A Wild Macaw Appeared!

Actually it was a tame Macaw. It was super cool! We were driving by and someone was hanging out with his bird, Sid, alongside the street. An absolutely beautiful animal. We pulled over and asked if we could take a picture of Sid then he invited us to come take a picture next to him. It was awesome. He told us about Sid and then he shared some about his faith as a Muslim. It was an awesome experience and we are both hoping that our churches will reopen soon.But it doesn't seem that they will. Last Monday we received word that, due to an increase in covid cases, the Governor of California released an order that closes Places of Worship from people congregating. At first, we were worried that we'd be fully quarantined again. Luckily that was not the case.

There were not many meetings occurring in the church before the order, but it did end baptismal and funeral services. We had to cancel a funeral, which is sad, but hopefully the family is not feeling too alone at the moment. As for baptisms, they can still be performed at pools.

This week I was able to teach my first real lesson! The lesson was almost entirely responding to questions and it was a great experience. Afterwards, we were walking to a member's home (many members prefer for us to meet with them in their yards instead of doing phone calls) and we were stopped by someone on the street. They told us that he hasn't been to church for a long time and wants to return. It was a special moment for me because he told us that talking with us brought him joy and peace during an otherwise rough day. 

It's still hard to talk to many people because of covid, but the chances we do have are always the highlights of the day. 

We were also able to volunteer at an interfaith food bank this week which was the best! They gave us some extra food that they had as we left. It turns out that the bank was closed to the public that day and there was someone outside who had just come to get food. With covid restrictions, he couldn't go inside and get any food. So we handed our bags right over! It was a blessing that we were able to do that. 

We use this industrial-looking dryer and it kinda wrecked my clothes. I've learned a lot about ironing this week but my clothes are still wrinkly... it's aight though because everyone's little baby socks were kinda cute. 

So yeah, studying, phone calls, and yard work is a lot of what we do. It's a good time. 

Elder Smith