It's almost May!!

Hi everybody!!!!!!!!!! Happy Tuesday. I love Tuesdays!!!! I don't know why but it seems like I have a ton of energy on Tuesdays and not as much other days. I think I like having a little change of schedule. Guess what!!!! John Garcia is coming to visit on Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very excited if you can't tell. I think I had to stay this transfer in this area just because of him coming. I am looking forward to helping to uplift and encourage him to meet with the missionaries in Arizona and continue living the way he knows he should. I haven't had a chance to talk to him about whether or not they have met up since he left California for Arizona. I have still yet to have a spiritual experience that equals that of the one with John. Things this week have been going well. We have taught quite a few lessons and continued to work with less and non active members which sometimes is my favorite to teach because they already have a base knowledge and you can get a lot deeper. It is amazing how many of their concerns could have been resolved had they just had a good ward friend. It is so important to fellowship members who are having a hard time in our wards. It makes all the difference.

As far as investigators go we are having a blast sharing the gospel with them. I love how many great people I get to meet from all over the world. For example....last night we sat in the apartment of a man from India who shared all sorts of fascinating things with us. He is a sweet old man who loves his home land. He told us all about his guru and we told him all about the prophet. He's pretty funny and I wish I could better understand what he is saying but when he laughs, you can't help but laugh along with him. He is pretty into Hinduism but he agreed to read the Book of Mormon! We also met with another lady from India earlier who we contacted last week. Her husband is here working for a few years like many men from India do. They have a 5 year old son. She is pretty fascinating. She is the only one in her family who believes in Jesus Christ. She has received a lot of grief about it as you can imagine. Her husband doesn't even really support her but will let her go to whatever church she wants, he just won't go with her. It was pretty neat because it is fairly uncommon for us to find someone from India who believes in Christ already. The only problem now is that we need to find a translater and that is near impossible. However, she is ready to hear the gospel so somehow it will work out! The guy from Brigham city is still letting us teach him. We straight up told him why we were there last week and that if he really wasn't into it we could leave him alone. He said he was willing to hear the lessons. That is a huge step-it is a big deal that he is finally attempting to open up a little. He over-analyzes everything, so it has been interesting but I have great faith that he already knows that it is true and he just has to be reassured a little.
Today we got to go out of our area to Target so I could get my watch fixed. It was like being in a completely different world. It's so wierd how quickly you get into the missionary mode.

So apparently all of my friends and relatives are getting married or having babies!!!! Natalie is getting married????? Heather is having a kid in July?????? What is happening to all of you? Don't you know you are supposed to put your lives on hold for another year? I better get pictures!!!! I am also freaking out a little that my 2 darling nephews Alex and Kader will be turning 16!!!!!!!!!! I was just barely 16!!!!!!!!!!! I'm bummed I can't be there but I guess I'll just leave the 3 months of scary permit driving with the boys to all of you! Good luck!!!!!!!!!!! Well, sorry this is a scatter brained email. I love you all and am loving my mission. Thanks for all the love and support. Feel free to write anytime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures:

*I had the brilliant idea to tape my nylons to the railing so they wouldn't blow away. My comp thought I was nuts.

*This is my last district. They were a blast-sorry my eyes are closed-too many flashes

6 more weeks....here I come!!!

[Editor's note: Sorry for the slack in postings. I'll update now and try to do better in staying on top of things!]

Hey Ya'll

I'm staying here for another transfer! Yes, that will mean that after the next 6 week transfer I will have been here in my first area for 6 months! Sister Harrison is going home after this transfer so it is more than likely that I will still stay another to help a new sister figure out the area before I move on. That will mean I'll have been in my first area for 7.5 months which is pretty uncommon. I'm glad to be staying, I love this area and my ward is incredible. We have picked up about 12 new investigators in the past 2 weeks which is fun! Some of them even speak English now that I'm getting used to using my mad Spanish skills! There is this guy from Brigham City ( random I know). He was up on his apartment balcony smoking when we started talking to him. He was reluctant at first but after we found out where he was from and started talking about common things-me going to USU and both of us being from Utah, he opened up a bit and agreed to let us come again. We took a 27 year old sister with us who is in the marines to the lesson and it was perfect because he used to be a marine and she had some great experiences that she shared with him. I'm amazed at the power members have to make a difference. I honestly don't know if he'd have listened to us without her being there. So my member family and friends......go with the missionaries to appointments and share your experiences with their investigators- it is what makes the difference!!!!! Anyways, he is very objective in the way he views things and is pretty set on his opinions of why he doesn't need the church. He doesn't want to believe and he doesn't want to not believe. He's scared he'll believe but I think deep down he already does. It's fun to teach someone who already know so much because you can get deeper into things. I have a lot of faith in him being converted and finding so much more happiness in his life.

On the sad side of things, Santiago moved. He missed an appointment with our mission president which isn't like him and we couldn't get a hold of him. Come to find out, his brother found a job for him in Riverside so he moved. He didn't even tell us or say goodbye. On the bright side, we are praying they have a spanish branch and missionaries there for him. It will help him so much to be able to understand what is happening at church. The Lord will provide a way for him. We have taught a few families this week which has been fun. There is so much more to life and such happiness that can be ours as we live the gospel. I love seeing it change people.

Hannah Bannana, as I call her, (the 9 year old whose parents' are less active) is so fun. We have so much fun teaching her. Whenever we talk about the Holy Ghost or the blessings that can give us power and strength she puts her arms up in the air and does a little dance while she says loudly, "I've got the POWER!!!!" It is so funny and she's got us doing it all the time now too. Another crazy thing is we found out our investigator Tony, is brothers with another investigators boyfriend Eldin who supposedly is a member! The connections are crazy. I think the Lord is just double checking that we teach this family. We also got to help Sister Chapman this week, her son is struggling so we rounded up some food for her to give him. She doesn't have much herself yet she still wants to help. She may not be ready for the gospel yet but she trusts us and knows there is something different about us and that we will help her. I still love Neveah her grandaughter. She and Kyra would love to play with each other. Maybe someday. Well, I love you all so much. Keep chugging along in your busy lives and know that the Lord is the engineer whose driving!

Love ya,

Sister London

California happenins'

What a great week! We have 9 new investigators- part of which are two families!!! It has been an awesome week of being obedient and seeing results. Man, a mission is hard but it is so fun. It really is becoming fun. I love contacting people- just walking up to them and saying hey, I know a way you can have more happiness in your life! They look at you strangely because you just spoke to them.... yeah, no one waves or talks to each other here-no one even knows their neighbors! It's nuts! Don't worry, we wave and talk to everyone! I've met a few strange folk but it's a blast! We even got a note on our car the other day encouraging us to be "born again" and giving us some scripture references to "help" us. Little does our little windshield friend know that all of the verses he included we believe in! It's funny the perceptions people have about us. My favorite reply when contacting someone is, "oh, I'm a Christian" We say, "awesome, so are we, you'd love the Book of Mormon- it testifies of the Christ that we both believe in. Don't you think it would be important to get as close to him as we can?" They then give you the "oh, no.....they got me there" look and give us their address and phone number ( in the perfect world that is!) It's fun!!! It rained again this week. I'm pretty tired of the rain but today is beautiful and it does cool it down a bit. Transfers are coming up. We'll find out on Saturday night who is staying and/or going. Sister Fesolai, my trainer who is serving in Dana Point is going home this transfer and leaving on Tuesday morning so even if I did get to go to transfer meeting I wouldn't get to see her again which is sad. Who knows how soon I'll be able to visit New Zealand. I guess we'll all just have to plan a trip there when I get home!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whose in???????

While tracting the other day I saw the coolest thing. One of the houses had cut/trimmed/sculpted the bushes in front of their house to form their house number. It was so cool! This week we've spent a lot of time with a less active/recent convert sister. She has a truck load of medical problems and is trying to sell her house. It is always fun to be around her and over the months I've been here we've become good friends. We had a neat experience the other day after helping her get the house ready for an open house. She completely opened up to us and admitted that she was having trouble with her faith. We had an awesome discussion about faith and God's love and prayed with her. It was neat. Missionary work is not just finding new people, it is sustaining those we already have. I love working with less actives. I was given a blessing a few months ago when I was told that most of my time and effort would go to helping less-actives and part-members. I am seeing that come to pass and I love it. Look for those in your wards who may need some help. The gospel isn't easy to live and there are many who need help- help them so they can receive the same great blessings you and I do.

Santiago is still on the path to his May 1st baptism. He is so awesome! He has come to church 5 times now! He loves it. He loves the Book of Mormon. Often when we teach, we'll read a chapter with him and he'll continue reading to himself instead of listening to what we say! I love it!!!! I have really seen the Book of Mormon change his life. I'd always heard and believed it had that power but now I know it does! It relates to everything we do. Last week Santiago got some new roommates. One of them sat in on one of our discussions and asked if he could have a Book of Mormon!!!! We said yes of course and invited him to be taught also. He accepted. Two days later we were teaching Santiago again and a different new roommate sat in and was interested in learning more. It was crazy!!!! We told him of course too and now have two new investigators. I have a strong testimony of missionary work being led by the Lord. We were grateful to be teaching Santiago....little did we now that through him two others would hear about the gospel! It is so awesome. I love it!

Another one of our new investigators is Jesus. He talks so much and it is all in spanish. It's pretty funny because he talks to us like we know what he's saying and he knows we don't. Our translator says Jesus is somewhat of a poet. It's crazy fun teaching all of these spanish speakers. I love it so much!

Sorry this is a random email. I am just writing as fast as I can all that comes to mind. Well, I love ya lots! Thanks for all of the Easter letters and packages it makes my day and my companion jealous- I love it! Remember the Lord in all you do this week!

Love, Sister London

Pictures I've included: Me having a staring contest with a bird of paradise (my favorite plant here), cool sunset

No time!

I LOVE CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This weather is amazing. Why do we live in Utah???? Oh yeah, it's because milk is $4/gallon here. I remember....

Sorry all, not much time this week. Things are going well with the work. I'll update you all next week. I love you all!!!

Love Sister London

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

Thanks for the Saint Patty's decorations mom! I was so excited! No worries- this was a much better week! Today it is supposed to be 80 degrees!!!! I love it now but in about two weeks I won't be loving it so much. Yesterday while out tracting it was hot. Yep...hot in March...just wait until August.

This week we taught Cinnamon (her real name is Nancy but everyone calls her Cinnamon) She is a spunky 80 year old woman who is so funny. She was imitating a weather reporter who struts around and played the part quite well. She is hilarious. She has an amazing ancestry. Her great grandma was a slave and the one to warn all of the cotton workers when the guards were coming so they could stop praying and continue to work so they wouldn't get whipped. She is so excited about the book of mormon and we sang her a song that she loved. Yep...I felt like we should sing to her so we did. Sister Harrison is a singer but I'm not big on singing to people or in front of people for that matter so she was excited that I would do it for Cinnamon. We have an appointment to go back and read to her from the Book of Mormon and we are very excited. She doesn't know that it is our intention to convert her yet, but with time and help from our Heavenly Father it will happen soon enough.

We have also had a lot of fun contacting people this week. We have gotten into a lot of good conversations with people. Usually most are not interested and just move on but this week a good 7-8 actually stopped to talk to us. It is amazing how messed up a lot of people's perceptions of God and religion are. I've heard some pretty random things.

Everyone here is pretty excited for Sunday because Elder Perry is coming to talk to my stake. I guess there's never been an apostle here so it's a big deal. We're hoping he'll talk to just us missionaries but no word yet so probably not. We are still teaching our spanish speakers and finding more everyday. It's a challenge to get them to church but we keep trying. They all do really well with the lessons and enjoy it they just won't show up to church. It's hard too because it's a bit of a drive to get there so those without cars need rides.

We've been doing a lot of member work this week which has been fun. We've made it a goal to talk to 10 ward members/week including less actives and active members. We had a cool experience with a less active a few days ago. There is a Relief Society Party coming up so taking invites to some less actives was a great excuse to stop by. We stopped at one sister's house and were invited in. She was nice but seemed a bit apprehensive at first. We started talking to her and soon she warmed up and we found out that she grew up in the church. She married a Catholic and moved to Texas a few years later and just didn't end up finding a ward to go to and hasn't been since really. She doesn't know why she stopped. She still believes and prays everyday. She agreed to let us come back again and said she had nothing against coming back and she knew her husband would be supportive of whatever she did. Crazy how some just fall away for no reason. All she needed was someone to go out of their way to invite her to church and she may have never fallen away. She is a great lady and we're hopeful she'll be reactivated and we will be able to teach the rest of her family as well. It's amazing how someone can fall away so quickly from something so trivial as moving and by not taking initiative we can lose so many blessings. To top it all off she plays tennis!!!! She plays almost everyday and is on a competitive team. How cool is that?

We're still teaching Hannah who turns 9 on Saturday. She is getting baptized in May. We taught her about tithing and gave her more candy than she could hold to represent the blessings received from paying her tithing. She definitely wants to pay her tithing!!!

I am still loving this area I am going to miss it when I leave. I know the gospel is true. That repentance changes our lives. The Lord's plan is perfect. The gospel is meant to be shared. Speak up and share what you believe. I promise it is not as hard as we think it is. The Lord only blesses and helps us when we do all we can- just think if you shared his plan with someone the blessings that would come!

Sister London

Faith, Faith , Faith. ......

Well, I'm not going to lie. It's been a crappy week. Yep, that's right.....not so good. We have had a hard time setting solid appointments with any of our investigators. They all have family in town or work random hours or don't return our calls and it's a bit frustrating. Most of our investigators can only meet with us once a week which is not good compared to the 2-3 times we are supposed to meet with them. When people have long breaks in between visits they forget the good feelings they had and fall further away. The hardest thing is finding something to do between the hours of 7:30-9:00 P.M. Most people are getting ready for bed by 8:00 around here so we can't just stop by because they have kids and tracting at that hour is out of the question. Any thoughts on what we could do? We have tried almost everything we know to do and haven't had a ton of success yet. I love that we are teaching so many spanish speaking investigators but it sure is difficult to get a hold of them because we have to have a member who speaks spanish call them and set up appointments and their work schedules change so much that often they are not there when we go. And to top it all off we got hounded by 2 bashers this week who tried to "show us the way" and tell us that all we believe is untrue. Yep, two in one week. One just approached us in a parking lot and the other was the roommate of a lady we are teaching who was baptized 5 years ago but inactive. It's interesting because bible bashers don't want to share what they believe with you...they just want to yell at you while they tell you that you're wrong but it's nothing personal ------excuse me,,, when you attack my beliefs you have just gotten personal! It is so hard to just keep your mouth shut and not give replies back. I tried to calmly address on one issue and soon realized that it was wasted effort. All you can do is walk away having done your best to treat the situation as the Savior would. So, yep, a fun week. Yet.... after a delightful ice cream pity party last night we are ready to start anew! Transfers are this Wednesday but I am staying put and so is Sister Harrison. She goes home in two transfers so it wouldn't surprise me if I stayed here until then too. I love this area and finally know my way around so I'm happy. We are trying to figure out ways to get members more involved with our work because it is so much easier when members refer their friends and are a part of the conversion process. Just since I've been here I've seen that those who have a member fellowshipper do so much better. We are still teaching Adrian but he's sick this week. It was pretty funny last week because they took us to eat at a mexican resaurant and we taught him about faith while we were there. We blindfolded him and put some candy in front of him and had him feel it and related it to faith. Two guys walked in and asked what kind of a game we were playing. It was funny because when we explained what we were doing they just gave us that look -so if you hear rumors flying that mormons eat blindfolded in Mexican restaurants you'll know that rumor started in California! They thought we were pretty weird. Adrian's ready for baptism too but has some issues to work out that we can't do anything about which is hard because he is more than ready. Santiago came to church!!!!! He is the most progressing of anyone we are teaching because he has a solid fellowshipper who comes with us to appointments and gives him rides to church. Even though he doesn't understand english he still enjoys church and is patient with us trying to figure out how to help our spanish speakers at church. It's so hard for them to feel welcome at church when most of the people don't speak their language and thus it's hard to get to know people. Santiago is strong and really believes so I guess those little details won't make a huge difference. We were so excited to take Jason to the singles ward family home evening last night because it was at the President Quinn's home so we could go because it was in our area. We had it all set up...we were going to pass him off to the singles ward elders to teach and introduce him to some of the members. Fifteen minutes before, he called and said he couldn't go because a friend of his was in a bind and he had to go and help her. Good excuse but now we don't know what to do with him! He's a good kid and it will work out! Faith, Faith , Faith. ...... I know I need it and I know how to get it (I teach people that everyday) but it is easier said than done. Our faith grows stronger with trials. I think I'm about ready for it to stop growing so the trials can stop and the work can move forward. Keep the prayers and letters coming cause I need them. Sorry if this sounds like a sad email but now I've vented it all and things can move forward. I really am doing well. I am meeting so many great people. I did the math the other day and by the end of my mission I will have contacted at least 11,000 people. Isn't that awesome. The message of the restoration of the gospel is true and thus I am here spreading the word even when it seems like no one cares. Heavenly Father cares about all his children so the work must go on! I love you all!

Sister London

Keep 'em coming!

Hello everyone...
First of all, note the new email address. It is interesting how all of these things like my email and address that are never supposed to change have all changed. Oh well, just go with the flow. I should receive emails sent to the other address until the end of the month but make sure you remember the new address so we won't lose track of each other.
It's March. I like March. This week has been great. I don't remember what I've told you all because I can't keep track of days/weeks for the life of me so I'll just tell you what I can think of and sorry if it's a repeat.
We have 6 spanish speaking only investigators and no spanish elders so it is up to us to take members along to translate and it has been so great. We have taught Santiago 3 times now and he understands the importance of baptism but doesn't want to make such a big commitment until he feels he is ready. He has been in the US for 10 years. His wife and his children are still in Guatemala. It is a common case here and it is so sad because these great men can't be with their families because they have to come here to work. It's a sad thing to see but a reality. I love how humble and accepting of the gospel all of our "spanish speakers" (as we lovingly refer to them) are. It is fun to use the limited spanish skills I have and they all get a kick out of it too. Adrian is still doing well and we're working with him to fix his past so he can get baptized. The others we're teaching are Manuel and Tony, Juan and Jose, and Glori who has 3 children! We have only met with the latter people once so far but it is going well. The find of the week was Jason. He jogged past us on the sidewalk while we were talking to a woman and kind of gave us a weird look but kept going. We ran into him on his way back on the corner and stopped him. He said he'd never seem girl missionaries and that's why he gave us a double take. He thought it was neat because he'd only seen elders. We told him that we'd like to come and share more with him and we invited him to church after he asked if we had services the next day. He was pretty funny and we had a good time chatting on the corner. He is 25 and in the Marines. He is soon being released on medical discharge because of his knee and will go back to Indiana. We got his info and met with him later in the week. We taught him on base outside of McDonalds on a picnic table with Sister Powell (our ward missionary who lives on base- she's awesome). It was a great lesson and he understood everything and was pretty receptive. He came to church the next Sunday and said it was fun and interesting how everything is organized. He will have to be turned over to the Elders because he's under 30 and should be in the singles ward- which is sometimes a pain because we find all of these great people and can't teach them. Either way, Jason is awesome and I think ready for the gospel in his life. It's fun to be a part of this work. Also this week we have taught Hannah. She will be 9 in April/May when she gets baptized so she counts as an investigator. Her parents are less active and so is her grandma. We often meet with the grandma too. It's fun to teach Hannah because we can just sit on the floor and teach her with all of our cheesy object lessons. I found a place that has yummy tortillas almost as good as the real thing in Mexico. I got whistled at for the first time as a missionary the other day and I fulfilled my goal of stopping someone on a bike to talk to them. It was pretty fun! I am happy to say that the weather has been so beautiful. I don't know how I will ever be able to adjust to Utah weather again. It's perfect here minus all of the lizzards that are everywhere and freak me out all of the time. I guess that is still better than snakes. The other gross thing is all of the snails that you step on accidentally. Yucky.... Anyway, all is well. Sister Harrison is finally starting to understand my craziness and has chosen just to accept it and humor me. I am starting to get a farmers tan which is fun and I am on my 25th something pair of nylons/knee highs in case any of you were wondering. I miss you all lots and lots. Thanks for all of the emails and the prayers. Keep em coming because I sure need them. Life is hard for all of us- that is part of the plan. Choose to accept that and move on. Do the best you can with what you have because there are so many who have it harder than we do. If you need a boost and want to hear about some let me know and I'll give you some examples. It's amazing how when we choose to use our agency (isn't it weird that we choose to use our agency?) for good we learn and grow? Anyway, that is my preachin' for the day!
Love ya lots!
Sister London


Lori's trip to the San Diego Temple last week.