What a Good Week!

I would like to start this week's email by welcoming my nephew into the world!! He is healthy and adorable!

And thank you for the Easter package!

This past week we saw some really cool miracles and met some neat people. We have been really trying to make good use of our 6-9 time and we have seen the positive effects. One night we met a guy named M**. We got talking to him and he wanted to know more about prophets and why President Nelson is the current prophet. We were able to teach him a mini Restoration lesson. At first it looked like he was just listening to be nice, but when we connected the organization of the church during Christ's time to the organization now and how they are the same, we saw something switch in his eyes and in his demeanor. It made sense to him. It was cool to see. He asked us for contact information and said he might know some friends who would be interested. We hope to hear from him or his friends, but if not, we are grateful we planted a seed.

On Thursday we had some cool experiences. That morning we were able to go with our Zone Leaders to one of our member's houses and be present while they gave her a blessing. She has been inactive for multiple years now, but her dad called the Elders because she asked for a blessing. Earlier this last week she found out she has cancer. This was the first time I've witnessed Elders administer a blessing to someone other than another missionary. I love Priesthood blessings because they are from our Heavenly Father and they are specific, direct, and personal. Our member was very grateful and we are hoping to see her this week in between her now crazy schedule.

That night though, we, along with the Elders, had the opportunity to teach the Mission Prep class. It was really cool! We split up in "companionships" and as a class we taught The Restoration, having each companionship teach a couple of points of the lesson. One comment that stood out to me as we were discussing what we all learned was that everyone taught differently, but the Spirit was the same. How much truth there is to that! We are all different and will teach or say things differently, but if it is truth, the Spirit will always be there to testify. This is true for everyone, whether you are on a mission or not! 

Miracle time!

Miracle 1: The Hermanas called us this week to set up a pass-off lesson with a friend they've been teaching. Her name is F** and she is so sweet. She and the Hermanas actually came to our ward yesterday to introduce F** to the ward. What's even better is that a couple of members already know her! They welcomed her and talked with her. I** was awesome and was so sweet to her and told her how she was just baptized! We are so thankful for the Hermanas and their faith and hard work. The pass-off lesson is Tuesday and then we will be teaching her.

Miracle 2: One of our members has brought her friend to church for about a month now and yesterday that friend (her name is D**) was there without our member. She came up to us after sacrament meeting and said that her friend told her we could help her. Of course!! D** has been learning a little here and there, but she wants to understand the foundation and basics. She also said she would like to meet as often as possible. We are meeting with her tomorrow and Thursday this week!

Miracle 3: So many of our members are starting to invite their friends more and more, whether it is to church, FHE, or to the dinner and institute. It's been fun to see the progression and the little changes in the ward. We are cheering them on!! 

One thing that has been on my mind this week is just how much our Heavenly Father wants each of us to succeed. He cares about our individual success and He will always help us reach our full potential. He knows our fullest potential more than we do and that's why it is so important to trust Him, be humble, and obey what He asks us to do.  Ether 12:27 perfectly explains it-He will make weak things become strong. 

It's weird to think transfer calls are this Saturday. It feels like only a few days ago the transfer started. I'll let you know on Monday what happens!

Here are some things I wrote down from Zone Conference that I was going to put in last week:

To teach the gospel is to share your love of the gospel.

When we do the same things we get the same results.

The commandments aren't meant to be comfortable; they are meant to protect us.

Do not confuse activity with profit.

Thank you all for your love and prayers. I hope you see the good in each day and feel the love Heavenly Father has for you.

xoxo, Sister G 

Sushi lunch with our District

Shell Beach

My new nephew!

We went to Avila trying to find a member, but saw the beach instead.

 

A Week Full of the Spirit

What a week!

I feel like it was just a couple days ago that I was telling you about my week. I guess that just means it was a good week right?

To start you off with a smile/laugh, Sister W and I FROZE this week and we're still a little chilled. I know all of you in Utah are saying I have no reason to say anything, but hear me out! This past week it was generally in the 50s and during the night it would drop to the low 30s. We even saw our breath during workouts in the morning. For California, that's cold! I admit, I have totally acclimated to the California weather. We've been surviving though so you don't have to worry!

On Wednesday we had exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders. It was unique because I was able to go on exchanges with the only other sister that Sister C** trained, Sister M**! What a great time! I learned so much from her and we had one of the best days. We met so many great people and had great conversations with them. Sister M** is just so social and willing to talk to everyone. At one point we stopped to talk to a man who was in his backyard. As a result, we handed out 6 copies of the Book of Mormon and had a few people who wanted to meet again!

Friday we had Zone Conference and oh boy, was that filled! One thing that I loved was that many of the discussions were based on questions the leader had had or common questions that we know missionaries have had at one point. The Spirit was so strong and there were so many inspired comments. I wanted to tell you a few of the things that I had written down, but I forgot my notebook so I will send them next week!

A special surprise about Zone Conference, though! I was able to see Brother and Sister G**!!! (from S**) Brother G** spoke in our Zone Conference so they showed up towards the end of lunch. I was so happy to see both of them again! They both are such great examples to me and they taught me so much when I served with them. I look up to them so much.

One thing in Zone Conference that was brought up was what our mission is good at and where we can improve. I am proud to say that I am part of the Great California Ventura Mission. We have a culture of obedience, brotherly kindness, enthusiasm, and spreading sunshine.  The thing that our mission is now striving to improve on is the prime proselyting time. The prime proselyting time is 6-9pm and we are now reserving that time to be out and talking to people if we do not have a lesson. Sister W and I have already seen the blessings of utilizing this time. Friday night we boothed with the Elders which we normally do in the daytime, but we saw more success that night than ever before. Sister W and I walked a little as well and met great new people and a few potential investigators. I am excited to continue to see miracles during this time!

We have continued to meet with B** and this week was super helpful! We were invited to an FHE with her and it helped us to see the best way to help her! We are hoping to meet with her again this week and we are hoping to help her come to FHE or the institute dinner soon.

A couple random things:

We have learned that I am related to Elder C** and Elder B**! Elder C** and I are 5th cousins and Elder B** and I are 7th cousins. Gotta love family!!

I think I played the piano half of this weekend! I played all of Zone Conference, including two musical numbers, and in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. I think this is making up for all of the practicing and recitals I skipped...:)

I hope you all have a great week this week. And hello to my new nephew this week as well!! 

Xoxo, Sister G 

Zone Conference Birthdays

One of the best weeks!

Hey! 

 

Ok, I'm sorry before I start this email- this week was one of the best, but as I'm trying to write about it, I'm not remembering! I will let you know what I remember😀🏼

We had the cutest Valentine's Day. We went out with cute Sister M** and had some food. Sister M** is from the family ward and has cerebral palsy. She is so cute and is always seeking to learn more from her Heavenly Father. Every time we go over she is telling us what she has learned from reading her scriptures!

That night the bishop and one of the counselors and their wives took the girls in the ward out for frozen yogurt. It was fun to just hang out with all the girls! 

We taught our friend B** this week and she is doing well! We are teaching her again tonight! She has a desire to learn and to really understand so it's fun to see when she understands something.

Oh, so most of our nights have been spent with the Elders in our district. We are singing for Zone Conference and we've been practicing for that. It's been fun! Sister W** and I didn't realize how funny Elders are. Just imagine: 6 Elders all in the same room trying to practice a song. It's great!

One thing that stuck out to me this week was the word "include". I've heard that word my whole life, but this past week it connected to what I was doing. We are here to invite others. All that is, is including them in what you're doing and the things you know. For whatever reason that totally switched my mindset and has made things easier! I can totally include people in what I'm doing, whatever it is. That also means including people in the thoughts I have during a lesson at church or a meeting and including them in my own conversion. It's the same with everyone. When we include others in our conversion, we are helping others become converted to their Savior as well.  

I'm excited for this upcoming week and I hope everyone else is, too! It just feels like it's going to be a good week. I love you all and I hope this week you will find a time to include others in what you're doing, whatever it may be!

Alex, I bet you did a great job with your Farewell talk! Good luck in the mission field!!

xoxo, 

Sister G 

we went on a hike last week

 

Hi :)

Ok can I just let you all know how grateful I am for you and how loved I feel? This week I continued to receive cards and packages and I will never be able to express my gratitude. Thank you. Thank you for the love, support, and prayers that you send my way.

I**'s baptism went so well!! The Spirit was so strong. She and so many others have been waiting a long time for this day and Sister W and I feel special to be able to be a part of her journey. What hit me the strongest was the moment I realized that I** is now able to be sealed to her family. How incredible! That's what this work is all about--helping others come unto Christ and helping them become eternal families. There is no better work!

Sister W and I are loving it here! It's a party every time we are with our members. We spend a lot of time with them. We see them at Institute, church, FHE, etc. Haha Sister W and I have decided though that we are not smart enough to be here; we ask about school and they go into long explanations about their engineering classes, nanoseconds, wave lengths, and other smart stuff! We just know the gospel! 

Boothing went well this week! We used a question that was emailed to Sister W and we had some awesome conversations and questions come up as a result. The question was "If you could ask God one question, what would it be?" We learned that there are so many out there who have questions that don't cross our minds because we already have the answer. Even more of a reason for all of us to open our mouths!

One thing that is great about being up so north in the mission is that I get to see old friends from a year ago! Yesterday I was able to see Brother R** from the P** Ward!! He spoke in our ward and I learned so much. He talked about stem cells and how they saved his life (he has a crazy form of cancer. No one can figure out why he is still alive). Each one of us is a stem cell waiting to be used in someone's life. Life isn't about WHY WE are here, but WHO we are here FOR.

So true! We are here to bless and serve others just like the Savior did. He was never here for personal gain. I hope this week we can all turn outwards and ask ourselves and the Lord who we are here for. Someone specific needs YOU and who you are. Go serve!

I hope you all have a great week this week and know that I love you all! Happy Valentine's Day! And good luck Sophie with the baby!!

xoxo, 

Sister G 

Boothing

Our journey to find an apartment led us down a path by the complex. Don't worry, we found the apartment!

We needed something to do so we went to random places and chalked the Plan of Salvation!

One night we spent over 20 minutes just laughing and goofing off. Which includes taking the ugliest pictures you can. No, this was Not one of the ugly pictures.

A Week of LOVE

Ok can I just say a few things before I begin?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST TWIN EVER!! I can't believe how lucky I am to be your twin and to learn from you and laugh together. I know that your heart is so big. You are so talented and so funny. Thank you for being you!! Love you!

 

Happy birthday to Mama Red and Aunt Heidi as well!! Love you both! Also there are others and I hope you had a great birthday as well!

 

Can I just let you all know how grateful I am for all of you. When I opened the package and saw all the notes and pictures, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and love. Not gonna lie, I shed a few tears. Thank you so so much. I am so blessed to know and love so many wonderful people. You are all lights to me.

 

I also want to announce that I feel like I have started a new mission! Haha YSA [Young Single Adult] is different from a family ward in almost every aspect. Planning, finding, teaching, it's all different. But I am slowly learning! Haha my companion and I have decided that she is training me all over again; we laugh every day. The area is beautiful though and full of college students. I'm not used to it! The freeway entrances and exits are in neighborhoods as well so that's an adventure!

 

Sister W** and I have been having a blast this last week. She is from **, ** and is so full of love. She is low key so funny! She is a runner so we have been running every morning which I love. We are similar in many ways and I think we work well together. We also work closely with Elder B** and Elder C**. Because the ward is so big we split it. It's fun though!

 

This week is a week of joy and fun! This Saturday our friend I** will be getting baptized!! We are stoked for her. She is a miracle. She had gone to church growing up and had taken the lessons, but was unable to be baptized due to family opposition. She recently has started college and referred herself to the missionaries because she lost her marked copy of The Book of Mormon. She is so prepared to be baptized, it is amazing to see. The Spirit is so strong in every lesson we have with her. She has been prepared for years. She even has her Young Women's medallion. She can't wait to be able to go to the temple, it's her biggest goal. She will be able to go in a couple weeks and we are so excited for her. My heart is so full of joy and so excited that she will finally be able to make those covenants with Heavenly Father.

 

Like I said earlier, YSA is a little different. One thing that I now get to do is go "boothing". We set a table up and a whiteboard with different questions or topics and we talk to everyone that walks past. We do it outside of the institute building because we aren't able to do it on campus (but we are able to walk around and proselyte on the campus). I'm slowly getting into talking to people my age again! My mind has been running though, thinking of different ways we can use our technology!

 

As I was reading in the New Testament this week, I read about how Christ says He is the bread of life.  Not physically, but spiritually. As we turn to Him we are filled and won't hunger or thirst. I love the visualization it puts into our minds. He and His Atonement are like the plate of cookies (or whatever food you should choose) that is sitting in front of us. It's our choice though, whether or not we partake. We partake as we are baptized and repent, we serve, study the scriptures, go to church and partake of the sacrament, endure to the end. As we do those things, Christ promises us that we will be held guiltless at the last day. What a promise and blessing! The amazing thing is that as we turn to Christ, our burdens are lifted, we are filled with His love for us, and we can find peace and hope. I hope this week you will find time each day to turn to your Savior and "be filled". I promise it makes your day so much better. More light will come into your life and you will feel lifted.

 

Sorry this is so long, but I just have a few more thoughts. This week I hit one year. Weird right!? It feels like just yesterday I was in Paso with Sister C. I am so thankful for everything that I've experienced, felt, seen, and learned here. And for so many lives that have touched mine. I am different. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ I have become a different person, a better person than I was before. His gospel means everything to me and He means everything to me. It's because of Him that I can do all things. The same can be true for you as well. I know our Heavenly Father and Savior know and love each one of us by name. I know that peace and joy in this life comes from being obedient to God and the things He has asked us to do. Christlike obedience brings an overflowing of blessings. Selective obedience brings selective blessings. I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father.

 

I hope you all have a great week. Remember that you are loved and there are people all around you ready to help you if you just ask.

 

xoxo,

Sister G 

Find the Book of Mormon

The Adventure Continues💕

Ok, before I begin, everyone make their transfer guesses! ..... got it? Ok, let's talk about the week first!

This past week was probably the best week Sister G** and I have had all transfer for multiple reasons, which was awesome!

We taught both S** and K** which was a blessing!!

S** is doing so well and is really seeking for her answer. She reads and prays and shares with us the difference it makes in her day!  She also set aside her fear and anxieties and came to Mutual which was so amazing! We are so proud of her! All the girls love her and she was happy she went.

Our lesson with K** was good as well. She has many questions and concerns that are based off of many years of different information, some true and some false. We are also impressed by her desire and willingness to come to the missionaries, rather than others, to help her understand. Sister G** and I can both see her being baptized in the future, however long it takes. K** said herself this might be what God wants for her.

OK, cutest story!! So a week and half ago we went to one of our families in the ward for dinner. They have such cute kids and the oldest is 7. She has the personality of a 16 yr old! So cute!! As we went to give our dinner message, she requested a cool visual (there are multiple) to use as our lesson. We asked her if she knew certain visuals and she promptly responded that she had seen all of them and wanted a visual she hadn't seen before.  Instead of Sister G** and I trying to create one in the moment, we invited her to create one (with the help of her parents) and then show us the next time we stopped by. That satisfied her. We went back a week later and she told us she was so excited to open the door because she knew it was us and she had been practicing. It turns out that she had been thinking all week. That morning we stopped by she explained that she "was in tears" because she was unable to do the visual she and her dad had come up with. So she and her mom created a new visual. As a result, Sister G** and I were blessed as we were taught two visual lessons! (All of this happening on the porch as well because her mom wasn't home haha). It was probably one of my favorite moments!!!

Ok, onto the news everyone's been waiting for.......

Sister G** is staying in D.V.

I am....being transferred! Yep, you read it correctly, this will be my first "one and done" area.

I will be going up to S**....YSA ward! This will be a crazy new adventure that I am excited for! The Lord always has a plan for His children!

My companion is Sister W** and she is so sweet. If I remember correctly she came out with Sister M**, so she has been out 6 months. I am excited to learn from her and to live the YSA missionary  life! Wish me luck!

There are two thoughts I had that the Spirit bore powerful witness of to me this week. These are things I know, but the Spirit reconfirmed the truthfulness of them.

1. Repentance is real. It is positive. And it is possible because of the Savior. Simple, but often we ourselves make it complicated. Repentance should never be looked at from a negative perspective. It is truly a gift! Can you imagine never changing to become better!? I don't want to because changing to become better means we are becoming more like our Savior and becoming more of the person Heavenly Father knows we are. We are just figuring out who He knows we are.

2. Heavenly Father totally and completely loves each one of us. He loves YOU. He also loves the person next to you, the person driving on the road in front of you, the person who is struggling, the person you don't get along with. He loves ALL of us. And He wants all of us to be happy.  He wants you to be happy. And if you're not happy, He knows what you need to do so you can be happy. Truly happy. Trust Him!

I hope you all have a great week this week and that you can feel your Savior's love this week.

Xoxo,

Sister G