California Girl - Adventures of Hermana Hawkes

Hi all!  I learned a big lesson this week, and that is that gratitude cures all. I never thought of negativity as directly related to ingratitude, but it really is. When I start to get discouraged about the language, I've been stopping myself in my tracks. I am so grateful to be learning this language! When we have to stop teaching someone we're meeting with, we've started saying, that we're grateful that now we can spend that time finding someone who is more ready for the gospel right now. Just a little thought, but wanted to share. The days I remember to be grateful are the happiest days of my mission!  Three terrifying things you can find in Fontana: low riding trucks (they are just everywhere), R.O.U.S's (I saw a possum the other day and hope never to do so again), and very angry chihuahuas. That said, we also have palm trees on every corner, great sunsets, and little fruit stands. It all balances out!  This week we've been feeling extra ble...

Hi all!  *I'm still having technical difficulties, so if you're expecting a reply from me and don't get one, know I likely sent one. I try to make sure and get back to everyone one or two weeks after they email me! So sorry guys! One of the highlights of my week was sitting next to Jesse during sacrament meeting and hearing him telling Ethan, his four-year-old, to fold his arms and "think about Jesus and all your blessings." Jesse will be getting baptized, at long last,  on September 1 and he is so prepared and so excited. He has somehow gotten himself roped into teaching all the youth of the ward a dance for the Stake Multi-cultural night, and doing a salsa duet with Hermana Moncaliano. We had no idea until he told us, and in his words, "I think I'm at the church more than both of you!"  The funniest was one night during a lesson when Jesse asked, "Will we really live forever? As in, forever and ever?" When we confirmed t...

The first order of business is definitely to wish my beautiful Mom the happiest of birthdays! I owe everything to you and if I've got one wish it's to become a little more like you every day. May your day be full of BBC period dramas, family time, and chocolate that involves peanut butter or nuts of some kind. I sure love you!!! Can't even say how much!! Life in Fontana goes on as usual: heat, yard sales, ice-cream trucks, and chihuahuas just everywhere. The fires aren't too close to us (as far as we know, we don't watch the news), but all the ash in the air has resulted in the most spectacular sunsets almost every day. If Hermana Stanfield isn't getting sick of me belting "The Circle of Life" to her every evening she soon will be. Seeing a gigantic, red sun just brings out whatever tiny part of me is African (or wants to be)!  I learned two powerful lessons this week, and since I wasn't sure how to tie them together I'm j...

Hi all-- If anyone is feeling confused about the 2 week interruption in emails, I'm still here and well and happy. Our local library closed down for two weeks and as a result I wasn't able write very effectively (imagine me hunched over the tiniest little toy keyboard trying to figure out how to type a hyphen and read the tiny type on my phone and you about have it. It was so tiny my pinky would completely pass it and hit the table every time I tried to click "enter").  Little updates on Jesse, aka "Old Faithful" or as we also like to call him, "the tribal fire dancer guy." Jesse has been on date for baptism since the week I arrived in Fontana, but hasn't been able to be baptized due to a difficult family situation currently outside his control. Despite everything, Jesse has persevered with incredible faith, never missing a single Sunday of church. He recently finished his 40 day fast (he loves the Bible so I think he may have go...

Hi all-- I know I at least have Jordan's attention with that subject line but I'll explain in a minute. First things first: I am having real technical difficulties with my letters, so if you've written and haven't heard back know that I likely wrote you but it got lost somehow. Working on straightening that out! If your inbox gets suddenly flooded with emails from me, you'll know why!  Today the Redlands Mission has been blessed with Hna Stanfield for nine months. She is officially half-way through her mission, and I'm grateful to be her greenie. We celebrated with pancakes (apparently I am a black-belt at pancakes because we somehow managed to flip one in the shape of a nine that was full of peanut butter cups..who says missionaries aren't creative). We were also serenaded in Spanish (we think) by a slightly-tipsy fellow at the 7-eleven and we're headed to do a session at the Redlands temple, so it is turning out to be a pretty amazing...

And behold, I do not joy in your afflictions, yea, it grieves my soul. And now, in your epistle you have censured me, but it mattereth not; I am not angry, but do rejoice in the greatness of your heart.  This is for Mom as well. Not writing a group email this week! Just you guys! I have been expecting you to get after me about writing home for weeks, and although there's no good excuse there are so many reasons, the main being Im simply a slow writer. (You'll have to excuse the punctuation on this one, hyphens are really difficult on a tiny blue-tooth keyboard. This week and last we have had technical difficulties) Lots more people than I expected read my group email, including several soon to be missionary friends. I also have been getting lots of tiny emails from friends lately, and although I only send a sentence or two back it all builds up. Truth is I have SO MUCH to say to you all I always save it for last = sort of a "do what you need to before doing wh...

Hi all!  This is going to be a short one, for no other reason than our local library closed temporarily...which means I'm typing this as fast as I can on a phone with no autocorrect. Bear with me! I won't be able to get to many individual emails this week so know I received, loved, and read 'em and you'll hear from me in a bit!  It's easy in missionary emails to make everything sound like peaches and cream without meaning to. I need to say right here and now it isn't always! There are weeks where this is hard, and this was one of those. We spend a lot of our time getting sunburnt waiting for people to answer...people who often don't. Some days the dogs bark and the bees sting (or the ants...I stepped on an anthill this week, and danced halfway down the street before Hna Stanfield knew what happened  ) and we feel just plain sad. Tuesday night we went to bed not knowing if any of the people we are teaching would have another appointment with u...

Hey all!  First things first: Happy birthday (the 6th) to the one and only Christian James!!! I love you more than anything bud. My birthday wish for you is lots of cake, lots of home-runs, and that Maisy will stop chasing you around the house. Recuerda me! I think a mission was designed for people like me. I'm not very good at first-impressions, and it takes me a long-while before I'm able to be myself around people. Good news about a mission? My companion is stuck with me until they like me! I've really loved the opportunity a mission provides to really get to know someone well in just a few short weeks, and I'm so grateful for Hermana Stanfield! Learning so much from her.  One thing I'm less grateful for; she has taken to calling me "mi pepita," which sounds super cute but actually translates to "my little nugget."  Ups and downs this week, but one of the best moments was that Elsie is now on date to be baptized at the...