California Girl - Adventures of Hermana Hawkes

Hey all! I found out it was fall! Someone put some Halloween decorations out. I appreciated them, here that's the only way to tell the season.  Some highlights of the week include Rosa showing us her new pair of garden shoes. They have a special heel to balance her weight so it's easier on her back, but I told her they really just look like black grandma pumps. "They're so elegant aren't they?" she asked me laughing. The neighbors will all ask who the mysterious, fancy, date-picker lady is. Just imagine me on the top of a ladder in these babies!" (not a direct translation there)  Hermana Coenen landed, straight out of the Mexico MTC, which she is still pining for, although the food made her sick. She came with a sunburn and a Louisina accent, which she can turn on and off at will. She marched up to me before the training meeting, without knowing who I was, and gave me a giant hug. She is one of the spunkiest people I've ever met, a...

Hi all! It rained! Hard. Hermana Staker has been praying for rain for weeks, but I think I was the only witness. I woke up in the middle of the night to the crack of thunder and flash of lightning outside the window. It was pouring! I love summer thunderstorms, so I cracked the window and slept facing the wrong way just so I could listen to it. "Hermana Staker, " I whispered, "God really loves you!" "I just love HIM so much." she responded. Ask, and ye shall receive. Now she's gotten a bit cocky, though, and marches around telling us the weekly forecast. Oh, boy.  Where do I even start? This week was wild. All these people just came out of the woodwork! The Lord has big plans. We met Willie, who has been taught by elders for almost 4 years now, and had twice as many baptismal dates, but had some "mystery iceberg (obstacle)." We found it pretty quick. The man sort of thinks he's a prophet. He may or may not be pretty j...

Hi all! It rained! Hard. Hermana Staker has been praying for rain for weeks, but I think I was the only witness. I woke up in the middle of the night to the crack of thunder and flash of lightning outside the window. It was pouring! I love summer thunderstorms, so I cracked the window and slept facing the wrong way just so I could listen to it. "Hermana Staker, " I whispered, "God really loves you!" "I just love HIM so much." she responded. Ask, and ye shall receive. Now she's gotten a bit cocky, though, and marches around telling us the weekly forecast. Oh, boy.  Where do I even start? This week was wild. All these people just came out of the woodwork! The Lord has big plans. We met Willie, who has been taught by elders for almost 4 years now, and had twice as many baptismal dates, but had some "mystery iceberg (obstacle)." We found it pretty quick. The man sort of thinks he's a prophet. He may or may not be pretty justifie...

Hello all!  The highlight of my week was a little photo we received of Esteban with two elders from the Bakersfield mission. They promised to help him go to church while he is there. We told them to put him to work! I really can't think about this week without laughing. It started out with a late-night visit to Rosa, who makes me laugh so hard my stomach hurts. She told us she had something to show us, and came marching into the house with a long pole, topped with a small, sharp curved bit at the end. "This," she told us dramatically, "is my snake killing stick!!" She started waving it around, demonstrating, and honestly I was getting a little nervous. "Sometimes," she said waving it around, "I use it to peel potatoes!" Then she laughed so hard she doubled over. Turns out the stick is just for moving irrigation pipes, she's just imaginative and knows we're gullible. She then needed to show us all the buckets she bought so...

Hello all! The man in Pepboys this week was convinced I'm Swedish. He kept immitating my "accent," so now I think I've got a bit of an identity crisis! It doesn't help that everyone else persists in either complimenting my Spanish, or asking me several minutes into the conversation whether I understand them. "Do you know what a melon is? MEL-ON. The fruit? You eat it? Looks like this?"  I think being a missionary makes you a little (lot!) passive agressive too. We've been trying to start teaching this sweet sister that we met in the street who told us her husband is a member. She asked us to come by when he's not home, which we found confusing but respected. We kept trying at all hours of the day, but his big red truck was always there and we were worried it was his. Finally, after more than a month of fighting to get in and see her, we got fed up! We decided to risk it, and went ahead and knocked, truck in the driveway and all....

Hello all!  In Thermal ward, you never know if in Sunday school you'll get "Come, Follow Me" or Hermano Velarde fiercely teaching all the commandments he thinks everyone else probably isn't keeping fully. We read Paul's line about becoming "co-heirs" with Christ and he ended up teaching us tithing, the word of wisdom, and celestial marriage. We all came out with the tips of our ears a little singed! Poor little Jose asked me after if "people will still wave at him at church since he's not married." Oh, boy. I think Paul is milder than Hno Velarde...We'll be reteaching that one don't worry!  This week wasn't too eventful, lots of meetings and lots of caring for the people we're already teaching. We're teaching quite a few right now...the Lord definitely has been plans for our area and our ward. We just have to keep up!  We had some funny tracting moments this week. In one, a Jehovah's witness heard us...

Hi all! What a week! It all started with little underestimated Baltazar, whom the elders were teaching and we've been trying to help, got up in fast and testimony meeting. He speaks very slowly, has an injured foot, and is constantly widening his eyes and jerking his head a little from side to side, so he easily makes people a little unconfortable. He's been taught all the lessons, but struggles to absorb them a little. I tell you what, though, this man walked to the pulpit and bore one of the sweetest, most sincere testimonies about how he now knows that God is there, and wants to keep changing his life. Then, he called the ward to repentance! He said very simply, "I just want my family to be happy. I need all of you. Every one of you. We all need each other." Man, the impact of that! Countless sisters got up after that and testified in tears about their need to minister more, and thanked him from the pulpit. His name was famous in church that day! We've...