Week 25 - December 15, 2014 - Louisville, Kentucky

     This week has been good, and bad, and all other randomness. 

 

     I did get a new companion.  She is from Hawaii and is the same age as me in the mission.  She is really kind, and really fun.  She knows how to have fun being a missionary, but while doing the work.  It has been really good.   

     I am learning a lot from her, too.  We are learning a lot, and getting better, and everything has gone really well for us so far.  Hermana Mangalei is great!

    So we are in a Spanish Branch and with Spanish missionaries, and who would have guessed, we speak Spanish!  So, Hermana Hearne spoke pretty great Spanish.  I would have days where I could understand nearly everything, but, hey, it still wasn't quite perfect.  Well, then we went to transfer meeting.  She left.  To be honest, I was a little nervous.  I was given a new companion.  I was not quite sure what to do.  O boy!  We have had so much fun this week.  We are not even close to perfect, but we are a pretty ok team.  I feel like I can be myself around the investigators.  I am not super great at everything, and it has been a little hard to execute, but it will be good.  We are trying to start everything working well.  It has been good, it is hard taking it bit by bit, and, to be honest, I need to show way more confidence in myself.  How can other people trust me if I can't?  Anyway,  we have run into a few fun detours.  We are at the moment looking for a map.  A paper map.  Ya know, with the lines and all.  Guess what?  There are not any stores with a map.  We even asked the mail man where to buy a map.  His reply was, “Well, I have mine on my smart phone.”   (Why, thank you, mailman.  We don't have one of those right now.)  So, as of right now, we are on a hunt.  Hopefully, we will succeed.  Ok, so I tell you all of this to get to the punch line that I forgot I was writing.  Anyway, my Spanish is so much better, almost overnight.  I can understand so much better, and I can speak so much more fluently.  It has been really cool to see the change.  And, what I don't know, Hermana Mangalei knows.  In all seriousness, it has been really amazing. I really dislike my weaknesses, but one day they will be strengths. 

So, new things this week: 

     I am now the designated driver!  I know the Lord is blessing me there because the old me would have died driving in Louisville, but the new me is doing quite well.  No stress! 

    New companion!  Her birthday was this week.  One of our investigators cooked for us!  That same investigator came to church for the second time. We also moved her Baptismal date up nearly a month.  She asked us if baptism was all that she had to do as far as ordinances, or if there was more.  She also asked what she needed to do before baptism.  Well...that is when the crazy time comes in, when the missionaries say, “We will teach it all later,” or “We will teach it all now.”  Well, we told her a few things.  We briefly explained the word of wisdom to her.  She was good with all of it, but the alcohol surprised her a little.  When we started to explain she said that she knew it was because you can lose control.  We also explained the law of Chastity.  That was interesting!  Her boyfriend is going to be here next week so that was good timing.  She said they were basically married, but that it is expensive to get married there.  However, we did explain it and she seemed to understand.  Then we bring out the 10 commandments.  Wow!- Did we butcher that one.  We only had the Book of Mormon, and we couldn't remember everything exactly in Spanish.  Let's just say it was interesting. Very interesting.  Well, we did find it and found out that she read it yesterday.  She is basically amazing.  She is so patient with us when we struggle with doctrine or Spanish.  I can't wait for her baptism!!! 

     We also had a ward wedding reception.  That was fun too! 

 Good Luck and I love you all a ton! 

  Hermana Gamett  

 

Hermana Gamett and Hermana Hearne

 

Hermana Mangalei and Hermana Gamett

 

 

Week 24 - December 8, 2014 - Louisville, Kentucky

Hola Todos,

 

     Everything is going all right here in Hikes.  We are having a grand old time.

 

     In news for today... Hermana Hearne will be leaving me. We will depart manana a las 12:00.  It is sad, but she will do great things wherever she goes.  Also, it has been raining here the last few days.  All is well, though.  They say the snow will start to stick in January or February.  It isn't too cold, yet, but it is just a little different.  Dry and Humid cold are different.  I wouldn't say that it is necessarily colder, just different.

 

     We have been teaching some lessons this week.  They have been good.  We also had Elder Kapishca-of the 70 come in and give us a mini conference.  It was really good and answered some of the questions that I had.  Because of him, I will be a better missionary.

 

     My Spanish is coming along.  There are always those days that you understand basically everything (or at least you think that you do), and then there are those days that you can't even say the very basics.  But the days of complete understanding and fluent talking are starting to happen more than 2 times a week, and that is exciting.  It is great.  Sometime, I have those bad days, and other Hermanas will have to help me out.  Then the next day, we will be visiting with the same people, and I will just start going, and people will stop me in the middle and say," Wow!  You do know some Spanish," or "Wow!  You didn't say much the other night, but now you are talking."  Yep, the life of a Spanish Missionary.  I can't talk very much about clothes or hobbies, but I can tell you everything you want to know about, "The Restoration", "The plan of Salvation", "The gospel of Jesus Christ", " The word of wisdom",  or "food".  It is great!

 

     Also, an update on my amazing spelling skills!  They are getting oh- so- much better.  In Spanish everything sounds exactly how it is spelled- so now all I have to do is ask my companion how to spell words like straight, and meet, and all those other hard words that my 4th grade brother can spell.  Yep, I am rocking it!

 

    In all seriousness, everything is going pretty well.  I am learning and growing a ton.  And I finally feel like I am starting to become that person that God intends for me to be.  I still have a super long way to go, but at least I am seeing progress.  Yes, progress!

 

     Each transfer brings something new to the table.  I have had a special lesson to learn with every one.  Usually multiple lessons to learn, but every trial is for your good, and I can feel myself get just a little bit stronger with every one. I guess that is a blessing with speaking Spanish, too.  I really get to see improvement every transfer.  Not that I don't improve every transfer in other things too, but I guess starting near the bottom in Spanish helps out.

 

     Anyway, it is going well.  I love you all so much.  Give my puppy a big hug, too.

Also tell Grandpa that I love him, and give him a hug for me. 

 

     Tell everyone, Merry Christmas!  I love you all a ton, and I hope that it all goes well. 

 

Love and miss you all,

Hermana Gamett  

CURRENT ADDRESS:
Hermana Heather Gamett
2308 Hikes Lane Apt. G-52
Louisville, KY 40218

Week 23 -December 1, 2014, Louisville, Kentucky

     OK, so this week was pretty good.  There are obviously things that I would like to change, but all in all, I am getting better.  My Spanish is getting so much better. I can speak better, and I even can talk on the phone.  Yep!  That is pretty exciting.  This week I cut my hair.  It doesn't look any different.  Should have cut it shorter.  I think it actually has a little bit of a wave to it, but we will see with time. 
 

     This week we had a great zone conference.  All on planning.  It was really good, and planning is so much easier to do now.  We also talked about the "He is the gift" initiative.  That was really cool, too.  That video rocks. 
 

      So, we had this great Zone Conference and also Thanksgiving.  Let me tell ya.  That one touched me.  We were fully expecting to have Thanksgiving in our house.  All was well, but then we had a member ask us if we had an appointment.  Now keep in mind, many of these people do not celebrate Thanksgiving- at least not to the extent that we do.  So, she said that she would do it for us.  Later, the Relief Society President also invited us over for Lunch on Thanksgiving because she would be gone later that day. 
 

     Ok, we went to her house, which was amazing.  Her home is so cute, and her family is adorable.  Really amazing food, too.  Then Hermana Hearne and I went over to the Ronald McDonald house. It was interesting to be there.  It was such a homey and welcoming place.  We picked a floor and made some snicker doodles.  Then we got a text from the Family that was going to feed us dinner.  They live almost 30 minutes away.  She said that they would come in and pick us up so we wouldn't have to drive out there.  That meant a lot to me.  I don't know the financial situations of these families, but that is such a sacrifice.  They also brought another person, too.  She made an amazing Turkey- Spanish Style, with something called Mole.  It is really spicy, and really good.  It was amazing to be there with them.  They were so happy to help out and serve. I can't really express my gratitude for these families.  They are always serving, but happy to do it.  I am learning a lot of things that I would like to apply in my own life.  What amazing examples.

     As for missionary work...  Sometimes things are hard to do. Sometimes you have to step back and think about what is truly important and where should your intentions be. I have been trying to find that balance this past week.  It has been interesting, and a struggle for me, but all in all, it will work out.  This is a lesson I am so glad that I am learning now, rather than later.  I also have had to remind myself that I am not perfect, but that as long as I give it my all, Christ will make up the difference.
  

     In good news....  We found someone who is so ready for the gospel.  He needs it so badly.  We just set his Baptismal date.  We also have another person that was so apologetic that he didn't come to church that he basically promised he will never miss again.  Yep!  All is going all right.
 

     I have to go, but lastly....  I am amazed at these people.  A lot of the people here are from Cuba.  They left behind so much- Family, warmth, and most of them high ranking jobs,- to come here.  We had an investigator tell us the other day that she didn't know why she was here, but that she was, and God must have led her here.  Anyway, these people come here, and have to learn English, get a drivers licence, and work in any job they can.  Seriously, there are some that were Doctors, Engineers, Nurses, and a whole bunch of other careers, that gave everything up.  I know that God had a part in where they ended up, too.  I guess I just see his hand a whole lot more now.  He leads and guides and walks beside everyone, putting them where they need to be.
 

     Once again, I love it here, and hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. 
 

Love ya,

Hermana Gamett

 

Happy Birthday, Twins and Dallin!

 

Week 22 - November 24, 2014 - Louisville, Kentucky

    Sorry I didn't say too much about this week, but I will try to send some more pictures.  But I will say that I love the people, the food, the missionaries, and the Spanish here.  It is great!  One of these was Halloween dinner.

Love,
Hermana Gamett

 

 

 

Week 21 - November 17, 2014 - Louisville, Kentucky

     Ok, so first off- I kind of sort of forgot my Camera so, sorry that you won't get pictures of the snow that arrived last night!!!!  Idaho girl is in Heaven.  However, we are going to run thrift store shopping today to get some supplies :).
 

    Ok, so this week was horrible.  I was not happy.  We didn't know where to go.  I was getting frustrated with everything-myself, my companion-bless her heart she wasn't doing anything wrong.  She was being her adorable self.  It was just rough.  Everything was difficult.  It was one of the first times in my mission where I really didn't want to go out and work.  I was just not happy, and I was really irritated.  But one night, as I was getting really frustrated and my companion was going to help me by getting ice cream as dessert to our dinner, I got a letter, from a lovely aunt of mine.  I read it, and we were going to all be ok.  I was ready to get back to work.   Now, keep in mind, I am in a great place- we saw miracles, like finding people to teach- all throughout this craziness.  We both kept struggling, but kept going.  It was hard. I wont lie.

Finally, the weekend came.  Like I said, the week was still good.  We found some people that really wanted to listen and we taught them, but it just seemed bad.  Anyway, we headed back over there and talked with the husband, and when we asked him what his favorite part was, he showed us a picture of Joseph Smith.  We also went and talked to another lady, and she was really interested.  We also were able to talk to another man that had come to church, but we couldn't ever seem to give him a lesson.  Saturday around 2:00, I got a call that I needed to give a talk in church.  So we ran over to the library to print off the conference talk in Spanish.  Oh, and just my luck, it is one by D. Todd Christofferson who uses some big words.  It was all good though- it was on agency so I could try to tie that in to something everyone could attempt to understand- o yeah!  - except for the fact that it would be in Spanish.  Oh boy!
 

     Anyway, Sunday rolls around, and that is when crazy hits.  We had 4 investigators that wanted to come to church.  4!!!! That is crazy!!!!  (See.  My week was good, but I just didn't see it.)  Our investigators have only been here a few months, so they don't have cars.  So, on Saturday, we started asking around for rides.  No one.  So we continued to look for people.  Sunday hits.  We both have talks to write.  So, we do that for a while.  Part way through that and getting rides arranged, we get this call to teach the Sunday school lesson for the youth.  We've got this.  We teach everyday.  No biggy... but wait.  Topic...How to be economically self-sufficient.  Yep.. well, guys, save your money.  No it was really good.  We just didn't have the manual or anything- so you could say our living room was covered in ensigns. 
 

     O yeah! But we still need rides!  Ok- call- call- call-call- call.  Finally! - Got everyone a ride.  Talk - Sort of prepared.  Lesson - We'll see.  ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
 

     Anyways, we get to church.  I was supposed to talk for 15-20 minutes.  I spoke and all was well.   I am pretty sure that it was only like 10 minutes, but when you don't speak much Spanish- well... yeah.  We couldn't find the classroom for the youth.  More things, but I will save you the details.
 

     This is also where the miracle is.  The people at church were amazing.  They talked to our investigators.  They made them feel so welcome.  The other missionaries took them in.  They talked to them, and helped out so much.  In Relief Society, the missionaries and investigators doubled the Relief Society, and the members were all about explaining simply and answering questions.  The president made sure they had rides to the activities and wow!!!! It was amazing.  One of the investigators said some amazing things in there about us missionaries.  I had no idea that we meant that much to her, but it made it all worth it.  Anyway,  more amazing things.  That night we went and talked with everyone.  We had this instantaneously better relationship with everyone.  We even set a baptismal date with one.  In all reality, I pray that never ever do I forget this last week.
 

     But there is so much more to the story than that. 
 

     Looking back, I realized that Satan knows when good things are going to happen, and he attacks us in the way that is most likely to stop us.  But, as we have faith and work hard, he can do nothing about it because God is in charge.  God also expects us to work hard and to grow, and as we go through these hard times, he isn't going to let us fail.  He lets us go through them to help us grow, and then he blesses us.  He makes up the difference for our inadequacies, because, let's face it-2 new girls in an amazing area-1 very new to Spanish-I need help.  I really came to the realization that it is Him who teaches and He expects us to do our best and have faith, then He blesses us.  

 

I don't have much time, but that was just part of my week.  I also taught a lesson about the Book of Mormon to a woman and asked her to be baptized, and she accepted!  I believe that is my first.  We also saw a whole lot more miracles.  Really was an amazing week!
 

 Love you all,

Hermana Gamett

Week 20 - November 10, 2014 - Louisville, Kentucky

Dear Family,

 

     Wow, this is crazy.  I absolutely love it here in Hikes.  There are so many people here that are ready for us.  So many people don't have religion, and they are so ready.  It has been really hard for me to be here with so many people ready and prepared, and I can't even speak perfect Spanish.  The Spanish puts up all kinds of blocks - can't share the message perfectly.  At times, I can't even show my personality.  Ya, it has been a little rough for me.  I want so much more, and to do so much more, but I have to humble myself and remember that I have to let the Lord lead me, and take the rest that I can't do, even when I do my best.  I don't like relying solely on others, but I guess that is something that I have to learn.  But, I can say that I love Spanish, and that I love the people here.  I get to meet so many religions and learn so much. 

 

      A Sister Training Leader came this week and she taught me a lot.  She said that some things were going to be changing in the mission.  Some of them were things that I just mastered, but they make complete sense and I can see why we need them.  It is hard, though, just getting something down and then having to apply the new things with the STL.  As much as they say it is not, it feels like an exam with them, so that was a little rough, but, Hey, it will come.  I just got comfortable... and they say that the mission is about getting out of your comfort zone.  This last week has made that clear.  There is so much more that I have to learn, so much more I have to get down, and so much more I have to master.  I was once again reminded that I have to rely on my Savior, and it is Him and His spirit that have to teach not me because...well, if it were me..it would just be bad.  Anyway, this is humbling and I love it. 

 

     As a missionary I have really learned how to love others.  Every person that I have met and gotten to know, holds a peace of my heart.  I left some of it in Owensboro, and I have left other parts of it here in Louisville.  I just wish people knew how much they are loved.  This is amazing, and an experience I will never forget. I love you all so much!  Welcome home, LesLe!  Get well soon, Grandpa!  Happy Birthday, Hazel! I am sorry I can't write everyone, but I love you all!

Love,
Hermana Gamett

Week 19 - November 3, 2014