Driving, Exchanges and Miracles

Our car.: we strap our bikes on the back to go to the different places we need to work.  I am learning to drive
California freeways. . . .Miracles happen on missions!!!

HELLO WORLD!! 

Oh boy, how grateful I am for all of you that are still reading this blog! Just know I specifically say while praying: "bless all of those wonderful people reading my blog... Because I don't know how they still keep reading it. But thank you!" So thank you all, I love you.

Okay... I am almost at my 1/2 mark AND I AM FREAKING OUT!! I LOVE IT HERE! I DON'T WANT TO GO HOME! THIS IS MY HOME!! So... I will not think about it. I am just going to "forget myself and go to work" :)

This week I was able to go on my first exchange! I got to go to Modesto again! (I miss it!) and serve with Sisters that were in my last zone! I got to be with the wonderful Sister B (changed the name for confidentiality) ! BOY SHE IS A POWERHOUSE!! 

I love the sisters I get to work with!

We got to find so many people, and had sooooo many miracles happen! We got to teach one of their investigators for the first time (she got interested by watching "Meet the Mormons" OH YEAHHHH!!). The investigator had many questions, but the Spirit was there and she was able to commit to baptism!! HOORAY!! Sister B was amazing at discerning her needs and was on a roll. Then the next day we were biking, trying to contact as many people as we could and this woman came up to us saying: "Hey! I have been to your church a couple of times and I want to be baptized! Can you help me?" .... MIRACLES PEOPLE, MIRACLES!! God is GOOD. So that was the best. I am so grateful for wonderful missionaries like Sister B, they make the work get going! This upcoming week, I will be doing two exchanges. So I will let you know how those go. 

Sister Webb and I: She is AMAZING!

Back in my own area, Sister Webb and I had many lessons with our investigator Zach. HE IS SO PREPARED BY THE LORD, IT IS AMAZING. He was learning about the Word of Wisdom and just told us how much he loved it and it made him feel something good inside.... SPIRIT! :D Then we invited him to church and because of the WONDERFUL members there... He has been fellowshipped and he wants to come to church every week and wants to go to the temple. OKAY. Yeah. He is planning on being baptized soon. :) But he is still praying about that. But I am just SO grateful to be able to be apart of the conversion process of all these wonderful people. It is really neat.

So. Yes. I hate driving. Yes. California drivers are the worst (please don't be offended, I am being honest). BUT I have been able to drive many highways this past week. And yes. Me and Sister Webb didn't die, or we didn't kill anyone. This is HUGE for me, if you don't know me... I hate driving. So God knows that I need the practice, and I am getting it all right. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful day! I love you and pray for you!

Love, 

Sister Guilott 

Our apartment: seems like a mansion after my last one.  It is so nice!

Half Way - Hump Day!

Lots of rain and flooding!  Always fun on a bike!

Good morning family and friends! 

I am so happy to be able to write to you today! I am in my new area and I am loving it!! I am serving in a YSA ward which covers five towns and it is HUGE! The members here are fantastic and they are so strong! I am very excited to be able to work here and help them to be able to see their potential. We have the BEST stake. We had stake conference this past week and it was incredible. Many people who had joined the church this past year was able to speak and hearing their testimonies helped mine grow SO MUCH! We also had one of the Seventy (a member of our church who helps with bigger areas) came and spoke. His name was Elder Clayton and HE WAS INCREDIBLE. I learned so much from him and I am so grateful he came.

Well. I started my first week as a Sister Training Leader. I should probably explain what that is. A Sister Training Leader is an assignment from the Mission President to oversee and help a number of sister missionaries. I am over 5 sets of sisters and I know a couple already, so that makes life a little bit better. I go on exchanges with them, I do an exchange once or twice a week for a totally of six each transfer and see how they are doing. I get to go teaching with them and just see if they need help. I am going to be learning SO MUCH FROM THEM. I am very honored to have this experience and I know that God has chosen amazing missionaries here for California Modesto Mission.

Well, my companion is seriously one of the most successful missionaries here. Sister Webb is INCREDIBLE. I actually got to go on exchanges with her once (she was once my sister training leader) and I was star struck the whole time. She has such an amazing testimony and she teaches so simply yet so with the spirit that you just want to listen to her the whole time. I love her very much and I am excited to see where this transfer takes us.

We have an investigator on date for January 28th and he came to church this past week. His name is Zach and he is such a GREAT kid. He is so prepared by the Lord and I knows that he is loved by Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I am very excited to see where he goes and what the Lord has in store for him. 

I am so grateful to be here on a mission. Yes, it gets VERY HARD. But I know that God loves us. He knows what we need. And with the world today, we have to go through VERY HARD THINGS. Satan is sneaky. I hate him. And I know that I don't have to give in to the things he wants me to do that would bring me unhappiness.  SO I TELL HIM TO HIT THE ROAD!! :) And I trust God. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful day! I love you ALL!! I keep you all in my prayers!! 

Love, Sister Guilott 

New Year and a New Assignment

Hello World!!

We asked the person at the door about the fruit on this tree and he said we could pick some.  It was so HEAVY!  California GRAPEFRUIT in December!  

I have to make this email a little bit shorter because... I AM LEAVING!! I am very nervous and excited!! I love my ward here, and I am going to miss it SO MUCH. This place feels like my home and I have loved my time here as I have learned and grown as a missionary.  But time to start a new adventure.

I will be going to a magical place called Manteca. :) I will be over a Young Single Adult ward there, That will be exciting to be with young people again! It is just like college! And I am going to be with the wonderful Sister Webb! I have met her before and OH BOY! She is like a powerhouse!! I have also been called to serve as a Sister Training Leader. It will be wonderful to have the opportunity to work with other missionaries and I am humbled by the assignment.  

I have been blessed with such amazing companions. Sister Bell will be staying AND TRAINING!!! :D I am super excited for her and I know that she will be amazing. Being Sister Bell's companion has been such an amazing experience, I am going to miss her so much. But I know that she will be amazing and her new missionary will love her. 

I hope you all had a wonderful new years! Make this new year a GREAT ONE!! Since it is 2017, I am going to find 17 miracles this year. ;)  I am super excited for all the coming changes. I love you all and hope you are having a great week! 

Love, 

Sister Guilott

Sister Bell finally got one - it was bigger than our head!  

We got random cat cookies...super cute but they made our teeth black!

Us with the one and only Susie!

Merry Christmas from Modesto

HELLO!

Happy Holidays! Merry Christmas! What a great week here in Modesto. First off, I would love to say how amazing it was to be here on my mission to celebrate Christmas. I am just so overwhelmed at the love I have for Jesus Christ. I was opening presents with my companion, and we were so happy to see all the wonderful things we had received. But I had a thought, and I know that the greatest gift we have is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I just felt the spirit so much and I know that he lived and died for all of us here. I know that he lived a perfect life, and we can all strive to live one. We are not perfect, but we can sure try!! Christmas Day was really special: After a beautiful Church Service, we were able to talk to our families for 45 minutes and that was so wonderful to see them and feel of their love and support.  I am so thankful for my family and all their support.  We also went to two different hospitals (one was a medical center, the other was a nursing facility).  We visited a cute elderly couple that had no where to go for Christmas and we got to see our less active members. They were all so happy and during all of the visits we all got teary eyed from reading about the Savior's birth in the book of Luke. I will never forget that day. I felt the spirit so strong just testify to me of my Savior. And how much our Heavenly Father loves each of us, that H

e sent His son.(John 3:16-17) I hope you all have a wonderful week! Don't forget that we can have the spirit of Christmas with us ALWAYS!

Love, 

Sister Guilott 

We went to the McHenry Mansion last week!  It was beautiful and reminded me of Dowton Abby! 

Fun Crazy lights in our neighborhood!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas EVERYONE!! :D

This is such a wonderful time of year! And I am soooo excited to be spending it here in Modesto!!

This week was a great week!  Attitude makes a HUGE difference :D

This past week, it got down to the low 40's (yes.... I am now acclimated) and I thought it was FREEZING!! Hahaha! I am not a Utah girl anymore! But it was an adventure biking in the cold! 

This past week I have seen so many miracles around me that I would love to share! 

One was we were going to go get a bit to eat, we were deciding whether or not to go. But we decided to go! And then some kind man paid for our food! It made our day! Then we saw some homeless people, they asked if we had left overs... WE DID! And we gave it to them. It's so sad to see people suffer here; that is why I am so grateful for service! 

Another story: We (Sister Bell and and I) were biking in the rain and some kind man rolled down his window and gave us a topical guide of scriptures from the internet! We were so grateful... Until we read it..... IT WAS ANTI-MORMON LITERATURE. Me and Sister Bell were shocked! I was just shocked how people would do that... But it made me think. The man was probably thinking we were so confused and wanted to try to help us! Well, I guess that is sweet of him... BUT!! I KNOW THAT THIS GOSPEL IS TRUE :) And that we are not confused!! :D And that was just really scary but funny at the same time someone would do that! 

Another story from this week was that we (after an appointment fell through at 7pm) started knocking on doors. We then were walking on the sidewalk when we heard someone singing. It turned out to be some of our AWESOME members in our ward! We waved to them and they told us to come with them and sing! SO WE DID!! It was so fun and that just made me so happy. These members were just doing it to random houses too, giving away yummy treats they had made. Yep. That was super awesome. 

But. This is the time in the season to be doing this: to serve. But, it makes me realize how we can be doing this ALL YEAR LONG!!! :D And I just want to be a missionary for the rest of my life. I seriously LOVE IT. I know I say this a lot, it is hard. BUT IT IS SO WORTH IT. 

I love  you all so much!! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas season! Remember, this time is to remember our Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for His birth, and for Him to be able to deliver us. God loves you all so much!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

LOVE, 

Sister Guilott 

Roasting marshmallows!

Rainy Days

Hello!! 

What a crazy week! We actually had our lovely Sister Gibbons transfer. She will do well in her new area and I enjoyed the time we got to spend together, even though it was short and sweet. One thing certain on a mission: lots of change always.  :) 

This week, it was a great week! We have been teaching our investigator Michael and he is getting more and more interested! But he is slow to commit ... Patience is a virtue, and we are showing him why it is important to do things like pray, read the Book of Mormon, and go to church. A wonderful family from our ward invited him over to their house for a lesson, and it was AMAZING. I am just SOOOO grateful for people being so willing and open to helping out missionaries and doing what the Lord wants them to do! 

I want to share a story from this week with a lot of honesty: After a long week on Saturday, while biking in the rain, I got really down.  Its hard to stay positive at times when you are cold, wet, riding a bike and no one seems to want to listen. I started thinking about my decisions of being on a mission and my purpose in being here, with all I had given up. We had gotten into no homes the whole day, we were soaking wet, it was very windy and cold, and I was miserable. I started to get VERY down on myself. When we got home, I was close to tears. I thought to myself :"Why am I here? What am I doing that is helping anyone? Is this really what I am supposed to be doing?" Then, I had the prompting to pray. So, started to pray. I felt a comfort come over me, but I was still feeling down. I went to sleep that night. The next day, we went to church. AND OH BOY. I received so many answers that day. And so many people came up to us saying how grateful they were for us. And we were even mentioned in a lesson in Relief Society. I knew then that God was telling me that everything is going to be okay. I learned that humility is a HUGE part of this work.  And that we need to keep on pushing and moving forward.   

I don't know why I had to share that. But all I know is that, yes: missions are hard. They make you uncomfortable. They make you feel like the whole world is out to get you. You will want to give up. But this will NEVER compare to what Our Savior Jesus Christ had to go through. He bore ALL of our sins, pains, weaknesses, short comings, and so much more. But He did it because He loved us, He understood the plan of happiness, and He knew it was his Father's will and He loved his Heavenly Father SO MUCH, He did that. So He completed the Atonement, and died for us. Look at the result now. So, when you are wanting to give up or you think no one notices you or anything, just remember that Jesus Christ knows exactly what you are going through. Know that this is supposed to be hard, because God wants you to learn and grow. "He takes us as we are and makes us more than we ever imagined." And this is what the season is all about.  He is here with us always to "Light the World."

I am so grateful to be here. I know I am suppose to be here. Satan is real, but we have the power to stop him from anything. I can know when to get on my knees and pray. I am so grateful for this gospel. I know that it is true. I know it, and I can not EVER deny it. I love my Savior so much, He is the light and life of my world. And the light and the life in our world today. I know that things will get better, we have to have faith and hope for good things to come. 

I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week. Enjoy the Christmas weather! 

Love, Sister Guilott

Light The World Results

HELLO!!

This week went by so quickly that I gasped when I saw it was another Preparation Day today! We have a lot to do today, so I apologize my post will be short.  But here is a miracle from this week that was REALLY NEAT! :)

My companions and I were walking down the road, after having an investigator tell us she wasn't interested anymore. So we were a little down. We were walking and all of the sudden we walk by this man. We decided to talk to him, and so we did! We shared the "Light The World" church message and he loved it and asked if we had more. Right then, my awesome companion told about the restoration in under a minute. The man was stunned and asked:"Okay. I need to learn more. Right now! Here! There is a park over here. I want to learn more!" So we all walked together, with him asking about life and religion and we taught him the restoration. He was very interested and insisted we came the next day to teach him more. SO WE DID! He is loving the message, is understanding it and believes it. 

God has a plan for all of us. Even if you are going through a rough place, there is ALWAYS something better around the corner. I know that is true. And I know that the power of the Holy Ghost is real, and that opening your mouth REALLY does make a difference in someone's life. I invite you all to open your mouths, because you could be helping someone, and you are always a touch point in someone's life. 

LOVE YOU ALL!! God loves you :)

Sister Guilott

My cute companions and I eating YUMMY pupusa's at a sweet restaurant!! 

AND my companions are ADORABLE and SOOO POWERFUL :)