Glendale, California:  Week 33

Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Ours here was fun all things considered. The 5 of us missionaries made a big meal with hot dogs and soda and stuff, then we climbed up on the roof and watched all the (illegal-in-California) fireworks people were shooting off around us.

We also got to meet our new mission president and his wife, President and Sister Hall, and they seem really awesome! They have a lot of love for us missionaries. They're really family centered, and introduced themselves to the mission with a video of all their kids and grandkids and it was really sweet. I think I'm going to really like them as I get to know them better.

Yesterday, we found out the news for the transfer tomorrow. It turns out my companion and I will both stay together, which we weren't expecting, and we are actually gaining another, turning us into a trio! Being in a trio with Elders Hubner and Christensen will be fun. I was in a trio back in the MTC and loved it.

Finally, highlight of the week: We met again with a couple we've been teaching, and addressed some of the questions the husband had. In the end he said "I don't want to join the church until I feel something and gain a testimony for myself," which may sound kind of obvious but it stuck out to me. I feel like a lot of the time, people meet with us to see what our church believes, and either be convinced that it's true or not. Many people seem to have the mindset of "If what the missionaries are saying makes sense and seems right I'll join the church, and if not I wont," but really it shouldn't be like that. As missionaries we teach people how to create a deep connection with God, so that through the holy ghost and in answer to their prayers they come to know that the church is true, and gain a testimony for themselves. I believe that this friend of ours is truly willing to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and I'm really happy for him because I know that's the key for knowing it's true through the spirit.

Have a good week! 

Elder Clayton

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Our 4th of July setup / some cool fish we saw in the pet store: