"I Am a Child of God"

This past weekend the "moisture," also known as rain, continued to fall from the sky. It was cold and miserable, but really not as bad as it could have been. Except the members kept warning us to be careful, as if we were in the middle of a blizzard or something. Um, ok. I think it was just Californian paranoia. They don't seem to understand cold weather.

Thanksgiving was good. We had two dinner appointments, but thankfully the second family we went to knew that we had already had dinner, so they didn't try to offer us more food. Just more dessert. It was a good day, though not the same as being home. I realized that between two years on my mission and three years in school, this was the fifth year in a row that I have been away for the holiday. It was a weird realization. I have a lot to be grateful for though, so I can't complain.

We had exchanges this past week. Exchanges are when we switch companions for 24 hours with another set of sisters. The sister I was with used to be in the area I'm in now, so it was pretty cool because we went to go see a bunch of people she had been working with when she was here. She will be going home soon, and is such an absolutely fantastic missionary it just blew my mind. I hope to be half as amazing as she is by the time I'm going home. Don't worry, I'm not comparing myself to other people, just learning from others and trying to find ways to better serve the Lord!

While we were on exchanges a lady in the ward called and asked us to sing at a funeral. Random. But I guess a lot of people were out of town for the holiday so she was panicking because she couldn't find anyone to participate in the program. Good thing the sister I was with on exchanges is a music major and can harmonize like a boss. We sang "I Am a Child of God." Usually I am not a fan of this song, because we sing it all the time and it is so cliched. But it really was a special moment being able to sing it for the family that was grieving. I am so grateful for the knowledge that we really are children of God. We say that so often that I think we take for granted what it means. So many people in the world are lost and confused because they do not know where they come from, or who they really are. Even people who believe in God do not always understand what it means to be His child, and do not know how to feel the love that he has for them. I think that is the most important thing that I could ever hope to share with people, to help them to understand who they really are and to feel the love of our Father in Heaven.

Random service of the week was helping a lady put up a trampoline in her backyard. I thought it was super fun! Sister Gallacher thought it was super cold. It took us a while but we got it all set up and got to jump on it after we were finished!

Pictures!

 The finished trampoline.

 Me and Sister Gallacher!

An elk!

We went hiking last Monday. I didn't want to go but I was outvoted.

It was pretty windy on Sunday.

 

Have a wonderful week!

Sister Daelemans

Thanks for the moisture

It is raining today and it makes my heart happy! It has rained only a handful of times while I have been here on my mission. Something that I have learned is that California Mormons are similar to Utah Mormons in that when they pray and thank God for the rain, they don't actually call it rain. They call it moisture. "...and thank you so much for the moisture that we are receiving outside today..." It's called rain. You can call it rain.

Sister Gallacher and I had a pretty good first week together. We met two new people who we are going to start teaching. The story of how we met the one lady was pretty cool. A couple weeks ago we had dinner with some members, and we asked them if they knew of anyone that might be interested in meeting with us. They told us that we could try their neighbor Dina, since she's nice and always seems to be home. So this week, we had some extra time because an appointment got rescheduled, and I thought, "We need to go see Dina! They gave us that referral to us a while ago and we really need to go contact her!" So off we went to Dina's house. When she answered the door she told us that she was busy and couldn't talk to us. But we kept talking to her anyway. It turns out that she has been going through a really rough time recently. We shared a scripture with her that we had read together that morning in companionship study. Mosiah 24:13-14 "And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon their shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." She was really touched and said that it really helped her. She told us that God sent us there to her. It was really amazing to hear her say that! On a less spiritual note, it was also kind of weird because after we left, the member who lives next door to her (they live in apartments, so there is only a thin wall between them) texted us and said "Sisters, I was home and just overheard your conversation with Dina! Great job!" Kind of creepy, but that thank you?

Hong and Mike. I have so many feelings about what has been going on with them. With Hong, everything comes down to faith, and believing in things you can't see. She really struggles with this, because she wants proof. But she doesn't realize that she has already received witnesses from the Spirit that the things we are teaching her are true! She has so much faith already and she doesn't recognize it. Any prayers on their behalf would be much appreciated! They are doing good though, Hong just needs a little extra boost of the Spirit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sister Daelemans

Elder Bednar and Other Surprises

Once upon a time Elder David A Bednar came to the California Bakersfield mission and made me so excited I just about exploded!

This Saturday he came and spoke to all of the missionaries in the mission (which is CRAZY because the whole mission is NEVER all together at the same place at the same time. It just never happens.) The format was mostly question and answer. First, he just asked all the missionaries to share things they had learned from some talks we had read to prepare for his visit. Then he opened it up for us to ask him questions. It was really neat because you would think that talking to an Apostle of the Lord would be pretty intimidating, but he made everyone feel really comfortable and let us know that he wanted us to speak from the heart, and that he wasn't going to be judging anything we said. It was a cool experience because he made us be active participants in the learning experience. The biggest thing he talked about, which seemed to keep coming up in everything he said, is the importance of agency. He said that having agency is more about acting than it is about choosing. And, once we make a covenant at baptism to follow him, it is not our agency anymore. It is the Lord's. We are under covenant to do the Lord's will and not our own. The way he explained it was way more mind-blowing that the way I am conveying the information, but yeah. It's crazy because the more I learn the more I realize how little I know.

That was Saturday. On Sunday, Elder Bednar spoke to just the Bakersfield East Stake. I just so happen to be serving in the Bakersfield East stake, which means I got lucky enough to hear from him TWICE!! The first half of his talk was directed to non-members and it was SO GOOD! He basically taught the Restoration of the Gospel, which is the first missionary lesson. It was so good but I was also so sad because none of our investigators came to stake conference! :( :( An Apostle of the Lord came and spoke directly to them, and they weren't even there! In my head I was like, "Hi Elder Bednar, maybe you can just come with us and teach all of our investigators for us, please?" Lol, wishful thinking. The rest of his talk was about what the Savior would teach us if he was here. He said it would be the sacrament, and told us how important it is, along with the other priesthood ordinances. What an amazing experience that was!

That was the weekend. The rest of the week was kind of insane. Normally, when an apostle of the Lord comes to your mission, you would think that that is the biggest thing that happened to you. Sadly, that was not the case.

Sister Harmon got emergency transferred this week! :( :( One of the sister missionaries in Bakersfield was sick and had to go home, and there was another companionship that wasn't getting along, so they moved a bunch of people around and somehow we got mixed up in it. And Sister Harmon is now gone. :(

My new companion is Sister Gallacher! We only became companions on Saturday so we haven't been able to take any pictures yet, but next week!

I am excited to see what the rest of this transfer will be like!

Happy November (can you believe it is half over?!)

Sister Daelemans

"I don't know about you, but I'm feelin' 22!"

My birthday was on Thursday and it was a blast! Sister Harmon got up early and covered my bed in balloons and streamers. Then during companionship study she wrapped me up like a mummy!

A member took us out to eat for dinner, and she brought a cheesecake with her to the restaurant, and then afterwards we went to a service auction at the church which was pretty fun. Here are some more fun pictures from the week.

Halloween:

Service Auction

Helping a lady sort through all her books

Things have been going great. A lot of members here have been telling us about their friends who are interested in the church, so it looks like we will be very busy in the near future which I am very excited for!

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes!

Much Love,

Sister Daelemans

Happy Halloween!

So many amazing pictures this past week.

Our wonderful district:


Halloween:




The alpaca farm we went to last Monday:

Sister Harmon and I are staying together another transfer!! I am so pumped, we have so many cool things ahead of us in the next 6 weeks. Here are a few:

1. My Birthday

2. Thanksgiving

3. The Christmas Creche (or Nativity) Festival they are doing in the beginning of December

4. The Mission Temple trip

5. Hong, Mike, Mary, and all the wonderful people in Golden Hills and Bear Valley that the Lord is preparing for us to teach!!
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​It is going to be so great!!!

Funny teaching story of the week:

Mike: "What do you need to do to prepare to get baptized?"

Me: "Have faith, repent..."

Hong (interrupting me) to Mike: "Oh, you don't do that, you can't get baptized!"

Mike: "Yes I do."

Hong: "No you don't! I never see you repent!"

Then came an explanation of how you repent in private during prayer, so hence she wouldn't necessarily see him repenting. It was amazing.

Another funny teaching story:

We brought a member to come teach a lesson with us. Halfway through the lesson the member randomly pulls out an Ensign magazine, turns to an article by President Uchtdorf, and proceeds to tell our investigator (in the middle of the lesson, mind you) how wonderful President Uchtdorf is and also how attractive he is. Yes. That really happened. I love her so much. :D

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Happy Halloween!

Sister Daelemans

Scripture Power!

This has been a pretty good week. We started teaching some new people that the members found for us, and they are awesome! And the weather has been beautiful – it rained a little on Sunday, the first time in weeks!

Hong and Mike – doing great! Lessons with them are always so much fun. It was so cool because we were talking about Faith and Miracles and Answers to Prayers, and Mike was helping us teach his wife about those things! She told us that she is 90% sure that God answers her prayers, but only 40% sure that Jesus actually walked on water. I thought that was so interesting. To me, prayer is the bigger miracle. Walking on water does not seem like that big of a deal when I compare it to prayer. I just can't believe how amazing it is that God is actually listening to me even with all of the other people who pray to him, and the fact that he is the Supreme Creator of the Universe and I am just little ol me. But the Love He has for me is beyond my comprehension, so that is a huge miracle in my book.

This Sunday was the Primary Program! Since we go to 2 wards, I got to see 2 primary programs, so it was pretty much the best Sunday of life! Definitely the best Sunday of the year anyway :) The theme for the primary children this year was Studying the Scriptures. Both groups of primary kids sang "Scripture Power" which is not a reverent song at all – in fact, they were practically yelling, and the Golden Hills primary kids each had a set of scriptures in their hands which they thrust in the air every time they sang the words Scripture Power. But for some reason, both times the kids sang that song, it really hit me and I almost started to cry. I think it is because I have found how powerful the scriptures truly are. Hong for example, does not understand a lot of things simply because she didn't grow up with a religion background. She didn't grow up believing in a God or in a Savior. And as we have been teaching her, it is never the things I say that make sense to her, or the things my companion says. No matter how much we explain something, she doesn't always get it. But, as she has been reading the Book of Mormon (even though she doesn't even understand the words all of the time) things start to make sense to her. There is a special power that the scriptures bring into your life when you start to read them. I have seen it in my life and in Hong and Mike's lives, and in many other people's lives while on my mission. It truly is amazing.

Also, I can't remember if I told you all last week, but Elder Bednar is coming to our mission!! November 12th and 13th. I. Am. So. Excited. :DDD

Much Love,

Sister Daelemans

Pics from this week: Sister Harmon and I playing piano together!!

Beautiful Tehachapi!!

Foggy Weather

The weather has been getting cold and foggy. I wore my coat for the first time today and a member we ran into at the grocery store looked at me and asked where I was from. Maryland. "Then why are you wearing a coat?!?" Just because I am used to the cold does not mean that I like it, and it doesn't mean that I am somehow immune to cold and that I won't wear a coat.

This week has been good and busy. A general authority came to our mission this week! Elder Carl Cook of the Seventy. We got to hear from him on Friday with half the mission in Bakersfield  and it was SO AWESOME! He was super funny, but more importantly the things he counseled us on have really motivated me to try so much harder and to be so much better. Sometimes hearing about all the things you should be doing, that you're not, is discouraging, because you know you will never get there. But he really focused on how we can use the Savior and the Atonement to improve  We cannot change on our own, and when we try to, that is when we get frustrated and give up. But when you rely on the Savior, He is able to change you and make you better. The Atonement is so awesome. I think we have very little comprehension of how many things his sufferings actually covered. It covers EVERYTHING! I'm only beginning to scratch the surface of what that can actually mean for me in my life. It is so awesome being a missionary! I have learned so much, especially of how much I still have left to learn. Good thing we are given our whole lives to learn and grow and improve.

The Golden Hills ward Relief Society had a "PJs" Party. Everyone came in their pajamas and we talked about Prayer, Journaling, and Scriptures! It was really fun (even though we didn't get to wear pajamas) and Mary was able to come and seemed to have a really good time!

Hong and Mike are doing great! They didn't come to church, which we were really sad about, but then we found out it was because they were really tired and slept in or something. Why were they so tired? Because they haven't been drinking coffee or tea this whole week! Yes, that's right, they have been faithfully living the Word of Wisdom! (Which is great, even though it kind of indirectly caused them to miss church. Oh well. One battle at a time.) I promised them it would get easier over time and that their bodies would adjust to the lack of caffeine. They are doing great!

We have seen so many miracle recently! I love being a missionary and getting to see how the hand of the Lord is always there in His work!

Much Love,

Sister Daelemans