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!

"Comfort" even on Hot Days!

IT’S BEEN A HOT WEEK... 

But that does not stop missionary work!! Sister Rugg and I had to be fair-skinned... But NO MATTER!! THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!!! That is all that matters. This past Tuesday we had an AMAZING Zone Conference and Elder Evans from the seventy was there to speak to us. WHAT AN INSPIRED MAN... I have been so edified by the spirit that it has changed my whole outlook on missionary work. He was able to talk to us about repentance (wanting to change for the best) and for finding people. Repentance is something viewed as a negative principle. BUT IT ISN'T!! It's the most amazing and beautiful thing we have today, all thanks to our wonder Savior Jesus Christ. When you want to change, REPENT. It's that easy. Okay... It's a little bit hard... You need to really look at yourself (on the inside) and ask yourself: “What can I do better to be closer to my Savior?" If you have any questions about this, I would recommend going to the closest missionaries you have in your area! Whether you be a member or not, GO TALK TO THEM! They were sent for you to learn and grow. :)

Sorry for that random tangent. I am just all energetic when it comes to this! OH!! Here's a really cool experience:  Sister Rugg and I on a 100 degree day, we got into NO HOMES. We were hot and sweaty and had not much water. (Note: DRINK WATER.) Anyway, we were very discouraged and we decided to pray and ask for some help. We were getting really depressed and as girls do...get over dramatic. haha. Well, we had a dinner appointment that night with Sister Rugg's recent converts, the Swann family! By the way, that was the first house we had gotten into all day. They are the best. So we had dinner and gave a message about Temples and challenged them to pick a day to go to the temple and GO! They loved the message (THANK YOU SPIRIT) SO MUCH! Sister Swan then asked: "Hey, my daughter has a lot of clothes and bed comforters upstairs she doesn't want... would you like to look at them?" Sister Rugg and I got so excited! We both brought comforters home. So, to make this experience spiritual, there is a scripture in Alma 26:27 when the sons of Mosiah were having a hard mission, their experience says: "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold the Lord comforted them..." WE WERE DEPRESSED AND WERE "COMFORTED" WITH COMFORTERS!!! GOD IS REAL. Amen. 

Elder Evans challenged us to get referrals with everyone we talk to. So Sister Rugg and I really took that to heart. So at the end of the day, we were doing our goals/key indicators for tomorrow. There is a spot for referrals received and contacted. Sister Rugg got a huge grin and shouted: "We will get 7 referrals tomorrow!!" I laughed and thought she was joking... She wasn't. I then said: “Sister that is impossible... LET'S DO 8!!!”  ;) But we decided to put 7. We had planned to see many people that day, but our recent convert Valerie was having a hard day. Like what is says in Mosiah 18: "Comfort those that stand in need of comfort"... So we helped her clean her house, helped her with lunch, read scriptures and sang hymns. That really lifted her spirits. She was telling us about her family and all of the sudden I got an impression to ask her: "Sister Reed, would you want us to send the missionaries to your family's houses?" And she got a huge smile and said: "Yeah, I think that would really help!" She got her address book out... She said her sister, then her other sister, then her friend, then her friend’s daughter... Until me and Sister Rugg were beaming to get the last referral... 8. We got 8 from just her. GOD IS REALLY THERE!!! If you have faith and believe He can help you, HE WILL HELP YOU. You just got to ask. 

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week! I am praying for all of you always. God loves you. He knows your name, He even knows you by your nickname. Remember that He wants to hear you and help you, so get on your knees and pray. He will help you. 

Love, Sister Guilott

Happy Father's Day!

What a great, tough, and rewarding week it has been!! Thank you all for the wonderful emails, packages, and letters telling me happy birthday! It truly made my day to be able to see that there are people who remember! ;) I know that all of you care and I care for you too! I am beyond excited to be able to serve for the whole year I am 20, and then some! I can give this whole year to the Lord and I am so grateful to be able to do that! Not a lot of people get to do that.

Well, let me tell ya, this week has been a growing week. It has stretched me mentally, emotionally, and of course spiritually. I can see the Savior more in my life and it is incredible to be able to see all the things He has done for all of us. If you ever want to be able to see the Lord more clearly, I would recommend getting on your knees and praying. Ask for forgiveness of all your weaknesses. If we think about it, weakness is a gift to us! We may not want to see it (for me, I don't like seeing it as a gift), but it is a gift to help humble us (reference Ether 12:27). When we are willing to be want to change, God will see that. And He will do everything He can to help us grow. There is a wonderful story given by one amazing apostle we have, Elder Christofferson. When you don't want to change, God will help you to change. This is how the story goes: 

He told of purchasing a rundown farm in Canada many years ago.  As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet (1.8m) high and it was yielding no berries, so he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small stumps. Then he saw a drop like a tear on top of each of these little stumps, as if the currant bush were crying, and thought he heard it say: "How could you do this to me?  I was making such wonderful growth...And now you have cut me down.  Every plant in the garden will look down on me...How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here."

President Brown replied, "Look little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be.  I didn't intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree.  I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, 'Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down."

Later in the story, President Brown is denied a huge position for the Army because of being a Mormon. He questioned God and asked him why would he do this? Then he thought of the currant bush. I love this story, I feel like this is relating to everyone on earth today, especially those who are going through so much trial. I know that God will make us into the beautiful currant bush He wants us to be. 

Kourtney, baptized by her husband....IT WAS AMAZING!!

This week we also had our investigator BAPTIZED!!! Kourtney was baptized Saturday and BOY OH BOY!!! Isn't she just glowing?!?!? I am so excited for her and she is going to bring such happiness to the lives of everyone around her. She was confirmed the Holy Ghost that next day, and I just felt the Spirit so strong! I am so grateful for her and for the Spirit! It can truly touch the lives of so many around us if we have the heart and the mind to be open to the things we can learn. I love you all so much! Have a great week!

Love from your favorite missionary,

Sister Guilott

Love my family!

Thank you Allen Family & LindaMarie!!

Bought me a little fan! Pray for rain!  No more heat waves . . . 

The Field is White . . .

My new district with the MOST WONDERFUL missionaries ever!!!
And with President White behind me (the best stake president!)

(Sorry, I lost my camera charger this week so there won’t be any other pictures.)

I am now in my 8th week here! Wow... I still have a LONG WAYS TO GO. BUT!!! That is just getting me more excited because I have SO MUCH MORE TIME TO SERVE. This week was a rough but fun week. With our recent transfers, we lost one of our wards, which is so sad! I loved serving in that ward! But I know the Elders in it now are FANTASTIC and will have great success. But the ward we are serving in is the best. I am so grateful to have this ward to love 24/7 and with a whole heart! Before, we would go to one ward in the morning, then go to the other that afternoon. This week we made a HUGE list of part-member families and those we haven’t seen for awhile and we have been on the search for those who are ready to come unto Christ and BE BAPTIZED! 

A really cool experience that happened this week: My companion Sister Rugg and I have been praying for serving opportunities. And the night before, I had prayed very hard and asked God to help us be aware of our surroundings to help those who are in need and need the gospel in their life. SOOOOOOO, we were biking down a street that very next day and we turned into a new street we hadn't been on before. My companion and I were hesitant at first to go down it. But we both knew that we had to go down this street for a reason. So we started to bike down, we said hi to people and they give us weird looks because you don’t see girls on bikes with skirts every day. But we kept biking. THEN! All of the sudden, we see a little house on the right. There was a chalk board out front that said: "The Field is White Already to Harvest." IT WAS A LITERAL SIGN FROM GOD!!!! :D :D :D So we bike over there, got off our bikes, and knocked on the door. Inside was a cute older lady that saw us and said: "Oh hello Sisters!" And let us inside. It turns out she was a member many years ago. She and her husband were baptized, and got sealed in the temple. Then they said they had the biggest argument in their life driving back home from being sealed. Then that is when they decided they didn't want to go back to church... I was almost in tears. To see such a faithful couple dwindle from one argument is so sad. It just proves how Satan can take over us if we let him. Be aware of the things around you, the natural man is an enemy to God. The lady is Christian now, and writes a new message everyday on her chalkboard. I don't think God did random that day when she felt prompted to write that. My companion and I are now her friends, and we are going to go garden with her tomorrow as service (good thing that I love gardening!!). 

I just thought that was a HUGE testimony to me that God will answer our prayers, but we have to put in the action. Faith is an action word, and to show we have faith we have to be willing to serve God. I know that God wants us to be closer to Him, and sitting on the couch watching TV won’t help us get closer to Him. So for everyone this summer season, GO DO SOMETHING!!! Get off from Facebook, get off your Instagram AND GO DO SOMETHING GOOD! Go do some service, go out to lunch with a friend you haven't seen, go do some gardening for a cute older woman near you. Once you do service for your fellow beings, you are in the service of your God and you will become closer to Him. It’s a wonderful feeling!

I love you all so much and hope you have a wonderful week! Be safe in this hot weather, drink lots of water! Remember that God loves you, and He loves you so much that He sent His son Jesus Christ for you. I know that we have the restored gospel on earth today, and that we have a living prophet to lead and guide us. He is a man of God, He has the power to bring us revelation from God today. I know that we have the restored priesthood to help us make sacred ordinances and covenants with Our Savior and Heavenly Father. He loves you. Don't forget that.

LOVE YOU!!

Sister Guilott