March 2, 2015

Hola Familia/ Amigos

I don't know if I have ever mentioned my New Address, but either way here it is again! 

216 W. Court St. #107

Woodland Ca, 95695 

Well this week was definitely a good one! I saw a lot of miracles that I decided I would share with you all! This might be quite the detailed email because I have been feeling a little guilty about how bad my emails home have been! So here we begin! 

Monday! Was such a wonderful day however it wasn't our P-Day since on Tuesday we were able to attend the temple! It was a ton of fun. I was super excited to be able to visit another temple on my mission! However, on Monday we were able to still do our laundry and do our shopping! Because just like you, I can't imagine us having to go without clean underwear and food for an extra day! It was a blessing! After getting that done in the morning, we decided we would treat ourselves to a wonderful treat and a visit to Red Robin! I was so happy, as you all know I love myself a Banzai Burger, an the all you can eat French fries! Rumor has it at Red Robin us missionaries can down the French Fries! Ha ha!

We were able to finish the day by teaching a quick lesson to a potential investigator on Facebook, as well as get some bike repairs done on my Companion Elder Longs bike! It was then time for dinner! Another great time of the day! I was super happy, we ate dinner with the Adams Family! Ha ha but seriously. 

It was then off to work! Getting back to work was great that evening. We were able to teach a great lesson to a less active family. La Familia Padilla! They are struggling a lot in their marriage, however we have just been working with them, an trying to get them to be able to pray and read the Book of Mormon together as a couple! We know that most definitely they will be able to become active again, but we need to help them get their testimonies back, and strengthen their foundation! 

Tuesday. Temple Trip day!!! Aww it was such a great day! The Sacramento temple is absolutely gorgeous! I think I have a much better appreciation for small temples than the big ones! I don't know why! The Boise temple is kind of small, and so is the Sacramento one and I like them a lot more than Oakland! However, Oakland is beautiful as well! We only live like 45 minutes from the Sacramento temple, which was such a blessing, because for us to make it to the 8:30 session, we had to leave at 7, which meant we all got up and started showering at 5! I know dad, your probably thinking we are all a bunch of girls! Ha ha! But we got to look good when we go to the temple! 

We had a member whose family attends the English First Ward, but he serves in the Spanish branch as our Ward mission leader give us a ride! His name is Hermano Stapp! He is super cool, an has a lot of interesting things, that I love talking to him about, but I probably shouldn't include them in my email because the fact that he works for the FBI! ;) 

After returning from the temple it was our P-Day. So we were able to come back, do some emailing, play some sports, and do whatever we wanted to do until dinnertime! It was a ton of fun. I wish we could travel to the temple more often! It's such a spiritual experience, and such a blessing to have access to the Lords house! I cannot wait to be able to travel to the temple when I am so close and be able to attend weekly! 

We were able to go on splits for the evening. In the branch we have what we call Noche de Ministerio (Ministering Night) and we go out with the members and are able to rescue them from the world! As well as go and teach our investigators with we have set lessons! It's a lot of fun, being able to get to know all of them members, and have them working beside us to hasten the work of Salvation!  

Wednesday was quite an interesting day! Let's just say it wasn't the greatest day of the week! We began the day with a wonderful district meeting, and I generously decided that donuts would be a great item for district meeting! It always makes district meeting so much better, when someone has some kind of snack or something to munch on! Exactly why the church uses icecream or food to help get members to come and stay till the end of meetings. Or why the singles ward has food at every activity! It's just a fact! 

During the day, almost every single one of our lessons fell through! Except for the lesson that wasn't set, we just were gonna try and drop by! We were able to teach Hermano Guillermo! Who found out I am going home in 3 months so in his mind, SOON! Which isn't true, however he is always giving me marriage counsel! It is super funny! He told me not to run home an get married super quickly, because there is no way I can love something wishing 6 months, or even 2 years! That falling in love with someone talks years! We will see about that! ;) ha ha 

Dinner was amazing! We went to Esparto and were able to eat a killer dinner! We all ate way too much as well! I hate it, we ate so much Chile Verde that we left there feeling sick to our stomachs, and the worst part about it was the fact that we had to stinking get back on our bikes once we got back! Ha ha it's always a joy though! :) Our Evening went the same way as our afternoon did! We are starting to finally realize that we need to and will be dropping a ton of our investigators! I even talked to one of them through the window and then knocked on the door an he still didn't open the door! I was so not happy. But I guess I need to remember we all have our agency! 

I almost got hit, by a truck on my bike that night at like 8:30! It was dark we were riding down the road and we all had stop signs so we stopped, then the big ol’ truck stopped as well! We proceeded forward, and the truck starting going as well! I don't understand why he didn't see us, but I guess it's just a good thing he saw me when he did cause he missed me by about 6 inches! Woooah my heart was thumping! Tires squealing and all! 

We also had a white man decide to join in on one of our contacts in Spanish! Then next thing you know, he starts talking to the Spanish person, about how we believe in polygamy, in some man named Joseph Smith who dug up some ancient gold plates... All this weird stuff! And also that Hispanics as of 2005 were finally excepted into our church an blacks in 2008! He was very uneducated! I think I did a great job embarrassing him though! Because he stormed off after he realized what was going on, and how dumb he looked! Overall though it was a great day.  

Thursday! Thank goodness, our Heavenly Father answers our prayers. Today we found another family to teach that we have been praying for the last week or so! It was amazing! Plus our Heavenly Father, through in a small extra bonus and we found another family who lives in the same apartment complex as the first family that the Zone leaders actually contacted, but referred to us as the Spanish Elders! Such a blessing! 

To start the day off we had a wonderful lesson with a less active member, who shared with us some apple pie! It was so good! It had probably been a good 4 or 5 months since I have had apple pie! However it felt like it was years! This was one of the good Costco ones as well! We shared with her how important the Priesthood authority is in the church, and how powerful it is. We were able to commit Hermana Morales to share the gospel with others! We left her with a Restoration Pamphlet and invited her to share it with a close friend!  

We had the opportunity to do some great service as well! We always work at the food bank and pack bags of rice as well as beans! It's a lot of fun, and we are able to get to know quite a bit of great people who are their doing service as well! We also had the chance to go with the Zone Leaders to be able to move a bed for a family, because the Zone Leaders drive a small Nissan Frontier! It's a super good little truck! I actually like it a lot! 

Dinner was definitely not my most favorite part about today! The Dang Sisters guilt tripped me into eating at Red Robin for dinner since the member was sick, and gave us 8 missionaries $100 dollars to go out to eat! I especially didn't want to eat out again since the fact we went to a restaurant called El Patio for lunch which was super good, but kinda spendy! But since the sisters guilt tripped me into eating out again! I was ticked! I just wanted my portion of the $100 dollars, and then I was going to go back to the apartment and make something else to eat! So basically I ate like a fat pig today! 

After dinner is when Heavenly Father blessed us with some new families! They are even promising to be at church on Sunday! Which will be awesome, because that means we will have like 3 or 4 families there! I would love to see that! We spent some time just getting to know both of these families, and talking a lot about how important the family is to all of them! We focused a lot of just telling them how much our church focused on Eternal Families, and that everything we teach and do is focused on the family! 

Also had a wonderful lesson with a 20 year old less active! We taught r Cesi about the importance of not hanging out in rough crowds, staying away from things of the world, and always choosing what is right! It was a super good lesson. I was having a good time just being myself! 

Friday! A day of Planning! Which always is such a mentally exhausting day! Also physically, because it means we have to ride our bikes to the church, which means crossing over the interstate on an overpass! Which is like super exhausting! Especially when you don't have gears! However I always feel so accomplished when I do get to the other side. 

With weekly planning done for the next day, it always feels like such an accomplishment! It's super mentally exhausting! However I really do enjoy weekly planning, because the fact it usually always comes with a successful week, and with a successful week, you will always be a happy missionary, which is most important! 

We didn't have the most successful evening after weekly planning! However we taught La Familia Luna, and were able to invite them to prepare themselves each day for their baptisms on April 11th, but also to watch and listen to the prophets on April 4th! It was a super good lesson, and I love being in their home! I feel just so welcome, and like I'm a part of the family! We had a super funny thing happen during the lesson tonight! We were talking about wearing a white shirt and tie to church this Sunday, and how if the Dad (Ricardo) were to wear a white shirt and tie to church he would look super good! His wife Fabiola then talked and gave him a small compliment about how he is already super handsome and how she would love it! Then the little son who is 6 named Alfredo said, Yeah dad wear a white shirt and tie and you will look…whistle, whistle! Like a guy would at a cute girl walking down the road! It was the cutest and funniest thing to watch him try an whistle! Fabiola the mom was so shocked like who taught you that, and then Alfredo pointed at me! I was like dying laughing! It was so much fun! 

After coming home to the apartment I walked in and noticed that the mission had brought me a nice brand new desk! What a blessing, because the desk I had been using was for like a 5 year old child! I couldn't even fit my knees under it, nor could I even put my things in the doors! It was a great surprise! So I spent all night tonight, not working out, but putting together my new desk! I am so excited for it! Like a little kid on Christmas morning!  

Saturday was a day of exchanges, and complete chaos, because the fact the other Spanish elders that we live with were not very smart with their miles and it was the end of February! So we had to go the entire day without using the vehicle! Which is completely fine, until the fact you realize you have dinner in a neighborhood called Wild Wings, which is about 7 miles outta town! Ha ha. But let's just say that we made things work, and were able to eat probably one of the best meals I have eaten on my mission! We ate with a family in the 2nd Ward, who are super awesome! The Souza family owns a car carrier company called Liberty, and I hear it's a huge company! Brother Souza looks so much like Grandpa Dean, acts just like him as well! It's almost scary! But they cooked us Tri-Tip steak and it was so amazing! I definitely ate like a huge fatty! 

During the day though I was on exchanges with Elder Blaylock, who was actually born into my district when I was the district leader in Vallejo! It was awesome to be able to go on exchanges with him again! He is a great missionary, with such great intentions, has a great testimony, and works so hard! It was a lot of fun with him today! 

I was able to borrow a drill from Hermano Ismael Esquivel and finish my new desk! It looks so good and I am so thankful to be able to finally have a real desk! I'm so surprised still due to the fact that the mission gave me a brand new one rather than just giving me an old one that they and in the mission garage! But I'm definitely very grateful! 

We helped the Spanish branch clean the stake center this morning! Which meant we had to ride our bikes to the church because once again we didn't have the miles to do so! Which also meant we had to ride over the dang over pass twice today! Aww it's so exhausting, an super frustrating because I am trying to loose weight, but I'm not loosing weight, because as I look fat, my legs are just getting thicker from biking which means the scale isn't moving! Frustrating! 

Elder Blaylock and I were able to teach a family that we found in their a few weeks ago, when I went with them for ministry night! It was a ton of fun and cool to see how excited the family was to see me again! I love it! We revised with them about the restoration to see where they were standing with it all, an than just to do a quick summary again we shared with them the Restoration Move! They love it! La Hermana Leti was crying! So amazing! They have accepted to be baptized on the 28th of March, and they aren't married, which means they need to be married as well! Well when we shared that with them they were awesome, because their response was, well let's just do it right before our baptism then! So on the 28th of March we will be having a wedding as well as a Baptism! Whoohooo! 

We also got permission from Presidente Alba, that if we would like we can go on runs in the evening after we have finished up all our planning an such! So Saturday night we took off, and went for a 3 mile run as an apartment! It felt so good, to go for a jog at night! I cannot wait to continuing doing so every night! Ha ha I'm gonna come home looking so fit! ;) 

Sunday! Well today was a wonderful day! Especially being fast Sunday, even though fast Sunday's are the hardest days on the mission for me, because the fact I get stressed about having investigators at church, an then the fact I’m starving. I just get super grumpy, an irritated! I'm trying to work on it though! 

We didn't have any investigators make it to church today, however we had quite a few less-actives make it back! It was super good to see them at church, and I know that they saw a difference in their day just today! The familia Luna, weren't able to make it because Maria the daughter wasn't feeling to well! However it was super exciting to see Antonio and Leti at church! They are the other elder’s investigators and they are super sweet! 

Other than that my week was super good! I hope you all enjoy this wonderful email! I have spent a long time writing it, because I have been feeling bad about how bad my emails home have been lately! Just know I love you all so much! Also just for you mom, only 3 more fast Sunday's until I'll be there at church with you! ;) Don't get too Trunky now! 

I love you all so much! Hope all goes well! Have a wonderful week! 

Love you! 

Elder Albertson