Back to the Future

HOWDY FOLKS 

This week was pretty solid, just a typical quarantine missionary life week. I am gaining a lot of respect for the missionaries who are going on 3 months in their house, I'm only at 4 weeks and it's pretty difficult.  BUT, it's been a great learning experience, I'm getting a lot better at doing missionary work online, I'm learning patience, etc. I'm thriving. 

We started teaching a less active member named Guisel this week!  She hasn't been to church in a really long time but we reached out to her and she expressed a desire to strengthen her relationship with God.  She's been making progress, and we're hoping we can start teaching her boyfriend who isn't a member. 

We also did a video call with an awesome member family. They have 2 kids, a 7 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. I asked them what they like to do, and the boy said he liked to watch movies. I then asked what his favorite movie was and he paused and thought, then said, "Probably Back to the Future." I died laughing and then his sister said, "No pick one that doesn't have so many bad words!" He settled on "Cars" in the end, it was quite the funny experience. 

We sometimes go to the chapel to do video lessons or call people, just to get a change of scenery. This week we went and saw no less than 7 homeless people just camped out all over the church parking lot and sidewalks, it was pretty sad. It's like I'm back in Portland, it's sure a blast from the past. 

There have been some pretty wild protests and riots out here in Long Beach due to the racial tension that has erupted in America. Another blast to my past life in Ecuador when we were stuck inside for 2 weeks due to the national riots and problems. We're praying that it will all calm down soon, thankfully we're safe and haven't really seen anything, just heard from others. 

Our highlight of the week was our mission wide Zoom call with Kevin W. Pearson, who is our Area President. He just really opened up and gave us some really good insights, some things that I really needed to hear. Here are just a few things. 

- I was called to serve at THIS time for a reason, it's not just a coincidence. Heavenly Father has a plan for me in this place and in this time. 

- If we set a goal, we have to take MASSIVE ACTION, do whatever it takes to achieve it. We can't be halfhearted. 

- When we set goals, we should determine the obstacles that could come and then figure out how to overcome them. 

It was so awesome, I learned a lot. He also invited us to memorize 50-100 scriptures from the standard works. I've already got 7 down, it's been really rewarding. I recite them all from memory every day, in English and Spanish, to make sure I don't forget them. Overall a really uplifting meeting, I loved it. 

That's all I got this week!  Hope you all are well, say your prayers and stay safe! 

Elder Spangler