California Week 2

Hola Familia!

Well, our time in the La Crescenta (English) Ward, was very short. We got a call/ text on Friday letting us know that we no longer have that area, so we are now officially refocused on the Spanish work alone. It's a good thing. We had already picked up an investigator in La Cresenta, so we planned to go to his house on Sunday and have him follow us to the chapel so he could go to church and then do a pass off lesson after their church with the elders in the ward, but we got to his house and he wasn't there. Called him and no answer. So we're planning on visiting him sometime soon and setting up a pass off lesson so he can meet the elders who will be teaching him. His name is Edwin and he's really great. We stopped by last week and he gave us a couple referrals and then talked about how he needs to start getting his kids and wife to come to church with him! Amazing! He hasn't even taken any lessons yet, but he's already been to church twice!

A highlight of this week was teaching Isis for the first time. We've met with her a couple times, but didn't teach her a lesson until Friday night. We talked about the Restoration and she seemed really receptive. I invited her to be baptized on October 28th and she said yes! She is a really great woman, has a cute 2 year old daughter and really wants to be a good mom, she's in optometry school right now too (I think, or at least that's where she's heading). We talked alot about how having a family (daughter- we aren't really sure on her marital status yet) gave her purpose in her life and how the Gospel can give us more purpose and how much of a blessing is is to have the gospel when raising kids. She was all over that and loved how much strength and purpose the Gospel gives us. I'm really excited to teach her again on Friday. 

This week has been really good, and really hard. I love moments when we teach Isis or talk to Edwin because they are so receptive, at least right now, they make being a missionary very easy. However, other times, it's really hard. One thing that's been hard has been working together as a companionship to find the balance between overworking and not working hard enough. Sometimes I feel like we waste alot of time that we could use doing better things, like finding investigators or visiting with people. I want to be the best missionary I can and want to leave my mission feeling like I gave my mission everything I had. I think I have alot to learn too about internalizing my purpose too so that it's not all just about busyness either but really bringing people to Christ. 

Being trained has been good, a little frustrating and hard sometimes, but good, and very very humbling.  I'm learning what real missionary work is like, and also that it's not just helping the people in Tujunga come closer to Christ, but also bringing myself closer to Christ. 

Love you all and miss you tons, 

Love, 

Hermana LaPierre

ps- we're also going to visit the house where they filmed ET, apparently it's in Tujunga!