Email: March 19, 2018 - Fastest week of my life, the RM hunt, David's interview
Ok, before you all get ahead of yourselves just want to say that I don’t really remember anything that happened this week, so this email will most likely be a lot shorter than usual. That’s what happens when you forget to write in your journal kids
Monday: With permission from President Haynie, Elder Gadner, Elder Harrison and I received permission to go outside the mission. We went clear up into the valley and it was cool to see what the new areas of our mission will look like when July rolls around. It was also nice to have less traffic to deal with and to also get out of the LA smog and be able to breath a bit easier. Also, there were actually regular trees up there.
We also went to Arby's while we could because there is only 1 in the mission, so we seized the opportunity and went to one. It’s been a long time since I have had Arby's, but it was just as good as I remember.
Tuesday: I don't remember what happened. It felt like this day just didn’t happen to be honest.
Wednesday: We had ward coordination meeting today and Brother Tingey (the ward mission leader) got us pizza as well. It was a really good meeting that we had. A lot of it was just figuring out how we can better work with the bishop and it honestly just boiled down to " let him do his thing and just work around it if you can."
Since Elder Taylor has a projector for whatever reason, we decided to have a movie night. We set the projector up in the bedroom and watched the restoration movie. I had the most uncomfortable spot for the movie. I had to be halfway on my bed halfway on a chair if I wanted to see anything. Elder Patrick really wants to watch the RM and he is determined to find it and watch it in some way. He even asks members if they have it during member dinners.
Thursday: Today we had district meeting and we did a couple role plays. The first was on teaching simply and I got paired up with Sister Kunz (one of the senior missionaries) and she was impressed by me, which made me feel pretty good. Then we did another role play on bearing testimony in lessons and I got paired with Elder Taylor and he said I almost made him cry. So I guess my testimony really is growing.
Friday: Today I got to see the all the fraternities and sororities at USC. Since its spring break, it was safe for us to go. But it is pretty much Babylon. It’s a whole block just dedicated to the party life. There were a bunch of beer bottles just kind of everywhere and a bunch of neon signs and Greek letters and I can only imagine what goes on there on the weekends when it's not spring break.
Saturday: Today was a very important day. David had his interview with President Haynie to see if he could be baptized. Now we didn’t have a car to get us from downtown LA to downtown Santa Monica, so we had to take a train. It reminded me a lot of the frontrunner back home because it was fast and efficient. As we walked the rest of the distance to the temple (which was about 3 blocks) I looked up and saw a massive billboard for Avengers: Infinity war. It was honestly kind of a reality check. Just reminding me that hey I'm a missionary. But hey, I only have to wait 20 months to see it. No spoilers people.
So we got to the visitor center and waited for David to arrive. We said hi to a few people. But as we were sitting there I realized how peaceful the temple grounds are. The difference in just 1 block is kind of insane. If you go down to the street corner just outside the temple gates there are a lot of hostile homeless people mad that people aren't giving them money, so they just scream at everyone. But walk about 200 feet and BAM you are in the happiest place and running it the kindest people. And that may be because I'm a missionary, but I'll take what I can get.
So David arrives looking super fresh, like this guy is in a full 3 piece suit wearing sunglasses and has a fedora on. My man took Sunday best to a new level. David went into his interview with President Haynie while we talked to David's wife Bertha and got to know her better. Their son, Damion, is super cool. You all would love him. David comes out of his interview and President Haynie decided that it would be best if the First Presidency were to make the decision regarding his baptism, and that could take up to 6 months. So David's baptism is delayed until further notice, which sucks.
So the train ride back kind of sucked. As we were nearing our stop a homeless man came on board and began saying how he is diabetic and needs money to buy food because he doesn't want to die on the train. So he comes up to us and we don't have any cash, so he keeps moving along. Some guy gives him 50 cents, and the guy sits down in front of some teenage girls who have Chipotle. So he starts begging for food and annoying them, so they say something to him and he got super mad and he throws the money down on the floor. So the guy that gave him the money gets mad at the homeless guy. And basically, a fight almost breaks out and I saw a full moon, if you know what I mean
Sunday: Church was really good today. We had a lot of people at church today. Two families were visiting, so the chapel was more filled than normal, which was nice to see. We had a recent RM speak as well as a stake high councilman. It was really good, but our investigator Calvin, (who recently quit coffee), fell asleep in sacrament meeting.
We had dinner with the Lucero family today. They are a young couple who are trying to make it in LA pretty much. Brother Lucero is going to law school and working as a juvenile defense attorney and Sister Lucero as a degree in acting and she auditions for spots here and there, but she works a lot of side jobs. They live in a studio apartment which means it’s a tiny kitchen, 1 restroom and their bedroom and living room are the same room. All for just 1000 dollars a month. That’s the LA life right there. But they are honestly the happiest and funniest couple I have ever met. They may have a lot of hardship trying to work through everything right now, but ultimately, they have each other and the gospel and that’s what makes them happy so go them.
After we had dinner they asked each of us what we want to go into after the mission and Elder Taylor said how he wasn’t really sure, so he asked them what they think he would be good at and Brother Lucero, out of nowhere, was just kind of listing attributes of Elder Taylor and said jokingly, that he would be good at male stripping. It caught all of us off guard (even sister Lucero) and we just kind of sat there until we all just burst into laughter. Turns out their neighbor used to be a male stripper and his stage name was chocolate Channing Tatum. It was super funny, and we were all just sitting their laughing. Then once we settled down, Elder Patrick asked them what they think would be a good fit for him and then male stripping came up again and how Elder Patrick could be chocolate Channing Tatum Jr.
So that is all for this week. I hope you all had a great week and let me tell you the LA life is a crazy, busy and fast paced life. Never forget to take a moment to slow down and take a moment remember our Savior and all that he has done for us. Take care everyone!
Elder Kyle Barton
Monday: With permission from President Haynie, Elder Gadner, Elder Harrison and I received permission to go outside the mission. We went clear up into the valley and it was cool to see what the new areas of our mission will look like when July rolls around. It was also nice to have less traffic to deal with and to also get out of the LA smog and be able to breath a bit easier. Also, there were actually regular trees up there.
We also went to Arby's while we could because there is only 1 in the mission, so we seized the opportunity and went to one. It’s been a long time since I have had Arby's, but it was just as good as I remember.
 |
| The biggest Arby's sign I have ever seen |
Tuesday: I don't remember what happened. It felt like this day just didn’t happen to be honest.
Wednesday: We had ward coordination meeting today and Brother Tingey (the ward mission leader) got us pizza as well. It was a really good meeting that we had. A lot of it was just figuring out how we can better work with the bishop and it honestly just boiled down to " let him do his thing and just work around it if you can."
Since Elder Taylor has a projector for whatever reason, we decided to have a movie night. We set the projector up in the bedroom and watched the restoration movie. I had the most uncomfortable spot for the movie. I had to be halfway on my bed halfway on a chair if I wanted to see anything. Elder Patrick really wants to watch the RM and he is determined to find it and watch it in some way. He even asks members if they have it during member dinners.
Thursday: Today we had district meeting and we did a couple role plays. The first was on teaching simply and I got paired up with Sister Kunz (one of the senior missionaries) and she was impressed by me, which made me feel pretty good. Then we did another role play on bearing testimony in lessons and I got paired with Elder Taylor and he said I almost made him cry. So I guess my testimony really is growing.
Friday: Today I got to see the all the fraternities and sororities at USC. Since its spring break, it was safe for us to go. But it is pretty much Babylon. It’s a whole block just dedicated to the party life. There were a bunch of beer bottles just kind of everywhere and a bunch of neon signs and Greek letters and I can only imagine what goes on there on the weekends when it's not spring break.
Saturday: Today was a very important day. David had his interview with President Haynie to see if he could be baptized. Now we didn’t have a car to get us from downtown LA to downtown Santa Monica, so we had to take a train. It reminded me a lot of the frontrunner back home because it was fast and efficient. As we walked the rest of the distance to the temple (which was about 3 blocks) I looked up and saw a massive billboard for Avengers: Infinity war. It was honestly kind of a reality check. Just reminding me that hey I'm a missionary. But hey, I only have to wait 20 months to see it. No spoilers people.
So we got to the visitor center and waited for David to arrive. We said hi to a few people. But as we were sitting there I realized how peaceful the temple grounds are. The difference in just 1 block is kind of insane. If you go down to the street corner just outside the temple gates there are a lot of hostile homeless people mad that people aren't giving them money, so they just scream at everyone. But walk about 200 feet and BAM you are in the happiest place and running it the kindest people. And that may be because I'm a missionary, but I'll take what I can get.
So David arrives looking super fresh, like this guy is in a full 3 piece suit wearing sunglasses and has a fedora on. My man took Sunday best to a new level. David went into his interview with President Haynie while we talked to David's wife Bertha and got to know her better. Their son, Damion, is super cool. You all would love him. David comes out of his interview and President Haynie decided that it would be best if the First Presidency were to make the decision regarding his baptism, and that could take up to 6 months. So David's baptism is delayed until further notice, which sucks.
So the train ride back kind of sucked. As we were nearing our stop a homeless man came on board and began saying how he is diabetic and needs money to buy food because he doesn't want to die on the train. So he comes up to us and we don't have any cash, so he keeps moving along. Some guy gives him 50 cents, and the guy sits down in front of some teenage girls who have Chipotle. So he starts begging for food and annoying them, so they say something to him and he got super mad and he throws the money down on the floor. So the guy that gave him the money gets mad at the homeless guy. And basically, a fight almost breaks out and I saw a full moon, if you know what I mean
Sunday: Church was really good today. We had a lot of people at church today. Two families were visiting, so the chapel was more filled than normal, which was nice to see. We had a recent RM speak as well as a stake high councilman. It was really good, but our investigator Calvin, (who recently quit coffee), fell asleep in sacrament meeting.
We had dinner with the Lucero family today. They are a young couple who are trying to make it in LA pretty much. Brother Lucero is going to law school and working as a juvenile defense attorney and Sister Lucero as a degree in acting and she auditions for spots here and there, but she works a lot of side jobs. They live in a studio apartment which means it’s a tiny kitchen, 1 restroom and their bedroom and living room are the same room. All for just 1000 dollars a month. That’s the LA life right there. But they are honestly the happiest and funniest couple I have ever met. They may have a lot of hardship trying to work through everything right now, but ultimately, they have each other and the gospel and that’s what makes them happy so go them.
After we had dinner they asked each of us what we want to go into after the mission and Elder Taylor said how he wasn’t really sure, so he asked them what they think he would be good at and Brother Lucero, out of nowhere, was just kind of listing attributes of Elder Taylor and said jokingly, that he would be good at male stripping. It caught all of us off guard (even sister Lucero) and we just kind of sat there until we all just burst into laughter. Turns out their neighbor used to be a male stripper and his stage name was chocolate Channing Tatum. It was super funny, and we were all just sitting their laughing. Then once we settled down, Elder Patrick asked them what they think would be a good fit for him and then male stripping came up again and how Elder Patrick could be chocolate Channing Tatum Jr.
So that is all for this week. I hope you all had a great week and let me tell you the LA life is a crazy, busy and fast paced life. Never forget to take a moment to slow down and take a moment remember our Savior and all that he has done for us. Take care everyone!
Elder Kyle Barton
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| Super cool picture of David and Goliath. |
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