Harbor City Week 16

Hola!

Happy to say that my wounds are recovering slowly but surely, and pretty soon I'll be able to walk around without a limp and only wear an ace bandage around my wrist instead of a brace.

I'm pointing and frowning
because i got posole broth
all down my white shirt while we
were on exchanges because
of my wrist brace and
not being used to eating with it yet
haha

The Lord is helping me to heal quickly and I know that all of the prayers and well-wishes helped too :) Thank you so much for all of your love and concern...I can definitely feel it all the way here in LA

This week has been a crazy one as well, however we finally got our new license plates and so we are back in business with the car! I can't drive though until I have more mobility in my wrist, according to President Baker! This came about because of a rather funny story actually....involving me driving and a bloody nose.

So, I was driving and everything was going fine. I figured I could drive with the brace on because I could hold the steering wheel with both hands and all was well. As we were driving I reached up to scratch my nose, the next thing I know, I have blood dripping down my face. Bloody nose time! And so, I grabbed my nose with my good hand leaving my crippled wrist to do the driving/pull over so that my companion could drive.  Come to find out, I couldn't really turn the wheel to the right with the brace on.  My companion had to grab the wheel and steer us into the Target parking lot where we switch up.  We finish driving to our appointment. Where, when they opened the door I just ran into our bathroom to take care of my nose. Seriously. Sometimes I feel like I am falling apart! Haha

Surprise, I cut my hair!! A whole 10 inches are GONE! You will be able to see in the pictures I sent from our multi-zone BBQ today. I really like it, it's cute and lot lighter/cooler. But, I miss my hair...oh well. It will be all nice and long by the time I get home anyway :)

Sister Snyder and Hensley. True to the faith we will ever stand.

As for our investigators, Mxxxxx asked if we could move his baptismal date to the 11th of August because he was work on the 4th, we agreed and he's progressing still really well. The members here have been really reaching out to him. He's been invited to have the lessons at their homes, they sit with him at church, and it seems like he is talking to so many people after church we never get to see him.  Oh, how he enjoys services :) it's a very wonderful thing to see the ward working together with the missionaries to move the Lord's work forward.

Sister Johansen and Hensley. 
Forever friends bound by service.
I don't know the lurking Elder. Dad

Another miracle is that we are now teaching Txx's niece, Pxx. She sat in on a few lessons when we were teaching Txx before his baptism.  She had even asked us for a copy of the Book of Mormon once, but we thought it was just so she could follow along. Now, she is asking us more and more questions, goes to YW activities, comes to church, and wants us to teach her so that she can learn as well :) It's just a testament to me to see how when one person decides to enter the waters of baptism, it doesn't just affect them, but it affects their whole family and generations to come. Txx sets a wonderful example for her and they even read from the Book of Mormon together sometimes during the week. It's been such a blessing to see the Gospel strengthening their family. The ripple affect - it's true!!

We are also teaching a man named Cxxxx now. He's an interesting character, comes from a military background and we are still learning how to read and understand him. But I am confident that as we follow the Spirit and listen we will be able to discern his needs and true motivations as we continue to teach him. He came to church this week for the first time and said that he had an extremely positive experience, more so than he had when he attended LDS church services 10 or so years ago :) So he's off to a pretty great start. We will see how things continue with him, and with the help of the ward, I think his life is going to change for the better. 

Well, that's about all for this week! I love you all - and thanks again for your kind thoughts and prayers over the last week <3

Sister Hensley

It all started with a license plate

WARNING: This message contains graphic images not suitable for children.

Well, this email probably won't be horribly long because it hurts to type....and I'll tell you why.

 

It all started with a license plate.

 

Which was stolen on Thursday off of the back of our Corolla while parked in our space at the apartment complex. We called the mission office reported it stolen. We are still waiting for our new plates...but in the meantime we couldn't drive our car because, well, the registration is gone and that would be illegal.

 

It was all good because we had our bikes and the weather has been rather nice so we were prepared and ready. The only problem was that the next day we had to go to a bunch of missionary meetings and needed a car. So, we carpooled with some elders, stuck our bikes on the back of their car and eventually they dropped us off right by our 1st appointment. That went well.

Then it happened

I was biking, in the lead, headed to our next appointment. I was coming down one of the main roads here and was on the asphalt because the sidewalk was pretty uneven. Towards the bottom of this GIANT hill, the sidewalk started to even out so I decided to get out of the street. Then - WHAM - the next thing I know I'm on the ground, bleeding profusely and can't move my left wrist. Sister Snyder was right behind me, but luckily didn't wreck or run me over, and helped pull my bike off and me and get me over onto the sidewalk. Apparently there was a giant crack in the road where they had laid a cable and my front tire went into it, my back tired fishtailed behind me, and i went flying into the air. By now, I'm in shock but not crying because I literally have no idea what happened (my companion had to fill me in) Then the pain started. We called our district leaders, they came over to pick us and the bikes up and take us back to the apartment.  We reported the accident to the mission president's wife.  She takes care of things like this and got me in to see a doctor.  I couldn't move my wrist without being in extreme pain.  While we waited to know where to go, me being the makeup artist I HAD to take pictures.... 

Anyway. So, to make a long story short, the elders gave me a blessing, I went to urgent care and got x-rayed (no fractures or breaks, just deep soft tissue damage) they sterilized my wounds and sent me on my way 

I have to wear a wrist brace for 1 week, and then just be careful with it after that and I have to keep my knees clean so they can heal. Well, I've never had such deep woundage before, and so we called some of our recent converts, a couple who both work for the hospital in the ER.  Once at their house we learned they specialize in wound care, how convenient.  After church Sunday they cleaned and bandaged me up properly.

Now my knees look like mummies. I'm banged up, bruised and sore, but I'm alright. Heavenly Father really protected me. The doctors all said that I'm extremely lucky it could have been much worse. The Lord is good :) And, on the bright side, when the AP's (Assistants to the President) heard that I crashed my bike and we didn't have a car, they pulled some strings and got approval for us to us to borrow a car from another set of missionaries until we get plates on ours. How nice, huh?? We were worried about how we would get to our appointments there for a while. Because I can't walk horribly far/fast without being in pain...but the Lord always provides a way!

Ok. I guess I lied about this email not being long. I'm mostly typing with my right hand, so it's slower than usual but I guess I'm still long-winded, even when I'm slow :)

 

On a brighter note - our investigators/recent converts are doing great!!! Txx is going to be interviewed to receive the Aaronic priesthood next week, Mxxxxx came to church on Sunday even though we had to cancel our lesson Friday b/c I wrecked my bike and was in Urgent Care, And he is still on track to be baptized on the 4th of August! Ahh he's so excited, and prepared. Seriously we sit in lessons with him and I just want to throw in the towel and tell him, you teach me - he's great.

 

Another small miracle was that Nxxxx and her 3 year old son Bxxxx FINALLY came to church after a month or so of invitations, and we found some great new people that we are working with.

Even when life gives you a crappy week - the Lord still finds a way to bless you and make it all better :)

 

Now, I'm going to write president and take some Advil :)

Love y'all!!!

Sister Hensley

Harbor City Week 14

I love it here in Harbor City, and that the Lord is SO good to us when we are obedient! The blessing have been pouring out from heaven lately in this area. It's a testimony to me that the Lord is preparing people everywhere to accept His Gospel.

There were many miracles this week, one of which is my companion. Sister Snyder is wonderful, hardworking, patient and excited to do the work. It's a blessing to be her companion.

Sister Hensley and Sister Snyder

This week our investigator, Txx, was baptized.

It's the first person on my mission that I have taught from the very beginning who had decided to join the church. Needless to say, I got a little emotional at the service, but not too bad :) He asked me if I would sing "The Lord is My Shepherd" since it's his favorite scripture and he heard me sing with another Elder at another baptism. Oh man was I nervous! Let me tell you. But, Sister Snyder said that it sounded beautiful so I'm just going to trust her on that one. The most special part of the baptismal service for me was that Txx shared his testimony. His English was broken, his words got a little jumbled up, but the Spirit was definitely there. Throughout the testimony he kept saying, "wow" and how grateful he was to Heavenly Father and to us the missionaries for coming to teach him. He also shared that he couldn't wait to partake of the sacrament on Sunday, because before he was baptized he never took it (by his own choice) and now he knows what it means to him and so he was looking forward to it. Yet another testimony to me of how, when we are truly converted, nothing will stand in the way between us and the covenants that we make to our Heavenly Father. Then, on Sunday, he was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost by our Bishop. Txx walked into the chapel wearing a white shirt, tie and dress pants for the first time and my heart just leaped for joy to see him there. I could serve a thousand missions off of the spiritual high that I received that day. The Lord is just absolutely wonderful.

We also had some amazing experiences with Mxxxxx this week - the highlight being when we went to the visitor's center.

I love anytime that we get to go and be on the temple grounds and feel of the Spirit there. You don't have to go inside to know that it truly is the House of the Lord. We decided to go there and take a tour of the temple grounds because during one of our lessons this past week he told us that he's always seen the LA temple, but has never been there. However, one of the reasons that he is most excited about getting baptized is that one day he will be able to go inside the temple and feel of the spirit of the Lord. Amazing, right? So, we went with Mxxxxx and toured the temple grounds. Then we went inside the VC (Visitor's Center) and watched the movie "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration" and talked about how we wouldn't be able to have the ordinances of the temple if the Gospel hadn't been restored. Oh man, was my testimony strengthened that day. You know, I've seen that movie many times, but as we were sitting there with Mxxxxx it really hit me how grateful I am for the restored gospel. How grateful I am that I have a loving Heavenly Father who loves me SO much, that he called a prophet in these latter-days to establish His church and provide us with everything that we need to know in order to be able to gain eternal life and salvation. And how grateful I am for my Savior, Jesus Christ, because without him, there wouldn't be anything to restore in the first place. It's wonderful how the Spirit can touch our hearts from time to time, even when we are least expecting it. Mxxxxx had a wonderful time and he told us how he just "feels at home" whenever he comes to church, reads from the Book of Mormon, and prays. Ah! the Lord is so good.

I love you all! and am running short on time. But the Gospel is true!!!

Hope to hear from you all soon,

Sister Hensley

Harbor City Week 13

Buenas Dias!

Wow. Transfers always seem like the craziest time in the mission. Pair them up with the 4th of July and you've got quite an exciting week :D The day before transfers I stayed with the Spanish sisters down in San Pedro and then the next morning went back to Harbor City to wait for my new companion...SISTER SNYDER! She's awesome. She's from St. George, has a tons of siblings, is 6 feet tall, blond, and has only been on her mission for 5 months.


Sister Snyder on the left.

That means that this transfer I became the senior companion! I know - crazy huh? And so on transfer day I had to pick up some other elders and we all went up to Santa Monica for leadership training and were there until late in the afternoon. And since the 4th can be a slightly dangerous holiday we had to be in our apartments by 7pm. We got back into our area just in time to go to our dinner appointment and then head back to the apartment. Which is weird because we had a whole day without any missionary work.

I'm learning a lot things about myself now that Sister Malani is gone. Like, I know the area a lot better than I thought I did, the people in the ward actually like me, and that the Lord trusts me and has blessed me with a companion who is excited and ready to learn and grow and serve. Truly this week has been one full of blessings and miracles.

First off, we have a baptism this Saturday! Txx is being baptised! He truly has progressed so much in the past few weeks. He hasn't had any cigarettes for 2.5 weeks, he reads from the scriptures daily, prays daily, comes to church and actively participates, keeps all of his appointments with us, and has a true testimony of the Book of Mormon. The most amazing thing I've seen change, is his countenance. It seems like every time we go over for a lesson with him he is just beaming. IN fact, they announced his baptism in church this Sunday over the pulpit and when he stood up he had the biggest smile on his face - he was so happy. And throughout the meetings that day people kept coming to him and saying how happy they were for him to be baptised. It's going to be a great service

Mxxxxx is also progressing really well. This week he told us that he prayed about his baptismal date and that even though the 28th is right around the corner...it's ok because he's ready and he wants a new clean start so why wait? He's facing a lot of opposition from his family - he's African American and so a lot of his family members have a real problem with him joining the church.  They have many misconceptions about how the church treats other races and cultures. Mxxxxx though has a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel, and has been defending his testimony to his family. It's going to be hard when he's baptised.  His family has pretty much told him that he won't be welcome in their homes anymore, but he has LDS friends that are reaching out to him, and also the ward is starting too as well. In fact, we had a really great experience when a member came with us to a lesson with him yesterday. This member is a recently returned missionary and he and Mxxxxx got along really well. In fact, Mxxxxx even asked us for his number afterwards so that he could ask him more questions! It's so great to see when member and investigators bond, especially because as missionaries, we change. You never know when we are going to be around. But the members will always be there. SO yes. Mxxxxx is doing SO so well and preparing for baptism. In fact, funny story, after our lesson with him on Tuesday we assigned him to read Mosiah 16:6-10. But when he wrote it down he wrote Mosiah 6-10 instead. And you know what, even though he thought it seemed like a lot of reading - he read it all! all 4 chapters! And highlighted verses and had questions for us. He is elect. The Lord has such great things in store for him, I can just feel it.

Well, I think that's all of the majorly exciting things that happened this week :) The work is good and the church is true!

I love you all!
Sister Hensley

Harbor City Week 12

Well Hello Everyone!

I'm still in Harbor City today but transfers are on Wednesday so I'll find out what's happening to me tomorrow night. I'm almost 100% sure that I won't be going anywhere, since Sister Malani is being transferred to Fiji and they probably won't white wash the ward again. ("white wash" is a slang term used when both missionaries are transferred out of an area and new ones are transferred in) I do feel like some sort of change will be happening though, so I'll be sure to let you know what happens next week. Whatever the case may be, I know that the Lord is behind the decision and he will help me be able to handle whatever is next in store for me :)

I've been reflecting this week a lot on how much of a roller-coaster ride the mission is. It seems like things are either going really well, or things are really tough. And this week has been the week full of polar opposites. First, Sister Malani got really dehydrated and super pale and weak and we had to stay in for one day. And then, the next day we didn't really have any appointments and so we had to go out finding all day. Days like that are tough, but can be rewarding :) Either way they are physically demanding and on top of her recovering from her severe dehydration that day was a tough day. Just when we were about to the end of our rope things just started to pick up. In fact, they picked up so much and so fast we were a little overwhelmed with how good Heavenly Father was to us that day. Let me tell you about it :)

First off, did I tell you that we lost the phone? Well, we did a few weeks ago and so we were phone-less for about a week. When we were finally able to get a new phone, it didn't have any contact information in it, except for the missionaries in the mission. And so, when we received a message from an unknown number asking when they could meet with us, Sister Malani and I were rather surprised. Especially since this was a new number. When we asked who it was, it turned out to be a potential investigator named M*****. We were able to set up an appointment with him and we met on Friday. What a tender mercy, let me tell you. He's in his mid-twenties and he told us that the copy of The Book of Mormon that he has is the same one that he was given when he was 15 years old. Although he hasn't read from it in a very long time, he's taken good care of it. Then, he asked us who Joseph Smith was, and so we were able to teach him about the restoration of the Gospel. After we taught, we asked him what it would mean to him to come to know that all of these things were true. He said his life wouldn't change too much, but that it would be better. The Spirit was so strong that we invited him to be baptized! You know what? He said yes! Then he told us that ever since he received that copy of the Book of Mormon he felt like this is where he belonged, and where he would find the most happiness. But, back then when his mom found out he was reading the Book of Mormon she threatened to kick him out of the house if he continued to learn from the missionaries. He is older now and if he gets kicked out he can get his own apartment, and while he's apprehensive because he won't have any support from him family, and may even be disowned he wants to move forward and prepare to be baptized at the end of July.

Next, we went over to teach a lesson to a recent convert, and his non-member sister and her husband were visiting from Mexico! It turns out that they have had the missionaries over to their house, but have only had them over once, maybe twice over the years. We asked them if they would like to join us for the lesson, and they did! His sister even said the prayer! It was a really great experience. Even better, was that we invited them to come to church on Sunday and they did! Even if they choose not to formally listen to the missionaries at this time, they were able to feel the Spirit of God and have their lives touched while they were here on vacation. Pretty sweet huh?

AND THEN to top it all off we had a wonderful lesson with J**! We met and talked about the Holy Ghost and how Heavenly Father has been involved in his life every since he was a little kid and we invited him to be baptized! He also accepted and is working towards a date at the beginning of August. As you can see, we were pretty overwhelmed that day by how great Heavenly Father was to us. It's just a testament to me that when we are obedient and try our hardest to do what is asked of us and work in the Lords way, we will be blessed. I'm looking forward to this next transfer and seeing how else the Lord will work with us as we help these people grow in their testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Don't forget to pray and read your scriptures every day! It's like putting on your spiritual armor - "The Armor of God" - without it the world is able to beat you down during the day :( and since nobody wants that, make sure that you prepare yourself to fend of whatever the adversary sends you way.

I love you all tons and hope to hear from you soon!

Sister Hensley

Harbor City Week 11

Why hello everyone!

This week has been a great one. The awesome thing that happened to us missionaries since my last letter is that we had a general authority come to visit the mission! Elder Paul V Johnson and his wife came and spoke to us on Friday. He's a member of the 1st quorum of the 70 and has been working within the church educational system and whatnot. He spoke to us about teaching spiritual truths, and how those we teach can only learn spiritual truths by the Spirit. It was a really great afternoon. Our mission president also spoke to us about the Holy Ghost and about how we truly can rely on him in our missionary work. It really had a positive affect on my companioship. We have new and renewed motivation to go out and do the work! It's amazing how hearing how much faith and love our leaders have for us will really add to a companionship.

Unfortunately we weren't able to see J** this week. His brother unexpectedly passed away and so he had to go out of town. But he should be giving us a call either today or tomorrow, that's exciting.

Well, since it's only been a few days since I wrote, that's about all I have to report. Today for preparation day we were able to go to a member's house...well...his mansion...and play tennis and ping pong and do some bowling. it was pretty great. But the best part was the view of the sea/harbor from outside. Sister Malani and I took some pictures :)

Love you all!
Sister Hensley

Harbor City Week 10

Bula Everyone!

The sun in Calif. is so bright.

Wow. It's funny because on Temple P-days I should have a ton of things to say because I haven't emailed in 10 days instead of 7, but for some reason my mind is always blank. Maybe it's because I was just in the temple and so I just feel all calm and peaceful on the inside. The temple makes any day a little bit more beautiful :)

     

This past Sunday we had stake conference here in the Palos Verdes stake, and us missionaries were invited to sing in the choir. It's so nice to be able to participate in a choir again! Ah I just loved it. And, I've always been able to feel the spirit well through music,  so being able to sing  was especially wonderful that Sunday. It gave me the peace I needed for that day. The talks were great - in fact - our mission president and his wife spoke about having faith and doing missionary work, it was great.

     
Oh and something exciting that I will get to talk about next Monday is that on Friday we are having a general authority come to the mission and speak to us! I don't remember his name but he's a member of the 70 that's over this region. So we'll get to here what the first presidency and everyone really wants conveyed to us missionaries. Being able to go to the temple just a few days before has been a wonderful way to prepare for his visit. I"ll be sure to take lots of notes :)
    
We were able to teach a man this week named Joe, who was someone that the Spanish-speaking sisters met on the street a few weeks back. He works as a longshoreman down at the harbor and so his work schedule is kind of erratic - but we were able to teach him last Wednesday and it was wonderful. He said that he knows that he's searching for something, but he just doesn't know what it is. And that he feels like God brought us to him at this time so that we could help him find it. Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Heavenly Father is so good to us missionaries sometimes (well...all the time)

Current Zone at the Temple.

   
Love you all! Sorry this weeks it's kind of short....
Sister Hensley