Glendale, California:  Week 49

This week has been a great week for hiking! This week we went on 3 hikes. One was the same one we did last Friday with the Armenian hiking group, one with a different Armenian group for ages 18-30, and one this morning with just us missionaries. And they've all been great! 

The 18-30 one was cool because it was just a little group of friends that we fit into well. It's a great opportunity to get out and speak some Armenian with people. I'm so glad the quarantine thing isn't around anymore and we're actually allowed to do that. 

Then the hike we did this morning was amazing! It was 7 of us missionaries and we woke up at 4 to head up to a place called strawberry peak. There were no strawberries, and it was super dark and freezing. Then the trail ended so we just started going straight up the mountain, and there were tons of thorns everywhere so our legs got pretty beat up. I know that probably sounds awful, but it was a blast! The wind was insane, easily the strongest wind I've ever been in. My comp and I made it to the top just after the sun started coming up so we got some sweet pictures. 

So that was definitely the highlight of the week. Nothing too interesting other than that. We are continuing to meet with the guy we met from the hike last week as well as some others. 

Hope everyone's doing well! Bye,

Elder Clayton

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 Glendale, California:  Week 48

Well our new efforts in trying to find people through Facebook is already paying off! We joined a local Armenian hiking group that goes hiking every Friday, so we went to check it out. It was really chill, a nice little group of about 20 people, and we were the only non-Armenians (and the only people under 30), so lots of people wanted to talk to us and see how we found out about the hike, why we speak Armenian, etc. At the top of the hike, everyone laid out their picnic setup on the tables and started pulling out food, and we had a giant meal together. It was really fun! We talked to one guy for quite a while, and he said he'd like to meet again and talk about the gospel. So we met up on Saturday, got some lemonade and talked, then on Sunday he attended church and liked it! Crazy. It was all completely the Lord's doing, all we did was show up to the hike. 

That's really the only interesting thing I can think of that happened this week, but here's some pictures: Elder Christensen and I with the khachapuri an investigator made, the city view from the top of the hike, and a giant awesome truck in support of Armenia in the war.

Elder Clayton

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 Glendale, California: Week 47

A couple days ago everyone in the mission got trained and approved to use Facebook as a way of finding and talking with new people. We haven't done much with it yet, but hopefully it'll help us spread our FB page content better, and see what's going on in the local Armenian groups. Should be interesting!

We also had the opportunity to go over to someone's house and help them paint a bench and a swingset so that was fun.

Unfortunately, the investigator who was going to be baptized last week decided she isn't going to. It's really sad, she was so excited and happy for it, but she told her friend about it, who then told the church she used to attend.  And I guess some leader of that church came over to her house and told her she wouldn't be welcome back if she got baptized. From all the pressure from her family, friends, and church she's grown up in, it was too much stress, at least for now. But we are keeping in touch with her still, and she continues to add to our weekly church meetings. 

Love you all,

Elder Clayton

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 Glendale, California: Week 46

Well, Armenia and Azerbaijan are at war. I guess Turkey is helping Azerbaijan too? I don't actually know the details, but there are tons of Armenians outside with signs for Artsakh (The area being fought over), and collecting money and supplies for support. And everywhere we go, there are tons of cars waving Armenian flags. It's actually kind of cool, I like how patriotic Armenians are, they're all super serious about protecting their country and culture and stuff. It's sad there are people dying though. Many people we talk with are sad and angry and scared. Which is just more motivation for us to get out and share our message of peace and hope in the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!

On a happier note, general conference was great! So many good talks about all the craziness going on right now. I love what President Nelson said about letting God prevail in our lives. If we give preference to God's will in all the things we do, that's how we can achieve the greatest happiness and biggest blessings. 

Finally, we met several times with someone who's been meeting with the missionaries for about a year now. So it's been a long process, but we asked her if she'd like to be baptized, and she said yes! So that's exciting. She's been attending our church meetings for months, and she fits in great with our little group. 

Well, hope you have a good week, bye!

Elder Clayton

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