I Love the Spirit!

What a glorious week this has been! Filled with so many miracles and countless blessings! Last Monday, we went shopping with Elizabeth to get her a new skirt and shirt to wear at her baptism on Saturday! We were successful, and we all ended up purchasing one thing or another for ourselves. :P Remember how I hate shopping? Well that has changed. Shopping is incredibly fun all of a sudden. Haha!

Sister Major and I were oh so worried about receiving the mail on Friday, for that was the day of transfer letters... We opened the mailbox, shuffled through the mail, and to our delight we didn't have a single letter for either of us!!! It was the only day that we were actually excited to not get any mail. We are staying here in Lacamas Creek together for at least another 6 weeks! Everybody celebrate! I cannot even begin to explain how happy we are that we are staying here in Lacamas Creek. I would have been thoroughly upset if I had to have two different trainers. After this next transfer, I'll be done training! I'll no longer be a Greenie! Isn't that wonderful? I think so.

This week, at a members house for dinner, we talked about Disney. No surprise there. They said they had this fun game called "Headbands" that I had never heard of, so we played it and turned it into a lesson. :) It was wonderful. There was one round where I had Maleficent!!! I was very excited. In case you can't tell.

We got a grand total of 30 lessons taught this week! It was a great week full of teaching. We brought a lovely girl from Colorado, who was visiting family in the stake, with us to a few appointments this week to prepare her for her own mission coming up in a few months. She will be a wonderful missionary. We also exceeded all of the "Standard of Excellence" goals for the mission this week. That was nice. On Saturday, President Taylor challenged everyone in the mission to find 2 new investigators by the next night. Freaked everyone out for a minute, but then we were all very excited about it and ready to go to work! We found our 2 (actually 3) new investigators on Sunday night. One was a potential who had asked us to come back another time, and the other was also a potential, but she had a friend over who was interested as well! Miracles happen my friends, miracles happen.

The absolute best part of this week was by far Elizabeth's baptism and confirmation. I have felt the Spirit plenty of times in my life, but WOW! The feeling of the Spirit was a zillion times stronger at her baptism! It was one of those rare occasions where you feel like you could almost touch it. Or cut right through it! It flooded the room so quickly, and everyone there could feel the intense strength the Spirit had as Elizabeth was baptized and washed clean.

Elizabeth has such a sweet heart, and you could physically see the difference in her eyes after she was baptized. Her confirmation the next day had the same effect. She was nervous to be in front of people, but glowing with happiness after she received the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. We are so proud of her, and so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and the strength that it brings us. We are all floating on cloud 9 this week as we were able to witness this beautiful experience. I am grateful that God finds ways to remind me every day of His glory, His mercy, and His love. I love my mission!

Love Always,

Sister Guilott

Time is FLYING!

I know that most of you are probably thinking, "You've only been out a month and a half, time can't be flying yet!" But it really is! This last week went by SOOOO fast! It was great that it started with Mardigras! We had a District Meeting on Tuesday, and since it was Fat Tuesday, we didn't hesitate to eat a lot for lunch that day. The majority of us went to Popeyes since it was the only New Orleans food that we could think of. The lady behind the counter wasn't very enthusiastic when I said, "Happy Mardigras!" though. It was sad. But the chicken was yummy!

Looks good right? It was! On Wednesday we went on exchanges with the STL's. It was my first time on exchanges, and I guess you could say that I do not look forward to going on them again. I mean, it was fine. I stayed in Lacamas Creek so I got to drive! That was nice. I made sure I had back up plans for my back up to my back up plans. I was ready to go! Good thing too, because a lot of the people we contacted couldn't meet with us for very long, so we were always going to visit my back up people. We talked to just about everybody on my list and got return appointments with every single one of them! A lot of them committed to come to church (mostly because I reminded them all that Sister Major and I were singing in Sacrament Meeting, but still), and all of them were excited to meet with us again. I felt like we were doing awesome! However, as we were driving back to the STL's area to make the companion switch, she gave me my "exchange evaluation," and though I felt we had done GREAT that day, she made it sound like I was doing everything wrong and was a terrible missionary. I just sat and listened, trying to focus on the road and not cry, and by the time we got back to her area, she remembered that I'm a new missionary and that this was my first exchange. She said, "Oh! Yeah, that makes much more sense... In that case, you're doing great!" That didn't really help a lot, but I guess it made it better that I'm still a Greenie? Anyway, the advice she gave me overall made me upset because she made it sound like she wanted me to be a robot missionary, which I will not become. People relate to people, not robots. If we weren't having any success in our area, I might take her advice and go more on the robot side, but Lacamas Creek is definitely growing in teaching pool and in success, so we're gonna stick with what we are doing. :) It only effected me for a short amount of time, we were golden again and ready to work by the time we went to bed that night.

"Hazelnut milkshakes from Burgerville. Celestial my friends. Too good."

We met some really wonderful people while we were tracting this week. In one neighborhood, we had a good amount of people laugh at us and close the door, but a good four houses in a row allowed us to teach a
short lesson on the doorstep, place a Book of Mormon, and make a return appointment with them. One in particular is named Karen. She was soft and gentle when she opened the door. We could tell she was feeling tender and has a soft heart that has been prepared for the Gospel as soon as she opened the door. As we started to share what we are here to do and teach, she got teary and we knew that teaching her would be absolutely wonderful! She is ready for the message the Lord has for her, and we are so excited to go back and start teaching her! She has two 8 year old daughters and they are the cutest little things! I haven't stopped thinking about Karen since we met her, I'm so excited to see her again.

Another person in that neighborhood that let us teach a bit was Sam. We pulled up in the neighborhood, and she was saying goodbye to her boyfriend out by his car. They kissed a lot (Gasp! A missionary witnessed kissing? What is this?), said goodbye, and he got into his homemade car, revved the engine a lot, and drove away. We waited till he was gone to start getting out of our car and approaching Sam, but he came back around the other corner, parked in her driveway and went up to the door. We walked over toward him as he was leaving again, and I told him he had a beautiful car. I asked him how long it took to fix it up, how much it cost, etc. and he opened up immediately. To switch things up, I had been talking in an English accent... I didn't realize I was still doing it when I was talking to them! We talked for about 10 minutes to the both of them (Sam had come back outside, and the boyfriend's name is Benny. The Car's name is Susanna), and set up a return appointment! We were so excited, but I was so embarrassed! Next time I'm gonna have to talk in the accent again! We told Bonnie and Elizabeth, and they said to just slowly wean off of the accent... Haha! I guess we'll just have to see how it goes. :P

"We helped Sister Shoemaker put together little handouts to help the ward get excited
about the Ward Mission Plan! Every member a missionary!"

We attended a baptism with Elizabeth on Saturday to prepare her for her own baptism coming up on March 15 (this Saturday!) at 4 o'clock. She is so ready! I love her so much. She has really been able to feel the love that her Heavenly Father has for her, and she has been strong enough to overcome the things that Satan has been consistently throwing at her. He's been working especially hard on her these past couple weeks since we told her to pray about a date, but she has remained strong and will continue to be that way throughout her life. She's a wonderful wonderful woman, and we know that she understands the covenant that she is about to make, and that she is ready for it. Ah! I love this! The baptism was a really good experience, and a good way to teach her more about what will be happening for her on Saturday. She is so excited to be baptized, and we are stoked too! In case I haven't said that enough times yet... WE'RE SO EXCITED!!!

Yesterday was a beautiful Sabbath. President and Sister Taylor came and spoke in our ward, Sister Major and I sang while our dear Marjorie Wallace accompanied us, Elizabeth made sure I knew I was singing at her baptism, and everyone was just wonderful. The members here are incredible, and I am so grateful for them! I am grateful that we don't have to be nervous to have Elizabeth baptized into this ward; she will
be well taken care of and the members will continue to love her and serve her.

Sister Major has a beautiful CD that she made before coming out here by the way. If you can get a hold of one somehow, do it. She's amazing. I am continually grateful for her and her example, and we are nervous as can be for transfers next week! We cannot split yet! Pray that we will stay together for at least one more transfer. We sure have been praying fervently for it!

"Playing Rummikub with Sister Debenham for family home evening!"

This week was wonderful. I'm grateful for the trials that came, and the better missionary I am because of them. Every trial helps us to grow, and I can personally testify that my trials are doing just that. I am continually learning so much from myself, my companion, the members, the investigators, President, other missionaries, and simply everyone I meet! I'm so grateful for this opportunity to serve. I couldn't be happier than I am right now. Well... I guess God can prove me wrong. I am happier and happier each day, especially after I am tried. It is only after we see sorrow that we can truly recognize genuine happiness. I love these people, I love my Savior and my Heavenly Father, I love the Holy Ghost, and I love Lacamas Creek. This week is going to be even better and I can not wait to see what The Lord has in store. I'll let you know next week!

Love Always,

Sister Guilott

P.S.
Take a look at the beautiful Vancouver!

 

"Getting ready to tract in the rain!"

"What missionaries do for fun in Vancouver. Might as well add to constantly wet!!!!" 

Ups and Downs

Hello world! This has been quite the week. Filled with blessings, happiness, and recognition of God's hand. Along with all of that though, there have been a few disappointing instances as well.

Before I get into my week, however, I'd like to acknowledge what happened last week. I'm sure most of you, if not all of you, know by now about the tragedy of the Parrish family. Sister Parrish was in my mission, and getting the text saying, "Please keep Sister Parrish in your prayers; she just found out that her parents and two younger siblings have passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning," was devastating. All of us in the mission felt for her and wanted to do everything we could to help her feel peace, but there is only so much we could do. Prayer was the most that we could do for her at that time. Since then, she has returned home and is now with her brother who was also on a mission in South Dakota. They are so strong! For zone conference on Thursday, President and Sister Taylor talked a little bit about it and shared some things with us that Sister Parrish wanted to be shared. She actually wanted to stay until after zone conference, but they insisted that she go home. She shared with us this painting called "Compassionate Christ," along with a little excerpt from the artist.

This was the artist's take on the painting:

"Painting a portrait of our Savior that would be universally meaningful, conveying His ultimate compassion, has been my desire as long as I can remember. A friend of mine shared a scene from a film that I found especially touching and inspiring.

'Jesus, as a grown man, sees His mother, Mary, sitting in a softly lit room. He kneels at her feet looking up into her eyes as He once did when He was young. In essence, He tries to find the right words to say as His mind is reminiscent of the many experiences they have shared as mother and son. He then tells her, "My time has come and is at hand." Mary questions what He means to which He responds, "On the morrow they come for me." Through her concerned expression she reminds Him, "Oh Jesus, you have the power to save yourself." Then with the most tender feelings, considering the magnitude of His Atonement which is soon to commence, He says, "Mother, it is for this purpose I have come into the world." 

A realization overcomes Mary and she wonders if this may be the last time she will see Him alive. As tears fill her eyes she reaches out one last time to stroke her son's hair and to gaze upon Him as she once did when He was a child. His compassion toward His mother, as well as every soul in the world, radiates from His countenance as He willingly fulfills the purpose of His life.'

In the original portrait, every eye color in the world is painted into Christ's eyes. I included blue, green, hazel, amber, brown, black, etc. so that every viewer could see his or her own eyes reflected in

the Savior's eyes, that they might feel his very personal love and compassion for each individual on Earth. The painting was completed a month after my father passed away. My 9 year old twin daughter also passed away several years earlier. I thought of all the relatives and ancestors who have gone before me and I like to believe my loved ones helped influence this version of our Savior. He is real. He lives. His arms are open wide to encircle and embrace us as we experience the love of a very caring and Compassionate Christ."      

-Kendra Parrish Burton

Sister Parrish is such a wonderful example of strength, we can all learn something from her. She knows her Savior has compassion for her and that He understands what she is feeling and what she is going through right now. It's such a comfort to know that families can be together for time and all eternity. This life is just the beginning.What a comfort for her to know that her family is able to still be with her right now while she goes through life, and that they will be waiting to embrace her again, just after the Savior will welcome her home. I love this Gospel with all my heart, and I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation. My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with Sister Parrish and her family as they press on through this trying time.

This trial I have seen Sister Parrish go through has helped me to better recognize the things which I am grateful for. This week has proved to be wonderful, yet trying. There were two slammed doors while
tracting, they were my first. The first was a doorway that was such a tight squeeze to get to the door that Sister Major and I were shoulder to shoulder. It was night time, and we easily could have been assaulted in that doorway and no one would know. An old man answered and pointed angrily to his "no soliciting" sign, to which I replied, "Oh, we're not solicitors." He didn't like that. He yelled, "YES YOU ARE! GOODBYE," and slammed the door. Because of the teeny doorway, the force of the slam sort of knocked us both backwards. We giggled about it. Then, three doors after that, the EXACT same doorway entry, a man opened the door, yelled, "WHO ARE YOU?!" We thought he was teasing so we giggled and said, "Missionaries! For the Church of Jesus Christ of La..." And he interrupted and yelled, "WE DON'T WANT YOU!" and slammed the door. We fell backward a bit in his tiny entryway too. What a lovely night for tracting. I am grateful for tracting. For the slammed doors and the friendly people who either accept our message or politely excuse it.

I am grateful for the opossums that are everywhere. That they always provide us with a wonderful excuse to quote the lovely movie, The Princess Bride, and discuss whether or not we believe in "ROUS's." :) Seriously though. Opossums. EVERYWHERE. Literally.

I am grateful for new investigators (we had 2 this week: Ava and JC), and for people who keep their appointments with us. We went back for an appointment we had made with a potential investigator named Joel, who we were hoping would become an investigator, but the gate to get into his courtyard that led to the front door was locked! They were all home! We could see them through the windows. Joel had made an appointment with us, and he locked us out. So yes, I am grateful for the appointments that DON'T bail.

I am grateful for iPad mini's. This means that instead of going to the library and getting all dolled up for Pday, I can simply sit in my bed in my pajamas and write my emails and letters. Pants are joyous.
Skirts are great! But it's nice to wear sweats every once in a while. iPads are also good for teaching. They have such wonderful tools on them! Our area book, daily and weekly goals, planner, and so much more are on it! I love it. I'm VERY grateful for iPads.

I am grateful for zone leaders that make mistakes. They humble me and help me to practice patience. A couple weeks ago they texted us and informed us that Friday the 28th, there would be a baptism, and
encouraged us to bring our investigators. We were stoked because Elizabeth has committed to be baptized on March 15th, and she wanted to attend a baptism before hand so she could see what it is like. We had a wonderful lesson prior to the baptism, answering questions she had, and starting to teach the commandments a little bit before we went to the actual baptism. We showed up at the church for the baptism, and NO ONE was there. Not a soul. The church was locked and everything. We called our zone leaders and they said, "Oh yeah, his baptism was cancelled like a week ago, we thought everybody just knew that...?" We went a little bit crazy. There is another baptism this upcoming Saturday, so all is well, but Sister Major and I were sure tested on Friday. We wanted to flip out and yell at the zone leaders for being careless enough to NOT tell us that the baptism they told us to bring investigators to was cancelled, but instead we told them that we forgave them and that we look forward to next week. We will have another great lesson with Elizabeth, and this baptism will be the one she is supposed to attend. I'm grateful for humility and patience. Two traits that we obviously needed to be reminded of this week.

Funny story, one guy we tracted into on Saturday said that he didn't like the Mormon religion because "babies" pass the sacrament. We kinda got a kick out of that. We're going back this week to explain the
priesthood and that they are NOT "babies." Hahaha

To close this letter, I'd like to share a scripture that Sister Parrish wanted to be shred with us missionaries in her mission: D&C15:6. It's says, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen."  I took from this that what I am doing right now, serving a mission, is the best thing I could be doing at this point of life, and I can see that so clearly! I am reassured every day by either the small acts of others, the progress that people are making, or simply the fact that I am so incredibly HAPPY, that this is what I am supposed to be doing. I love serving The Lord with all my heart, and I know that I, along with my friends and family, am being blessed for my service. I can not wait to see with an eternal perspective so that I can better see how my time as The Lord's instrument has effected His plan. I love this Gospel and I love my mission! I love you too! Talk to ya next week!

Love,

Sister Guilott

Best EVER!

This week was absolutely incredible. I just... wow. Sister Major and I set some really high goals because of the promised success and blessings that would come of it, and we achieved them all! But before I get ahead of myself, let's just start from the beginning. :)

On Tuesday, our zone leaders asked us to train our zone on Companionship Inventory. It was fun to be able to train even though I'm technically still being trained. We must be doing something right. Haha! I met my first anti-Mormon while tracting! It's weird because I always feel like we are ready for anything, and then we get to this door, and this woman thought she knew what we believed and tried to tell us that what we were telling her wasn't what we believed. I'm pretty sure I know I what I believe. It was a bit frustrating. Oh well! It made my heart pump extra heavy and my hands shake a bit, but it was a good learning experience.

Okay, now on to the really good stuff. :) We put our wonderful investigator, Elizabeth, on date for March 15th! We are so excited for her. She is just so happy about every little bit of the Gospel, and she is so anxious to keep learning! We love her so much, and we can't wait to see her be baptized! She's definitely ready for it. We also had another lesson with the Rodriguez family this week. They are such wonderful people. They gave us some CD's too. One of them is a Catholic Lent Cd, and the other one is... I can't remember what it's called. But it's been fun to listen to them! The 8 year old, Isaac, has been SO interested in the Book of Mormon. He's reading it (as is the rest of the family. We gave them each their own copies to read and study, and they are all using them!), but he wants to understand it better. So we told him what happens in the first few chapters of 1 Nephi, and we drew a family tree, a diagram, some pictures, and wrote down a bunch of information so he could follow it better. He loved that. They're such a wonderful family, and it's so good to see the Spirit that they are feeling.

 "This is Patsy. She taught us how to make cake in a cup
in the microwave! It takes only one minute and was delicious!"
Yes. I cooked. No one died. :)

 On Saturday, we made a goal to get 50 OYM's (Open Your Mouth). We have been promised that if we get 10 OYM's a day, we will double our baptisms. We wanted to really get Lacamas Creek going, so 50 OYM's seemed like a good way to go. And guess what? WE DID IT! We talked to 52 people on Saturday, just through tracting! We taught 4 lessons at the doors and also got a new investigator! His name is Antonio, and he is just great. He is so in tune with the Spirit, and he is excited to learn more about the Gospel. We also got 8 potential investigators that we are going to go back and contact this week. That'll be good. Oh how I love this work! But wait! It gets better...

Yesterday, we had 7 investigators at church! All four of the Rodriguez's came (but they came to the 11 o'clock ward since they have their own church at 9), Elizabeth came, and Antonio came with his friend, David! It was so great. All of them really enjoyed church, and I think Antonio and David are going to come again next week. Isn't that great?! So technically we also got a new investigator on Sunday, because David is going to take the lessons with Antonio. We are just ecstatic. There is a reason that this blog post is titled "Best EVER!" Because this week really truly was the best. I have never been happier in my life! Seeing the light of Christ and the fullness of the Gospel touch people's lives is absolutely incredible. I can't even believe the effect that it is having on our investigators, let alone ourselves! I have grown SO MUCH since I've been here, and I still have 17 more months!

This week was amazing, as you can tell, and it has motivated Sister Major and I to work even harder. We are setting higher goals, and working as hard as we can to achieve/exceed them. I love Sister Major! We are learning so much from each other every single day, and we help motivate each other to do our best. I really hope that we are together for at least one more transfer. That would be great! Anyway, I love this Gospel and this work, and I am amazed each day at the work the Lord is doing through us in order to get his children back to Him. I can't believe a whole month has gone by already! Time needs to SLOW DOWN! Love you all!

Sister Guilott

P.S. Sister Major and I are singing at Zone Conference this Thursday (where we will be getting our iPads), and also at church on March 9th. If anyone has any song/duet suggestions for future performances, please let me know! Thanks!

"Washington's rain doesn't do good things to my hair...."

"Who took a bite out of Dad's letter to me?"

Friendly, Familiar, and FANTASTIC!‏

I can't express how much I love being here. People say all the time that "my mission was the hardest thing I ever did, but it was so rewarding," etc. etc. I mean, yes you have to be dedicated, and work hard to be exactly obedient, but its not hard when it's all about loving people! I have no problem loving people. And if you love someone, you want them to be happy, so ultimately, a mission is bringing people to happiness. I love it!

This week was wonderful! On Tuesday we found one and a half potentials in this nice little neighborhood. The first one was sort of stand-offish at first, but I told him I liked the outside of his house and he got talking about how he made it himself, but it's not finished yet. We chatted with him for a few minutes, gave him a card, and he said he'd call us when he got back from vacation in a few weeks to have us help him with his house. We really hope he calls! That will give us something to do to get out of these skirts! ;) His name is Mardi. He's a great man. The next potential, the "half" potential, talked to us for a good 30 minutes about some crazy visions he had.  It was interesting... We told him we'd love to talk to him and he invited us back. So he's a "half" potential, but maybe we'll get to teach him a bit. His name is Chuck. I really look forward to meeting with the two of them again!

That night, we got to go to the Harmony Ward Laurel's activity. Actually, we WERE the activity. They have Elders in their ward, so we were asked to go instead. They had all written up 5 or more questions about missionaries and the lifestyle and such, and we got to go talk to them about it and bear our testimonies about it all! It was one of the highlights of my week. They were all such sweet girls!

A mom of one of the Laurel's made us this lovely Sister Missionary Cake!

Harmony Ward Laurel Activity

Last Sunday we had retried a family that Sister Major had tracted into the week before I got here named the Rodriguez's, and the mom answered the door. Her name is Meg, and she is one of the most genuinely kind people I have ever met. Their whole family is. We gave her a Book of Mormon and challenged her to read it. We set a return appointment for Wednesday, and when that appointment rolled around, we had a great time with them. We didn't really teach a lesson, but we talked a lot about the Book of Mormon, the Holy Ghost, and baptism. We "soft-invited" them to be baptized, but the dad (Jose) said that they had already been baptized in the Catholic church and they didn't see a need to be baptized again. They are the happiest, kindest, most wonderful people! It's hard to show them that they are missing something when they are so comfortable with where they are at. The youngest son, Daniel, who is 8 years old, had a question for us. He had read the passage we gave Meg (Moroni 10:4-5), prayed about it just like we challenged, and he wanted to know what sort of a sign he would receive to know if it was true. We told him about the Spirit and that he would probably just feel peaceful or calm. Meg asked him how he felt after he prayed, and he said he felt calmer and more relaxed. Sister Major and I were doing a celebration dance inside. It was cool. We have another appointment with them this Thursday to teach them more about the Gospel, so more of an actual lesson, and talk more about what they're reading in the Book of Mormon. I can't wait!

We got Caroline's Valentine's gifts! We were both very happy. :) Thank you dear!

Sister Major and I holding Caroline's Valentine's Package

Has anyone ever played "Rummikub?" It's SUCH a fun thinking game! We played it with a member in the ward after we had dinner with her. She's 79, so I asked her if she ever played Aggravation, and she said of course! Her house reminded me of Grandmother and Grandfather's house in New Orleans, that's why I asked. But yeah, Rummikub may be my new favorite game to play with elderly people. Sister Major and I get pretty intense. ;)

Sister Taylor told us last week that we were the highlighted companionship for our Zone in Mission Leadership Conference and that our Zone Leaders said that we are "ripping it up!" So that was nice. Hopefully, we will continue to do just as well if not better and better every week!

There is this familiarity that I have with the people here. Mostly the investigators, or the people we meet out on the streets or tracting. I talked last time a little bit about that Godly love that I can feel for these people, but it goes beyond them. I RECOGNIZE them. I remember some lessons in Sunday School about going on a mission to find your old friends from the pre-existence and bring them back to Christ, but that has become such a reality to me now. I could comprehend it then, but to actually experience that familiarity with these people is something else entirely. I love them all so much! With an eternal love that must have existed before this Earthly life. Why else would they seem so familiar to me? It's been an absolutely wonderful feeling, and it's not temporary. I recognize almost everyone we talk to! I love it! I love this work so so much, and I am more and more grateful every day for the decision I made to serve. Till next time!

Sister Guilott

Sister Major and I in our car

Finally.....PICTURES!!!!!

Hello!  

We finally got pictures from Nicole!  She had a few issues getting her camera to download. She looks wonderful.  

Sister Guilott and her MTC Companion Sister Maughn

Sister Guilott and Sister Francis

Arrived in Vancouver to SNOW

Snowed in but can still spread the word!

Awesome Trainer Sister Major

I'm Here!

First, I must apologize for not writing last week. Our P-Day in the MTC was on Tuesday, and we flew out Tuesday morning so we had to skip one. But they're on Monday's now so I will be sure to write on the same day as all the other wonderful missionaries in the world! The MTC was incredible, and it was kind of hard to leave it. The whole 13 days we were there we were excited to get out into the real world and put to action what we've learned, but then when the moment finally came to leave the MTC, we all panicked that we didn't know enough! The MTC was a 13 day experience that will always be dear to my heart. I have officially decided that when I get home I shall teach there. :)

I arrived in Portland, Oregon on Tuesday morning at around 10 a.m. and met the Mission President and his wife waiting for us just before baggage claim. President and Sister Taylor are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met. So sincerely kind and loving for all their missionaries, and simply the sweetest people! From the airport, Sister Maughan and I rode with President and his wife to the mission office, where we had sort of an "orientation" until around 4. Then a bunch of missionaries from the area came to take us with them to practice "OYM's" (Open Your Mouth), which is basically just inviting any random person to act on something. So giving out a pass-a-long card, bearing testimony and inviting them to do something, etc. I went with a trio of Sisters (Spanish speaking Sisters mind you), and since there were four of us, we split up. I went with Sister Ramos to an old apartment complex that I assumed they had been to before. Alright. This is where the story takes off.

Sister Ramos told me to feel free to teach in English, and she would just translate, but that of course made me SUPER nervous! I thought we were practicing OYM's, not actually TEACHING anything! So we knocked on a door and a tiny older lady peeked through her curtains at us, Sister Ramos crossed her fingers, and the door opened. The lady invited us in and started talking really fast in Spanish. All I understood was that she thought we looked pretty and that she was making homemade tortilla's and we were welcome to have some. I quietly said, "Mi nombre es Hermana Guilott," and she replied something long and fast in Spanish. That was embarrassing. Anyway, we sat down and her and Sister Ramos talked for a bit, but eventually she got up and went into the kitchen. While she was gone, a younger man came from the bedroom and sat down in front of us and started talking to Sister Ramos about "Jesu Cristo." Hey! I know that one! We were so excited that he knew about Jesus Christ, so Sister Ramos began talking to him about... Well something about the Gospel. Then she turned to me and asked me to give my piece. I had NO clue what she had already said, so I started talking about the Book of Mormon. That it is the direct word of God, that it is an answer to prayers, etc. etc. As Sister Ramos was translating, he kept looking at me, so we asked him if he spoke English, and he DID! Oh thank goodness! We taught him in English, and to keep a long story short, after asking him what he would do if Christ knocked on his door and asked Pedro (that was his name) to follow Him, what he would do, and he said he'd follow Him, the lesson took off. In the short 15 minutes we were there, he committed to a return appointment on Friday before he goes to church on Sunday (which he also committed to), reading some verses in the Libro de Mormon we gave him with a pass-a-long card as a bookmark, praying to know if the words of the Book are true, and he committed to be baptized on February 22nd. ...WHAT?! I was the one who extended all those invitations (not all at once, nobody panic), and he was so ready! After we had taught him about baptism, he was so excited to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be made clean. It was such a wonderful experience! After we left, Sister Ramos kept saying, "Oh Sister! That was a miracle! You were the miracle they needed! I can't believe that happened! Oh Sister! Oh Sister!" I was confused. Isn't that what ALWAYS happened in the mission field? Apparently, some other Sisters had been teaching the nice little woman MONTHS ago, but she had stopped letting the missionaries in. She would peek through her curtains, then lock the door. This was the first time in about 8 months that she had opened the door, and they had never met Pedro before. Isn't is crazy how the Lord works? It was quite the experience for the first 15 minutes of my mission. :)

After going out with the missionaries, all the newbies were dropped off at the Mission Home for dinner (that's also where the new Sisters would be staying for the night). We ate a wonderful dinner, had a "get to know your President" devotional thing, and went to bed a bit early. The next day we met our Companion's and got assigned to our areas. My area is called Lacamas Creek, and it is BEAUTIFUL! My companion is Sister Major! She is Isaac and Kylie's cousin! Isn't that fun? She's absolutely amazing, and I couldn't have asked for a better trainer. We get along wonderfully, and we work really well together. :) Oh I love me my Sister Major! We are living with a member family in the Lacamas Creek Ward, Vancouver East Stake. The Combs family are who we are living with, and they are great. We live in the basement apartment of their beautiful house, and boy are we grateful for their hospitality.

We actually have only had about a day to be out and about since we've been here, because it snowed. A LOT. And whenever it snows here, all of Washington shuts down, and President tells us it's not safe to drive our cars. That wouldn't be a big deal if we could walk places, but we live far far away from the rest of the ward and it would take us a very long time to get anywhere on foot. We live in the woods. It's magical. :) The snow was truly a blessing in disguise though, because I have been super sick with a nasty cold all week. There is no way it would have gotten any better if we had been outside. Heavenly Father knew that I needed to be trapped indoors to work on getting better. It's amazing the things that happen that are obviously His hand in our lives. It has been nice to be able to stay inside and work on getting better while we study diligently and do our best to stay focused on the work. Today is the first day that the roads have been safe enough for us to get out. Sister Combs took us to our dinner appointment last night, and we got a bit of tracting done after dinner, but other than that, we haven't really been able to go out. We did get a new investigator last night though! Her name is Meg, and she is a very sweet lady. She's married and has two sons, all of which seem very interested in what we have to say, and it seems that they will be very receptive to the Gospel. Meg is reading the Book of Mormon, and we have a return appointment for Wednesday!

Nothing has brought me more joy than serving the Lord. I know that this is long letter, but I had to tell you as much as I could in the short time that I have today. I am so grateful to be out here in Vancouver serving my Father in Heaven daily. Bringing these people to the knowledge of the Gospel of our Heavenly Father is blessing so many people, and that has been made so apparent as we have been striving to find His children who are prepared to receive it. I can not fully express how much I love these people, but I love being able to feel this Godly love for every person I meet. This mission is already incredible, and it's only been a week! AND we've only gotten out for a few hours, but I can already see the blessings that come from being here. I love this Gospel, and I love my Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Till next week!

Sister Nicole Guilott