I'm in a Slump!

Hey everyone!!

So I'm getting kinda lazy with my email writing, sorry...We have just hit kind of a slump here I think, so we are working through it and trying to find new people. What happened was that like 2 weeks ago we found lots of people and had some really awesome lessons with them, and for the last 2 weeks we have been trying to find them again and they haven't been available or now aren't really wanting anything. Jeez. We didn't have any investigators at church, which is the worst. The other hermana missionaries didn't have any either, so it was a depressing Sunday. Actually, no one in our whole district had anyone. But we are trying to get our spirits up to work hard this coming week!! We have to!

One of the fun things we did this week was celebrate the birthday of Angela, Marcela's daughter. We took photos but I can't attach them today. But it was really fun! We bought cake and brought it over. They weren't really planning on doing anything because they don't have any extra money, so it was pretty special. And they're such great examples, because before we sang happy birthday and cut the cake, they insisted on singing a hymn and praying. I wont lie, usually when there is birthday cake involved, praying slips my mind. They are great examples and it's been great watching the gospel change their lives. 

Other than that, this week was kinda rough. I've been telling my comp. Hermana Schroeder that we'd been having the easy life the first 8 or so weeks of her mission, and I guess we're done with the easy life now. Everyone who we found this week is really open to let us in and share a message, but love their own churches. That makes it hard. But we are trying, and we know that the Lord is preparing people for us to find and teach. I love being a missionary, even when it's hard times. I cannot believe sometimes how much I'm learning. I still have a long way to go, but I have just found such a love for the gospel. I know it's true and blesses our lives immensely if we obey the commandments that God has given us. I love my Savior Jesus Christ, and want to be a better teacher like Him. Have a fantastic week everyone, and expect better news next week!

Love, 
Hermana Gilland

Quiet Week With 3 Baptisms

Hey everyone!!

Hows it going!? We are alive here in Guatemala, and successfully had 3 baptisms this past weekend!! Other than that, though, we didn't get too much done. Here is how our week went:

1. Baptism of Marcela, Angela, Junior!!!!  Ahh we had a great baptism with these guys! They were just so ready and happy and excited. I was so impressed with Marcela because she totally understood that baptism was a big deal and that it was a big promise to our Heavenly Father, but she was fearless in doing it and says she's ready to work hard in the church. There were lots of members at the baptism. 

2. The only giant snag was that Hermana Pati was also supposed to get baptized, but didn't at the last minute...she was wearing her white clothes and everything but said that she felt scared and needed to wait. We are going to be working hard with her to help her feel ready to be baptized this Saturday. 

3. Interviews with President!  We had a nice devotional and interviews with President this week. I love interviews, I think all missionaries love interviews. President is just awesome. It was really motivating and I'm excited to work hard now. He invited us to a family home evening with one of our investigators for tonight, sweet!! Hopefully the investigator is actually available to go.

Man I don't really know what else to share with y'all from this week? Hopefully Ill have a cool story or something next week. Hope that everyone has a fantastic week and is enjoying summer!

Love, Hermana Gilland

I'm Just Loving It Here!

Hey guys!!

Hope things are great in America! I don't really have much to say since I got to call home yesterday....but I'll write for my fans. Ha-ha. K but first of all, my old roommates REALLY should write me...just a quick one! My sister tells me that someone is starting a business, and supposedly another got married but I don't actually know that for sure.  I know y'all have 3 minutes to send me an email!!!!!

Anyways, here is what we did this week:

1. We found lots of new people this week even though I wasn't expecting to find many because we already have lots of people that we are teaching. We found 15 new people to teach this week! Yay!

2. This morning we played soccer as a zone, and I scored 2 goals, real goals too. I'm more than proud of myself ha-ha.

3. So we had a really good experience this week. We are in the ward chapel where the mission office is, and because of that we always see the assistants, and one day we took them with us to teach some of their
neighbors that we are teaching, but they weren't there and we ended up doing something totally different and found 2 new families! I learned a whole lot from going with the Elders. They're professionals at this.  They didn't do anything at all special, but they just taught with and listened to the Spirit and BOOM! 2 new families! It was a great learning experience and really really made me want to learn how to listen to and teach with the Spirit better, like them. My comp and I are trying to do better at it, and little by little we are getting it, hopefully...

4. Marcela and crew are finally getting baptized!! We officially will have the baptism of Marcela, Angela, and Junior on Saturday! I am so excited! It should be a really good service. They really are such a special family and I'm so grateful that the Lord put them in our path.  This past Saturday we took Marcela to a Relief Society  activity, and she loved it and said she felt like she had a bunch of new sisters.  When we were walking home, she was telling us that she would have liked to be a missionary a few years back. I just told her that now
her mission is to raise 5 future missionaries, and she got really excited about that, and says that she hopes that all her kids serve.  How cool would that be?! Angela, shes 11, says she wants to go. Oh, that would just be the awesomest ever. They are just awesome and it's been amazing to see the gospel change their lives. Last Monday we had a Family Home Evening with them, taught them about FHE, and it was just a blast, and everyone was laughing their heads off at the game we played. They are just wonderful and have so much potential!

Well that's pretty much that. We are excited to see another great week, and are hoping to have lots of people progressing soon. I am just loving it here. Sure, I am sick of being hot and sweaty all the time. But for the most part it is so fun to be a missionary. I just know that our message is true and is the way for everyone to find
happiness. I love the Gospel, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ. Thank y'all for your support, and have a fantastic week!!

Love, Hermana Gilland

Takalik Abaj

Hey guys!

Hopefully things are going well in America. We had a busy week, but I'm still trying to think of what to tell y'all...Here it goes!

1. Takalik Abaj  Some of us missionaries just got back from visiting some ruins called Tak alik-abaj. They were pretty cool! There weren't big pyramids like you see on TV, but they are apparently very archaeologically significant ruins of Olmec and Mayan tribes, so basically the  Book of Mormon :) It was really beautiful and jungly and very interesting, I just love museums and things like that. There were lots of statues of animal-human creatures, lots of alters (maybe for sacrifices!), and ruins of streets and staircases. I wish there were more things like that in my mission, but unfortunately all the really cool stuff is outside my mission...oh well Ill just have to come back and visit.

2. Marcela and her children are now getting baptized on the 19Th of May, because Marcela didn't make it to church...bummer, but that's how it goes. Even though we had that little setback, I am still amazed by these guys. If y'all remember, shes the 26 year old single mom of 5. They are reading the Book of Mormon as a family and praying and doing everything right to be ready to be baptized. It is just amazing that Heavenly Father put them in our path, from what we can see, they're perfect and ready! We are hoping to work with their other family members that live close by too. They're just a sweet little family -- last night we all had a laugh attack at something that the four year old said, the whole family was laughing their heads off -- they're just cute and sweet like that. 

3. As for the rest of our investigators, I feel like we are at about the same point as we were last week. We found some positive new investigators this week, and had some really good lessons with them. Their names are Elvira, the mom, and her 7 kids, 3 of whom are married. Even though they didn't make it to church on Sunday, I'm really excited about them, there is a lot of potential in there, and the Spirit was very present in the lesson. I really hope to watch some of these new people progress.

4. Quick funny side note:  Well, In case y'all haven't put it together, Guatemala is VERY different from America, different in EVERY way, every single way. There really is nothing similar...or so I thought. This week I found something that the US and Guatemala have in common: waiting in the line at Walmart. Well, kind of. There is a grocery store chain here that is owned by Walmart, and we went last week, and, just like the Walmarts in America, there were several cash registers, but only like 3 open, everyone waiting in GIANT lines! We waited almost an hour! I know that if my dad had been here he'd have been talking to the manager and also becoming best friends with the people in line haha.  But  yes, at last I have found something that America and Guatemala have in common. And that's about it.

Well that's pretty much all I can think of. I'm very excited to talk to my family on Sunday, Mothers Day!!! And I'm really glad to be here, learning all that I'm learning. I know that the Gospel is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is proof that there are living prophets today, and proof of the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the Gospel!  Have a fantastic week and a happy Mothers Day!!!

Love, Hermana Gilland