New Area - Perris, CA

12/22/14

The new area is good.  It was SUPER stressful at first because we have a HUGE area and only a certain amount of allotted miles, so we have to be really wise about where we drive.  Plus I didn't know the area at all and Hna.Carlson didn't know it super well.  So it was stressful, but we've been keeping our miles in check and I'm getting to know the area better.  Plus, the GPS is our best friend (Hna.Juarez let us borrow hers for the transfer). 

But I love one of the families we're teaching  here. I've actually only ever had lessons with the two boys, Moses (10) and Cesar (12).  I've met the parents, but they haven't sat down with us yet (although Hna. Carlson said they usually do).  But we've been told that the parents are druggies and it's pretty apparent that at least the mom has used some hard stuff, which is really sad.  But the boys are so cute and so sweet.  But the saddest thing happened the other day.  We went over to their house on Saturday night to invite them to the ward Christmas party and the boys said that their parents hadn't been home all day.  They woke up that morning and they weren't there. Their dad had left his phone at home and the mom wasn't answering her phone. We left a note for the parents and a member came and took the boys to the party, which was really good.  They got a good meal (Moses told me all he had eaten that dad was nachos and beans that a neighbor had brought over), then their was a Santa who gave out presents to EVERY ONE of the kids there.  It was AWESOME.  So they each got a present (although the present Cesar got was for a little kid, but he was able to trade it for something a little better). And Moses loved his gift. So that was good for them.  Then we went over to their house Sunday morning and their parents STILL weren't there.  The man who lives in the house behind them rode his bike down the street and picked them up some food and then a member picked them up for church again.  Hna.Carlson and I had no idea what to do about the situation.  Like their parents were just GONE.  We talked to the bishop and he told us to check on them later that day and if the parents were still gone to give him a call.  When we went back to their house Sunday afternoon their parents were finally home. They had gone up to Riverside and the car had broken down or something and the phone wasn't working.  So it was super sad.  At church, when we were sitting in the chapel, Moses told me he was glad he was there.  It felt like the vents were sucking up the saddness about his parents.  Ah I almost started crying. But they're back now so we're happy about that.