You've Got to Read These Stories

As you probably noticed, Dave's blog went all weird because I haven't been updating it regularly! Dave is still enjoying being an Assistant to the President, and is learning a lot about leadership and training. I wish I could sit in on one of his training meetings, because I bet he is an excellent teacher. Well, I'm not good at summing up emails, so here are some clips from his past few. I've condensed some of them, so bear with me:



November:

"Yesterday the Newhall 1st ward had a Fun Run activity that Elder Lamb and I attended in the morning. We didn't plan on running, we were just going to visit with the members but they were all giving us a hard time that we were not running so we decided to run just the mile section of it. Long story short, we ended up running the entire 5K. I came in 1st in my age group... largely because I was the only participant in my age group. I am extremely out of shape, and almost didn't make it back to the starting line. I hadn't run even a mile in probably 5-6 months so it probably wasn't the best idea to try 3 miles. I am so sore today it hurts to move."

"We had a very interesting lesson on saturday with a couple of ladies that we tracted into ... it is hard to leave a lesson like that knowing that a person does not understand the blessings that are being rejected. It is amazing how much the gospel becomes a part of you. In the beginning of my mission I doubt it would have really bothered me much, but now it is heartbreaking at times to see people reject or refuse to understand the importance of the gospel."

"On Elder Lamb and I conducted a district meeting way up in the middle of the desert ... so we made the 3 hour drive ... it wasn't the greatest of meetings. First of all, it was freezing. I thought that being in the desert it would be fairly warm, but instead it was about 50 degrees with a 30 mph wind. And secondly, it was very uncomfortable trying to sit 14 missionaries close together on a bunch of rocks (sitting on cold rocks makes it feel even colder) ... but it got worse in the middle of our training. Out of nowhere several of the missionaries scream and jump up and scatter from the rock they were sitting on. Being really confused and not quite sure what is going on I look at the rock that they were sitting on and see a massive tarantula almost the size of my hand walking across the rock. I have never seen people scatter so fast before, jumping across boulders and rocks."

"I definately recieved a miracle of health during the week. My cold/sinus infection completely went away. Monday night I started developing the cough that I usually don't get over for a week or two, but monday night I got a blessing from Elder Lamb and 1 other missionary and the cough was completely gone for the entire week. By wed I felt 100% again and I had a voice again. The tender mercies of the Lord are never ending."

"So last week we knocked doors, contacted on the streets, visited many of the former investigators, and everything else that we could think of doing. We also fasted that we would be able to find those who are ready to listen to the message of the restored gospel. In the past 8 days we have found 6 new people to teach, 2 families and an individual. For our trainings we were able to bear sincere testimony that the Lord is directing the work and will lead us to those who He has prepared if we honestly search for them and have the faith to be led. We had seen personally that miracle during the week."

"We recieved a referral from another set of missionaries ... he was a student at the Master's college ... the only place to meet would be on campus ... it felt a little like walking into a lions den ... we didn't really have a chance to teach, but we answered questions for the next hour. His professor wanted to take every opportunity to show us why our church can't be true though. He had a paper that had several gospel principles and then two collums of information; one, "Mormon Beliefs", and the other "What the Bible Teaches". As hard as he tried to disprove our faith, he couldn't do it. And with each attempt it gave us another chance to bear testimony of how we have come to know the truth of the gospel and how they could as well if they had a desire to know."

December:
"The mission reached a milestone last week when we officially hit 400 baptisms for the year. The mission has not done that for 14 years. So far there are 55 more investigators that have a baptismal date for before the end of the year as well. It could be the most successful year in the history of the San Fernando Mission. It is exciting to be a part of it. It is also fun to hear of all of the success stories from around the mission. Miracles are happening all around and many of them stem from the reading of the Book of Mormon. It is amazing the converting power of the Book of Mormon. "

"Elder Lamb and I also had a cool experience tracting this week. On Wed we scheduled an hour to knock doors, but because it had been raining all day, we decided that if it was raining we would do something else instead. It rained the entire day until the hour that we were scheduled to tract, so we started knocking doors on a street that we had decided earlier. We found one lady, Carol, that invited us in right there and we were able to share a short message with her and have a return appointment for this week. Right after that we found another lady that is good friends with a member of the ward and asked us to come back and share with her what we believe. Right after these 2 doors, it started to rain again. It is a testimony that the Lord will prepare the way for His children to receive the gospel. He caused it to stop raining just long enough so that we could run into those people."

Isn't it neat to witness, through Dave's experiences, the power of the gospel, and the miracles that happen every day through our faith?

New AP and Lots of Pictures

Elder Monk was made an AP, assistant to the president, in his last

transfer. "It was quite a shock seeing as I have had less than 3 months experience as a zone leader, but I guess it will just be another growing opportunity."

So far he's enjoyed listening to departing elders' testimonies, picking up new elders and orienting them, and training zone leaders. I posted tons of pictures so just be warned. And they're in no sensible order, so sorry for the randomness!
























Below was the Station Fire, that burned 1/5 of the Angeles National Forest. He was just south of it.

Some 4th of July pictures. They had a fun BBQ. I know, I'm WAY behind.

Warner Brothers Studios in Burbank.

Los Angeles Temple

Sorry, No Pictures

If you want to see pictures, I suggest you write to Elder Monk at his new address, listed to the right, and demand to see some.

Dave has had an exciting couple months, which started with his becoming district leader in Pacoima:

"I am excited though to do the trainings for district meeting though because the person who does the training always learns the most, and so I am really hoping that my teaching skills and abilities will be greatly improved through all of these trainings. "

Dave also celebrated his 1 year anniversary on June 25, the same day as my parents' 31st anniversary!

"Happy 31st wedding anniversary Mom and Dad! June 25 was a pretty big day for both of us I guess, well maybe not as much for me. It didn't feel any different than any other day and ... Because it is so dry here and we live close to the hills, it is a serious offense to light a fire."

Elder Monk celebrated the 4th on his balcony with his companion and another set of missionaries. They had a huge BBQ and watched fireworks from the balcony. Dave also said goodbye to his mission president, President Goodrich, at the end of June. He was sad to see him leave, but has enjoyed getting to meet the new president and his wife; the Martins.

It sounds like Elder Monk was really starting to enjoy Pacoima, the people, and his district. So of course, he was transfered in the last transfer. Good thing because he said it was pretty hot on the bikes, and their shirts were soaked with sweat by mid-afternoon. Now he's in a part of Santa Clarita called Canyon Country. A wee 25 minutes away from yours truly!! Now it will be easier for me to stalk him. Just kidding.

Elder Monk also became a zone leader with the new transfer. Totally unexpected, he said.

I love hearing how Dave's testimony has grown: "The 4 1/2 months here in Pacoima were great and I grew and learned a lot from the experiences. It gave me a whole new perspective on how people live. There are so many members who have absolutely nothing; no car, no clothes, barely any food, but yet are some of the strongest and most faithful members in the ward. I will miss the ward and the members here, but am also excited for the new experience of Canyon Country."

May Update

I think I speak for Elder Monk and Elder Harris when I say that the highlight of their mission was eating dinner with me and my family. Just kidding, but it was the highlight of my month!

My husband Thad and I, and our little girl, Analyn, drove down to Pacoima, picked up Dave and his companion, and took them to Olive Garden. We had a nice dinner and talked about the family, his area, food that he eats, and interesting stories that they had to tell.

They get fed mostly Mexican food and Dave likes it a lot. But some of the meals are pretty spicy, as he illustrates: "This past friday Elder Harris and I and the 2 other missionaries in the ward had dinner with a family in the ward and it was the hottest food I have ever eaten in my life. With Hispanic families, they never eat with you. They serve you the food and then leave. So all of us are trying to eat the food and are just pouring sweat, our face, arms, legs, everyting was sweating. I guess they accidentally put a little too much chili in."

It sounds like the work is really progressing in Pacoima. In one of his recent emails, Dave wrote: "Little by little we are finding new people to teach. Elder Harris and I have been going through the old records of some of the former investigators and visiting some of them that we feel might have potential."

In his last email, Dave proudly informed us that he and Elder Harris taught 25 lessons, which is a record for their companionship. He wrote:
"We both feel like the work is continuing to progress little by little. We have been visiting a lot of the members in ward the past few weeks and a couple of the less active members and families have come to church for the first time since I have been here. Its a great feeling on Sundays when a less-active family that we have been working with walks in the doors into the chapel

."

Conference, Baptisms and Differences

Dave was made senior companion in the last transfer to Pacoima. In order to sum up what's going on in his mission, I just grouped Dave's last 2 emails into a few main topics.

General Conference:
"The central message to me seemed to be that times are tough, but the Savior and the gospel will be our sources of strength, comfort, direction, and guidance."

Baptisms:
"Last night I went back to Burbank for the baptism of the 2 friends of Burgess. It was awesome to go back and see them and Burgess and how excited they all are for the church."

Easter:
"Happy Easter!! It was a great Easter Day and perfect weather yesterday. The other set of missionaries in the ward had 2 baptisms yesterday so it was a perfect way to celebrate Easter. Not quite a typical Easter though... no Easter egg hunts, no hidden baskets - but it was enjoyable."

Spanish skills:
"My Spanish continues to improve every day but still has a long way to go. I feel pretty comfortable now talking to people in lessons but it is still frustrating at times not being able to say what I want to say, or not being able to understand what the people are saying to me. I think it is difficult to be a powerful and effective teacher when I am so limited with what I can say, but I know I am improving every day and that I am receiving Heavenly help to be able to speak the language."

Differences between Burbank and Pacoima:
I have mentioned before that Pacoima is a completely different world than Burbank was, and here is a list of a few of the differences:

1. I think it is a rule in Pacoima that you must have an attack dog, regardless of whether you live in a house or in the projects. Pitt bulls, German Shepard's, and other gigantic dogs are the preferred guard dogs here, but little pooches that nip at your ankles or bite your pant legs at every step have also been effective on us. I have only been chased by one dog so far, but I am sure that number will increase shortly. With the big dogs, most people only have 3-4 ft fences and I swear the dogs could easily jump out if they really tried. It definitely makes you think twice before approaching the house.

2. Most of the Hispanics are out of work and have no money whatsoever. They live in little shacks, have no cars, but all of them still manage to have 70" flat screen plasma TVs.

3. Hispanics are the friendliest people. In Burbank, very rarely we could stop and talk to someone in the street and have them actually stop and listen. Here, they will talk to you for 30 minutes and not even know our name.

4. The list could go on and on, but I am about out of time.

Dave says he's doing well and improving his language skills, but still appreciates all the prayers on his behalf.

*Editor's note

I fixed the previous post and added captions, and Dave's new address is posted as well.

Dave's Alive!

No, nothing's wrong, we're just resurrecting his blog from the dead. I'm Lindsay, his sister, and I'll be updating his blog now! Let's get right down to business.

Dave WAS transferred this last transfer and now is serving in the San Fernando 2nd Ward, but will live and work mostly in Pacoima, which apparently is "the "ghetto of ghetto" according to Elder Monk. His new companion, Elder Harris, has only been out three months, so neither of them are 100% solid in their Spanish. Should be interesting. They'll catch on quickly! Dave's sad to leave Burbank but looking forward to relearning Spanish in a new area, where he's heard the work is generally pretty strong. I'll let you know what his new address is next week.

Here are some pictures.

John Capellaro at his baptism…12/27/08



Elder Monk and all the stages at Warner Bros Studios on P-Day




Elder Monk and Companion Elder Burns at the L.A. Temple




Elder Monk and Bridget Howe at her baptism 1/25/09





Danae and her boyfriend Tyler with Elders Monk and Burns at her baptism 1/18/09






Another pic of Bridget Howe with Elders Monk and Burns at her baptism





Adrian Mendiola with Elder Monk at his baptism 1/10/09