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
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