July 31, 2017

GOOD MORNING!! 

HOLY COW. I am trying not to think of it... but my three month countdown begins tomorrow!! AH! I hate how time flies too quickly. I am so grateful to be a missionary. Last night, I received the CRAZIEST transfer call of my life... My president called me and said that he felt prompted for me to go to Fresno mission, and told me to pack my bags and I am going tomorrow...

.... just kidding. haha. Did I get you?? I hope so. 

We actually did have transfer calls last night.  And my sweet companion is leaving me to go to my FIRST area/ward, in Modesto!! :D I am soooo excited for her and for the crazy experiences she will be able to have! ;) OKAY. Since I love acting, I created a script from the call we got last night so you can see what it was like:

TRANSFER CALLS 

Sister Alderson: Hello! 

Assistants: Hello! You ready for transfer calls?! 

Sister Alderson and Guilott: PLEASE!!! 

Assistants: OKAY! Sister Alderson you will be going to Modesto! 

Sister Alderson: GREAT!!
Sister Guilott: THAT WAS MY FIRST AREA!! 

Sister Alderson and Guilott: *cue girly screams and giggles*

Assistants: ... yep. OKAY! NEXT!! 

Sister Guilott: what is happening to me?

Assistants: you will be training a new missionary. 

Sister Guilott: ... sweet! Okay, what time is.... (interrupted) 

Assistants: Wait! ... and you will be covering the 2nd ward and 3rd ward as well.... 

Sister Guilott: ......

Assistants:..... 

Sister Guilott: .................................................

Assistants: hello?

Sister Guilott: Sorry.... I thought I was having a minor heart attack.

Assistants: Yeah... But we know the Lord will help you. Yeah, this is the craziest assignment we have ever given!  

Sister Guilott: ... Oh... that's cool... 

Assistants: Yeah... Good luck! Good Bye! 

YEP. The Lord really must have A LOT of faith in me in covering the two biggest areas in Oakdale! :D :D :D WHAT?!?!?! Okay. I really feel like Nephi in 1 Nephi 4:6-7, I invite you to go and read that. ;) haha.

BUT!! We are seeing so many miracles in the area, it is crazy. I love this area so much and for the wonderful experiences we are seeing daily! :) 

Here's an experience this week that proves that we are called by the Lord.

 

My companion and I were biking in the heat (what's new?) and we were biking one way to go try another person who seemed interested in learning about the gospel. And then I felt the prompting to go another way... Which was obviously a prompting since the street turns into a HUGE hill that we usually have to walk up, since its too hard to bike up. I told my companion what I felt, and we went that way. We were biking down the street, and I felt the prompting so strong to keep going. We saw the hill and I told my companion not to get off, but to keep biking. She looked at me all confused, but my companion has SO MUCH faith and we kept going. Without having to get off our bikes or shift our gears, WE WENT UP THE HILL. And to our surprise, we were not panting or dying... we felt the spirit so strong, we knew that God needed us to go somewhere quick and He gave us power! I was freaking out inside, because that was seriously a miracle. But we went to this street and saw a sweet Hispanic man (who we later found out was named Sergio), it was like he was glowing. He was doing yard work for a house and we felt like he was the one we needed to talk to. With the little Spanish I know (Thank you past missionaries who gave me things to say!!), he said he wanted to learn more about the church! But right then... the house owner came out, the one he was working for... She looked very concerned. My companion and I got a little nervous. Sergio went back to work, And then we went over and started to talk to the woman. I felt like Ammon, because I started to talk to her and give her compliments. She  LOVE talking with us and she thought we were the sweetest women ever, and she asked us if we needed water. MY SMART companion said YES! The owner went back inside to get us water, and Sergio quickly came back to talk to us again.We quickly asked for his information and we was SUPER EXCITED. Well, the Spanish-speaking missionaries are now teaching him and we are just SO grateful we followed the prompting to go up that HUGE hill. :) :) COOLEST EXPERIENCE EVER!! 

The computers we are on today only have a certain amount of time (we are at the public library since the computers at the church are down).  AND MY TIME IS ALMOST UP.  THANK YOU FOR READING THESE EMAILS. Thank you for the prayers on behalf of missionaries.  I know that this is the Lord's work. I know it and I LOVE IT.

LOVE,

SISTER GUILOTT

Pioneer Day - July 24th

HAPPY PIONEER DAY!!!!

Okay, no one celebrates it here in California.  I woke up all excited that it was Pioneer Day today, and my companion is very confused. I just LOVE my pioneer heritage. As I was biking around here in my area, I started thinking: "... it is really hot today. I am biking in 100 degree weather... in a dress..." THEN I think: "Well. Look what the pioneers had to do!!"  I have a new appreciation for them all, those women walking across the plains in a dress, in the heat... I am so grateful for them,  and they help humble me and help me be more optimistic. Speaking of pioneers, I was able to read a book on the mission called My Heritage and I would recommend all of you to read it. It makes you see the hardships yet the reward the pioneers went through. I love it so much. 

So this week... MIRACLES UPON MIRACLES. I really wish I could strap a camera on my helmet (I would look weird... but what is new...we already look weird I am sure) and have you all see the things I am able to witness DAILY. There are so many little things that the Lord has blessed me to see or to have. Whether it be a cool breeze to bring you to the 90's degrees, or when He sends so many kind people across our path, even though many people have their own churches. I love asking how Christ has been able to influence them in their lives.... or ask for experiences. Even though we all practice differently, God's love and His Son is all the same. I love it. 

This week, we went on exchanges with the hermanas! I love the chance to serve in Spanish, even though I understand little. There is such a sweet spirit these sweet Hispanic people have in my areas. I LOVE IT. Well, cool experience from that: We had been given a referral to go visit a Spanish family, and I have been trying SO hard to practice my Spanish contacting skills. So on our exchange and taught a man named Angel. He is AMAZING. He loved everything that was being said. And he said that he would be going to church this next week and wanted to invite all of his friends to listen to the hermanas... MIRACLES! Even when you are not in your area, you can still have miracles and help the missionaries out in their areas. :) 

But another really cool experience... My companion and I had NO plans last Saturday night... They had all fallen through... We said a prayer asking the Lord to direct us to someone who would be interested. My companion had a feeling to go to a certain street. We went, and we started to knock on doors. We then saw these two men and a woman talking in their garage. I always get a bit nervous when we approach someone for the first time, but I thought of my favorite scripture in 2 Timothy 1:7, and I got the courage to talk to them. They looked to us, and looking confused as we started to talk to them. But we started to have a conversation with them anyway. We asked them if we could share more, and they were very interested and said yes! We had a great discussion with them, and we were able to share about the Restoration. There was this one man, Isaac, and he was so into it. We started to ask about what if there could be one church for everyone. He got ALL excited, saying that he has had that question so much! So we shared about Joseph Smith, and his eyes were suck on us. My companion was very cute, she turned to me and asked me to share the first vision. I looked to Isaac, and I started to share the Joseph Smith story right there. I felt the spirit SO strong, I knew that Isaac was feeling the same thing. He started to get emotional. He then after said, "this is true! This has got to be true. I feel it." WE WERE SO EXCITED! Sadly, Isaac is from a city close by, BUT those missionaries who got that referral will be very happy. :) We are teaching the other man who was there as well. The Lord has prepared so many hearts of the people around us. ALL WE NEED TO DO IS OPEN OUR MOUTHS AND PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL! 

I love my mission. I love it so much. I am so grateful for it. I hope you all have a wonderful week :) STAY COOL!

Love, 

Sister Emily Guilott

July 17th

Hello world!

It has been a joyous week here on the mission. I have to admit though, oppositions were pretty strong. But I know that we are stronger than the adversary, and we were able to overcome the challenges! HA! Beat that adversary.  

We started off teaching our investigator everyday this week: he was receiving all the lessons and it was great! So many people were kind enough to come out teaching with us, which helped our investigator feel so welcomed and loved. Members make the WHOLE difference!  You should go out teaching with missionaries. It will help out so much! And we saw miracles and by the end of this week.... HE WAS BAPTIZED!! :D 

It was amazing. I am so grateful that the Lord was able to place me here, I know that it was by the spirit that our investigator was able to learn and grow. Our investigator, Kelvin, is amazing. He is so happy to be a part of the church. He was able to receive the Holy Ghost AND the Aaronic Priesthood!!! Our bishop is so kind, and he invited us (me and my companion) to be there when he received the Aaronic priesthood. It was the first time i witnessed someone being set apart of something like that, AND IT WAS AMAZING!! The spirit was so strong, it just furthered my testimony to know that the Priesthood is the power of God today on the earth. It is a huge blessing from God, and Kelvin says he is so happy to "be a part of the Brotherhood now." ;) 

I also want to share an incredible experience we had this past week.  My companion and I returned to see a less active man that had told us to come back to see him and and he had invited us to come read scriptures together! He is a doll, and looks like Santa Claus... SO EVEN BETTER RIGHT?! ;)

Well, we came back and we found out his son just moved in with him. So his son joined our conversation.  His son is very knowledgeable about the gospel, which made it kind of hard to talk to him.  This made it hard for his father to follow along with our conversation.  The son was at first telling us all these hard and deep doctrines. We tried to keep the spirit there and tried our best to share a message. The son then asked us a question, I forget exactly what. But he was asking about mercy and justice and what would happen if there was no justice. He was asking for a specific scripture.  His attitude got me flustered but I then felt prompted to pray for the spirit to help so I did and .... NO JOKE, I heard this voice/feeling inside say at that moment: "No God." So I shared that answer with the son. He got big eyed and starred at me.  Then the spirit then told me a scripture: "2 Nephi 2" I looked it up, and shared this scripture that says if there was no opposition, then God would cease to exist. The son got quiet.... said he was very impressed and I was able to bear testimony that the spirit was able to share these things with him. Even though I have all these tabs in my scriptures, it is hard to always remember and pull out the right one.  It was an amazing experience for me and I was so full of gratitude that I was worthy enough to be an instrument in the hands of God at that time and place. I was humbled that God trusted me enough to give me those answers exactly when I needed them to have the spirit be with this family, and that I was not confounded. I am so grateful for these experiences!! :D :D I love my mission and I am so  grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. He lives, I know He does. I love Him so much. 

I hope you all have a great week! :D 

Love, SIster Guilott

July 10th

MIRACLES.
This week has been a week of miracles. We had  Zone Conference this past week and I learned so much! I am so grateful for leaders I get to serve with here on my mission. I learned a lot about companionship unity. My companion and I have been putting a lot of things into action, and I feel like not only our unity is getting stronger, but the area is improving!! I would invite you to read Alma 13:3-9, and insert "ordained" with "set apart as missionaries" and see how is can apply to everyone! Because we can all be missionaries in helping others come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. :) 

Well, we had a great week teaching our new investigators! Great news: we have this sweet woman who wants to be baptized but she is engaged to be married in October.  We felt prompted to tell her that she can be married civilly sooner so she can be baptized sooner and pretty much have the big wedding celebration in October. She got VERY excited and told us she would talk to her fiance ;) SUPER EXCITED! She loved coming to church and already seems like a member. She even got longer sleeves on her wedding dress to make it appropriate for her sealing ;) CRAZY AWESOME!! :D :D 

Then we have been teaching our investigator Kelvin and he is super excited to be baptized!! We had the most amazing lesson yesterday! We had a recent convert come to help teach, along with a sweet girl we know in the ward. We all read Alma 36 together, and our recent convert used  to struggle with some issues in the past. So he was able to relate so well, and shared the best insights to our investigator. He even invited our investigator to come over to his house for a barbecue and was so kind to him. I am so grateful for members reaching out like that: that is the pure love of Christ. And I hope to have charity like that one day. :) Our investigator was able to go to a baptism from our ward this past week, and it was so sweet. He even started to sing "I am a child of God" and he got emotional, which made all of us emotional and we all felt the spirit so strong. 

I am just so grateful for my mission. I love it so much, even when biking in 110 degree weather and no one lets you in... The Lord helps me daily and it is so hard for me to count all the tender mercies I have seen!! I love my Savior, I would do anything for Him. I know that He lives and died for us and that makes me feel so at peace to know that I can rely on Him and repent to become more like Him. I love this area and my companion.  The work is hastening and I am just so grateful. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week and thank you for reading another long missionary email. ;) Thank you for all your support and your love. Have a blessed week!

Love, 

Sister Guilott 

Pictures... SO we have now caught three lizards! (DAD YOU WOULD BE SO PROUD.) We even found one in our apartment... got to love that. 

Picture at the top of the page:  We have been trying this new "apple cider vinegar" thing... It is supposed to help with allergies  and keep you healthy. I have been dying because it is so gross but I actually do feel a lot better and I haven't been sick or had bad allergies lately :) HOORAY!  

 

July 3, 2017

Good morning!! Wow....this was a great week. It was full of miracles!

First of all... I love my companion. She is amazing, and she is seriously the best missionary ever. We had a lot of fun this week teaching people, talking to people on the street, and teaching and committing our investigator from last week to baptism! She got to do the invitation, and she was so excited! It was great to see. ;)

My companion and I have have been working hard on "opening our mouths" and talking to people. I am usually the one to start conversations. But I want to brag about my awesome companion.  As we were biking down a hill, we saw a man getting out of his car. I had a prompting to ask my companion to start the conversation! I asked her, and assured her that I will always be there if she freaks out or gets to nervous and I can help her out. So we went over... and she started to talk to him, making the first contact, etc. It was a great conversation, and he even brought up his grandpa who had passed away who he loved, and he wanted to know where we thought he was... My companion had the spirit so strong, and she shared with him the Plan of Salvation. She was able to make a return appointment with him. AND BOY... AFTER THAT, SHE WAS GLOWING. I was so excited for her. I feel like after that, she had "missionary fever" ALL NIGHT. We would see people, and she would start talking to them! IT WAS AMAZING!! But... I have to admit, she did throw me under the bus when it came to people who spoke Spanish and I had to do the speaking, which is funny because I only know a little but I have learned to share a basic message in Spanish and I try to communicate, but were were able to get many referrals that day for the Spanish missionaries as well in our area. And we gained 7 potential investigators after that! So all in all, it was some successful "opening our mouths" this week.

I am so grateful to be on my mission! It makes me so happy and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else! I love you all and hope you have a great day!! 

By the way... picture of the buggy...

The members gave it to us to we could travel places, like if we needed to go to laundry and get groceries because we do not have a car... I love the members here :) 

My darling companion.  She is awesome!

Love to you all and have a happy 4th of July!  I love our country and am grateful for the opportunities it provided for the restoration of the gospel.  Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Guilott