August 15th - Hello from Modesto

Hello World!! 

I hope you all had a wonderful week! I sure did and I am loving my mission more and more! I can't believe we are already getting into August!! AHHHHHH!!! But all is well!! I am just grateful I have lots of time left, because there is a lot of work to do here in the California Modesto Mission!! 

This week, we found a new investigator named William! He is great. He is from Louisiana and wants to change and come into the gospel. He has a baptismal date! HOORAY! But he has been "hiding" from us lately, so we will see what happens with him. 

This week was a scary week, actually.  We have had a lot of things happen to many people in our ward. There is a woman who got in a car wreck, and she has lost all of her memory, and had to be put into a treatment center. Her son, who is on the Autistic Spectrum, doesn't know that she has lost her memory and it is so sad! Sister Rugg and I heard about the news and cried. This women has been such a blessing to EVERYONE in the ward. So extra prayers for her and her son would be very appreciated.

This week I got to go on exchanges with my Sister Training Leader, Sister Webb. BOY I DO LOVE HER! She is new to this position but I KNOW GOD CALLED HER FOR A REASON. She is such a power house of truth and light. I love her dearly. I was able to lead out the area, which was scary before but now I love it, and we had many wonderful experiences. We were able to teach a woman named Angela and she is very interested in the lessons we have to teach! I just love how the spirit is able to teach everyone! We are only instruments in God's hand! I don't boast in myself, ONLY in God, because He knows everything, and we certainly don't. haha!!

Well, I have to cut things a little short today. Sister Rugg and I are going to a national park called Big Trees. It is super cool! We are super excited! I hope everyone has a wonderful day and week. And Utah, don't die from the heat. I saw the weather...Its so hot everywhere! You all are in my prayers and I hope the best for you! 

LOVE YOU!

Sister Guilott 

Love this wonderful family!

 Received my Ukulele from home after asking several times and finally 

getting permission -- I cried, I was so happy!

 Hurray for bungee cords to fix my broken bike basket!

 My companion and a sweet friend

 I was trying to be artsy taking a picture of us studying!

At our study areas in our apartment.

With Love from Modesto

Hello Wonderful People!

Have I mentioned how much I love my mission?  BECAUSE I DO!  Even tough we lost some of our investigators this week, I still love it.  We were teaching Sherri, right?  And a few days ago we get a text saying, "Hey girls, thank you for teaching me but I have decided to become a Jehovah Witness.  Bye."  Oh well . . . I am glad she feels happy and still has faith in God.

This week was so COOL (as in the weather) and we got to see a lot of amazing people who are less active.  I am so grateful that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is very missionary minded.  You can be a missionary anywhere you go!  And I have realized its not always about the baptism.  Of course that is such an important necessary step.  But it is first about bring people to Christ, and helping them know that they are loved.  Watching someone come to church who hasn't come in years is amazing.

A GREAT STORY for this week:  A wonderful woman in our ward got to go to the temple again.  She had not been in over 26 years.  And we have been meeting with her and helping her find her way back.  We taught her about tithing and promised her that is she paid her tithing she would be blessed.  AND THAT HAPPENED!  She is very poor and had to rely on her faith in Christ.  She did it and was able to pay for all of her debt.  She paid her tithing and GOT TO GO TO THE TEMPLE.  Not only that, but she got to seal her mom and dad together and be sealed to them.  I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR TEMPLES!!!  I know that we can be together forever as families as we enter the temple together.  I lvoe and can't wait to hear more about this sister's experiences.

Well I have a ton to do today on preparation day.  So I have to go.  But I love you all very much and hope you all have a wonderful week.  I pray for you always!

Love,

Sister Guilott

Pictures from when we got to play with some puppies this week.  :)

Serving for Four Months and LOVING IT!

Hello!

I am so grateful for the time I have to be here in Modesto, California.  This week just FLEW BY!  It made me realize how fast my time as a missionary will go and it made me motivated to try harder and do better this week than the week before.

This week Sister Rugg and I got to teach a new investigator named Sherry!  She is a great lady.  She had been meeting with the Jehovah Witnesses as she searched for the truth.  It has been interesting to see how different religions answer questions as people search for truth.  I am thankful for the good people I have meet from other religions and love that many have a desire to find the truth and learn more about Christ. It is wonderful to help people find the answers to questions they have as they search for truth.  Sherry wanted to know why there were so many religions and how to know which one was true.  We were able to teach her about Joseph Smith and his experience.  She wanted to know about where she goes after this earth life when she dies and she wanted to know more about Christ and His purpose. She has been so prepared as she has searched for answers to these questions.  I am so grateful for her and her questions helped my testimony as we were able to teach her the truths of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, through a prophet.  She really helped boost my spirit.  I know that God has seen the efforts Sister Rugg and I have put in and helped to comfort us and send us such a wonderful person to teach.

I want to thank everyone who emailed me this past week.  I have to admit, last week was a really hard week and reading your emails JUST GAVE ME THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST'S LOVE.  I am so grateful to be here on my mission.  I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR JESUS CHRIST.  He is everything.  Without him, WE ARE NOTHING!  I have learned that faith in Christ can lead us to anything.

Funny story for this week:  Sister Rugg and I had dinner at a member's house.  And their air conditioning was out that day.  It was already 104 degrees outside.  Inside was even hotter.  We were all sweating and then the member brought out the dinner . . . IT WAS HOT CHILI!  We were sweating even more while eating (but it was yummy!).  It made me grateful for the moments we do experience air conditioning and also so grateful for the members who are willing to feed us no matter the circumstances at the moment.  This member family are true disciples of Christ and it was a fun dinner in spite of the heat.

Here are some pictures of us going to church (hurray for 100 degrees on a bike) with the lovely Sister Hoff who we adore:

And here are some pictures from when I got a package from my mom with fun coloring books! Thank you mom!  Everyone LOVED THEM!

I love you all!  Thanks again for the emails.

Love,

Sister Guilott

Happy Pioneer Day!

Well, this week was quite a week of firsts.  To start off, right after I emailed last week, my companion and I went off to do some shopping.  Then that night we had a dinner appointment.  Unfortunately, that evening at 2:00 AM, I woke up with a really bad stomach ache ... Then I was violently sick.  Thirty minutes later, Sister Rugg woke up and from then on for the next 24 hours we were in a cycle of throwing up -- both of us!  We got no sleep and the next day we thought we could try to do some missionary work...  NOPE.  We got permission to recover.  But it was hard to be patient.  I guess we both needed to learn how to take care of ourselves (without our mothers' help).  But we are doing better, slowly but surely recovering.  It was a bad week of sickness!!

We did get to meet this week with our recent convert Alyssa, and I felt like a mom watching my baby start to walk.  IT IS AMAZING WHAT THE LORD CAN DO!!  Alyssa has now gone to the temple many times, is hanging out with wonderful friends from church, and she just has grown up, spiritually grown up.  We were going over different aspects of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and she was teaching me and Sister Rugg.  The Spirit was so strong and it was such an incredible experience.  I know that htis Gospel is the only way we can get back to our Father in Heaven.  It was amazing to see her and be with her and feel her strength.

On Sunday, Sister Rugg and I arrived at church and there were a tone of people there for a missionary farewell.  It happened to be one of our favorite family's.  A couple of weeks ago, they had told us that the mom's sister was son to the main star of the show "Saturday's Warriors" (Jimmy).  I walked up and they said, "Hey, aren't you the Sister who loved Saturday's Warrior?  Guess who is here to sing in church today?" And next thing you know, I am shaking hands with Jimmy!  I tried to act professional, like a missionary, but inside I was screaming!  Kenny (Jimmy's real name) and his family sang in sacrament meeting and OH MY!  It was awesome!

SEND ME EMAILS!  I would love to hear from everyone (emily.guilott@myldsmail.net).  I love you all so much and am grateful for everything you do.  THIS IS THE TRUE GOSPEL AND I KNOW THAT THE CHURCH IS TRUE AND BRINGS HAPPINESS!

Love,
Sister Guilott

"I've decided . . ."

On the way to Zone Conference!

Hello Wonderful World!

So....This week we noticed the overly obsessed gamers of Pokemon Go.  My companion and I decided to say to them, "Hey, are you playing Pokemon Go? Have you found what you are looking for?" And when they say no, we answer, "Don't step another foot, because we can help you find what you are looking for: the gospel of Jesus Christ."  Yeah, it hasn't worked yet.  But we will keep trying!  I know it will eventually get someone!

This week has been a great week!  We were able to meet with a family, thanks to our WONDERFUL Stake President.  We got to teach (or rather the Spirit taught) them about the Restoration.  They had wonderful questions and the Spirit was so strong with every answer we had to every question.  And they were so open-hearted and opened-minded to accept and listen to our message.  We gave them a Book of Mormon to read and told them all the blessings that are in store for them. They were REALLY excited, and the Spirit was so strong!  They accepted the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and now they will be meeting with us again VERY soon! :) God has such a wonderful plan for all of us.  We may or may not know it or like it at the time.

So another cool story:  There was a man named William who we were trying to find.  We had taught him and committed him to baptism and everything.  GO SPIRIT! Anyway, we went to his house and he was gone.  He had moved out.  Just one day later!  Anyway, we decided to go look for him in this one park where lots of homeless people live. We were there and then all of a sudden an ambulance came to pick up someone who was really sick in the car parked by us.  We went over with our ward mission leader, who was our member present, and asked if we could do anything.  They asked us to follow them, and so Sister Rugg and I biked to the hospital with our ward mission leader behind us. We got to the hospital and the woman who was sick was able to receive a Priesthood blessing.  It was so neat.  GOD HAS A PLAN FOR ALL OF US.  Again, it isn't always what we think, but when we follow the Holy Ghost and do what God wants us to do, we will be guided to do what is right.

So I heard that this week back home is GIRLS CAMP!  HUZZAH!  I loved Girls Camp.  I heard the theme this year is "I've decided . . ." and I thought I would give mine as well.  Being a missionary is honestly hard.  BUT SO REWARDING.  I was thinking and praying about it and "I've decided to love myself as God loves me, because once we love ourselves, we can LOVE GOD AND OTHERS SO MUCH MORE."  I hope everyone tries this; Decide what you have decided and make goals that we can slowly and surely get to.

I hope you have a wonderful week!  You are all in my prayers.  I know that I am doing God's work and am SOOOO HAPPY to be here in Modesto, California.  Oh!  Transfers came and I am staying with Sister Rugg.  We have a lot to do! :)

Love,

Sister Guilott

Sister Rugg and I with a wonderful friend!

She is the best!  

Bike Adventures!!

Pictures First!  And they are titled....

"THE ADVENTURES OF TIRE FIXING!" :)

First, taking the tire off, trying to figure it out, getting frustrated....

Remembering I am a missionary and I can succeed through help from the Lord!

Determined

Making some progress . . .

It takes some time to do it right . . . 

Looking good!

After a while, it was back on the bike and FIXED!!  

My lovely companion giving me support the whole time . . .
I wanted to be independent, and be "an agent unto MYSELF!" :)

HELLO WONDERFUL PEOPLE OUT IN THE WORLD!!!!

This week was a great week, kind of interesting, but it ended up great.  The weather this week was WONDERFUL!!!  It was in the 80's and we were in heaven.  Thank you for whoever was praying for good weather.  IT WAS NEEDED!!  We are now preparing again for over 100 degrees again . . WE CAN DO ANYTHING WITH CHRIST!

Well, all I can say is that God works in mysterious ways.  We had a tough couple of days trying to get into people's homes and trying to find people home.  But Sister Rugg and I were diligent, patient and faithful.  We got the impression to meet with one of our recent converts of about a year.  Come to find out, she has been very sick!  She opened the door when we got to her house and she thought the Bishop had sent us over.  We told her, "Nope! It was the Spirit!"  (Which was the truth.)  She then told us she had stage 2 leukemia.  That day we came over, we helped her clean her house.  (It was a mess.)  Then, because of her chemo, she started to throw up.  I helped clean it up (mom, you would have been so proud of me).  We also helped her be happy.  She was so miserable, not just from her illness but because her children had told her they were going to come over and see her, and they had never yet showed up.  We stayed and read to her from The Book of Mormon.  It was a neat experience because we got to see the works of God right there.  We saw her saddened soul grow lighter and brighter the longer we were there.  When we first got there, it was bit scary as she was so depressed and sick.  But helping her to remember God was with her made the situation so much better.  It reminded me of Mosiah 18: 8-10.  As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, part of the baptismal covenant is that we make a promise to God.  It says,

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

 9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to everyday see these tender mercies from God!  To be called God's people we must first, take Christ's name upon us (be an example to others of what Christ would do today); keep His commandments; and to serve others.  I am truly blessed to be able to be a witness of Christ and take His name upon me.

I wear a name tag everyday with His name, and I am so grateful.  But the beautiful thing I have realized is that you don't need a name tag.  You can always be a missionary!  You can serve today! Go out and serve.  I am so grateful for this gospel and the truth it brings to me and others.  I am so happy to be here in Modesto.  I hope everyone of you is doing great.  Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Guilott

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to Everyone!

We are the American Flag today!  Happy 4th!

What a wonderful day to be able to celebrate our Country's freedom!  I am so grateful to live here in America, a "promised land" and what joy it brings me!  I can't believe I have been on a mission now for 3 Months.  TIME IS FLYING BY!

This week was a week of laughs . . . and tears!  I had a flat tire on my bike 5 times in the past two days.  It was discouraging and we do all of our proselyting on our bike, so God was really teaching me patience, faith and diligence this past week.  But, there were so many good things that are happening that bring us so much joy and happiness.  Like just being here on a mission in California.  God knows me so well.  He knows that I would grow so well here.  I love the saying, "Bloom where you are planted," because that is exactly what God is doing.  I can just feel my Savior's love in everything I see and do as a mission.

Sister Rugg and I being cute: aren't we adorable?

I am sorry to cut things short.  We have lots to do today.  We are getting ready to teach two new investigators and the work is definately hastening.  We also have a fun 4th of July activity with our zone.  I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week and a wonderful 4th of July!

Love,

Sister Guilott

Picture of my study desk: it's my safe place and my sanctuary!

This is what our apartment looks like!  Mom, it is clean 24/7 NO COCKROACHES FOR US!