So Many Miracles & Exchanges

Dobre Den! 

This week I have witnessed so many miracles. I love being a missionary!!! I know that God has a hand in his work and he puts us in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. 

Monday we played basketball at the church which was super fun! People asked if I played basketball in high school. I owe all my skills to my brothers. After p-day ended, we went to visit a lady named Connie who is a new convert to the church. We invited her to come to Lynn's lessons with us, who is her next door neighbor. Lynn is the one who decided out of the blue that she wanted to be baptized. It will be good for both of them to go to church together. 

Tuesday we did a service project in the morning. We helped a lady clean up her yard... we picked rocks out of their garden and moved dirt around.Later, we had Czech language study. We usually just practice teaching lessons and I was asked a question that I literary found an answer to in my personal study that morning, so that was super cool! Then we had a lesson with the Sander boys. We taught them the ten commandments through a matching game, matching words and pictures together. We had a lot of fun with it. Then a guy texted us named David. His family is super against the church and we have been teaching him through text because he has been nervous to meet with us because of his family situation. He is so prepared for this gospel. Some of the responses he has given us are just incredible! Right now he is working on setting up Skype on his computer so we can talk. I'm super excited to see where it goes. He is a miracle. The next miracle I witnessed today was when we went to get some information of a lady we ran into my very first day in the mission tracting. She gave us her last name and told us that it was Czech, that's why it was spelled so weird! What?! Sister Brooks and my jaws dropped and we explained my situation. It was pretty cool. Sadly none of them spoke any Czech. It was just cool to think that we ran into her on my first day. 

Wednesday we did weekly planning. Then we went around and invited a bunch of people to the trunk or treat. We visited a sweet old woman named Ophelia. We've visited her a few times and taught her a few principles but I'm still not sure how interested she is in the church. She is going to the Domican Republic for three months for the winter. We made sure she had a book  of Mormon to bring with her. We were lucky to catch her home. 

Thursday we went on exchanges with the sister training leaders. I went out to New Plymouth which is an old town with a lot of farm land. We visited some families and helped a lady move who isn't a member. She just decided to pack up and move to Montana with 2 days notice. It was crazy and she was a little overwhelmed. After we went to visit this awesome part member old couple named Hank and Rosie. There is so much I could tell you about them. They are so cool. Hank said my smile and eyes reminded him of someone he knew, but he couldn't put his finger on who it was. And... yeah.... There was just no way of avoiding a hug from Hank, he wouldn't let you. Rosie went on a rant about some things too. We had a hard time getting out of their house. I slept over at the sister trainer leaders house. 

Friday morning we drove back to Caldwell and went to district council. I witnessed 3 incredible miracles later that day. #1 A man named Robert who has been taught by missionaries before and went off the grid for a while was home when we knocked on his door. He came outside and said he had gotten married to his girlfriend... which is ideal because now he can get baptized. He gave us his and his wife's number and told us to call them but to plan on coming back on Tuesday evening. It was such a miracle because we knocked on his door, he knew exactly who we were, and set up a time for us to come back and visit him. It was just such the ideal situation. That doesn't happen very often. #2 Christy is back from her trip. She speaks Russian and has a thick accent which makes it a little difficult to understand her at times. She hurt her ankle and sister Brooks put her name on the temple prayer roll. She believes the reason she didn't have to get surgery on her ankle is because of those prayers. But the cool part is that a sister just came home from her mission in Russia, so we are going to bring her to lessons with us. #3 we had a lesson with Don and we read 3 Nephi 18-19 with him about the sacrament and baptism. We got him on baptismal date for November 10th. That was huge! Literally last week we were thinking that we might have to stop teaching him. I wish you all could meet Don. He is so funny. He has come a long ways and it has been fun to watch him change. He has given up smoking and drinking.

Saturday was a really rough day, it had to counter the good day we had yesterday. We were biking and a bug flew in my eye and I couldn't see anything. I was biking blind, praying not to crash..... Then I ran over a squirrel... With both tires and I am on a racing bike with super skinny tires. I didn't even think that was possible... but it happened. It was pretty nasty. Then not long after that, sister Brooks got a flat tire. We were a pretty long ways from home, but there was a couple just down the road we have visited a few times who aren't members. We asked if they had a pump to fill up her tire. They tried but she has a weird nozzle on her tube that wouldn't fit the pump... so they loaded us up in the back of his fancy, old, orange, slow poke delivery van. It was awesome. They took us to the ward mission leaders house. He tried to fix it but ran into the same problem. So he thought he had a tube to fix it. He took the back tire off and everything and then the tube was to big. Haha so they gave us a ride back home and took the bikes to brother fly for him to fix. It was such a hassle. We could have fixed it with our pump, but the elders borrowed our pump. It was a rough day. We had so many people we were going to visit that night too, but all of our plans got canceled due to a flat tire. 

Sunday morning we got a ride to ward council. We attended two primary programs. Phoenix was the only one of the Sander boys that came to church. Another miracle.... Don came to church and stayed the entire time!!!! I love that guy!!! The first think out of his mouth when he walked in to talk to us was a swear word. I think it took a few people there by surprise. Don loves to joke around and have a good laugh. He is really struggling with his health though. He has had pneumonia like 12 times. He is always in and out of the hospital. He really enjoyed the primary program. Also, we went to priesthood with him. That was a bit of a different experience for me, but it made Don feel a lot more comfortable. We went to ward choir practice, then we had a fancy dinner with an awesome family. Then we were dropped off at Brother Fly's to pick up our bikes. He wasn't home, so we were stranded in the freezing cold on his front porch until he gave us the code to his garage. Then we went and visited a few more people. Sunday's are always so busy. 

I love this work. Also, I want to encourage you to pick up President Nelsons challenge if you haven't yet and finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. Mark up all the times it mentions the Savior. It truly is amazing and has built my testimony so much! 

I love you all,

Sestra Guymon

Also we harvested our pumpkin patch today that was growing in our front yard. :)

PS

President just called me!!! My visa came!!!! I fly out November 13th!!!!! 

I love stars!

Dobre Den! 

This week has been crazy. Lots has happened!

Monday we just played games with our zone and that was super fun. That evening we had a lesson with Don. He made us dinner and set his smoke alarm off... that was pretty interesting. Dinner turned out pretty good though. We read 2 Nephi 31 with him and discussed baptism. We really need to get him on date, he has been meeting with missionaries for a long time. He is living the word of wisdom now and giving up smoking, so that was a huge step. 

Tuesday we had two week follow up with President Sorensen. We basically just got more instructions and took some pictures. Afterwards, the Czech's got together and did language study. Then we went home and fixed our bike tires because they were flat... goat heads are literally the worst. 

Wednesday we biked to the edge of our area to a guy named Sam who lives in a run down, pretty sketchy house. His girlfriend is being taught in Nampa and he said he wanted to attend church before we started teaching him. Then we caught a part member family who tried to spray us with their hose when we were biking back. We talked to them and they are just a super awesome couple. They have super old cars and take them around to car shows. The have an old car named "smalls" which reminded me of Derek :)... LOVE YOU KIDDO! Then we biked to the other side of our area for dinner then to the opposite side again to see if we could catch another family, but didn't have any luck. We ended up biking about 18 miles. It takes some serious skill to bike in a skirt... let me tell ya. It is also super fun when you ride by some little kids and they are like "look, it's the Sister missionaries!" It makes my day.

Thursday we went to this coffee shop and got some hot chocolate and planned for the week. Then we had interviews with President Sorensen. While we were waiting, everyone was quizzing me on my flashcards. We had a lesson with the Sanders afterwards which went well. Zaedyn was at work which was a bummer, because he is the one we really need at the lessons. Then we finished the night by contacting some people. One was inactive, the other was being taught by Elder's before they moved.. so we are going to try and pick them back up. Also I got a phone call from a cute senior couple that lives in Merridan and are going to the Czech Republic. President P. got a hold of them and told them we were here, so they called us. It was so much fun to talk to them! I'm really sad I'm not in the Czech Republic right now because Elder Cook will be in the Czech Republic this Wednesday! As soon as the Visa comes though, they will fly me out. 

Friday we had zone conference! It was super fun to meet everyone. I also got a flu shot. We all shared something we liked from General Conference too. That evening we went to a Ward's Harvest Festival. That was really fun and I got to talk to some really amazing people! I got some great missionary advice from a man who served in Germany... especially when it comes to learning a language. 

Saturday we did language study by walking around outside because it was beautiful weather and I did not want to be in the house. We met some really cool people on the street. First, we talked to a family outside on their lawn. Next we ran into a woman who was shoveling weeds. She said she had her own religion... athiest.. and as we got talking and bore testimony she believed a lot of the same things we do. She is a chemist and so I instantly just adored her. She believes in the big bang theory and is trying to figure out how science and religion can go together. I really want to stop by and visit her again, but I also don't want to be super pushy with her because she said she was happy with her religion and not looking for anything else... hopefully we can figure out how to help her. 

Sunday was an interesting day. We biked to church in the dark and I almost crashed a few times because I was looking up at the stars. I love stars! We went to our councils and then the second sacrament we went to Justina and her brother Colten showed up so I stayed with them during sacrament while Sister Brooks went to the next ward council. They are such cute kids and such good examples. I love them so much!!!! We played connect the dots to keep the quiet. They are just so awesome. Then there was another kid that showed up to the last ward. He is about my age. The ward was really good about grabbing him and introducing themselves. The bishop talked to him and we got introduced to him. He is going through some really tough things in life. He hasn't been making the best of choices and to be honest I think he was a little high when we were talking to him. We had a really good conversation about the gospel. He explained that he felt like he was sinking and that inside he was a good person, but he just has made bad choices. It was super interesting. Sunday night we had dinner with the 1st ward Bishop and that was cool. They have a Korean foreign exchange student so he made Korean food that was super good. Then the rest of the night we visited people. 

That was my week. Crazy, but awesome. 

I love you all so much!

FIRST BAPTISM!!

Ahoj! 

Jak se máte? Tento tyden byl moc skvěly! Justina byl poktřen!!! 

Monday was so much fun! We went on a hike at Jump Creek with our zone to a waterfall. Please don't kill me mom, but we low key scaled some cliffs. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, but it was so much fun! That was probably one of the funnest, craziest hikes I have ever been on! Plus it was beautiful! I also got to see Sestra Hodgson  and speak to her in Czech. 

Tuesday was wet and rainy. It was a pretty gloomy day all around. We visited a sweet old lady whose husband had passed away from liver cancer. She misses him a lot. She isn't a member and family is something that is really important to her. We taught her about the plan of salvation and that she could see her husband again. She said she has been reading the book of Mormon and it has brought her a lot if comfort. Then we visited another women, she answered the door with tears streaming down her face and said that her brother had just passed away. She asked how funeral services worked in our church. We prayed with her to help provide a little comfort. It was just such a sad day and my heart was torn! Then we had a lesson with the Sander boys. They are progressing and growing in the gospel so much! It is really fun to watch. We also had a really promising referral from the area book so we knocked on their door and then the mom wanted nothing to do with us.... So that was interesting. 

Wednesday we contacted some people in the area book. A man answered the door and his little dog jumped out and bit my companion right below her knee. It broke skin and was pretty gross. I felt really bad for her. We had dinner with a part member family. They are an older couple and the dad is not a member. He is a smoker and has lung cancer. He's a really nice guy though. Then we went and visited a couple who loves missionaries. The man was a native American. They are super kind people. They have another part to their house that they are trying to rent out and they said they would rent it out to missionaries. They are not interested in the gospel at all though, that's what he flat out told us. He believes in the great spirit. They are awesome people though! 

Thursday we did our weekly planning at the plaza and it was really cold. We taught the Sanders the plan of salvation which was really fun because we drew it out on the chalk board and talked about each point then we erased it and had them draw It! Then we had Justina's baptismal interview. Her mom brought her which was awesome! We had never met her mom before, we had always taught them the lessons with their grandma. Her mom is inactive in the church but her daughter's decision to be baptized has helped bring her back. That little 10 year old girl is such a good example! 

Also I don't know why but all of this week we have been trying to track down flan... which is a Mexican desert. I've wanted to try it because it is like straight sweetened condensed milk which I love... We tried a little Mexican bakery but they didn't have it. 

Friday we had district council which was good. Then we taught the new convert lessons to a little boy named Andrew. Andrew has two little brothers too. They are a handful and can't sit still, so teaching them is super hard. We are also teaching their parents. The mom is a member and in the middle of a divorce...it was an abusive situation. She is living with her boyfriend who isn't a member, so we are teaching him too. Lastly we had a lesson with a grumpy old man named Don. He is really struggling with is health and went of the map all of last week. We finally got a hold of him and went over to teach him. We started reading Ether 12 with Him and he stopped us and told us he couldn't concentrate. We asked why and he said he was mad with the Mormon church. He said they don't care about people's feelings. He was upset that the sister before me been transferred and said he didn't know if he wanted to take lessons anymore. My companion talked him down and we continued on with the lessons. You can imagine how I was feeling... I felt awful inside. He wouldn't even look at me or talk to me the entire lesson. He only responded to my companion. It was so rough! I had no idea what to do to break the ice so that he could get to know me better. Then I remembered that I had my photo book in my bag with pictures of my family and friends. I asked Don if he liked pictures and let him look through them. I found out that he likes horses and he told me some crazy stories... so I told him about Nike (my steer that got lose and ran around Heber city) Those pictures really opened Don up to me and he said he wanted to continue with the lessons. He is difficult because we don't want him to be converted to the missionaries. We know he has a testimony and has felt the spirit, it just isn't quite that strong yet. 

Saturday we found a place that had Flan and pupusa's. They pupusa's were pretty good, the flan tasted like pudding and wasn't as good as my companion had talked it up to be. We went on a district blitz which we went and tracted with our district in one of the Elder's area. The very first door we knocked the lady let us in. We talked with her and she told us so many stories. We could barely get a word in. She talked a lot about her family. She didn't know anything about the gospel so we shared what we could with her whenever we could get a word in. My companion pulled up a talk from the General Women's conference and shared a little bit with her. She got teared up and I know the spirit touched her heart... then she went on talking about something completely unrelated to what we just shared. We seriously could not get out of there. When we finally got out of the door, she continued to talk to us on the driveway. We told her she had left her door open, hoping she would go inside, but she said it's ok. She asked where our bikes were and we said they were about two blocks over. She the mentioned that she liked walking... in our heads we were thinking "oh no." Then she asked if she could walk us to our bikes... she did... two blocks away. Then we got to our bikes and she asked if we had been to her house... we told her we had just been there. I'm pretty sure she had short term memory loss or all-timers or something. Once we got out of there, we knocked on a few more doors without much luck. 

 

Justina's baptism took place at 7:00 PM. We jumped on our bikes to leave... and my tire was flat!!! NOOOOOO!!!! The Elder's had borrowed our bike pump, so I couldn't pump it up... so we literally like ran/sped walked to the stake center! Don't worry, we made it on time. Her baptism was beautiful. There were a lot of people there... including all the missionaries in our district. Her grandma and aunt gave a talk and her siblings gave prayers. Her cousin baptized her.The spirit was so strong!!!!  While she was changing, Sister Brooks and I taught everyone the restoration, which was a little scary because there were so many people. It was a great day. 

Sunday we were up super early and at the church from 7 AM to 4 PM. We cover three wards in Caldwell, so we were at three ward councils. We went to the first ward council, caught the first 1/2 hour of their sacrament meeting, went to the second ward council, caught the half hour of their sacrament meeting, then went to the final ward council. After we went to the entire sacrament meeting, gospel principles class, and relief society. It was a long day. We had dinner with a sweet family. The mom has cancer and had surgery 11 days ago, yet she still prepared a meal for us and they had referrals for us. Talk about an amazing family.

I love you all! 

Sestra Guymon

MIRACLES IN NAMPA!

Wow y'all it has been a crazy week! 

Thursday we walked to the stake center in the rain and a car was completely flipped over in a ditch, so that was a little crazy. Also, we live right next to the hospital, so we constantly hear sirens. Our appointment fell through that we had, so we went tracting. We didn't have to much luck. Then we had a Lesson with Justina who is getting baptized this Saturday on the 13th! Super exciting! She is ten years old. We taught her and her little brother and her grandma's house. Her grandma picked us up from our place and brought us to her house... she is a little bit of a crazy driver. 

Friday we had district council in the morning and I met everyone, so that was fun. There are English and Spanish missionaries in my district. Then we taught the Sanders. The have three teenage boys who we have on baptismal date for November 3rd so it was fun to teach them. I love teaching! We went to teach an old man who lives across the street from us. He wasn't feeling very well so we didn't get the chance to teach him. He is really struggling with is health and on a 2 week word of wisdom challenge going without smoking and drinking. Lastly we visited a family that just moved in, we chatted and shared a message with them. 

Saturday all the missionaries watched conference at the stake center. There were so many incredible talks. I came to conference with some questions and all of them were answered which was super cool! Also it was fun to watch the MTC choir in the afternoon session because I saw so many people I knew! Another cool thing that happened in the afternoon session was that Justina who is getting baptized walked in with a family she is friends with half way through the session and as soon as they came in and sat down, they started speaking about baptism and the covenant that we make. It was so cool and inspired! 

Sunday so many miracles happened! We watched General Conference with Justina and her Grandma and some of the messages really hit home for her grandma. She was tearing up all during conference. Then we biked to the Plaza to study and see down town, my companion almost got hit by a car... so that was scary... but we are all good. Then we went and watched the last session of general conference. After conference we visited so many people! First we visited a family with 6 kids and they actually let us in the door to talk, which has never happened, then we visited another family we are working with. They have three cute little boys and they are a lot of fun! Lastly, we visited this sweet, old, Filipino woman named Lynn. She has really broken English. Before we went to see her Sestra Brooks told me that she hasn't been progressing or keeping any commitments and that she just likes talking to the missionaries. They have been checking up on her for about 10 months with no progress. Anyways, we got there and she told us that she wanted to be baptized into our religion. WHAT?!?!?! My companion was shocked. She said she wanted to be baptized before Christmas and that it was time. She said she already invited the Mayor to her baptism. SO COOL! Then we asked how her book of mormon reading had been going and she said she has almost finished it. In the past when they have asked about her reading, she has dodged the question! So Crazy! We were so happy when we left, it was such a crazy experience! 

I love the mission. It definitely has it's ups and downs and really is an emotional roller coaster, but it is so worth it. Pray that all goes well with Justina's baptism! 

Love you all, 

Sestra Guymon

PS The fruit here is amazing! I ate the most delicious apple I have ever tasted and it was giant.

NAMPA IDAHO

Ahoj... well maybe I should just say Hi :)

We made it to Nampa Idaho! It was hard saying goodbye to everyone at the MTC because I love them all so much! I'm going to miss my branch presidency and all the amazing people I met! I took two shuttles and a train to get to the airport. The flight was really short and President picked us up at the airport. They are so kind! We had lunch and they gave us a rundown of everything then we got our new companions. My new companion is Sister Brooks from Georgia. She is so sweet! She has been serving for about 15 weeks, so both of us are both pretty new. 

We went to our apartment, it is pretty run down and beat up, but it works! I feel like the princess and the pea because my bed is literally just three mattresses stacked up. Then we went to dinner with some members. found out that members feed the missionaries every night, so that is awesome! Then we went tracting and didn't have to much luck. They had to give me a bike because I will be biking everywhere for the next little while, so that will be super fun! 

I'm loving Idaho, this work really is the Lord's work. As I look for the miracles everyday, I can see them. 

I love you all so much!

Sestra Guymon