Week 76 - December 14, 2015 - Evansville, Indiana

Dear Friends and Family,

This week has been a great week!  There have been a lot of amazing things that have happened this week, and many lessons learned. 

Life has been good to me.  As I came into this area, there were a few thoughts that entered my head.  One of which was what God wanted me to do in that area. What did God want me to do here?  What did He expect of me here? I had been in other areas where I had specific jobs.  I knew that the Lord had specific plans for me here, also.  As I sought that out, some specific thoughts came to me.  One of which came before I hit the area - work with members ( a little rough when you speak Spanish in an English ward), and I sent you here to baptize.  That is your calling right now!  I found that so interesting, and I was excited!  It is interesting.  Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the end.  I had had that opportunity to help in many of those areas in others' lives, and baptism was supposed to be the main focus here.  So we worked and worked, and as companions came and went, more things would happen.  The ward started to like us more.  We started to build relationships with them.  I found myself caring more and more about them, and wanting to help them out!  I love this ward!  Then, as we kept going, the idea of a branch become our missionary goal.  We were all on board.  Then our ward mission leader said that that was not the goal.  It was integration.  Well, we went to work.  If we were going to integrate, we were going to do it right!  So, we really got going on better English Classes.  We invited, and got as many people as possible there.  We worked and worked on different things.  Pretty soon, an amazing Spanish couple moved in.  The wife was from Idaho, so of course they were great!  He was called to be the Spanish Liaison.  As that went through, we started with a few meetings.  We were both new to it all, but started as best as we could.  It was so great!  The ward started to get excited too.  We put together some Spanish things and ideas.  Before we knew it, our Christmas party was Spanish style.  They put a Spanish twist to it all.  It was so amazing! And it brought in the Spanish members, and people! 

Things continued to progress, and this Sunday was one of the best days of my life.  As you all know, on November 8th Carmelo and Carlos got baptized.  A miracle all in itself!  Brother Rupert helped so much, and kept them busy every week with FHE on Monday, and Home teaching on Tuesday!  They are amazing members, and they have such an amazing light that is just growing!  Their mother became interested, and many more miracles happened.  Anyway, yesterday was the Christmas program!  And it was incredible.  We watched as the nativity (program helped to be made by yours truly) was read in English, and then wait for it...in Spanish by a member that has started to come back-Jose.  It was incredible, and I realized how special each child of God was, and how each was special-no matter the language! 

Right after the program, I talked to sister Solorio and just sat and enjoyed this time!

Right after, we were able to accompany Carmelo and Carlos to the Bishop's office so that they could receive the priesthood.  That afternoon, Carmelo baptized his mother.

This was an incredible thing!  To see so much happen here. I feel so privileged to be able to see the Lord work through these people, for the people that I love so so so much! 

I know that the Lord has a Plan for each of His children.  He really loves them, and wants them to have so many blessings!  He has a perfect plan for each of us, if we only choose to come unto Him.  We have the way to get to Him!  He loves us, and will help us with everything!  He will care for us, and if we dispel all fear, if we choose to let Him change us, we can become what He wants, and we can have the Joy that He wants us to have!  I have only felt a little of the love that He is capable of giving them, but that is the thing that is amazing! The small part that I feel, is more than I can handle.

I love my mission, I love these people.  I love the Gospel, and I love God's plan and the knowledge that we have of the Savior.

I love you all, and will see you all soon!

Love Hermana Gamett     

Week 74 - November 30, 2015 - Evansville, Indiana

Hello hello,

This week was a great week!  We had some miracles! And we have had some interesting times!  So I am aware that my letters are all study,

but I think that it is safe to say that email times are the best time to recap, and the best studies! 

Anyway, this past week has been a little rough.  We got news this week that we were going to have to move back a baptismal date.  That is not

news that we wanted to get, and of course, I let it get to me. All the negative things just hit me, and I was super sad about it all. Anyway, we set up the lesson later, and found out that she had been living the commandment for at least a month.  It was such a faith builder.  She is so prepared for the gospel, and she is willing to do anything that

she needs to.  I just love her, and am so happy for her!

We had Thanksgiving this week! It was good.  I tried to take a nap, but failed!  We went and ate with a family, and then went to the recent converts.  Then we had coordination.  Yah!  The ward mission leader doesn't rest!  He is amazing! Hermana Larson got sick, and has been pretty sick since.  So we did a Skype lesson, and did what we call phone tracking.  We worked when she could, but then we realized that she needed to stop and get better, so slow and steady. 

I love you all a ton!

Hermana Gamett

Happy Birthday, Liam, Madi, Autumn, and Dallin!!!

Congratulations on your baptism, Hazel!!!

Week 73 - November 23, 2015 - Evansville, Indiana

Dear Family,

I hope that all has been going well for you this week!  I have learned so many amazing things this week.  Magi accepted a baptismal date, as well as Maria.  We are so excited, and so excited for everything to happen.  Things are amazing, and we are seeing so many miracles!

----------------------------Pride--------------------------

So this week was full of fun adventures.  Many miracles, lessons, and busy times.  This week was also exchanges!  I got to go to Jasper with Sister Patterson.  We started our missions together in the same district so that was fun to be with her!  We were driving somewhere and we started talking about the things that we have learned on our missions. One thing interesting that she said was pride, and its many forms.  I thought a lot about that, and it just rang so true to me.  That has been the bane of my existence!  The source of all of my problems.  The charity and humility killer, The Father of failure, and the Shamer of success. Basically, my biggest enemy!

     So, what is pride?  Naturally, I have to turn to my good old "Beware of Pride" talk (which I have had for years, and it seems to have a ton of depth- the most simple are the most complex).

"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen."  

So what does that mean?  Pride is exactly what I was striving to fight against from the beginning.  I have wanted to face God, and do His will.  Who knew that I was being a pride killer!? :) Anyway, the struggle to do that is hard.  It is not something that is easy.  That also means that we must give up our ability to appease man, and those around us, and strive to please God!

"Our will, in competition to God’s will, allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled."-What are our motives?

"Our enmity toward God takes on many labels"-what are we labeled?  Do we care?  Does it actually matter?

C. S. Lewis: “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. … It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone.”

"Fear of men’s judgment manifests itself in competition for men’s approval."- Facing God?

"There is, however, a far more common ailment among us—and that is pride from the bottom looking up. It is manifest in so many ways, such as fault finding, gossiping, backbiting, murmuring, living beyond our means, envying, coveting, withholding gratitude and praise that might lift another, and being unforgiving and jealous."

There are so many different and amazing things learned here.  Actually, a lot of  this is coming from what I am learning right now, so personal study # 2. So, who are we?  Are we pitting ourselves against man, and are we in a constant power struggle?  Do we strive to stay away from competition of others, or do we strive to refrain from judging other people?  Judging is also a large form of pride, and a killer of Charity.  I think that is when we have to ask ourselves the real question.  Are we becoming like Christ, or are we becoming a person that wants to be perceived like Christ?  That was the desire which got Satan thrown out of Heaven.  Who are we?  What are our motives? 

I have been contemplating these things, as of right now, with a start this week.  I have been struggling with many things, many of which are frustrating me to death!  I do not like it, but I have to deal with it, and honestly I should be thankful for it!  Anyway, I have had this constant battle.  Although it is not generally me pitting myself against others, there are times that I find that I pit myself against myself.  Who I was, who I think that I should be, or maybe who I think that others expect me to be.  That is not the plan of God.  Pitting myself for who I was, is denying repentance, and pitting myself against who I will be, is fear of the future.  I cannot be in fear.  I cannot be full of pride.  As Sister Patterson said,  "Pride manifests itself in many different ways!"  Once you kill one piece of it, God lets you start to see other ways that it affects you. And every aspect that you start to kill allows your vision to match just a little closer with the vision and sight of God!

As the weeks have past, I have been striving to really change to really repent - to make a real change, a real change of heart!  To become- not only to do, but really become.  I guess that means to wipe pride away.  Maybe the definition of perfection is the elimination of pride, which allows for complete humility, and perfect submissiveness to the Father.  That is the goal!

So, searching for those weaknesses is a big thing that we have to learn how to overcome.  I have discovered some of my biggest weaknesses these last few months and I guess you could say my character flaws. Yep!  And to destroy them is difficult!  That is what we must do, though - be submissive enough to allow God to come in and make us strong.  We have to be submissive enough to allow God to keep our strengths, and not let them become subject to our pride and therefore become our weakness. (Ether 12:27)  We have to eliminate pride.  That is our quest!  That is our dream and desire!  Everything that we do should be to please the Father, and to eliminate pride! 

So, part of allowing yourself to submit to God, is to allow yourself to do what the spirit says to do, no matter what!  Story time!!!  This week we had a lesson with Magi!  She is one of my favorite people ever, and I just love her so much.  So we stopped at the apartment complex to see another family, and decided that we were going to bring "The Family a Proclamation to the World" with us.  They were unable to meet so we headed over to Magi.  We went in and  for some reason none of us could start the lesson.  Later, we heard everybody else's conflicting thoughts, but we just could not do it.  We listened to her talk for a while.  She is an angel and the most mature 14 year old that I know, but just kept talking.  Quite a few times I saw the fasting pamphlet in my bag and then I saw the family proclamation.  I thought FAMILIES, but then I remembered that we had set up a lesson in a members home to talk about that.  So, I just kept refraining.  Stupid, I know!  Anyway, finally it just came out "Magi, what are your goals?"  A question that I had asked before.  We talked, and I realized that I needed to add the word spiritual in there.  We talked about it, and she talked about the importance of family to her.  Hermana Bown happened to drop her family proclamation pamphlet on the ground, and, in her words, was just too lazy to pick it up! After a few interruptions, Magi saw it, and grabbed it.  We read it a little, and she said, "So that means that in your church you don't have the words 'till death do we part'".  No, Magi, we do not.  Life can go forever WITH our family!  She said a lot of really cool things, and has noticed the families in the church, and wants to raise a family in the church!  She also said that she wants to know more and go to church every week.  If she is committed, she wants to be committed.  We talked about the temple, and that was that.  Magi has had some amazing lessons in the past, and is so incredible.  She has some amazing people in her life, and has a super bright future.  On Sunday night, she came to us, and said that she had for sure decided to get baptized!  She is amazing! I can't even explain how much I love that chica!  

Well, more to say, but I think that you all have had enough of me today!

 I love y'all,

Hermana Gamett