Sept 16, 2013

No time today but this last week we had a Zone Conference with President Dalton, Zone meeting where the goals of the mission where presented. basically to double all the numbers.  Stake Conference on Sunday. Elder Miranda arrived on Monday evening (it seems like we've been together forever already) Daniel Olivares will be baptized on Wednesday. 18th of Septemeber which is independence day. I filled up my journal need a new one. 

and more but that's all for now fowks.

 

Elder James Gillespie

(AUG 26's Letter) It's warming up

It's hot today- I had forgotten how hot it can be here. 

     This week as we made our way to the church for district meeting we ran into all of the office Elders which was a surprise being that we are about 400 miles from the office I was just shocked to see all 4 of them here, but they were coming to get the chapel ready for our Zone Conference that we would be having the following day. 

     The same day we went to visit Lorenza who had a baptismal date for Saturday and she has been feeling a little sick, her son told us that if she didn't get better she would not get in the water and get more sick. So we gave her a blessing and it was a very strong spirit there- and we left. 

     Zone Conference was amazing- Elder Francisco J. Viñas of the first quorum of the seventies came through the mission. His knowledge of the scriptures was so amazing- he would just talk and the scriptures became his own words. Just weaving in and out of scripture. It was impressive and I hope one day to be able to master and use the scriptures in such ways. 

     Two thing that Elder Viñas pointed out that I had never really thought about was that exists three times when we have no agency. The first we have not choice to when we will be born, the second is when we shall die, and third when we will resurrect. It will just happened. The second is that dead/birth are the same in many ways. We leave one world and go to another. When we die people here on earth are sad because they won't be with us anymore, but the people on the other side of the veil are happy because we are now with them. Same thing with birth. We were in the premortal world and people were sad there that we would be born because they would not be with us anymore; however people here on earth are happy because we are with them now.... Just a fun thought. 

     So Wednesday when we went back to Lorenza's home she was all better. Priesthood is real. And so Saturday arrived and we had a beautiful and simple service. Nevertheless afterwords I was just exhausted mentally physically everything. Both Elder McCaskill and I entered the water to support her and help her feel more secure. 

     Today for a Zone Activity we played Jeopardy with random detail from the scriptures it was a good game. The categories were: Numbers, Nobody knows me, Where is that at?, Family Trees, and Fetch? And an example from each grow is: 

Numbers: How many children did Job have? 

Nobody knows me: Nephi brought back to life one of his brothers, what was his name? 

Where is that at?: Where did Solomon Build the temple? 

Family Trees: When Lehi left Jerusalem with his family there was a King- what is his father's name?  

Fetch?: When Nephi and his brothers returned to Jerusalem to get Ismael and his family, where was Jeremiah at? 

It was a fun game with the finally Jeopardy having to do with using the Nephi money system and figuring out how much change you would receive after going shopping. 

Good stuff. Thanks for reading. 

Have a Wonderful day- becuase you can choose to

     Elder James O. Gillespie

September 2nd

Well it's quite warm - ok well looking at the weather it really isn't that warm but it just feels so hot. Kind of takes the energy out of you. 

 So on Saturday the stake and an activity with all of youth and the missionaries- and we did divisions with all of the youth and did contacts in the street inviting them all to come into the chapel for an open house- I didn't have so much luck in my contacts but it was the first time in a long time that I have done so many street contacts. It was a good activity though. Then shortly there after Elder Marin and Elder Perez who work in our ward as well had a baptism that we went and helped out/played the piano. 

   On Sunday we went to the hospital to visit a member who has been there for some time now, and we were just there- It's a bit hard to discribe the feels that I had as we just watched his son just hold his hand and stroke his head. My thoughts went to the talk of Elder Oaks, when he mentioned "A loving Heavenly Father gives us those feelings to impel us to help His children." The man can`t talk, 84 years old and just waiting it appears. What a great blessing we truely have to have the Gospel in our lives. 

Well that's all for now

Have a Wonderful day

     Elder James O. Gillespie

Service makes your trials light 08/19/2013

 If there is anything I have learned this week is that the when you are in the service of your fellow men you take over yourself the yoke of our Lord which is light. Forget yourself and go to work makes things worries fall away. As one serves they can see that the trials become quite manageable. One visits families and sees the trials that they may have as divorce seperates a family, with a future unsecure. Or a child who has walked down paths and don't want to come back. You become grateful for the great blessings that the Lord has given to you, and what knowledge could be better than knowing that the family is forever through the Priesthood which was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

I thank you all for your support- know that I'm fine- that I feel at ease.

Lorenza Guerra shall be baptized this weekend that is coming up. 

Have a Wonderful day- because the Lord lives, and through Him we shall all live. 

     Elder James O. Gillespie

It's beginning to warm up

Kind of- we had a couple of nice days that I didn't take my jacket with me at all. 

 Well Tuesday we had a zone meeting where the zone leaders repassed all the rules with us from the missionary Handbook, and that there will be a couple of changes with the district meetings and the numbers that we report every week etc. But pretty normal. 

 On Sunday we gave talks and I spoke first and afterwords I sat back down in the congregation and Sis. Campos behind me said, "You got a 7" which is like an A on your report card here in Chile. So I just opened my bible to Exodo 20:16 where it tells her not to lie, then afterwords I went to talk with Susana Tello the mother of Sebastian who was baptized a while back. She is a very honest and straight forward person and she told me that she didn't understand I thing I said. I was grateful for her sincerity. 

 So for the first time this week we thought we would try to teach about family history work. (our mission has never been the best about teach lesson 5 in Preach My Gospel) It went quite badly the lesson and we decided to go back to the drawing boards on how to teach it. 

 This week seemed to really go by slowly but at the same time just nothing really seemed to happen. So we continue onwards. 

 Elder James O. Gillespie

August 5th

   Transfer weeks missionaries arriving early in the morning oh fun stuff. Our apartment is the closest to centro and to the bus station and I knew that on Monday night/Tuesday morning that a big group of Elders and Sisters were coming into Copiapo at about 3 in the morning. The plan was at the moment that there would be no Elders coming to spend the rest of the night with us. So we went to bed feeling a little bad for the Zone Leaders because they must be there to receive the missionaries. I woke up at about 3:30 not really sure why and just laid there inbed until about 3:50 and Elder Cabera calls me to ask if Elder Hertler and Elder Flores can come and stay at our pension I give them the address and they arrive about 10 minutes later. 

      We went to go visit a inactive family and they had bought a new fridge so we helped them install it then had a destroyer lesson with them. The spirit rebuked them, and then they came to church. Best part. 

     So Elder McCaskill and I every week make some kind of food one day that is a little more gringa so this week we made salad, and we bought cesar and french dressings. Good stuff. 

    Sunday we had 123 people in church the most people I have ever seen in the chapel here in Copayapu. Fantastic. It was fast and testimony meeting and it just was a really good meeting. I enjoyed it. 

     The mission is beginning to have it's changes with Pres. Dalton, and Elder McCaskill and I are pretty pumped for these upcoming weeks. 

 Have a Wonderful day- because you can choose to

     Elder James o. Gillespie

As July Comes to a Close

     August begins with some transfer calls. Which in the end nothing happened. In general in the mission there were very few transfers. We had a total of 5 in the Zone one of which was Elder Rivas going home to finish his mission. Two Sisters left our district and two Elders from the other district. Not very much change that we expected. 

     Last Tuesday as we were walking to an appointment we turned a corner that there was a dumpster that someone had set on fire. Lame, a women near by was filling a bucket of water to throw it on the fire but she did not have the strength to do so. Elder McCaskill and I came and threw the bucket of water on the fire and we almost had it out when the garbage truck with water came to spray it out. So that's when I took the picture. Kind of a sad story that they would set it on fire.

     We made some cheese empandas this week which are like hot pockets just fried and homemade instead and it worked out pretty well. Cheese empandas I would have to say is probably my favorite Chile has got to offer. Really simple but good, because we just loaded it with cheese, like we bought a kilo and a half of cheese. 

     Friday we had an activity in the church as a ward and we played Jeopardy. It was fun even though not to many people came because it was raining and the north of Chile just shuts down if it rains just a little. Milenka Campos who was playing had the question from books of the Old Testament, "a book that is full of songs and poems" snatched the roll of tape you had to have to answer and shouted very excitedly, "The Hymn book!" and everyone died laughing. But then she got it afterwords.

     In other news it's Elder McCaskill's Father's birthday today- so if you run into him in Canada just tell him happy birthday. 

 Welp time to go get a haircut. 

Have a Wonderful day - because you can choose to

     Elder James O. Gillespie