Miracle Central!

I have to apologize again for taking so long to send you this email. Sister Rasmussen and I went on a hike with Talu, Alaina and Paaga. It was so fun! Pictures will be placed randomly in between stories. :P So many amazing things happened this week, I'm so excited to share them all! We will go in chronological order of events.

 

So we were having a lesson with our new investigator Lisa, and it was going really well!  She is nice, and she knows a lot about the gospel already, without being able to connect that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, so it's nice to teach her because she agrees with everything we are teaching and has educated feedback. She's pretty awesome. As we were getting ready to get up and leave, she told us that if she were to consider herself a part of any religion, she would say she's Mormon. ...Say what? We were stoked! She told us that her friend growing up was Mormon and she used to go to church with her all the time. She liked it and wants to understand it better! Woo Hoo! All we need to do is put her on date and she will be set! It was a pretty awesome miracle.

 

Another day, we had a lesson planned with the investigator who lives in the boonies and has a bunch of schnauzer dogs named Theone and we wanted to ask Jaynie (a member that lives out in the boonies) to come with us, but we TOTALLY forgot to ask her to come. When we pulled up to Theone's house, Jaynie was sitting on the front porch chatting with
Theone. Heavenly Father was picking up our slack! Haha! He's got our backs! We had a beautiful lesson where both Jaynie and Theone cried and I got a little teary eyed as Jaynie bore her testimony and told us that Theone will really study out the things we teach her and gain a firm testimony for herself. It was cool! What sweet people.

 

Teaching Keith is always a wonder because we never know if he is going to be drunk or high or whatever. We never know if he is retaining any of the information that we are telling him, but this week it was clear. We brought a member with us to his house to help us teach, and he sat down on the back porch with us and listened intently, giving good feedback and asking intelligent questions the whole time. He didn't smoke once, and he was very polite. Everything we taught, he got! It was a big miracle!

 

Two more miracles to go, hang in there! We tried to contact our potential investigator who lives at the supposed "drug house," but as we were walking up the driveway, someone in a truck parked outside the house called out to us and told us that she wasn't there. She asked if she could use our phone, so we let her. She had scabs and blisters and cuts all over her arms, chest, neck, and face, and some of them were still bleeding. She was probably in her early 30's or late 20's, but she looked closer to 50. Drugs are bad, people! Particularly meth. Don't do drugs. After she tried to call her boyfriend a zillion times on our phone without any luck, we sat and talked to her for about thirty minutes. She told us a lot about herself, and claimed to be Atheist, but we knew better. She ended up telling us she believes in Christ and God, but she thinks we should rely on ourselves rather than God. We said she was exactly right about that, but explained that God is there to help us. He's not going to simply lift us up with His hand and move us around, we have our agency, and it is still up to us to
act. Her name was Jessica, and we will be seeing her again. :)

And lastly, we went back to talk to Keith again one day, but he kind of ran away from us and hid in the house. His friend Gabrielle stayed outside and talked to us for the first time! She admitted that she has kind of been running from us, but she explained why in full detail. She opened her heart to us, and told us more than she has told anyone else in the past year and a half since all the craziness started. She loves God and had a beautiful relationship with Him, but since her
husband was out in prison and things spiraled from there, she has been very bitter. She told us that she remembers where her heart used to be, and she would eventually like to get back to that point. The fact that she even talked to us at all was a miracle, let alone that she told us exactly how she was feeling. She is a good woman, and she will be blessed because of her faith. We just need to keep it going!

 

Some other interesting things that happened this week include - meeting a man named Vladimir and discussing "Christian Beliefs" in general, singing at a baptism for a sweet little girl in the ward who's dad and majority of her extended family are nonmembers, having 6 people at church, and being asked out over text by a potential investigator. :P Those are all things that have wonderful stories behind them, but because I hiked again today, I am unfortunately out of time. I am so grateful for the many miracles that happen on a daily basis, and for the chance I have to be a part of them. Heavenly Father is one amazing miracle worker, and I love Him for showing me that hard work and persistence pay off! I love you! Keep holding to the rod!

Love,

Sister Nicole Guilott

 

Waking Up!

This week was amazing. Like, supercalifradgilisticexpialidocious amazing. It was really just THAT wonderful! Sorry it took so long to email you today, we went on a hike to Angel's Rest. It was beautiful!
We stopped at Multnoma Falls to take pictures first, then we went to Angel's Rest. It was quite the hike! But don't worry, I made it. This was the first time that we actually did something super fun all together as a zone. Elder Tiko ( from Fiji) had been there before, so he kinda led the way. Once we got to the top we sat on a bunch of rocks over looking the Columbia River and listened to some music. Brandon Heath to be exact. It was really nice! The weather was perfect, and although we all looked gross, we had a great time!

Me and Sister Rasmussen at Multnoma Falls

Our Awesome Zone

Elder Tiko likes to photo bomb everyone's pictures.

Angel's Rest with the Columbia River below

This glorious week began on Tuesday with exchanges. Exchanges are certainly not something I look forward to, but I really really enjoyed this one. We had dinner with a member who happens to be related to Cayden Morton. It is always fun to meet people out here who know the same people I know from back home. :) Exchanges were a tad different this time in that we exchanged at 10:30 in the morning and changed back the next day after studies instead of exchanging at night. It was interesting, but I kinda liked it. That night, I was sleeping in a rock hard bed so I didn't sleep a wink, but instead had all night long to ponder things. I'll come back to that.

On Thursday, we had zone conference. This is only the second one I've been to, but it was just as good as the first. I learned a lot about the kind of missionary I should be, and the way to get there! We learned this really awesome and incredibly simple way to teach the Restoration. I already know that the power if the Priesthood and the proper authority from God is necessary and super important in fulfilling the ordinances that God wants us to perform here on earth, but how to teach that to somebody else in a way that they will
understand that importance? Here's a thought: Why did Christ seek out John the Baptist when He was going to be baptized? Without going into the complicated lineage of John the Baptist, just ask yourself: Don't you think Christ would KNOW the correct way to be baptized? Wouldn't He KNOW who held the proper authority and who was able to perform that sacred ordinance? Oh I love that! We learned so many wonderful things at zone conference! Also, the night before, the AP's texted and asked if I would do a musical number. So I did. Except I made Sister Rasmussen do it with me. :) So we sang "Nearer My God to Thee" with the Ukelele accompanying us. It was nice.

After Zone Conference (which went from like 9 am to 4 pm) we went home and ate dinner. Then we met up with our ward mission leader and missionaries and ward mission leaders from other wards to go on a "Stake Ministry" split. We went with President Gillespie who is in the stake presidency. We visited Keith and Gabrielle, Chris Archer, and Frank. It is SO much easier to talk to people when we have members with us. They let us in 50% more often than they do when it is just us. So again, I beg you: GO OUT WITH THE MISSIONARIES!!! We need you!

Friday night, we took Eva and her two sons on a church tour, which was STELLAR. She asked questions about everything, which is what we want, and at the end of the tour, Sister Rasmussen and I sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives" while I improvised on the piano. After that we watched the Because of Him video, and the spirit was SO STRONG!!! We didn't want to take away from the spirit so we ended there. It was
great! She said she would come to church in her own time, but that she is very grateful that we showed her around. I love church tours!

Saturday was a day of service. We started the day by going to a high school and helping out with a 5K race and an elementary school run. It was fun! Then we got home, got ready, and did yard work for an investigator named Sharon. :) She made us some yummy mini banana muffins with some sort of walnut from "back east." They were delicious. I learned this week that I LOVE being outside, especially when I am helping someone with something! The baked goods help too. Haha! But really, after hiking just now, and being outside all day Saturday, I realized that I really truly adore being outside. It's just so beautiful everywhere! Particularly here in Washington and Oregon. It's green everywhere, and there is no nasty inversion. I love nature!!!

Yesterday, we had a Relief Society lesson focusing on gratitude. It really magnified the things I had been thinking about all week, and it helped to pump me up even more when it comes to serving a mission! The
past few weeks have been rough, but ever since Tuesday night, I have realized that there is nowhere to go but up! In the first chapter of Preach My Gospel, it says that, "You show your love for the Lord and
gratitude for His Atonement by bringing souls unto Him." That's one of the main reasons I am out here! I am so grateful for the comfort, guidance, peace, love friendships, and grace that the fullness of Christ's Gospel has brought me, and one way to show my gratitude is to find those who don't have it yet, and share it with them. Heavenly Father wants to know and love ALL his children, but He also wants us to learn and grow. He could do all this missionary work in the snap of a finger if He wanted to, but He gives us opportunities such as serving a mission, so that we can grow in our own testimonies, and come closer and closer to Him every day. I am so grateful for my loving Heavenly Father and the opportunities He gives me to build myself up through Him.

That brings me back to Tuesday night. It had nothing to do with exchanges, and nothing to do with circumstance, but as I was praying while I sat there awake, everything finally came together. It was so many simple things that I already knew, and that others had told me many times, but I finally got it. Kind of like a testimony. People can talk at you and teach you all the live long day, but until you get on your knees and ask for a personal witness through the Holy Ghost, you will never know for yourself. I suddenly knew EXACTLY what Heavenly Father wanted me, no, needed me to do in order to become the absolute BEST missionary that I can be. I knew every step, every feeling, every action that I needed to take in order to become that missionary, and overall, that person that I have dreamed of becoming for my entire life. It was laid out in front of me, just like an instruction manual for good old OCD Sister Guilott. I got up Wednesday morning with a new look on my mission, on life, and a new attitude about pretty much everything! Since then, my companion and I haven't struggled nearly as much, I have slept like a baby every night, and I can feel my
relationship with Christ strengthening by the minute. The more I follow the promptings of the spirit, and the revelation that I had on Tuesday night, the happier I am, and the closer I am to becoming that ideal Nicole Guilott permanently. I love this work. I can't say that enough. If I hadn't come on a mission, I never would have seen the path made so crystal clear, and who knows who I would be? That doesn't matter now. All that matters is that I continue to do what Heavenly Father has planned for me, and that I continue to be grateful for all that He does for me. I love you all, and I can't wait to talk to you again next week!

Love Always,

Sister Nicole Guilott

EXCITEMENT!

Oh my goodness gracious! So many things happened this week that are fabulous! I just... Don't even know where to start! Ooooo I know: Mother's Day. Best day of the week! I got to talk to my wonderful family for a whole hour and make my Daddy laugh his crazy laugh! Boy have I missed hearing that. I am so grateful for my family and the wonderful support they are to me. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have them!

It was great to be able to see my whole fam bam for Mother's Day, but it IS called MOTHER's day. My mom is the absolute greatest, and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise. I adore her. She has been there for me when I have asked for her help, and she has stayed by my side when I have been too stupid to realize that I needed her. I love my mom so much, and even though I know I will never be able to repay her for the things she has done and continues to do for me, I can love her continually. :) I am so grateful that Heavenly Father sent me to her and made me a part of my family for eternity. I would truly be
lost without them. Thank you Mom for being my best friend! Happy Mother's Day!

This week was truly a great one. Some exciting things happened! We had an appointment set up with our Russian investigator Serg, who only speaks a little bit if English, but not enough to understand church or a lesson, but our translator cancelled on us! We were devastated! But we are diligent missionaries, and we were NOT going to cancel on Serg! So we used the tools this mission provides us, and Facebook messaged
some people until we found a handful of translators willing to FaceTime or Skype us to help translate for a lesson. My dearest Jared Naumann ended up FaceTiming us and translating! It was awesome! We finally understood where Serg was coming from, and he better understood our purpose. It was great! (Side note: when we met him at the church to have a lesson, he pulled out some Katy Perry perfume and sprayed us both with it... Not quite sure what to think of that...) We had a great lesson with him, and we will definitely be utilizing FaceTime and Skype to continue to teach him. :)

A little too excited to have a translator for Serg...

Did you know I love food? Well I do. And this week was an interesting food week! One particular day, we ate mostly fruit. We had rambutan's, mangos's, watermelon, pineapple, and some other stuff I can't remember. It was a nice colorful assortment! Another day, we had dinner with a member couple who own the evil dog named Scooby. I think I've talked about them before... Anyway, they made us some chicken and other stuff, but I was NOT a fan. So... I fed it to the dog! They were like, aw he finally likes you! Well I had to make sure it stayed that way, so I kept feeding him. It was funny. Sort of a had to be there thing now that I'm writing it out... Oh well! Last night we went to Meena's house, the sweet Indian woman who likes Bollywood, and she fed us some authentic Indian food! It was delicious! We had... Let's see if I can remember what it's called... Rotis (row-tee-ss) and Dahl (doll). I think that's it. It was super yummy!!! Meena and her sons spoke Punjabi to each other a lot and I just sat there wishing I could communicate with them! But all I knew was things like, "Om Shanti Om," "Kal Ho Na Ho," "Main Hoo Na," and "It's the Time to Disco." And that's more Hindi than Punjabi, so basically it was worthless. Oh well! I could eat their food and listen to them talk all day!

Part of our healthy fruit day. :)

I feel like I'm starting to recognize more and more Coraline-esque things around here... First they put me in a mansion similar to the "Pink Palace" in the middle of the woods, then the investigator with a thousand Scottie Dogs, then I find a secret and smallish Coraline door, and now there are banana slugs roaming around. What next??

I was trying to be like Wybie and put it on my upper lip.  It was too gross, so I couldn't.

Crazy huh? That was just a thought I had this week. ANYWAY, we had some super cool moments with investigators this week. Unfortunately, Tony was not baptized because he ended up in Portland for some reason. We will keep working with him! We had a few really amazing lessons with a man named Keith. He is about 6 feet tall, has tattoos all over his body, always wears a wife beater, has a ponytail that reaches below his waist, and he has no more teeth because of past drug abuse. He is a very sweet man, and we love teaching him! He has made comments about how grateful he is that we don't judge him by his appearance,
and that we are willing to teach him and bring him closer to Christ. It's very sweet. :) We got another new investigator named Lisa who is rooming with a referral that we tried to contact, but got her instead. She is super kind too! All the people here in Vancouver are just so darn wonderful! I'm so excited to be able to teach them all!

Lastly, we had dinner on Friday with a member and her extremely less active son, Troy. I kept feeling like I needed to say something to him, but couldn't figure out how to approach it... So I just spat it out. I said, "Troy, why haven't I ever seen you at church?" to which he responded, "Oh, because I'm not active in the church." I said, "Why?" right upfront, and apparently that was the right decision because from there, we had a wonderful conversation for about an hour about his beliefs and how they differ from the church. He talked about science and about his belief in medical marijuana, etc etc. I told him that I am a science major and that we spent a lot of time studying theories such as the Big Bang and evolution and I addressed every single one of his scientific concerns. Not in a preachy "But God created that" sort of way, but more on his level of understanding. I told him that I found the balance between the two by making them a part of each other instead of trying to force one to be right and one to be wrong. It came out of my mouth a lot better than it is sounding on here, but the point is that it made perfect sense, and for the first time in about 15 years, Troy allowed himself to ponder it instead of standing by his pre-formulated opinion. It was funny because his mom knew she had never gotten that far with him before, so for the whole hour we were talking, everyone was silent for fear of ruining the progression he was making. I invited him to come sit by me in church and talk to me about what he was feeling and thinking throughout sacrament meeting, and we could discuss how to combine the truth with the evidence, and he said he would definitely consider that. We now have a weekly Friday night appointment with them. :) I think that was my favorite part of this week (besides Mother's Day of course!).

I am so grateful for this area, Lacamas Creek, for the people here and for the wonderful places that Heavenly Father is taking me. If you are ever doubting Him and what He has in store for you, or doubting your faith, or anything of the like PLEASE get down on your knees and pray to Him. He will ALWAYS answer. I am past believing in Him and in this Gospel. I am past believing that I can return to Him and be
resurrected to be with Him and my family forever. I am past believing. I KNOW that this is true, and I KNOW that if I ever have questions or am in need of comfort, my Heavenly Father is there for me. I am so
grateful for the relationship I have with Him, and I know He sent me here because He knows me perfectly. I hope you all will take the time to establish that relationship with Him for yourselves. Have a wonderful week! Talk to you next time!

Love,

Sister Nicole Guilott

P.S. Elizabeth changed her mind again. :'( But we will not lose hope! Ever!

Coping with having to hang up on our families by eating ice cream under fuzzy blankets!

My tribute to Sister Major for today.

Too Little Time!

I apologize. This letter will be a bit on the shorter side, and to make it worse, I didn't take a single picture this week. Well besides the ones on here... So I guess I took a few. I will do better next week! There is just not enough time on Pdays! Not enough time in 18 months to do all that we need to do! Not enough time to plan, to think, to sleep! Haha time needs to SLOW DOWN. Or pause for a second. That would be nice too.

This was a weird 7 days. On Monday and Tuesday, Sister Major and I spent most of our time visiting as many people as we could so that she could say goodbye. It was busy! But also nice to see everyone all in
one little space of time. Wednesday was transfers! Disastrous. This is how we felt about it on the way there:

We saw everyone at transfers, I met my new companion Sister Rasmussen, said goodbye to Sister Major and we left. It was weird because I was driving all of a sudden and I loved it! Haha we got home alright. Went shopping, got unpacked and all is well. It was strangely difficult to say goodbye to Sister Major. She is amazing, and I am so grateful that she was my trainer. I love her so much!

"Final Goodbyes... :("

Things are super different without her... Sister Rasmussen likes to do things very differently. Sister Major and I had a system going, but so did Sister Rasmussen in her last area and things were going super well up there, so I think she is just adjusting to a new area and learning how to fellowship the members all over again. This is only her second area, so she is still trying to adjust. We have struggled, but we are communicating and making things work. It is something we will have to work on the entire transfer, but there is definitely something special about this companionship that is going to emerge at some point in the next six weeks. I can't wait to see it. :)

Me and my new companion - Sister Rasmussen.

I have bad news and good news. Bad first. While we were at a lesson with Tony, he was staring at my forehead and I was ultra confused... So I stopped talking and he reached his hand up to my head, and plucked out a white hair. WHITE. I'm apparently a grandma all of a sudden. The good news, and this is WONDERFUL news, is that Elizabeth came to church yesterday! She got a blessing on Monday or Tuesday night, and since then she has decided to come back!!! :') I am so happy! I knew it would be okay! She has an interview set up for tomorrow night with the Bishop to get her temple recommend. Oh man. Life is good.

I apologize again for the lack of content in this email, but I promise I will do better next time! I love my mission, I love this Gospel, and I love YOU! Have a phenomenal week! I'm so excited to see the fam on
Sunday for Mother's Day Skyping! Haha! TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

Love,

Sister Guilott

p.s. Happy Cinco de Mayo!