DEC_18_18_MOM_TOW_From Mom
Hey Mom!!
I am happy to report that the sickness is gone! No more vomiting during blessings! It lasted a little while, and there were some scares along the way, but I feel healthy now! At least, as healthy as I can be with all of the Christmas cookies and pizza I've been eating.
I told you last week, but I'm going to Palmyra today! The Hardings are taking us to the temple, and also to see the Sacred Grove as well as the Hill Cumorah. I don't know what it's going to look like in the winter, but im still happy regardless! Like Dad told me in his email to me, just the fact that God the Father was in that very forest at one point makes the entire trip worth it, despite what it may or may not look like. I'm very grateful for the Hardings for being willing to take us. They're an awesome family, one of my favorites I've met on my mission. :)
I'm also really excited to go to the temple again, as it's been over a year since I've been able to attend. The Palmyra temple isn't the most gorgeous from the outside, but I hear that there's a window in the Celestial room that looks directly towards the Sacred Grove. When I went to the Philadelphia temple, there were so many little tidbits that alluded to the colonial times, like paintings of the signing of the declaration of independence, feathers in the crown molding, etc. I'm expecting a lot of references to Joseph Smith and the First Vision in this temple. I can't wait to go! I don't know if I'll have enough time to send you another email today or WHAT, but I'll be sure to fill you in on the experience as soon as possible. I should be able to send lots of pictures today, though, so stay tuned for those!!
I did some searching on Google Maps and discovered that Canandaigua, New York, where the Knudsens live, is only about a 24 minute drive from the Palmyra temple. So I'm going to be right in their neck of the woods today! It's going to be weird being so close to my best friend (Braden is home for Christmas break) and not being able to see him. If we happen to pass by his town, I'll be sure to take a picture with the Canandaigua sign and send it to him. I'm sure that'll throw him for a loop.
Lots of good things happened this week! Tuesday was my first full day of proselyting after the Dreaded Sickness of 2018, and it was so great to be out and about again! We spent that day tracting and... tracting. We've been showing a lot of people the Light the World videos and have been getting mixed results. Most just don't really care too much, at least compared to last year. We didn't have too much success that day, but like I said, still great to get some fresh air.
Wednesday we had District Council, which is always interesting, especially when I'm leading it. Trying to figure out what to train on in District Council is always such a struggle for me. Fortunately, this transfer I've been blessed with a lot of late night revelation. I'll go to bed on Monday night, still having no idea what we're going to be talking about, and while I'm laying in bed, about to fall asleep, a killer idea comes to me. It's crazy how Revelation works sometimes. This has happened three times already, each of the last three weeks. So this week we talked about how we can better teach the Restoration to our Investigators needs, rather than a rote presentation. I think it went really well, and the Zone Leaders complimented me on it too. So that's always great.
The Zone Leaders were giving a presentation in District Council this week, that's why they were present. I went on exchanges with Elder Wilkins afterwards, and had a really good time with him. We just worked really hard all day, and were able to find 3 new people, which is great. Elder Foster and Elder Wilkins' companion worked in our area as well, and they were able to find some people as well! So it was a much needed boost for our area, especially after the sickness that I had.
One of the guys we found is named Bill. He has a Macaw with a massive cage in his apartment. We were able to have a great Restoration lesson with him, with a few interruptions from the screeching bird. Bill is just a really genuine man. He was really hestlitsnt about letting us in at first, but once we proved to him we were just normal guys, he relaxed a lot. I don't want to get too ahead of myself since I just met the guy, but he seems solid and understands our purpose, which is so nice to find in a person.
We also taught a few other lessons this week, which was a nice little change from the continuous finding we've been doing. I don't know what will happen with these people, but if nothing else, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met them and be trusted with them.
I'm glad to hear you FINALLY put the Christmas tree up! There's nothing quite like the feeling having a tree in your house brings. Sister Harding went to the Dollar Store and bought us a tiny Christmas tree, some ornaments, and some lights. I thought that was very thoughtful of her. Even though it's small, it does a good job of bringing the Christmas Spirit to the house. Along with blasting the Pentatonix Christmas CD.
In terms of my call for Christmas, Google Hangouts seemed to work decently well last time. I'm going to be calling from the English's house, another member family in our ward. I don't know when exactly that's happening, though. Probably sometime in the afternoon? When works best for you guys? Including Tony and Briana.
I'll be emailing you again just like normal on Monday, Christmas Eve. We can solidify plans for the call then.
Welp, I've gotta go get ready to head to the temple. Love you and I'm grateful for you!
Elder Jake Gonzales
I am happy to report that the sickness is gone! No more vomiting during blessings! It lasted a little while, and there were some scares along the way, but I feel healthy now! At least, as healthy as I can be with all of the Christmas cookies and pizza I've been eating.
I told you last week, but I'm going to Palmyra today! The Hardings are taking us to the temple, and also to see the Sacred Grove as well as the Hill Cumorah. I don't know what it's going to look like in the winter, but im still happy regardless! Like Dad told me in his email to me, just the fact that God the Father was in that very forest at one point makes the entire trip worth it, despite what it may or may not look like. I'm very grateful for the Hardings for being willing to take us. They're an awesome family, one of my favorites I've met on my mission. :)
I'm also really excited to go to the temple again, as it's been over a year since I've been able to attend. The Palmyra temple isn't the most gorgeous from the outside, but I hear that there's a window in the Celestial room that looks directly towards the Sacred Grove. When I went to the Philadelphia temple, there were so many little tidbits that alluded to the colonial times, like paintings of the signing of the declaration of independence, feathers in the crown molding, etc. I'm expecting a lot of references to Joseph Smith and the First Vision in this temple. I can't wait to go! I don't know if I'll have enough time to send you another email today or WHAT, but I'll be sure to fill you in on the experience as soon as possible. I should be able to send lots of pictures today, though, so stay tuned for those!!
I did some searching on Google Maps and discovered that Canandaigua, New York, where the Knudsens live, is only about a 24 minute drive from the Palmyra temple. So I'm going to be right in their neck of the woods today! It's going to be weird being so close to my best friend (Braden is home for Christmas break) and not being able to see him. If we happen to pass by his town, I'll be sure to take a picture with the Canandaigua sign and send it to him. I'm sure that'll throw him for a loop.
Lots of good things happened this week! Tuesday was my first full day of proselyting after the Dreaded Sickness of 2018, and it was so great to be out and about again! We spent that day tracting and... tracting. We've been showing a lot of people the Light the World videos and have been getting mixed results. Most just don't really care too much, at least compared to last year. We didn't have too much success that day, but like I said, still great to get some fresh air.
Wednesday we had District Council, which is always interesting, especially when I'm leading it. Trying to figure out what to train on in District Council is always such a struggle for me. Fortunately, this transfer I've been blessed with a lot of late night revelation. I'll go to bed on Monday night, still having no idea what we're going to be talking about, and while I'm laying in bed, about to fall asleep, a killer idea comes to me. It's crazy how Revelation works sometimes. This has happened three times already, each of the last three weeks. So this week we talked about how we can better teach the Restoration to our Investigators needs, rather than a rote presentation. I think it went really well, and the Zone Leaders complimented me on it too. So that's always great.
The Zone Leaders were giving a presentation in District Council this week, that's why they were present. I went on exchanges with Elder Wilkins afterwards, and had a really good time with him. We just worked really hard all day, and were able to find 3 new people, which is great. Elder Foster and Elder Wilkins' companion worked in our area as well, and they were able to find some people as well! So it was a much needed boost for our area, especially after the sickness that I had.
One of the guys we found is named Bill. He has a Macaw with a massive cage in his apartment. We were able to have a great Restoration lesson with him, with a few interruptions from the screeching bird. Bill is just a really genuine man. He was really hestlitsnt about letting us in at first, but once we proved to him we were just normal guys, he relaxed a lot. I don't want to get too ahead of myself since I just met the guy, but he seems solid and understands our purpose, which is so nice to find in a person.
We also taught a few other lessons this week, which was a nice little change from the continuous finding we've been doing. I don't know what will happen with these people, but if nothing else, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met them and be trusted with them.
I'm glad to hear you FINALLY put the Christmas tree up! There's nothing quite like the feeling having a tree in your house brings. Sister Harding went to the Dollar Store and bought us a tiny Christmas tree, some ornaments, and some lights. I thought that was very thoughtful of her. Even though it's small, it does a good job of bringing the Christmas Spirit to the house. Along with blasting the Pentatonix Christmas CD.
In terms of my call for Christmas, Google Hangouts seemed to work decently well last time. I'm going to be calling from the English's house, another member family in our ward. I don't know when exactly that's happening, though. Probably sometime in the afternoon? When works best for you guys? Including Tony and Briana.
I'll be emailing you again just like normal on Monday, Christmas Eve. We can solidify plans for the call then.
Welp, I've gotta go get ready to head to the temple. Love you and I'm grateful for you!
Elder Jake Gonzales
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