Sister Jessica Garfield California San Fernando Mission

Hello everyone! Surprise! They moved our P-day to Thursday this week and didn't tell us until Sunday night. To any of those who felt abused, neglected, or forgotten, I apologize. ; ) That's not the only surprise of the week for me though. On Wednesday of last week, I got a call from the mission president saying that there was going to be an emergency transfer. Sister Flinders got sent up to Hollywood, my last area, and I am now training Sister Semenyuk! It was a crazy day of unexpected packing and a whole lot of driving, but we're all settled now. Sister Semenyuk is from Kazakhstan and Russia. She is 23 and is learning English, and she's doing a super great job. It's so much fun to serve with her! I've been having fun teaching her a lot of things about America like how to order at a fast food restaurant and what the Super Bowl is. It's been a really cool experience so far, and it's just another witness to me that the Lord really does guide our tran...

Hey everyone!  This week was so good! This area is super great - there are a lot more neighborhoods and open complexes, and the people here are soooo much friendlier than in Hollywood. We've had a lot of success just trying to contact formers and people with interest from the past, because we've been going by, talking to them or whoever answers the door, maybe knocking a few doors nearby, and talking to everyone we possibly can on the street. And Sister Flinders is so great! This is her first week, but she already has a really good idea of what she's doing. She works really hard and has an incredible ability to follow the Spirit. I'm super impressed with her. Favorite Spiritual Thought: 2 Nephi 10:24 " Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved." I read through ...

Howdy! Transfers are tomorrow, and it looks like I'll be saying farewell to Hollywood. I'm heading off to a place called Westchester, in the Inglewood zone. I've never been there, and don't know tons about it, but I've heard good things. (Fun fact about Inglewood: the Savex lip balm that my family uses so obsessively is actually made there, haha.) Something super fun about it is that I'll be in the same zone as Sister Pinter for her last transfer! It also looks like I'll be whitewashing again, because I am training a new Sister. I'll meet her tomorrow. Sister Howard is also training (and so is Sister Pinter, haha); she gets to train a Sister from Kazakhstan who can be her new Russian-speaking companion! I know that she'll do a great job. : ) As much as we've struggled with this area, I think that I will miss it more than I expected. Sister Howard has been an amazing companion. I've learned so much from her. We may not have had tons of s...

Hey everybody! I think there's a quote from Mark Twain or someone like that which goes something like, "The coldest winter I ever knew was a summer in San Francisco." Well, brothers and sisters, that is definitely not the case for me, seeing as I grew up in Utah and am serving a little further south, in Los Angeles. But I do think I can honestly say that the wettest weather I've ever experienced has been a mission in sunny California. It has rained so much this winter! I mean, it's nothing in comparison to the rain Sister Howard is used to, being from Washington, but I've never seen this much water in the streets in my life. Our parking pond just keeps getting bigger and bigger. ; ) The nice thing about it though is that right after it rains, it's actually really pretty here since you can see the sky! Honestly, it's a lot of fun since it still isn't constant. But it's definitely different than what I'm used to, haha. Favorite Script...

Good morning everyone! Just as some background to the title of this email, the Church of Scientology has like six buildings within our ward boundary (probably because we're in Hollywood and everyone is super weird here. ; ). The ward actually has a number of jokes about it, to be honest. Also, Church Headquarters announced about two weeks ago that Sister Missionaries are now allowed to wear slacks for proselyting. Sister Howard and I got our first pair last P-day, and went out in them on Tuesday. Just for the record, it is soooo nice. Anyway, we were having a combined lesson with the Elders first thing in the morning, and we beat them to the place we were meeting. The first thing the Elders said when they got out of the car and saw us was "Whoa, y'all look like scientologists." So I guess there are both pros and cons to this change. ; ) Scripture/Spiritual Thought: Studying from the new Come, Follow Me manual this week was so cool! It is so amazing to see the ha...

OOPS!  This is the letter and pictures from last week!   Happy New Year Everyone!  This week was a little funny because our bathroom was under construction  for more than half of it, and they're not even done quite yet. We are so grateful for the ASL Sisters for being willing to take us in for a couple of nights so we could use their shower. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them too!  Favorite Scripture: Romans 5:5-8 "5 ... the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I read this and immediately thought of the hymn "I Stand All Amazed." Each of us has made mistakes. Each of us contributed to the pain tha...