Transfer 4 Week 4 May 28, 2012

·         I am sending this email from the Apple Store! I have come to realize that Holidays as a missionary means that the library is closed and that we have to find somewhere else to send emails on P-Day. It also means that I will be keeping this email short.
It was really weird to see some of the youth this week as they graduated. I cannot believe it has been a whole year since I finished that experience called high school. Congrats to all who graduated!!!!!!
Yesterday we had a Spanish sacrament meeting in the evening for all the Latinos in the ward. After much labor and effort we were able to get a family to attend. That’s a lot better than the last we had (where no one showed up). Hopefully they gradually improve and have all of them come every week. That sacrament pretty much describes our whole week. Elder Mares had major back pains this week so the mission nurse told us to stay home and rest. We kinda did that for a couple of days until we realized that his back was getting worse. We were unable to find members to go on splits with us so we got very little done at the end of the week.
A major highlight this week was going to Zone Conference and getting to learn from President Wade. I love that man! It is so sad that he is leaving at the end of July. Also Sister Wade gave a talk were she told a story about her great grandfather who lived in the Mexican colonies. And it turns out her great grandfather's name is Anson Call. So somewhere down the line she is related to Bishop Call.
It was announced in Zone Conference that President Weidman, who was supposed to be our new mission president, will no longer be our mission president. Sister Wiedman has an allergy to mold and mildew so the 1st presidency has a decided to reassign them. They have not yet announced who our new mission president will be. It’s just a bit terrifying to know in a month we will have a new mission president who we know nothing about.
I have learned this week that the only way to put off the natural man is to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. If we do not continue to exercise faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement we cannot progress. One must have the faith to be humble and repent of mistakes and trust in the promises God gives us when we make covenants with him One must live as to have the influence of The Holy Ghost, which means living the commandments, and then we can endure to the end. The natural man will stop us at every point from living the gospel of Jesus Christ. The natural man always looks inward while the Saint of Christ looks outward.
I know Christ lives and loves you. Never forget it.
Sincerely,
Elder Luis Gonzalez

Transfer 4 Week 3 May 21, 2012

       

·         We taught a new investigator this week who we are really excited about!!! We are going to invite him to be baptized this week and hope that he will be able to start attending church soon. He has a family and loves kids so much. But he has told us that his wife is not too interested in religion so he has not allowed us to meet her. But we are hoping her heart softens and that we can start teaching them as a family. Also with school ending soon we are hoping to visit some former teen investigators and see if without the huge distraction of school that they will be able to progress in the gospel. Lots of exciting things right around the corner. Also the ward council keeps telling us that tons of new members move in during the summer.

I never thought I would find myself right next to a beach during all of summer! If I don't get transferred at the end of this transfer that’s exactly what is going to happen. But with President Wade leaving in July (so so so so sad) we have no idea what to expect.
The ward had a talent show this last weekend and we were asked to perform. With about 20 minutes of practice we went up on stage and Elder Mares jump roped while I threw grapes at him so he could catch them in his mouth. We got lots of compliments (I think mostly because we made them all laugh).
No real big news to report. Every week is pretty much the same. I wake up, I study, I go out and work (and somewhere I find time to eat). It might not be anything huge but I know that obedience brings blessings. The Lord gives us commandments so that he can bless us in our endeavors. I know obedience brings blessings, but I know that exact obedience brings blessings.
Sincerely,
Elder Luis Gonzalez

Transfer 4 Week 2- May 14, 2012

·         We were so sad that we were unable to have a lesson with any of our investigators...but on the bright side that gave us opportunities to find, find, find! And find we did! We found tons of new investigators to teach and we are excited to meet with them this week. We also have tons of lessons set up with potential investigators this week so we hope that we are able to find even more people to teach!
We got really excited when we knocked a door and the man let us right in to teach him. We had an awesome lesson and at the end we invited him to be baptized. The Spirit was so strong! But finally he told us that this was all knew to him and it seemed like a lot to take in. It was very disappointing when he didn't invite us back.
Mother's day was pretty much like any other day except that all the church meetings before sacrament got canceled and I got to call my mom!!!!! Oh and I wore my favorite yellow tie!
Yesterday we drove all the way down to La Honda to teach a former investigator and her less active husband. It is about a 45 minute drive along Highway 1 with a view of the beach the whole way. One day when I am no longer a missionary I will return and enjoy the beaches that everyone describes as "freezing" along with the endless fog that we have here. We parked our car on a street the other day and then walked to our lesson. When we came out we spent about 15 minutes looking for the car. The fog was so thick that we passed the street that the car was parked on. And because all the streets look exactly the same (especially at 9pm with fog) we were convinced that the car had gotten towed. I think the thought of President Wade getting mad (when not really mad, President doesn't get mad, just disappointed) about our towed car was scarier than having to walk 30 minutes back to our apartment.
Sincerely,
Elder Luis Gonzalez

Transfer 4 Week 1- May 7, 2012

On Wednesday night I got to go to the Mission Home and pick up my new companion! That day was so so so so so so so so so so so loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong! My temporary companion was Elder Kwok and we spent some time in his area, which is the Sunset District in San Francisco. And we both couldn't stop thinking about who our new companions would be. We spent the day contacting people at San Francisco State University, which was quite different from the Latino contacting I was used to doing. College students are so rude.
My new companion is Elder Mares! He is originally from Veracruz, Mexico, but was living in Los Angles when he got his mission call. He is 21 and he and his direct family are converts! I think it is amazing that all of my companions but 1 have been Latino. It is a true testament of the growth of the Church.
This week has been different than any other thus far. It’s quite a great responsibility to have someone ask you about every little thing you do, to have someone follow your example even though you think you are nowhere near where the Lord wants you to be, to have someone ask you to help them become better when you yourself need all the help you can get.
Despite this scariness of this great and awesome responsibility I continue to get up each morning and just do what I know. In that sense I feel like Nephi. It truly is a hard thing which the Lord has asked me to do. But I can either be like Laman and Lemuel and just complain or I can be like Nephi and say, I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded me, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandment unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish it.
So that was my week in a nutshell. Hope all is well back home!

Elder Luis Gonzalez