Email: April 2, 2018 - Contacting in Adams, the trio, surprise baptism?, general conference, transfers, farewell
So this week as I compose this I am standing in line at the DMV with the sun burning the back of my neck probably. Let me tell you the DMV out here sucks. Took 2 hours just to get into the building. So this will go down as probably one of the most boring p-days.
Quick shout out to Elder Hansen who had a birthday. Although we aren't pulling an all-nighter this time, at least you got a temple for your birthday. I would shout hooray, but I'm in a different country.
This week has been full of ups and downs, twist and turns and a LOT of stress.
Monday: We finally did something fun this week because we finally had a companionship hang out with us. I feel like I'm just the guy that runs errands for everybody. I guess this is what Rebecca has been training me for.
So we went to the USC Science Center. Now this place is pretty cool, but there was a giant mass of people there this time around, so everything got pretty boring pretty fast. At least in my opinion.
We also got Boba. Now I wish they had Boba in Utah, but they don't. So, when I get home I honestly might invest in it because there is Boba everywhere down here. It's probably more popular than Starbucks and that's saying something. It's become one of my favorite things. If you ever visit LA you better try Boba.
Tuesday: Tuesday was interesting. Turmoil in the companionship came up, but we got it all settled, and we are good now. We did a lot of street contacting today. Street contacting in South Central is kind of fun sometimes. It could go a few ways. First, you get the Christians who just say "keep spreading the word!" and then just ignore you. Second, you could get the homeless people who will only talk to you if you give them money. Then there are the weirdos that just start speaking random gibberish and it sounds like you're getting some voodoo curse put on you. Then you have the regular people that go to USC that just want to mind their own business and just don’t say anything.
Wednesday: Typical Wednesday of just doing standard work. We had ward coordination. We did get a call from our investigator David. In this call he basically tried to drop us, which was heartbreaking but we managed to have him agree to meet with us on Thursday to talk about what's going on.
Thursday: We met with David and his wife to see what's going on. David wants to be in a better place before he is baptized, so he tried to drop us. Like what? Fortunately, we talked some sense into him and he agreed to pray about everything and get back to us tonight. Well, he didn’t get back to us, and isn't answering our calls or text. There was also a mid-cycle tonight and Elder Taylor got transferred out of Adams 1. So Elder Patrick, Elder Harrison and I are now in a trio and will ride out the rest of the transfer that way. So now we cover the entire of Adams area.
Friday: First day as a trio and man it's weird. Finally were able to meet with JP again after 2 weeks. We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and we reset his baptism date for May 6th. He also committed to watch General Conference.
We went to Korean BBQ for lunch and oh my goodness. It is the most amazing food I have ever had. I’m talking life changing AND it's all you can eat. So it’s a win, win. We also grabbed Boba.
We had the opportunity to give service twice today. Always a privilege to give service to others. Plus we get to wear regular clothes when we do. I always think it's funny when people say no because it's their loss not ours. Like come on man it's FREE service. Just freakin’ take it.
Saturday: Conference was legendary and Elder and Sister Kunz took us to, guess what for lunch? Korean BBQ. What more could you ask for?? Today felt like it was a zone conference. Minus the missionary work at the end because we didn’t have time.
We got a text from David at 10:00 p.m saying how he wants to be baptized TOMORROW. So we are currently trying to plan a baptism with 18 to do it and its been super stressful here.
Sunday: Again, conference was great. We had the chance to go to the visitor center and see the missionary performance that was put on. It was super good. Every time I watch anyone perform though it just reminds me of how musically untalented I am. Like dang, these missionaries have some voices. It was also nice to see a bunch of missionary friends from Torrance North and catch up with them. Unfortunately, Elder Terry wasn't there. I've only seen him once since the MTC and it's kind of sad. One day we will be companions.
We got a text from David at noon saying how he no longer wants to be baptized today. But he would rather wait for his wife to have their kid, as well as have his parents make it. So we had to call everyone we already called a few hours before and cancel everything. Needless to say, the ward leaders were frustrated with us and David. THEN and couple hours later we get another text from David saying "Never mind, I actually do want to get baptized today." Well unfortunately that couldn't happen since we just called everyone to cancel and we are super stressed out. So we are planning either this coming Saturday or next Saturday. But who knows.
So I started this tradition for myself. So for my family, do you all remember the California flag and I had hanging in my room leading up to my mission? Well, I've put it to use as memorabilia. Quick missionary term you need to learn: "trunky" because it means anything that relates with leaving the mission. So whenever it's the end of a transfer, I pass it around and people sign it. I also have a Book of Mormon that I pass around. Well, I just got it back from my favorite sister (shout out to sister Muno). It's super sad because she leaves on Tuesday and my mission social life is going to be much more lame. So, till we meet.
We got transfer calls tonight and Elder Patrick and I are staying in the Adams 2 area. Our work here isn't done and frankly, we have to clean up this David mess.
I hope everyone had a great week back home and I hope it was more eventful than mine. To those who are serving missions, keep fighting the good fight and don't give up.
Elder Kyle Barton
Quick shout out to Elder Hansen who had a birthday. Although we aren't pulling an all-nighter this time, at least you got a temple for your birthday. I would shout hooray, but I'm in a different country.
This week has been full of ups and downs, twist and turns and a LOT of stress.
Monday: We finally did something fun this week because we finally had a companionship hang out with us. I feel like I'm just the guy that runs errands for everybody. I guess this is what Rebecca has been training me for.
So we went to the USC Science Center. Now this place is pretty cool, but there was a giant mass of people there this time around, so everything got pretty boring pretty fast. At least in my opinion.
We also got Boba. Now I wish they had Boba in Utah, but they don't. So, when I get home I honestly might invest in it because there is Boba everywhere down here. It's probably more popular than Starbucks and that's saying something. It's become one of my favorite things. If you ever visit LA you better try Boba.
Tuesday: Tuesday was interesting. Turmoil in the companionship came up, but we got it all settled, and we are good now. We did a lot of street contacting today. Street contacting in South Central is kind of fun sometimes. It could go a few ways. First, you get the Christians who just say "keep spreading the word!" and then just ignore you. Second, you could get the homeless people who will only talk to you if you give them money. Then there are the weirdos that just start speaking random gibberish and it sounds like you're getting some voodoo curse put on you. Then you have the regular people that go to USC that just want to mind their own business and just don’t say anything.
Wednesday: Typical Wednesday of just doing standard work. We had ward coordination. We did get a call from our investigator David. In this call he basically tried to drop us, which was heartbreaking but we managed to have him agree to meet with us on Thursday to talk about what's going on.
Thursday: We met with David and his wife to see what's going on. David wants to be in a better place before he is baptized, so he tried to drop us. Like what? Fortunately, we talked some sense into him and he agreed to pray about everything and get back to us tonight. Well, he didn’t get back to us, and isn't answering our calls or text. There was also a mid-cycle tonight and Elder Taylor got transferred out of Adams 1. So Elder Patrick, Elder Harrison and I are now in a trio and will ride out the rest of the transfer that way. So now we cover the entire of Adams area.
Friday: First day as a trio and man it's weird. Finally were able to meet with JP again after 2 weeks. We taught him about the Word of Wisdom and we reset his baptism date for May 6th. He also committed to watch General Conference.
We went to Korean BBQ for lunch and oh my goodness. It is the most amazing food I have ever had. I’m talking life changing AND it's all you can eat. So it’s a win, win. We also grabbed Boba.
We had the opportunity to give service twice today. Always a privilege to give service to others. Plus we get to wear regular clothes when we do. I always think it's funny when people say no because it's their loss not ours. Like come on man it's FREE service. Just freakin’ take it.
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| Giving Service |
Saturday: Conference was legendary and Elder and Sister Kunz took us to, guess what for lunch? Korean BBQ. What more could you ask for?? Today felt like it was a zone conference. Minus the missionary work at the end because we didn’t have time.
We got a text from David at 10:00 p.m saying how he wants to be baptized TOMORROW. So we are currently trying to plan a baptism with 18 to do it and its been super stressful here.
Sunday: Again, conference was great. We had the chance to go to the visitor center and see the missionary performance that was put on. It was super good. Every time I watch anyone perform though it just reminds me of how musically untalented I am. Like dang, these missionaries have some voices. It was also nice to see a bunch of missionary friends from Torrance North and catch up with them. Unfortunately, Elder Terry wasn't there. I've only seen him once since the MTC and it's kind of sad. One day we will be companions.
We got a text from David at noon saying how he no longer wants to be baptized today. But he would rather wait for his wife to have their kid, as well as have his parents make it. So we had to call everyone we already called a few hours before and cancel everything. Needless to say, the ward leaders were frustrated with us and David. THEN and couple hours later we get another text from David saying "Never mind, I actually do want to get baptized today." Well unfortunately that couldn't happen since we just called everyone to cancel and we are super stressed out. So we are planning either this coming Saturday or next Saturday. But who knows.
So I started this tradition for myself. So for my family, do you all remember the California flag and I had hanging in my room leading up to my mission? Well, I've put it to use as memorabilia. Quick missionary term you need to learn: "trunky" because it means anything that relates with leaving the mission. So whenever it's the end of a transfer, I pass it around and people sign it. I also have a Book of Mormon that I pass around. Well, I just got it back from my favorite sister (shout out to sister Muno). It's super sad because she leaves on Tuesday and my mission social life is going to be much more lame. So, till we meet.
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| I thought this picture was cool but it kind looks lame now that I look at it |
I hope everyone had a great week back home and I hope it was more eventful than mine. To those who are serving missions, keep fighting the good fight and don't give up.
Elder Kyle Barton
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| Mac and cheese with pastrami. My masterpiece |
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