Saturday, April 19, 2014

Week 62 (2/24-3/3)

Well family and friends I have been transferred again... only companions this time though! So I will now be serving with Elder Twelves. I've served around him for most of my mission (except for when I went to South Pas) but I have yet to be his comp. So I guess it is time! He has served in the Armenian group his entire mission thus far, he has been out about 18+ months and I'm expecting to be with him until he goes home this summer. But we'll see! Anyways, I'm excited to be with him. He is a funny kid. Smart. Went to UW before he came out.  And is pretty good at the language. So we should be getting a lot of work done! I'll be working in his area/teaching pool though so I won't be teaching many of the same investigators unfortunately... but a new transfer brings new miracles so i am excited! Plus, I don't have to move! Just make room for two more people in our pad...
     This past week was awesome though. So last monday for p-day (not sure if I already wrote about this or whatnot) but we went to the zoo! Which was quite fun. We got the entire zone to go and it was free because of how many members we found that had passes they could give us and or provide for the missionaries. So it was really fun. Bridget Avanesian even came along! Even though we were looking at everything too slow and she went ahead and did her thing. We got to see some awesome elephant named Billy, some super fat and awesome hippos and some amusing monkeys that were...wait for it... monkeying around. After we had our fun we headed back and finished emailing. Again, sorry if I already told you about the zoo but it has been a week afterall. We ended p-day a bit early to go see if we could catch that potential, Nancy, home but she wasn't and then tried by Rima and her family but they weren't home either. So we went back to the church to help set up our ARMENIAN FAMILY HOME EVENING! It was a smaller crowd than usual but we had Minas Sarkisian, Hambarsoom, Ashot, Arman and Kristina, Hratch and Armen, and some of the leadership. After the traditional chicken, pizza and ice cream, we played Bible Jeopardy with all the questions having to do with the missionary lessons. It was pretty funny. Most of our Armenian members had no idea that the Bible taught about topics like the Book of Mormon and the Restoration. It was pretty successful. Afterwards the zone leaders wanted to go on an exchange with us but we had a super packed tuesday night planned and so the idea came to me that one of us should just go on an exchange with the other Armenian elders (since we were both district leaders) and the other one could go with the zone leaders. So we packed up and all  headed to the riverdale pad and when the zone leaders came they had Elder Cook come into their area while I stayed with Elders Twelves and Tyler and had a threesome exchange! The one great thing about exchanges is definitely the 'pillow talk' that goes on. That Elder Tyler didn't want to stay awake for but every time he started falling asleep we'd whack him with a pillow.
     Tuesday was a successful exchange. After some personal study we caught the bus up to GCC to try and have a lesson with our investigator, Cynthia. But after a while we got a message from her telling us that she was sick and wasn't able to meet anymore... which was a bummer. And normally we would have stayed up there for lunch but we already had lunch plans with Rita. So we headed back to the Central building and finished some companion/language study(which was really productive with helping Elder Tyler teach more of who he was as apposed to just a bland lesson) until our lunch appointment with Rita. And I had totally forgotten that she made lunch specifically for me and made this bomb chicken dish because I told her chicken was my favorite. So we ate, had delicious water with mint and lemon and then reviewed the rest of the Plan of Salvation. She is so awesome and going to get ready to get a temple recommend interview with Bishop. later that afternoon we were trying by a referral that I had been given and we didn't end up finding the address but we did find a couple that was nice and let us in! Lousia and Karogh! Not much potential there but we got to teach a lesson and they wanted some Russian material. But they were nice! Might try by them in the future. After that we walked up to the Hospital to see the other Elders investigator, Souren, who had just had heart surgery and had been in the hospital for a few days recovering. He was in excruciating pain so we weren't able to really have a productive meeting but I'm sure he enjoyed the company. The rest of the evening we tried by some of their people but nothing really came up. We did teach one of their invstigators I rmember, Arshaloose, who was the most stubborn old Armenian lady that just was not getting it! I think we tried seriously a dozen times in the lesson to explain to her the need for authority for baptism but to no avail. So we dropped her. So we met back up at the Church and met the zone leaders there and took Elder Cook back just in time for visits with the leadership! Which were awesome. Ashot never showed up so Brother Bradley took Elder Cook and I over to Hambarsoom's. When we showed up he was watching a church DVD that we had given him forever ago so the spirit was already there. After the video finished about Christ, we decided to talk about Church attendance and went over the scriptures in Alma 7 of the Atonement. The spirit was super strong and he understood it, especially when we talked about the Priesthood that he could have after baptism. He said "that is how Christ ran his Church then and how he runs it today." He is solid. Something was just different in that lesson and we could all feel it. After that lesson we drove out to Mike and Bridget's to have a late dinner and lesson. they had some pizza delivered and I shared the scripture about the Brother of Jared that was asked by the Lord, 'what do you want me to do?' and we explained that God wouldn't give Mike a confirmation until he was really putting forth the effort and he seemed to understand. It was a good lesson with them. then we switched back. Also that night, we were called by Elder Lloyd and told that we would be training a Visa Waiter that was awaiting a Visa to go to Russia. And supposedly he was a stud! But we came to find out later, that he got his visa and that we wouldn't be training. But that led us to believe that we were for sure going to stay together! Which we were excited for.  
     Wednesday after studies we drove down to Hollywood to try and get a hold of that couple that we thought were awesome at the beginning of the transfer on the bus. They weren't home and I think are losing interest or don't want a visit anymore. Sad face. Then we drove up to Burbank to try and find an address that we had gotten from a guy at the soccer game but it didn't exist... so we ran back to our pad just in time for Nate to come pick us up and take us up to a pass off lesson that we had with the Verdugo Hills sisters with their investigator, Valerik! It was seriously one of the best lessons that I have had on my mission. She let us in and made us some hot chocolate and pastries and then started telling us of the miracles she had seen while meeting with the sisters back in the day. She is so prepared it had us all just grinning silly to hear her just basically tell us she wants to learn and this is what she wants and such. Not only that, but that she wants her family to be a part of it if it is in God's will. So AWesome. After that awesome lesson we were dropped off and helped the other Elders move some potentials, Joey and his wife Ella, from their apartment in Glendale to their new house up in Tujunga. It took most of the evening but after we moved into their super nice house his mom fed us probably some of the best food I've had on my mission. It was so awesome. Not sure what she put in that pilaf but it was addicting. But we were driven back down to Glendale by Ella and as she was dropping us off she was expressing how the move and all that was stressing her out and causing anxiety and I was able to relate and able to bear testimony of the power and comfort of the Gospel and the spirit just filled the car and then we left. Then the sisters asked us for a blessing because of some difficulties they were having with whatever it was. By that time we had missed the Armenian class... ooops... and then we ran back to the pad to change back into prose. At this point it was raining pretty hard (oh and if you didn't know, it was DUMPING this past weekend. Never knew it could rain so hard. Remember how in Jumanji there is a typhoon in the mansion? Yeah that level of rain.) Markus our investigator wasn't home but we stopped by Rima and Ragned and were able to read really quick with them from the Book of Mormon before Raymond had to head out to work. That family has a lot of potential but we can't quite figure out what they need to progress...
     Thursday was district meeting that I didn't have to teach! Elder Cook took the reigns on that and he did a good job! After the meeting we went back to the apartment and made some food before we headed to Arcadia to the training meeting which we were SUPER excited for... but then President came in and told us that our visa waiter got his visa to russia and we wouldnt be training, nor need to stay for the meeting... we were so sad. So sad that we decided we needed some frostys from Wendy's. they helped! But our plan was kind of ruined because of the big gap we now needed to plan for... We did get to stop by Markus though and he was expecting a lesson which was awesome! We taught him the first lesson and were able to show him a clip of the restoration video and the spirit was super powerful. We invited him to be baptized on 30 March and he said if he were ready he would be. That night we had dinner with the Bradley's and Ashot and Hambarsoom! It was delicious. And then we read with him and talked about the Book of Mormon with him. Can't remember what we did after dinner... It'll come to me. 
     Friday was awesome and raining cats and dogs all day. Seriously from Friday until today it was raining nonstop. But Friday was weekly planning. Nate didn't have work that day so he stopped by in the morning and did some morning workout with us and even made us some breakfast! And did some studies with us... then got us distracted and tried wrestling us but we put him to shame and I was able to recall some moves from wrestling with Dad. Got some nasty rug burns on my knees though from the carpet... but anyways we had a really good weekly planning session while listening to the rain POUNDING on the Church. After the planning, we headed to some dinner at Sizzler which was quite a treat with its unlimited salad and ice cream bar. Then we headed down to Hollywood to visit some people that we had addresses for in the Hollywood stake. All the while, it was still dumping. Funny story, we were on the bus with the other elders to hollywood. It was a big crowded and Elder Twelves was talking to someone up front on the bus. and he for some reason got off the bus at the wrong stop... and then walked to the back door where we were standing with elder tyler and the back door closed and Elder twelves was left. we all just started busting out laughing and he called us and then we got off on the next one and he caught up to us. But anyways, we were visiting this one guy who wasn't home but we were talking to him on the call box as it was raining and he was like "dudes! why are you here it's raining! Come back when it isn't raining!" so we ran into another side little store that happened to be Armenian and we met this guy who had lived in Provo for a long time, still had his kids there, and some of them are members and he said we could stop by! Then we made our way back to Glendale, and saw Rima and Ragned again and read more of the Book of Mormon with them. It was great and they said they'd come to Church and the break the fast. 
     Saturday was pretty slow... it didn't feel like transfers day that is for sure. We stopped by some people up in Verdugo Hills and we got some pity points because it was raining so hard and so we got some return appointments. I can't quite remember what we did the rest of the day... just walked in the rain a lot. We stopped by Samvel Mtanyan and finally caught him home and he let us in and we taught him a lesson. But he was still caught up on the fact that he thinks all churches are good and that our church didn't have a cross... then we went home, made some dinner. Then..... still not sure what we did. But then we got a call from the other elders and we had to rescue them from eagle rock. On the way home we got the transfer call that I would be with Elder Twelves and Elder Cook would be the district leader and with Tyler.
     Sunday was awesome. We had four investigators at Church! Rima and her family. Hambarsoom. Mike. Then they all came to the break the fast. it was awesome. Then we tried by another referral in verdugo. Not home but the wife was super nice. Then we went to clean the apartment to prep for today and the other elders moving in. then we went to Bridget's birthday dinner at Mike's house with his family which was fun but it was awkward because they gave us rules we couldn't talk about the church because Elder Dicus in the past has talked to Mikes dad too much about the church and made us uninvited to their house for a while. But it was good! Then we tried by some people and called it a night! 

Well, that is my week. I love you all very much! I hope you have a great week. Be safe and don't forget to smile! 

Elder DeBry

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