8-29-11

Monday: Today was my first Pday in Los Angeles that we didn`t have an
activity planned. So instead of running everywhere, trying to do
things on a schedule, we got to take things slow. Elder Burch spent
the morning packing, while I cleaned and read a little. We went out to
use internet and write the family afterward. I called about my leather
Scripture cases. Walter said he sent them, and they should be in the
office. We spent the evening saying goodbye to more people: Hna.
Pinar, SAbrina and her mom, Cecilia, and the Garcia family. I`m
actually REALLY nervous about tomorrow. I realize that we don`t have
many people to teach. that really scares me a little. Planning with
few people is just hard...and repetetive. Luckily my first week with
my hijo should be the week of Sactification. We`ll find lots of
people! tomorrow`s entry is going to be awesome!

Tuesday:(Pg. 300 in my Journal) Today was a very exciting day. We
cleaned up the apartment some m ore, just in case. We finished with
just enough time to write in each others` journals. Then we went to
the Bus Terminal to leave. I went to Concepciòn to get my hijo. I had
TONS of preconceptions. I wanted a gringo to play around with, show
him around Chile. And if it WAS a Latin, I didn`t want a Chilean, so I
could show him the culture, and the way of talking. I got to the
terminal in Concepciòn and talked with all the trainers. We went to
the Mission Home, to receive a few training stuff. Then we got our
"hijos" (sons). After all my wanting and praying, guess what I got. A
chilean. Elder Steele, another trainer, said it was because of my
Spanish, and that I should have dumbed it down. There were 20 gringos
and 4 Latins that arrived. Out of all the trainers, I was the only
gringo that got to train a Latin. I was a little disappointed, but as
I thought about it, it was because I wouldn`t be able to do the things
that don`t have anything to do with Missionary Work, or couldn`t show
off how far I`VE come. How selfish I was! Funny how I had to wait for
"retrospective" to help me see that. I think Elder Zuñiga (my son)
will help me focus a lot better in my missionary purpose. We got home,
and let the Santa Barbara missionaries sleepover for the Distrizona
tomorrow.

Wednesday: today was pretty tough for me. As a whole, the concept of
planning seems to be the Acheles (spelling?) heel of my mision skills.
But I`ve always had a pool of people to draw from, or a comp. to give
me some ideas. Now I have neither, and that realization is just
hitting me witha gripping fear that makes me feel like I`m
hyperventilating inside. I don`t know why. I just don`t think I`ve
been this alone with this much responsibility. I just want to give
Elder Zuñiga MORE than I have for him, right now. But from here, it
just looks like we`re gonna be stuck, doing a lot of contacts. We went
to Distrizona and I felt kind of ashamed for only having Jorge`s name
to put up, while everyone else had, like, 5. We went to lunch with
Hno. Bravo, and the first thing he says is, "Do you want lunch, or a
completo?" I LOVE completos, which are considered fast food, which he
disdains. He made fun of me! But, we got completos anyway. I got to
see the blessings of training with a good focus. We got into 2 houses
today. They were people who had lazy missionaries over, who would be
buddies instead of teachers. They didn`t want lessons. But my hijo`s
loving it. He`s a really good guy, and he knows the lessons. He just
gets a little nervous under pressure.

Thursday: Today wasn`t so bad, I think. Yesterday was just a shock for
me. But, you know, just a few months ago, I was musing on how life`s
trials are laser-guided to the weakest parts of our souls and
characters. Why SHOULDN`T I, a person that`s bad at planning with few
people, be put in a place that needs someone like that? Now it all
depends on how I react. God gave me a chance to prove myself. Maybe I
should. We are having comp. prayers mornings and nights, now, apart
from when we leave the house. We`re starting Preach My Gospel from the
beginning. Comp. study`s really awesome. Elder Zuñiga has really good
insights and a lot of knowledge, besides.

Friday: Our good-weather streak ran out today. It was really wonderful
while it lasted. At the beginning of the week, having to pay attention
to every little thing I did and said, was a bit of a shock. but now
I`m getting used to it. It`s also been a bit of a challenge to manage
the lessons, because he`s making some of the ssame mistakes I used to.
but Elder Zuñiga is SO low-maintainance. He`s not much of a burden at
all. He`s just so happy and ready to serve. and I swear you don`t know
the MEANING of "puppy-dog eyes" until you`ve seen the kid`s uncertain
but completely sincere smile. We`re following the schedule exactly,
we`re studying what we`re supposed to, and I`ve somehow managed to
keep up enough people for us to visit (it started raining jsut now and
I`m inside. Haha!) We finally got to teach some people today. Alexis
and Sandra. We started to teach the Book of Mormon, but my hijo took
off on another subject, then another and another. We snatched a return
appt. and I had to remind Elder Zuñiga that we need to stay focused on
one topic. He was cool with it. We visited Scarlet and Gustavo.
Scarlet wanted to know of of whose money the Prophet and apostles
lived. Law of consecration, baby.

Saturday: Today was one of them walkin` days. We walked and talked all
day long, after our appts. fell through. It was just one of the times
that has tested my diligence and hope. It was really tough for me, but
I just have to keep going. I just need the Lord`s help. We`re fasting
and praying for people. Blessings will come.

Sunday: Today was beter than yesterday, for sure. We went to Church,
to find Jorge there, again. The other day, he`d told us that he`d had
a strange dream. In it, there was a big building that was floating,
but fell down. I left him 2 chapters of the Book of Mormon to read:
1Nephi 8 and 11, where it talks of Lehi`s dream and the interpretation
of it. When we saw him today, he`d finished his reading. He said it
kind of freaked him out, but he felt at peace when he read it. It was
really cool. Sabrina`s mom, Cecilia, bore her testimony. He`s a hard
case, so she doesn`t cry often. But she broke. down. up there. She
used to be inactive, but this experience really gave her a testimony
of prayer and fasting. At the end of Sacrament Meeting, Hno Garcia
came up to me and told me I had the Sunday School class! 2-minute
warning. A new record of unanticipated duty. I was peeved. we did
contacts all afternoon, and had a few people tell us to come back.
that was good news. We visited Hna. Pinar. She was sick and asked us
for a blessing. After all this time in the Mission, it`s still strange
to think of how people see me, albeit less strange than at the
beginning. We visited Hna. Gloria. She said she`ll go to church next
week after 4 months!