The Kanan Shuttle

Mom and Dad,

This week was another wonderful week. It has been very interesting sharing the car with Sister Casper and Sister Proctor. It has meant that we have been walking tons. We are really excited because many Relief Society sisters volunteered to give us rides, so that will make this week a lot easier.

This week we have met some of the rudest people I have met so far, but I am so glad that Sister Mapa and I have great attitudes! It would have been a long and depressing week, but it wasn't that bad because Sister Mapa and I get along really well and actually like being around each other.

I love my new companion Sister Mapa!

I truly love Sister Mapa. She is a gem. She has been teaching me how to mellow out some times and just enjoy the moment. We have already had wonderful experiences together and I know that we were meant to be companions right now. Most of the week involved tracting. We were able to find and talk to some wonderful people! We are so excited to go back and visit some of these people. We will let you know how that goes!

So, funny story. This week we were so excited to take this little bus that is free here called the Kanan Shuttle. Sister Mapa and I went to one of the stop across the street from our apartment and were so excited for it to take us all the way to our area. (The saddest thing about walking is that we live in the other ward’s boundaries so we are really far away from our area.) We waited there about 20 minutes for it to arrive. We got on the bus and asked the driver what stop was the closest to where we wanted to get off. To our horror, the closest stop was less than a mile from where we got on. We rode on the bus for about a half of a mile and then got off and walked about an hour and a half to get to where we wanted to be. Hahaha, FAIL. We have really been working it out with the other sisters so we can drop each other off in our areas, and we have been getting rides from members, so it isn’t that pathetic. Good thing after the shuttle failure we just died laughing the rest of the walk!

The coolest huge suit of armor at a member's house!

This week we were able to meet with some of our investigators. We brought a wonderful member, Brother Hart, with us and he was a huge help. The meeting with this family was great because the husband shared some deeply spiritual experiences he has had. He was even starting to tear up when he was talking to us. We were only able to get through a small portion of the restoration lesson. I believe they are still a little confused as to why they need what we are telling them. Right know they think that we believe similar things so there is no need to make changes in their lives. Their young adult son came to church this week!! I was seriously so excited to see him that I couldn't keep from smiling. He came by himself but he stayed for Sacrament meeting and Sunday School! Hopefully he will keep coming, but also hopefully he will start getting involved with the YSA (Young Single Adult) ward. It seems like he and his mother are completely prepared, but it may take a little work to get the father on board. I love this family so much already. I can just tell that they are great people and have amazing potential. Hopefully we will be able to meet with them again next week!

Happy birthday to this beautiful sister!!

This week was also Sister Mapa’s birthday!!! She turned 20 on Wednesday. Thanks Mom for sending me all the decorations for my birthday last month because we totally decked out our apartment for her birthday and even blew up balloons to cover the floor of our living room. In the morning on Sister Mapa's birthday, Sister Proctor made funfetti cake pancakes out of a cake mix! They were so yummy. We melted frosting to put of them because we didn’t have any syrup. Mmm, there’s nothing like birthday cake for breakfast! Sister Proctor is amazing because she has already graduated from culinary school before her mission. She loves to cook so it has been great to have her around. She has already volunteered to make us super tasty breakfasts this week.

Sad news is that President Castro said that we can't to go to the temple for her birthday. The temple is out of our mission boundaries. He said that the opportunity for our missionaries to attend the temple for their birthday is for those who haven't had the chance to go to the temple in a long time. Since Sister Mapa was able to go to the temple just a few weeks ago in the MTC, and I went last month for my birthday, we weren't allowed to go. So sad.

I was able to get ice cream from the ice cream man this week!
I was so happy! I have been craving a twoball screwball
so bad and it reminded me of my childhood!

Sister Casper and Sister Procter had their exchanges this weekend! Instead of having one companionship going to Ventura and one staying in Agoura, both sets stayed in Agoura this weekend. That meant that there were a total of 6 sisters staying in our apartment this weekend! It was crazy but awesome! One other surprise was that only one of the Sister Training Leaders came, and she brought Sister Randall with her! I guess the Sister Training Leaders had to split up and bring other sisters with them this time because they just have so many exchanges to do, and so little time.  It was so great to see Sister Randall, and I know that she was so happy to be able to go visit people in Agoura again! Our exchanges aren’t until October, and I am excited to see what happens then!

My four generation chart. One of my first trainers Sister Randall,
my follow-up trainer Sister Casper, me and my trainee Sister Mapa.
3 out of 5 of my companions are in this picture. So crazy!

Mom, thanks for that experience you shared. I’m having similar experiences. I have learned on my mission to accept anything that people offer. Sister Casper used to laugh at me all the time because whenever people offered us water bottles or snacks I always said yes. I have learned that people love the opportunity to help us and get great satisfaction just from being able to give us things.

I have been absolutely loving being a trainer. I know that it is a huge responsibility, but it definitely hasn't been as bad as I thought! I have been learning so much already and I just hope that I am living up to the role that God needs me to fulfill.  It has already been a wonderful experience to go through the training program again and learn new things every day!

I LOVE YOU!,

Sister Mason