Work Doubled this Week - Week #33

Castle Rock

Well today marks 8 months on my mission! It seems like a really long time but when I think about it, it's just flown by!  Every time I hit a month mark it feels like I'm doing a countdown.  Not a countdown for when I come back home (I'm sure that's what you all are doing), but a countdown for when I get to go to the Temple again!  I get to go back in 4 months and I'm so excited.  That seems like a long time but 8 months has felt like nothing so I'm sure it will come sooner than I think.  In two months I get to Skype you all again for Mother's Day. Isn't that exciting?  We've got some good things to look forward to in the near future!

So this week has been great.  The amount of work we have been doing is doubling the work we were doing the week before.  We have more people we're visiting with, more service, and more dinner appointments.  I got some amazing news this week too.  I got to meet with the Investigator I was working with when I was serving in the Academy Ward who was going through legal issues.  He ended up being charged which halted his progress towards baptism and I wanted to see how he was doing.  When we met with him he told us how he was pretty bitter at first, but as he started reading scriptures and praying more he realized how grateful he was for this growing opportunity.  It occurred to him that he had an opportunity to learn so much more now and really focus on growing his testimony.  He accepted the fact that it was going to be another 2 years before he could be baptized but was still eager to take that step.  My companion and I were so happy to see that he had not given up.  We left that appointment feeling like he was headed in the right direction. Well, the next day we got a call from him.  The judge released him from his probation and he can get baptized!  He just needs an interview with our Mission President, which should go well because he already emails our mission president frequently.  I think they're on a first name basis.  I'm so excited for him.  He's really wanted this and has had a rough time trying to overcome those trials he's faced but a broken heart and a contrite spirit can really make a difference!

My companion and I are so similar it's crazy.  We're always on the same page and get along so well.  Even the young single adults in the ward have taken notice.  Usually when a companionship goes this well, our mission president shakes them up, so we really hope that doesn't happen.  I'd like to keep a companion for longer than 6 weeks if possible.  My companion is nervous that he'll be made a Zone Leader at the end of this transfer.  So keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't happen.

Castle Rock Up Close

So today I'm in Castle Rock again.  The other Elders in our District had to come up here for a doctor’s appointment and since its P-Day we figured we'd ride up with them and spend the day up here.  Plus, we get to save on our miles for the month.  We're limited to how far we can drive in a month and whenever we can save on miles we do it.  So we'll probably play sports up here.  I love playing volleyball.  I found out I'm not terrible at it and play pretty decently so it's pretty fun!

We got a list from our Ward Council of people they want us to start visiting and we've been going down that list this week contacting them and trying to schedule times to meet with them.  We were only able to get in contact with one of them which was sad.  We met with him after church and got to know him a little better.  Hopefully we'll get to talk to the rest of those people!

Thank you all so much for being so supportive.  I love hearing from you all.  I love serving the Lord and know I'm right where I need to be.  Please send the Stephen's family my best wishes.  You're in my thoughts and prayers.  I love and miss you all so much.  Have a great week and I'll talk to you soon!

5 Things that made me Smile:

1. Hearing the great news about our investigator from my last area.

2. My companion had to take a sick day this week (vomiting) and so I got most of the apartment really clean during that time.  It's nice to live in a clean home!

3. I got a letter from Ashley Fogleman this week.  It's good to hear from a friend back home!

4. We had two dinner appointments this last week.  Both of them were with the same family in our bishopric.  They're amazing cooks so I'm glad they're willing to feed us!

5. The YSA is just so much fun.  The people are great and I love serving here.

God is Great!

Elder Gillingwater

Daylight Savings Time, Oops Late For Church - Week #32

Hello from the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission

Gotta love Daylight Savings Time!

Hey everyone!  So I got some not so good news this week, my Drivers License is pretty much permanently lost on a Military Base.  Unless one of their workers finds it and turns it in there's nothing I can do.  So, hopefully I won't need to drive anytime soon!  I did get some good news this week.  An Apostle is going to be visiting our Mission.  They haven't announced who it will be but they'll be coming in May.  I'm so excited; I was really hoping an opportunity like that would happen while I was here.  My companion, Elder Guerrette, is convinced he's coming to tell us about when we will get our iPad's.  For his sake, I hope he's right.

So our ward has a lack of investigators, which means that most of our time is being spent finding people to teach.  We really rely on referrals from members in our ward because tracting for a Young Single Adult ward isn't all that practical.  "Hello!  We're the Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, are there any members of your family between the ages of 18-30 who are interested in hearing our message?"  Don't worry; we probably wouldn't say something like that.  We're here to teach everyone, we just like to joke about it.

Do We Really Get More Daylight?

So Daylight's Savings got the best of us yesterday.  We got up, got ready for church, and were studying expecting to leave around 9:15 for Ward Council, only to discover it was actually 10:15 and we were an hour late.  Our Bishopric thought it was funny and figured that's what had happened to us.  I wish we had known about it beforehand.

I forgot to share this story last week but I thought it was pretty sweet.  During our fast and testimony meeting last Sunday the Bishopric had asked my companion, Elder Guerrette, to share his testimony and introduce himself to the ward.  When he got up to speak, he started off by saying "I'm going to bear two testimonies today".  He shared his first testimony as a missionary.  After he finished, he pulled his name tag off and started his second testimony with, "Hi, my name is Josh, and I come from a broken family, but my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ will always be there for me."  It was really sweet and everyone came up to us to introduce themselves and compliment him on his words.  Sometimes, especially in the ward we're serving in, people can forget that Missionaries are real people with real trials and real testimonies.  If we work together, we can invite others to receive that Eternal joy of an Eternal family.

As I said before, we don't have many people we're working with so this week has been pretty slow.  But we've got a couple plans for this week to help keep us busy and working hard.  Whoever they are, if they're ready to learn and they live in the Colorado Springs area (between the ages of 18-30 of course) we will find them!

I'm glad to hear you're all doing well!  It's always great to hear from you so keep writing!  I have to keep things short today since we're headed out soon so I will have to send pictures later this week (they take a really long time).  I love you all so much and thank you for your prayers!  They're definitely helping, and I can notice a difference!

God is Great!

Elder Gillingwater

 

Got to Visit the Air Force Academy - Week #31

Hello from the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission

Air Force Academy

 

 

Don't Worry! I didn't skip week #30!  It turns out in one of my past emails, I used week #15 twice.  So I'm a little further along than we thought!  This week has been pretty great!  Tuesday came around and I got my new companion!  His name is Elder Guerrette.  We got along quicker than usual and have a lot in common!  I'll give you some background information on him.  He's 21 years old (I'm still older than all of my companions so far), he's from Maine which is really unique, he loves art, he wants to be an actor, and went to BYU.  He also has a really cool accent.  It's a blend between Boston and Canadian.  Maybe I'll start picking it up! hahaha.  I got to drive for the first time on my Mission since my companion didn't know the area and thought it would save us some trouble.  I then realized halfway through the day that I didn't have my drivers license still!  So he ended up having to drive anyways.

This week I got the flu and two ear infections.  Just when I thought I was doing fine with my health!  It made this week a pretty slow week.  But that doesn't mean that we didn't have any teaching opportunities!  We had a dinner this week at a member's home and at the end of our meal we shared a message about the 3rd Lesson we teach Investigators (The Gospel of Jesus Christ).  He was so impressed by how we taught the lesson he went and grabbed his non-member room mate and sat him down so he could hear the message we had just shared!  The room mate was really impressed and really liked our thoughts and input.  It was a great lesson and we could all really feel the spirit there!

Air Force Academy Eagle

This week the YSA put on a talent show and it was pretty funny.  Most talent shows have a lot of goofy "Is that really a talent?" acts, but this show took the cake in that category!  Overall it was a great night and we had lots of fun.  I finally met our Ward Mission Leader for the first time on Sunday!  He has been in Arizona for the Military for the last 2 months so I'm sure he was surprised to come back and have two completely different missionaries he has never met before.  He's a great guy and really wants to help us out!  I'm glad he's back!  I went onto the Air Force Academy for the first time!  It is really beautiful and I will be back there soon.

I love you all so much!  You're all a blessing in my life and help me remember my purpose as a Missionary, "To invite others to come unto Christ".  It's a glorious purpose and changes lives daily.  I love this Gospel and love the impact it's had on my life and the lives of others.  Be safe! Take care!  I'll hear from you all soon!

5 Things that Made Me Smile:

1. My new companion is really funny!

2. Teaching Lesson 3 twice in one sitting!

3. One of the acts for the talent show was a tumbling act, and more than once they slammed their heads on the stage, but they kept trying.

4. We blew our tire on the freeway Saturday night driving home, neither of us had changed a tire before but we definitely learned how that night!

5. We went to McDonald's twice in one day... not going to make that mistake again.

God is Great!

Elder Gillingwater

It Snowed So Much They Cancelled Church In Colorado Springs! Week #29

Hello from the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission

Colorado Springs Major Snow Storm

This week was ridiculous to say the least!  So many things were happening right after one another.  This week marked the day I lost my driver’s license, the storm of the decade, transfer calls, and getting sick again for the umpteenth time!  Here's where it all began.

On Tuesday night, we drove onto Fort Carson to meet with a returning less active member to discuss his goals of where he would like to be in the next 6 months.  Some of those goals were reading scriptures, becoming temple worthy, and meeting with us weekly.  To help him with these goals we were going to go to institute with him the following night to talk to him some more and help him feel comfortable being there.  Wednesday night rolled around and as we got to the gates at Fort Carson we were stopped as usual to have an inspection of the car and validation of our Drivers Licenses, Registration, and Insurance.  Surprisingly the MP (Military Police) noticed that our insurance card was almost a year expired!  She was ready to write us a ticket right then and there!  We were calling so many phone numbers to try and verify that we had current insurance but because it was so late in the evening, we were unsuccessful and being able to do that.  We got a hold of the senior couple in the mission who oversee all the vehicles missionaries drive who explained we had insurance but wasn't able to prove it at the time.  

 She let us go finally an hour later and we had completely missed Institute, and the person we were meeting had already gone home.  We were really bummed but knew we'd get a chance to see him again. It wasn't until Friday that we realized that the MP never gave us our driver’s licenses back!  We drove over back to Fort Carson as soon as we could and to our dismay we discovered that after 24 hours of being held onto, our driver’s licenses were being sent to the addresses on them.  So mine was on its way to California, and my companion’s was headed to Washington.  We had no idea what we were going to do!  We ended up having the Mission Office call our parents to inform them of the ordeal and to forward the cards back to us as soon as they got them.  But for now we have to do as little driving as possible and drive cautiously so we don't get pulled over!

***Editors Note***: After a week and a half, still no driver’s license in the mail from Fort Carson.  They will be getting a call on Monday from dad.

Sister Koval, Me, Elder Haskell, and Sister Kane

This week I also had the chance to go to the zoo with some other missionaries including my trainer Elder Haskell.  It was really great to see him again.  He's been a great motivator to help keep me focused and on track with my purpose as a missionary.  I really want to be a humble servant of the Lord and follow in His footsteps.  Someday, I'm going to look back and realize that I lost myself in the Work of Salvation and truly became of one heart and of one mind with my Heavenly Father.  I know I'll get there!  The zoo was great!  Don't worry dad, I didn't kiss any giraffes this time.

This weekend, the weather forecast was that we were going to get up to 16 inches of snow!  I was not excited in the slightest.  After a week of 70+ degrees I was looking forward to Spring.  It started to snow lightly on Friday but hit hard on Saturday.  It snowed so much that we had to have our Mission Vehicles parked, and they're still parked today!  It snowed so much this weekend that for the first time in a decade they cancelled church for the majority of Colorado Springs.  The only ward that was meeting was the Academy Ward (my previous area, that I still live in), which was at 9:00 am and they were only doing a Sacrament service.  All other wards in all 4 stakes that make up the city were completely cancelled.  My companion and I went to the Academy ward for Sacrament meeting and I got to visit with a lot of familiar faces!  It was great to see them all again and a lot of the young men were really excited to see me back!  It feels good to know that you can leave an impact on so many people in such short amount of time.

Treacherous Driving!

This week marked the end of the transfer and we were pretty much expecting a call from our Zone Leaders telling us that my companion would get transferred to a new area. Well, we got a call pretty early into the evening from our Mission President, who only calls to inform Missionaries if they are moving into leadership positions.  The call was for my companion Elder Low who is going to be a Zone Leader.  He was so excited!  That pretty much guaranteed that I was going to be staying in the YSA ward for at least another 6 weeks.  I'm very happy about that because this ward is great.  I am really nervous because we have such a large area to cover (3 Stakes) and I've only been there for 6 weeks.

My new companion is Elder Guerrette and he's going to be our new District Leader!  I'll get my new companion tomorrow and will tell you more about him next week!  Hopefully he doesn't snore like my current companion!  If I stay in this area for the next 3 transfers, I will have lived in the same apartment for half of my mission!  I think that's a first in this mission!  

To finish the week off, I got the flu again.  It's just a minor head cold but it makes this winter weather that much more miserable.  It's supposed to snow the majority of this week, but I hope the snow and my cold clear up soon.  Regardless of either, I'll be putting in my best effort to work hard and teach by the Spirit!  We had a training meeting about being a "consecrated" missionary and serving with one goal/purpose in mind.  I know if I devote all my time and energy into working hard, then these minor hardships I face won't affect my effectiveness!  I'm really enjoying myself and know I'm right where I'm supposed to be!

Well I hope you all have a great week and that where ever you are, I hope the weather is better than here! You're all in my prayers!  Take care, and I'll talk to you soon!

5 Things that Made Me Smile:

1. Had a great time seeing my Trainer Elder Haskell again.

2. Someone in my last ward sent me a pancake in the mail.  They coated it in Elmer's Glue so it was solid as a rock and wrote a letter on it. It's pretty cool!

3. Getting to see some of my favorite members from the Academy Ward was great!

4. The Mission Offices phone call to my dad, "Hi this is the mission office and we have a small problem.”  I hope he wasn't freaking out when she started the phone call like that!

5. Elder Buxton had his birthday yesterday so we threw a party for him Sunday night and it was great being able to see my old district before they all got transferred all over the place!

God is Great!

Elder Gillingwater

 

I love the YSA Wards! Week #28

Hello from the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission

This week started off slow but got progressively better.  We got a referral from a member in the ward but have not been able to contact him at all this week, he's never been home and we don't know his schedule but I'm sure we will find him eventually!  One of the cadets got their mission call this week!  They're headed to Berlin, Germany which is so cool!  He's really excited because he really wanted to serve in Germany.  He will leave during the summer break.  Also, the young man we just baptized is being deployed to Kuwait.  He keeps telling us how grateful he is that we were able to share the gospel with him before he left.  It's helped him feel so much peace before going into this deployment.  We pray and hope that everything goes well for him!

Fort Carson Memorial

This week was a lot of fun!  I had my interview with my Mission President and it was a very enlightening experience.  He's really proud of the progress I've made as a missionary and is glad that I'm really enjoying my new area!  This week is the end of the transfer so there might be some changes to our district which is exciting.  The mission president hinted that my companion might be leaving.  I'm kind of nervous about taking the lead on the area so soon since I've only been here a few weeks.  We will find out what happens on Saturday, but I hope I don't have to leave!  I love the YSA wards!  We're teaching someone on Fort Carson tonight which is also exciting, hopefully that goes well too! 

***Note from the Editor***: They, he and his companion, were required to leave their driver’s licenses at the security gate upon entering Fort Carson.  They forgot to pick their licenses up on the way out.  Since they did not remember they had left them there, Fort Carson mailed their driver’s licenses back to their home addresses.  So dad got a call from the mission office advising to send it back as soon as possible.  That is all we need is to get stopped and cited for no drivers license in possession!

Valentines Day was very boring.  We didn't have a dinner that night, because the singles were trying to go on dates!  We didn't get to do a whole lot that evening with everyone preoccupied.  But this weekend we have a Specialized Training course for missionaries in our Zone.  I bet it's going to be really great!  It's always fun having a bunch of missionaries together!

Last week the weather here was amazing!  It hit the 70 degree mark more than once!  I thoroughly enjoyed it!  But this week, it's cold and been snowing a lot.  I really wish it would start to get warm soon, and stay that way!  We've been pretty busy!  We have a few people we're teaching and lots of people to share the Gospel with!  I know we'll find success if we continue to serve diligently!  During our District Meeting this week, I shared a scripture that has meant a lot to me over the past few weeks.  D&C 59:23, which I interpret as if we're doing all we can, we will be just fine.

Tour of Honor

I love you all so much!  Know that I miss you and love hearing from you!  Time is just flying by, I've been out 7 months since yesterday!  That's crazy!  Take Care!  I will talk to you all soon!

Things that made me smile:

1. My companion Elder Low doesn't dance like a white guy, he's actually pretty good!

2. My companion is extremely twitter pated with a girl at BYU-Idaho, I never hear the end of it.

3. I can't tell you how many times people have stopped me in Walmart to ask me questions about groceries just because I have a name tag.

4. I met a sister missionary (Sister Bates) yesterday who was born in Paradise, California!  She says she's cousins with the Crabtree's.  Small world!

5. My trainer just got transferred back to the Colorado Springs on Sunday!  So I should be able to see him soon which is awesome!

God is Great!

Elder Gillingwater

Elder Kyle Gillingwater Week #27

Hello from the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission

Graffiti Wall

The weeks in this transfer have been feeling a lot more like days!  It all goes by so fast I feel like I just emailed you all yesterday!  I keep trying to think of things that are exciting that you would all want to hear about.  We taught another new investigator this week!  She pretty much wants to get baptized but we have a lot of work to do before she get's there.  We also have another investigator who wants to start taking the lessons but is really shy and nervous about it so we are taking things slow.  Our recent convert of 1 week received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and is really excited to have it.  He keeps talking about how he wants to get the Melchizedek Priesthood and go to the temple!  Sadly, the Denver Temple is closed until the end of the month for maintenance and he gets deployed to Kuwait the week before.  He's a really solid guy though so we know he will be fine!

US Air Force Academy

A lot of the Freshmen Cadets are preparing to turn in their Mission Papers which is really exciting!  They have a small window of time between semesters to have their call date in order to go so there might be a wave of them leaving around the same time.  It will be cool to see where they all go!

This week we walked into our Sunday School class only to realize that the teacher was not going to show up to church that day, since he was out of town, and we had to do an impromptu lesson on the spot which was really nerve racking!  We did a great job though so that always makes things better.

Hopefully this week I will have some crazy story to tell you guys!  Missionary work is really fun and I never get tired of sharing the Gospel with others.  It's such a blessing to be here and I'm so grateful for the opportunity.  I love serving, and can't imagine being anywhere else right now.  I love you all so much and will talk to you soon!

Things that Made Me Smile:

1. Sister Faleao's comment, "I have a Polynesian stomach, I never get sick from food".

2. We had dinner with a really cool member in the YSA on Saturday and it was a blast!

3. Seeing our recent convert get the Priesthood on Sunday.

4. I just love serving in the YSA ward!

God is Great!

Elder Gillingwater

Awesome Week, Got to Visit Fort Carson!

Hello from the Colorado, Colorado Springs Mission

 

 

Self Explanitory

This week has been so great!  The members in the Cheyenne Mountain Young Single Adult ward are fantastic!  They like to work hard, and they like to have fun!  I'm really glad I get to serve here.  I got to go onto an Army base this week!  The base was Fort Carson on the south side of Colorado Springs.  They took our Drivers Licenses and car registration, and did a search through our car.  We passed the inspection point and headed into the base.  It's almost like a miniature city in there which I wasn't expecting at all!  It had nice homes, schools, a mall, and lots of really courteous people.  I guess I just pictured something more along the lines of old rusty Barracks, giant metal domes filled with tanks, people running in formations all over.  It was really cool!  I've got a few pictures of the base.  Hopefully I will get to go again soon, or visit one of the other bases in town or the Air Force Academy.  

The Dormitories

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures if I do.

A recent convert in our ward who was baptized last month is one of the most solid members in the ward.  He jumped right in to having a calling and took over and set up the YSA activity last week.  It was a chili cook off and was a huge success!  Few people show up to the activities but He had almost 50 people there who stayed the whole time.  We had a great time being with him and being able to eat lots of chili!

We had a baptism this week!  He is a really solid guy who really believes in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and has a really strong testimony.  He's only 19 but looks like he's 25.  He gets deployed to Kuwait this month and wanted to make sure he could get the Priesthood before he left.  He was baptized on Saturday and the service got a little hectic.  The member who was supposed to baptize him was running late and wasn't going to be able to make it in time so my companion jumped into a jumpsuit to baptize him.  When He baptized him, he accidentally hit his head on one of the steps but they laughed about it afterwards.  When he got confirmed in church the next day he brought friends with him and introduced them to us and then he bore his testimony since it was fast Sunday.  It was really cool!

My New Companion Elder Low

Overall this week was awesome!  We had lots to do and we ended the week on a high note.  I really hope this progress continues!  We found out on Sunday that a potential investigator in our ward wants to start taking the lessons so we might have another baptism coming up soon!  The Lord's work never ceases!  I hope you all are having a wonderful time back home.  In 14 days I will have been on my mission for 7 months.  I'm excited for what the future has in store for me!  Have an awesome week and I will talk to all of you soon!

5 Things That Made Me Smile:

1. When our convert his is head on the steps in the font because of my companion, Apparently, baptism doesn't just wipe your sins away, but also your memory.

2. I met someone who served in the California, Roseville Mission (back in 2007) this week.  He never served in Chico (served in Paradise), but said all the missionaries dreaded being sent to Oroville.  I thought that was funny.

3. Testimony meeting on Sunday was wonderful!  You could really feel the Spirit in that meeting!

4. We taught the sister missionaries how to use a lighter to make a fireball in your hand and they're obsessed with doing it now.

5. A quote from a dinner appointment this week, "I took one morphine pill and because I wasn't thinking clearly, in 20 minutes I took 3 more" which I guess you don't want to take more than one every 8 hours.  But she's ok now.

God is Great!

Elder Kyle Gillingwater