te batize yè Wesly (that´s Creole)‏

Wesly was baptized yesterday!! Was that a miracle or what? It was a difficult goal to reach but it was absolutely wonderful when it happened. I love this guy. He´s great. So darn sincere and genuine. Like I mentioned before he was going to get baptized last week but didn´t because he was so worried about helping a few friends and finding a job. He told us that this week was the week for sure. We kept in contact with him throughout the week and we always taught him in the house of a member, Cristian, who lives nearby and that was a massive help and I´ll explain why here in a minute. Everything started going really well and it was basically a fairytale ending because nothing went wrong! Other than the fact that he forgot a towell, we were able to get ahold of a member who brought him one so all went well! Haha

The best part of the baptism was afterwards when he stood up to say a couple things about how he felt and his experience with the Church this far. What he said was sweeeet! He explained his story a little bit and basically testified to his two friends that were there that they should make the same decision of being baptized because it is the right decision and the way to follow Christ and all sorts of just great things. His spanish was fantastic too. He´s been here for like two months and already speaks fluently. I don´t know how he does it! It´s a gift. We´ve been learning a little bit of Creole with him and our other Haitian friends. We can now do successful contacts en Creole! haha it´s fun stuff. Anyways Wesly is great and was able to get baptized and we´re pretty happy about it.

Another big thing happened which was that a new bishop was called! It is wonderful for us because we do family home evenings with him every week and all of our converts, less actives, and investigators are best friends with him!! In fact he is the member that would always let us go to his house to teach Wesly. So Wesly´s best friend in the church is the new bishop. We are excited about that because he is going to do a wonderful job and I think that we will see some good stuff in the next couple of months! At least until I come home:) if I stay in this area!

We´ve been doing some serious service in our area which I absolutely love. We are helping an almost active member´s house move along quite quickly. He didn´t even have a roof when I got here and now we are finishing the walls on the inside! It takes us forever because we don´t EVER know what we are doing but after we learn we become somewhat efficient. We almost always learn when we are about to finish though. Oh well! He is an awesome guy.

We got some serious rain last week which meant a few things, 1. My feet got wayy wet since my shoes are getting older. They are still holding up really well though!! 2. the mountains got pounded with snow=Homesickness because anytime I see snow in the mountains I think of skiing and being in the mountains. Can´t wait for that! and 3. clean air for a couple of hours. I love the rain. It´s not the funnest to work in because we have to walk around in it all day and it´s cold but I still love it. It´s a good change. It´s now sunny but still very very cold in the morning. Our house gets sooo cold at night and in the morning and our electrical circuit only allows us to plug in one little air heater or else the whole house gets the power cut so we just warm up one room and the rest of the house is freeeeezing. Only two more months thought so I think I´ll be able to make it:)

Have a magnificent week!

One Miracle and One Bummer‏

Like I was talking about in my last letter we were in the process to help two of our converts get to the temple, one of them being Rosa. Well after quite a lot of preparation and organizing we were able to print out four names of hers (her four children that have passed away) and she was able to take them to the temple!! She was baptized for her daughter and the Bishop was baptized for her three sons!! That was a huge miracle especially because I didn`t know how things were going to go with her when she first got baptized. Now things are going great. She is understanding more and more, is participating, and went to the temple for the first time! I am pretty happy about her progress.

The bummer part of the week was that we met up with one of our Haitian investigators, Wesly, and he told us that he was finally ready to be baptized and wanted it to happen this Sunday! That got us all excited but then on Saturday he said that it wasn`t going to be possible for a couple of reasons. We talked to him for awhile over the phone. Like 40 minutes because he wasn`t home and in the end decided that it wouldn`t be able to happen this week. He said it would be best if it was next week. We hope that this isn`t a reoccurrying thing. We have an appointment with him tomorrow so we will see what he has to say!

Last week was our ward conference week! It went decent! We had been assigned to do a ward activity on Friday night. We sat down with our ward mission leader once to be able to plan it all out like a month ago and then ever since then we never really talked about it and when we asked about it and asked what we needed to do to help plan it out he said don`t worry and that everything was ready! It started at 8 on Friday. Nobody showed up. At around 8:20 a couple people showed up.... Then a few more and a few more. That`s how it went until 9 when we finally started. In the end it was really fun and turned out decent. It obviously could have gone better but hey there were plenty of positive things that happened!

I made the BEST pumpkin chocolate chip bread ever yesterday for a family home evening. Mom, thank you so much for that recipe. That is the best thing in the world. I forgot how delicious it was.

All in all it was a good week! I feel like I am always missing something but I`ll just end it here!

Elder Gunnell

10...Ten...Diez...‏

That´s how many more weeks left. According to my comp because I, obviously, am 100% focused and not counting the hours.. I mean days!...

This last Friday we had a wonderful visit from the Area President of South America South presidency, Walter F. Gonzales. You could say it was pretty neat! He is a real live wizard with the scriptures and basically a genious because he would quote a scripture in spanish (from memory) then in english (from memory) and sometimes even in Portugese. He talked a lot about how to be a good missionary and great things like that and then also blessed us with some things that can really bless our lives and the lives of others. He shared how we need to lead lives like Christ. He taught that to be able to do that we need to learn about his life, study it then ¨copy¨ and ¨paste¨ it into our lives. He also explained that sometimes there are glitches or viruses that cause the ¨paste¨ part to be changed or pasted a little off and that is why it is necessary to constantly be learning and studying the life of Christ and to ¨copy¨ and ¨paste¨ constantly. Not just doing it once and believing that we are good for life.

He talked a lot about faith and how necessary it really is in everything we do! And when we set goals we need to look through the ¨eye of faith¨ he talked a lot that and read a bunch of scriptures about it but I don´t have them with me. They were great though!

What I really am excited about for this week though is that two of our converts are getting ready to go to the temple this Thursday to do baptisms!!!!!! One; Melsince, will be doing baptisms of names that are already in the temple but the other, Rosa, will be getting baptized for her daughter who passed away in 1995 and is going to be bringing the names of her three sons with her! I am soo excited!! It will fantastic for them both!!

That´s it for this week! Thanks for the emails! Have a splendid week!

Elder Gunnell

We climbed up that same hill that we climbed a couple of weeks ago but we took some other friends of ours and we left at 5:30 in the morning to be able to see the sunrise!

So I just want everyone to laugh at me for a minute because... Out of the 3 treats I made, two of them flopped on me. So that´s no big deal. I made a chocolate zucchini bread which turned out incredibly good. Delicious. Then I tried to make my mother´s famous eclairs and I guess I took them out too early so that was a bummer and they just were flat. Then I found out last night that an Elder who got to our mission a week ago had his birthday last week and since we were going to meet up with our zone today I quickly decided to make him a cake for today. I tried to make a chocolate angel food cake and when I took it out and turned it upside down half of it fell out so I flipped it back over causing it to fall in on itself. Out of spite and a little frustration I threw it back in the oven and put the flame on full blast so it would finish cooking. It never finished so I just left it there and went to bed. Pretty lame haha but oh well!! It´s the thought that counts! In the end I made a little truffle thing with the cake, pudding and cream. Turned out really sugary but not too bad.

I would like to share a quick little thing that I read recently! It´s found in Helman 7

Nephi wishes he could live in the days of the first Nephi when all the people kept the commandments (see verse 7) but in verse 9 he says,¨But behold, I am consigned that these are my days...¨ I like it a lot in spanish because it says ¨commisioned¨ instead of ¨consigned¨ but I know that all of us were commissioned or consigned to be here at this time and that there are things God wants and expects us to do! We just need to ask for his help to know the things he wants from us.

Sorry it´s so short today!

Elder Gunnell

Rootbeer floats

Mother's Day Week

Happy belated Mother´s day to my sweetest momma gunnell! Also Happy Birthday to my little Sister AVERY!!!!!! Everyone wish her a happy birthday and make it wonderful for her!!

So this little will be a cute, short one.

Last week was a little rough for me and great for my comp! I don´t know what is was maybe the spirit or maybe just good luck but man did he have some awesome contacts! He found some incredible people with whom we set up appointments with and some we already started teaching. I, on the other hand, did not have that luck or spirit haha or God wanted me to learn some sort of lesson because about 95% of contacts that I did rejected me with a whole bunch of swear words (like a whooooole bunch) and a slammed door. Goodnight was it rough. It was funny, but rough. My comp got a good laugh out of it and I so did I later on. It was a fun week in the end but haha wow I was doing something wrong I guess! Oh well this next week will be great:)

We had an incredible lesson with a guy named Pablo. He is a friend of the less active family that we are helping to reactivate. He watches their house while they are working and does little jobs here and there in the house. He is a very sincere guy who is just kind of lost in the world right now. The Gospel is helping him find direction. He is a smart guy who just needs someone to help him find the right path! We are in that process!

God exists. I know it because he pulled a prank on us yesterday. I think He thought it would be funny if our water pipe broke and turned into a geyser. So with His help, a little soccer ball, and two missionaries it happened. We broke our water pipe (the pipe that gives water to our whole house). You might ask yourself, ¨Why did you not just shut off the water to the house?¨ Well it was because we managed to break the pipe before that little knob that shuts off the water so we were stuck with a geyser for awhile. We took turns trying to put enough pressure on it so that it would slow down or stop with our hands, feet, towels, putty, boards and others. All the while just soaking ourselves. We eventually slowed it down to a stop with a towel and my comps foot. Someone was supposed to come this morning and fix it, we went to the temple bright and early so I´m not actually sure if it is fixed or not yet. We´ll see.

Keep your heads up! Be happy! Good things are on their way.

Elder Gunnell

A preeetty sunset (not as good as CV) and awesome path that we started laying (should have seen it before... it was nasty).

A productive week!‏

So if I remember correctly last week I talked about a less active that came to church and then was given an assignment to teach right? Well I have more good news to bring! We went and did service with him like usual on Saturday and he said that he would be coming to church the next day which we were happy about! Then on Sunday when we saw him walk in we were pleasantly surprised that he had brought his wife!! She left right before relief society but came back later so that they could pay their tithing. It was great to see them doing things on their own accord. They will be blessed. I am excited to see their progress! 

Last night we had a very successful family home evening! We do one every Monday with different families but always inviting all the investigators we can. We talked about charity and watched a mormon message. I also made some delicious zuchini bread! Haha 

This upcoming Monday we have transfers! I doubt that we have any transfers. At least I hope not but we will see what happens!

My message is pretty short this time around but I would like to share a little something that was shared with me not too long ago!

Honor Him with Our Thoughts

“As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them” (James Allen, As a Man Thinketh).

The way we think affects the way we live. Learning to be positive, optimistic, and discerning in the way we think affects every aspect of our lives. It also has great potential to lift those around us. More importantly, choosing to think of and pray to our Heavenly Father and His Son often allows Them to influence and teach us how to live in a way that is both pleasing to Them and edifying for us. The Savior’s counsel to “pray always” and “look unto me in every thought” teaches us where to find the help we need to live a life that honors God.

Honor Him with Our Hearts

Once our minds are open and we’re in the habit of thinking of our Heavenly Father, it’s easier to notice how He’s working in our lives. When we begin to see how He’s inspiring our thoughts and blessing us, feeling His love naturally follows. Feeling His love is what gives us the desire to please Him, honor Him, and do His will.

Humility and gratitude have a way of opening us up—our minds, our eyes, and our hearts. They can also help us see just how close our Heavenly Father always is to us.

Honor Him with Our Deeds

When God is consistently in your thoughts and in your heart, there’s nothing you can’t do. Life takes on greater meaning when you begin to live your life for Him. When you hear His promptings in your mind and feel His love in your heart, you can become an instrument in His hands (see Mosiah 23:10).

There’s a scripture in the Book of Mormon that says, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). When we can hear and feel God, He will lead us to individuals who need us and can benefit from our unique talents and gifts. Wehonor Him when we’re willing to serve those around us.

Leave a Legacy of Honoring God

Your life can be a powerful offering to God when you fill it with selflessness, humility, and gratitude. But it can be even more than that. Your life can be a powerful legacy that you leave for your own posterity and future generations. When you’re close to God and you spend your life loving and serving Him, you can’t help but leave a legacy of honor in your wake.

Over and out,

Elder Gunnell

 A little adventure 

 some cute little ninas

 pigs in a blanket 

 breakfast to end a comp exchange

Wow! What a Week!!!

So I´m going to ask perdón (forgiveness) because I am exhausted today and I will explain why but if my letter doesn´t make a lot of sense it´s because of that!

Today we went on the BEST hike I´ve ever been on! I mean I have only gone on like two... But this was incredible. I took a ton of shots with a really nice camera that someone lended me so I will send a lot today if the time permits and I invite everyone to see the blog where my mother dearest will put them. We climbed up the tallest hill in the Santiago valley if I am not mistaken and it was just the most beautiful view from up there. You can see the Andes like a wall in front of you and basically have a 360 degree view of all Santiago. I can´t believe how pretty it was. It was perfect since we just had a big rain and wind storm from Saturday to Monday so that took away all the smog (because there is normally a ton) and the Andes got a good amount of snow. Today was a bluebird day and just gorgeous. I loved it. I love nature!! Where are my Utah mountains?! It´ll be good to be home haha. 

We had a spectacular week. My comp had a great idea of talking to two people every 30 minutes. Instead of thinking about how many people we were going to talk to every day we decided to break it up into something small, like 30 minutes. The first day that we did it we didn´t even get a block away from our house before finding two new people to teach whom we also visited on Sunday and we were able to meet the whole family and teach them all! It was incredible. Our day went from having nothing to too many things to do! It was great!! We will do it this week and see how it goes!

The Haitian convert in our ward recieved the Priesthood this last Sunday which means he will now be able to baptize his friends!! We are pretty excited about that and so is he.

We finally got a less active man, Omar, to come to church! We have been doing service in his house forever and finally last week we sat down and had a serious talk with him and his wife. On Saturday when we did service he asked us if we were going to go to his house to get him for church and we obviously said of course! Then he invited us to eat breakfast with him before hand. He went and the bishopric was quick on their feet and asked him to teach a class on the segund and third Sunday of next month! That will be a huge blessing for him and the ward!!

The four of us missionaries gave talks this Sunday. I will be humble and say that it was probably one of/if not the best talks I have ever given in spanish or english so I was very content for that. I will end my little with the little story that I based my talk around. You may or may not have read it on lds.org but if not here it is!

¨As illustrated by the following tale, we all sit by a “pot of stew.” A man sought out a respected old sage and said, “O wise one, I would like to know what heaven and hell are like.”

The sage led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors, and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms. Each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The wise man said, “You have seen hell.”

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons strapped to their arms, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The man said, “I don’t understand!”

“It is simple,” said his venerable guide. “It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves” (author unknown).¨

With much love,

Elder Gunnell