My Mission President is Going to be a General Authority! - April 9, 2014

Hey Everyone!

I hope everyone was taking notes during General Conference because
that was probably the absolute best General Conference that I have
ever listened to! The Brethren were very bold and had some great
insights about what we must do to continue along the strait and narrow
path. This week felt quite long (at least between P-days) because we
normally don't have to go ten days between having a day off.
Regardless, General Conference and our temple trip made it all worth
it! Plus, I have two awesome pieces of news: President Becerra (my
current mission president) was called as an Area Seventy in General
Conference -- I believe that is why Elder Dallin H. Oaks came to our
mission a couple of weeks back, now that I think about it; also, Iwill be a trainer this upcoming transfer!

Tuesday, April 1st, 2014:

I had completely forgotten that April 1st meant that it was April
Fools Day. The morning seemed pretty normal until we got a text
message from Elder Knight and Elder Turner: they are going to take
away our iPads! I started freaking out and making all of the
preparations to switch back to pre-iPad life. After about an hour of
stress and anxiety, Elder Steffen finally realized that today was
April Fool's Day. We called Elder Knight to confirm that it was only a
joke, and I felt like my blood pressure returned back to normal. ElderSteffen had to go to the bike shop to fix one of his pedals, so we
dropped off his bike before heading over to the library to finally
email. I felt bad for not getting all of my emails sent out on Monday,
but it was very nice to be able to talk to my family. I find that
talking with my family is one of my favorite parts of the whole week,
and talking with them every week makes me miss them more and more.
Elder Steffen and I went by a lot of houses, but no one was home. We
have to have the tough days as missionaries to experience the good
days, so hopefully more success is around the corner. At night, Elder
Knight told us that we will be doing exchanges; I will be staying here
with Elder Knight, and Elder Steffen will be going to El Molino -
Central with Elder Turner. I'm quite excited to spend some more time
with my trainer, Elder Knight!

Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014:

Elder Knight and I stayed up talking, and it was really fun to catch
up on what has happened since we were together about four months ago.
I really enjoyed spending time with him; I enjoyed his company a whole
lot more today because I have learned so much since he trained me,
which made me appreciate his skills and abilities much more now. The
more I was around Elder Knight, the more good memories from Chino came
back into my mind. During the day, Elder Knight and I did the most
walking that I have done on my mission so far. I wasn't familiar with
the area that we were working in, so we went to many areas in which I
got lost. We were also unlucky to not find anyone at home during the
day. It brought back so many memories of Chino back when Elder Knight
and I would work for hours during the heat of the day and fail to find
a single person that would listen to us. The good part was that Elder
Knight and I really enjoy each other's company, so the work today was
quite fun. During the afternoon, there was some really heavy rain
outside that prevented us from being able to visit Hermano Magdaleno.
Fortunately, we managed to make it through the rain in time to talk to
Alex Varela. Elder Knight and I taught very well together; our
chemistry in teaching came right back. We taught Alex about the
importance of teaching and learning, specifically about how he can do
more for others by teaching them about the Gospel, causing him to
learn more in the process. Every time that I visit Alex, I develop
greater love for the man. Elder Knight and I then went to the church
to switch back companions. Chris Varela needed help with his homework,
so I helped him with his math homework while I waited for Elder Turner
and Elder Steffen to get there. It was such a fun day with Elder
Knight, and I miss serving with him.

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014:

Zone meeting for the East LA - North Zone takes place at the Fletcher
building. Elder Steffen and I had to travel about two hours each way,
which ate up the better part of our day. During the first hour of zone
meeting, the lesson on planning was a hard to focus because of how
tired I was; however, the second half of zone meeting was really
interesting and provided a great perspective on how to show true love
for those we teach through effective planning. The zone leaders, Elder
Perez and Elder Fellows, had everyone do a role play of planning three
lessons for a loved one that we would want to see progress in the
Gospel. Elder Steffen and I did the role play and planned for one of
his less-active sisters. It was really interesting to see how much
love we could find for her and how much we wanted to help her
progress, despite the fact that it was only a role play situation.
When everyone returned for the second half of zone meeting after doing
the role plays, the zone leaders made it quite apparent that we should
have that exact same love for each of our investigators that we are
currently teaching as we had during the role play. It is also worth
noting that during the role play, our desire was helping Elder Steffen
help his sister reach the temple to be sealed to her husband, not just
the goal of helping her husband reach the waters of baptism. It took
Elder Steffen and I more than three hours to get home, so we didn't
have as much time to work during the day as we would have liked. We
stopped by Santiago to set up a return appointment on our way to eat
dinner with Silvia Recinos. Silvia is really funny and very blunt
about everything, so it was really fun to talk to her. She still
doesn't have the money for her ID card from El Salvador; we will need
to take care of that before she can obtain a marriage license. On the
way back to the apartment, an English member stopped to give us a
ride. I love how helpful members are; there is no way that we would be
able to do the work that we do on a daily basis without their
assistance.

Friday, April 4th, 2014:

The English Elders knocked on our door in the morning while we were
doing our personal studies, which really surprised us. They told us
that we needed to go with them to help dedicate the home of a
non-member named Martina. Martina is friends with a member of the
English ward and wanted a blessing for her house because their family
has been struggling to make ends meet financially. We went by and
taught Martina a little bit about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ will
bless her family if she chooses to live the commandments of God. She
is Catholic but really doesn't have much of a background with the
teachings of Christ. After we finished talking to Martina for a few
minutes, I had the privilege to say the prayer to dedicate and bless
Martina's home. It was a neat experience, even though I was a little
nervous doing it for my first time. We set up a return appointment to
come by on Wednesday; hopefully, we can get the assistance of the
English member when we go by next. We then returned to the apartment
for weekly planning. We hurried and planned so that we could update
all of the white boards in the apartment that haven't been updated in
nearly three months. Upon finishing everything, Elder Steffen and I
went to go eat dinner with Hermana Caceres. She is such a nice, humble
and hard-working member. We talked to her about getting ready for
General Conference tomorrow, and it made me really excited when we
were talking about it. Correlation got canceled last minute, so we
decided to stop by Alex Varela's house to also get him excited for
General Conference. Having the ability to listen to a modern-day
prophet is a remarkable opportunity that I am very grateful to have as
a member of the Church.

Saturday, April 5th, 2014:

We were unable to find a place to watch General Conference at, so we
went with Plan B and watched it at the East Los Angeles stake center.
It ended up being a better choice because it was easier to focus, and
there were a lot of missionaries to talk to there. We spent the entire
day at the stake center watching all three sessions. It was probably
my favorite single day of General Conference that I have ever watched
in my life due to how many incredible talks were given. Elder Jeffrey
R. Holland began the first session. In his closing testimony, he
stated that he is more sure of restored Priesthood keys than he was of
standing at the pulpit to deliver his talk in front of the audience at
the conference center. In between sessions, it was really nice to be
able to relax with all of the other missionaries and just enjoy
General Conference. I did not feel stressed at all, and everyone being
together in a group made the day much more fun. I went to Chipotle
with Elder Low and Elder Porter for lunch. It was great to be able to
catch up with both of them, and it made me realize how much I missed
being around both of them on a daily basis. Between the afternoon and
Priesthood sessions, Elder Low and I went to go get frozen yogurt. It
probably looked weird to other people to see a group of twenty or
thirty missionaries going around everywhere. Priesthood session was
probably my favorite session of General Conference overall because the
Brethren really focused on Priesthood keys and how those keys work in
detail. Elder Dallin H. Oaks made the comment that we do not have the
keys for creation or for resurrection, which was a very deep piece of
doctrine that I had never thought about before. They shared some very
deep doctrine about the Priesthood and set the issue about women
obtaining the Priesthood straight (a group called "Ordain Women" is
trying to petition President Monson to ask The Lord if they can
receive the Priesthood). I also noticed a theme among all three
sessions of General Conference today of service and courage; it seemed
like nearly every talk touched on one or both of these things. I
didn't really feel like writing down all of my notes from General
Conference into this email, but the talks that were worth listening to
from today were Elder Holland's and Elder Oak's. On a side note,
President Jorge T. Becerra, my current mission president, was called
to be an Area Seventy during the afternoon session! I can now say that
I have been serving under a General Authority! Everyone in the room
freaked out when they heard his name called by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, but
everyone later commented that they thought it was just a matter of
time before he got called as a General Authority. President Becerra is
still young (51) and very well could be called to an even higher
calling in the future; he is one inspirational and devoted man. I am
very proud to call him my mission president.

Sunday, April 6th, 2014:

For the morning session today, Elder Steffen and I went to the church
building on Huntington and Fletcher. General Conference was beingbroadcast in English and Spanish there, so we had the opportunity to
watch it in English in the chapel. I personally liked the sessions
yesterday a little bit better; however, the difference may have been
more from where I was watching it at than from the quality of the
talks. I was once again shocked at how bold all of the Brethren were
in their messages. After the first session, everyone in the El Molino
district went over to the Monzons to eat lunch and watch the last
session of General Conference. I enjoy spending time with the members,
but it was a little tough to concentrate on the messages that were
being shared at General Conference. The Monzons fed us carne asada and
ribs, which made me a little sleepy when I was trying to focus. My two
favorite talks from today's sessions were Elder Bednar's talk on
pulling a spiritual load and Elder Christofferson's talk on the
implications of the reality of Christ's resurrection nearly two
thousand years ago; Elder Ballard also gave an excellent talk about
member missionary work (everyone, please read and apply the principles
outlined from this talk, especially the part about Preach My Gospel),
and President Uchtdorf gave a really interesting perspective on
gratitude. Everything church-related as a missionary takes on a whole
new meaning. After General Conference ended, it was right back to
work. Elder Steffen and I went to Santiago's house to eat dinner with
him and Hermana Gonzalez. She made us chicken tostadas for dinner, and
it may have been the very best meal that I have eaten on the mission.
It had been exactly two weeks since we had visited them; they have
been doing well, but neither of them were able to watch General
Conference. We weren't able to share our lesson with Santiago about
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so we are going to try to come back
tomorrow to have a lesson. Elder Steffen and I were also able to meet
with the Varelas and catch both Abel and Lucy at home. We broke the
news to Abel that he is already a member of the Church; he seemed
quite shocked and said that he doesn't ever remember being baptized at
all. We are going to check the computer with him to verify that the
record we found is actually his. Lucy also told us that she wants
Chris to wait to be baptized until he shows the desire by changing
some of his habits that are contrary to God's laws, such as lying andlaziness. I'm optimistic that we can get help him in the coming
weeks, though!

Monday, April 7th, 2014:

Even though Easter hasn't even come around yet, the weather over the
past few days has felt a lot like summer. This side of the mission is
normally significantly cooler than the other side, but it has been
pushing ninety degrees over the past few days. It would be great for
someone who is on vacation; however, as a missionary with a tie, dark
slacks and dark leather shoes, it quickly becomes uncomfortable,
especially without the luxury of a car or air conditioning in the
apartment. Today was very physically exerting because we had to walk
so much in the heat of the sun. We were able to find a less-active
member named David Ortiz at home, but our ten minute visit with him
was quite awkward. He and his family were clearly uninterested, which
made it rather difficult to hold a conversation about any subject
whatsoever. During dinner time, our online investigator, Leybi
Aguilar, called to talk to Elder Steffen. He has been teaching her
since he was serving in the Belvedere 1st Ward and has been helping
her persevere through her family struggles. I haven't ever met her or
talked to her, so Elder Steffen taught her about the importance of
forgiving others for the faults they have committed; Leybi has been
having trouble trying to forgive her mother for the numerous things
that she has done to Leybi that have had physical, mental and
emotional consequences. When Leybi turns eighteen in September of this
year, she should be all ready to be baptized. To finish off the
evening, we stopped in to see Abraham and Hermana Oliva. They have
both been doing quite well, and Hermana Oliva was excited to talk to
us about General Conference. I love seeing the members excited about
General Conference because it is an indicator that they are taking the
necessary steps to continue progressing in the Gospel.

Tuesday, April 8th, 2014:

Early in the morning, Elder Mostert, one of the two Spanish AP's
called to tell me that I will be training this upcoming transfer! I
was quite surprised because I don't feel in the least bit ready to
train. Elder Steffen also commented that President Becerra picks the
trainers before anyone else; that means I was one of a hand full of
people selected to train, assuming that there will not be very many
Spanish missionaries coming into the mission field on this transfer. I
will go to the meeting for all of the trainers on Thursday afternoon
and get a trainee on Tuesday. During the afternoon, Elder Knight and
Elder Turner met Elder Steffen and I at the church to go over the
redrawn area boundaries. Elder Knight reassigned about thirty-five
people to us, which included investigators, potentials and formers.
Despite the intense heat of the day, we struggled finding anyone home
before dinner. After dinner, we talked to a guy who is less-active and
has a sister serving a full-time mission right now in Honduras. It is
really neat to run into members who may or may not be active while we
are out and about during the day. I talked to him for a little bit
about General Conference, and he still remembered a lot. To finish off
the evening, we went to visit Alex Varela, which is what we do every
Tuesday night at 8 PM. It's always nice to periodically check in on
Alex to see how he is doing. I was a little surprised to see that he
has not been reading in the Book of Mormon, like he should be doing on
a daily basis. We decided to watch Elder Holland's "Safety For the
Soul" talk about the Book of Mormon with him again to help Alex
understand the importance of the Book of Mormon on our religion. True
conversion can only come from a testimony of the Book of Mormon.

Today didn't feel like a Wednesday at all because it was our P-day. It
also felt like forever since we last had a P-Day. We went to the
temple today with our branch president, President Muriel, which was a
wonderful experience. I didn't want to leave because I don't want to
wait another six months to feel the same way that I felt today in the
temple; there is truly nothing in this world to compare to it.
President Muriel sent my parents a couple of pictures if you are
interested in seeing pictures. I can't send pictures on this iPad,
otherwise I would have sent a lot more of them over the past few
weeks.

As far as the training is concerned, I will go to a meeting tomorrow
for all of the trainers to prepare to train this coming week. All of
the new missionaries will get here on Tuesday morning, so I will not
know my new companion until then (assuming I'm not trio training,
which is a possibility). It's quite a humbling feeling to be training
so soon on my mission (the average missionary here trains after theyhave been out for about a year), so I don't feel quite adequate for the task.

 It should be fun, though! I'm excited to learn a lot in the process.

I hope everyone enjoyed General Conference and has had a wonderful
week! I love this week as a missionary because of how spiritual it is.
It is a great reminder of what truly matters in life and why we have
this church to lift us up. When we follow the commandments, we receive
blessings EVERY TIME; when we don't follow the commandments, we don't
receive blessings - EVERY TIME. It is as simple as that! Thank you for
all of your love and support! I appreciate all that each of you do on
my behalf, and I hope that everyone is well and happy!

Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley

P.S. President Becerra will finish his term as a mission president
(ends on July 1st), and he will be replaced by President Villanueva.
The Villanueva family is from Oaxaca, Mexico (if you want something
fun to do, look up the festival that happens in Oaxaca every year with
radishes). All of the mission will have the chance to meet President
Villanueva at Zone Conference, which will take place at the end of
this month or the beginning of next month.

Sent from my iPad