I arrived in California at about 9 in the morning last
Tuesday. What a day, probably one of the longest days of my life. We
arrived in Ontario and was met by the President and his AP's they had a
huge sign of a colorful peacock that read, "The California Arcadia
Mission." I'm not sure why our mascot is a peacock but I didn't question
it, I could rep that for the next 2 years. After getting our luggage,
we drove across the freeway for about 45 minutes to get to the mission
home. We sat for hours, talking with different people, and filling out
paper work, we then had a seminar on safety and the importance of bike
locks, everyone was so tired I don't think it really got through to
them. At about 4 in the afternoon we then had a meeting where everyone
was assigned to their trainers. I was assigned to be trained by Elder
Low, he has been out for about 10 months.
There is so much to do and so much to learn. I am currently
serving in Glendora and Azusa California, we live with a Latino family,
and they mainly speak Spanish so it's hard to understand them most of
the time. Our room is probably one of the smallest rooms I have ever
seen, and we manage to fit 2 people in there. I sleep on the top bunk,
and I can only extend my arm about half way before I touch the ceiling.
Also, it's a little terrifying because the fan is so close to me, every
night I have to army crawl myself onto the top bunk to avoid the fan
blades. I'm scared that I'm going to lift my knee up in the middle of
the night, and get it chopped off or something. Our bathroom hasn't had
the light replaced in a long time apparently, so we use the bathroom in
complete darkness, so that's been an adventure. My companion knows a
little Spanish so he helps me understand what the members we live with
say to us. The husbands name is Fred the only thing I can understand is
that he calls us Amigos every time we see him, his wife speaks a lot
more English, but often times it sounds like spanish to me, because she
has such a thick accent.
I have gotten so burned the last couple of days, and have
slowly been recovering. we ride our bikes for about 8 hours a day and I
honestly love it, I just forget to put on sunscreen every time. I am
still very saddle sore from riding my bike, my trainer says that you get
used to it, but I'm not convinced yet. California is an interesting
place to ride bikes it, apparently it is illegal to ride bikes on the
side walks so we ride our bikes around in the street. Most of the time
we ride in the gutter so cars can pass us. I have learned to keep the
bike steady because often times the cars will pass us by within inches.
The peddle is also inches away from the side of the curb, so it's kind
of a ride or die type of deal, on the bright side I will become a master
bike rider, watch out Provo/Orem area I'm coming back to tear the
streets up in 2 years.
I have been blessed with such a good companion, being a new
missionary isn't easy, but it always helps when you have a good
trainer. Elder Low is about 5'4 and comes to about my shoulder, so I
guess that makes me Elder High? I can't wait to become familiar with the
area, and more comfortable with my teaching abilities. I also can't
wait to get my Ipad, unfortunately I don't get that until this Friday,
but I'm super stocked because there are so many cool things you can do
that make planning, contacting, and tracking so much easier. I salute
anyone who has served a foreign speaking mission, I can only imagine how
hard that must be to adjust to something like that. State missions are a
blessing, and that's a fact. Also, if anyone wants to send me snail
mail, or a package just send it to 614 West Foothill boulevard,
California Arcadia 91006. Thank you everyone for all the love and
support!
Love,--
Elder LeBaron
No comments:
Post a Comment