A Week of Perfect Timing

Dear Family,

 

It has been a week of perfect timing. We have had many times where we wanted to stop by to see someone and they just pulled up to their house at the exact time we showed up. For instance we had wanted to visit one of our investigators throughout the week but it had never worked out. We had a weird day and ended up switching up our schedule that was planned and decided to go see her. She, her husband, and their son came home from the grocery store and running other errands right as we pulled up to her house. We were excited because this was one of the few times we have caught all three of them at home at the same time! She is pregnant and on bed rest which had been very sad but we were able to come over, share a message, and help fold some laundry for her before they had to make dinner and get on with their night. Another instance of perfect timing happened when we pulled up to our apartment complex one day for lunch. 

 

In another example of perfect timing, we came home for lunch a few minutes earlier than we planned but one of our neighbor upstairs pulled up in her parking spot right when we did. We were able to talk to her for a few minutes. She is just a wonderful woman! We asked her for referrals and she actually ended up calling her friend while we were talking to her to see if it would be okay if we stopped by to see her. She had to leave a message for her friend but she said really nice things about us and then she told us that she would let us know when she heard back from her friend. We will see what happens with that! We gave her our phone number and she asked if it was okay to give out if she ever ran into anyone that might want us to stop by. We told her "of course!" We were so happy to cross paths with her because she is so friendly and who knows, we might find someone to teach because of her.

Isn't that the tiniest watermelon you have ever seen?
One of the members are growing pumpkins and watermelons and
this tiny watermelon was just so cute I just couldn't help but share!

 This week we were also able to meet with one of our investigators! We have tried for about the past 2 months to meet with her. We have tried stopping by at different times or on different days but she was always busy. We also tried to text her in the morning when we would be in her area to set up a time to come by. This Sunday was wonderful because we were finally able to set up a time to meet with her after church! It is interesting because she has come to church almost every Sunday I have been in Agoura but we have only been able to meet with her outside of church for maybe 15 minutes total out of all the times we've seen her. It was so great to meet with her and we found out a lot about her background and how interested she is in investigating the church. It looks like we will be able to meet with her regularly now! She is such an incredible person and I always felt an immediate connection with her. I definitely feel like I was meant to meet her and that she is one of the reasons that I am in this area at this time. I am so thankful to have little experiences like that almost every day to understand exactly why I am here.

The beautiful LA temple!

This week we were able to go to the Los Angeles temple! We were disappointed because none of our investigators were able to come with us. We would have had the opportunity to take a little time after our session to go on a tour with them around the temple grounds and through the visitors center. That is a very big deal because since the temple is outside our mission boundaries, we are usually only able to do an endowment session at the temple and then hurry back to our area. We were sad that we weren't able to have that extra time with an investigator on the sacred temple grounds. 

 

 

We had an all around amazing experience at the temple! I feel so blessed to be able to go and I am always in awe of how beautiful and magnificent that temple is! 

 

Yep, Sister Casper is amazing. She is an all-around wonderful missionary and
a great trainer! We have been though awesome, awkward, and hilarious times
already and it is sad to think that we may only have two more weeks together

Today we were able to visit the recently activated and recently endowed member that took us to the temple this week. She shared with us that when she was in the temple she kept thinking about how she was worried about her finances. When she came home after dropping us back off at our apartment, she felt that she needed to ask her niece if she wanted to move in with her and pay her a small amount of rent every month in return. Her niece was so grateful that she had called and offered a place for her to stay because she was in a tough situation and was having a hard time looking for a new apartment. Anyways, she was able to bless the life of her nice by providing her and her daughter a place to live and this sweet member was able to find a way to get a little extra money. We told her that those are blessings from going to the temple and serving us by driving us there!
 

The beach! We were able to see a little bit of the beach as we were driving home!
I know this isn't the most exciting picture ever but we get so excited when we
are able to just get a peek of the beach

It was an overall wonderful week! It was great because we seemed to be able to get in contact with a lot of our investigators that had been out of town throughout the summer. I never knew I could be so happy for school to start, but during the summer I just have been wanting everyone to come back from vacation so we could teach them. Haha, I think my wish came true! A girl can always wish, and hey, its a righteous desire anyways :) 

 

Oh, and also let me just tell you that we cover two wards, so we go to 6 hours of church each Sunday. I love it! It is definitely one of the best days of the week because I learn so much in those 6 hours! Usually I could barely handle 3 hours of church at home but I live for 6 hours now! Honestly I feel like the meetings are always meant for me because every lesson or every talk has somehow been able to answer any of the questions or problems I have had throughout the week. Sunday is like a spiritually exhausting day of personal revelation! It has been exactly what I need. 

 

I love Agoura, I love Sister Casper, and I love the great California Ventura Mission!!

 

Oh, and I love you!!!

-Sister Mason