Thanks but no thanks

Hello pretty people,

This past week flew by--I don't know how we made it to Sunday so fast. P-day is Tuesday this week because it's transfer day--sorry I forgot to mention that. Sister Carlos and I are staying in the Stockton North Zone and we're still living with the English sisters. There's actually another sister moving into our apartment (joining the English sisters), so we're going to have a full house, just like you guys. :) Sister Carlos and I were planning on going to the temple today, but we called 13 people and couldn't find a ride. Hopefully we'll get to go next transfer--you can go every other transfer, and there's a mission temple day in December. We're having a temple tour on September 16 for all the Spanish-speakers in the Sacramento Mission, so we'll bring our investigators to learn more about the temple, which is really where everyone's focus should be. There's going to be baptisms in the church building next to the temple that night, a temple tour, food, a dance??? Love Hispanics. That should be a good experience--we're looking forward to it!

Our new investigator, Jose, came to church again on Sunday. Last week his daughter cried and cried before she got in the car because she wanted to watch her Sunday morning cartoons. We sang hymns and Primary songs until their ride came to pick them up. This week she was in better spirits but she started bawling before Primary. Eventually she'll have dry eyes by the end of church--that's our goal. Jose is an alcoholic and smokes (he says his wife "smokes like a choo-choo train," which will make it hard for him to stop), so we're trying our best to teach the Word of Wisdom along with all the other lessons so that he gains a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the gospel. He has a desire to quit but needs to have that firm testimony to make it happen. Jose is great, though. He's always so positive and energetic and understands that we need to put God first in our lives, and He'll take care of the rest. I love the scripture in 3 Nephi 13, last two verses. Along with that is "consider the lilies of the field; how they grow. Consider the birds in the sky; how they fly. He clothes the lilies of the fields; he feeds the birds in the sky. And he will heal those who trust him, and guide them with his eye." If God can take care of the flowers and animals in the earth, he can take care of us if we seek first the kingdom of God.

We meet the most interesting people every day. Sometimes I see someone and the natural person inside of me doesn't want to approach them, but the missionary-minded person in me gets my feet moving. I talk to absolutely everyone. We've been promised that the Lord has prepared people in our area to receive the gospel and I'm determined to find them, even if they're wrapped in a different-looking package. We approached a man at the park who was covered in tattoos and just looked straight thug. He told us he'd been in prison and that he knew he was a sinner. Aren't we all? We taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and about having hope and faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement--that we can repent of everything we've done and feel clean and free from all sin and guilt. We ended with a prayer, and when we asked him what he was thankful for, he said for the chance to meet us in the park; to see people just walking and laughing; and for his family. People look so hard on the outside, and even though their lives have been influenced one way or another, I know there's good in everyone. Everyone has that soft side. Sometimes you just have to dig deeper than others.

The other interesting people include people like Justino. The "knight" we met in the park. One of the best things about serving a mission is talking to the most classic people and hearing their stories--about where they come from and what they believe and what they're looking for in life. The other great thing is having the opportunity to bear testimony of Jesus Christ and his restored gospel to anyone and everyone--to complete strangers. I wish the people who slam the doors in our faces and tell us that we should be more careful with what we believe and teach would soften their hearts and allow the Holy Ghost to touch them within. A lot of people tell us that what we're doing is really good and that they're happy we're sharing a message about Jesus Christ with their neighbors but that they've been saved and don't need it. That seems like a good thing to say . . . but I just want them to understand our unique message--the truth. But all we can do it teach, testify, and invite them to act on our message by praying to know for themselves that what we teach is true.

Oh yeah, on Sunday night we were going door to door to find people to teach in the Spanish elders' area. We knocked on a door where we knew a party was going on--might as well still knock. The owner of the house invited us in. It turns out there were about 100 Philippinos in the house celebrating (or honoring?) the death of their father, uncle, relative who died about 10 years ago. There was food galore, including a pig--don't worry, I got a pic. They invited us to eat, so we took a few plates for the elders in our zone. They wanted us to take dessert and offered us this and that. "Look everyone--there are missionaries here!" We didn't know what to do so we just laughed and waved. The first person we saw when we walked into the house was a Catholic priest--he gave us a very puzzled look and I'm sure our faces mirrored his. We didn't really get to a share a message with anyone but we got a return! Classic.

That's about all the time I have today. Love you all! Hope life is treating you well. Don't feel too crammed in that house, Jo and Dain. We have a family here--6 adults and 3 kids living in one two-bedroom apartment. Try that on for size.

Love,

kates