48 - Feelin' Filipino

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 are going better this week then last. We had more family history lessons, each one we learn something new and how to alter how we do things so we don't run into the same troubles again. Just when you think you have figured it all out, you find out you haven't at all.

We did our first multiple person lesson with family history as well. I ended up helping some prospective missionaries out with their family history so they can take some people to the temple with them next time their youth goes while Sister Hinckley helped the elders in that ward's investigator. It ended up a success. Wouldn't try that again though unless they had as much information to enter in as they did, but it was quite the surprise to come see more people than we first imagined.

We also managed to use up 500 miles already this month on our car! Thankfully we get our miles deducted for the lessons and those miles used up, but that still is a ton considering regular missionaries get 1050 per month. We also taught our first all Spanish lesson, took much longer than we thought in translation, having to pause and not lose thought, and to simplify even more so the elders could translate better. So far so good!

We had to drop lots of people in our teaching pool this week. During our exchange with the STL's they put an emphasis on the need to find quality, not quantity, which was hard at the beginning since we only had 1 quality person to teach, now we have three.

The miracle of the week was when we went by a potential we met at an apartment complete a couple weeks ago, and when we came by she let us right on in! Veronica is a young mom of two adorable kids. She wants nothing more to have the childhood for her children that she never got growing up and is a stay at home mom. She said she would try and come sometime soon and learn more before committing to baptism, but is open to it. I love when we meet people who are so family oriented, honest, and wants to improve their own life and their families life. We need more people like her in this world! I just hope we can continue to meet with her and other people we found this week. Some days you find such amazing people, but after 1 lesson, they disappear off the face of the planet it seems. Or are done with learning more or aren't willing to act on any invitation we give and progress towards the happiness they see they could get to potentially.

Something neat that happened on Sunday. I saw Catherine Delos-Reyes from my first area Cerritos 1st ward! She ended up getting a divorce in the end, but moved here and is excited for her boyfriend and to possibly have us teach him since he is from another church. What is also exciting is that she seems stubborn on going to our ward every week. Be foreI  was just she could hardly go a singe week due to work and other things. It think that over time, one notices the difference not going to church makes and then makes a big effort to go regularly after that withdrawal period, some times that is, not always, but sometimes that is true. This is so exciting to have another person to teach AND I already know her!

I have just figured I must have made a promise with the Philippines before I was born, because somehow I inevitably end up teaching almost exclusively Phillipino people. I love them and their culture because of the time I spend with them all, I just find it ironic it ends up this way so often. What a small world we live in.