Happy Tuesday!! - Sister Gillett

December 17, 2013
Hey Family!!

Sorry that I worried you and I didn't write yesterday. Our p-days have been switched to Tuesdays for the rest of the month because we will be doing Facebook training on Mondays. That is the only day that the Family History Center is open to us and closed to the public. Yipee...We are back on Facebook. I can't really decide if I like it or not, but it is something inspired by the Lord. As soon as we get our ipads we will be spending an hour a day on Facebook. I have deactivated my previous account until after my mission so for now I will just be using my mission Facebook account.

We get our mail on pdays and Thursdays so it only takes a little while for us to get our mail.
GREAT NEWS!!! Ya remember that time that Sister J and I got a red light ticket... Our attorney won that case because the sun made it so that in the video you couldn't tell when the light turned red...SCORE!!! Tender mercy!! :) So now all we have to do is pay the attorney which is a LOT cheaper than paying the ticket :)

I had my first interview with President Bowen. It went really well and GUESS WHAT :) He said that Sister J and I get to stay together another transfer....I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!! Sister J is so awesome and we have so much fun together!!  I am so grateful we get to spend more time together!!

We did service this week putting up Christmas lights for a member... We got sunburned!! Who would have guessed that it was going to be 75 degrees in the middle of December while we put up Christmas lights haha :) We had fun while doing it though!

We were able to get our most progressing investigator to a baptism some elders in our zone had this weekend. She really enjoyed it and it increased her curiosity more so she had a lot of questions for us which is so awesome. The Spirit was so strong and powerful and she definitely felt it!

We had our ward Christmas party on Saturday...They sure know how to throw parties here in Cali!! They had lots of different soups and stews and the best part... They had a hot chocolate bar!! It was awesome!!! They also had little crafts for the kids and a movie. The Bolsa Grande High School Chior came and sang some Christmas songs for us. They did a very beautiful job. Afterwards, Bishop and his family gave all 30 choir members a Book of Mormon...Go big or go home I guess haha :) We had a lot of less active and a few non members there so that was a great finding activity for us!

Our Bishop has given us an assignment to focus on one less active sister and one less active family. For the past few weeks we have been trying to visit the less active family with no luck...They are always home, but they never answer the door. So we just decided to leave little notes for them that have a little quote on them and a scripture. Guess what... On Sunday they came to church. Even the little things can encourage people to come back. Last week after the Christmas devotional we stopped by to see the less active sister. Just as we were walking up the stairs we could hear the Christmas devotional playing in her house. We got really excited to hear that she was watching it. We knocked..and knocked...and knocked with no luck. So we left her a note and asked her to call us. Later in the week she did and we were able to set up an appointment with her. She said that she didn't hear us knock because she had the tv up loud so that she could hear it downstairs in the craft room. She is such a sweet lady and we will be going back to visit her again soon.

On Sunday at church I heard the parable of the starfish. idk if you guys have ever heard it before so I will tell it to you.... Every morning after the tide goes back out there are starfish left of the beach. If they don't get back into the water they will die. There was a little boy walking a long the beach and gently picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the sea. A man walked up to the boy and said "What are you doing... There are thousands of starfish on this beach. You will never be able to save all of them. You will never make a difference." The little boy walked up to the next starfish picked it up threw it back into the sea and replied to the man "I made a difference for that one." As I related that to missionary work I am reminded that I can't help everyone, but I can make a difference for some. The Gospel is so amazing and it can change everyone's life. I know it is true and I love it so much!!

I love you all and I hope that you have a wonderful week! See you soon!! :)

Love, Sister Gillett

First Week of Training - Hermana Gillett

December 16, 2013

 On Tuesday it was Out with the  Old ;) And in with the New! The new being Sister Y! She is from Lindon, Utah.  Before we were told who our companions would be, we had a trainer/trainee meeting. Everyone kept saying that she was going to be my companion, and I was sure hoping so. I could just tell she had energy and love and was excited to work hard and love the people. When they called her name I was waiting in anticipation for them to call mine, and... They did!!! I did this little hop-skippity-jump over to give her a hug cause I was just so excited!

  We are seeing so many blessings/MIRACLES from obedience that we can barely count them all, not to mention have time to write about them in our journals! Sister Y came well-trained from the MTC and we have been "breathing" obedience. It's such a relief to not have to worry about the little things so we can focus on the work. 

    I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to have Hermana Y here with me. She brings such a sweet spirit and a strong testimony. I have been very impressed with  her involvement in lessons, both Spanish and English. She has such a great desire to share her testimony, and each time that she does the spirit is brought into the room and all are edified. She has really taught me this week of the importance of conviction in the bearing of our testimonies. She  has so much desire and energy to do the work. It's been so nice to be able to work side-by-side and support and uplift one another. My prayers were definitely answered, and are still being answered daily. We have had a lot of fun together and are working really hard to get this area organized so we can get out and Hasten the Lord's Work.

      We had some of the best lessons of my mission so far in the past few days which I knew came because of obedience and desire to do the Lord's will. Miracle: A few weeks ago, Hermana R and I asked for permission to stop by the home of our recent convert's daughter on our way home from Tampa. She was not home, but her neighbor was outside. She started speaking Spanish to us and told us that the lady we were trying to contact wasn't home. It surprised us that she immediately spoke spanish to us as if she already knew that we spoke Spanish. We were able to give her a Book of Mormon and asked if the Elders could come by and teach her and she willingly accepted. We also left a note on J's door explaining that we were trying to contact her and left a phone number. Later that evening we received a phone call from her. I was able to talk to her and was surprised at how open she was with sharing her feelings with me. She and her father haven't spoken in over 30 years due to divorce of her parents, and other circumstances. She then told us that it would take her time, but she is really praying to be able to forgive her Father for abandoning her. He is the only family she has left. This week, we received a message from her saying that she was planning to come this weekend. Yesterday, she told us she planned to come to his house at 6pm and asked for his address. We were able to meet her last night and she and her father were so happy to be reunited. They talked of how they weren't going to reflect on the past, but start a new chapter of life together. That was such a miracle! We were able to testify of the power of the Lord in bringing families together, and spoke of how we can be together forever through the blessings of the temple. On the other side of the spectrum, our Recent Convert (her father) was ordained yesterday and was so excited.  He has been reading and praying every day, attending family history classes, preparing for the temple, and has been involved in the church as frequently as he can. I have learned so much from him about obedience and faith. The Lord has truly blessed him in every aspect of his life, and I know he will bless all of us in the same manner as we are obedient, have faith, and follow him.

    I got a phone call from the AP's and Elder P said "I have some news and you're not going to like it..." I got all nervous like something really sad or bad had happened. He said "You are going to be on car-share" aka riding bikes every other week. I heaved a huge sigh of relief and laughed and said, "Geeze, you really scared me on that one! Biking? that's nothing!" I could tell he was really relieved too cause normally missionaries aren't so happy about hearing that. Yes, we are biking again and I'm excited. This time it won't be quite as hot so that's nice! Tell JoLee that between the speed I built up to here, and the altitude change of when I come home, I'm sure she will be able to keep up just fine ;) 

     Yes, I got my c-mas package, and the presents look SO cute under the little Charlie Brown C-mas tree that a member let us borrow. Thanks! I 'm so excited!

Sorry to hear G-ma Pen isn't doing well. she is in my prayers! We had a ward c-mas party and they recognized a 90  year old woman who was having her b-day that week. She is so tall, adn so beautiful! She is so poised and looks like porcelain. I can't even believe she is as old as she is, I think I have more wrinkles than she does. It's so cool to see. I was t hi nking about g-ma when I saw her and  you're right, we are so blessed with the knowledge of eternal families. What a great gift of the gospel that she has given to all of us as her posterity. 

Love you all have a great week!

Hermana Gillett

Awesome Week! - Sister Gillett

December 9, 2013

 

Hey everyone!!

Sounds like it has been a cold week in Utah for you! Maybe you got the storm we got here in Cali this week. It has been so cold! haha like 48 degrees. I guess that probably sounds really warm to you guys right now, but it has been really cold for us. I actually had to put on my rain coat this week and turn on the heat in the car. haha rough life!!

This week has been pretty awesome! Sorry I didnt write you much last week. We were running behind schedule and I honestly didnt have much to tell you because it was a really slow week because everyone was busy with Thanksgiving. Yesterday we got to teach primary. We taught the same age group that Carol and I taught this summer. It was so much fun! We had a blast!!! We got to teach them about how the pioneers showed their faith in Jesus Christ and we played games with them and of course singing time was still my favorite part. I just love primary songs!! They were working on singing the 12th and 13th article of faith. If you pass it off you get some juice so Sister J and I passed off the 12th article of faith just for fun! Primary is so much fun!!

Wasn't the Christmas Devotional last night awesome!! Definitely different than it was before. Doesn't the First Presidentcy normally speak? It was great to hear all of the speakers and I thought it was really cool to see their focus on giving service for Christmas. I think that is awesome that you guys are giving so much service pushing snow for everyone. Way to go!! Keep up the good work! After the devotional Sister J and I drove around and looked at as many Christmas lights as we could on our way to our next appointment. Did you guys go look at Christmas lights too? Sister J also has a really awesome Josh Groban Christmas CD so we listened to that as we drove around. It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas!! Here in California people actually decorate the trees in their yard with lights and ornaments. That would not last for one second in Utah with all the snow and wind you guys get! haha

Every 3 months in our mission all of the Sister Missionaries get together and have lunch and then President and Sister Bowen do a little devotional for us. It was really fun to be able to meet a lot of new Sisters and hear about how missionary work is going in their areas. So that was a lot of fun for us.

Here is a cool tender mercy... There is a senior missionary couple who lives in our apartment complex and they know that I have diabetes because he does too. While we were at sister's lunch he came up to me and asked if we payed for my insulin or if our insurance paid for it. I told him, and he said Well I have some insulin for you! I guess he has met a lady who is very well off because she use to work in Hollywood and she gives him the insulin that he needs. He had a bunch of extra insulin so he gave me a 3 month supply...WOW!!! What a tender mercy!

This week we did splits with the Samoan Sisters again. We all picked out a street to tract and then we both took opposite sides and knocked our little hearts out. No one was answering/ no one was interested in talking to us. We only had a few minutes left until we needed to meet back up at our car so we decided to knock on one more door. A sweet lady answered the door and after a second she said "oh, sisters you scared me...Come in." Sister N and I have never met or seen this lady before but she was so kind and welcomed us in. She lives in her friends back yard in a little storage shed that has been remodeled to look more like a home. She was so sweet and we shared a quick message with her. Afterwards she started to cry and she said "I dont know how you found me or who sent you here , but tell them thank you, I really needed that message today." We told her that we had no idea that she lived there and the only person that sent us to her was her loving Heavenly Father. I know that the Lord guides our path everyday and it was so awesome to witness that again. Her strength and humility really strengthened my testimony. She is a very dedicated member of the church. She loves the book of mormon and when we walked in she picked up a pillow off of the floor because she had left it there from her morning prayers. You could tell she prays a lot to her Heavenly Father and that through her prayers she knows the church is true and she knows that she is a daughter of God. It was so neat to have that experience!

This week I got to try Vietnamese food. It was called Pho. It was rice noodles with brothe and veggies and sweet and sour sauce. It was really interesting. Pretty good, but defintely not my favorite!

On pdays we do our studies and then we wash our car, do our grocery shopping, eat lunch, email, and then go to zone activity. Before we know it, it is over!! Pdays go so fast!!
Have a great week! Love you lots!! Stay warm!!

Love, Sister Gillett

Out with the Old, In with the New - Hermana Gillett

December 9, 2013

 

Snow? what's snow? Do you mean sand? We have a lot of that and SUNSHINE around here. What does 17 degrees feel like? It has only been 95 degrees here. haha That is so cool! How much snow do you have now?

I hope you all had a great week and enjoyed The Christmas Devotional last night. Wasn't that neat? Did it used to be longer? I swear when I was a kid that it was like 2 hours or something because it always seemed to drag... Of course I'm sure that had nothing to do with being excited to drive around and look at Christmas lights and listen to Christmas music afterwards. It is really interesting because our mission President just met with Elder Perry and they talked of how important it is that we start utilizing technology to its fullest. It was cool to see how even the First Presidency is setting that example. It really enhanced Elder Nelson's talk, and it was so fun to see all of those CUTE primary children singing "I'm trying to be like Jesus" which also happens to be my FAVORITE primary song. That was probably my favorite part :) The spirit was SO strong. I love the focus that is put on children at Christmas time and how if we can only see the world through a child's eyes and be like a child, THEN will we truly come to understand the true meaning of Christmas. It always gives me chills to hear them pray for the missionaries. I remember Mom

telling me to remember how much we are prayed for each day, and that has brought me a lot of strength throughout my mission. Thanks! :)

This week was crazy and I think we were in Tampa more than Brandon, but it was a very successful week. We had meetings for my companion to help her prepare for the after-mission life. She leaves tomorrow. We had exchanges with some sisters that we are over in Tampa and I  got to go to the YSA ward with her there. That was pretty awesome! I miss college... but wouldn't trade this mission experience for anything!  I was reminded of how grateful I am to live in Utah where people at least believe in God. It was sad how many "athiests" there were among the college students. We are going to have to work even harder to change that! WE also had our Mission Leadership Conference MLC on Friday in Bradenton. It was a great training and I always learn so much. I am excited to take it back to the sisters and continue to learn from them. After the meeting, we were in a big van with other missionaries that was going to take us back to where our car was parked in Brandon (they picked us up on the way to Bradenton from Tampa.) However, President Cusick got a phone call from someone named Donny and they said they had 1000 extra tickets to his concert. Next thing we knew, we were headed to Tampa for a Donny and Marie Osmond Christmas concert. haha Let's just say that I didn't realize how much I've become in "missionary mode" when it comes to "worldly" things until then. It was a good concert, but kinda uncomfortable at parts too. It was a good reminder to me of what is really important in life and at the Christmas season. Forgetting ourselves and remembering Christ as we serve others.

Early Saturday morning (we got back late fri, so it wasn't too fun getting up, but we did anyway with bright, only slightly forced smiles on our faces. They quickly became permanent though :) ) we went to help C with her service project. It was so neat! It worked out perfectly too because they only had 1 Spanish  translator, so they ended up needing us a lot more than they thought :) They have a lot of  donated items-computers, washers and dryers, fridges, clothes, furniture, toys, etc that people donated. They put it all out in sections and people can go through and get what they want/need for their families for Christmas all for FREE! It was so rewarding to see so many smiles on their faces and tears as people were so grateful for those who helped make it possible for them to have a Christmas. We met the sweetest couple from Ecuador, and hope to be able to teach them soon, that is if we can find them... They lived just down the street, but we are going to try to see if we can figure out their address exactly. The event was a huge success and  huge blessing. At first their Pastor was a little hesitant that we were there as missionaries, but thanked us after and was appreciative of our help. It was such a neat experience. Cathy invited us over for this week, so I'm excited to take my new trainee OH! I found out that I'm training starting tomorrow! YIPPEEE!!!! Send prayers this way for the both of us PLEASE! :)

I hope you all have a great week and remember how much I LOVE YOU!!! I will be getting my trainee tomorrow (hence "out with the Old as my companion goes home, and in with the New missionary :) ), so please pray for her, and me! :) I am so excited to have that new missionary spirit back again and we are going to love the people here so much! I love you! Stay safe, happy , and healthy. You are in my prayers! XOXO

Hermana Gillett

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! - HERMANA GILLETT

December 2, 2013

Hey family!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! It sure sounds like you did with all the family and football and such. It's good to hear everyone made it out alive and happy :) Dad, What is Smith and Edwards? Have I really been gone THAT long!?! haha It sounds like you got the lights up, and that's awesome! I'm still waiting for the moment when I can get away with wearing a sweater here, but it hasn't happened yet. People are putting up lights and playing c-mas music, but it hasn't really hit that it's that season yet. We had one day where it was 40 this week and that was pretty cold. It is so different here because it is a wet cold, so it's not really COLD, but it stings! Hope you all enjoy that snow and tubing and hot cocoa for me! :)

We were at a less-active's house and she had decided to be "cool" (as she says) and bake us a pie. (she doesn't bake,so this was a big deal! She is so funny! :) ) So she takes out the pie and decided to have the oven self-clean. We start to teach her a lesson in the living room and after a few minutes, we start to see smoke coming from the kitchen. Long story short, after cutting the breaker, opening all the windows and doors to fan out the smoke, and wiping our eyes of the streams of tears caused by the smoke, we had a great lesson on prayer, and how the Lord protects us and always watches over us. Good memories. She is so awesome and has been progressing really well! 

Thanksgiving was awesome! I had an awesome opportunity to go have dinner with N, the girl that I met in Washington D.C. We had a great talk about what Jaylen and I are doing as missionaries. She said she studied with the Elders at college a little, until semesters changed and they were transferred. She is very open, and we had some great gospel talks with her two grandmas as well. They are now Facebook friends and we are excited to continue to teach them. Her one grandma reminded me So much of Ma-key. It was really fun. I sure do miss you Ma-key! :) We also had dinner with a less-active family and it was AWESOME! There is just something about American food that isn't as appealing to me anymore as Hispanic food is... haha We had some delicious Thanksgiving dinner with them, after which we went to the Brandon Bishop's house. His wife was begging us to come, because they were empty-nesters. They are so funny and so sweet! Bishop is in the military (lots of people here are) and he reminds me a lot of Rand-they look a lot alike. His wife is probably the funniest person I've met. We had a quick 15 minute "taste-test" meal with them because we were stuffed and  had to get home on time. We ate literally ALL day, and my stomach still hasn't recovered, but it was definitely worth it. I am excited to see the blessings that come from those meals we had with those families as the progress :) 

Cool stories:

Yesterday R got up in fast and testimony meeting. He was so nervous, but was more grateful than nervous so he said he had to get up. So cute! So he bore his testimony and shared how thankful he was that he is a member of the church. He shared that the first day that he walked into the church he felt so much peace. He had been praying that he could get in contact with his daughter who he hadn't talked to in 30 years. When he was in church that first Sunday, he got a phone call and it was his daughter. He will never forget that experience, and reflects on it often to us as well. He also shared that he had been praying for some financial help. That month when he received his cable bill-$0. His gas bill $0. His electric bill $0. He wept tears of joy and gratitude and so many people were touched by his testimony. His stories of how the Lord has blessed him continue on and on. It was such a great reminder to me that when we take the time to Look at the blessings the Lord has given us, that we will see more and more miracles from His hands. 

This week has been SO full of exchanges with the sisters to help them succeed. We have some wonderful sisters and they are doing so great! I had the opportunity to go to Valrico to attend church with the sisters there. As we were sitting waiting for church to start, I looked in the hall and saw someone who looked familiar. I realized that they weren't, so I just turned around again. A few seconds later, there was a tap on my shoulder and this younger couple introduced me to W and her son O. They came and sat by me and church started right after that. After sacrament, I found out that they are not members. Her fiance is a member in Jamiaca (where she is from too) and he had been teaching her all about the church through Skype. He was able to look online and find her a church where she could come. She said "I am here to find out how I can get baptized and go the the temple." WOW!! Talk about a missionarie's wishes coming true! haha She  said that he told her that she would  find missionaries who could teach her and would get her a free "mormon book". In Sunday School and Relief Society she participated like she had been a member for years. Someone asked her after hearing a response, "How long have you been a member". That happened more than once. She is SO ready and the missionaries set a time to see her today. Such a tender mercy! Her son also participated just as eagerly in Young Men's. He turns 12 today! :) He came to meet his mom after sacrament and said "Can we  PLEASE come back on Wednesday"? (Mutual) She was so happy that he was happy and said "of course we can! Such a neat experience!!! 

I have been learning and growing so much in the past few weeks, in ways I can't explain. I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for all the blessing that he gives me each day. I need to do better at writing down all the miracles I see, because I know how much more power comes from recognizing the Lord's hand.  I hope you all had a great week and continue to have a wonderful week and enjoy the holidays. Love you lots!!!! 

Hermana Gillett

Officially NOT a seafood girl!!

December 2, 2013 - Sister Jacie Gillett

Hey Family!!

It sounds like you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am so glad that no one got injured during family football. It can get pretty intense! We played football for a pday activity last week and it was a lot of fun! Sister J and I are the only sisters in the zone so it can get pretty rough, but it is always way fun!!

Thanksgiving for us was really awesome!! We went out to breakfast with out district and then we played games and ate with an awesome family in the ward. Definitely a different experience than being at home but I loved it!! Lots of food and lots of laughter! That is the way it should always be!

This week we had a member dinner at a seafood restaurant... I am officially not a seafood girl!!!! Baby octopus...The whole body...NASTY!!!! Snail...Slimy. Clam... it's alright. Squid... Tough and nasty!!! Thank goodness they had some good orange chicken. I am sure that is what filled me up!! I felt like I was in a foreign country in that restaurant!

Sister J and I will be staying in this area for sure. We love the area! We are still working with a lot of less actives and inviting them to come back. Since you have the Christmas parties coming up soon you should definitely invite friends to come with!! :)

Sorry I dont have much time to write! I love you all so much and I hope that you all have a great week!! Thanks for all you do for me!

Love, Sister Gillett :)

So Many Blessings!! (Hermana Gillett)

November 25, 2013

Hello Hello!!!

I want you all to know that I wore a jacket for the first time this morning. I was really hoping it was cold enough for that, but not quite. 74 just isn't cold enough yet. I tried... haha

   First of all THANK YOU so much for that Thanksgiving package! My companion and I came home SO tired that night and it really brightened up our day. We had a lot of fun blowing up and popping the balloons. Ma-key, thank you So much for the Christmas present! I have loved spoiling other sister missionaries with surprise ice cream trips and such while we have been on exchanges, to remind them that they are loved too and should relax and enjoy the work :) 

    So on Wednesday I was able to meet C for lunch. How neat is that!?! We had a great time talking, and don't worry Mom, I was able to explain to her all of those things that you were talking about in your letter. She didn't understand it all, but she has a great curiosity about the church and knows how great it is. I attribute her good attitude to the church to Dad. Thanks for being such a great example Dad. Isn't it amazing to be able to see just how far your example really does go in touching the lives of others? We are going to be meeting with her again soon, and helping her with a big service project that she is doing the first week of December. We are really excited to teach her more about what we believe. I also friended her on facebook so I have been sending her little mormon messages and such to help her understand along the way when we don't have time for face-to-face contact. That has been such a blessing! 

    So R, found out early last week that he is going to be moving in with some family so that he doesn't have to worry about being lonely anymore. However, he would not go until he had been baptized, yet he was planning to leave before teh 30th which was his original date. We were able to switch some things around and we had the wonderful opportunity to attend  R's baptism yesterday. It is such a blessing to see someone change so much, and have such a desire to continue faithful so that he can attend the temple and eventually be sealed to his wife for time and all eternity. The gospel has brought him so much peace and there's not a day that goes by that he's not reading from The Book of Mormon to find that rejuvenation and comfort that he so needs through this difficult time in his life.I hope that we can all learn from his example and remember just how important it is to have daily scripture study so that we too can feast upon the words of Christ and be filled. The spirit was so strong at his baptism! Although they had to try to baptize him 3 times, it finally worked after one of the Elders, Elder C. was so great to run and change into white in order to help Bro. P baptize him. With his age, bad back, and knees, it was a little more difficult, but they finally got it. There were SO many ward members there to support him and he was so grateful for all of that love. We had everyone at the baptism write on these Stars and we are putting together a photo book with all of the notes for him to take with him. He is SO excited to go there and find the church. It's such a blessing that the church is the same everywhere you go! We are communicating with the bishop and missionaries there to start with him where we left off. It will be such a great experience for him!

    This morning I was studying from Luke 17. In it it talks of "losing ourselves so we can find ourselves". I learned so many great lessons from studying this chapter, especially about gratitude and wish I had more time to relate them, especially this holiday week. However, I encourage you to read it and learn for yourselves. My invitation to you, that I also took upon myself to do this week, especially this week of thanksgiving: During your prayers throughout the week, focus only on giving thanks instead of asking for what we need. I have done this just a few times now and I have already been blessed with more faith and gratitude and have recognized so many more blessings already today. I love you all and I hope you have a great week! I am so grateful for all of you and for your love and support. I love you and pray for you always. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hermana Gillett