Heading North

This week was a great week! 

Tuesday was a walk day which means we walk everywhere up until dinner which was fun.

A miracle was at the end of the day, a man was walking on the street and was really interested. We got to give him a pamphlet and eventually went back later in the week and taught him 2 times and he has a Book of Mormon so that was really cool. Also on walk day it was funny because we knocked on a door. This guy came out and said "I would like one of your books". It was the easiest Book of Mormon I've ever given out Haha. 

We have been able to teach lots of people this week. We are continuing to try to find people and work with members. Here are some enchiladas that a member made this week and 

my favorite food, sopes, that a hermano made for us.

One of our lessons got canceled and we decided we would try something new so we went to a Mexican grocery store and tried to talk with people there. It went pretty well and we got a few return appointments! We went to a panederia and got pan de marranito which was delicious.

Sunday my companion who trained me came to the mission and I got to see her on Sunday. It was awesome to be able to catch up and see her again! 

Sunday night I found out that I'm moving to Morro Bay.

I'm really excited to head to the north part of the mission! It's the farthest north that we can go and Simi Valley is the farthest south so that's fun! 

I am so grateful for the time I've spent here in Simi, my first area in the mission. I have learned so much and have met so many people.

 It will be sad to say goodbye to people here but I am so grateful to see the miracles and help of God in this work here in Simi Valley! 

**Please Note - she has a new email address - listed below.
Her mailing address is:

Hermana Lily Pita

California Ventura Mission

3301 W Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA  93036

Email: lily.pita@missionary.org

This is the direct link to her blog.

Preparing the Hearts of the People

This week has been a good week. 

Tuesday I went on my last exchange for the transfer. I got to go to Thousand Oaks. It is fun going to different areas and seeing how the work is there. 

Thursday we had Zone Conference and it was really good. They said that for every 63 people that missionaries find and teach, only 1 will get baptized and for every 5 people that members of the church refer to missionaries, 1 will be baptized. 
Here are some pictures from Zone Conference:

We learned how important it is to really gain members trust and involve members more in missionary work. 

We have been visiting members a lot more this week and we have been getting more people to visit when we ask them for referrals. 

Friday we helped a Hermano in the ward, who is a florist, get ready for a wedding and doing the flower arrangements. It was really fun. 

We were able to teach our friend Elvira who is on date to be baptized. The ward has really taken her in. 

It really is amazing that God is preparing the hearts of people who we are teaching. 

It's the last week of the transfer and we are looking forward to making this the best week yet!

**Please Note - she has a new email address - listed below.
Her mailing address is:

Hermana Lily Pita

California Ventura Mission

3301 W Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA  93036

Email: lily.pita@missionary.org

This is the direct link to her blog.

Put in the Path

Tuesday I had exchanges with Hermana Person, my companion from the CCM in Mexico. We had such a great time! We decided to go to a taco place for dinner. It's my favorite place. 

All the workers know us there-Haha. But a man was there and he was Hispanic and talking with the workers. He asked if he could pay for our dinner. He asked what church we were from and he told us he wanted to change. We gave him a Book of Mormon and set an appointment to visit him.

Wednesday I had physical therapy. My finger still won't bend. My therapist made an elastic thing for me to wear which really forces it to bend. I've worn it 4 times a day for 10 mins each time and it hurts so bad. My finger is starting to throb again and when I try to bend it it's pretty crooked. I hope it gets better soon.

After PT we got smoothies from this weird protein shake place. It's like a 3 course meal. It was weird but good.

Thursday we went to the guys house who we met at the taco place. We showed him and his family a video about the resurrected Christ. After the video was over he cried. The Spirit was so strong and it was just such a tender moment. 

Friday was Hermana Trejo's 14 month mark so we went to Costco and shared a slice of pizza and a sandwich and we got ice cream too! 

Saturday for my 5 month mark we went to Chick Fil-A and Sunday was great to go to church. 

This week I learned that the Lord will put us in the path of people who are seeking to learn of Him - even in a taco restaurant!

Her mailing address is:

Hermana Lily Pita

California Ventura Mission

3301 W Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA  93036

Email: lily.pita@myldsmail.net

This is the direct link to her blog.

Faith to DO Your Best

This week things have been picking up!

Last week we went on a hike with our Branch President. Here are some pictures. The view was beautiful!

This week, I got to spend a day in Newbury Park which was fun. 

It was the first time I have ever left Simi Valley over night. 

Thursday, for sports night, a few families in the ward picked up our recent converts and we went to the batting cages. It was super fun and brought back memories of my time playing travel softball with Pride.

We got two referrals from members and we have started teaching two new people. 

Sunday, two of the people we are teaching came to church which was a huge miracle. The week ended with the Branch President having us for dinner. They invited another family and we had dinner and had family home evening. It was really an awesome way to end the week. 

Something that really stood out to me was that we need to not only have the faith to try our best but to have the faith to do our best. 

Her mailing address is:

Hermana Lily Pita

California Ventura Mission

3301 W Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA  93036

Email: lily.pita@myldsmail.net

This is the direct link to her blog.

A Hard Week but I Made it Through

This week a lot happened. 

There was a lot of opposition with our recent converts not wanting to come to church, our people on date for baptism having second thoughts, and people not wanting to meet with us anymore. It was a frustrating week but looking back on it I'm grateful that I can say I made it through! My companion and I treated ourselves to ice cream - we thought we deserved it after the week we had.

We went to a Panderia where they sell different types of Mexican bread. It was so good! 

Our hot water went out Thursday and we finally are getting it fixed but it has been a long week of cold showers. Here is our new water heater. It's about to get installed.

A miracle this week was a person we were teaching came to church which was so nice. After church a member had us over for lunch and I got to try cactus (nopales) for the first time and it was so delicious! Then, the Branch President had us over for dinner. 

Sunday was just an amazing day I am so grateful for the happiness and peace that comes from going to church and taking the sacrament. 

Today we went on a really awesome hike into a cave (pictures to come later). 

I am grateful for the hard times. Even though I don't like them, they make the good and happy times so much more special! 

Her mailing address is:

Hermana Lily Pita

California Ventura Mission

3301 W Gonzales Road

Oxnard, CA  93036

Email: lily.pita@myldsmail.net

This is the direct link to her blog.