7 - Yay, clothes! Nice people!

Email address (preferred):
rachael.clark@myldsmail.net

Mission address:
Sister Rachael Geniel Clark
California Long Beach Mission
6500 E Atherton St.
Long Beach, CA 90815

Things this week has been quiet, but busy. No need to go thrift shopping this week or for quite awhile, Sister Wassner's daughter gave us a big box of nice clothing to keep and pass along what we don't want with the other sisters in our zone. I got a bunch of jackets and a few skirts. One shirt, but it is a nice ones that compliments almost everything I already brought with me.

Got to play apples to apples with our zone briefly, it doesn't take long to learn the rules of that game thankfully since I was the one who taught everyone how to play. Spent most of my last P-Day oiling my typewriter so it would function properly, it helps to also have the tape all the way don were its supposed to rest. Somehow it wasn't loaded on correctly before going into storage. It works almost perfectly now! The really old one still has a sticking V, oh well, I honestly just liked it for its looks, that and its roller is super old and the tape has punches out of t from the letters punching through it due to age and no oil. 

We visited Amelia and taught her the law of chastity. We intended to come by and just contact in her area since lots of people are out and about most days, and to our surprise she was with sister galbarith. She even brought it up on her own! She was telling us that she can't understand why all the younger people are having children things and never getting married, then told us that she is so happy to be single till the day she dies if she never finds someone to marry. She has raised children given to her in the Philippines to almost adulthood, so while she may not be a mother by birth, she is at heart. She cares so much about them, showed us pictures of them, and worries about them. I hope she does get a lawyer and adopts one of the girls that literally was given to her to raise, then the mom took her back once she was almost an adult and went to Australia with her other son who Amelia also raised. I couldn't ever imagine being given a child to raise and call my own, then have the original mother swoop them up after sort of or never being in that child's life.

Mostly she explained to us why she is waiting to be baptized. She wanted us to see her as she is, wearing not so modest clothing like almost everyone in california, and imperfect, so that when she does become baptized we can testify she put those things on the alter of sacrifice to her heavenly father and has changed. She is so Christ like that many people mistake her as mormon already and never see her as a catholic investigator. So prepared! That's why she brought up the law of chastity, she knows she won't be able to wear her " sexy clothes" as she terms it. Those Philippino ladies are so funny when they get older!

We did a 2 and a half hour service to sister frosty and helped her organize a cluttered hall closet and donate many things to DI. She is in her 60's and doesn't have much use for many thigns anymore or knows that the likelyhood of her using a certain item is once or twice, so she wants younger people to use them instead of sit for forever. She grew up in the depression and with the waste nothing mentality, so for her to get rid of so willingly so many items was neat! We got a once used rice cooker this way! most of the extra items were still in the wrapping. That was such a blessing for me since I love rice and usually spend most of my lunches and dinners cooking more than eating. sometimes I even have to run and grab a bite to eat before leaving and have to put what I just cooked int he refrigerator. I'm getting faster now though. Anyways, it was also neat to see sister frosty's food storage too in there, sadly though only the containers of wheat were salvageable, the rest was beyond expired! Some stuff from the 70's even, but most just expired. Just goes to show that its important to rotate and eat out of your storage, or it will do you no good! 

Brother Moore met with us to teach Josh a referral from LA, but he wasn't there. We met with Tamie a caner patient and active service to the homeless through her local chuch kind of lady. We discussed service that our churches give and offered to do service with her on a feeding day they have for the homeless.
We then went with brother moore to see Luis and did a lesson outside since his mom wasn't home. He was so excited to meet with us and we talked about god being our heavenly father, our life on earth, and why he is so eager to meet with us. we found out that at one point he believed in yin yang as a god while doing karate, but then he realized that was false and while he was in a hard spot in his life he decided to turn to god in prayer. he is now so fascinated with almost all christian religions and is searching for the truth. (and he told us in his own words that the Jehovah witnesses are so pushy and honestly scared him for what they preached to him on the doorstep. He never lets them in.)
He let us in because we were inviting, very polite, didn't shove or preach our gospel to him, and cared about him as a person, not just some baptismal number. We also brought the spirit into the lesson and he felt that and felt that listening to us was a good thing.
It just goes to show that how we present ourselves truly does matter!

I got to do family history work as well, I found quite a few new people to add to family search and Miriam turned 110 so FINALLY I could reserve her for work in the temple. I have been waiting for what seems forever for her, she was the one I found photos of in my grandmothers box of photos and fixed them in photoshop. If it weren't for those photos, I would not have been able to find 80-100 other names through ancestry.comand work with a relative of mine in alaska. Heaven;y father always guides you if it is for his work! 

We visited Angel and I felt very prompted to ask her to go to church, next moment she told us how elder Nye, Gillbert (a recent convert who is passionate about the gospel) and many other missionaries keep asking her to go to church. She flat out says no to them every time! I was a little discouraged, but decided to wait till near the end to ask anyways. She showed us her many talents with making jewelry and braclets especially! She is so neat!!! She has gone through so much with her MS, its so hard for her to go to church on sunday because on friday she takes her MS shots, by sunday she is in a lot of pain. Come monday she can function for work, otherwise she would miss out on a whole day of work. I finally asked her, and she said yes! I was so shocked! (latter she told sister george it was because of how I said it. I didn't set up a front or bug her, I just asked and said I was lonely and would love to have her company while at church. (which I really was since barely any investigators (besides amelia) have been coming)) 

We went to a Super Cool Reastraount called guppy Tea House,  I had never seen such a HUGE bowl of soup in my life, it was as if they took a whole pot of soup, put it into a super fancy japanese style mixing bowl, and gave it to you! IT WAS THAT BIG!!!! They definately give you your moneys worth there. It also has fish tanks with pretty fish and plants at almost every table on the wall, and plants EVERYWHERE, it is like a jongle in there. I LOVE IT!!!! Sister george and I agreed that we needed to go back again some time to try out their shaved Ice, Read bean japanese style, ITS MASSIVE AS WELL!!!! You could feed a whole family or two quite nicely with how much they give you. Its not that expensive either, its standarrd utah non fancy sit in restaurant prices too! I ate fried rice for days after that.....

We visited Luis again, this time we went with sister fanene, it was an answer to a prayer for us to find her almost half an hour before the lesson. (latter she said it was an answer to her prayer too, lots of emergencies have happened in her family so it was good to get out, not think about it, and do service with the missionaries) She was so good for him, they understood each other so well since she was a convert to the church and understands how they feel perfectly. We went over prayer and how we can feel the spirit after prayer and know that that can be an answer to prayer. We also talked about things that helped us when we were struggling in life and felt like darkness was all around us and how we came to god and found peace afterwards. He loves that we don't reject what he says about what he believes. many other churches told him that he was bad to do so or to question anything in his personal progress to trying to understand his purpose in life or better understand christs gospel in the bible. They also would help him at first, then after he came, they just let him go and that is when he needed support the most. I see this happening as well with new converts, many members only say hi, but they fail to be their friend and help them transition to their new life as a member of our church. He is what I call a dehydrated Mormon, and so child like in the sense that like primary children, he seeks after Christ and his teachings so willingly instead of like so many hard hearted adults.

We met with amelia again, we went over more of the plan of salvation and even helped her gain a testimony and clear understanding that Joseph Smith is a prophet, john calvan and the others were just helpers in bringing the bible into english and weren't prophets. That confused her and the language barrier doesn't help either, but little by little she is understanding. It just takes time with her.

The Departure fireside was SUPER GOOD, sister george, skelton, and tuumorrbatar sang I know that my redeemer lives in their respective languages in a trio. Mongolian, Tongan (I think) and english, it went so well. I could tell this group in particular was hard for president and sister tew to say good bye to since they were their first group when they came.
 almost all of the MTC missionaries that I went with came and at least the elders and I shared a few stories before we had to leave.

I haven't heard from terri for awhile, so I am very worried about her, i hope she is OK.

How are you doing? How is everything?

No pictures today, I am running out of time.