A Witty Title

Hi Everybody (Hi, Dr. Nick!)

alright now that we are all on the same page. lets talk some business. what's the down low in ozark alabama? well from last week not a whole lot, we continue to try to see every investigator that we have and also continue to try to find new investigators. which isn't going too well with everything, but you can't always have what you want. but what i do have i'm very grateful for especially a family, friends and a companions that work, and work together, which has happened.

So....

Miracles since last time. this last week I went on a trade-off with Elder Fox to Andalusia, another tiny town about 60 miles west and a bit south of ozark, but it is a beautiful town with a good-hearted people, which i was able to meet. well anyways during this trade-off i was able to just relax a bit and look at what problems were facing me and what kind of things i could do to change. which i was able to identify and just go full force at it. and since coming back i don't feel nearly as stressed or nearly as worried as i was before. so i'm just going forward with no problem or worries. well there are some but i'm working so this will be good.

as for another miracle.... remember how beetle talked about being a confessional box for people well she couldn't have described it better, but what the amazing thing was that me and my companion Elder Kanis were able to not only give advice but we were both thinking of the same thing to tell her what to do. which again is the small things in life which are really big, for me it represents that not only are we working together but that we both had the spirit which means that we are doing the right thing.

another little miracle and another fact about the gospel is that it is simple and true no matter where you go in the church, so in sacrament meeting we had amazing talks, and they all came across the same thing, or that's what i got out of it. and it's something that President Summerhays taught us. and it's simply "going with the PROS"

P for prayer, sincere prayer, a prayer where you are willing to act.

R is for Reading/ studying the scriptures, to feast upon the words of Christ

O is for Obedience, when obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment god will endow us with power. (President Benson)

S is for Service, going and doing the good things.

and that's what the gospel is when we do these things for ourselves and for others and God, we then access the Atonement of Christ which will not only make everything right in our life, but it will fix the problems we have and heal our broken hearts and hands so we can then help others. so we can all come back to God and live as one family in his presence for the rest of eternity.

well that's one thing that i got this week, again something not new, but still profound. This mission has really been a great boost to my testimony and to actually know what the gospel is and how it works. which i guess the next thing is to share that with the world. and i'll continue to do so all of my life. at least that's what i think i should do.

So all in all life is good. and i'm getting a new companion Elder Crawford and he'll come up to ozark with me for the next 6 weeks of my and his life so far he sounds awesome/legit.

Jan the house sitting job sounds awesome and i bet you can't wait for your kids to be self-sufficient.

Thad I can't believe that curtis got married i didn't even get an announcement so you're going to have to give him a stern look from me.

Beetle thanks for your email. i think i usually fall in the earlier numbers and i'm doing my best to be a solid 4 you're already a 4 i can just tell.

Ben your trip sounded awesome and amazing which i'm very impressed about. and want to do something crazy like that later, not for a while.

Mom for p-day for the last couple of weeks we've gone fishing at someones house, we catch bass and brim, but we throw them back so we don't have to eat them.

Dad you're very ambitious to do the plumbing for the upstairs and i probably would have told you to just wait till you got everything in order. And you are almost ready for the roof in logan that'll be awesome to complete and i bet thad will help you now that he isn't working in the dead of night.

Sara Larson Congrats on graduating i got both letters and i can't believe that your growing up so fast. well anyways you'll do great.

All in All have a good Week.

Love

Elder Gillespie

one of the fishes i caught over the last couple of P-days

many of the church signs in the south

the panama city beach from a members house

Peace Through Hard Times

Hello

Well I guess it's time to talk about the adventures that i've had this past week. so let me think.....

1) I met one of the coolest guys while tracting he has fallen in love with genealogy and has many and many guns. his name is william libby and loves to do all types of things. but mostly guns and genealogy. I thought that most of the world just didn't really care about their ancestors but now i've found that to be wrong, he loves the stories that have happened to his family and how a small town doesn't really ask where you came from because you'll find out you came from the same grandpa or grandma.

2) it's starting to get hot.... while beetle is getting rain, i'm getting sun... and i hear that it only gets hotter. right now it's in the upper 80's to low 90's with 50 -70 percent humidity which really isn't all that bad. but it's supposed to get to the 100's with just about 100% humidity so i think it'll be like the south carolina family reunion trip, where you just step out side and you start dripping.

3) I got a new Boxspring mattress, the one that i was sleeping on before had a lovely depression in the middle, so it felt more like a hammock than a bed. well that might be a bit of a tall tale.

4) People apparently like us missionaries, well the ones that don't just shut the door on our faces, but a few occasions people just let us into their homes and we just have a good old conversation. which has been really nice to have in the AC houses.

5) apparently the oil slick is starting to wash up on some of the beaches, which isn't good. good thing i'm not on the beach right now.

6) honest communications is the answer to most of the problems in most companionships, or relationships in general.

other than that this has been kind of a slow week, as for the things i've learned.

The happiest i'll ever be is when i follow the rules. Not only do i not get into trouble but also i also feel better about what i'm doing, something that i've had to find out the hard way. The other thing is that at times, when nobody else will do anything you have to do it yourself. Again something that has taken a bit of time for me to understand and to put into practice. And finally God is merciful and his mercy applies to those who are meek and lowly, or a heart that is broken and contrite. and He has great power to save and to lift, but we have to go to Him and believe that He will help us. That is what i've truly been enlightened on this week.

Belief and Hope. two things that I Need to work on more. The other thing that i've learned is to always have a goal or an action to work towards. Now I have those so this week will be fun and interesting. One more Doubt not, again something i need to work on doing, Because Doubt is of the Satan he wants us miserable just like him...

so those are just a few thoughts i've had the last little bit of my life.

Love Elder Gillespie

Sis Cranney I'm so glad to hear from you I love you and all that you've done. Thank you so much, and soon enough Spencer and I will be back.

Ben F. thank you for your letter and for the talk that was really what i needed to hear, but I've all ready heard it before. i think i've got a really thick skull. you'll have to check that out when i get back.

Jan I don't know what to do with Dogs, if you were here you could just let him loose in the woods until someone found him, but i don't think you want to do that.

Ben Russia sounds awesome, i was surprised to hear that it's not dirty. but then again you've lived in that area so i think you know what dirty is. i just go into the ghettos around here, but there really aren't any.

Toni way to go on not stressing about the laundry thing. that must of been a shock, but now it's a fun memory. come what may and love it...

Jethro. good luck with set up and take down. it's awesome that you are doing so well with classes, as for the house plan, i like it and it sounds like it's going to work. I love your creativity.

Robyn programs are easy you've got it in the bag. and it wouldn't surprise me if lincoln is 4 and half feet tall when i get back and sophia sounds like a wiggle baby like none other. i can't wait, oh boy oh boy.....

Thad you're a trooper for helping baby sit. I bet that really helped robyn and mom out a lot.

Mom i loved your letter and keep sending them if you want to i love reading those talks, in fact see what each of the kid's favorite talks are and then i'll read them on p-day or you could send them.

Dad I agree with Jethro put in the Tire swing the kids will love it. and it sounds like you and mom are taking over the youth program again. i guess you guys are never going to be released as parents to the youth in the ward.

Mothers Day Declaration

Hello everybody.

This week has been a good week, We had Zone conference this week where I learned that i can't be satisfied with staying in the apartment most of the day, that I need to go out and serve the people, even though it's starting to get hot and muggy.

we also had a great lesson with our investigators this week too. and they are doing much better.

other than that the other highlight was the phone call home, where i received much instruction and guidance. now the sad fact of life is that it's going to be 8 months before we talk again....(sad face) but it should fly by pretty quickly which is going to be really nice and then i'll be over half way, which will be awesome!!! but of course like every missionary I won't want to leave because of how great it'll be, because I'll make it the best that it can be.

so no real news is going on the next transfer is in two weeks and i've got a feeling that i'll be here for a while, which will be very nice. umm...... what else.....

Toni HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! tomorrow. but maybe by the time you read this it'll be your birthday. have fun in the russia. try something new, and i'll do the same here.

Jan You have yourself a deal. and I know that you'll do fine with the other kid while those two take care of each other. Clarky will be a great older Brother who will protect his sister. I can already tell

Jethro. I loved your story, i often find myself looking at sunsets.

Robyn. you can do anything you put your mind to with God on your side.

Mom I hope you had a wonderful mothers day. i know that each one of us kids love you a LOT.

Dad feel better and if needed ask for a blessing.

Ben Gaines, Jet lag sounds awful but just think when you come back it shouldn't be that bad, unless you can't fall asleep on planes.

Ben Francisco. I know that you are quite a man for doing what you're doing so keep up the good work, and i'm sure that you'll do fine in whatever position you choose.

Beetle, Can you believe that it's been a year since you left. i can't believe it it's gone by so fast but at the same time it hasn't well that doesn't matter because all that does is that i love you and your doing so good i could just tell in your voice when we talked. Keep up the good work, i'll do the same

Love Elder Gillespie

May Day! May Day!

Hello Ya'll

this week has been a very fast in my perspective it just feels like I just got here. and I Just finished writing to you guys. well this week what has happened, well first of all we had a Baptism!!! it was super good and definitely had the spirit there, which is something I'm glad to recognize here if it wasn't for the baptisms that happen maybe once a month i think that i would just get used to the Spirit or just have the immunity of it. which i'm glad to have taken away otherwise I would not be the same person i am right now, but then again if i had a different experience i would also then become someone else.

This week I've found out that I am a person who gets addicted to things easily, for example i went on a spell where i would only play warcraft 3 for about 3 months, then i would get bored and then pick up something else to do. I'm really not that good at any of them but something that i like to do. and this week i found out that i got addicted to Sudoku. and once i realized that then i got a new prospective on what it means to leave things behind and focus on the work. now i'm not saying that i'm perfect at it or even close to do that but i'm understanding that God does really ask a little from us at a time and as we can do that then we have to give something else up and then slowly and slowly get rid of all the things that we don't need. or as jethro painted pruning man, we prune ourselves to find the real us.

the other cool news is that zone conference is coming up and that's going to be on friday and then i get to call you guys on Sunday which is really awesome, in fact i get to call at 8pm because i'm in the same area as Janben. so that's going to be awesome. then after that two weeks till transfers Crazy!!! I know, time is really flying which must mean there is a change on the wind. but that could just be gas....

Well what else is new?.... umm.... the army people are pretty darn cool, we had dinner yesterday at the Dyers, one of my faves, and you wouldn't guess what i ate there.... Korean food, bulgogi remember mom when you did that for us like 5 years ago, well just so you know it was good and i would of never guessed that i would have ever eaten Korean food, authentic Korean food in the south, since being close to Post all sorts of people eat all kinds of crazy things. which reminds me I think I'm going to have Raccoon pretty soon. not to mention the other foods i've tried. i'll try to put together a list of such. but things that i want to say i've eaten are squirl and maybe possum or armadillo, and turtle, i've had gator, and dove, and i think pheasant, and deer. and of course the fried stuff.

other crazy things going on is that we had a wedding for a less active and she invited us to it, she's like 60 and married another 60 yr. old person. and had the wedding in a back yard where the owner had squirrels for pets. weird but cool.

We also volunteer at hospice mostly doing office stuff, making copies putting together packets, moving stuff and cleaning, pretty much what they don't want to do or don't have time to do, the simple things that's what we do. but so far the workers there seem like they might be interested in hearing more about what we are trying to teach to everyone. so hopefully we'll get some head way in that aspect.

and finally i ordained somebody to be an elder, which is quite an experience, not a whole lot of pomp or glamor but definitely cool to see.

Well that's about it for the adventures of Elder Gillespie. I love you all so much and can't wait to talk to you in 6 days.

Toni thank you for confirming what i've been thinking for the last little bit, and you are going to have so much fun, explore the world without fear.

Ben your awesome and you NEED a vacation, all work and no play makes ben a dull boy.

Jan i miss you but your only like 20 hours away driving so that's not to bad.... Ben keep on keepin' on.

Jethro I'm excited to hear that brandon might be the next watson at your school, and i'll definitely have to come over when i'm back.

Roybn Kids should not be playing with drugs it's not good for them especially Beans.

Thad.... get some sleep and what's the news with Bret? i've heard some rumblings

Beetle I miss you and you now a year out these last three months have flown by. and i guess it'll keep doing that.

Dad I havn't really been able to see to much about that but i've heard that there going to try to burn it. i've also got some speculation that an earthquake is supposed to happen in italy/hungry in a couple of weeks, weather or not it's true time will only tell.

Mom I LOVE YOU!!! and i'm surprised that you know where Kolob is that must be big distance.

Love you all and keep writing because any news is good news.

Elder Matthew Gillespie

Persistence and Love

Hello Everybody!!!

well it's time for CrAzY UnClE Elder Gillespie's story time. this story takes place in a far off world in Ozark, a tiny little town where the people are nice the streets are clean and people take pride in what they do. well this was the first time that Mr. Elder Gillespie had ever been to this place, not only that he was with a great person. named Elder Kanis, now here is the sad part of the story, as what happens in the real world sometimes people just rub off the wrong way. but the great part of the story is that people always have the opportunity to change, and usually when these things happen both people change a lot, and for the better, which is what has happened, so now me and Elder Kanis are now working together towards being better people, now this doesn't happen over night. what it takes is patience, Persistence and love. which is the moral of the story for today. that while people might not like you and disagree with you, we have the chance to change who we are and from there become the person that the world needs or what God needs for it to be a better place. we have to push forward towards a righteous or healthy goal, and it works a lot easier and better when you let God in to help out where you just can't do it yourself.

Now here are a couple of people that we are working with, which is the most important part of missionary work, besides being in the right spirit. so we are working with a few couples Anthony and Victoria, a couple who just recently decided to get married, not that we told them but that they feel like it's the right thing to do. and all this comes about because of prayer and willing to act on a prayer. they prayed for peace in their life, and then we knock on their door, (well O'niones and Kanis did) and then they let them in. which is what prayer really is, it's a sincere desire for something and then going to go out and work for it, which applies in all things.

Another Couple is Junior and Lagina (sp?) another couple with the same problems, wanting to get baptized but need to get married. and they don't want to get married until Junior has a job which again we need to pray in faith, willing to go out and act, or trusting in God that he'll provide while we go out.

and finally Kimberly Vance who has made the final steps and is going to be baptized tomorrow, and then will be moving to Hawaii but what i've heard is that she taught herself the gospel and we missionaries have only been there to reassure her what is right. and in the process have reactivated the husband.

So the Moral of the story is to stay in the right spirit, to do the small things to let God into our life, by reading our scriptures, by praying and then going out to act, by being obedient to the commandments and covenants we have made and finally going out and helping others, weather big or small. it's the actions that will help us make a better world.

so I love you guys and next week I'll have some awesome stories to share with ya'll

Love

Elder Gillespie

Mom I love you SOOO Much, your words of wisdom are beyond me and my tiny little thick brain. which i'm very sure i have.

Jan How are you liking the heat now right now it feel like it's summer for me, and we really haven't even hit it yet... oh boy....

Thad, umm... i'll try that but i don't think i'm supposed to do that on a military base where i've been told not to do that, soo.... i'll answer questions if they ask them though. and we don't live on "post" that is the official term to use not army base it's a post

Ben, I wouldn't be to worried about it mostly because that happened to me quite a bit when i was younger, a lot of the time i would just be home without any supervision for 5-6 hours at a time and one time i just got scared when that happened so i called grandma and she came over and picked me up. so i think that anna will be fine nothing really has made me a crazy killer, maybe a little of my rocker, but who isn't plus she'll be in good hands.

Toni what are your thoughts about this whole thing going down,

Jethrobyn. Congrats on the master class being done but not so happy about the whole still teaching and having to put up with kids who are probably now not the easiest to take responsibility over.

Camille please keep me updated about anyother people and their missions.

Dad get better

The "Big" City of OZ

Toto i don't think think we're in Florida anymore....

So seeing how it's the first time i've been able to write about Ozark Alabama i guess it would be a good thing to do.

first of all alabama is actually a pretty place to be, which makes me want to see forest gump and o brother when i get back. but in ozark it has rolling hills and big green trees, which might just be the fact that it's finally spring. the other thing about ozark is that it's employed by the near by military base called fort rucker. which is a helicopter school where the army trains soliders on chinooks, blackhawks, and apache helicopters. while the city is run by the military the area i'm in actually covers the base and also has a ward. to which i spoke in this last sunday, like yesterday, where i bombed the talk but thanks to two other speakers it really didn't matter what i said, also the ward is extremely young everybody has kids that are under the age of 9 and has about 3-4 of them so this is a really really young ward which is so cool, also Ozark is mission famous for people feeding missionaries. so yes i will come back twice the person as when i left. and since reporting on that i'm now offically 150 lbs. a total of 15 lbs gained so far. while i don't see where the weight went, i'm now... bigger, i suppose.

now for the Apartment, there are four of us in one apartment which has 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, kind of small but not to small. so my companion is Elder Kanis who is from Davis County, he's a big kid who likes to play rugbee. and has been out for 3 months so it's his 3rd transfer. then the other Companionship is Elder O'ninies or Elder O he's from Colorado Parker area and reminds me of the twins, he's very athletic and has blond hair and is super sarcastic and right now is Training Elder Cox who is from around Hill Air Force Base. he's a greenie but is getting his head on straight pretty quick and is starting to understand what missionary work is. he's getting it, something that i don't get until well about a month ago now. so he's doing good.

as for what i've learned, it's that obtaining knowledge takes time and effort, it takes asking good questions, so we can find good answers, something i've been struggling with. but i'm trying to improve on. which is what we are supposed to do.

well that's the thought for the day. i'm trying to do my best, and that's all that matters.

Address is

79B Woodview Drive

Ozark AL 36360

I love you all.

that is all

Elder Gillespie

Moving on a fast day

Hi y'all

The Draft is up and Elder Gillespie is going to... Ozark South with Elder Kanis, i don't know what he's like or what the area is like but does it matter? anyway this means that all of today i get to pack up and get all my chickens in a line and everything to fit into two suit cases, by the way could anyone use two suits, i've got five and i think i'll only need three.

hey does anybody know when the best time to move is? yep you guessed it sunday afternoon during fast sunday, our posse of missionaries and priesthood leaders moved 3 people into their houses so yesterday was fun, it really was, it was the first time that i've gotten to do real service.

perfect timing too spring break is up and everything is going to start getting hot. and i'll be away from the gulf, about 2.5 to 3 hours north of where i currently am.

well this week we had another wonderful week with Zone Conference, where i learned that Satan does a very good job at what he does, and I've noticed that he'll often use truth mixed in with one lie, which completely destroys either confidence or trust with other people. Once he's done that he'll then start putting on a little weight at a time nothing that's yours but he'll put on those little weights and then once you have those he'll then put on more and more. that sounds like scripture, "and he'll carefully lead them down to hell." I know that once we repented that those things that we did aren't ours anymore nor should they be. when we then start putting those weights back on, it's just the devil doing it, so don't let him do it. drop the weight and move forward and upward. that is what i've learned this week.

the other thing which isn't really new, but then again no one has had an orginial thought, is that the spirit often teaches us and then requires us to do something to increase our knowledge, and then the choice is up to us to do it. to be defiant to the world and serve god or to just wait for something else to do. for example, if you get interested in a class and say you learn about the nervous system in class then next step to learn is to read out of a book and then once you've done that then you see how it works with all of the other parts of the human body, then you could go to a specialist and then study under them... and the process continues the more we put into learning the more we get out of it. wow i just taught "myself". the real teacher isn't here but is with us constantly if we are trying our best to follow the commandments.

so yeah another sad week has past with leaving the Beach one more time but who knows maybe in a couple of months i'll be back i still have 18 more months left. a long time but also a short time.

well I love all of you.
Elder Gillespie

Jethroybn. Lincon is so funny, I laughed so hard when i heard about jesus in the pool and when he started striping down. i'm suprised that you were able to swim in St. George i thought utah was still in snow.

Janben It sounded like a crazy adventure this past week which i'm glad that i wasn't a part of especially the car ride. and jan you are progressing you just can't see it yet, i feel the same way. everybody tells me that since i've been back but i don't see it, i guess you'll have to see it your self when i get back and i can tell you how much you've grown. deal? deal!

Toniben ben that was probably one of the best top tens i've ever seen infact i'm going to forward that to myself. toni keep up the good work.

Beetle it's nice to get out and to see the world that's what somebody told us this week while we helped them move, which was fast sunday, anyways enjoy it and i'll try to do the same.

love uplifts and i love you all.

Elder Matthew Gillespie