Ups and Downs....

Hello, hello, hello my dear family and friends!

It has been an interesting week, one filled with ups and downs...

As for the ups, the first district meeting I planned was a success!  I brought a milk crate to the meeting, and we all took turns "soap boxing" and bearing our testimonies about the Book of Mormon.  I loved it!  I'm excited for future district meeting and such.

Another awesome thing!  This week, there was a mission-wide district leader training!  On Friday, me and the other 2 district leaders in the zone drove down to the mission office in Oxnard and heard from President Felix and the assistants there.  It was a very good, instructive meeting about how we can be better influences on the missionaries we serve.  Plus, there was pumpkin spice cake! :D haha just kidding, but it really was good. 

Unfortunately, not much new has happened with Chris.  We've called him every day this week, but no answer.  We stopped by his mom's house a few times this week too.  The first time, somebody else that is renting from her answered the door, and she asked us if we were there for Chris.  We said yes, and she told us that he was in the shower.  So we figured out that he's living there again.  However, the next few times we went by, nobody answered, and we know that there are people home.  We called Chris again, and his phone was disconnected...so we can't contact him that way anymore...and he didn't come to church either...but we're still trying!  We're not going to give up on him, he's so awesome!

Elder Gruwell and I have been thinking a lot, and we're going to try new methods.  "If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got."  With that being said, we've been going through our cell phone and calling random nonmembers that past missionaries have saved in there.  We've called numbers that are disconnected, and so we've been clearing out the contacts that way.  There's also others that have picked up, and we've set some return appointments that way!  In fact, we've set more return appointments through the phone than by actually going outside and working...kinda sad how that's the way the world is today.  But oh well, we'll see them soon.  The other missionaries did that same thing this past week, and somebody in their phone actually came to church because of it!  Miracle!

I love you all so much!  The scriptures really are the words of life, and we can find help and healing when we read them daily!  I've been going through the Book of Mormon again, and I'm almost done with Mosiah.  The Book of Mormon is awesome!  I love you all!  Have a great week!

New district picture!