Hey friend and family! I'm alive, all my things smell like smoke,
but we are still going hard haha.
I’m not sure if a lot of you will get my subject line. It's
a quote from a song that is awesome. And I figured it might be a good fit due
to the fact that California is burning down as we speak. Vacaville, however, is
not. It's one of the few cities in my mission that decided not to spontaneously
combust. My last area however is burned down..... That's right the one area
that was my favorite is now a pile of ash and rubble. I'm quite saddened by
this actually. It's not all the way burned down and all the members are safe in
that area as are the missionaries in Santa Rosa and Napa. A lot of the
vineyards are gone.... So are a couple of areas I used to walk down the street
in Santa Rosa..... It's such a tragedy. I pray for all those who have been
affected by these fires. The chapels and the mission home weren't affect by the
fire. So that’s a huge blessing. Just keep Santa Rosa and the majority of Northern
California in your prayers.
Anyway, this week was a little more exciting than last week.
Mainly with all the fires and stuff. In fact, while I was emailing you last
week, that's when I found out about the fires. There was panic through the zone
thinking we would have to evacuate. We had an elder from the other zone (who
was an AP) who said we should have a bug out bag (only to find out the fire was
nowhere near) so we all did so. I didn't sleep much that Monday night but we
went about the next day doing normal missionary stuff. The air quality here for
Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty terrible. It was snowing family. Snowing
ash.... It was Erie..... It had an orange tint in the sky from all the Ash and
smoke. The photos I took don't do it justice. But all our appointments canceled
those two days. So, we spent a lot of time finding and trying to talk to
people. No one wanted to talk they were all rushing to get inside haha. So not
much success there but I learned I am extremely grateful for 2 things. Running
water and fresh air. Our water got turned off for those 2 days so we had to
shower over at the other elder’s apartments and stuff. Now all my friends who
served in foreign missions are probably reading this going "pfffft we
didn't even have running water in our mission, why are you complaining"
well my friends I'm not complaining, I'm just stating the fact that I'm
extremely grateful for such a commodity ;) anywho!
Tuesday evening someone had organized a HUGE donation center
at the church where we got 3.5 tons of water dropped off along with tons of
clothes and diapers and food and what not. So, we were called in on Wednesday
and Thursday morning to load trailers that were heading to Napa and Santa Rosa.
It was nice being able to help from over here, because trust me I wish I could
drive to Santa Rosa and Napa to help everyone out so bad. But alas, I am in
Vacaville, where I am needed here. And it's plenty of work here to make sure
the zone is doing okay. There was a lot of fear in the zone due to misinformation
by members or other missionaries who think they had the full story. So, we
dispelled a lot of that this week. Make sure everyone was okay and happy and
still working :) we have been doing a lot of relief service which is fun. All
while trying to find people to teach cool. Stuff!! :)
Anyway, let's talk about our investigators shall we? We had
lessons with the Grindles and Bobby (I will explain him later haha) and
also we stopped by the Busbys as well :) We were so close to setting a
baptismal date with the Grindles. Haha they are doing soooo good. We haven't
been able to meet with them for about a week and half due to a sickness which
they all caught. But they were feeling better so we dropped by and they were so
happy to see us! They apologized so many times for canceling on us and not
returning texts and calls. But we were able to pick up right where we left off.
Liney even asked how we become missionaries and why we do it. So, It was way
cool to bare our testimonies to her about the truthfulness of the work we do.
Joseph (the 10 year old son) asked if we could set a date for a baptism
"goal" we almost did but Liney wasn't quite ready. She was about to
say yes but she said she needs some time to think about it. We told her she
should pray about it too ;) she said she will. I love those guys so much. We
have become really good friends. They are so open with their questions and
comments. It's amazing. Ahhhh so cool! I love being a missionary!!
So Bobby..... Oh Bobby...... Haha Bobby is an investigator
that has been investigating for a while. The Spanish elders where teaching him
because the Spanish work was a little slow, but now that it's picking up they
passed him to us and we started teaching him this week. I have taught him once
before while on exchanges..... I’m not sure how I can describe him. He is 25,
his mom is from Phillipines and he is NUTS. He has had an interesting life.
From gang activity to now he is investigating the church haha. He is going to
be a long project but he is sincere in his investigation. He had a baptismal
date at one point. We are working through some word of wisdom issues but he is
awesome. He has become a good friend..... Haha.... Even if he has the mouth of
a sailor. Never have I heard someone swear so much. And I worked in a warehouse
with a bunch of nonmember men. And I thought that was a lot. They don't got
nothing on Bobby haha. Anywho, I will keep ya updated on him.
Cool story of the week. We found a puzzle in the apartment. It’s
been something we have been working on slowly every night...... Elder Field was
a turd and stole a piece.... Haha..... They were freaking out that they lost a
piece. I secretly returned it and put it in place until one of them found that
it was no longer missing. Interrogations happened haha. Aren't I a
stinker? ;)
Anyway, I love you all. And miss you tons. I hope you are
all doing awesome and are all happy. Just remember that God lives. He knows and
loves you. And is very aware of you. He knows how to succor his people. Joseph
Smith saw what he said he saw, and the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Jesus
is the Christ. And Thomas s. Monson is the Lord’s prophet on the earth. Have a
good week!
-Elder Riley Field
Puzzle madness
Donations at the church
And 3 hot sauces with awesome names
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