Transfer #8

Good morning everyone!!! It's the first day of my EIGHTH transfer. And I am staying in Glendora with Sister Amataga!! We are so excited! We have been working super hard and we can see the fruits of our labors. We have seen many many miracles in the last two weeks. It's interesting how whenever something goes wrong, it's usually because something good is about to happen. And that was definitely what happened here in Glendora the last few weeks. But things are really looking up and we are so excited that we get to be together for another five weeks at least (they have cut our transfers by a week because of all the new missionaries who are coming in February...)

Family  Home Evening at the Hyer's

So to get started with this last week on Monday the 7th Sister Amataga and I taught the Family Home Evening lesson at the Hyer's. Their neighbors are investigating the church (Amanda has been coming to church and activities for years and Pam is wanting to learn more...) So we decided that after much struggle trying to figure out what we should teach, we finally decided to teach about the Gospel of Jesus Christ which consists of Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. And the lesson went, if I can say so myself, wonderfully! The Spirit was so strong and after struggling, we were happy that we were able to pull of the wonderful lesson. Which we could not have done without the Spirit.

Then Tuesday the 8th we spent a couple hours with the Elders at Citrus college with our booth. We go once or twice a week and talk to students as they walk by. We get many different answers but most of them are very nice haha :) So that's fun! I always get scared but in the end, I get over it and talk to as many people as will talk to me.

Farewell for Sister Fili

Then we went and did service over at the Salisbury's and had another wonderful conversation with Sister Salisbury. We have been lucky to be able to go to their house at least once a week the last little while and get to know them all better!

And later that night we had a lesson with Jose and the Pocock's. It was the last lesson with him before his interview for baptism and we talked about tithing and fasting/fast offerings. It was a great lesson. We had a good conversation and there were testimonies given about how tithing/fasting have blessed each of us. It was just a great lesson!

Rachel, Ryan from Chino Hills and Elder Bucholz

On Wednesday the 9th after going to Citrus college again, Sister Amataga and I went on splits with two girls from the YSA ward who are going on missions. Sister Amataga went with Hailey and they went walking and I went with Esli and we went to visit less-actives. Sadly we weren't able to meet with them because they weren't home, were sick, or were busy. But we ended up going to a couple members houses because we needed to ask them questions. So it wasn't the best split ever but sometimes as missionaries we have those kinds of days. But it was fun! We are looking forward to working with them more, and other YSA Sisters, to go out with us and learn and prepare for missions.

Not much happened on Thursday the 10th but we did meet with Jose one last time with his mother and just went over the baptism interview questions. It was nice though because while talking about these things, his mom had many questions so we were able to answer those. It was nice!

Sisters Butler and Wheatley, Jose, Brother Pocock, and Sister Amataga

Then Friday the 11th we went back over to the Salisbury's and had lunch with Brother and Sister Salisbury. It was nice to have a good BLT for lunch with great friends! They have a neighbor who Sister Salisbury has been talking to over the last week who wants to change her life around and so we are going to meet with her, hopefully this Saturday for dinner, and have a lesson with her and the Salisbury's. So we are excited! Their neighbor, we met her last week, and she is a super sweet girl and so we are excited!

Also Friday, we didn't get much done because we had to take our car in to get fixed (the axle boots were leaking) so the Elders followed us to El Monte and then brought us back to Glendora. Then we got a phone call from the dealership that they had to order the axles for the car so we could either pick up the car and take it back on Saturday or leave it over night. Well, we called Elder Olsen and he told us to come pick up a car from the office and to leave our car in El Monte. So we called the Elders again and they took us to the office to pick up a car. And by the time we got back from Arcadia, we had a couple appointments to run to. And after lunch we had Jose's baptism interview. After that we talked to our district leader for a few minutes and then we had dinner. So after dinner, we went home and did our weekly planning. It's interesting because after talking to President Becerra last Firday, we have had amazing planning sessions! It is amazing what can happen! We have so much happening in the family ward and we are so excited for it! And we are working hard in the YSA ward and are hoping that things will pick up for us soon!

Our dear mail and vehicle coordinators...Elder and Sister Olsen

Then Saturday the 12th we went to lunch with Kirsty and Brittany from the YSA ward, which was so good! We went to La Tolteca in Azusa. It was SOOO delicious! I have been craving Mexican food, or rather chips and salsa, and I was not disappointed! It was delicious food and we had a good time getting to know these Sisters better.

After lunch we went walking and visited a couple people along the way and then headed back to the church to watch the water fill up the font for Jose's baptism that evening! And oh my goodness, Jose's baptism was wonderful! The Spirit was so strong there! Two young men in the ward, Jose's friends Riley and Chandler, gave the talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost and they did wonderfully! And it was just a wonderful service. It was a packed room and it was awesome to see the support of our ward members. Everyone in the ward loves Jose and he will be a great member of the ward and of the church! He has a strong testimony of the gospel. We had a couple people come up to us after and say "he's going to serve a mission. He's going to be a wonderful member and missionary." So that was really cool!

Elder McKee, my first zone leader in Chino Hills

And that night was transfer calls! We had a feeling that both Sister Amataga and I would both stay and we did! It is very nerve wracking though waiting in the evening to see if you are going to get a call from the AP's. But we were lucky and we didn't! But as we were texting the Elders in our district and zone, it was sad to see which ones were being transferred. You get so close while working with the Elders and it's always sad when someone gets transferred. There were a couple of the Elders that told us they just wanted to cry because they didn't want to leave their areas. But what gets everyone through transfers is knowing that it's a call from Heavenly Father and that wherever He sends us, we know it's for a specific reason and we will make a difference wherever we go. So that helps every time we get the nasty ringtone ringing on our phone indicating that someone is being transferred.

Then yesterday, Sunday the 13th, was a good day! We had ward conference in the family ward and it was so incredible! Bishop Whitworth and President O'Bryant gave incredible talks! Sadly I forgot my notebook at home so I didn't write any notes but I just remember the Spirit that was there! And it was wonderful because we had three investigators at church and it was just awesome to have such a strong spirit there while they were there!

Sadly we had to leave the family ward early to go to the YSA ward for ward council. And church at the YSA ward was amazing as well! Our ward mission leader, Brother Hatch gave an incredible talk on prayer. It's not what he planned on talking about but they way it turned out was amazing! It was just a wonderful day at church! And then to finish it off, we got to go up to Bishop Ferrell's house for dinner with the YSA because there was a CES fireside and they always go to Bishop's house for firesides and have dinner. It was so fun to sit around and get to know each of the members in the YSA ward better. Sister Amataga and I left early though because we were going with the Powell's and Jose to the despidida (farewell) in Arcadia that night. And that was such a wonderful farewell! It was sad because there were friends going home but the Spirit was so strong! I cried a few times but it was cool! As the missionaries got up to bare their testimonies, I could picture myself standing up there in September. I was so impressed by these testimonies that I wondered if I could be like them by the end of my mission. I have come to really look up to some of the missionaries who are going home and I just think about what I have learned from them and now after their testimonies last night, I look up to them even more. I just loved going to the despidida last night! It was a wonderful way to end off the transfer.

Well, that's about it for this week. I'm so excited to be in the Glendora 5th and 6th wards again for at least another five weeks! Good things are going to happen! It's just amazing! And I'm so thankful for this opportunity.

And this week I believe are birthdays for Aunt Kathleen, and Jenifer Adair this week. Along with Jessie Brimhall's birthday. Love you all so much!

Have a good week everyone! Thanks always for your love, support and prayers that I feel at all times!

Love always, Sister Rachel Wheatley