Another week. This week was really good. Did a lot. Like. a lot. Very very busy. But it’s all good.
On pday, we played secret hitler but mormon version, and we hung out. Later that day there was a lady that left 4 voice mails telling us she doesn’t want us to stop by anymore because we don’t wear masks or gloves. and covid is real. so. That was fun.
BUT. We had exchanges!!!!! So weird ngl. But that’s ok because it was so much fun. Little bit of backstory. Sister Heaton speaks Arabic, she got called to speak Arabic on her second transfer. And so there is a trio of Arabic sisters and that’s who we exchanged with. I was with Sister Gill and Sister Wait! Joyous people. They are so much fun. Being in a trio for a day was a bit weird but not terrible. I did a day of Arabic work with Sister Gill and Sister Wait. And that was fun. The title of the email is “hello” in Arabic. I know how to say “hello”, “I love you”, “thank you”, “your mom”, and “bye” in Arabic. So I’m basically fluent. And Arabic music is my new favorite music 🎶. Arabic work was a little different than English work. A lot more knocking on doors than anything, but it was still good. Also got to try some Arabic food. Was pretty delicious. ALSO, had my first member dinner on the exchange!! Unfortunately I am allergic to nuts and we didn’t tell them abt that because we spaced it. And the main course had peanut butter. So couldn’t eat it. But the rice and fruit was good 👍.
We had some good lessons this week. We had a lesson with Tony and Theresa talking about the word of wisdom. They are preparing to take out their endowments in October!!! Very excited for them!! But they are moving unfortunately😔. Had a lesson with an inactive member. And we convinced her to go to church! She also brought her daughter who we’ve been trying to contact for forever. That was amazing! We had another lesson with James. I’m pretty sure I learned more in that lesson than he did. When we got there he was playing fortnite. We tried teaching the plan of salvation. During our lesson Haeleigh (his mom) got a call and put Serenity (the one year old child) in a room and then walked outside. Serenity was then screaming and James proceeded to turn on the TV to play fortnite. We told him we weren’t done and got his attention so we could finish our last thoughts. Then he went outside. That was a bit frustrating but it’s fine. Nahias lesson was good. She asked us more questions and I’m pretty sure we answered them well. I gave her a prayer checklist and also gave Liana a painted book of mormon. so hopefully they enjoy those.
We had a friend come to church with us! He called us Saturday morning and asked if he could go and we said yes of course. He sounded super excited. And he did indeed go to church. He also gave me and sister Heaton necklaces and a bunch of earrings. so that was very nice of him. We will hopefully have a lesson with him tonight. And we’re gonna out him on date for baptism. He seems into it so we are very hopeful.
We also had Zone conference this week and sister Heaton has to do a breakout room. So that’ll be exciting.
I MET HANI!!!! There’s this Arabic man that the sisters keep talking about. And I FINALLY met him! He got baptized a year ago and he’s a Saint. He calls all the sister missionaries his daughters. And he gave us soda and some other stuff. A kind gentleman. He is so friendly and loves his sister missionaries! We call him Amoo Hani. Which means uncle Hani. I’m excited to see him again!
Spiritual thought…
Alma 62:49 “But notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not lifted up in the pride of their eyes; neither were they slow to remember the Lord their God; but they did humble themselves exceedingly before him.”
Be humble. As we humble ourselves we can feel the presence of God, and be lifted up through god. Always remember God. This week, think of ways that God blesses you in your everyday life. And remember those ways so you can feel closer to God and feel his love for you. I know he loves each of you and is watching over you. He wants you to look towards him for help. Always turn towards God and he will bless you! ♡
Love all of you! Hope you are all doing well and are thriving!! ♡
So I made it to San Diego safe and sound guys, don’t worry… I may or may not have slept in 20 extra minutes on the day we were going to SD but I made it. That’s all that matters.
And if you’re questioning the title, yes I have a birthday twin. MY COMP!!! We’re born on the same day but one year apart. CRAZY!! Literally can’t get over it. Anyways. Love Sister Heaton. She’s amazing. Absolute best trainer out there!
Mission life is like. lowkey craazzyyy. But I have been having an absolute BLAST. Everyday is so so busy. We’ve had so many contacts. And one issue is that both of us are new to the area. so we dk much abt the area. That’s fun. An adventure to figure out who knows what.
I’m in Magnolia, aka El Cajon, aka somewhere in Zone 7. Geographically I have no idea where I am. But I’m loving it.
MTC OVERVIEW They told me the food was gourmet. That was NOT. gourmet. but. it was edible. So it was fine. AND THE COKE WAS DIET AND CAFFEINE FREE. Caffeine is not against the word of wisdom. So what. the. heck. Last day of MTC we had a devotional and guess who spoke. David A. Bednar. Willdddd. It was so so good. He talked abt the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Pretty cool stuff. Overall the MTC was pretty lit 🤟. Had a lot of fun with the district and made some pretty cool friends 😎. And yes we did play a lot of foos! And I beat everyone. Except Elder Moulton. so. boo that but I beat everyone else. It was a lot of fun!
CALI OVERVIEW PALM TREES 🌴. There are so many palm trees. I.Love.It. They’re my new favorite thing. There are also lots of lizards. Gas Is like $4.56. That’s like almost 5 bucks. Almost FIVE. WHOLE. DOLLARS. 🤯 absolutely insane bonkers. Cali burritos are fiiirrreeeeee 🔥. They’re literally so so yummy. Had it on the first day here and they were delish. 10/10 recommend. 🌯 There’s also always a homeless person yelling everywhere you go. gotta love it. There’s a lot of homeless here. like. a lot. But that’s ok. As long as we mind our own business it’s all good. 👍 Saw a furry. And two cyber trucks 🤢. Nasty. one of them was bright blue too. Anyways next topic. Some guys were listening to Fetty wap on Thursday. So that was lit 🔥. And Cali drivers are crazy. insane drivers.
MISSIONARY OVERVIEW It’s oh so much fun. I am LOVING it. We have done a lot of knocking (which is my least favorite thing to do . But this is for God and not me. so we deal). Most of the time no one answers. but we have gotten a few answers and invited them to church or to pray. We’ve also done a lot of contacting. Which I’m also not a fan of just bc we call people and I don’t like calling. But we deal. It’s actually not that bad. But we did have a lady yell at us over the phone because we called her twice. so that was fun 😬. Sister Heaton and I got some good Mexican food at Sombrero Mexican. Bussing. So good. Gave Tacos Rapidos vibes. So so yummy. Anyways, there’s a lot of different cultures. very diverse area. It’s actually so cool. There’s 9 different languages in the CSDM (California San Diego Mission). So that’s also really cool. It’s been so much fun.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK We visited a 100 yr old lady. She was so so sweet and she had such a strong spirit. Like. SO. Strong. I imagine that she’s like Abuela (my great Grandma) if she spoke English. We also had to yell at her bc she’s hard of hearing. She also has dementia. But her advice was to “enjoy your life”. So do a Lilian Downs says and enjoy your life. We also have someone on date for baptism. Ha. Literally second day here, very first lesson, put someone on date. Don’t think it’s gonna happen, but we have faith. Her names Monique. She’s a sweetheart and talks a lot. But I’m pretty sure she’s moving. So we will see. We have taught a couple 8 year olds. One of the is James. He’s so sweet and really into his drone. He’s on the spectrum. But he’s fun. We will probably stop teaching him bc the Lakeside Sisters are gonna teach him. His dad Lives in Lakeside and that’s where he goes to church. We also taught the Hilldibrands. Niaya is 8 and had literally the deepest questions I’ve ever heard. I was like, brutha, how are you coming up with these questions. But I think we had good answers. She’s also on the spectrum and she’s a sweetheart. She gave us nicknames. Mine is Miss Nice, and Sister Heaton’s is Cutie. There’s also a mom, Liliana. And she has 12 yr old daughter, Adamaris, with disabilities. So basically everyone one here is special needs in some way shape or form. Which is kind of lit, ngl. But Liliana has a strong testimony, and she only got baptized like a month ago I think. I’m excited to see her continue to progress. There was another lady whose name is Maria. She walked an hour to the church Sunday so the Elders could give her a blessing. She is so faithful and doesn’t even know it. Elder Ure gave a pretty amazing blessing and the spirit was so strong. She shed a couple tears bc some things he said really impacted her. So that was really cool. On Saturday a lady called us asking if she could go to church. We found her a ride and she went to church! Her name is Kim. So hopefully we’ll see more of her. Overall I’m having so much fun. Life in Cali is a blast, and life on the mission is even more fun. We did a hike this morning with our district, which was so so fun. My district is pretty lit. This transfer is going to be so so much fun and we’re gonna have so so much work to do. I think that’s about all. Hope everyone’s had a wonderful week! Miss and love you all! 🩵
Kyla received her mission call back in March of 2024. Here is the video of her opening her call while at BYUI. I am bringing the blog back to life and will be posting Kyla’s missionary emails and photos. Kyla started her mission training on July 22 at home, entered the MTC on July 31, and made it to San Diego on August 14.
eagar4life 