Last day in His Vineyard

Monday, October 30, 2017

California Modesto Mission: Sister Emily Guilott
April 6, 2016-November 1, 2017
(Last day in His Vineyard....literally!)

I honestly don't know how to start this blog post... I have been pondering and praying for what I could say during this blog post and I hope that it will help you and inspire you in any way to do good. I have almost completed the time I am serving in the California Modesto Mission and I am changed. I have been reminiscing about when I received my mission call December 17th in 2015, reading it and seeing the line: "you are called to serve in the California Modesto Mission..." and I had an overwhelming peace come over my whole being. I know now that was the Holy Ghost confirming to me that was the place the Lord had called me to serve. I know this was what the Lord wanted me to do, even though I did not want to go on a mission earlier in my life.

During my mission, I have gone through so many experiences that I could never take away or would want to take back. Yes, the mission has been the hardest experience I have had yet in my life, but I can just tell you that I never would want to take away this experience. I want to thank all the people who have supported me while serving my mission and thank all the people I have come to know while serving. I love you all and I am so grateful for your friendship. It has been a privilege and a honor to serve here and be under the direction of my mission President, President Palmer. I know that I needed him in my life; I love him very much and now consider him a best friend and a mentor. I love serving. I love helping others, whether to serve them physically or to serve them spiritually. But no matter what, I know "that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17) I hope all of you that have been reading these blogs have been able to feel uplifted and felt motivated to serve others around you. I know that my mission has helped me be able to serve more and to be able to see God's children as He sees them. I know that the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants section 18 verses 10-16 are what I feel. (I didn't write it out so you can go read it yourself and feel what the Lord is trying to teach you through these verses.) ;)

I love you all. I wanted to end with testifying that I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives. He lives and loves all you us. He completed His Atonement for you, to help you break the bonds of death and to help motivate all of us to repent/change so we can be with Him and our Heavenly Father. I know that this is God's church on the earth. There is no doubt in my mind that it is not. I know that the prophet Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and that through the power of God that he helped restored God's church back on the earth and that he was a prophet and continues to be the prophet to have restored the gospel in these latter days. I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, it is true. If any man would get closer to God, it would be through reading, pondering and praying about the Book of Mormon. I love this book and will continue to read it daily. I know that God's power is back on the earth, the Priesthood power, and it is the power to act in God's name. And I honor this sacred power and am so grateful for all worthy men to hold such a sacred gift.

I know that families can be together forever. I know that one day we can be in the presence of God. I know that He wants us to return home, so we need to keep his commandments to return with Him. I know that temples are the houses of the Lord. I miss it and can't wait to go back and worship there and feel of the peace that God can give when being in one of His holy temples. I love my Savior and I love you all. Thank you again for following my adventure through reading these blogs. :) I love my family and I am so grateful to be with them for time and all eternity. I will see them soon, and I can't wait to hug them. I will miss my California Modesto Mission, but there will be always a place in my heart for my mission. To conclude, I know that my mission vision is now my life vision which states: We are one with the Savior in doing the will of the Father. :) 

Love, 

Sister Emily Guilott 

My awesome companion Sister Rose! 
She is staying here and has a new awesome companion Sister Sharp! :D

I FOUND 2 BABY MARDI'S.... I AM SOOOOO EXCITED TO SEE MY CAT. ahhaa. Yes. I am a cat lady. ;)

Random streets we find while biking in Oakdale

My ghetto Oakdale apartment thought to give me a gift and left me at the foot of my desk a dying cockroach...
Yep. I was not happy. at all. 

Attempted bike selfie 

I love Sister Rose. She  loves driving, so I let her drive. I hate driving.

EXCHANGES IN STOCKTON AND I GOT TO BE WITH PREVIOUS COMPANIONS.
SO AWESOME. Dream come true.

October 23, 2017

The sunset of my mission...so bittersweet!

We got our transfer calls and I got called to extend my mission to be in the New Zealand mission. Just Kidding. That is next week. I can't believe there are just two more blog posts left....

This week has been full of up's and down's. But isn't that life? Well, I just can say that being a missionary has been the best thing for me to be able to not only help others come unto Christ, but it has helped me be able to handle situations that could be difficult at times. I just love being here and I have learned so much. I hope anyone reading this who is thinking about serving a mission GOES. It will help you so much. I can promise you it will be hard, but it will help you to see how much the Lord's hand is in all the aspects of your life. 

But I wanted to share some miracles with you this past week. Remember, we don't have anyone on date for baptism. But we still find amazing miracles with everyone we are teaching. It isn't always about the baptisms; we are also here to help others come closer to Christ so they eventually can help others do the same. Some highlights:

1. My companion and I were biking in the morning and trying to find people. We knocked on... 30 doors a day it feels like. And no one is usually interested. So we were at a slow/still point. We were thinking about it. Sister Rose is amazing: she suggested we try a less active family's home. We had been by before but they are never home. So we went by and we saw the garage door open and a car in the drive way! We went up and knocked on the door, the sweet woman let us in! She said how she got invited to clean the church and just got done with that. Also, how this past week she has gotten many emails from past friends in high school thanking her for her example and how they are members because of her. WOW! God has been preparing her! She was so happy to talk to us and she was able to tell us that we can come back and teach her and her family more. That was a HUGE miracle, and I am so grateful for my companion listening to her prompting and how we were able to follow the Lord!

2. ]We are teaching a recent convert who has been dealing with a lot of things, especially from his past. We started a weekly Book of Mormon reading with him. So the night we were going to do it, he was frustrated with life. He decided to walk to the church, which he never does. As he was walking, he came across this young adult who was also having a hard day. They both walked and talked together and got to the church. We then got there and started talking to both of them. COME TO FIND OUT, this young adult is MORMON and got baptized in Idaho a couple years ago. We were able to all have a reading together, and we even felt prompted to share Alma 34 and talk about our purpose in this life. The spirit was so strong and it was a great experience for the recent convert. He was saying how he needed to serve more, and we were able to show him how he served this man and helped him out! That was an amazing experience for me. It just proved to me how we should be talking and helping everyone around us! The Lord puts people in our path for a reason and I am just so grateful for being able to learn that. 

3.  We had a cancelled appointment and we were kind of upset... But then we got a text from a investigator telling us to come over! SO WE DID! We went over and got to talk to her and get to know her more. She loves Disney (WHICH I LOVE DISNEY TOO... maybe too much...) and how she use to dance and brought out these ornaments of Disney characters, which I loved, and we had a great time. We then felt prompted to watch The Restoration dvd with her. She was enjoying it and the spirit was so strong. But out from the corner of my eye, I see this creature bug crawling toward my companions bag. I didn't want to disrupt the movie, but it got closer and closer. I had to say something. So I did.  Our investigators husband got up and killed the creature bug.... We called it the Satan bug. (Ff you want to know what bug it was, we found out it was a Jerusalem cricket/Satan bug! It was as big as a mouse.) But the spirit was still there and we had a great discussion with her! It was a great lesson. 

I love my mission! I love the Lord! I love being a missionary! I love you all! I hope you enjoyed this blog! Have a great day! 

Love, Sister Guilott 

My wonderful companion

A favorite family

October 16, 2017

LOVE MY HOMEWARD IN UTAH!! That little package made my day! THANK YOU!! :D 

GOOD AFTERNOON FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS WHO STILL READ MY BLOG!

So!! Can I just tell you how funny it is when you are having great weeks and then suddenly... your week is as still and slow as the number of emails you get as a missionary who has been out over 17+ months... This week was a rough week. Not to be negative, but we have usually many lessons during the week. But we had a total of 11 lessons cancel on us this week. Including investigators, part member families, less actives... I have to say though: My companion and I had to just laugh at it and not be too discouraged during this week when these appointments would fall through. We would get a text and one of us would say: "oh, it is probably a cancelled appointment." AND SURE ENOUGH! We laughed about it all. We continued on, trying to keep a positive attitude through it all.  But here are some funny moments of this week, I promise we had many spiritual experiences... But it is fun to share the silly things we do.

*We got to a man's trailer where we usually have our lessons with him (he is now coming back to church and wants to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood) and he told us he had to go get something... We were kind of scared at first, his house is kind of a junk yard and we were scared he would give us something he found... haha. But he came out with a little box and placed it on my lap... IT WAS FULL OF KITTENS. OH MY GOSH. I WAS IN HEAVEN. We were able to play with kittens and have a great lesson with him about keeping the Sabbath day holy. By the way, I think an activity you can do on the Sabbath day is play with kittens in a box. :)

* Outside of our apartment, we have all these pretty roses outside and if you know me... I love roses. And we were going to have an interview with our mission president and his wife that day. Sister Palmer had said that she loved yellow roses. We had the brainy idea to go and cut some roses. So we went early in the morning to cut the roses. Funny thing... our neighbors are under many different "influences" if you know what I mean... And the roses kind of smelled like those different "influences" but they were so pretty, so we put them in a vase and went down to our interview and gave them to Sister Palmer. She looked at them and was so happy. Then... she smelled them. She told us: "WOW! These smell great! Usually yellow roses smell very bad! I am so impressed! Where did you find these?"  Yep, hahahahahaha!! COOL! :) 

The roses we gave to Sister Palmer ;) Pretty huh?! Who knew that there would be roses in October. ;)

* Best experience of the week... drum roll please... Sister Rose and I were about to leave for our dinner and she closed the door. She gave me a stare... I asked her what was up. She said: "Sister Guilott, I locked the keys in the house." WE JUST LAUGHED!! We had no keys to the house OR to our car... so after many phone calls, we got a hold of our district leaders who have a spare key for emergencies. We got a member to drive us to them (since they only have bikes) and we got the key back! AND WE WENT TO OUR DINNER APPOINTMENT ONLY 2 minutes late... WHAT AN ADVENTURE. :) 

Our view as we were trying to call people as we were locked out. ;) haha!

I just love all the experiences I have on my mission. And I have learned that you can ALWAYS find joy in the crazy days. Even during a week where so many things fall through in your life, you can count the many blessings that the Lord has given to you. :) I love you all. I hope you have a great day!

Love, 

Sister Guilott 

Cute puppies we found as we were looking for people in the country area! 

October 9, 2017

Past and present companions

I can't believe how fast October is flying by! The weather has been only in the 70-80's! It feels nice and cold... ;) I bet all of you Utah friends are freezing. ;) Just kidding! I just am trying the best that I can to make each day the best I can make it! Even on the slow days, I can see so many miracles that God has graciously given to me and my sweet companion! I would love to share some experiences this week! And I promise there will be pictures. I made it a commitment this past weekly planning to take more pictures, I hope you are proud of me Mom. :)

We had a fun day on Tuesday.  We got to go serve in the community and serve with many different people from different religions and it was so much fun! The people are usually a lot older and it is fun to hear how much they love their families and how God has been a huge influence in their lives. But then... WE GOT A SURPRISE LUNCH WITH MY PAST COMPANIONS!! Sisters Anderson and Bell! I was SO happy! I hope you enjoy the pics above ;) It is so fun to be with so many people that I adore and love. ;) 

The next day we went to a New Trainer meeting where all the trainers and new missionaries meet together and have a conference. This past transfer we had like... over 20 missionaries come in and BOY. There were so many missionaries, I just got SO excited about the work progressing and seeing the Lord's chosen people/missionaries all in the same room! I felt really old though... All the new faces, all the "kids" just out of high school. So fun! But I remember something a newer missionary had said that really touched my heart: he was talking about how the work as a missionary is difficult (I understand...). But he said: "He suffered for me, the least I can do is suffer for him...." AND THAT SPOKE TO ME. We can all go through life, but to really go through it we have to go through ups and downs. And as we suffer, we can relate to how Our Savior did actually suffer for ALL of our pains, sins, iniquities, our personal failings, and the suffering we will feel. I am SO grateful for my Savior who did perform His Atonement for all of us. He is real and I know that He lives! 

We then had the best lesson with an investigator we had to put in the Lord's hands for a couple of weeks to see how she would be... She was so happy to see us and had said of all the things she was going through... She had said that she was feeling down and had missed going to church, she felt that she was missing something... HOORAY! SPIRIT! ;) We knew that she was going through some difficult times with her family, especially with some members being under influences. We felt prompted to read 3 Nephi 17 with her. As we read, she was saying:"I can totally relate to this!" and you could tell she was feeling the spirit. We then invited her to pray about being baptized, and she said she would!! I just know that she may not be baptized in the next couple of weeks, but I know she will be someday! I am just so grateful to be able to be a "touch point" in her life. AND THE LORD IS DOING EVERYTHING FOR HER ANYWAY! 

I just love being a missionary, and I am so grateful I get to do the Lord's work. I love you all. I hope you enjoy all these pictures and experiences! I hope you have a wonderful week! 

Yours truly,

Sister Emily Guilott

October 2, 2017

Hello world! 

So two weeks ago the weather here in Oakdale was down into the 70's and then last week it was up in the 90's... Today, we woke up and it was sweater weather outside!! CRAZY!! 

We had zone conference this week and it was awesome! But the highlight of this week was definitely General Conference! It is very neat to be a missionary and listen to General Conference! I love receiving the revelation that is needed for the area we are serving in. I loved all the talks! If you haven't been able to watch or read General Conference, I invite you to do so! It is incredible!

The most exciting thing that happened this week was we had a lesson with one of our new investigators on Thursday and we invited her to be baptized this month. She was hesitant about it, so we invited her to pray about the day we were thinking of and see how she felt about it! We will see on Thursday what she is thinking. Pray for her! She is so interested and ready, and it is amazing to see how much faith she does have in letting us come over and teach her. 

I am so grateful for my mission. I love it so much. I love being here and helping others. I hope you all find ways to help others as our Savior helps you in your everyday life. I love you all so much! Have a great day!

Love, 

Sister Guilott 

September 25, 2017

HELLO WORLD!

This week was an amazing week! Sadly, we were praying really hard and my companion and I had to have a lot of the people we are teaching "be placed in the Lord's hands" for a while. Many of them were not committing to live the gospel and they were not going to church. That is usually hard, but we told them that we would see them every couple of weeks. So, that made me really sad. Because I know that I have limited weeks left, and I love them all so much.  One night I was praying and asking who needed to be found so we could teach and help them get closer to Him. The next day, was a day with lots of long time spent finding. We went door to door knocking, going through old investigators, and going to part member family's houses to find people. We didn't have much luck. We went the next day, doing the same thing... Not much luck either.  But that didn't get us down, we had faith that the Lord would help us find someone and put someone in our path. It was a week of patience, and we had a lesson with a part member family. A girl that the elders were teaching a long time ago had stopped teaching her, and we went over to meet her. We had an awesome discussion with them and she told us how she loves how she feels going to church, she feels wanted there. She even told us "my parents are not at all happy I married a 'Mormon,' but I love this church. I would like to be one one day actually..." Me and my companion were SO HAPPY! We asked her if we could teach her the lessons again, she was very excited and said yes!! :D I am so excited for her, and I am honestly SOOOO grateful for my Savior. Even though we had to endure many days of patience, our patience ended with the reward that we were desiring to have. I am so grateful to be a missionary, and even though I have limited time... That is not going to stop me from being a missionary for the rest of my life. You don't need a name tag to be one, but at the same time... My mission has completely changed me, the Lord has changed me to be what He wants me to be. And I am so indebted to Him for helping me to be the person He wants me to be. I love you all! I hope you have an awesome week!!!

LOVE,

SISTER GUILOTT :)

Hello!

I can't believe that I don't have many blog posts to post. I want to congratulate those who have been going through this adventure with me and reading these blog posts. But I can't believe how fast time is going. I can look back at LAST year and think about all the things I was going through and all the things I was doing! I am excited to finish strong.  I know that the work I am doing is VERY important; it is the most important work you can do on the earth: The Lord's work. I know it can get difficult (all missionaries and return missionaries can agree) but I know as you keep trying and have faith... things will work out. I found this quote and I thought it was perfect: 

You do have more faith than you think!! You keep on trying! AND DON"T GIVE UP! Here are some experiences I have had this week! :D 

Once upon a time, me and my companion where having a rough morning trying to contact people. We have been asked by the mission to go out from 10 am to 12 pm every day and got knock on doors and talk to people! SO WE DO THAT.   And one day this week,  no one was opening their doors. Or wanting to talk to us. ugh. Anyway. We decided to say a prayer and asking the Lord to direct us on what He wants us to go. NO JOKE. Right then we got a phone call from our old bishop, from the old ward we are serving in that got dissolved, and he said he needed help. His wife just was at the store and saw a sweet woman in the area that she knew happened to be a member but who hasn't gone to church in a long time! The Bishop told us he was trying to find the records of this woman for years, and that he had just found the address. He asked us if we could please go stop by when we could.... HOLY COW. WE ENDED THE CALL, AND WENT STRAIGHT TO THE ADDRESS. We got there and we knocked on the door. An adorable woman opened the door, she was in a rush, but she told us to come in! We started talking to her: she has had a rough life and is wanting to find peace in her life. We were able to bring up eternal families and the spirit was so strong. By the end of the discussion, she was in tears (including us) and telling us that "God sent you to me today, I needed this." We gave her a Book of Mormon to read, and we will follow up the next time we see her. We left the appointment with the confirmation that THE LORD DID DIRECT US TO HER. I am so grateful for the work, and how the Lord directs His missionaries. I love my mission. I know that this mission will just be the beginning of me being a missionary for the rest of my life. I love you all! 

Hope you have a wonderful day! 

Love, 

Sister Guilott ;) 

September 11, 2017

We went to a ward "Super Saturday"

Today is a day to remember. I would like to first have a few thoughts on this historical day of 9/11. Even though many scary things happen in this work, I am so grateful to know that God's love surrounds us everywhere. And even though life seems unfair, things are made right through Jesus Christ's Atonement. He feels everything that is being felt, and all we need to do is trust Him and allow Him to come into our lives.

We got our transfer calls yesterday, and for my final transfer I will be staying in the wonderful city of Oakdale with my companion Sister Rose. :) I am very excited for this transfer and what it has in store. This ward is amazing and I would love to live here!! It is cool to see how everywhere around the world, especially in Oakdale, members from the church are creating their own "zion" and helping the people around them hear of the gospel, inviting them to church and serving constantly. It just shows the church is a church of love and service. 

OKAY!! I have a CRAZY STORY... (don't worry mom, I am okay.) ;) haha! I bet she doesn't like it when I start like that... Anyway! My companion and I got a list of people to go visit in what we call "the country." To give you a visual, think dirt roads that lead you to houses that are acres apart with many horses and cows and creatures that Sister Guilott isn't too fond of... But we got to this one house. It was a old house with vines all over it and looked like a haunted house. But a sign said the last name of the person we were trying to find lived there. So we started to walk forward and we saw how there were no steps leading to the front door. My companion was just saying how are we going to get to the front door when all of the sudden we heard a dog bark. The gate right next to the house was open, and there was a lock in the gate where it looked like it was suppose to be locked... BUT IT WASN'T. In the opening of the gate, we saw this BIG dog come running toward us. My heart dropped. We then heard two or three more dogs behind it. We turn around and I am about to make a run for it, when I heard my companion shout: "WALK." Thankfully, I listened to her. We walked calmly back to the car, which was not very close. We didn't look back, we just kept going. We kept hearing the barking getting closer and closer. We finally got into the car, and as we were driving away we saw the three big dogs chasing us who started to run after the car.  As Sister Rose and I were driving from the house, we looked at each other, dumbfounded that we didn't get attacked by those dogs. IT was SO SCARY. The Lord really does protect His missionaries.  We had a couple days ago discussed the topic of "what happens if you get chased by a dog"  and we had talked about it together and I KNOW the Lord was preparing us now looking back.

BUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is something good that came out of that:  After Sister Rose and I recovered from the shock of our almost dog attack for a couple of minutes, we remembered that there was a couple that lived by the area and we decided we should try them. So we put in the GPS of where they were, the GPS said that we had "arrived at destination." We looked over to the right of where we were and we had already arrived!! We got out, knocked on the door, and this adorable older man in his 90's came to the door and let us in. We had a wonderful discussion with him and his wife. I do believe that the Lord had directed us to them. It was amazing. 

I am so grateful for this gospel. I know that it is true. I am so grateful to have a living prophet on this earth, who we get to hear from soon! :) I am so excited! I know that God lives and loves us. I love my mission sooooo much. I love you all, and hope you have a great day! STAY AWAY FROM DOGs. ;)

LOVE, 

Sister Guilott

9/4/17 Labor Day

Did you know that Oakdale is right now the center point of surrounding fires? Thankfully, there are NO fires here... But we get stuck with all the smoke and it is very humid here lately... It doesn't help that we are having a 100 degree every day heat streak...I guess you could say I now understand what it means to be in the "refiner's fire."

I love this area so much. We had a lot of crazy things happen here! So this week, the two wards me and my companion are serving in got dissolved and became another ward. We now understand why we were serving in both wards.  It was stressful, as it caused a bit of chaos, but it was good.

We got to see our Stake President, I love him. He is such kind man and has the spirit with him AT ALL TIMES! It was fun to see him again, I consider him a friend!  Well, the ward we were in during the morning was the one that got dissolved, and SO MANY people were crying and hugging and making it a huge deal.  It didn't help our investigators who were at church.  They were confused. But I felt the spirit confirm to me something to tell them and was able to explain to them: "We get really connected with others in our ward, and we literally are all brothers and sisters of God and it is hard to separate from others that we were close with; Like being on a mission, you don't get to see your family. I miss my family very much, but I know that I will always be with them! It is the same here!" :) They liked that answer. 

All of the investigators we are teaching (and I am so grateful that God has allowed us to teach such precious souls) are progressing! It is so fun to teach, because I can just feel the spirit teach through me! I LOVE IT!! :D I would love to share a really neat experience though from this past week... It actually just happened yesterday! 

One recent convert in our ward said that he has a little brother that wanted to go to church with him because this brother has seen his brother change drastically the past months and he wanted to know how he was able to to change.  The recent convert told his little brother it was because of the church he has been going, so for the little brother has been going to church the past two weeks and LOVES IT. We were finally able to ask him if he would like to take lessons from the missionaries to learn more about the church. He accepted. So yesterday, we finally were able to teach him! We asked him about his beliefs, his family, and then we got to his age.  He said he was 14.  We were thinking, JOSEPH SMITH. WE ARE TEACHING A BOY WHO IS JUST LIKE HIM. This boy has studied to Bible everyday of his life. He loves God and wants to become closer to Him. He knows that there are many churches on the earth and wants to know if there is ONE CHURCH FOR EVERYONE.  He is so prepared. We were able to teach him the Restoration, and we got to the part about Joseph Smith. His eyes were fixed on us, and you could tell he was feeling the spirit. My companion was able to share the first vision. And after the first vision, his words were: " That makes sense!" He accepted to meet with us the next week and is now reading The Book of Mormon with his recent convert brother! IT IS AMAZING!!! :D :D I am sooooo grateful for that amazing opportunity to teach him, it was like he was teaching us and the SPIRIT was teaching him. I love my mission SO MUCH!! :D I know that this gospel is true and this is God's true church on the earth. I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. And I know that God loves all of you! 

I hope you all have a great Labor day!

LOVE YOU!!

Sister Guilott

Some fun pictures of a fun day out exploring with our district.

August 28, 2017

HELLO WORLD!

We go to service projects each week and wear these shirts!

When will it EVER cool down here? It is still so so hot!  We had a fun a activity today so this will have to be short.

Anyway... I honestly wish I could just send my journal home so you can all read it. We are witnessing so many miracles, and I am just so grateful for how gracious the Lord has been to us here. So many different wonderful people we get to meet.

Exchanges with the Hermanas!

We had one really awesome experience in the wards here! We were asked by the neighboring ward (who have elders, not sisters) to come and talk to the young women about missions! I have NEVER done anything like that on my mission yet, so I was really nervous about it actually. But we got there, and I now know how Young Women Leaders feel... I immediately felt SO much love for these sweet girls! The elders were there first, and they were sharing all these cool experiences. Then they left, it was our turn. We got up and started to talk, and we started to just get to know the girls there. They were all quiet at first, but after we were there, we were all having a great time and they would ask us funny questions! One of my favorites was "what was the worst dinner/food you have eaten?" ;) HAHA! I have to say though... We had asked the girls to raise their hands to see if they wanted to serve. Only like three girls raised them! I was kind of shocked, but I then thought if that was me a couple years ago, I would not have raised my hand. But all I have to say is that my mission has completely changed me. I love my mission so much, even in the trials and the hard times. But that night with the Young Women made me appreciate my mission and how I am so honored to be a tool in the hands of the Lord. This is HIS work, and I am just trying the hardest I can be there for Him. 

Well... I love you all! If you ever have free time... I am always up for letters! ;) I would write you back! :D haha! 

Have a wonderful day! 

Love, Sister Guilott 

Planning Meeting

8/22/17

HOLY COW!! THERE IS AN ECLIPSE TODAY!!! Everyone is outside and freaking out about it... It's SO FUNNY! People are wearing welding masks, these crazy glasses, and having their phones RIGHT ON THEIR FACES. It reminded me of when "Pokemon GO" got popular last year. Everyone is outside and going crazy!!  But we got a text from our District Leaders saying that all missionaries are not to look at the sun.  SO. I am now inside writing a weekly email. ;)

This week was a slower week (teaching wise) but we still found miracles!!  We have been meeting with a wonderful couple the Ren's this week. Back ground story: me and one of my companions a couple months ago met Bro. Ren and we didn't know he was a member at first! He was so kind and he said that his wife was Mormon.  Bro. Ren has not been to church since he was 11. And he has had his children go on missions! But he has had one question about the Book of Mormon that no missionary would ever go over with him. He said that he has had missionaries for the past 30 years come over and try to share messages. But he always wanted to know the timeline of the Book of Mormon. Okay! Back to NOW. Me and my companion met with them again, and we had a awesome member print us out a timeline of the Book of Mormon and we went over to Bro. Ren and taught him! The spirit was so strong and he had MANY questions. My companion is AMAZING and she is a Book of Mormon scriptorian and knew all the answers!! Brother and Sister Ren thanked us! Brother Ren said we were the first missionaries to ever answer his questions that he has been having for years! He said that he will start reading it and wanted us to come back. The couple even invited us back for dinner! BOY OH BOY!! I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR THE SPIRIT THAT TAUGHT THEM SO MUCH!! :D 

I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and for all the answers we gain from reading it. I know that it is THE witness of Jesus Christ. I know that if one reads this book, they will come to know their Savior, they will feel of the comforting power of the Holy Ghost, and just as a past prophet Ezra Taft Benson has said: 'The Book of Mormon will change your life." I know that is true. It has changed my life, and I know it will change yours.

I love you all so much!! Thank you for all your prayers and the support you give to the missionaries out in the field. I know that I have felt your love and prayers, and I am so grateful for all of you! I hope you have a great day!! 

Love,
Sister Guilott

Meet Dizzy the bird... it loved our heads. It freaked me out actually. haha! 

Phone Calls and Ice Cream

8/14/17

Sister Rose and I: She is so awesome!

Hello!

We had some incredible miracles this week I want to share with you.  First of all, last Tuesday, my companion and I were doing our planning for the day when we get a call from a caller that showed up as unknown. We were hesitant at first to answer, but we answered anyway. It was a man calling from a city near by (Ripon) and he said that he has a son who had not gone to church for a while, but had remarried a woman with two young daughters. The mom and daughters had heard about the church and were interested in going. They had attended a meeting and loved it! They had even said that they would want to be members! While listening to this phone call... we were DYING. We were so excited to hear about this young mom interested in the church. We got info about her, and we went to her house. We invited an awesome member who lives close by along with her daughter to go with us and we all went over. We were able to teach, and the spirit was so strong and there was such an amazing feeling of love we all had for this lady and her daughters. She committed to come to church and is so excited to learn more! I can't express how much gratitude I have for my Savior and for this miracle we were given. I love being a missionary and for having this call to serve. I know that it is all the Lord and His work. I am humbled to be a part of it.

Another quick funny miracle: We were biking and it was a very slow and very hot day. We were biking and I told my companion: I am stressed. Let's say a prayer! So we did... and immediately, NO JOKE... Our ice cream truck friend came driving by at that moment and he remembered us and gave us free ice cream. He even listened to us and accepted a pamphlet and told us he would read it. MIRACLES!! I was joking afterwards, when I am stressed, we get desserts ;) haha! The Lord knows me, and I am so glad He does. It was just what I needed to lift my spirits and continue on that day.

I love you all! Thanks for reading this email! Hope it brought your spirits up! 

Love, Sister Guilott 

 

Sister Rose with a package! 

After a long hot day working!

A baby frog!

Happy August!

Hello world!

It is Sister Guilott, and yes, I am STILL ALIVE: In spite of a  HEATWAVE for the past like... 6 weeks? BUT ALL IS WELL.

This week has been wonderful! I got my new companion... She is Sister Rose (it is very fitting name for her) and she is from UTAH!!! :D :D HOORAY! ANOTHER UTAH FRIEND!! She is amazing, I love her so much. She is new to the mission field, straight from the MTC, but it seems like she has already been serving for months. I am not training her, it is more like "immersing her in the work." This week I have to admit was pretty crazy and stressful. We now cover two of the biggest wards in the area. But... WE GET A CAR... BLESSINGS. We still bike as much as possible, but we are going everywhere in our area, because the Lord has blessed us with SO MUCH WORK!! 

So something really cool happened. Sister Rose and I were made companions Tuesday. The Elders from the other ward gave us their area book and their car. We looked inside the area book, and it said we have an appointment with a woman with her two daughters (all investigators) at 7 p.m. WHAT?!?!?! MIRACLES!! She we went over and she saw us. She let us in. They were holding Book of Mormons and they said they were reading it. We didn't know what to teach. And this was Sister Rose's first time... BUT SHE WAS SO INSPIRED and did so well. We talked to them about how Christ can help them in their lives. And how they can be comforted in knowing that He knows exactly that they going through. We read with them from the Book of Mormon of how He can help us. The whole room was in tears. The spirit was so strong and they invited us to come back again!! We felt so excited about them! We love them so much, and they said, "it was God that sent sister missionaries" to our area. I am so grateful for the work we are doing. Even though it is stressful going everywhere, it is all worth it. 

I was reading today in the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 38 verse 10 that said: "And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things." I am forever going to teach and be an example to others. You can find so many blessings in our lives as you follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. I love my mission so much. I love you all! Thanks for reading this blog and supporting me, I know it can be really random with my ramblings! But I can promise you that you will be blessed by reading missionary's blogs. ;) 

LOVE, 

Sister Guilott 

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