Megan, Ron and Jack Got Baptized This Week!

Megan, Ron and Jack Baptism May 28, 2016

May 30, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Megan, Ron and Jack got baptized this week!! Everything just kind of fell into place and it all worked out so that it could happen this week. The adversary definitely threw some curveballs at them this week but they were able to overcome and push forward. It was a great testimony builder for me to see just how faithful and truly converted they have become in so little time. That's the beautiful thing about the gospel. Just by living the simple principles that Christ taught to us we start to be the people we were sent here to be. We just have to be willing to take the first steps. Then our testimonies are confirmed by the Power of the Holy Ghost. And that's exactly what happened with Megan, Ron, and Jack. The spirit was so strong there! During the talks that were given on baptism and the Holy Ghost Ron and Jack kept answering all the questions that were asked. It surprised everyone just how much they know. It was funny. They all had a great experience so it was a big success.

We are basically starting over with our teaching pool this next week so we will be doing a lot of finding through the members to get some solid people to teach. So this next week is going to be pretty busy like always haha. Our missionary leadership council is tomorrow. We are going to be setting some goals for June so it's going to be sweet. We are also getting ready for a mission tour coming up soon. Larry Lawrence from the Seventy will be coming to our mission in the middle of June. We are excited for that.

Everything is going really well. I just can't believe it's already June. Starting to hear about people back home getting back from their missions. Crazy to think that is coming right around the corner. Just trying to make the most of the time I have here.

Love,

Elder Gammell

President Bruce Jardine & Sister Jardine with the AP's

It Was A Pretty Good Week

Elder Campbell and Elder Gammell with mustaches at service.

April 25, 2016

Hey Everyone,

It was a pretty good week. Things slowed down quite a bit compared to last week but that's ok. We were really trying to get back in contact with all the people we met last week. Seemed like they all had things going on and our set appointments ended up getting rescheduled. So this next week we are really going to be working on finding out if they really are interested or not.

We were able to do a couple team ups and an exchange this week. It's always fun to get to know the other Elders in the Zone and see how the work is going in their areas. On my exchange with Elder Miller the other day, we were able to go out on the bikes all day and I loved it! haha I haven't been on bike in a little while so it was a good mix up for me. We talked to so many people! It was great.

Elder Campbell is in the zone.

Elder Campbell and I are working really hard. We are really trying to work on inviting more people to be baptized. We are doing a little challenge in the Zone this transfer. We set a goal to invite 411 people to be baptized. Right now we are at 77. So we have a long ways to go but it's been cool to see the way our teaching has changed as we have focused on baptism more.

Church was great this Sunday. We just about had Dave Hubbard there but he ended up not showing up to where our member was going to pick him up. It was kind of frustrating because he really wants to be baptized soon but he has just been really hard to find and actually sit down to have a lesson. So keep him in your prayers.

Everything is going really well out here! Sorry I didn't have too much to write about this week. There will be more next week.

Have a great week! Love you all!

~Elder Gammell

7 Days Full Of Miracles

April 18, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Words can't even begin to describe what happened this week. It was 7 days full of miracles. Here's some highlights.

I forgot to mention in my letter last week that I am serving in the Cosumnes River YSA Ward. It's been a cool experience so far. It's different only being able to teach people that are around my age. It's cool though. The hard part is that we have to pass off most of the people we find. It's been good though because the other missionaries have been sending referrals right back to us. So it all works out. 

Anyways, On Wednesday Elder Campbell and I went over to CRC campus because we had an appointment with one of our investigators named Millie. We went a little bit early to go and contact people. We did some survey tracting so that was cool. I had never done it before so it was a new experience. We basically just walk up to people and ask if they want to take a survey. Then we ask if they believe in God and Jesus Christ. After that we basically just start teaching them. Haha. It's a good way just to start the conversation. We had a ton of success as we talked to everyone. We met so many cool people. One example. We met this girl named Camellia. She was sitting on a bench waiting for her ride. We started talking to her and she opened up and told us about how she had always seen missionaries and other people walking around and she wished that they would just come up and talk with her. She also told us that her ride was supposed to be there an hour earlier and she knew it wasn't coincidence. She thanked us for coming and talking with her. We briefly taught her the restoration and invited her to be baptized. She said she would but she would need some time to think about it and learn. She doesn't live inside of our mission but we gave her our number and we are hoping the missionaries down there can connect with her. After that we continued to walk around and meet everyone. We eventually ran into 2 recent converts and a girl that is getting baptized this week in our Ward and they started taking us around and introducing us to all of their friends! Haha I don't think there's a better group to go contacting with. It was so awesome! Then we had a great lesson with Mille and we invited her to be baptized as well and she said she would! We are just trying to meet more with her because she is always really busy.

Another cool experience. We prayed on Tuesday night about where we needed to go tracting the next day. We split up and Elder Campbell picked 10 streets and I picked 10 streets. We came together and found that only one of them matched up. It was Wire Dr. So we prayed and told Heavenly Father we were going to be there at 1 o'clock the next day and we would be searching for someone who is prepared. The next day we arrived just before 1 and we got out of our car. The second we stepped out a young man named Anthony walked out of his front door like 20 feet away from us. We hurried over and introduced ourselves and shared the restoration with him. We invited him to be baptized and he said he would keep meeting with us and work towards it! We actually ended up meeting again later in the week and met his girlfriend and she is interested too! After that we walked across the street and knocked on a door and we met Jackson. Another YSA aged guy. We set up a return appointment and then moved on down the street. We ended up meeting a man named Moses, an old lady named Miss Beech, and a really nice Spanish family. They were so solid and we sent them off as referrals to the other missionaries in our Zone. So in just under an hour we ended up finding 7 people that were ready to hear our message. We know God led us right to where we needed to be that day because we asked him in faith and he provided a miracle for us.

Another miracle. Haha so Elder Campbell was teaching this guy named Dave Hubbard before I got here to Elk Grove and he accepted a baptismal date and everything. But he ended up getting accepted into a rehab program to help him stay away from alcohol and drugs. He told them he was going to be gone a year so they thought they were never going to see him again. Anyway, last p-day we stopped by the bike shop because I had to get a new part for my bike and it was supposed to be there on Friday. So on Friday we stopped by to pick it up and it turns out they sent the wrong size. So they had to order another one. We were really bummed out because we wanted to get out on the bikes this week. So as we were leaving the bike shop, we pulled around the corner and Elder Campbell spotted Dave Hubbard walking down the street! We flipped the car around and hurried to catch up to him again. We ran over to him and he was so glad to see us. He ended up leaving the program because they wouldn't let him take his copy of the Book of Mormon in. And at that point he has basically homeless so he had no way of getting in contact with us again. We asked if he still wanted to get baptized and he said yes! So this week we are hoping to meet up with him and help get him baptized because he really wants to. He does have a lot holding him back but just because of the way it all came together, I think it will all work out.

I don't have very much time or I would keep on going with more stories. Something that I saw more than any other time on my mission so far was that we truly can be  instruments in Heavenly Father's hand if we will just ask him. Then if we act on the promptings he gives to us we will be placed in someone's path. This work is His and if we do it His way, He will work mighty miracles in our lives. My testimony has grown so much this past week. I can honestly say that this has been one of the best weeks of my mission.

Love each of you! Hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Gammell

I Got Transferred To Elk Grove

Elder Hafen and Elder Richie at transfers.

April 11, 2016

Dear Family & Friends,

Well it was a great week. I can't even begin to write about all that happened but I'll try to hit a few of the highlights.

I was able to go on several exchanges in the Spanish area this week with Elder Bingham and Elder Easthope. It was great to go back and use my Spanish for a few days. It's crazy how hard it is to speak Spanish when I haven't in awhile. It's all still there, I just had to think a little harder about everything I said. Anyways, it was really cool and we were able to meet some really solid people. Hoping that the Spanish elders will be able to go back and teach them again.

4lbs of chile on rice.

We had a really amazing experience with a few of the members in our Ward. I don't have time this week to write it all out but I will try to send it next week.

Paul got confirmed this week in sacrament meeting. He asked me to do the confirmation so it was really neat. I haven't done a confirmation since I served in Lodi. It was nice to do it in English this time haha. Paul felt the spirit very strong and so did we. He was pretty excited to be called Brother Tobias now. He's a great guy.

A part member family that we have been working with for the entire time that I have been in the Sacramento zone finally came to church on Sunday! It was so cool to see them there. Unfortunately the kids weren't able to come but LJ and Laura were there. They really enjoyed it and they were excited to go home and tell the kids about how much they liked it. I'm really hoping the kids will be able to come this next week.

So we got our transfer calls this week. I got transferred and I am now serving in Elk Grove. I haven't been out here my whole mission so I was really excited. My new companion is Elder Campbell. Haha people are already having a hard time with our names being so similar, including us. We will get used to it though. Elder Campbell is from Bountiful, UT. He's been out just almost 21 months. He's a great Elder. I have already learned a lot from him. He's carries a strong spirit with him and he's easy to work with. He really likes music and he's super good at the piano. I can already tell we are going to see some great things happen this transfer. I received a powerful confirmation this weekend that this is right where I need to be at this point in my mission. I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store these next 6 weeks.

I love all of you and hope you have a great week!

-Elder Gammell

Zone bowling last week for p-day.

Paul Got Baptized This Week!

Paul Tobias Baptism

April 4, 2016

Hey everyone,

Paul got baptized this week! It was a great experience! He really enjoyed it and the spirit was strong. He couldn't stop talking about how peaceful and calm he felt through the entire baptism. The talks on baptism and the Holy Ghost really hit him hard. I'll never forget walking down into the water with him and just the feeling of pure joy for him. It was such a testimony builder for me to be able to see this entire process with him. He just made the best decision of his life this week and I'm glad I was able to be a part of helping him to make that decision. It's pretty hard to describe the happiness that I got to feel this week. And the greatest part is that it doesn't stop there. There will always be more right around the corner.

We were able to do a zone training this week. It went really well. It blows me away how fast a 2 hour meeting goes when you spend so much time preparing for it. It's cool to see how everything all comes together during the meeting. The spirit was very strong there as we talked about how we could become more diligent missionaries. We did a lot of reflecting on our mission experiences. I know we all left with a renewed desire to work our hardest while we are out here. Now we just need to keep the ball rolling in the right direction.

Missionary Leadership Council - March 2016

General conference was so good! There were so many great talks! My favorite talk was Elder Uchtdorf's talk in the Sunday Morning Session. It was good to hear from Thomas S. Monson as well. It's sad to see him aging so fast and even though his talks were short, they were so powerful. I know he is still receiving divine instruction from our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He is God's prophet here on the earth today. I'm so glad I was able to be a part of conference and I'm glad I get to use what I learned right away.

It was such a great week and it's pretty hard to put it all into words. So glad I get to be out here on a mission. The gospel of Jesus Christ is real and it works! The opportunity I have to change each day and become better is an amazing blessing. I know God is molding me and chiseling away my imperfections to help me become who he needs me to be. Jesus Christ lives and he is my Savior. Because of Him, all of this is possible. And for that I will always be grateful.

Love,

Elder Gammell