So, the story on the ticket is that we went on an early morning hike with two other companionships today. When we were pulling up, I saw a sign on the right side of the road that said no parking 7-9 AM. The other two companionships were parked on the other side and I didn't see a sign, so I flipped around and parked behind them. The hike wasn't as pretty as the hikes in Cache Valley, but it was fun and there was a good view of the city from on top of a largerish hill. (Locals call it a mountain, but it's definitely just a hill 😉) We took a few pictures and hiked back down, and just as we got down there we saw a motorcycle cop pulling away. We walked over to our cars, and all three of them had parking tickets on the windshield. We split it between the two of us, so it wasn't too bad. It was mostly just a hassle because you can't mail cash and we don't have checks. We ended up having to go to Walmart to get a money order, which I think is basically just a check. It was quite the adventure, it was the first time I've gotten any sort of a ticket. I figured I might accidently get a parking ticket out here at some point though, finding parking in California is pretty rough.
This week was a really good one though! On Monday we were out knocking on people's doors next to a park and we saw some high school aged kids playing pick-up soccer. We wanted to play, but we weren't totally sure whether it would be a good use of our time or not. So we said a prayer, and we still felt okay with it, so we went down and asked if we could play. They were pretty surprised we wanted to play in our white shirts and ties, but they let us jump in, and we had a ton of fun. It was really cool, because at first none of them really wanted to play with us, but once Elder Wasden and I played with them for a while they were talking and joking with us, and we were able to have some really good gospel conversations with some of them. Because everyone knows that if someone is good at a sport you like, that automatically makes them a trustworthy individual. 😉 They invited us to come play again today, and some of them showed a fair amount of interest in learning about the church, so we're planning on playing and seeing if we can set up a teaching appointment with some of them. Also that reminds me, while we were playing soccer with them I tried to head a ball and hit it with my face instead, and I sort of broke the nose peice off of my glasses. I have that spare pair, but the ones I broke are from Shopko and I'm pretty confident they're still under warrenty, there's just no Shopkos in the mission. Do you think it's worth it for me to send them back and see if you can get them fixed? I could probably send it with that suit that's too small and some of the Christmas stuff that I've been meaning to send home. (My excuse was that I didn't have money on my card, but the truth is I was just procrastinating.)
Then on Wednesday, we finally got a real investigator!! She's actually someone that missionaries had taught in the past, but somehow despite all the time we spent last transfer checking out the former investigators in Area Book we didn't come across her until this week. That was definitely guided by the spirit though, because the member that just happened to go out with us that night connected with her really well and we were able to have a really awesome conversation with her. She's had a lot of experience with Mormon's in the past and she really loves the church. The main reason she stopped investigating the church last time was because she wasn't sure about the idea of another book of scripture, but then as we talked to her about it we found out she didn't even know what the Book of Mormon is, she just thought that it was the history of the Mormon church, not writings of ancient prophets. So we explained that to her and invited her to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and she said she would and told us we could come back and teach her this week, so we're super excited to do that.
This Thursday they replaced the sliding phones in all of the areas with smart phones. The idea is that they have data on them, so we'll be able to communicate with investigators over the internet on the go. We don't have anyone we're working with right now who likes working through social media though, so we haven't done too much with it. We used Facebook all the time in the YSA ward, but we don't use it nearly as much in the family ward.
Saturday we set up four return appointments, and most of them were with people who seem really solid! I know it probably seems like I say that with all of the people we meet, but with these ones I actually mean it! They all set up very specific return appointments, and one of them even said he was looking for a church to join! Hopefully we're able to help them see how much the gospel can bless their lives, because they seem like really awesome people.
For Sunday school we had a lesson on the scriptures, and it was really neat to hear people talk about how much the scriptures have blessed their lives. I'm so grateful that we have them, we're so blessed to live in a time when so many words of the past are so readily available! Through the words of Nephi we're promised that as we read the words of Christ, we'll "more fully believe on the Lord our redeemer" and "tell you all things what ye should do." Read the scriptures every day! I promise that it will change your life.
I love you all!
-Elder Clark
I also included a picture of my dinner from the other night, because I was proud of myself for cooking something with more than two ingredients without even using a recipe. There's a whole bunch of canned salmon in our apartment, so I took a can adn mixed it in with an egg, some crushed up crackers, lemon or lime juice, (I don't know which, the fruit in question fell of a tree onto the sidewalk in front of me, so I picked it up and took it home with me) and some seasonings, then I grilled it up on our stovetop and it tasted really good! I also made toast and sliced up an orange because I wanted the meal to look more fancy but didn't actually want to put any more effort into it.
send the glasses i will fix them, ill put more money in Wednesday. Love ya. The 50$ i put in was from the hansens from Christmas. They forgot to give it to us.
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