel right now. Things might not be the greatest with my comp, but I'm super happy.
Elder Contla, in high school, took a sewing class called "Fiber Arts." So the other night while doing some serious tie trades, I picked a tie I wanted, but the back was messed up. He said "Don't worry, I'll just fiber arts it back together." It was super hilarious.
I have had some fantastic studies as well. Every day I am studying for language study the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes, but in addition to that, for Persona, Study every day I've been reading the New Testament in Spanish. It's super awesome. I haven't read the Mew Testament since I was 14, and I feel like it is really fulfilling. Some things that stuck out to me were in Matthew 22:17-21 where Jesus talks about rendering unto Cesar what is from Cesar. Jesus says that we should render unto God what is of God. I have always thought this supported tithing, but there is more. What else is from God? We are. In the words of James E. Talmage, we are Spiritual Mintage. And because of that we need to consecrate ourselves.
There is also the parable of the wedding feast and the wedding garment. It made no sense, so I used Jesus the Christ as a study guide. That section is amazing. You guys should read it.
Well, I love you! I miss you. Thanks for all the love, support, and packages in the last year. I hope you have a great week!
To celebrate, we went to the temple! It was amazing. Probably the best session I've ever been too. I can't really talk about it too much, but it can say that I had a great prayer. I'm still riding the Spiritual High. It's probably the best I've felt since I've been here in Woodland, and I hope to keep it up for a long time. I bought a journal at Deseret Book, and I'm using it as a study journal/ spiritual journal. For the things I learn and sacred experiences. I love it.
I just really can't describe how good I feel right now. Things might not be the greatest with my comp, but I'm super happy.
Elder Contla, in high school, took a sewing class called "Fiber Arts." So the other night while doing some serious tie trades, I picked a tie I wanted, but the back was messed up. He said "Don't worry, I'll just fiber arts it back together." It was super hilarious.
I have had some fantastic studies as well. Every day I am studying for language study the Book of Mormon for 30 minutes, but in addition to that, for Persona, Study every day I've been reading the New Testament in Spanish. It's super awesome. I haven't read the Mew Testament since I was 14, and I feel like it is really fulfilling. Some things that stuck out to me were in Matthew 22:17-21 where Jesus talks about rendering unto Cesar what is from Cesar. Jesus says that we should render unto God what is of God. I have always thought this supported tithing, but there is more. What else is from God? We are. In the words of James E. Talmage, we are Spiritual Mintage. And because of that we need to consecrate ourselves.
There is also the parable of the wedding feast and the wedding garment. It made no sense, so I used Jesus the Christ as a study guide. That section is amazing. You guys should read it.
Well, I love you! I miss you. Thanks for all the love, support, and packages in the last year. I hope you have a great week!
Week 52
Dear Family,
I had no idea that the Olympics were on until the email last week. And then it didn't click until I actually saw them on TV. Kind of weird. Even with Facebook, we are still pretty out of the world.
Happy Valentine's day! And happy birthday Mom! This week was a really fun week, but I think the highlight of the week was Valentine's Day. We had a dance that we, the Elders, decorated. It All looked really good. Ok now I'm going to explain the difference between an American church party and a Spanish church party. American church parties are cool. There is food, there is entertainment, but the lights are on, and since in our ward everyone is old, everyone that is there sits down. However, Spanish parties are where it is at. There were nachos, soda, and snacks. Not only that, we had a DJ. The lights were off. EVERYONE was dancing, including our old lady investigator Alicia. They played Spanish music for the old people, and new music for the young people from the branch. Everyone from the branch came including a lot of our less actives. Which brings us to a really cool part. We contacted two guys from Honduras that were interested in the church and English Classes. We got their number, and told them we would call them. Well, at the dance Friday night, they show up with our less active from Honduras, Angel! Automatic fellow shipper. But, antihero bonus, they also lived with Fidel last year, and Fidel's new roommate was just baptized! So these guys should be sweet.
We also picked up two new investigators, Veronica and Juan. They're pretty young and we teach them in English, but they will go to the Spanish Branch. Veronica knows a less active member pretty well, and wait for it.... The last time the less active person gave a referral to the missionaries she got baptized! We have big hoped for these two as well.
Another cool thing that happened- Alicia was waiting for a ride from her nephew to church in Sunday, but he cancelled. She was just sitting outside enjoying the weather when Joel and his fiancée roll up (he has come with us to lessons before), and offers her a ride. So she came to church! In addition to Fidel and a 16 year old girl named Paola from our area.
So the week was good. We had a good district meeting, about the Book of Mormon, and my district meeting tomorrow is about prayer. Even though I don't have a lot of responsibility (my district is the STL, her comp, my comp, and the Zone Lords, I enjoy it!
The Diaz family sent Elder Wright and I nice yellow trump ties with their names and the date of heir baptism signed on the inside. Best family ever.
I think that's about it for the week. It's been a looooong week. I feel like I haven't even emailed in like 3 weeks it has been so long. Transfers are coming up, and I'm not going to lie, it is going to be nice to have a change. If President asks me to train again, I'm coming home. Not really though, I just want a hard working companion who speaks Spanish. Is that too much to ask for?
We also picked up two new investigators, Veronica and Juan. They're pretty young and we teach them in English, but they will go to the Spanish Branch. Veronica knows a less active member pretty well, and wait for it.... The last time the less active person gave a referral to the missionaries she got baptized! We have big hoped for these two as well.
Another cool thing that happened- Alicia was waiting for a ride from her nephew to church in Sunday, but he cancelled. She was just sitting outside enjoying the weather when Joel and his fiancée roll up (he has come with us to lessons before), and offers her a ride. So she came to church! In addition to Fidel and a 16 year old girl named Paola from our area.
So the week was good. We had a good district meeting, about the Book of Mormon, and my district meeting tomorrow is about prayer. Even though I don't have a lot of responsibility (my district is the STL, her comp, my comp, and the Zone Lords, I enjoy it!
The Diaz family sent Elder Wright and I nice yellow trump ties with their names and the date of heir baptism signed on the inside. Best family ever.
I think that's about it for the week. It's been a looooong week. I feel like I haven't even emailed in like 3 weeks it has been so long. Transfers are coming up, and I'm not going to lie, it is going to be nice to have a change. If President asks me to train again, I'm coming home. Not really though, I just want a hard working companion who speaks Spanish. Is that too much to ask for?
Food here is good. This Sunday we are going to be eating tamales with bananas instead of the corn husks. Nothing too special from the last week, but every Monday we eat with Marylyn, so I will let you know next week what it is. My best food area has been Napa. And as far as the mission goes, I've heard the best are Napa, Vallejo, and San Rafael. Woodland is pretty good. There is an helote stand next to a less actives house and they are like a dollar and he always buys them for us. Which means that usually the next day I am pooping a lot, but it's worth it. I always just want him to buy 2, have him say "surprise" and then I would say "GET THAT CORN OUT OF MY FACE" but that hasn't happened yet unfortunately. Hopefully I get the chance before I leave.
But the work is true! I'm super glad I am out here. We are going to the temple on the 20th, which is my year mark. I can't even believe it. It's time to put in work and try my very hardest! I'm excited to see what this last year holds for me. It's been a good year. Some solid baptisms. I know for sure I was supposed to meet, like the Diaz family. Some companions I have truly loved like Elder Hansen, Lopez, and Wright. It's been super hard. I had to learn Spanish. But I've seen God's hand in my life. I learned Spanish (better than most gringos in the mission, according to some. I think I've just mastered the art of conversation.) with the help of the gift of tongues, and I still have a lot I want to learn. I've had tons of rejections, some people bash with us, a lot of people yell Hail Satan from cars, and lots of other junk that happens, but it's all been worth it. I love my mission.
Love you guys! I miss you! Have a wonderful week! And happy birthday Mom!
But the work is true! I'm super glad I am out here. We are going to the temple on the 20th, which is my year mark. I can't even believe it. It's time to put in work and try my very hardest! I'm excited to see what this last year holds for me. It's been a good year. Some solid baptisms. I know for sure I was supposed to meet, like the Diaz family. Some companions I have truly loved like Elder Hansen, Lopez, and Wright. It's been super hard. I had to learn Spanish. But I've seen God's hand in my life. I learned Spanish (better than most gringos in the mission, according to some. I think I've just mastered the art of conversation.) with the help of the gift of tongues, and I still have a lot I want to learn. I've had tons of rejections, some people bash with us, a lot of people yell Hail Satan from cars, and lots of other junk that happens, but it's all been worth it. I love my mission.
Love you guys! I miss you! Have a wonderful week! And happy birthday Mom!
Week 51
Ok so to start off this email, I'm going to drop two huge bombs. The first bomb- Elder H. is now engaged to Sister K. (a former sister missionary.). Now, this isn't incredibly new information. Even though he denied it repeatedly throughout our transfer together, I always told him he was going to marry her. In addition to that, about 7 weeks ago he emailed me telling me he had bought a ring. So it was more of a time bomb. Has that soaked in yet? Bomb two- Elder L. is now in a facebook relationship with a member from our branch here in Woodland. So pretty crazy, seeing people actually have lives after the mission. I miss Elder H. and Elder L. a ton.
We also had a miracle this week- Marcus, the man to whom we gave a Book of Mormon was baptized. We might not have had the part in teaching him, and he might not count as our baptism, but he was the Lord's baptism. It is good to know that I could be a tool in the Lord's hand. Everything worked out perfectly with him. He was super happy to be getting baptized. Yesterday at church he we saw him wearing a suit and he looked so happy. It was good to see.
Yesterday I had a little fright. When sacrament meeting was over I was just chatting with our less active Fidel who came, when I hear a voice say "Elder Foster, cómo estás?" It was President Alba. Luckily, he wasn't there to talk to me, but still a good scare nonetheless. Good thing- we had our less active at church! Fidel. He's super cool. He has a ton of Gospel Knowledge, and probably the favorite less active I've ever taught.
I can't think of too many other things. We are just going door to door, walking all day long trying to find new people. We have found many potentials, and The Lord is blessing us with tons of referrals. So things are going well! Nothing new to report on the investigators we are teaching, but we have so many good people to start teaching. We just have to actually teach them. But things are looking up in our area.
I decided that branch councils are absolutely ridiculous. No matter where I go. There will always be contention, there will always be people that throw the meeting so off track that it's ridiculous. I hope that with all these missionaries future branch and ward councils will actually function like they should.
I am sending home part of a Jeffery R Holland talk. I usually try to study at least one talk from General Conference a week that helps me understand the doctrine that we teach. I like this part of the talk, because not naming religions, there are a lot of people that rely 100% on the Bible. But as members of the Church, we get revelation and inspiration from God. The scriptures convey to us His will and His love, but it's not the only way by which we can learn of Him. He speaks today. That is what the Restoration is really all about. Is that God speaks to man, and everyone can learn that for themselves. We don't ask people to believe us, or even to believe in the Book of Mormon, but we invite people to take in the information from us and from the Book of Mormon and then ask God. And if they do that, it works out.
It's raining like crazy here. It hasn't not rained in about 5 days. So I'm getting good usage out of my coat and my rain jacket. It's not super cold, but it's windy and so it makes it fun to contact. People that are inside feel bad and let us inside. We said a lot of prayers with a lot of families. We've got some solid potentials that have told us they are very interested, and so we can't wait to go visit them. Especially the lady that lost her kid, Delia. She told us the last time that it wasn't a good time, but we got her number and she told us to call her so we could set something up. We'll be calling her.
Sorry I don't have any crazy stories this week or anything. Sometimes you get into the grind and some weeks are more boring than others. But I love you and miss you all! Have a great week.
Elder Foster
Sorry I don't have any crazy stories this week or anything. Sometimes you get into the grind and some weeks are more boring than others. But I love you and miss you all! Have a great week.
Elder Foster
Week 50
This email is coming in a little bit late because we went to go give service to a Less Active named H. We were working on his car. He's in a nasty divorce situation, and pretty much he asked us to help him just to be able to talk to him. It was a good experience, he's an awesome guy. We do Family Home Evening with him and his 3 kids every Monday. He has a 10 year old who is the most mature 10 year old I've ever met. Elder Sabin last week said "I think he was foreordained to help his dad." I have no doubt that that is true. They're a great family.
On the other hand- none of our investigators came to church today. Super lame. So pretty much everyone that we are teaching is getting put on the back burner in order to put the priority on new people that we are teaching. We found this really awesome lady that we contacted getting out fonder car with her two year old son. She was getting back from exercising and was really friendly. She told me she had just gotten out of the hospital the last week. I asked her what was up, she told me it was because she was pregnant. She had a stroller turned the other way so that I couldn't see what was in it. I asked if it was her baby, and she told me that her babied had died. So she was really really excited to see us and to have us share a message with her. She's super sweet. The cool thing is that before we talked to her this Spanish Seventh Day Adventist guy bashed with us for 20 minutes (well, I didn't bash with him. But I did tell him to get his facts straight and that the Solomon Spaulding argument was disproved in 1890's [also, don't look him up. You'll find a mess of anti, I'm sure]) and so if he hadn't talked to us for forever, we would have never contacted her.
We also picked up this family with this dude named Alfonso. He only has one arm. So lots of good things in the area.
Other good thing- I'm eating paella on Wednesday. With a Spaniard from the branch.
For February, I have new goals. No more eating out, no more soda, only 2 tortillas with every meal. Because saben que I'm getting fat. So right now my goal is 135. Trying to get down 20 pounds. The only exception is a Baja Blast Mountain Dew Freeze for $1 during happy hour at Taco Bell on Fridays for weekly planning. That's my cheat day. Because YOLO. Also, healthy subway sandwiches because I have a ton of money to subway
So pretty much we're just knocking and contacting all the time. If we don't teach the lesson we have planned, we just contact or knock doors instead if trying to visit someone else. Because I'm sick of the people we teach not coming to church.
We had Zone a Conference. I learned awesome stuff. It was pretty much on the four cornerstones of the church. We learned how to present the first vision, and I tried it in a lesson. When I did it, the lady cried while I was saying it. It was awesome. We had a pre zone conference meeting for the ZL's and DL's where they taught us some new stuff to try for district meetings. It was cool.
I read a super cool talk by Tad Calister called Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration. You guys should listen to it. It's super awesome. He kind of throws down, but not too hard. He spoke at the MTC while I was there and he did the CES Devotional a few weeks ago. My money is on him for next apostol. I'm also studying an Institute book called Principles of Leadership every night before I go to bed. A lot of good stuff in there. I wish I would have had more time to take institute classes before my mission.
So the work is good. Just trying to talk to 20 new people a day and get people to church. I love you guys a lot and I miss you! Not the bad kind of missing you guys where I just think about home all the time and I don't want to be here, but I do miss you guys. Have a wonderful week and be safe!
For February, I have new goals. No more eating out, no more soda, only 2 tortillas with every meal. Because saben que I'm getting fat. So right now my goal is 135. Trying to get down 20 pounds. The only exception is a Baja Blast Mountain Dew Freeze for $1 during happy hour at Taco Bell on Fridays for weekly planning. That's my cheat day. Because YOLO. Also, healthy subway sandwiches because I have a ton of money to subway
So pretty much we're just knocking and contacting all the time. If we don't teach the lesson we have planned, we just contact or knock doors instead if trying to visit someone else. Because I'm sick of the people we teach not coming to church.
We had Zone a Conference. I learned awesome stuff. It was pretty much on the four cornerstones of the church. We learned how to present the first vision, and I tried it in a lesson. When I did it, the lady cried while I was saying it. It was awesome. We had a pre zone conference meeting for the ZL's and DL's where they taught us some new stuff to try for district meetings. It was cool.
I read a super cool talk by Tad Calister called Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration. You guys should listen to it. It's super awesome. He kind of throws down, but not too hard. He spoke at the MTC while I was there and he did the CES Devotional a few weeks ago. My money is on him for next apostol. I'm also studying an Institute book called Principles of Leadership every night before I go to bed. A lot of good stuff in there. I wish I would have had more time to take institute classes before my mission.
So the work is good. Just trying to talk to 20 new people a day and get people to church. I love you guys a lot and I miss you! Not the bad kind of missing you guys where I just think about home all the time and I don't want to be here, but I do miss you guys. Have a wonderful week and be safe!
Elder Foster
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