Vernwood: Translado 3: Semana 6‏ / June 7, 2010

Hola Familia!
 
I don't know about there, but it is hot here. Hot and really humid. We've all started hoping and dreaming of the day when we can go to a nice, air-conditioned Visitors Center instead of tracting out in the heat. It isn't that bad though. I wanted to go somewhere warm, and I prefer the sun and the heat to somewhere that is cold and grey most of the year. I think in general people don't notice the weather as much as missionaries do, because we get to work outside no matter what. I've been lucky at least to be in an area where we have a lot of teaching appointments. Some of the rich areas like Beverly Hills it is literally just tracting practically all day every day, and it is so hard to find people to teach.
 
Tomorrow we will find out about transfers and what is going to happen. I have a feeling I'm getting moved. It was sad on Sunday at church thinking about leaving all of the friends that I've made here. I got up to bear my testimony and I felt like I knew everyone personally in the whole branch. They are all so nice and so loving. The other day Hermana Balbuena from the branch made us enchiladas for dinner because she knows that they're my favorite. Unfortunately someone else decided to surprise us and feed us right before, and it was so sweet and nice of them we couldn't refuse, so I ate two dinners and was the most full I've ever been in my life. That night I decided I'm going to start living the Word of Wisdom and I'm never going to over eat again. I just need to find a nice way to refuse the food but show them still that I love and appreciate them. On the plus side, we started running again this past week. Hermana Garcia finally got permission from the doctor. Her finger had to be wrapped before and she wasn't allowed to sweat. We run circles right outside of our apartment while Hermana Cass does crunches. She is still trying to heal from her foot injury, but she's doing better- she doesn't have to wear her huge boot anymore.
 
I also had my most terrified moment of my mission so far. I'll admit I got so scared I started to cry a little bit. I was at a members house for a dinner appointment, and I went to the bathroom which was in the back of their little house through a big pantry room, and when I was coming out of the bathroom I saw that their dog was in the pantry right next to the door feeding her babies. I started to go over to the door and all of the sudden the dog came at me and started attacking me, biting at my legs and freaking out. I started screaming, first of all because I was so shocked and startled. Finally Sister Garcia came through the door and I escaped with just a big whole where it had bit through my nylons. My companions and the family all started laughing at me, because I was screaming bloody murder and the dog was just a little Chihuahua. I was half laughing, half crying because I really had been so scared. It was pretty funny.
 
My companions have had a lot of opportunities to tease me this week. Apparently I went through a phase where whenever I was speaking in spanish it sounded like I was speaking really seductively. I've been trying really hard to get to where I don't have as much of an accent, but apparently I was trying too hard and it was weird. I also had a guy try to pick me up in the car next to us at a stop light, so I gave him a passalong card. Needless to say we have been laughing a lot this week. Those stories aren't as good though as my ultimate, most embarrassing moment in the mission so far. We where in Vernon and we were out tracting and a little old Mexican grandma let us in to teach her, and she started talking to us about all of the Christian churches she has been to and the crazy things they do. She was one of those people that can just talk forever without any kind of response from the audience, and so I was trying really hard to pay attention and understand what she was saying and all of the spanish, and so I leaned forward to hear her better and I accidently farted really loud. She didn't notice and just kept on talking, but both of my companions looked over at me and saw my face- I was mortified- you all know me- I do not do things like that, EVER in public, and so they both looked over and we couldn't help it- we all started bursting out laughing. The lady just thought that we were laughing because her story was super hilarious, so she started laughing with us. My companions still won't let me live it down, and probably never will. They like to joke and say things like, "I hope I don't pull a Dansie." Anyways, I would try to hide my shame, but Hermana Garcia is already in the process of writing her whole family about it so they can update it and put it all over her facebook, so I figured that you all might as well get a good laugh out of it too.
 
The work has also been going really well this week. I feel like we are finally starting to work really well together and teach in unity, which always seems to happen right before the end of transfers. We have seen a lot of incredible miracles, and I've been able to see some of the reasons we've been put in this situation. We've been working with a 10 year old girl in Vernon who has wanted to be baptized for over a year but hasn't been able to get her mom's permission. Her name is Jisell, and she goes every week to church with her aunt who lives next door. We've been teaching her for a couple weeks and trying to get her mom involved as well, and at every lesson Jisell would say the sweetest most sincere prayers asking to be able to be baptized. Finally one day we went over to the house with the permission slip and Hermana Garcia boldly went and talked to the mom and got her to sign it. The mom isn't really against it, she was just worried that it was something that would separate their family, and she just didn't have any desire to go herself. She can see though that it is going to be good for Jisell, and that its what Jisell really wants. I realized that at that moment in time Hermana Garcia was supposed to be there to boldly get the mom to finally make a decision instead of just trying to hide from us. If we hadn't had the change we wouldn't have worked in Vernon with that family. There have been a lot of little miracles like that. I love looking back and realizing all the ways the Lord works to direct our lives. There have been a lot of people in Maywood that I know I was supposed to meet and supposed to teach. I'm also really excited for whatever the Lord has ahead of me.
 
I love you all! Have a great week.
 
Hermana Dansie