Things Are Going Really Well!

March 28, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Hanging out by the river for P-day.

Things are going really well. This week went by so fast. We weren't able to find very many new people to teach but things are going well with those that we are already working with. We had a great lesson with the Williams family. We watched Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration. They really enjoyed it and then we were able to talk about the different things that stuck out to them. It was really eye opening for each of them to actually see a little bit of what Joseph smith and the members of the church went through at that time. We extended the invitation to each of them to pray to receive a confirmation or reconfirmation that Joseph Smith truly was called as a prophet of God. They each accepted that invite so we can't wait to go back on Tuesday to see what happens.

Pretty excited to receive this text.

Paul is still doing great. We had like 4 lessons with him this past week. Which is really easy to do because he lives in our apartment complex so we see him all the time. He also had his baptismal interview and it went really well. He was kind of nervous for it but we told him that it was easy and he didn't need to stress about it. He came out with a big smile so we knew he passed ;) We got his baptism all planned out and ready to go for Wednesday night! In one of our lessons this week, Paul asked me if I would baptize him and do the confirmation as well. He then explained to me that I really have made a big difference for him and he felt a special connection specifically with me as we have been teaching him these past 5 weeks. That was awesome to hear. That's the first time something like this has happened on my mission. It's crazy to think that we almost didn't get to teach him. We passed him off to the Sac 2nd Elders at the beginning of the transfer. When Elder Hafen's companion went home, President Jardine just about brought another missionary into the area. He didn't feel at peace with that and after talking with us decided to combine our areas and put Elder Hafen with us. That's been such a blessing for each of us. I know He was guided in that decision. That shows us that God knows his children and this is definitely His work. I know that we were meant to cross paths with Paul at this time. The way everything came together is a miracle in itself. Wednesday can't come soon enough!

We had a great Easter Sunday. Church was awesome! All eight hours of it haha. We taught a lesson to the young men in the Sacramento 1st Ward. We taught about the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Then we helped them practice how to share it. It was awesome! We went to a recent converts house in the Sacramento 2nd Ward for dinner. It was awesome because it was their first time feeding the missionaries. They were so excited to do that for us and we were so grateful for them.

That's about it for the week. Hope you all have a great week.

Love,

Elder Gammell

Don't ask haha.

We Had A Ton Of Success This Past Week

March 2016 Zone Conference - Sacramento Stake

March 21, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

We had a ton of success this past week. We had a member give us a referral to go visit a less active family in our Ward. We stopped by and had a good talk with them. It was funny because when we knocked on the door, she came outside and told us how they were talking about the missionaries earlier in the week and how they really wanted to come back to church again. Then she explained how she recently adopted two young kids named Bubba and Neveah. Bubba is 7 and Neveah is 9.  They have been reading the Book of Mormon together as a family. The kids really want to come to church and be baptized as well. Haha. Our jaws hit the ground. We set up an appointment with them but it fell through because she got called into work. We are visiting them this week so I'll let you know what happens next week.

Saying bye to Elder Speakman

Paul has a baptismal date! We went over on Wednesday night and we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been studying all of the pamphlets so he's making it pretty easy on us. He had some nerves about his baptism. We shared D&C 20:37 with him.  It gave him a lot of peace and comfort knowing that he didn't have to know everything to be baptized. He just needs the desire and a willingness to follow Jesus Christ with a sincere heart and real intent. He then accepted a baptismal date for March 30th! It's going to be an amazing experience for him. He has his baptismal interview this week and we are wrapping up the lessons. We are so pumped!

Went to the Book of Mormon play again this week. We got to go to the late night show so that was fun. We started at 10:30 and ended up getting home around 11:40. First time I've been out that late in over 16 months. We handed out a ton of copies of the Book of Mormon again. I think my favorite part of it all was seeing people who rejected us at first, turn around and come back to ask for one. Shows how fast the spirit can change people's hearts. We ended up handing out 2,800 copies of the Book of Mormon over the past 11 days! I'm glad we got to experience that and we will see what comes from it.

We have a busy week up ahead of us and I am really excited for it. We are really going to be focused on turning people's hearts to the message of Easter. It's such a special time of year and it provides a great opportunity to testify of the savior and his Atonement. I know that as we share these things it brings us happiness, shows our love for our Heavenly Father, and our appreciation for Jesus Christ.

Love you all! Have an amazing week! And Happy Easter!

-Elder Gammell

It Was A Crazy Week!

March 14, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Family Picture w/Elder's Gammell, Michie and Haven

Well It was a crazy week and it all started off Monday night when President called us and let us know that one of the Elders in our zone would be going home this week. We talked together to decide what would be best for his companion and President felt like he needed to be put with us for the rest of the transfer. We felt good about it too so on Tuesday night we picked him up and it's been awesome having him with us. His name is Elder Hafen. He's from Richfield, UT. He's been out a little over 8 months. We are happy that he is a part of our companionship. It's going to be fun these next 4 weeks of the transfer. It's also going to be extra busy because we are now covering an extra ward. We have the Sacramento 1st, Sacramento 2nd, and the Laguna Creek 4th Fijian Unit. It's pretty crazy. We cover the entire zone for English work and two zones for Fijian. It's been kind of tough to figure out how to juggle it all but it's been a great learning experience. We will definitely leave this transfer with a better understanding of effective planning haha.

Elder's Gammell & Michie after the Book of Mormon play.

The a Book of Mormon play is here in Sacramento! Haha it's been an awesome opportunity to go over to the play. It's cool how we are taking something that mocks the church and us as missionaries, and we can make it a good thing. So basically what we do is after the show everyone starts pouring out of the doors and we stand outside and offer people free copies of the Book of Mormon. It was pretty funny to see some of the reactions from people. We had people call us names and make fun of us. But there were several people that came out and they felt so bad about watching the play or they told us that they knew we weren't anything like the way they depict us in the play. We also were soaking wet because it was pouring rain! I think it softened some people's hearts so it worked to our advantage. ;) In the two times we went, Elder Michie and I handed out roughly 200 copies of the Book of Mormon. Between all of us that have gone we have handed out close to 1,000 copies. And it is still going to be showing all this week. I'm excited to go back this next week.

We had an awesome Zone Conference this week! I was asked to conduct the conference so that was a cool experience. I had never done that before so I was a little nervous haha. The meeting started and ended so I guess I didn't do too bad. ;) It was cool though. We learned a lot at the conference. Everything from how to better use our iPads in teaching to how to clean out a vacuum. It was a great conference. Elder Michie and I gave a training to the zone on how to begin teaching and making our lessons short and powerful. It went well so that was good. One thing I love about zone conference is just the opportunity to talk to all the other missionaries that I have served around. It's basically like a mission reunion haha. We all get pretty close as we are out here serving together. President Jardine introduced the new Hallelujah Initiative that the church just released yesterday. It's going to be a great tool to use in our teaching. Go check out the video at FollowHim.mormon.org. But the most important part to remember is that we should share it with someone else.  So I invite everyone before you watch it to pray to know who you need to share it with. I promise the spirit will let you know in your mind and in your heart who that person is.

Sister Tora's Birthday Party

We are working with this guy named Paul. He is awesome haha. We have a great connection with him and it's kind of funny because we were teaching him before but we had to pass him off to Sacramento 2nd Ward because he moved into their boundaries. But we are now covering that Ward so we got him back. He came to church yesterday and he loved it! He had an amazing experience and members really came and put their arms around him. It's so cool to see the difference that make if just one or two people will come introduce themselves and invite them to come sit with their family. He felt loved and welcomed and was smiling from ear to ear. He has been praying about his baptismal date for the past week but still hasn't made up his mind. We are going by Wednesday night to help him make the decision. He is ready to be baptized next week but we will see what he is feeling. So keep him in your prayers. I can't wait to see him get baptized.

It was cool this week to see how we were put in certain places to cross paths with people. We were able to find some really neat people who needed to talk to us. It's cool how Heavenly Father can lead and guide us without us even recognizing until after. One thing I have learned on my mission is that this is His work. God is in complete control of it and we are so lucky to have his trust to be a part of it. It's a great feeling to know that. And if we just do what He asks of us, He can use us to bring about much good in the lives of those around us.

Love each of you! Have an awesome week!

~Elder Gammell

This Week Was A Great One!

Sac Zone pic

March 7, 2016

Hey Everyone,

This week was a great one! We had our zone training on Friday and it went really well. It was really different this month because we have a much smaller zone now. It was really nice though because everyone was able to talk and participate more. We have been focusing on the Book of Mormon lately and it has been awesome. It's been cool to see how much more we have been using it in our work and teaching. I have felt it make the biggest difference in the spirit it brings to our contacts and lessons.

We did some service this week for a less active member in our ward. We are helping her build a shed in her backyard. It's been pretty fun. I will have to send a picture of the finished product when we are done.

Dinner with Tiaga

We were able to do some exchanges with the Tongan Elders this week. Elder Talley and I stayed in our area and we walked around in the rain a lot! We actually were able to talk to quite a few people. We found this guy named Mike. It was pretty cool because the first thing he said when we walked up to contact him was that he didn't want to talk about God. We told him that we wouldn't talk about God to him but we just wanted to introduce ourselves. So we started talking to him and he had several questions about missionaries and what we do. As we explained what we do and everything we were able to transition into talking about the restoration and about Heavenly Father. He had some really crazy questions and comments. After we talked for about 45 minutes we closed things up and left him with a copy of the Book of Mormon. Hah pretty cool how things changed and he opened up to us after we just made that effort to talk to him. It goes to show that some people might make it look like they don't want to hear about the gospel but deep down they have questions and are seeking for answers.

Elder Michie and I had kind of a rough week. We have been trying to get along but it has been tough. Until Saturday haha. We had a good talk this weekend in our weekly planning about our frustrations and it made a huge difference. We weren't really communicating very well and it was all building up. It's so cool to see what happens when you address problems instead of trying to keep letting them go. We both learned so much from it and we grew a lot closer. It a huge load off both of our shoulders. So lesson of the week is that companionship inventory works haha.

Haha that's about it for the week. There will be more next week. Love each of you!

-Elder Gammell

Sac Zone in a tree.