Elder Andrew Pena:

August 4th, 2008
This week was great again!!! So on Wednesday I drove down to Visalia with a member which was really good. It took like 2 hours but it was awesome. I met my new comp who is six four and 260 lbs. and played starting defensive end for Bunknell for two years before he came out on his mission. He is 20 and has been out for 6 months. He is really awesome so it has been great. Our two wards that we are covering here in Visalia are 4th and 6th ward and we are doing a ward fast for the 6th ward and we have a family fasting each day of the month and already we are being blessed in this area! I came in and we went and taught a few people and it went good. We tracted into a less active family, the Jasso family and we went in and taught them. She has 4 boys and 1 girl it was really good. So crazy story... ok so on Thursday Brother Jones comes and picks us up for dinner and we drive over to his home for dinner and we go inside and I immediately look over and see this girl and in my mind go WHAT!!! She looks identical to someone I graduated with!!!! I was freaking out in my mind but I didn't say anything I waited to see if she knew who I was. Anyways the guy she was with asked our names and I said my name and she is like "WHAT YOU GRADUATED FROM REXBURG!" I was like yeah, and it was SOOOO WEIRD but her name is like Elyss Jones. I hope I spelled it right but I had a couple of classes with her in high school and it was just really weird and crazy! Then on Saturday we were tracting and you know everyone is so nice like usual and finally we get to this door and it was actually the father of the person we were supposed to have an appointment with. We start talking and we taught him the entire first lesson on the doorstep and he just agrees with everything we are saying. He just says yeah uh huh yep right, and so we were like this is great!!! So we say we actually have evidence that you can hold in your hands and read it and we say have you heard of the Book of Mormon before? And immediately he runs inside and was like noooo noo no no no and we were like what? He was like, you are Jehovah Witnesses and we say no, we aren't. He just shook his head and walked inside!!! I was so ticked! Man I was like all that for nothing!!! This stinks and I'm getting all ticked off and complaining and saying to my comp "what just happened?" We stayed outside for like 5 minutes to get a drink and went to this last door and we knock and ask for the parents and so the mom comes to the door and she says "yeah I've talked to missionaries before" and she said when she lived in Orange County that missionaries stopped by and set up and appointment and NEVER CAME BACK!!! I was like are ya serious!! So we gave her another Book of Mormon and she said she would love for us to come back and our family is really looking for a religion and so is her husband and her husband is really into his ancestors. So we set up a date so we are going by on Friday and she has four kids!!! She said if she joined a church it would either be ours or he Jehovah Witnesses because we are the only ones that do missionary work that she thought was really cool!!! Haha so its a good thing we got there first!! So I'm excited!! Those are some crazy stories that have been happening!!! So yeah missions are still great! I bore my testimony yesterday it was good! We cover two wards so 4th ward sac starts at 9 and 6th starts at 11 so we are there till about 2 or 3 o'clock and my companion is the district leader again so I'll be learning this area fast again because he goes on exchanges with all the elders in our area! Its good for me to get to know the area quick. My comp also had to go to meeting while I was at church so I had to run an MCM by myself when I have been here for 4 days and I haven't even taught anyone on the MCM progress record so it was rough but also a good experience. The members are great! I love the work. I got two packages this week and some letters so its good and I haven't had time to read all my letters so they are still sitting in the box!!! Haha tell Zach and Ty I miss them too! Eli thanks for wearing my tie!:) I noticed because all the stains on it! :) and I hope all is going well for everyone I miss and love you all talk to you next week!:) Elder Peña