Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Hola familia! Como estan?

Last week we went to the Dino Museum for a P-Day adventure. It was so much fun.. there really wasn't anything there... just a bunch of fake dinosaurs.. but we took a lot of pictures and just made it really fun. It was out of our area so we had to have a member drive us, and she took pictures too and posted them on Facebook.. I am tagged in them I know, so if you want to look they are there.

So I have a story, and it is a good one, but before I tell it, just know that as a companionship everything we do we do together... that includes taking responsibility for our mistakes..
Okay, now that you are slightly interested, here is my story:

One lovely Tuesday night (the day before exchanges so Hermana Magnusson was still my companion) we went to the church and the Branch threw my companion a farewell party. BUT! There was no ice cream.. and everyone wanted some ice cream. SO President Parks gave us his debit card and told us to go buy some ice cream.. he also gave us his PIN. It was a big moment, he is so rich. So we drive to Albertsons and bought everyone Klondike bars... it was like 40 dollars worth of ice cream... he had told us to go all out... so we did. Then as we were purchasing this super expensive ice cream Hermana Magnusson says, "no! let me put in the pin.. it's a pride thing" So, I let her put in the pin. Then we happily got back into the car and started heading back to the church. Then Hermana Magnusson starts talking about how she is going to set up one of the Elders who just went home with one of her friends.. she got so excited she missed the road we were supposed to take. So she quick turned into the closest parking lot right next to the road. She wanted to find an outlet so we could get on the right road. I pointed and told her, "you can turn right there" then she said, "but it says right turn only" then I said, remembering all of the times my parents had done this and even once my father saying exactly these words, "those signs are just for traffic control".... Yeah I said that... get your laughs out now because here comes the best part... don't worry mom... she said, "you're right my parents do that all the time too" and she pulled up to the street. There was a break in the cars so we headed out into the street turning left... The median was invisible until about 1/2 a second before we hit it. Then we went flying. It was really a Hot Rod moment... super fun. We caught air, and a lot of it. BUT! We ended up on the side of the road we wanted to be on. We pulled over to look at the car. We lost a hub cap (like it's gone we went back to look for it and couldn't find it), bent three rims (popping two tires) and put a crack straight through the middle of our sensor. Of course, we weren't very observant at first. One tire was so obviously popped, but the rest we couldn't see, so we said a prayer and headed back to the church. We made it fine and finished our party and everyone loved the ice cream. There were left overs so we put them in the freezer to pick up Sunday after church. Then after we had to put our spare on the car... got that done and headed out. As we were heading back home we felt something funny and we heard something funny so we pulled over to re-check the car and sure enough, the other tire was popped. We didn't have another spare so we made some calls and that night we did planning in the car waiting for the Elders to come and bring us another spare. We got home at 10:30... so late. Since then we have been into PepBoys twice, and we have to take it to a body shop as well, BUT THE WORST PART!! Sunday we went to grab the ice cream... and someone had stolen it. That is what we get I guess. Anyways, like I said earlier, mom, don't worry. We are fine. I feel awful that they have to spend so much money to fix it, but we are fine.

This week was so crazy! So we had transfers and this is how it all laid out: Me and my new companion Hermana Howe live with Hermana Stuber and someone else. Her companion doesn't fly in until tonight... so for the last week we have been a trio. Covering two very large areas. It was so hectic. Our miles for this week have flown out the window and we still have to drive all the way up to Redlands tomorrow in order to pick up her new companion. (That is a lie, while I was typing our President called us and told us he was bringing her down tonight... good thing we cleaned the apartment today) Craziness but hey, we are flexible. We only saw about 20 of our people this week and 20 of Hermana Stuber's people.. but once we are back in our area we should be able to get a lot more done.

We had a baptism on Sunday! Her name is Ana Melendez and she is the sweetest 13 year old. She has been wanting to be baptized since she turned 8 (her mom is a member) but her dad wouldn't give his permission because he wanted her to stay Catholic. As missionaries we need written permission from both parents to baptize someone over 8 and under 18... so she has been taught by the missionaries for years, but no one could baptize her. I get here and start teaching her and I love her so much! So finally me and my companion said enough is enough, and we got her baptized. Keep praying for her and her family. It was so infuriating that her dad didn't come to her baptism. I never realized how lucky I was that my dad was worthy to baptize me. During her baptism it just hit me and I started crying because, Dad, thank you so much for being worthy to baptize me, you will never know how precious that is to me.

We got to volunteer at the Braille Institute again this week and I was able to finish painting by birdhouse that I made! I love it so much it is so cute. I love serving the people there. They are so fun.

Last Friday we were able to go to a Branch Family Home Evening and it was so fun! We got to play a game called fruit basket and I couldn't believe how long it had been since I got to play a game... wow it was so so much fun!

This week has been so much fun! I am loving it here and I love the people here. I also have a deep respect for the Spanish culture and the language as well. My new companion isn't fluent like Hermana Magnusson was, so I have a feeling we are going to be learning a lot of Spanish these next 4 weeks... I can feel it in my bones.

The Spirit is so strong right now. I feel it all the time and I come home mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted which is good because then I know I am working hard. We are doing a lot of work here in this area and I can see the hand of the Lord in everything we do. There is no place I would rather be and I am just so excited to be here and to have this opportunity. I love my mission. Thank you so much for all of your support.. It means the world to me!

Love Hermana Eardley

P.S. I got a possible update on my visa... sort of. My mission President from Panama emailed me and said welcome to the mission and told me to be prepared because the mission is awesome... they haven't told me anything yet, but maybe they know something that I don't. Who knows.

from left to right: Hermana Stuber, me, and my new companion Hermana Howe

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