San Diego!

   So I made it to San Diego!!! It is beautiful here!! It's always sunny and warm, with a little breeze! It is perfect! So my first day here, we went to the mission home! Oh my goodness, it is beautiful, it's on a hill/mountain and it overlooks all of San Diego! One day I'll have a house just like it!
   So we got to know all the other missionaries and our mission presidents, we took pictures with them, we ate, and then we had interviews! While everyone was getting interviewed we got to take naps! Best thing ever! I was sooooo tired! After all the interviews were done we had orientation with the AP's (Assistant to the Presidents) They are super cool! After that we had dinner and then Pres. Clayton (Mission president) sat down and talked to us about rules and all that good stuff. Then we went off to bed and all the girls stayed at the Mormon Battalion Historic site and the next morning we had transfer meetings. So what happens there is you get assigned who your next companion will be for the next transfer! I was super excited yet nervous!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My trainer is super awesome! She's really layed back and down to earth, but a hard worker. Her name is Sister Benfield, she's from Las Vegas, she's a gringa but knows a lot of spanish, probably more than me, which isn't hard to believe since you all know im horrible at spanish!!!!! BUT i'm getting better! So after transfer meeting we had temple shift! I was happy! The San Diego temple is gorgeous as you all know!! But in person its indescribable! It takes your breath away! So at the temple all we do is walk around the temple and try to answer any of the visitors questions. A lot of people who aren't members come because they see it off the highway and wonder what it is! There was this one family who was from some part of the middle east. They wanted to go in and see it but we told them that they couldn't, but we did show them pictures and they liked it. Then we started explaining about our beliefs. They didn't agree about our belief that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit were 3 different personages. At first we were kind of scared of them because they were almost yelling at us, but towards the end they were more open. We ended up giving them 2 Book of Mormons! BOO-YAH!
   After our temple shift we went to go visit some investigators! It was good! To my surprise I actually said some things! It isn't as hard as I thought it would be! You know what is hard, street contacting!!! Oh my I'm horrible at it!!!!!!!!!! Next day we had a full day of proselytizing, that was fun and hard, we added 2 investigators that day AND we invited them to get baptized! BOO-YAH! They have a date for feb 22!!!! The next day we had a shift at the Mormon Battalion!! Yaya! It was my first time actually going on a tour, of course I didn't say anything, I just sat in the back watching and learning! I have a lot to learn but I almost have it down, hopefully by tommorrow I will be able to do my first solo tour! Wish me luck!!!!! 

   So we have this investigator named Joaquin. He's a little fustrating. He says he knows the church is true, he's been taught all of the lessons, we know he's ready for baptism he just doesn't want to commit!!!! One day we were texting about the things he's been reading and oh boy can he text, at one point we recieved 15 messeges from him, it was crazy! So then I decided to invite him to get baptized on Feb 1, he didn't text back until the next day. He says he knows he needs to be baptized but he doesn't want to do it until April! April!? We tried to explain to him that baptism is the first step, that it's an act of faith and that he shouldn't hold off on it, but we are being patient and trying to help as much as we can. He's been taught all the lessons already so there really isn't much we can do, so we've invited him to come with us to go and teach other people. We told him to read preach my gospel and he loves it!!!!! He's been texting us all about what he's learning and hopefully as he keeps learning he will realize that he needs to be baptized now. 
   My area is Sweetwater, this is kind of a poor area, a lot of the investigators live in trailer parks. There are a ton of Mexicans, which is understandable because Tijuana is like 15mins from us! They are great people, very humble and nice! Our ward is pretty small, about 50 members, but we are working on it! We have sooo much to do and so little time! Since we are Mormon Battalion Sisters we don't have too much time to visit all our investigators and potential investigators or our members! I haven't had a home cooked meal, I've been living off of turkey and cheese sandwiches, cereal, pb&j sandwiches and snacks! But everywhere we go all I smell is tortillas and I really want some! But it's okay, at least I won't be gaining too much weight! 
   Missionary work is hard and frustrating! BUT its totally worth it!!! Nothing better than helping someone realize that God has a plan for us, he loves us and wants to give us all he has! My challenge to you all is to try to find a missionary experience this week, share your knowledge of the true gospel of christ!  You can do it! I love missionary work, even though I've only been doing it for a week, I've learned so much as I share it with others! It's hard but not impossible! Love you all! 

-Hermana Recinos 

Pic #1- This is my Zone! 

Starting from the left: Sister Tucker, Sister Dunaway, Sister Benfield (my momma/companion) and me!