Pasadena, California: Week 84

Last week we went over to the Griffith Observatory, where we could see the Hollywood sign. It was neat! And fun to hang out with the rest of the zone. (Pics attached)

Also, on Saturday we helped out with a combined ward youth activity. Some other Elders drew a huge plan of salvation diagram with chalk, and my companion and I helped out at the cornhole/water games area. It was our ward's first in-person event since before covid, so that's exciting! We also no longer need to wear masks in most places including church, for all those who are vaccinated.

Last night was probably the highlight of the week. We went to visit someone named Ivan who had referred himself through an online church ad. We stopped by multiple times but each time he said he was busy and to come back in a little bit, so we stopped by for the final time at around 8:30pm and talked with him for a bit. We taught him about who God is and how the gospel can bless him in his life, and he said he wants to start reading the bible more, and he's even interested in getting baptized for a "fresh start." He seemed like a really genuine seeker of God who's been through some hard life trials, and I'm really excited to meet with him again!

Elder Clayton

Երեց Քլեյթոն

Pasadena, California: Week 83

It's been another good week! 

Pretty much right before I got here, there was a baptism for a new convert in the church named Sister Lozano. She is super cool, and we've been visiting her a lot to keep teaching her the after-baptism lessons, and we even got to take her to the LA temple visitors center!! Even though we didn't go in the temple itself, it felt so nice to actually see a temple again in person. The spirit was strong the whole time we were there, and Sister Lozano is really fascinated by temples. In fact, in a recent lesson she told us she's been reading about ancient temples from the Old Testament, and that seeing and learning about modern day temples makes her feel like she made the right choice to be baptized. :) 

Like I mentioned last week, the Pasadena ward has a big emphasis on missionary work, which is amazing to see! This week we met the Andertons, who have two daughters, one who recently returned from a mission in Thailand, and one who's currently doing the online MTC in preparation to go to Taiwan. They both gave awesome talks on Sunday, and the whole Anderton family has been so friendly to Sister Lozano in helping her feel welcomed into the ward. 

Finally, my companion and I are the Facebook Finding Leaders for the zone. That basically means we have meetings with the office elders and do trainings to teach the zone how to better use Facebook to find people to teach. Which is funny because I don't really have any idea how to use Facebook! But oh well, I am learning. 

Hope everyone had a great Fathers Day, and have a great week! 

Elder Clayton

Երեց Քլեյթոն

 Pasadena, California: Week 82

This was my first week here in Pasadena, and it's been pretty great so far! It is really close to Glendale, so already I've seen a couple Armenians and Armenian buildings and flags and stuff like that. In fact, we used to teach several people that live in Pasadena, and we passed by a place called Armen market that I have already been to like a year ago! 

On my first day here we met some super cool ward members, including one named Brother Huff who used to be a stake president, mission president, etc. He and his wife are amazing! We were planning to teach them a lesson about member missionary work, but they basically taught the lesson to us as we were eating dinner, then committed themselves to reach out to some friends of theirs that they can share the gospel with. And at church Sister Huff asked us for some passalong cards with our number on it that she can give to people who might be interested. Their example is really inspiring, and I hope I can be like them and have a desire to share the gospel with people long after my mission is over. 

My new companion is Elder Monteiro, and he's super cool. He's been out for about 10 months, and he's waiting for his visa to go to his original assignment in Brazil. He is originally from Cape Verde in Africa, and he moved over to Utah with his family when he was 14. So he's fluent in Portugese, and he only started learning English about 5 years ago, although his English is so good, you can hardly tell he doesn't speak it natively. 

My zone is cool too, there are several missionaries here that I have met before. There's been so much more awesome stuff happening this week but I'm low on time so I'll have to save some for next time.

Hope you have a great week! 

Elder Clayton

Երեց Քլեյթոն

 Chino, California: Week 81

Well, we got our transfer calls, and I was really curious to see where I'd be going. Turns out I will not be going back to Armenian work yet, instead I'll be going to Pasadena. My first area was far west, chino is far east, and now I'll be more central. The cool part is, there are actually a few Armenians that live in Pasadena! Definitely not as many as Glendale, but still, hopefully I will get some opportunities to speak Armenian again. :) 

There have also been some changes with the other Armenian elders. Elder Christensen finished his mission, and is heading home tomorrow, which is really crazy to think about! I can't believe it's been that long already. Elder Hubner will be training the new elder, and Elder Bell is back in Glendale, but covering an English speaking ward. 

It's also been interesting the past few days because we are in a temporary trio with the zone leader that we live with. The other ZL left this week to become the next AP. It's been a good transfer, and it's been a lot of fun getting to train. I have learned and grown a lot. 

Elder Clayton

Երեց Քլեյթոն

Pictures: 

- Me, Elder Simons, and Elder Christensen

- Our district