Mar Vista: Transfer 9: Week 5 / Jan. 31, 2011

Hello Family!
 
How have you all been lately? I am really sorry that I am so bad at writing personal letters. So, if you haven't heard from me personally lately, don't feel bad, because no one has. P-days are our most stressful, crazy day, and so first off I don't want to write letters rushed, and secondly I am usually grumpy and stressed from having to do everything so fast, and I don't want to write a letter while I'm grumpy. So just know that I love you all! Aunt Natalie, thank you for your family Christmas card and for that really inspiring talk that you included. I loved it! And everyone else that has written me as well. I think that I have started writing some letters to Dave and Paula Thomas, but never quite finished them and sent them off. I love you! thank you for your encouragement and letters! And everyone in the ward that wrote me over Christmas. Falcon Park is such a great ward. I love you all! Alright, so I know that doesn't completely clear me from not writing, but I will try and do better. So yes, I have recieved your letters and I love and appreciate them a lot!
 
Miracles have been happening this week both in and out of the Visitors' Center. The other day there were two guys that came in to the VC named Edgar and David. They were both from Guatemala, but Edgar moved here about five years ago and David just arrived. Edgar is a member of the church but fell away when he moved here, and David is his lifelong friend of another faith. (They don't want us to use the term "non-member" anymore.) They walked in and I showed them the Christus presentation, and I felt a strong prompting that I just needed to wait for awhile after the message was over. I sat there for probably about three minutes without saying anything, and I could see them thinking and really feeling the peace that comes from listening to the words of Christ and looking at the beautiful statue representation. When we finally started to talk I found out that they have been going through some really hard things, and so Edgar told David that he knew of a place they could go where just walking there would make them feel better. When they walked up to the temple, David told Edgar that he had dreamt of this building and this walkway. They told me that they could feel peace and comfort being there. i told them "Do you realize that this is a miracle? Can you feel how much Heavenly Father loves you?" It was such a cool experience and I loved seeing them realize how much of a blessing it was that they came to the Visitors' Center and felt the spirit, and they agreed to meet with the missionaries.
 
We also met a great guy in our area named Conrad. We were about a block away from the church, so we left our car there and spent the afternoon walking around the area, visiting and contacting a lot of great people. We were leaving our dinner appointment that we had with some members in a nearby apartment complex and Conrad was out sweeping his porch in his apartment that is about ten feet away and ten feet up from the sidewalk. We saw him and I called up to him and asked "Hey, have you ever been to that church down the street? Well you're invited!" Sometimes my companions are taken aback by my bold ventures of talking to everyone. I feel like especially when we are that close to church, why not just invite everyone to church? He was really nice and he told us that he has been looking for a church to go to with his fiance. He was raised Baptist and she was raised Lutheran, and so he said that they wanted to find some common ground. We found a way over the foliage that separated us from his balcony and handed him up a pass along card with our number and the church's address on it. A couple days later we came back to his apartment and he was there and we had a chance to talk to him about the restoration and Joseph Smith, and he told us that he has met with missionaries in the past and that three of his friends from high school served missions. He still has a copy of the Book of Mormon and he committed to read the introduction. He was so friendly and just a really great guy. We are hoping he will want to keep investigating. The only problem is that he is an EMT and is really busy, which is why he couldn't come to church yesterday. That seems to be the most common problem in LA, everyone is just too busy! I really don't want to get so caught up in being busy that I just miss everything that is most important. Maybe Heavenly Father needed to teach me that, because for those of you that really know me, its like I am almost addicted to being busy. I was in about five different groups and clubs and everything in High School, and looking back, it was great, but I wish that I would have spent more time with my family, and more time serving others.
 
Also this week Elder Clayton came and gave a really amazing mission conference. He is in the presidency of the seventy. He also came to the Visitors' Center, and I got to give him a tour. Well, kind of just tag along while the mission president and Director gave him a tour because he only had about half and hour to be there and it was all really rushed. It was still cool though.
 
Well, I love you all! Have a great week!
 
- Sister Dansie