First Week In The Field!!

Hey,  First off I want to make this clear. I am not doing bad at all.... yet... haha Yeah its "harder" than the MTC but I can actually see real progress and stuff.. I don't know stuff like that... Long story short I'm doing good and I'm serious about that. I'm stoked to be out here.

 

 

Um... Well I'll start from the beginning... Me and Hermana Morley are the only two from my Anaheim group that are in the same district. There are 5 sister's in my district and 4 elders. The other three elders are from Mesa, AZ and knew each other in High school. My trainer is Elder Tidwell. Hes only got two transfers left! He's awesome. He's really helped the transition be good. He says most of the stuff during the lessons and talks to most of the people for me. He tries to get me involved when I can and when he knows I know how to say certain things.

 

 

Um... Important things for this week. I have already challenged 4 people to be baptized. 1 said "yes" so we set a date for April 7 or 14th I can't remember. 1 said "yes, but I know I need to stop my drinking problem first" 2 said "I don't know, why would we need to be baptized again, how about you come back and we talk about it"

 

 

So I was so stoked about those two that said yes and the other two that are interested!! Ah, I dreamed about it in the MTC, seeing peoples reactions and the reality of it all when they said yes and here it is already starting!

 

 

First things first. We are white washing this area. Elder Tidwell has never been in this area or ward in his entire time here. So we are both soooooo lost. The first night we actually had a hard time finding out how to get home. Luckily we found a member and asked them directions of how to get back to our apartment.

 

 

I am in a biking area, I had to buy a bike (dad this means I'll need a bike and care etc maintenance update haha) but my butt is permanently sore and hurting!! Ha holy cow that first couple days was hard on it... But anyway, first day we are biking and talking to people and not much is going on, people are listening we are talking to them but no one is legitimately interested. Finally E.T. (Elder Tidwell to make it short) stops at some random house and says lets knock this door. We said hi and asked them how they were, immediately they invited us in for dinner! haha it was the strangest thing. ET was just as confused as I was. The dad said he had been to church with his friend when he was young but it had been years and years since then. We taught them the restoration and they asked us to come back. That was sweet.

 

 

The food is CRAZY GOOD. It really is so dang good and they always fill us up. We get dinner almost every single night except Sundays and Mondays.  

 

 

Um... Sunday was interesting. Nothing bad at all. But I sure didn't get to much of the Spanish they were talking. It is funny. All the adults will talk to me in Spanish and all the kids will talk to me in English. I have to say like four sentences in Spanish before the kids will "give in" and speak to me in Spanish. 

 

 

Speaking of Spanish. Its coming all right. Its a different style of learning when I'm out of the field. We don't get lessons. I just pick up on phrases structures and words. I guess I'll see how quickly it comes though. When were talking about gospel stuff I for the most part know whats going on, I can't say TONS but I can say some and understand whats happening. But for general small talk I'm pointless practically. Haha ah well it will come.

 

 

One night ET looks at me and says alright your doing the entire thing of the next person we see. JUST MY LUCK: There is this guy smoking on the side of the road. Haha I started talking to him and I asked him his name eventually and he said "why, who wants to know" I said sorry and explained we were missionaries and share messages of Christ and modern day prophets (in Spanish) and he then practically opened up and started talking to us about his church and I was so lost, so ET stepped in. We ended up talking to him for almost half an hour on the side of the road!

 

 

Anyway I have to go... Aubrey, I'm giving you a challenge. Because we are white washing the area, neither me or ET know the street names for the addresses we get and we got a terrible map. I'm sending you a letter.. I need you to print out like 4 pages and make it so we can have one big and detailed map out of it. 

 

 

Oh by the way, my area is in Anaheim. Send letters addressed as this:

 

 

Elder Carson Richards

2500 North Bristol Street

Santa Ana, California 92706

 

 

That goes to the mission office then they will give it to me even when I transfer... That's how they want it done... Alrighty thanks! see you later. I'm sending letters as well!!