"Welcome to Simi Valley, relax and slow down" That is what the big sign says when you drive into town. :) It is nice to be reminded to relax and slow down at times, but mostly we are always on the move! (Besides our important scripture and studying time, prayers and sleep.) :) It is a good idea not to worry about the small things though, so that's what the relax part reminds me to do. We are pretty busy all the time, especially on days like today. There isn't much time to slow down, since it's the day we get a lot of our things on our 'to do list' done. So I am sorry but this may be a little short again, but hopefully short and sweet.
SIMI VALLEY
Some of you have asked in your letters about my mission area, so I thought this week I would tell you a little bit about my area and where I am living. I am in a beautiful place called, Simi Valley which is about half an hour north of L.A. To describe the area I'd say it looks like the hills and rock parts of Utah but with lots of palm trees :) It has been in the upper 90's the past couple of weeks, but we have had a few cloudy days which has been nice, especially when we are out and about tracting. I'm like my mom, and like rainy days too. Though I am not sure that tracting in the rain would work out that well either. :) Our area is small so it is pretty easy to get where we need to and doesn't take a lot of time in commute. We live about five minutes from our beautiful church which is really nice. We live in a one bedroom apartment, which is a really nice too, though it could use some more pictures. *hint* :) I will attach some photos we took so you can see what it looks like.
The only thing that has taken some getting used to for both of us, is that our apartment is right next to the train station. We can hear their train horns and bells all through the night and all times during the day. The good part is that it's exciting to see the trains go by, (I always think how excited my brothers would be if they could see that many trains). Speaking of which, when we do go out we have to follow a paper folded map we found in our apartment, since we don't have a GPS. So that is very new to us. I have to admit that I think it makes things more exciting. It's like we are on an adventure everyday. (And so far our map skills are getting better and we have not gotten too lost yet.)
COSTCO ADVENTURES
Last P-day Sister Xayadeth and I were craving Costco Churros, those yummy cinnamon sugar treats! Since we had some extra time, we stopped by. Before we got our Churros, we decided to walk around the store and try the samples. It was a fun activity trying out all the different samples and there was lots of things I hadn't seen before even though this is CA. :) As we were turning a corner I saw this pretty lady with two kids and my first thought was "She looks like a Mormon mom". When she got closer, she smiled at us and said "Hi Sisters! How are you? What Ward are you serving in?" I was right! It was great talking to someone so friendly and caring.
After we were done with our sample tour, we headed outside to get our yummy churros (I've never seen a Costco with the food section outside, but it makes sense. A lot of people were stopping by just for the food at lunchtime) While we were in line we saw this friendly looking guy look over at us a couple times. Finally he came over and said "Hi there sister missionaries!" Another Mormon! He told us he is excited to be going on a mission soon himself. He was on his lunch break from his work. He said he was trying to do something nice everyday so he bought us lunch and our Churros! Small acts of kindness can make someone's day, especially two hungry sister missionaries :) It was very kind of him. (And with both the samples plus lunch it felt like a holiday.)
AN APPLE A DAY
So this week we had to visit the doctor's because Sister Xayadeth hasn't been feeling well. While we were there we had one more surprise. While we were in the waiting room another cute little mom came in with her two little kids. My first thought, just like at Costco, was "I bet they are Mormon". When the mom was signing in she looked over at us, smiled and waved! I was right again! Sister Xayadeth and I joked that we now have a 'Mormon radar' because we are missionaries :) I have been really thinking of that a lot lately, trying to figure out why these people stood out to me? And then it came to me. It was because of how happy they were. I'm not saying everyone around them looked miserable, but there was a certain light/glow around them. I'm not sure that makes sense, but it's a little difficult to describe. As I've been out here on my mission I have truly seen how the Gospel has brought a light into people's lives. The gospel brings peace and joy. There is so much we have to be thankful for because of our Savior Jesus Christ and our loving Heavenly Father. When we learn more about the gospel and take time to find out the truth for ourselves, we become happier because we see the good in the world all around us. As it says in Matthew "Let your light so shine". Matt 5:16 I think I've mentioned that scripture in several letters, but it's so important to know who we are, and why we are here, and what we are suppose to do and then let that light shine. So even though the cute mom was even at the Dr. Office for her two kids, she still had a glow about her.
If you haven't seen it yet I invite you all to watch the new Mormon Channel video. It touches on the same subject of the light that the gospel brings into our lives. It is really good. I hope you all enjoy it!
(I'm still not sure which one works better)
Thank you for everyone's thoughts and prayers I can really feel that others are praying for me, and it truly helps me. Thank you so much, in means a lot as I continue to learn, and try my best serving and love the people around me.
Let your light shine this week! Share a smile!
Sister Skinner -Karatassos
No comments:
Post a Comment