A Perfect Plan

We have had a lot of lengthy conversations with people this week, though most of the people we talked to were either just curious or trying to prove us wrong. We decided that tracting is mostly a waste of time, so we tried doing something different in order to find people: Drawing the Plan of Salvation on the sidewalk with chalk. It caught one person's attention, who talked to us for a while. She was pretty skeptical, but accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon. We talked a lot about James 1:5 and receiving answers to prayers. At the end, she suggested that we kneel down right there and pray together. As we knelt, she took her sweatshirt off because it had gotten pretty hot out, and on her T-shirt was a scripture. Which scripture? James 1:5. The one we had just been talking about!!!! I wanted to shout at her and say "SEE! It's a sign from GOD!" But I didn't. Instead we prayed. I hope that her heart will be open and that she will read the Book of Mormon that we gave her and accept the invitation to pray about it.

Her is our sidewalk art


We've realize that although we haven't had a lot of success this transfer, we have talked to a lot of really interesting people. I mean, I've talked to all sorts of interesting people throughout my mission, but these past few weeks have been particularly full of crazy encounters. We also have a lot of people that we have been trying to work with, but who just aren't quite ready to take the lessons yet. Well, we decided to right down all these people's names and stick them on our fridge so that we would constantly be reminded of them. Every one of these people needs the Gospel in some way or other. And when they are prepared, Sister Hale and I, or whichever missionaries are in the area at that time, will be there to teach them. I named it our "Refrigerator of Miracles."

I know that the Plan of Salvation is the perfect plan that God created for us – to be happy, and to eventually be able to return to him with our families. Our life did not begin at birth and it will not end with death. We are eternal beings, just like our Heavenly Father who created us, and his end goal is for us to have joy. If only people knew what they were saying "No thank you" to as they close the door on us. But for those who are prepared and whose hearts are open, finding that joy is an indescribable blessing!

The Gospel is True, the Book is Blue, and God Loves You!

Love,

Sister Daelemans

The Fireworks Are Over

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July! After emailing you all last week, we had a nerf war with some other missionaries. I am a terrible shot but it was still super fun! The pictures all turned out blurry though :( Also, I forgot to put my tag on which I felt super self conscious about. It was like I didn't know who I was! :O



We decided to be very patriotic when we changed into our missionary clothes. The 3 wards here in Tehachapi had a big BBQ. It was really fun but we had to leave early because we had a curfew, so we didn't get to see any fireworks but we could hear them from our apartment. It was weird to go in early. I wrote a lot in my journal and then hung up a picture wall by my desk, which I am pretty pleased with :) Now I get to see all my favorite people's lovely faces every time I sit down to study in the morning.

After the fun of the 4th it was back to work. We don't have anyone to teach right now, so we have just been tracting all day every day. Which is sometimes fine, but gets really old when nobody wants to talk to you. We are also running out of doors to knock on, so that is kind of stressful. I really feel like Heavenly Father is testing us to see if we will continue to work diligently even when we are not having success. It's part of missionary work, and I have had times like this on my mission before. Even when you don't have success, you can still be happy as long as you keep focused on the work, which I have been trying my best to do.

Miracle for the week: This past week we were out tracting and we came to a house with a fence around it. Before going into the yard, Sister Hale gave the fence a good shake. We always do this to make sure there aren't any dogs in the yard. Well, there didn't seem to be a dog, so we entered the yard and knocked on the door. As we were talking to the man at the door, who didn't seem to be interested, I practically jumped out of my shoes as a giant German Shepherd ran around from the back of the house and stood right behind us. He must have been in the back yard asleep or something and woke up as he heard our voices at the door. The man said nothing about his giant dog standing right behind us, just that he wasn't interested. Then he closed the door. The dog sniffed at us, but didn't seem to be agitated or angry at our presence. We cautiously walked back to the gate. The dog walked with us. Sister Hale slowly opened the gate and slipped through. I went through after her, telling the dog "No, you have to stay here, you can't come with us." The German Shepherd watched me as I stepped through the gate and closed it behind me. The very second the latch on the gate was secure the dog turned from calm and docile to snarling and ferocious, jumping up on the fence as he growled and barked at us. Sister Hale and I looked at each other. We both knew that there had been angels walking with us through that yard, standing in between us and the dog.

We also got to meet our new mission president this week. President and Sister Layton are both very tall. They are also very different from President and Sister Wilson. That's okay though. I think I am going to like them a lot, but it will take time to get to know them. We have interviews with him this upcoming week, so that will be interesting.

Here is a talk that I really love. I might have shared it already, I can't remember. You can read it, or you can listen to it (the speaker is quite funny.) His Grace is Sufficient

Hope you all have a great week! Love you!

Sister Daelemans

Here is part of our area that is up in the mountains - what a beautiful view!

9 Months!

Tom got baptized on Thursday! It was such a strange baptism. The person who gave the talk on the Holy Ghost might have included some speculative (probably false) doctrine, and then the guy who confirmed him was very......intense. But, he was baptized and that's what's important! He and his wife Stephanie are so happy! And in a year they will be able to go together to the temple to be sealed together for time and all eternity! That is the sweetest part of missionary work. Having someone join the church is pretty cool, but that's only the beginning. It is only the gate that gets them onto the path that leads them back to Heavenly Father. There will be many challenges along the way, but God also has so many other blessings in store for them as they remain faithful to the covenants they have made. The end goal for every convert is not just baptism, but for them to eventually make it to the temple and there receive the blessings of eternity :)

President Wilson left us this past Friday :( He and Sister Wilson are now back in Utah without the huge stress and responsibility of looking after our mission. They both served with all their heart and I will miss them a lot. It will be an adjustment getting used to a new mission president, but I know that the mantle of leadership is now with President and Sister Layton and that they too will serve the mission well. Tom's baptism was the night before the Wilsons left, and we decided to invite them. We told them "You're probably going to be very busy the night right before you leave, but we also know that there is no better way to end your mission than with a baptism!" And guess what? They came!!! I think it was such a tender mercy for them to be there (we never have baptisms on Thursday evening, they are almost always on Saturdays) but everything worked out for them to be able to attend the baptism right before they left. It was also a tender mercy for me to be able to see them on the last night of their mission. President Wilson looked quite emotional as he said goodbye for the last time. They are both such wonderful people and I love them so much!!

Funny enough that same day was also my 9 month mark! 

Crazy right?! When did I get to be this old as a missionary! I feel like I was just in the MTC wondering how long 18 months was going to feel like. Well, if the next 9 months are anything like these first 9 months, the rest of my mission is going to fly by!
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Happy 4th of July!

Love,

Sister Daelemans

Hale, not Hales

I would like to preface this email by saying that the computer I am using is totally wacko right now. There are red squiggly lines under almost every single word I write, as if they were all spelled wrong. Well, I'm pretty sure I know how to spell the word "the" correctly. I thought that maybe the computer was set to another language, but as far as I can tell everything says English. So, if I spell anything wrong, it is because I cannot distinguish it from all the words that I am spelling correctly even though the computer is telling me otherwise.

So my new companion is Sister Hale! (Not Hales - the person who called last week to let me know about transfers was given false information!) She is from Tennesee most recently, but that is the 11th or 12 place that she has lived. Her family has moved all over the south east and they have even spent several years living in a boat in the Carribean. People used to be impressed when I said I was from Maryland, but now her back story is so much more exotic than mine. At least I'm not from Utah.

We tracted a lot this week. And taught people. And visited less active members. I guess it just felt like a really long week, so it seems like we did more of everything. It was SUPER long. But usually really long weeks seem to be followed by really fast weeks, so I am sure the next 7 days are going to fly by!

Funny story for the week. We were sitting on the front porch of a member's house talking to her, when her neighbor came up and started talking to us. He is CRAZY! Not bad crazy. Just an ADD, way too much energy and super outgoing, possibly also had a couple of beers kind of crazy. Also, he was a "dowist." I guess that is some sort of Eastern Religion. He told us he used to be Christian and is still very interested in religions. He said that he always invites the Jehovah Witnesses inside his house to talk (except when it smells like cat pee apparently.) Anyway, he wanted to know what our view of the afterlife was, so we taught him the Plan of Salvation. It was just really funny to teach him, because he was super interested in what we had to say but he kept getting distracted and asking other questions that took us on lots of random tangents. I don't know if he will ever become a member of the church, but at least he was very eager to learn. I laughed a lot and was able to feel the spirit as I was testifying of the truths that I know, so overall it was a pretty great lesson!

Tom is getting baptized on Thursday! I am so excited for him! He is the most prepared person I have ever taught. We always ask him at the beginning and the ends of lessons if he has any questions, and he always says No, everything makes sense! Then he looks kind of sad, like he has let us down or something because he has no questions for us. But to me it is just amazing that he understands everything so well already. His heart is so open that the Spirit is able to testify of the truths of the Gospel and those simple truths ring true to his soul. He is an amazing and humble person!

Sister Daelemans

Staying in Tehachapi...Again!

I found out I am staying in Tehachapi for a third transfer! I am super excited, I really love the area and the people here. And also, there ain't no way I am going down to Bakersfield or Lancaster where it is supposedly 115 degrees every day. I am comfortable in the 80s-90s range of heat thank you very much. Sister Alderman is getting transferred to South Bakersfield, so I really don't envy her. We have been together for 3 transfers, which is half my mission so far, and it feels like the end of an era. My new companion will be Sister Hales. I have never met her, but she has been out for 6 months and so I was assigned to be the senior companion. The only problem is I am also supposed to be the driver, except I don't have a licence anymore because it expired and Maryland laws regarding licences are ridiculously strict and unhelpful to sister missionaries serving in California. We'll see what will happen, it will probably just have to be my companion who drives, even though she will be new to the area.

We went to the temple this week! :) It was so great to be able to go, especially since the couple who took us down had just gone through for themselves and been sealed in the temple last month! LA traffic was crazy but the trip was so great!

Have a great week and stay out of the heat!

Much love,

Sister Daelemans

Spiders and Luaus and Obama, Oh My!

I feel like a million things have happened in the last week and I don't even know where to start!

On Friday we usually have a meeting with other missionaries in the area, but there was a funeral at the church building we usually go to, and so there were a TON of people there. We decided to go outside and have our meeting at a park instead. It was great. We sang "I Hope They Call Me On a Mission" for the opening song, and I'm sure all the other people at the park were looking at us and thinking "Wow, what a bunch of weirdos." Halfway through the meeting, the Elder that was speaking stopped mid sentence to run away from a bee. We also saw a lady at the park who we had been trying to teach previously but who had stopped answering the door when we came over. When we saw her at the park she totally ignored us. Just another awkward moment in the life of a missionary. It felt really good to be outside though. Tehachapi is beautiful!

Because of all the beautiful weather, we have been having a major bug problem in our apartment. Mostly ants. But they were EVERYWHERE! They were finding all of our food that was in the cupboards. It even got to the point where a few of them found their way inside of the fridge. It was super bad this weekend and Sister Alderman had a mild panic attack and went on a cleaning rampage. She cleaned the entire apartment from top to bottom (including the bathroom, where there weren't even any ants.) Then, some members brought us some ant poison and that has helped significantly. Besides ants there has also been an abundance of earwigs and spiders. SUPER GROSS! We were teaching a lesson in someone's house the other day, and there was a giant spider crawling on the floor. Sister Alderman saw it, but she has this thing where she can't kill bugs (except for ants apparently) and so when it started crawling towards her she freaked out and ended up in fetal position on the couch while our investigator got up and calmly squished it with her foot.

On Saturday we had a ward party. It was a Luau, complete with hula dancing, pineapples and a viewing of Johnny Lingo. We were in charge of handing out the leis (Idk if I spelled that right - the flower necklace things.) It was super fun. We also had a pretty cool miracle story connected to it:

This lady and her family were traveling to Bakersfield (where they live) when their car broke down right outside of Tehachapi Saturday evening. The tow truck guy took them into town, and told them he knew a shady place they could temporarily leave the car without any trouble. Our church parking lot. Well, they saw all these people going into the church and thought there must be a church service going on, so the lady decided it would be better to go to church than to sit in the car, so they followed everyone else inside. Needless to say they were surprised when we said "Aloha!" to them. We told them they could stay for the party and get some food. The Bishop talked to them, found out what had happened, and found them a place to stay for the night. Then, the next day, the mom and her kids came to church and she really loved it! We also happened to have been signed up to eat dinner at the Bishop's house that night, and he ended up inviting the family to have dinner with them as well. We taught them the first lesson and gave them the information for the church that would be closest to them in Bakersfield. It is so cool how some things work out! It turns out there wasn't anything majorly wrong with their car. God just needed it to break down in the right place at the right time so that they could make it to church :) 

Tomorrow we are going to the TEMPLE!! I am so excited! But it has been pretty stressful trying to find a ride because we are supposed to have a member to drive us down to LA but the member we had asked had some unexpected health issues and told us yesterday that she couldn't take us anymore. OH NO! So we had to scramble and ask someone else last minute. It all worked out though! Our ride is all set and I am excited to go!

Because we will be gone most of tomorrow, we were told that Tuesday would be our preparation day instead of today. So today we have gone out and have been proselyting like normal (with the exception of taking an hour to email.) Except it's a Monday so it does NOT feel normal at all. It feels wrong.

Also, Obama and Hillary Clinton are supposedly going to be in Tehachapi today. Yes. You heard me right. Ceasar Chavez (who is important in Mexican American history for something that he did that I probably learned in middle school but can't remember anymore) has a monument near here, and is buried here I think. His wife just passed away, and her services are going to be today in the local Catholic church. And it is important enough that the President decided it would be a good idea to possibly come into tiny-little-nobody-has-ever-heard-of-it Tehachapi. Anyway, people keep warning us that all the roads in town are going to be blocked off, that we're going to have crazy traffic, so we're going to have to walk everywhere. So far we have seen zero traffic. But if we do, I guess I can say, "Thanks Obama."

We are not teaching Dru anymore. He said he wants to take a break from the lessons for right now. We suspect that he is having a hard time keeping some of the commitments, and thinks it would be easier to just stop trying. I know that he has righteous desires and a strong testimony of God's love for him. In time, he will be ready to fully make the changes in his life that will allow him to receive greater blessings and to further progress in the Gospel. Sometimes you don't see the impact something has in your life until it's not there anymore.

Tom is doing great! He had a baptismal date tentatively set for mid July, but last week he told us that he wants to get baptized on June 30! (The date has sentimental value to him.) We are super excited for him!

Love you all!

Sister Daelemans

"Hope you have a good life."

Robert got baptized on Saturday!! Was it the most stressful baptism ever? Yes. Yes it was.

As of Saturday afternoon we had not heard anything from his mom that whole week. We didn't know if everything for the baptism was still good to go or if everything for the program was taken care of (turns out it wasn't). SO even though much of the program was scrappily put together last minute, the most important thing is that he was baptized! And the spirit was there :)

The next day was fast and testimony meeting in church, and Robert got up to bear his testimony! It was so neat to see him get up there. He was just so happy to be baptized and receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and to be a member of Christ's church!

As a thank you present Robert gave us candy in a plastic margarita glass (oh the irony) along with a card he wrote.

In case you can't read the card in the picture, here is what it says: "Dear Missionary, Thank you for teaching me Hope you have a good life! - Robert"

It was very sweet, coming from a 9 year old. It also made me think about how many of the people I am teaching and working with I may never see again after my mission. I will do my best to keep in touch, but there really is no way for me to keep a close relationship with everyone after I am gone. And I realized that I am totally okay with that. I am confident that the people I have taught  will continue to grow within the gospel as long as they stay active and have the help and support of local church members. Robert will probably not remember me specifically when he is older. I am just one of many missionaries that he will meet throughout his life. But he will always remember the things he learned and the things that he felt. I am just a tiny part of a much bigger picture. God's work is so vast, and I am grateful to take part in a tiny little piece of it.

We have started teaching a man named Tom. He is married to a member who has not been active for a long time, but together they decided that it was time for them to go to church and strengthen their relationship with God. We have taught him twice now, and it is such a pleasure to teach someone who is so prepared. He grew up Catholic, and told us how as a kid he would get so frustrated and confused because he would ask the priests or nuns questions, and often their answer was "That's something that God doesn't want you to know!" He had many questions, but they have already been answered in the short time we have been meeting with him. It makes me appreciate the gospel even more, to know that God DOES want us to know the plan that he has for us. It is not meant to be a mystery. If we are supposed to follow Christ, he is absolutely going to give us enough knowledge to know what we are supposed to do and why we are supposed to be doing it. And he not only encourages us, but commands us to gain that knowledge while we are here on earth. Having that knowledge is something that members of the church so often take for granted. It is so basic to everything that we do and everything that we are, that we sometimes forget all the people who are still lost and wondering what life is all about. The Gospel of Jesus Christ brings us answers, and brings an assurance of God's love for us!

Dru has been doing great as well. When we first started teaching him he was very gung-ho! about it. He is stil enthusiastically learning everything he can, but he has now started to realize that living the gospel can require some big changes in his life, and that change isn't always easy. But change is exactly what repentance requires. You have to change to align your words, thoughts, desires and actions to be in line with God's will for us. And it's HARD! But what's so great about Dru is that even though he sees that change is very hard, he still has the desire to change. He sees that there are so many greater blessings available to him that require more effort on his part, but are so worth it in the end. Changing is difficult, but it draws us closer to God and allows him to bless us in so many ways.

Love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Daelemans