December 31, 2018

Hey, everyone! This has been another crazy week! Sister Gatchalian and I have been working really hard to try and find people we can teach. This whole week we've been tracting a ton and following up with people who have expressed previous interest in learning about the gospel. We've found a few people we'll be going back to this week, and we're praying that they'll still want to hear what we have to share with them. On Saturday we were knocking on doors in an apartment complex and we were about to go home for lunch but we knocked on one more door. A girl about 25 years old answered and we told her who we are and what we teach about and she was about to close the door, but then she hesitated and said we could come in. We didn't know what to do we were so shocked! We talked to her and found out her name is Katie. She has 2 daughters and lives with her boyfriend. She has a strong testimony of Christ and God and said she's been trying to set a better example for her kids because she made some not so good choices in the past. She said she's been reading them stories from the bible and praying a lot. She said she took it as a sign from God that we showed up and her door. We had a really good conversation about Christ's Atonement and how it changes your life. We invited her to church and she accepted immediately, and seemed really excited about it, but on Sunday when some members went to go pick her up nobody answered the door. We haven't been able to get an answer from her through text messages, so we're planning on going back to her apartment and seeing if there is anything we can do to help her. We're hoping she'll still want to hear from us because she is so prepared by the Lord. 

This week has felt pretty long because of all the hard work we've been doing, but honestly reading the scriptures has helped me so much. It's crazy how every time you re-read something it means something different to you because you're in a different stage in life. Seeing the example of all the prophets and believers in Christ work to spread His gospel has been really helpful and comforting to me, and I know I can keep pressing forward. 

Okay time for some crazy stories. When we were knocking on doors earlier this week, it was super cold and rainy and a cat came up to me and started climbing up my dress, and I couldn't get it off. So, I was dumb and thought it was cold or something and I picked it up because the stupid thing looked pitiful. Anyways I pick this cat up and it stabbed me with its claws on my neck! I had to pull its claws out of my skin and now I have claw marks on my neck. Super fun. 

Okay next story. So I was trying to cut an orange because it totally tastes different when you cut it versus when you peel it (if you don't agree, you're wrong), and I was using a butter knife to cut it because I was too lazy to get a sharper knife from the drawer. Anywho, the knife slipped and sliced my finger open, and I couldn't get it to stop bleeding for like 20 minutes. I'll send a picture if you want to see but if that grosses you out don't look at it haha. I just think stuff like that is cool. But yes you can cut yourself with a butter knife. 

Okay last story. So because we're trying so hard to find people to teach, we've been trying to go to areas where nobody has tracted before to find new people. This week we were driving out to Blanchester, which is like 45 minutes away, and our GPS told us to turn down a road where the pavement ended, but that there was a main road to turn out on. I didn't think anything of the pavement ending because there are dirt roads everywhere in Arizona and as long as they aren't too rocky they're fine. So we're driving down this road and it starts to get really muddy because there has been so much rain recently. I started losing traction, but we thought we should keep moving forward because we were pretty far out on the road already and we thought there would be a solid road to turn onto soon. Spoiler alert: the GPS was wrong and it was an extremely stupid decision to keep driving down that road. I couldn't control the car very well and we ended up sliding into a muddy hole on the right side of the car. We tried all we could to get out,  but we were very stuck. We ended up having to call Elder Glutz, who is over all the mission cars, and he came to try to pull us out. His tow cable wasn't long enough, so we had to call a tow truck to pull us out. I dont think I've ever felt more stupid in my life and I've definitely learned my lesson. There were some cool miracles during that whole experience, though. While we were waiting for Elder Glutz to come we decided to walk about a mile down the road and tract. We met a man named Rob who seemed pretty interested in what we had to say. I dont know maybe Heavenly Father needed to physically stop us so we could talk to him. Another miracle that happened was that I had enough cash to pay for the tow truck. Since it was my fault we got stuck in the mud, I had to pay the guy to came out to help us, and he only accepts cash. I had gotten a bunch of tips from my job and for some reason I always felt like I shouldn't spend them but keep them in my wallet. I guess this is the reason I needed those tips, because miraculously it was enough to cover the towing expense. 

I have felt very stupid and humbled this week, and I think Heavenly Father is trying to tell me I have a lot to learn. I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission, and I am so excited to be able to grow spiritually.

The ward was so nice; they gave us some Christmas gifts.

 

 

We got these weird balloon things where you blow
up and make the balloon out of this weird goop stuff. 

 

Me trying to figure out what the heck to do.

Elder Glutz trying to figure out what the heck to do.

Sister Gatchalian was trying to cheer me
up so she had us take lots of selfies.

Yep I'm an idiot.

 

I had to drive Elder Glutz's truck out of the
way so the tow truck could pull forward.

What an idiot looks like.

We had to wash the car afterwards.

Don't cut your finger with a butter knife.

 

Today we went to Jungle Jim's because Sister Gatchalian
wanted some Filipino food, and it's a huge store with
food from every country you could think of.

 

This is the entrance to the bathrooms.

Sister Gatchalian and I were in the Ralphs' nativity play.

District council