Vaccine & New Baptismal Date

What's up everyone! 

Wow! The Lord continues to bless His work here in the Centinela 1st ward! There were some amazing things/ miracles that happened this week. I'm going to share a couple with you! 

First off, our whole mission was able to receive the first dose of the vaccine last Thursday. We get our next dose in 3 weeks. It's really exciting that the last part of my mission most restrictions will be lifted because of the vaccine. 

This week Elder Garlick and I were able to experience a miracle:) Here's a little background. We've been teaching quite a few people in our area. One of them is named Bryan. Bryan was found by another missionary in another part of our mission. Bryan lives in our area and the other Elders passed him off to us and we're teaching him now. 

The other Elders are amazing and they keep finding people in our  area Haha 😂 They found another person named Katrice. Katrice was visiting a family member in the other Elders' area and she saw them on a walk. According to the Elders she was super friendly and prepared to listen and learn about the Gospel. 

They figured out Katrice lives in our area! We brought her a Bible, A Book of Mormon, and cookies to her and set up an appointment for the next day. As we were preparing for our lesson. Elder Garlick and I felt prompted to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we taught we tried to listen to her and what the Spirit wanted us to teach. We asked Katrice what she was willing to do to know Christ and Heavenly Father. She said "anything!" 

We taught her the lesson, and invited her to prepare to he baptized! She said yes! She's preparing to be baptized on May 22, 2021:) I'm excited for her and I'm so grateful I was able to experience that miracle. 

I really do love my mission. I know if I was back at home, I wouldn't be able to see these amazing miracles happen doing the work of the Lord. I know this work is the Lord's work! 

Love you all thank you for everything:) 

-Elder Espiritu 

Kobe!

Matching with Elder Manana

Our apartment

Zone Conference in Person - Finally!

Hello Everyone! 

This week we got a lot of news about a lot of changes going to be happening in the mission! We had zone conference! This one was finally in person! This has been the first one I've been too since being here in LA. It was low key & much appreciated being able to attend in person after meeting virtually for so long. It was nice to see other missionaries. When I was in the Philippines I knew almost all the missionaries in my mission but here in LA I have no idea who anyone is. It was great to see new faces and have a zone conference in person. 

During zone conference President Cordon informed us that starting this week the vaccine will be available for missionaries. And apparently a lot of restrictions are going to be lifted here in Cali. All us missionaries were excited to hear that. President Cordon got us all excited that "pandemic mode is going to turn off" Again I'm looking forward to the future and the things the Lord has in store for us. 

Elder Garlick and I have been busy lately teaching lessons. We've found quite a few new people the last couple of weeks. This week we had some of the most powerful lessons I've ever been a part of. I don't know what it is but Elder Garlick and I have just figured out how to teach with unity and the Spirit. 

We've been really bold lately and have been strongly testifying of the Divine mission of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our friends we're teaching mean so much to us and we just want them to know all the promised blessings that come from following the gospel. A lot of our friends are close to baptism. We have 5 friends praying about it! If you all could pray for Bryan, Dave, Jamie, James, and Cynthia that would be much appreciated! 

Thank you all for your support. I really appreciate it. I really loved what President Nelson said from Conference concerning faith "Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are possible to them that believe." 

This year has been a mountain in all of our lives, but I know if we even have a particle of our faith we can overcome any challenge. Faith is the most powerful thing we have right now. I know as we all increase our faith every day we can not only move mountains but we can give hope to others and help them move mountains as well! Love you all!

-Elder Espiritu 

PG Boys!!

Elder Kitiona goes home today:( 

Last dinner with Elder Kitiona