The California Mission Blog

04 August 2013

Joy!! I have found that joy is in all things!! I have a strong testimony of Joy and that if I do things with joy others will feel the truth!  If I have joy they will too and if I am happy they are happy, if they are happy I am so much happier then I could ever imagine. I know you can love a stranger because I know that we are not strangers.We are equal we our royal brothers and sister, sons and daughters of God!! I know that, I truly do. And that's what I want to share with the World!!! The joy I have. I picture them being baptized and that brings so much joy to my soul! If they chose not to they  are heard-hearted and that makes me sorry. But I know what I am doing out here is what I need to be doing. It is what I want for the next two years!  That's it! It has already been a month, and in that month I just realized that it is just about joy. That joy is what our Heavenly Father wants for us since he loves us so much. He has done so much more then is imaginable. I wish I could love someone as much as he loves 7 billion people plus more. He is all amazing!! I can not praise him enough!!  And our Savior Jesus Christ is the perfect example. I was looking and he gave all the glory to God! All of it to His Father in Heaven, a perfect person who died and took all of our sins upon him, so that we could stand before God again and so we could be cleansed. And he did not give the credit to himself, that is amazing!!! I have a testimony in this. And I say those things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

Elder Rawson

29 July 2013

Read the Book of Mormon!! 

I am on Jacob 3.I started it when I first started my mission. (in field. I did not read it in the MTC,) Read the Book of Mormon! It is great. I bare my testimony of it everyday and I truly believe it, it is amazing. Truly. I have also been making lesson plans it is pretty legit and takes forever to look up all the scriptures but Its pretty legit just to be bringing Christ's love into the homes of our Heavenly Father's children. That's all:)

Love, 

Elder Rawson

28 July 2013

Good times,

 

As I was driving down the 10 to the Mission Office I had the windows down and the music blasting (with church approved hymns). It was pretty legit. The perks of P-day. 

Among this week there where many times where the hand of the Lord was placed in our lives. The latest happened last night. We where helping a man who had recently graduated Law School who is moving back to Utah with his family. We were bringing a couch and other big objects down to his car. After we where all done he decided that he wasn't going to need any of his food any more so he gave it to us. All of it. We did give a pie to a family in need, but it helped us because we don't have to buy anything this week.  He gave us toilet paper, napkins, food, just everything. It was a true blessing from the Lord. 

             Yesterday afternoon I was with my companion and a family came to a our mind. This is a family which we had knocked on their door and a woman was crying so we left. We didn't know their  situation because we had not been able to speak with them. So we went back to check up on them. To our surprise she was a Jew, and to make it even more interesting a Jew that believed in Christ. We got into a discussion witch lasted over forty five long minutes, with me taking the lead in the conversation. She pulled out her Torah and I pulled out my Book of Mormon and it was the most friendly bash that has ever happened. I think she could tell I was a greenie and had pity on me but I felt like I was doing a pretty good job at saying the right things. And then we left and gave her a invitation to visit Mormon.org and gave her a card. She did not want our book and that was that.  

             Surprisingly I have not had any spicy food yet but we have been fed. Last night we had pasta. We have had tacos, and burritos and lost of different things. When I went out with my zone leader; who covers part of my area; (he is Spanish speaking so his areas and boundaries are different); we went out and the whole day I was just submerged in Spanish, all the Mexicans or Latinos kept telling me to learn and I was like "SI" since that's all the vocab I know. But as we where tracking we would take every other door and on every door that I knocked on there was a man who opened it in his underwear. My Zone leader was just cracking up the whole time. It was pretty great. Not going to lie. 

               Jacob* is our only investigator who is a boy, he is 18 and he really opens up to me since we are the same age and all. He is being baptized on the 11th of August and I taught him the Plan of Salvation at the pioneer day stake event it was lots of fun. They have had him for a while but he does not live within stake or ward boundaries and we can't go to his area at all during the day since there are gang problems that he got out of so they are allowing it to be out of bounds. Which is super nice since the ward here has supported and fellowshiped him in. 

            Rachel* is our newest investigator she has meet with the Korean elders 5 times but it seems like she is converting for the wrong reasons because she likes the Elders not like because she knows that this is the one true church and her only path to salvation. But we get to meet with her and are super excited about it for sure. 

              I have been doing wonderfully and all is well. Thanks for all the love and support that you all have given me. I love you all so very much, and I loved the pictures. I bought a bike for 100 bucks with a helmet lights and all besides the lock from a elder who for some reason had two, so I am set if the time comes that I need a bike which will most likely happen in a couple transfers if I am no longer with my trainer. Everyone who has been with Elder (Sam) Hawthorn has been a leader of some sort right after. I am the first person he has trained though so I feel like that is my future and I am excited I would love to train more then anything really.

              I love you all

            with all my love

             Elder Rawson

*name(s) changed

22 July 2013

13 July 2013

This week has been nice, we have been moving right along. We are still in finding mode for the most part, but last night we found and Saturday morning we got a self referral. Most of our people are less active people who want to start coming back to church. It really is all about the referrals and the ward. If it wasn't for the ward our numbers would be super down. I guess people just wouldn't stay because they need that support at the very front of the journey. So that's what we have been doing. This next week we go out and I go out a day with my District leader and then my Zone leader and then the next day I have an interview with my mission president and then district meeting on Friday, and then a Saturday full of finding and first appoioments with people we have tracked into. And then Sunday there is a baptism and that's my week for the most part. This last Sunday I did a talk on the Holy Ghost at some body else's baptism its been a busy week for the Adam s ward. We are covering the Wilshire and USC area. I love the USC area its a younger crowd for the most part but they seem open to the words we have to share with them. We are having dinner tonight with a newly converted family preparing to go through the temple next month. There is a man, Brother Ray, a recent convert,  we meet with him and he always feeds us chili dogs. and then we read and teach and answer basic or deep questions he may have. Also there is an Asain named Chinio who is also a recent convert who  feeds us noodles and lives in some ones back yard and there are grape trees and orange trees and it just looks like a jungle. He lives in one room behind that house and we have a new convert get together every Wednesday at his back yard. It is kind of of his non official calling, I think he does it because he is used to partying so he enjoys the company so he doesn't fall back into that world. I have been working on my lesson plan book 5 lesson.  I have to like 200 scriptures within each lesson to find the right ones and set up my book all fancy its really nice actually and a big help. This week we had to get to our  apartment twice at 6 due to riots that where happening in Hollywood witch is outside our zone. We cover all the Adams ward besides downtown. The district leader gets that area so that's where I will be tomorrow. I am super excited for that. I think its good to get the new missionary's out with different missionary's so we understand better all the different ways. My companion has been out here 18 months and I  have to speed him up since he is so old. But I am doing very good thank you for all the love and support

Love Elder Rawson