Christmas in California

Elizabeth has been through two transfers since the last blog.  The first transfer was to Santa Maria, which is farther north than Santa Barbara and a more rural area.  She spent six weeks there, and loved the area and her companion, Sister Giambatista.

 

She had a great Thanksgiving there, and then found out that she was going even FARTHER north to San Luis Obispo.  Now she is almost as close to San Francisco as she is to Los Angeles.

 

 

 She has been called as a Sister Training Leader, which means that she will be traveling around helping to train and take care of the new Sister missionaries.  She will also be meeting with the Mission President, President Felix, at the Mission Office.  Her new companion is Sister Collings, who is one of the missionaries that started out with her!

 

 

 

Though the nickname for her new town is "SLO", she has been keeping very busy!  As of the writing of this post, she only has 3 months, 26 days and 13 hours left of her mission (but who's counting?).

She has already made some goals that will last through to the end of her mission, so the time will fly by for her!

 

We were able to talk to her on Christmas Day, and she still sounds mostly like herself.  She said to tell everyone "hi!" and "Happy New Year!" 

 

 

Elder Odom is home!!

One Year Anniversary!

Today marks the one year anniversary of when Elizabeth was set apart as a missionary!  Since then, she has been a representative of the LDS church and has lived by strict standards and schedules.  It has been one year since she has been able to go off by herself, as she is required to have a constant companion. 

She has grown so much over the past year, and is loving every minute of her mission!  Though the time is going by slowly here at home, she has been so busy that the year has flown by for her.  In her most recent email she says:

" So I can't even believe it, but exactly a year ago today I was set apart as a missionary. I don't know where the time has gone but I can still remember those first feelings of excitement and nervousness. Honestly I really had no idea what a missionary did all day until I came out and started doing it! I am learning and growing so much and I wouldn't trade these experiences - even the really hard ones - for anything. I've never felt such pure joy and closeness to Heavenly Father and Christ. I can really say that I know for myself that He lives and is involved in the smallest details of our lives. I've learned what real prayer is and how to feast on His words. I've learned how to keep moving when it seems too hard and I want to give up. Every morning I still wake up and think... "I'm a missionary?" Or when I'm talking to someone on the street or on a park bench about God's plan for them I think "How did I even get here!" Haha it's kind of like a dream, like this couldn't be reality. But it is! And I'm so grateful!"

This week will be full of anniversaries to remember:

 

A year since she left Georgia to head to Texas to get set apart...

 

 

A year since she went into the MTC (Thursday)..

 

 

And two years since Jarom went into the MTC! (Friday).

Update on Jarom - he's coming home October 21st!

 

 

I know that she's looking forward to the next 6 months of her mission - as much as we are looking forward to her coming home!

 

Santa Barbara Zone

Summer in Santa Barbara!

 

 

Sister Ashworth sent an email to us today saying that she is being transferred to Santa Barbara and will have a new companion, Sister James.  She is excited about the move, even though she only spent 6 weeks in Ventura - that area went by so quick that I didn't even get to write about it!  She is really enjoying getting to see so many different areas in her mission.  It is a little unusual that she has already had 8 companions in the (almost) 9 months that she's been out, but she is adapting well and enjoying meeting SO many people.  We joke that she is a seed-planter, in each area just long    enough to plant some ideas and then OFF AGAIN to a new place.  Here is a little from one of her recent emails:

  "I guess so far my mission has been a little different than I and others have imagined. It's a little tougher to find people to teach in California, but I don't really mind. I know that I am successful when I am committed. I'm successful when I keep going even though no one cares to listen. People have their agency. And it's not that my mission is impossible or anything, my MTC companion has seen probably 7 or 8 people get baptized. But even within the same mission, everyone's experience is different, and that's okay! I have taught people who were really progressing, and in those moments I realized just how little I actually do. The Spirit is the teacher, the Spirit guides us where to go, and they're coming unto Christ, not me. So I am just an instrument in the Lord's hands. And if he wants me to plant seeds, then that's what I'll do! So I'll just be the best seed-planter that I can be!"


So, she is saying good-bye to Ventura and Sister Nicholas:

 

Ventura was an adventure, with the Santa Ana heat

 

 

and the HUGE spiders (this one's for Jarom)

 

                                 

                                                               (California Spider)




 

 

 

                                                                 (Philippine Spider)

 

 

Here is a picture postcard of Santa Barbara, it looks beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring Time in California

 



This week was transfer week again, and Sister Ashworth has been transferred back to her last area, which is still in Camarillo, but in the 5th Ward instead of the 6th.  She is happy to be going back because she already knows everyone there, and has already done some work in that area.  She will be staying in the same apartment she's in now, with 3 other Sister missionaries.  This is the first time she will be a senior companion, which means that she's been out longer than her new companion, Sister Nicholas. (6 months on April 10th!!)

 

It seems like every weekend in March, we heard news of another earthquake in the Los Angeles area, but for the first few, she always said that she didn't feel anything.  Well, she finally felt one and had to make an "emergency" earthquake shelter in her apartment.  They were on earthquake watch over that weekend - no news of any more since then.

 

Sister Cox in their earthquake hideout

 

The mountain in Camarillo

 

She has been keeping busy this month with Zone Conference, General Conference, and Mission Conference coming up next week.  She is excited that one of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Russell M. Nelson, is coming to speak at their Mission Conference.  She is having a great time meeting people and is having more success at finding investigators and teaching lessons...

 

Sister Ashworth and Sister Cox

 

 

 

 

 

...and knocking on doors!

 

 

She is loving what she is doing and glad to be where she is right now, but it's not always easy.  In one of her recent emails, she said this:

 

"I'll be totally honest, this isn't all butterflies and rainbows like I make it sound. Probably 85% + of my experiences on my mission are really difficult, California is a tough place! But why are missionaries like, "this is the best time of my life!" Each day when I sit down at the computer to email or when I go to bed, I only remember the really good stuff. I hardly remember the hard things that I went through. When it's good, it's really good! Plus, why focus on the hard things in life? It's exhausting! I've had to learn how to allow myself to be happier. And life is waay good."

 

Sister Ashworth is pretty lucky to be in an area where the weather is pretty mild year-round.  As a Southern girl, she loves  warm weather best!  She has taken pictures of some beautiful flowers for her garden-loving grandmothers:

 

 

 

 

                                                                                 

 

 

Time is Flying!

Elizabeth wrote in her latest email that time is flying for her - she's been out over 5 months now!  Well, time may be flying for her...!  Since the last post, her companion, Sister Shipp, received her visa and went on to continue her missionary work in Brazil, where she was originally called.  Elizabeth loved her so much, I'm sure they'll keep in touch and see each other in Texas one day!

 

As her companion was moving away, Elizabeth also moved to a different ward in the same area, Camarillo 6th ward.  Her new companion, Sister Cox, had to go home for awhile for health reasons just a few weeks after they became companions.  Now she has another new companion, Hermana Shepherd.  She is a missionary who has been called to speak Spanish in that area because there are so many Spanish speaking people there.  Elizabeth has promised to send some pictures soon!

 

 

 

 

Happy 21st Birthday, Jarom!!

                       Happy Birthday Elder Jarom Odom!  Stay strong in the Philippines!

 

See his blog at jtomission.blogspot.com

 

Transfer to Camarillo!

Elizabeth has had her first transfer!  Missionaries find out every six weeks whether they are staying in their area or moving to a new one.  After she got the news that she was getting transferred, she packed up,

and said goodbye to Sister Xayadeth and all of the great people she has met in Newbury Park.

 

 

 

 

She will really miss everyone she has gotten to know there, but is excited to be working in another area!  She has finished her training, and is now a REAL missionary.  She says that she is now able to drive as the designated driver in her companionship, which makes her a little nervous, but she is glad to be driving a brand new Corolla!  I feel a little relieved that at least she can't drive very far!

 

Here is a picture that I found of her new area.  Looks beautiful!

 

 

 

Her new companion is Sister Shipp, who is waiting for a visa for her mission to Brazil.  Elizabeth is learning Portuguese from her in the meantime, but they will probably only be together for a few weeks.

 

 

She seems very happy doing the work that she is doing so far away from home; I miss her but feel better when she writes sentences like these:

 

"I can't imagine not going on a mission now. What I'm learning here would have probably taken me 10 years (at least!) to learn on my own! This past transfer I have changed so much. Every missionary hits a fork in the road - you either go all in or try to keep one foot back home, which would never work. It's time to jump all the way in, and it's so exciting! My training is over now, yay!"

 

I'm so proud of her!

  

Happy New Year!!

Well, December has FLOWN by, and Elizabeth has had her ups and downs in California!  First, she made it through transfers this month without having to move to another area.  She said good-bye to her companion, Sister Unga and now has a new companion, Sister Xayadeth!  Sister Xayadeth has been out on her mission for about 7 months.

They have been working hard every day, finding people to teach and volunteering at Church.  They are truly blessed to have such a great ward with so many members who are willing to help them.  Especially at Christmastime, it was a relief to know that Elizabeth is being so spoiled by the people in California!

After enduring some rejection and a nasty week-long stomach bug that made 28 families sick in her ward (including her and Sister Xayadeth), Elizabeth ended the month having some success with finding investigators.  One woman who has been attending her ward was baptized recently, and another inactive member has agreed to take the lessons!  She is so happy to be forming friendships with the members, investigators, missionaries and even strangers that she meets on the street!

Besides the Christmas cards and packages she received this month, she also has gotten treats from both of her grandmothers -

 

 

Missionaries LOVE to get mail, so keep those cards and letters coming!  She has promised to send some more pictures next Monday, so there will be a new post soon!