It would appear that I spoke too soon! President Becerra deceived the
Hermanas, and I ended up being the missionary transferred from Chino.
I asked him last week to be able to stay another week there, but I
guess he didn't accept my request. I almost cried when I left Chino
because of how much I love that ward. I didn't realize how much I
loved it until it was time to leave. I have created some friendships
there that should last for many years to come. My new area is a suburb
of Los Angeles that is called "El Sereno" and is part of the El Molino
Spanish Branch. Elder Steffen from Texas is my new companion, and he
is enlisted in the Army. He's an awesome guy, and I'm really excited
to work with him!
Tuesday, February 25th, 2014:
Like we promised yesterday, Elder Knapp and I went with Hermano Castro
to go help out the Montes de Oca family with their lawn. They really
appreciated the small act of service. I love helping people out!
and I spent some more time putting in records into the iPads before
with his (now former) neighbor, Martha Segura. We taught her the Book
of Mormon, and Ruben bore his testimony about the Book of Mormon. It
was absolutely incredible and was one of the greatest feelings I have
had on the mission to date. Ruben's growth and progress has been such
a blessing to watch.
Wednesday, February 26th, 2014:
Elder Knapp and I went with Hermano Kirk to go teach Idie Ortiz in the
morning, but we found a note that told us that she wasn't interested
in talking to us anymore. It's sad to see her lose interest, but I was
grateful that she was kind enough to tell us "no." Most Latinos don't
know how to say no and then end up wasting your time on numerous
occasions by making you come by and them telling you, "another day."
English class was a lot of fun, as usual. I wish I would have known
that it would be my last English class, though! I have grown pretty
close to the group of about eight people that normally come, and it
will be sad not to be able to work with them again. Elder Knapp had an
dentist appointment during the afternoon, so I ended up reading about
the Great Apostasy in "Jesus the Christ." Talmage sites the Nicean
(spelling?) Creed about the nature of the Godhead. If you haven't read
church putting in more records into the Area Book. The only thing that
we have left to go through is potential investigators before we
finish. In the evening, the Ramirez family invited us over for dinner.
I love going to visit them, and we were able to share a message with
Rafael to help him prepare to receive the Melchizadek Priesthood.
Thursday, February 27th, 2014:
The zone leaders came to our district meeting, which was centered on
member work with the iPads. We role played a scenario of working with
a member and role playing with the member about talking to their
friends via Facebook. That means that we role played a role play,
almost like "Role Play-ception." That was the joke for the remainder
of the day. After failing to find some potential investigators
available, we went and decided to put those potential investigators in
the Area Book We are so close to being done! Emma Rodriguez, a
less-active member, invited us over for dinner. We ate with her and
her less-active daughter, Cynthia. It was a really good visit, and we
got them both thinking about how to do missionary work with their
friends. Once we left their house, we were unable to find anyone to
have a lesson with; however, we did set up a few return appointments.
Friday, February 28th, 2014:
In the morning, I woke up to quite the storm. It rained more than I
have ever seen in California and more than I have ever seen anywhere
in quite some time. The great part is that we had to bike in it! It is
supposed to be one of the worst storms in a number of years, and I can
see why. It was BAD. Streets started flooding, and the church actually
started flooding a little bit before the leak was discovered. Elder
Knapp and I tried to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid the
weather. We managed to finish putting in all of the records, too!
During the evening, we went to teach a family of former investigators
named the Iniguez family. They seemed pretty interested, and it was a
good lesson on the Restoration.
Saturday, March 1st, 2014:
What happened to February? The storm today made it difficult to do a
whole lot. Javier joined us for a lesson with a less-active member
named Hermano Ferrufino. It was interesting that his doubt ended up
being proxy ordinances, which is a thing mentioned in the Bible that
was practiced by early Christians. We had quite a discussion about it
and got into some pretty deep doctrine. Elder Knapp and I also stopped
by Valentina Flores (the widow of the late Miguel Flores) for the
first time this transfer. It was good to see her doing well two months
after the funeral. Not a whole lot happened during the day, due to the
storm, but we ended up playing volleyball during the evening. I love
ward volleyball; however, we ended up having two injuries, one of
which may have been a broken ankle. Hermano Mendoza landed on Elder
Knapp's foot, and Hermano Mendoza likely broke it. On the way out of
volleyball, I was carrying my stuff to the Hermanas' car when the
Spanish APs called. Oh, no... I'm getting transferred! Elder Mostert
told me that I will be serving in El Molino - South. The crazy thing
is that Elder Knight is the district leader there and that Hermana
Vellinga is still there, too. Half of my original district in Chino
will be in El Molino!
Sunday, March 2nd, 2014:
It was a really sad day for me. I really came to understand truly how
much I love this ward. I was also surprised how many people came up to
me to tell me that they are sad to see me leave and wanted my home
address to be able to write me! It was really encouraging to see how
much of an impact I have left on this ward, and I almost cried when
the day was over because I don't want to leave. After church, Elder
Knapp and I went with the Hermanas to the Chino Hills building to help
set up for the baptism of their investigator, Aurora. The baptismal
service was wonderful, and the Spirit was very strong there. We have
gotten Chino to the point of baptizing monthly again. We have had
three baptisms in the past four months, and there are some
investigators who are coming along in Chino that will likely be
baptized in the coming weeks and months. It's wonderful to see the
changes that have happened there. At night, Elder Knapp and I taught
Joseph and Jo-Jo about the Ten Commandments, in addition to committing
them to read, pray and come to church! It was the first time that they
both were totally open to coming to church. To finish off the evening,
we went to visit the Montanez family. I love them so much, and they
all really love having me over. I got a picture with all of them and
gave Hermano Montanez a blessing. It was such a nice visit, and I will
miss them dearly.
As I think about being transferred, I think about the transition from
elementary school to middle school. I began my mission in Chino and
felt comfortable there, but I know that the new place will be quite
different; however, it will be a challenge that will help me grow. I'm
excited to be here, but I won't forget the work that I did in Chino.
Hopefully El Molino has some great people to meet and some wonderful
experiences to enjoy. Thank you all for you help and for all of your
support! I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
Sent from my iPad
we have left to go through is potential investigators before we
finish. In the evening, the Ramirez family invited us over for dinner.
I love going to visit them, and we were able to share a message with
Rafael to help him prepare to receive the Melchizadek Priesthood.
Thursday, February 27th, 2014:
The zone leaders came to our district meeting, which was centered on
member work with the iPads. We role played a scenario of working with
a member and role playing with the member about talking to their
friends via Facebook. That means that we role played a role play,
almost like "Role Play-ception." That was the joke for the remainder
of the day. After failing to find some potential investigators
available, we went and decided to put those potential investigators in
the Area Book We are so close to being done! Emma Rodriguez, a
less-active member, invited us over for dinner. We ate with her and
her less-active daughter, Cynthia. It was a really good visit, and we
got them both thinking about how to do missionary work with their
friends. Once we left their house, we were unable to find anyone to
have a lesson with; however, we did set up a few return appointments.
Friday, February 28th, 2014:
In the morning, I woke up to quite the storm. It rained more than I
have ever seen in California and more than I have ever seen anywhere
in quite some time. The great part is that we had to bike in it! It is
supposed to be one of the worst storms in a number of years, and I can
see why. It was BAD. Streets started flooding, and the church actually
started flooding a little bit before the leak was discovered. Elder
Knapp and I tried to stay indoors as much as possible to avoid the
weather. We managed to finish putting in all of the records, too!
During the evening, we went to teach a family of former investigators
named the Iniguez family. They seemed pretty interested, and it was a
good lesson on the Restoration.
Saturday, March 1st, 2014:
What happened to February? The storm today made it difficult to do a
whole lot. Javier joined us for a lesson with a less-active member
named Hermano Ferrufino. It was interesting that his doubt ended up
being proxy ordinances, which is a thing mentioned in the Bible that
was practiced by early Christians. We had quite a discussion about it
and got into some pretty deep doctrine. Elder Knapp and I also stopped
by Valentina Flores (the widow of the late Miguel Flores) for the
first time this transfer. It was good to see her doing well two months
after the funeral. Not a whole lot happened during the day, due to the
storm, but we ended up playing volleyball during the evening. I love
ward volleyball; however, we ended up having two injuries, one of
which may have been a broken ankle. Hermano Mendoza landed on Elder
Knapp's foot, and Hermano Mendoza likely broke it. On the way out of
volleyball, I was carrying my stuff to the Hermanas' car when the
Spanish APs called. Oh, no... I'm getting transferred! Elder Mostert
told me that I will be serving in El Molino - South. The crazy thing
is that Elder Knight is the district leader there and that Hermana
Vellinga is still there, too. Half of my original district in Chino
will be in El Molino!
Sunday, March 2nd, 2014:
It was a really sad day for me. I really came to understand truly how
much I love this ward. I was also surprised how many people came up to
me to tell me that they are sad to see me leave and wanted my home
address to be able to write me! It was really encouraging to see how
much of an impact I have left on this ward, and I almost cried when
the day was over because I don't want to leave. After church, Elder
Knapp and I went with the Hermanas to the Chino Hills building to help
set up for the baptism of their investigator, Aurora. The baptismal
service was wonderful, and the Spirit was very strong there. We have
gotten Chino to the point of baptizing monthly again. We have had
three baptisms in the past four months, and there are some
investigators who are coming along in Chino that will likely be
baptized in the coming weeks and months. It's wonderful to see the
changes that have happened there. At night, Elder Knapp and I taught
Joseph and Jo-Jo about the Ten Commandments, in addition to committing
them to read, pray and come to church! It was the first time that they
both were totally open to coming to church. To finish off the evening,
we went to visit the Montanez family. I love them so much, and they
all really love having me over. I got a picture with all of them and
gave Hermano Montanez a blessing. It was such a nice visit, and I will
miss them dearly.
As I think about being transferred, I think about the transition from
elementary school to middle school. I began my mission in Chino and
felt comfortable there, but I know that the new place will be quite
different; however, it will be a challenge that will help me grow. I'm
excited to be here, but I won't forget the work that I did in Chino.
Hopefully El Molino has some great people to meet and some wonderful
experiences to enjoy. Thank you all for you help and for all of your
support! I love you all and hope that you have a wonderful week!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
Sent from my iPad
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