California Sister Entrikin: Wow

Aqua golf with the zone

Wow

April 17, 2023

Well it's certainly been a week.

Monday was quite fun. We all went and did an activity as a zone and the weather was gorgeous. We also went to Goodwill, and Sister Saturnino and I got some pictures for our apartment (see below 😌)

At FHE with the young single adult ward, we had a little picnic thing. I played an intense game of duck duck goose and the human knot. That was fun 😁

Tuesday morning we found out that this new transfer we would have 6 Sisters living here instead of 4 😶 So Tuesday was cleaning and rearranging our house to fit 2 more people, beds, dressers, and desks. That was quite the adventure.

We're getting 2 brand new Hermanas, fresh out of the MTC, and with meetings and things, somehow the conclusion was reached that I would be in a Trio with them for their first full day 👀😵‍💫

I was very concerned about accidentally traumatizing them. I felt very much like the teenage uncle in movies who is the very last option to babysit, and then an entire film worthy amount of chaos ensues. We certainly had a full day!

Wednesday was a bunch of traveling and moving, but then Thursday was here.

Thursday Hermana Bennett, Hermana Ashby, and I were left to our own devices. We had our studies in the morning, then we went out to lunch because our house had no food in it due to the lack of funds held by the inhabitants. It worked out though because apparently they'd been dreaming of Chick-fil-A since the MTC. Wohoo! Cool aunt points 😎

Then they wanted to go tracting 😶 that blew my mind because when I first came out, the last thing I wanted was to go tracting. But we went! And they were showing me up! Killer missionaries already 😌

We then ran into what we call a basher. Bashers are people who just want to argue and tell you your religion is wrong and you are unintelligent and gullible for thinking it is right. My time to shine 🤩

The most important thing with a basher is to NOT ENGAGE. Fighting about religion is petty and foolish, and we don't got time for that. So I answered his first couple questions as honestly as possible, but I quickly came to the conclusion that if God himself came down and said I was right, this man would still argue that we are all wrong, shallow people. So I decided it was time to leave.

The second most important thing with a basher is to be respectful. You can't fight fire with fire, and if you try, everybody ends up getting burned. So I said something like, "I can tell we have a difference of opinion, and I want to respect your opinion, and I hope you have a great day!" He took that and ran with it saying, "we do have different opinions, and yours is wrong" yes, thank you, I got that you think that already. Now let me leave!!! I didn't say that. But we did manage to get away with everyone's dignity intact, so we consider it a success!

The new Hermanas thought it was pretty cool, so that was also a success.

I think the most interesting thing about the whole experience is seeing the difference between this man and his neighbor across the street. She answered and politely said she was not interested in our message, but then we were able to have a wonderful discussion about faith. We all bore our testimonies of Christ and the gratitude we have for Him and all He did for us. It was a wonderful interaction. She talked to us about her gratitude for faith and the community that she has with it. We all left that feeling good and happy to have found someone who also believes in Christ.

That's the difference. That's how we let differences exist without becoming war zones. I'm so grateful for everyone who I'd good and kind and respectful. It doesn't matter if our religions are different. It only matters how we treat and talk to one another.

Okay, I'll get off my soap box now and tell you some more stories.

The Hermanas and I had a great time together, despite my misgivings of being allowed to be left alone with them for a whole day. They're really cool, and they had fun, so it's a success!

Friday, back with Sister Saturnino 🥳🥳

We did some fun yard work with our friend Christina and her 2 adorable little kids, Charlotte (5) and Ethan (1.5) They were sooo cute. Ethan kept giving me sticks and leaves to "help" with the garden 🥰 it was so precious. And Charlotte kept encouraging us to eat different leaves and grass that she brought to us because they are "delicious" and "her favorite leaf 😍" that was quite funny. Then as we were leaving she ran after us and said "wait!! Don't forget this!" She had planted a seed in a solo cup for us 🥺 Hopefully I can make it grow and then send her a picture 🤞Pray for the plant 🪴

Saturday we finally got our money for food, so we did some meal planning (bc we need to eat healthier :P) and went shopping 🥳 It's good to have food again.

Sunday was bonkers crazy. I've never had a busier day. We had 2 sacrament meetings to stand, then we had weekly planning. We have a new zone because of transfers, so we all met together and talked about goals and did some little trainings. That ended at 6pm. We had a dinner at 6pm. We were 20 minutes late.

We also had a fireside (which is like a devotional where a couple people share thoughts about a specific topic) We were the couple people who were supposed to share thoughts 😶 We were, unfortunately, 20 minutes late to that as well. We also hadn't prepared anything, and came up with our idea in the car ride there.

But it actually went really well! They forgave us for being late (luckily our branch president knows how to talk to fill time) and the Holy Ghost led our thoughts and we had a great discussion. It helped that the topic was missionary work, which we do all the time, but it felt very guided and led which we were both very grateful for.

And that was the end of the week. Hallelujah.

Inspirational thought:

"The Savior’s message is clear: His true disciples build, lift, encourage, persuade, and inspire—no matter how difficult the situation. True disciples of Jesus Christ are peacemakers."

President Russell M Nelson, April 2023

Truly the only "right" way to be like Jesus is to love one another. We can't build bridges out if hate and contention. And each of us is worth just as much as everyone else. We are all beloved children of God, and we should treat each other as such.

(P.S. if any of you want to know the meaning behind Jesus Christ killing the fig tree that I talked about last week, my epic cousin @Jonah Tolman and my mom @Tiffany Entrikin both gave me some epic insight, and I'll send it to you if you want)

Hopefully yall had a week that was slightly more calm than mine was 😁

I love you all! Stay safe out there!

Love, Sister Aysha May Entrikin 😵‍💫

Pictures:

1) Elder Wendell drew this smiley face during district council, so far the consensus is that it's a)high, b)venom, or c)both

2) proof of life picture we took at Chick-fil-A so everyone would know I hadn't killed the Hermanas yet

3) tracting (we're smiling and it's sunny and you can't tell I'm dying inside because we were tracting for 2 hours)

4) tree

5) they're saying ILY, But I missed the memo bc I'm saying rock on

6) the zone went golfing (lead photo)

7) I am the bird and the bird is me, or what happens when you leave us alone in sportsman's warehouse

8&9) the epic pictures we got for our apartment 😎