But basically:

-Life is good.

-The weather is fabulous.

-No more fires (for now).

-We are teaching some great people. I can't wait to have more time to tell you about them!

-California is beautiful.

-Al from the Netherlands is getting baptized this Saturday! And guess who gets to sing a special musical number again? ;)

Love,

Sister B

What a week, what a week.

 

Last Monday we had Zone Activity at a park in Escondido with the coolest animal statues. There were orange trees growing next to these local museums, a derailed train (part of a museum) and a bunch of homeless people lounging beneath the trees. Sometimes I look around and realize how weird California is.

 

The big drama of this week were all of the wildfires. Our mission was hit hard with a bunch of different fires, one of them in my town! San Marcos was half-charred by the Cocos Fire on Wednesday and Thursday. Luckily we were not evacuated, and the members of our ward were fine, but the YSA sisters who live about five minutes away weren't allowed in their apartment from Wednesday night to Saturday.

 

I was on an exchange in Escondido on Wednesday. Right before the exchange we saw a HUGE billow of smoke on the horizon. It was a little freaky, but we knew that California has a lot of fires because of how dry it is, so we figured something was yet again on fire and it would all soon be under control.

That night in Escondido it smelled really heavily of smoke. Some sisters in our zone were evacuated to our apartment to spend the night, so we spent the last part of the night blitzing our area (two sets of missionaries, one area). There was ash in the air and everyone was talking about all of the fires.

The next day was even worse. We woke up in the morning and thought it would be clear, but when we went out for the day after studies, all of Escondido was covered in smoke. We went to a lunch appointment and ended up listening to the news of all of the different fires in the San Diego area. There were mushroom clouds of smoke all over and we smelled like a barbecue wherever we went.

 

In San Marcos the smoke had cleared but the flames on the hills were clearly visible. I couldn't get over how quickly the fire moved or how much of the hillside it had burned. I think that the San Marcos fire was one of the most destructive, burning over 1,000 acres of land and a few houses.  We watched helicopters and airplanes fly back and forth over our head all day; the smoke from that fire lasted until the weekend.

 

Besides that drama, we've had a marvelous week. We've met a lot of new, awesome people and heard some interesting stories. We've been working hard and been reaching a lot of our goals, which is so satisfying. I'm really enjoying working in San Marcos!

All I can say is, "just keep swimming." If you keep working, miracles will follow. Keep doing what God wants you to do. One of our investigators, which we just handed off to the elders, decided yesterday that he's going to get baptized in two weeks. I am so happy to be here and to be a part of this work!

 

Love,

Sister B

This week has been pretty nondescript, if I'm being honest. We met some new people, went to some meetings, ate some food. Sister Saxton found out that she has bronchitis again, which led to us going pretty slow as far as the work goes. 

We did find some really, really pretty views and cool houses as we explored our area more. Although San Marcos isn't exactly right by the coast (bummer), if you get high enough into the hills you are bound to get a view of the Pacific and a nice breeze off of the ocean. 

Seriously. Paradise.

We also visited some senior communities, some sweet backyards, had a conference call with the entire mission, and saw some awesome antique collections.

I'm learning every day, and I feel like the picture of my mission is slowly falling into place for me, piece by piece. I've learned that most often that is how Heavenly Father reveals His vision to us: piece by piece, line upon line, precept upon precept. When I exercise the faith to actively wait upon Him, He blesses me with greater knowledge and understanding, which in turn lightens my burdens.

I love you all! Thank you for building me up and supporting me throughout this journey. You are the best family in the world.

Love,

Sister B