Today will be the best day of your life if you let it...

...and having the spirit will help us find happiness more than anything else. 

I have a goal this month to finish reading all of the conference talks and I have found so many cool promises through out them! Like my favorite form Elder Bednar´s talk, ¨The hearts of the Children shall turn,¨ speaking about family indexing and working with the church in this he says, I promise you will be protected against the intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives.¨ so now my challenge to you is give it a try. Also realized how many scriptures the speakers use without introducing them, they just weave them in and out through there talks. No wonder they are so powerful they just copy the words straight out of the scriptures.     I hope to obtain this knowledge that I may speak as an angel giving speaking the words of Christ, and they might not even realize it. (catch it?) 

This past week we had a service project in a ¨jardén¨ which is like a day care center and we painted a room (It is a big room) afterwords we went to the Hna. Claudia´s home who is the owner of the jarden...kind of... not sure how it all works but we ate some pancakes and afterwords going to wash the dishes there was no water....nada...in all of Pozo. Apparently where the water comes from is flooding a lot, not sure with everything, other than we had paint all over us and no shower and it was 5 in the afternoon. Arrived in the pension and just rubbed our hands until there was no paint and our faces as well and put long sleeve shirts on and went to work. Everything worked out and the water was on by the next morning. 

I found it particularly funny because that morning I read in the Liahona from March about food storage and being prepared. 

One other quick story/advise- Some Elders counted their weeks left until they finish their missions and they said, ¨Let´s count Elder Gillespie´s,¨ and one said that he has more than 100....but no 2 years is 104 weeks future missionaries you only have 100 weeks to serve the Lord like this don´t waste a moment, it is a tithe for the first 20 years of your life! Crazy Don´t waste it. 

Love you all

Have a Wonderful day - because you can choose to

Elder Gillespie

Pozo Almonte

This week flew but at the same time the beginning of the week feels like a month ago. Crazy how that all works out.

Well a little bit of bad news- March Madness, I was a little prideful and as we learn from the Book of Mormon over and over again that once we become prideful we have need to be humbled. We didn´t make it beyond the first round. However, there is a loser bracket as well but I haven´t seen a copy of that at all so we will see how things turn out. :)

Monday night all of the new gringos, either this is their first or second cambio, had the chance to go to Antofagasta for a conference with President and Sister Bruce. It was a fantastic experience to see all of the other 7 missionaries that came with me to Antofagasta and express and talk about our successes, hardships, and everything in-between, because we all come from more similar backgrounds and have similar emotions and feelings about our mission here in Chile right now and how we want to improve, and as well all in English, what a relief. President Bruce presented his complete vision for the Chile Antofagasta mission and asked as all, ¨What do you want to be famous for?¨ He explained how our mission is to save souls and how he sees us doing it.

     After lunch we had the chance to have a question and answer with President which was fantastic, we all laughed together and if any of you become Mission Presidents I strongly recommend having this meeting, just saying.

Today for Prepartion day we went to a Ghost mining town called Humberstone near Pozo and you have to be careful when you dunk on old basketball hoops.

I´m loving studying the scriptures they really have tons of knowledge that I wish I could get more of.

Have a Wonderful Day - because you can choose to

Elder James Gillespie

P.s. I didn´t break the hoop.

Congrats to Timpanogos Ballroom Go Sterling

Congrats to Kike and Phil with their team.

Happy March

So with it being March that means ¡March Madness! Let's play some ball!

Although we don't watch the games Mission Chile Antofagasta is having their own MCA March Madness, and we are all in it to win. But Pozo Almonte will really win. hmm...we have a bracket and all but I don't have a digital copy of it. Ah well Pozo Almonte was ranked 2nd so we are up against a 15. (We'll have the results tomorrow for round one)

   Anyways a little more from the beginning. Pres. Bruce loves basketball, he played for BYU-Hawaii, I believe, and competition runs in his veins. So this month for motivation he has created for us MCA March Madness each sector a team in it to win a day in the mission home to watch the final game of March Madness, or for the Latinos a game of futbol, and other prizes along the way for the Final Four etc. (but I'm not sure what they all are) Points are counted by key indicators, Investigadores que asistió reunion sacramental etc.

This last week we worked like crazy for 3 days because I had the chance to go back up to Arica to do some paper work for my visa so we didn't have much time. It was fun and I got to talk with a few people again up there.

Anyways times up got to run. We have a conference for all the new missionaries in the last two cambios with Pres. Bruce in Antofagasta.

Which one more quick thought that this Sunday we had a District confrence with Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Seventy, Sister Julie B. Beck, Elder Neil A. Anderson, and Elder L. Tom Perry which was awesome and I learned that they all speak Spanish expect Elder Perry.

Well that's the story for now

Have a Wonderful day - Because you can choose to

Elder Gillespie

The sun shines on and on and on! Yeeeaaah!

Pozo Almonte the first couple days were cloudy so I thought that is how it always was, but boy was I wrong, but it´s ok life is fantastic. 

So this last Saturday we had the opportunity to work with the assistants of the President and I worked with Elder Ricks who served in Pozo Almonte last year during this time, so we visited many of his converts and different families in the Branch and I learned a lot from him and his example of just really becoming friends with everyone because than you really really care about them and love them and no longer desire them to come to church just because we serve for that purpose but because you know that the church is where we will find the greatest joy in the long run. (And I have run a long ways- and then after the marathon being able just to sit and watch General Conference you feel very good) 

Ok and now the story of El Día de Carne (or the day of flesh, is what Elder Hewstone has been calling it) 

Sunday after church we went to the Castillo´s home for lunch which was rice, french fries, and carne (I really don´t know what animal it comes from...hmm..) and right at the end when we were just talking around the table and about ready to start cleaning up we get a phone call from Yubitza (the daughter of our Mamita) who tells Elder Hewstone that we need to come quickly to their home that it´s an emergency. 

      We take off from the Castillo´s and cross Pozo Almonte in 8 minutes, knock and Yubitza answers and informes us it is her father in the backyard, we speed across the house and their is Hno. Fransico in the backyard cooking on their b.b.q. looking just fine. Yubitza bursts out laughing...It was all a joke and they  had cooked a huge amount of food for us. I was stuffed- which many know that is hard to do. 

Other accomplishments/good news: I gave my first talk in Spanish on Sunday about tithing and it went well, and Elder Keele is in my district! (So people know Elder Keele worked with Nathaniel and I at the SCERA back when we were lads)

Have a wonderful day - Because you can choose too.

Elder James O. Gillespie

President's Day Email

Pozo Almonte a little city-  little smaller than Lindon UT, about an hour away from the closest city, and it is flat as a pancake it is pretty nice change from Arica. 

Branch is small- we had about 20 people in the congregation although many people right now are on vacation because it´s summer here and there´s no school. 

Elder Hewstone is from Santiago- only child and has been a member his whole life, he is super kind and trying to learn English so sometimes we struggle to communicate but it is fun, he is super kind and always will tell you that you are doing well. 

We are teaching a couple who the wife is an inactive member and the husband is not a member, (remembering names is still difficult) and things are progressing well and we are hoping for the 3rd of March we will have a baptism. 

This week I studied a lot about gratitude and so for that I´ve been trying to be more grateful for the things we have, and it really is the fastest way to become happy. 

So thank you for all your prayers and support

It´s short- I know, sorry, but 

Have a Wonderful day - because you can choose too. 

Elder James O. Gillespie

Zone Conference- Transfers- New companions - and a small world

 This last Thursday we had the opportunity to travel about 3 hours South to Iquique, Chile for a Zone Conference with 4 zones, which with that I had the chance to speak with Elder Christensen, Elder Mikesell, Elder Weeter, and Elder Hamblin all from my district in the MTC again. However, originally our zone´s conference was going to be on Saturday in Arica, but at about 4 on Thursday we received a phone call telling us that it moved to Friday in Iquique and we needed to be on the bus in 3 hours. Entonces we ran from appointment to appointment rescheduling and ran to the bus station and left to Iquique. 

     Elder Zeballos of the Seventy spoke to us and just as Elder Merrill learned in his Leadership training we learned about vision and Proverbs 29:18 that without vision we will perish, we need to edify the church and the members it has and bring all unto Christ. Also that we must work every moment- not to waste a second. 

   We returned to Arica and Elder Baker and Elder Ramirez turned around with their suitcases and left for Springville and Columbia. Therefore the last couple days I have been with Elder Castillo newly appointed as District leader. As the calls came in we expected nothing more than to stay in Alborada and receive two new missionaries to join us. Nevertheless I´m leaving, which was a huge shock to me as well I´m sad to leave however I know that I have a work to do in Pozo Almonte, which from what I know is a tiny town but we´ll find out more next week. I will be serving with Elder Hewstone from Chile. 

  

Ok one quick story: we had the chance to eat lunch with a couple on Sunday, and Luis y Leyha. During our travel from the chapel to their home Luis mentioned he knew a Hermana Gillespie who served in South Chile, and indeed it was the one and only Emily Gillespie  and that´s a small world. 

Have a Wonderful day - because you can choose to

     Elder James O. Gillespie

One Month

     Well, time keeps flying, transfers are coming, Elder Baker and Elder Ramírez are going home, I´m playing the piano in sacrament meeting, and starting to speak Spanish. :)

   
     Two menos activos came with us to church this Sunday which was good- However, as we were waiting for one to come we were late and so I missed playing the..the..first song (The Spirit of God) and the sacrament song, (Come Follow Me). Nonetheless I played the last song ¨Praise to the Man¨ without to much trouble. 

     A story of last week actually however it was a little miracle- so as I mentioned last week President and Sister Bruce came up to Arica to present the vision for 2012, that we are reuniting the missionary work with the wards and branches. Our focus is on strenghting the church with true strength. Also Sister Bruce has now commanded that our pension´s need to be much cleaner and organized that we must realize that we are living in an apartment that the Lord is renting. (I was very happy to hear all of this) The other part that Sister Bruce spoke about is using our Area books and using it everynight, and we were all asked as well to bring our Area books so she could see them and know what state of condition they are in. Entonces we attend the meeting and after go to lunch at our Zone Leader´s Mamita´s and she feeds us very well, I had the pleasure of finishing off Elder Rick´s (Zone Leader) and Elder Baker´s plates for them. (which I have yet to run into any food I really don´t like [just in case anyone is wondering]) and after words the four of us Elder Ramirez, Elder Castillo, Elder Baker and I get a taxi back to our pension, which this Kia Sophia taxi does not give much room for the people in the back seat to sit, so I placed the area book behind the back seat under the back window....and there it was left....all of our records....

    So after some prayers and phone calls we weren´t able to find out what taxi I left the book in. However, later that night Elder Rick´s calls us and informs us that he has a gift for us. ´´I have a blue book with many important records´´ The taxi drive later saw the other missionaries and gave them the Area book so we have it now and I´m using it every day. 

Story two: We went to the beach today, played Frisbee (It´s really hard in sand) and I think I got sun burned. The end

Have a Wonderful- because you can choose to

     Elder James O. Gillespie