Life is good i still have one full week here for sure and then after that i don't know. so next week you'll find out for sure what's going on for the next 6 weeks. and who knows what's going to happen.
so what else is new? well not much considering that we just had Halloween and we had a great time, so before Saturday the unofficial Halloween day to trick or treat, on Friday we had a ward trunk or treat, or trick or trunk how ever you would like to say it anyways, Elder Lake and myself decided to trick out our trunk/car by making into a helicopter, seeing as how Ft. Rucker is the home of Rotorwing aviation for the army. so to make our car into a helicopter all you need is some cardboard and duct tape and spray paint. which we assembled fairly quickly but once we saw that the rotors weren't going to stay up by themselves we needed to reinforce what we had done, so we got some fishing line to pick up the wings, but alas they drooped again. but we did impress the entire ward, and a few of the non-members that were there. and i did dress up for Halloween believe it or not. i wore a bow tie that Ben Gaines got for me in Boston, which again made everyone impressed that yes somebody under the age of 40 knows how to tie a real bow tie.
well i guess that's enough of the hallo weenie stuff, on to other things. so what happened this week?....we were able to meet with Cori and have a great little discussion with him, and the really cool thing was that we brought a member who was once a police officer, who was really able to talk to Cori and get his head on straighter than what we missionaries could of ever done and that was really cool, kind of like it was set up that way, without me realizing it. a miracle you might say.
we have also had a lot of fun with the ward members and have really gotten to know them a lot better, in fact one of the members is hooking us up for dinner with a non-member neighbor so that should be really good.
now to the juicy stuff. so yesterday we had a lesson with BreiAnna and we went over the 3rd and 4th lesson. and she is so ready for baptism she told us that she just want to jump in the water right now. so we are working on that so we can just let her in there. but anyways back to the lesson, it was just so good and the spirit was so strong there too. amazing, simply amazing. but there is always going to be snags when it comes to this stuff, so she is ready but her family isn't supportive and also really isn't against it too. she is going to have to be strong when this stuff comes around. so right now we are trying to figure a time to get this all worked out so she can get baptized without too much of a conflict, so this week she should be getting ready for it, and that's what we are planning for but I'll keep you updated on all of this when i get more information.
So all in all a good week.
Thought of the day, which comes from one of the gate guards on Fort Rucker, one of the nicest people you'll ever meet he says.
"when you wake up in the morning you have two choices, either you can be happy and share what you've got or you can be sad and discouraged and share that with the world." simply a genius so that's what I've been working on this week, the reason why it's important is because it's something we can all work on.
Love
Elder Gillespie
Mom you have done it again with one of the best Halloween costumes I've seen. Keep on keepin' on.
Dad keep up the good work just don't work yourself to hard.
Jethro. your future sounds like a lot of fun, but your present needs some work, but so does mine.
Robyn Halloween sounded crazy! and i bet your excited to see winter again, just kidding, can you believe that it's almost been a year in that house of yours? neat.
Jan you are such a little planner and are just planning up a storm with all the little things, the whole toy story thing genius.
Ben F. keep up the good work.
Thad, to short to short. what were you for Halloween? what about Clint? what about BKE? what about Logan? but i will agree life is great as long as we keep a good attitude.
Ben G. your right spending more time with kids is better than not actually working, your going to be a great dad. also since being in the south, TV is just an addiction. sure it's nice to see things but you've got a computer and can watch anything you want, just don't fill your life with the things that aren't important.
Toni, Write please. i miss you guys and all your funny way putting things in just a Toni type of way.
Beetle CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? almost there, don't think about it but at the same time do. and when you get home 10 months left for me. it'll be awesome. keep an eye on those little scamps.
everyone else. feel free to write anytime to this email Address,
mgillespie@myldsmail.net
Monday, November 1, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Hello Everybody!
What is new on this side of the Mississippi? well some crazy stuff and some not so crazy stuff. so to break the suspense the not so crazy stuff was that we had the primary program and it was just so cool and the spirit was just so strong, My guess is that they can deliver such a strong message because they are still under Christ and so when they talk about truth it's the spirit without dirt coming to all those who want it. and those who don't want it just think that it's cute. What else is not so crazy? Well I guess the fact that we have been fed enchiladas for the last week straight, so it's not bad, but variety is definitely good.
So on to the nuts stuff. So!... Cori has gotten the devil after him. how so? well this week his house got broken into and all of his stuff was stolen therefore he is not happy and his goal of being a photographer is shattered because they stole all his equipment. and of course that's because we have committed him to baptism and to live according to the gospel principals. So not so good. we are working with him to get back into the groove of things. so that's life.
Other crazy thing is that we had zone conference and we learned a little bit about the refiner's fire/the sculptor's hand/the potter's clay. All the same principal of living in a way where God can mold us more into his Son so we will be more like him when we live with him. The really cool thing was that we had to find a rock that could be found in the area that we are working in. Well i don't know if you know but there are no rocks naturally found in Alabama or Florida. If there are then i just don't know where to find them, well anyways we found some rocks along a river bank and took them to Zone conference, and then we got a chisel and a picture of the Christus in SLC Vistor center. so my goal is to chisel a place for my picture and then have the rock hold the chisel, by the way it's a 3/8 of an inch cold chisel for stone/cement. thanks dad for teaching me that.
After ZC we had the zone leaders do a trade-off with us I stayed in Ozark while Lake went up to Troy so that day Thursday we had a full day we were visiting families and all sorts of stuff and everything else. We even made an appointment for 5 pm in Newton about 20 min drive down, and then had to meet up halfway between Troy and Ozark about a 35 min drive at 6, well with all of this commotion i forgot about the appointment at 5 and then headed up to Troy at 530 from Ozark. we get a call later wondering where we are, which made me feel about this tall ---> [ ] Sadly to say that was my bad. That night we also visited one of our investigators who has yet to pick up the Book of Mormon and start to read. and we been seeing her since about June or July. and we had splits with one of the bishopric members who then gave her a better explanation. because she thought that it was just another bible, which we told her a couple of times before hand that it wasn't, which then made me feel ---> [ ] that big. so it was definitely a crazy day.
which is about all that i have. Life is getting better as i just continue to move forward and to keep my head up while at the same time keeping it down...? or i guess move forward in humility.
Progress is what is important. and sometimes can't be measured by a number. so another food for thought
Love you guys keep up the good work.
Elder Gillespie
Ben Gaines, sometimes the best way to help a friend is to just listen, PMG chapter 10 listening that's a good section that i like.
Toni Keep up the good work.
Jan Your awesome and such a good mom
Ben F. welcome back! that's weird seeing as how I'm not there but none the less.
Jethro Lincoln is going to do great and i like your idea and you'll have to tell me more about your projects.
Robyn Lincoln is so cute. and i feel so sorry for little Sophia i hope that the medicine is working. keep me posted, next week.
Thad good idea to call those guys so you don't die but i wouldn't like to take cold showers,
Beetle you'll love being in a 4 pad, you can have so much fun and not only that you get to talk to other people not just your companion, it's going to be so cool. just don't get lazy, it's way too easy.
What is new on this side of the Mississippi? well some crazy stuff and some not so crazy stuff. so to break the suspense the not so crazy stuff was that we had the primary program and it was just so cool and the spirit was just so strong, My guess is that they can deliver such a strong message because they are still under Christ and so when they talk about truth it's the spirit without dirt coming to all those who want it. and those who don't want it just think that it's cute. What else is not so crazy? Well I guess the fact that we have been fed enchiladas for the last week straight, so it's not bad, but variety is definitely good.
So on to the nuts stuff. So!... Cori has gotten the devil after him. how so? well this week his house got broken into and all of his stuff was stolen therefore he is not happy and his goal of being a photographer is shattered because they stole all his equipment. and of course that's because we have committed him to baptism and to live according to the gospel principals. So not so good. we are working with him to get back into the groove of things. so that's life.
Other crazy thing is that we had zone conference and we learned a little bit about the refiner's fire/the sculptor's hand/the potter's clay. All the same principal of living in a way where God can mold us more into his Son so we will be more like him when we live with him. The really cool thing was that we had to find a rock that could be found in the area that we are working in. Well i don't know if you know but there are no rocks naturally found in Alabama or Florida. If there are then i just don't know where to find them, well anyways we found some rocks along a river bank and took them to Zone conference, and then we got a chisel and a picture of the Christus in SLC Vistor center. so my goal is to chisel a place for my picture and then have the rock hold the chisel, by the way it's a 3/8 of an inch cold chisel for stone/cement. thanks dad for teaching me that.
After ZC we had the zone leaders do a trade-off with us I stayed in Ozark while Lake went up to Troy so that day Thursday we had a full day we were visiting families and all sorts of stuff and everything else. We even made an appointment for 5 pm in Newton about 20 min drive down, and then had to meet up halfway between Troy and Ozark about a 35 min drive at 6, well with all of this commotion i forgot about the appointment at 5 and then headed up to Troy at 530 from Ozark. we get a call later wondering where we are, which made me feel about this tall ---> [ ] Sadly to say that was my bad. That night we also visited one of our investigators who has yet to pick up the Book of Mormon and start to read. and we been seeing her since about June or July. and we had splits with one of the bishopric members who then gave her a better explanation. because she thought that it was just another bible, which we told her a couple of times before hand that it wasn't, which then made me feel ---> [ ] that big. so it was definitely a crazy day.
which is about all that i have. Life is getting better as i just continue to move forward and to keep my head up while at the same time keeping it down...? or i guess move forward in humility.
Progress is what is important. and sometimes can't be measured by a number. so another food for thought
Love you guys keep up the good work.
Elder Gillespie
Ben Gaines, sometimes the best way to help a friend is to just listen, PMG chapter 10 listening that's a good section that i like.
Toni Keep up the good work.
Jan Your awesome and such a good mom
Ben F. welcome back! that's weird seeing as how I'm not there but none the less.
Jethro Lincoln is going to do great and i like your idea and you'll have to tell me more about your projects.
Robyn Lincoln is so cute. and i feel so sorry for little Sophia i hope that the medicine is working. keep me posted, next week.
Thad good idea to call those guys so you don't die but i wouldn't like to take cold showers,
Beetle you'll love being in a 4 pad, you can have so much fun and not only that you get to talk to other people not just your companion, it's going to be so cool. just don't get lazy, it's way too easy.
Elder Christensen after a gold bond foot powder Fight with Elder Cox
Elder Wardle
Ashley and Me
Courtney Family
Elder Lake
Monday, October 18, 2010
Food is Good
This week has been amazing on a scale of one to banana it was probably pineapple or gorilla. so lets start with the beginning. a very good place to start. Me and elder Lake have been getting along like two peas in a pod which makes everything else a whole lot easier, not saying we have had any problems but this week has just been great. so monday it was columbus day which was last weeks email. and then we'll skip to tuesday it was a very relaxing day which i was very grateful for and nothing really exciting going on at that point, which leads us to Wednesday, at thispoint we are putting together a baptism for a child of record baptism for a less active member, so we are pulling things together for that and we also needed to make sure that she had a interview with the bishop that night so we could then get her ready for baptism on Saturday, so a bit of stress, any-hoo that goes through without a hitch. so we have a total go on the baptism. full speed ahead! so the next day, Thursday, we finish the program and start getting things ready for the baptism, Friday we have some fun and get our minds off the whole baptism and go tracting and then we get a call from one of our investigators Cori and we visit for a bit and the time felt right and so we asked if he wanted to be baptized and he's like sure, which i was totally taken back from, so during our visit we talked more about the whole comitment of baptism and such and he's got a few things we need to help him with, and i think that he's going to go far. at the end of the visit we are walking back to the car and both of us Me and elder Lake were just taken back by what we just did, but it felt right so we went and did. this leads us to Friday night where we talked to the Jones family where they talked about different types of activites and one that sounds really cool is flight 459 and then everyone gets to see the different kingdoms and stuff, and it sounds really cool. so after all of that it was time for bed and the next day. Saturday the big day so we go tracting again to get my mind off of what's going on later that day. so the day flys by like a dream and then we are at the church getting it ready for the baptism and filling the font and all the other fun stuff that goes along with baptizing someone, so before this Ashley asked me to baptise her and then elder lake to confirm her. so i get really excited that i get to wear all white for the first time in about a year, it just felt so nice and calm to be in all white, and then every thing went off without any big problems and i was so happy and so was everyone else i think the spirit was very strong during that whole thing. so basically awesome. ok ok next day. sunday an amazing sacrament meeting and the rest of the blocks where i learned a lot. and then we had a great meeting with BrieAnna who is friends with one of the ward members and we had a great lesson on the plan of salvation and then we ask her to get baptized and she was totally into the idea as well just like Cori and the great thing was that she was at the saturday baptism. and she was very moved by the whole thing. so in the course of a week we had a baptism where we were very involved and then also having two people commit to get ready for baptism. so this week equals success.
As for the title i learned the hard way that food is a very important part of life especially Breakfast, usually i wouldn't eat breakfast because i really wasn't hungry or so i thought, then afterwards i started eating breakfast and low and behold i was happier and less tired and also i eat a lot more food when i eat breakfast then if i don't or i eat 3x the food when i have breakfast then when i just say that i'm not hungry. i guess my body really was hungry. As for sleeping, I'm happier and it's much easier to sleep when you aren't hungry and also when the window is open and it gets down into the 50's at night. so i feel much better now than when i was a in the middle of july and august.
that's what's happening in my neck of the woods, back over to you.
Love Elder Gillespie
Jethro it sounds like Paris was an amazing little trip, your so brave to do all of that.
Robyn keep up the good work and i bet this camera is going to pay for itself.
Mom your amazing and i love you so much.
Ben Gains you just know what to say don't you, keep up the good work and keep listening to those talks.
Toni your doing great keep up the good work.
Jan your still a Gillespie in my eyes with that last adventure to the lot. your amazing
Dad keep up the good work.
Thad you need to work on your details much like i do but tell me more when i get back.
As for the title i learned the hard way that food is a very important part of life especially Breakfast, usually i wouldn't eat breakfast because i really wasn't hungry or so i thought, then afterwards i started eating breakfast and low and behold i was happier and less tired and also i eat a lot more food when i eat breakfast then if i don't or i eat 3x the food when i have breakfast then when i just say that i'm not hungry. i guess my body really was hungry. As for sleeping, I'm happier and it's much easier to sleep when you aren't hungry and also when the window is open and it gets down into the 50's at night. so i feel much better now than when i was a in the middle of july and august.
that's what's happening in my neck of the woods, back over to you.
Love Elder Gillespie
Jethro it sounds like Paris was an amazing little trip, your so brave to do all of that.
Robyn keep up the good work and i bet this camera is going to pay for itself.
Mom your amazing and i love you so much.
Ben Gains you just know what to say don't you, keep up the good work and keep listening to those talks.
Toni your doing great keep up the good work.
Jan your still a Gillespie in my eyes with that last adventure to the lot. your amazing
Dad keep up the good work.
Thad you need to work on your details much like i do but tell me more when i get back.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue
Hello Everybody!
This week has been a weird week probably for us all but last week marked the half way point for me and this mission which is sad to say that I only have a year left to help people and to clear up some misconceptions that people in the south may have about us. Well anyway, on to the good news! This week we are going to have a baptism of a 8 year old less active member which is SO cool, we as missionaries have really been trying to help the family and her out, they are a really nice family which is so cool to see. but of course everyone on their mission thinks most of the members are cool.
other than that we have the members helping us find people to teach while we continue to work with those that we found for ourselves, the top three are
BreiAnna,
Cori,
Crimmins.
We are really trying to get things worked out in their minds to help them understand the truth that we share very poorly unless we have the spirit with us. Then it makes all the difference and they will get the "ah-ha" moments which we all get in our lives when we "figure" something out or something just clicks to make it so much easier.
Probably one of the coolest moments this week was when we were talking with our member who is friends with BreiAnna and she told him that she got an answer to her questions about the church and that it was all truth, so that was amazing and a real testimony builder for me, that God wants to and does answer our prayers.
A not so good moment was when we were tracting and a guy came to the door and just said to us "can you guys just go somewhere else, you knocked on my door like every two months, just go somewhere else, I'm tired of seeing you guys." Well sorry guy but we just can't not knock on your door, because there are only so many doors that we can knock on.
One more thing is that sleep is very a important part of life. and this letter will probably go through a lot of revisions before it comes out, why? because when you don't sleep well and drink enough water you brain doesn't think very well by itself and it also makes a lot of stupid and often mistakes which are funny.
Well that's about all the neat things that i can think of right now so until next week, keep up the good work and keep on truckin'
Jethro what is going on? you should take lots of photos.
Jan your amazing and i bet mom and the kids are just loving it there
Beetle your amazing and you really are doing great things in Chile, hey they were right, you are changing the world for the better.
Thad Really a Career that is neat and are you working on the same thing as you were before? or something completely different.
Hey Clint keep up the good work and remember to keep praying and reading.
Robyn your two little munchkins are so cute. and it's so cool to see sophia just doing her thing it must be driving you up the wall though
Ben Gaines two weeks is awesome and one more left your going to do great
Ben Francisco keep up the good work because i know that you'll do great.
Toni your awesome and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
Dad holy cow you sound busy and working like a mad man.
Mom your awesome and i love you
Love you all
Elder Matt Gillespie
This week has been a weird week probably for us all but last week marked the half way point for me and this mission which is sad to say that I only have a year left to help people and to clear up some misconceptions that people in the south may have about us. Well anyway, on to the good news! This week we are going to have a baptism of a 8 year old less active member which is SO cool, we as missionaries have really been trying to help the family and her out, they are a really nice family which is so cool to see. but of course everyone on their mission thinks most of the members are cool.
other than that we have the members helping us find people to teach while we continue to work with those that we found for ourselves, the top three are
BreiAnna,
Cori,
Crimmins.
We are really trying to get things worked out in their minds to help them understand the truth that we share very poorly unless we have the spirit with us. Then it makes all the difference and they will get the "ah-ha" moments which we all get in our lives when we "figure" something out or something just clicks to make it so much easier.
Probably one of the coolest moments this week was when we were talking with our member who is friends with BreiAnna and she told him that she got an answer to her questions about the church and that it was all truth, so that was amazing and a real testimony builder for me, that God wants to and does answer our prayers.
A not so good moment was when we were tracting and a guy came to the door and just said to us "can you guys just go somewhere else, you knocked on my door like every two months, just go somewhere else, I'm tired of seeing you guys." Well sorry guy but we just can't not knock on your door, because there are only so many doors that we can knock on.
One more thing is that sleep is very a important part of life. and this letter will probably go through a lot of revisions before it comes out, why? because when you don't sleep well and drink enough water you brain doesn't think very well by itself and it also makes a lot of stupid and often mistakes which are funny.
Well that's about all the neat things that i can think of right now so until next week, keep up the good work and keep on truckin'
Jethro what is going on? you should take lots of photos.
Jan your amazing and i bet mom and the kids are just loving it there
Beetle your amazing and you really are doing great things in Chile, hey they were right, you are changing the world for the better.
Thad Really a Career that is neat and are you working on the same thing as you were before? or something completely different.
Hey Clint keep up the good work and remember to keep praying and reading.
Robyn your two little munchkins are so cute. and it's so cool to see sophia just doing her thing it must be driving you up the wall though
Ben Gaines two weeks is awesome and one more left your going to do great
Ben Francisco keep up the good work because i know that you'll do great.
Toni your awesome and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.
Dad holy cow you sound busy and working like a mad man.
Mom your awesome and i love you
Love you all
Elder Matt Gillespie
Monday, October 4, 2010
Love is the Answer to Most of the Questions in my Heart
Family Friends Countrymen Saints!
Hasn't this week been so good, it's starting to cool down everywhere in the northern hemisphere, sorry Beetle. i can wake up and feel the cool crisp air as i run. yes it's actually getting nice in Alabama, speaking of football way to go USU just wanted to throw that out there. but what everybody is still in awe over is General Conference. Wasn't that AMAZING, the theme that i got out of it was a return to the basics and what our basic knowledge is that sets us apart from other religions.
Well enough about that no need to rehash over what happened especially seeing how we'll all get it the next month with the ensign. So this week for me has been kind of crazy this week we said farewell to Elder Cox. thus leaving me the oldest in the apartment, which is kind of weird. but anyways the new kid is Elder Wardle. He's from Las Vegas and is with Elder Christensen who cover the Ozark branch or everything above 231 or most of the populated area of Ozark, but we have Fort Rucker, home to Army Aviation the helicopter side of aircraft. Elder Wardle reminds me a lot of Richard Wilkins just a happy go lucky guy, happy to be alive and in the process makes everyone else happy. so the dynamic of the apartment has changed, but for the better, or it's just a nice change to have.
So this week has been amazing if i haven't already said it, so yesterday we got called by the bishop to fill the font for a baptism in the morning and to also play the piano for said baptism, and it was just an amazing spirit that was felt in that service, then we had conference which again was amazing and very enlightening and then we felt prompted to go and give some bread to a ward member who needed that bread. When we arrived she told us that she just ran out of bread. and we came with some without even knowing that she needed it. Truly a miracle and then was able to give her a blessing which she told us was what she actually really needed and felt like a feather. so yesterday=awesome.
So now some insights off of conference a trend that i saw and felt was the need for everyone to receive a testimony of the cornerstones of our religion, what was inspired to me was that we now live in an age where we can't really hear the spirit, which is why many young people rely on their parents testimony, what we need to do to receive that gift is to quiet our surrounding, unplug the earphones and radio other distractions, Read study and ponder the scriptures. and to live what we believe. Pray to our father in heaven for a testimony. if we do the simple things that we were taught then we would receive the blessing of a testimony that would begin to grow and continue as we nourish it until we know without a doubt that it is real. remember to start off small and then the greatness will be able to grow out of us by the power of the Holy Ghost.
So all in all a really great week full of insights mostly from conference but all from the Holy Ghost.
To finish it all off congrats on the new child Eliza and hopefully she won't start beating Anna in weight gaining to quickly and it dose sound like quite a little party going on in the valley of Utah. and it should be getting more crazy in just a couple of weeks.
Ben Francisco that little town doesn't sound very slowly going but i bet your going to learn a lot from being there keep up the good work.
Jan your such an amazing mom and i bet clarky and eva are going to be best of pals their entire life.
Ben Gains how does it feel to be a dad two times over? i bet it feels awesome!
Jethrobyn you guys are just so cool Robyn i want a lot of photos when beetle gets back just to let you know and Jethro i really couldn't remember even if you did use the same lines over again, and yes we need to watch that when we get back but after i get readjusted, if that happens.
Toni = great mom who was taught by a great mom who was taught by a great mom... and there we see council in action.
Thad Where did you go? by what i gathered you were a miracle for the drive back to Utah, why am i not surprised at that? what were some of the games that you played with the kids?
Beetle how awesome is it that you and i just had Conference together. i say totally awesome.
I love you guys all so much keep up the good work and remember we can choose to love or to hate.
Love
Elder Matthew Gillespie
Hasn't this week been so good, it's starting to cool down everywhere in the northern hemisphere, sorry Beetle. i can wake up and feel the cool crisp air as i run. yes it's actually getting nice in Alabama, speaking of football way to go USU just wanted to throw that out there. but what everybody is still in awe over is General Conference. Wasn't that AMAZING, the theme that i got out of it was a return to the basics and what our basic knowledge is that sets us apart from other religions.
Well enough about that no need to rehash over what happened especially seeing how we'll all get it the next month with the ensign. So this week for me has been kind of crazy this week we said farewell to Elder Cox. thus leaving me the oldest in the apartment, which is kind of weird. but anyways the new kid is Elder Wardle. He's from Las Vegas and is with Elder Christensen who cover the Ozark branch or everything above 231 or most of the populated area of Ozark, but we have Fort Rucker, home to Army Aviation the helicopter side of aircraft. Elder Wardle reminds me a lot of Richard Wilkins just a happy go lucky guy, happy to be alive and in the process makes everyone else happy. so the dynamic of the apartment has changed, but for the better, or it's just a nice change to have.
So this week has been amazing if i haven't already said it, so yesterday we got called by the bishop to fill the font for a baptism in the morning and to also play the piano for said baptism, and it was just an amazing spirit that was felt in that service, then we had conference which again was amazing and very enlightening and then we felt prompted to go and give some bread to a ward member who needed that bread. When we arrived she told us that she just ran out of bread. and we came with some without even knowing that she needed it. Truly a miracle and then was able to give her a blessing which she told us was what she actually really needed and felt like a feather. so yesterday=awesome.
So now some insights off of conference a trend that i saw and felt was the need for everyone to receive a testimony of the cornerstones of our religion, what was inspired to me was that we now live in an age where we can't really hear the spirit, which is why many young people rely on their parents testimony, what we need to do to receive that gift is to quiet our surrounding, unplug the earphones and radio other distractions, Read study and ponder the scriptures. and to live what we believe. Pray to our father in heaven for a testimony. if we do the simple things that we were taught then we would receive the blessing of a testimony that would begin to grow and continue as we nourish it until we know without a doubt that it is real. remember to start off small and then the greatness will be able to grow out of us by the power of the Holy Ghost.
So all in all a really great week full of insights mostly from conference but all from the Holy Ghost.
To finish it all off congrats on the new child Eliza and hopefully she won't start beating Anna in weight gaining to quickly and it dose sound like quite a little party going on in the valley of Utah. and it should be getting more crazy in just a couple of weeks.
Ben Francisco that little town doesn't sound very slowly going but i bet your going to learn a lot from being there keep up the good work.
Jan your such an amazing mom and i bet clarky and eva are going to be best of pals their entire life.
Ben Gains how does it feel to be a dad two times over? i bet it feels awesome!
Jethrobyn you guys are just so cool Robyn i want a lot of photos when beetle gets back just to let you know and Jethro i really couldn't remember even if you did use the same lines over again, and yes we need to watch that when we get back but after i get readjusted, if that happens.
Toni = great mom who was taught by a great mom who was taught by a great mom... and there we see council in action.
Thad Where did you go? by what i gathered you were a miracle for the drive back to Utah, why am i not surprised at that? what were some of the games that you played with the kids?
Beetle how awesome is it that you and i just had Conference together. i say totally awesome.
I love you guys all so much keep up the good work and remember we can choose to love or to hate.
Love
Elder Matthew Gillespie
Monday, September 27, 2010
Ringworm!
Hello everybody guess what i figured out!!! that ringworm really doesn't have a worm but is actually a fungus, and that it's on my arm, thank goodness for anti fungal cream.
to describe how i feel right now is just way to hard to do... I'm just so happy and excited and glad to see how everything is starting to "fall" in to place. so the biggest news from me about myself is that I'm staying here in Ozark. so the total time will be about 7.5 months. AWESOME! what makes it so good is that everybody in the ward basically knows me and now feel more comfortable around me and hopefully won't be afraid of letting us talk to their friends about the gospel. so cool story last night we had dinner at the Jones', and one of the sons brought over one of his friends which he had given a Book of Mormon to and who has been reading it. so before dinner we, me, Elder Lake, Bro. Jones, Sis. Jones, Daniel, and friend had an hour discussion on the gospel and what it is and all sorts of topics under the sun and we all got something out of it, and it was a great ending to a fast Sunday.
well anyways this last Sunday we were able to talk to the young women about missionary work, which I think they really did enjoy and were very happy to have us there to explain how to be a better missionary and also a better example of Jesus Christ to their friends and associates. and they wanted us to come back and teach them more about every month or so, that is neat.
This week we had the AP's come through after the Person conference, and told us that we are doing the right thing and that we are where we are supposed to be, which is a great relief from being spiritually punched in the gut, and not feeling so good about it. This has just been a really great time to serve. and the great thing is that it's finally cooling off from the 100's to the 90's to the 80's hopefully this week. That would be awesome!!! I almost forgot what it's like not to sweat when you walk outside.
So anyways this week has again been a blur and a drag, funny how that works, well we have a great opportunity to be trained on what we need to do to become a better missionary and to become a better citizen and son, father, etc. what it means to me is to bridge the gap between what i know (mind) to how i know (heart) to put it in a simpler terms is to get a testimony of truth that the Holy Ghost will testify of. so what do I know, I know that God loves me very much, that he wants me to come back to him a better person then when i left him, i know that families are supposed to be together for eternity, and that was revealed to Joseph Smith and also he was a prophet of God who translated the Book of Mormon which was written for our day. I'm excited to hear from the prophet of the lamb this week and that the Holy Ghost will testify of the truth and answer the prayers and questions that i have. I know that Christ paid the price for me to come back to heavenly father as long as I'm willing to keep the commandment and follow example in all that I do. I love my family and the church this I say in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
I love all you guys and can't wait to hear from the prophet.
Toni just have your baby already and I would like to know the name.
Ben keep up the good work as a dad
Mom I bet you are super excited about having Jan back home and to play with all the grand kids, give them a big hug from me.
Jan Just keep on keepin' on. you can do it!
Dad what's new in your life?
Thad Way to get a career started. your going to do amazing.
Beetle Run for the Roses! that will probably be repeated many times before your home.
Jethro you looked stylin' so did you Robyn more pictures please.
to describe how i feel right now is just way to hard to do... I'm just so happy and excited and glad to see how everything is starting to "fall" in to place. so the biggest news from me about myself is that I'm staying here in Ozark. so the total time will be about 7.5 months. AWESOME! what makes it so good is that everybody in the ward basically knows me and now feel more comfortable around me and hopefully won't be afraid of letting us talk to their friends about the gospel. so cool story last night we had dinner at the Jones', and one of the sons brought over one of his friends which he had given a Book of Mormon to and who has been reading it. so before dinner we, me, Elder Lake, Bro. Jones, Sis. Jones, Daniel, and friend had an hour discussion on the gospel and what it is and all sorts of topics under the sun and we all got something out of it, and it was a great ending to a fast Sunday.
well anyways this last Sunday we were able to talk to the young women about missionary work, which I think they really did enjoy and were very happy to have us there to explain how to be a better missionary and also a better example of Jesus Christ to their friends and associates. and they wanted us to come back and teach them more about every month or so, that is neat.
This week we had the AP's come through after the Person conference, and told us that we are doing the right thing and that we are where we are supposed to be, which is a great relief from being spiritually punched in the gut, and not feeling so good about it. This has just been a really great time to serve. and the great thing is that it's finally cooling off from the 100's to the 90's to the 80's hopefully this week. That would be awesome!!! I almost forgot what it's like not to sweat when you walk outside.
So anyways this week has again been a blur and a drag, funny how that works, well we have a great opportunity to be trained on what we need to do to become a better missionary and to become a better citizen and son, father, etc. what it means to me is to bridge the gap between what i know (mind) to how i know (heart) to put it in a simpler terms is to get a testimony of truth that the Holy Ghost will testify of. so what do I know, I know that God loves me very much, that he wants me to come back to him a better person then when i left him, i know that families are supposed to be together for eternity, and that was revealed to Joseph Smith and also he was a prophet of God who translated the Book of Mormon which was written for our day. I'm excited to hear from the prophet of the lamb this week and that the Holy Ghost will testify of the truth and answer the prayers and questions that i have. I know that Christ paid the price for me to come back to heavenly father as long as I'm willing to keep the commandment and follow example in all that I do. I love my family and the church this I say in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
I love all you guys and can't wait to hear from the prophet.
Toni just have your baby already and I would like to know the name.
Ben keep up the good work as a dad
Mom I bet you are super excited about having Jan back home and to play with all the grand kids, give them a big hug from me.
Jan Just keep on keepin' on. you can do it!
Dad what's new in your life?
Thad Way to get a career started. your going to do amazing.
Beetle Run for the Roses! that will probably be repeated many times before your home.
Jethro you looked stylin' so did you Robyn more pictures please.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Hot Dog Breath
Elder Lake is a Great companion who is really up to date with working and knows a lot about everything, it seems like he's been out almost as long as i've been out or at least that's the way I treat him. and that is how he responds
Remember the taste you have when you wake up in the morning i call it hot dog breath i don't know how i got it, because we don't have any hot dogs in the fridge and i don't think i eat during my sleep but you never know for sure. well anyways today has been a bad day for that and it's been with me this entire week. probably a little to much info.
So this week sound like it's been crazy for everyone and this next week sounds like another one too. and i'm so excited.
Just a little bit from this week is umm... we continue to push forward with missionary work and it seems that it is starting to show up. We have some really solid investigators and some that could become more and more availible to us as we continue to work. This last week we had a great time with a member in the ward getting ready for a southern luau which was pretty good fun and just a nice time to be with all the members of the neighborhood and it's definitely something like what i want to do when i'm back. Just a nice big block party. Some other great parts of this week starting backwards. we had a great lesson/spiritual thought with a member after dinner. Don't worry mom i'm being fed plenty, so much so that i'll need to work some off. Me and you Ben. Sunday afternoon we took two of the priests out tracting and they did a really good job. They don't seem to be too nervous about sharing a message or knocking on doors, something that just doesn't happen in Utah. Well anyway, Daniel Jones was able to give out a book of mormon with elder lake while i and Jordan Hughes continued down the street, and hopefully my goal will be complete of knocking on every single house in ozark before i'm gone. In church we had a great lesson with a W.O.C. student. and he seems to understand a lot of what we are saying and has a lot of good friends to help him in this little quest that he has undertaken. We are so glad to be a part of it. so small miracle right here, all the class rooms in the building are full during the second hour so we, me and Elder Lake, are trying to find a place where we could teach Bro Crimmins, also the ward wants to start a temple prep class and that is being held in the library, well this week we found out that they are post-poning it till Oct 10 so that left one room open for us to use. and we have one more week until Crimmins graduates along with a lot of other people that are in his class. so it's all going to fall into place.
We have also had some great lessons with a kid named Cori Kelley who kind of reminds me of myself and wants to learn a lot more, we are just trying to meet up with him as often as we can because he could be a great in the church.
umm... so what else happened this week. to be honest it's felt like a month since Elder Person came through and everyday just seems the same except for sunday. but we have had some good split opportunities and chances to meet with the ward members. so all in all life is going good and crazy and i could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, still. and i'm guessing it doesn't get any better when i get back or married or have kids etc. etc.
well do great and stay strong and serve selflessly.
Toniben I can't wait to hear the name and the photos. She's going to be beautiful I already know it.
Janben what a grand adventure awaits both of you and i can't wait to hear about it.
Thad you're such a great brother. and i know that's a great calling for you. you should talk to Ben about presentations he has done a few.
Jethrobyn. i loved the photos and the great things your doing, robyn you know that your a great mom and by doing what you feel like you should will only make you better. jethro, i like the title but i'm not an artist so i can't give you really any ideas, and i haven't seen what your doing so i don't know either.
Dad that is such GREAT news and i'm glad your leaving the mattcave alone for now. your going to have such a fun time when jan comes back. also how are the chelaks doing, do they like timpview? what grades are they in?
Mom you sound like your going to be chest deep in work and such. and did you know that i love you and your an amazing mom, thank you for all that you've done.
to everyone else, feel free to write me either an email or letter i would appreciate it
mgillespie@myldsmail.net
or
79B Woodview Drive
Ozark Alabama 36360
until next week, when transfers comes out then i'll know for sure for another 6 weeks.
Love Elder Gillespie
Ben gains did you know a Elder Chamberlain?
Thad did you ever hear about Elder Barrington?
just a few people i've met.
Remember the taste you have when you wake up in the morning i call it hot dog breath i don't know how i got it, because we don't have any hot dogs in the fridge and i don't think i eat during my sleep but you never know for sure. well anyways today has been a bad day for that and it's been with me this entire week. probably a little to much info.
So this week sound like it's been crazy for everyone and this next week sounds like another one too. and i'm so excited.
Just a little bit from this week is umm... we continue to push forward with missionary work and it seems that it is starting to show up. We have some really solid investigators and some that could become more and more availible to us as we continue to work. This last week we had a great time with a member in the ward getting ready for a southern luau which was pretty good fun and just a nice time to be with all the members of the neighborhood and it's definitely something like what i want to do when i'm back. Just a nice big block party. Some other great parts of this week starting backwards. we had a great lesson/spiritual thought with a member after dinner. Don't worry mom i'm being fed plenty, so much so that i'll need to work some off. Me and you Ben. Sunday afternoon we took two of the priests out tracting and they did a really good job. They don't seem to be too nervous about sharing a message or knocking on doors, something that just doesn't happen in Utah. Well anyway, Daniel Jones was able to give out a book of mormon with elder lake while i and Jordan Hughes continued down the street, and hopefully my goal will be complete of knocking on every single house in ozark before i'm gone. In church we had a great lesson with a W.O.C. student. and he seems to understand a lot of what we are saying and has a lot of good friends to help him in this little quest that he has undertaken. We are so glad to be a part of it. so small miracle right here, all the class rooms in the building are full during the second hour so we, me and Elder Lake, are trying to find a place where we could teach Bro Crimmins, also the ward wants to start a temple prep class and that is being held in the library, well this week we found out that they are post-poning it till Oct 10 so that left one room open for us to use. and we have one more week until Crimmins graduates along with a lot of other people that are in his class. so it's all going to fall into place.
We have also had some great lessons with a kid named Cori Kelley who kind of reminds me of myself and wants to learn a lot more, we are just trying to meet up with him as often as we can because he could be a great in the church.
umm... so what else happened this week. to be honest it's felt like a month since Elder Person came through and everyday just seems the same except for sunday. but we have had some good split opportunities and chances to meet with the ward members. so all in all life is going good and crazy and i could fall asleep at the drop of a hat, still. and i'm guessing it doesn't get any better when i get back or married or have kids etc. etc.
well do great and stay strong and serve selflessly.
Toniben I can't wait to hear the name and the photos. She's going to be beautiful I already know it.
Janben what a grand adventure awaits both of you and i can't wait to hear about it.
Thad you're such a great brother. and i know that's a great calling for you. you should talk to Ben about presentations he has done a few.
Jethrobyn. i loved the photos and the great things your doing, robyn you know that your a great mom and by doing what you feel like you should will only make you better. jethro, i like the title but i'm not an artist so i can't give you really any ideas, and i haven't seen what your doing so i don't know either.
Dad that is such GREAT news and i'm glad your leaving the mattcave alone for now. your going to have such a fun time when jan comes back. also how are the chelaks doing, do they like timpview? what grades are they in?
Mom you sound like your going to be chest deep in work and such. and did you know that i love you and your an amazing mom, thank you for all that you've done.
to everyone else, feel free to write me either an email or letter i would appreciate it
mgillespie@myldsmail.net
or
79B Woodview Drive
Ozark Alabama 36360
until next week, when transfers comes out then i'll know for sure for another 6 weeks.
Love Elder Gillespie
Ben gains did you know a Elder Chamberlain?
Thad did you ever hear about Elder Barrington?
just a few people i've met.
old tractor looks familiar
another practical joke
a trailor addition. only in the south.
Elder Lake
a practical joke of about 355 Lbs
Pants after a service project Deshingling
Canker sore that i'm still getting over. 5+ weeks
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