Monday, December 16, 2013

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

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