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

Baptisms and Chocolate

Well, this was a stressful week. Robert is getting baptized next Saturday!! But for a while it seemed like everything was going to fall through and that the baptism would have to be postponed. He had a baptismal interview scheduled, but when it came time for the interview, Robert was an hour away in Bakersfield, and not in Tehachapi.....We fervently prayed that if it was God's will, everything would still be able to work out,  that if it was according to His time table that the baptism would still happen. Well, it honestly seemed impossible, but miraculously on Sunday evening, right at the last minute, everything just fell into place and the interview was still able to happen. Miracles are real! You just have to trust in God that if something is His will, then He will make it happen!

A few weeks ago Sister Alderman and Sister Hertig (when she was still in Tehachapi) and I all made lofty goals to be more healthy. So we threw away all the junk food that was in the apartment. Well, it has been both good and bad. During our crisis moments this week I kept wanting to drown my sorrows in ice cream, but there was no ice cream to be drowned in. We made it through okay, but for all future emergencies, we decided we needed to have SOMETHING on hand. For emergencies.

Joking aside, all problems really can be solved through Christ! Even if it is not solved the way we think it will be, things will always work out the way that they need to! Jesus is the GREATEST ever!!

Love you all!

Sister Daelemans

I Get Tired of Naming Emails

Well, we have a baptism scheduled! Robert, our 9 year old investigator is going to be baptized June 4! He is super excited. I love teaching children. They are much more open to the Spirit and have a natural desire to follow Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that Christ tells us we must become like a little child :) Also, funny quote for the week. We were teaching Robert but his one-year-old sister kept walking over to him and hitting him and shrieking at him because he wasn't paying any attention to her. He said "Victoria, could you be quiet, I'm in a meeting!"

Love you all!

Sister Daelemans

Staying in Tehachapi

Well, we got transfer calls this Friday. Sister Alderman and I are both staying in Tehachapi. This will be our third transfer together, so it's a good thing we get along so well :)  Sister Hertig will be leaving us though, so our trio is down to two. :( She is getting transferred to Lancaster, to a ward that all the deaf members in the area attend. She is pretty excited about that, since she took ASL in high school.

Not much else to report on this week. We had many appointments lined up and they almost all fell through for one reason or another. I feel there are many good things ahead of us in Tehachapi this upcoming transfer though, so that is great! 

This week we met a lady in our ward whose husband is from Israel! He is going to Jerusalem this week to visit family, and he had us write down some prayers and names of people who need special blessings, and he is going to take them to the Wailing Wall. I thought that was pretty cool. The Wailing Wall is the only remaining part of Herod's temple, and Jews and others travel from all over the world to pray there.

I hope you all have an amazing week. I cannot believe it is already halfway through May. Ahh! Where has all the time gone!

Love,

Sister Daelemans

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I got to Skype with my family yesterday which was awesome. It was good to talk to them. :)

This morning we got up early (5:45) to go exercise with a member. She is super hard-core, and now I feel like I have Jell-O legs.

So, I am finally going to attach some pictures from this transfer. I have been very bad at taking pictures—I just never think about it. My first two companions were really good at pulling out the camera at random times, but I just never think about it. Anyway, here are my two companions and I at zone conference a couple of weeks ago.

We took this one with a member on her front porch.

By next Monday we will know what it happening with transfers. We probably will not all stay together, which is sad because we have all gotten along really well. I am predicting that I will be leaving Tehachapi, but who knows. Only God and my mission president right now.

Have a fantastic week!

Sister Daelemans

City of Four Seasons

Tehachapi is self-proclaimed as the "City of Four Seasons." At first I thought this was a joke. Yes, I have been told it snows here occasionally, but just because they get more weather variety than the rest of California does not mean that they have four seasons. The winter here isn't real winter. Well, I found out that what it REALLY means (or what it should mean) is that Tehachapi can have four seasons all in one day. Like last Monday, for example. After emailing all of you I went outside and it was snowing. Yes, snow at the end of April. And then we went grocery shopping and came outside again and the sun was shining. Tehachapi weather can't make up its mind.

Occasionally you have investigators who you are not sure if they are really prepared for the Gospel or not, but you still have hope for them. Then they say something that makes it abundantly clear that they are NOT ready. Like the other day, one of our investigators texted us and told us that she wants to read the entire Bible before starting to read the Book of Mormon, and if we want to come over to try to convince her otherwise we SHOULDN'T BOTHER!!. (She was really bitter about it. She sent us probably 4 texts in a row ranting to us about it.) Okay, that's her decision. It's not a bad thing to want to read the Bible. That is obviously a good thing. But she doesn't understand why we asked her to read the Book of Mormon. She probably needs some time. She's not quite ready yet.

In the MTC, one of the things I learned that stuck out to me the most was this: "A person cannot experience the full effects of the Atonement until after they are baptized by the proper authority." (Quote from one of my teachers.) It is so true! Anyone can repent. That is a preparatory step to baptism. But when you are baptized (and it is only truly baptism when it is done with the proper authority), you receive a remission of your sins. Remission of sins is more than just having them washed away. It is a feeling of complete peace and joy. And when you are baptized, you are born again into a new life with Christ. One of the worst thing that people can tell us missionaries is that they are "content" with their life. That is fine. We don't push on them something that they don't want. But they don't realize that they are missing out on greater blessings. They do not realize that Heavenly Father wants so much more for them than what they currently have. But again, that's okay. There are people out there who ARE prepared, and who DO want more. They are the ones that we are sent out to find and teach. Those are the ones that Heavenly Father places in the path of both missionaries and members, so that we can share the joy we have with them. And when we do find those people, it is something to celebrate, because they can come to know Christ so much more through the fullness of his gospel and his restored church!

In other news, our investigator Dru is out of the hospital. It was so sweet—he asked if we would have been able to go teach him the lesson in the hospital if he had had to stay there longer. He is just eating up the Gospel—he loves it so much! But we can tell how devastated he is that his grandma won't give him permission to be baptized. Prayers for him would be much appreciated!

Not much new with our other investigators. Robert (the 9 year old) is excited for his baptism, and Loetta (the 90 year old-bless her heart) is still smoking and still can't see very well. We are waiting for her new glasses to come in, and for a large print copy of the Book of Mormon that we ordered to come in. Until that time, we can read to her, but there's not much else we can do.

I hope you all have a blessed week!

Sister Daelemans