Hey Everyone!
As the title of my email indicates, I have been transferred to East
Los Angeles from Azusa. I was not excited about the changes at all
because I became very attached to Azusa; however, we had a great
meeting today among the district leaders about the vision that we have
for the East Los Angeles - South Zone, and we are going to get a lot
of work done here. I don't have a lot of time today, due to the
transfer, so I will keep this brief.
Tuesday, November 4th, 2014:
We taught Oscar about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy
and then taught Richie Rios. Afterwards, Jose Garcia invited us over
for lunch. He is one of the most humble men that I have ever met, and
I hope to continue becoming more and more like him. We then visited
Hermana Castillo and read in the Book of Mormon with her. Elder Crane
and I then talked to Mayra Lopez about setting up some appointments
with her friends and then read in the Book of Mormon with Nicasio
Brizuela for the first time. We finished our evening by going to the
church for correlation with Hermano Torres. Our district is working on
planning the Thanksgiving activity.
Wednesday, November 5th, 2014:
Despite the slow day, we were able to work with Richie and Paula to
help them overcome a few of their concerns and struggles. It seems
like the recent converts have been struggling a little bit as of late
to fully live the Gospel, and we are trying to do all that we can to
help them continue to progress. During the evening, we were able to
teach Michael Martinez about the process of conversion. Also, Elder
Fellows, one of the assistants, called during the evening to inform
Elder Crane that he will be training during this upcoming transfer.
Thursday, November 6th, 2014:
I really hope that my time isn't coming to an end in Azusa, but it
feels like the time is imminent. I taught about the importance of
working on finding ourselves and planning how to become better
missionaries so that we can be better tools in the hands of the Lord.
During the day, we taught Jose Antonio, the nephew of a less-active
member named Adan, for the first time. We have been really
establishing the vision of working with the less-actives to find the
quality investigators who are prepared to change and become converted
to the Gospel. We also went to eat with the Hernandez family. They
committed to coming to church on Sunday, despite being less-active for
over eight years.
Friday, November 7th, 2014:
Elder Crane had to go to a training meeting in Arcadia, so I stayed in
the area with Elder Giddens. We taught Maria Estrada and interpreted a
dream for her; the best part was that she accepted a date to be
baptized! Latinos seem to have a lot of dreams, and it is really fun
to try to interpret them. Elder Crane and I had to weekly plan very
quickly to make it to help out Hermana Hipolito put up some Christmas
lights. We ended our evening by teaching Irene Gonzalez and Rosie
Garcia about revelation through church attendance. We have built such
a relationship of trust and unity with our investigators, and the
potential in the area is really beginning to shine forth.
Saturday, November 8th, 2014:
We played ward soccer again, and everyone thinks that I will be
leaving. It was really fun, but I get the feeling that I will have to
leave Azusa. Everyone here has made such a huge impact on my life, and
I feel as though I have grown more here in the last four months
spiritually than at any other interval of my life. Training in my
previous area really humbled me, and Azusa has really helped me to be
able to apply the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my own
life. We taught Paula Lopez about the Ten Commandments. I then got the
call to get transferred to Belvedere 2. I was very upset and sad to be
leaving.
Sunday, November 9th, 2014:
Church was really sad because I had to say goodbye to a number of the
members that have had such a huge impact on my life over the past few
months. After church, Elder Crane and I went to visit Roselia Garza to
talk more about how she can prepare to enter the temple in the near
future. We then ate dinner with the Magana family. They are my
favorite family out of my entire mission because of the changes that
we have experienced together. I have become more Christlike through
helping them return from being less-active to helping others enjoy the
blessings of the Gospel. Elder Crane and I then finished our night by
going to see Rosie and Irene one last time. I am going to miss Azusa
dearly.
We all went down to the stake center today for P-Day, which helped me
meet a few more people from our district and our zone. I am currently
companions with Elder Alcaraz, who just finished training and is an
excellent missionary. I look forward to learning a lot from him and
being able to grow with him. We have a lot of work to do here in
Belvedere 2, and the first step will be establishing the vision of
"the One" among the missionaries. I hope you all have a fantastic
week! Thank you for all of your love and support!
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
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