I sent the pictures they should be getting to you soon. I didn't email on saturday because we didn't have the temple trip. The assistants texted us and told us that all temple trips were to be postponed until after transfer conference so that they would get people going and then going again because their new companion hadn't gone already. We will hopefully be going either this saturday or the next but we're not sure yet.
Sounds like a lot of job opportunities are opening up and the Lord is preparing you to do some great work. Just keep praying and I know that the Lord will direct your paths. Lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.
As far as the tow incident. Don't worry about sending any more money. I don't spend anything so it shouldn't be a problem. I already bought a very inexpensive pair of shoes so my needs are taken care of. I know that my companion doesn't have a lot of funds to his name so I volunteered to pay the whole amount. I don't expect him to pay any of it but he's already decided that he wants to make it up in installments so what I get from him I'm going to put into an emergency reserve fund just in case something else comes up.
It's kind of weird. Most of the names that you've said are ones that I don't recognize like the Mortensens & the Shepards. Maybe I just didn't know them very well but I'm excited to meet them when I come home.
That's cool that you're getting the tree! We set up ours last Thursday. It's fake, and it's white but it does the job. I miss Washington where everyone has a real tree and I told everyone how it's a travesty that we're having a fake one but in most places in New Jersey it's illegal to have a real tree because it's a "fire hazard."
Transfers are this week! Neither Elder Calderoni or myself are getting transferred so we'll have the blessing of serving together for at least six more weeks. After this transfer we will have served for a fourth of our mission together! Crazy! Two companionships are being doubled out and the zones getting a major face-lift again. Should be pretty exciting.
What a wonderful time to be doing missionary work. The first snows of the season are falling today and field is, literally, white and already to harvest. Elder Calderoni and I have really been looking towards the following transfer and the miracles that we're expecting to occur.
We had a great week this week as we were really able to contemplate on the things that we want to improve in so that we can fit ourselves for the work to which we are appointed. We met with the zone leaders and with our district leaders to talk about how we can move the mission in a monumental way towards bringing more of God's children unto Christ. We surmised that the best way is unity. We've seen examples from the Godhead, the first presidency, and the quorum of the twelve apostles about how unity is an inspiring and absolutely vital part of a working appendage of the church of Christ. We've been examining ourselves to see what we can change to have an eye single to His glory and our hearts knit together in unity and it love. we may need glasses and a lot of string to do that but no doubt it will be worth it.
As we met with the district leaders about what goals we would help the members of the zone set we realized that the work plays so much into our own desires. Really what we focus on, we will get. Whether that focus be on relaxation and pleasure or on the salvation and exaltation for ourselves and for others, it is our choice to choose the results we attain in this life. We determined to focus on matters of the heart for this transfer. Really helping missionaries focus on their own faith and perfection so they can minister that renewed testimony of divine truth to bless the lives of those they serve.
Elder Calderoni and I have really seen how setting goals yields powerful fruits. Our last zone goal was to put every missionary out on the line in testifying to everyone of the truth and divinity of the book, prophet, and Gospel we are called to proclaim. We've had the opportunity of seeing three choice souls begin from one critical moment where we were pushed by a goal to contact a person that we'd never met before and share with them the talent we've been given. Those three people now have baptismal dates for the day after Christmas and are progressing like wildfire! We truly gained a testimony that there are prepared individuals all around us. We don't know who they are but the Lord does and, as we seek for it, the Spirit will guide us to them and we must open our mouths.
One of those people had a really hard time coming to church this last week but made it anyway. His father is a pastor and very antagonistic towards the church. The son forgoes the family strife because he's already received a witness that these things are true and he cannot deny it. We admire him because he's really pressing through some strong opposition so that he can be baptized the day after Christmas. It's an inspiration and a blessing to see his determination.
We're excited to work and hope that you all can feel the power and love of God this Christmas season.
-Elder Guinto
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
E-mail received 11/29/2010
Wow sounds like one crazy Thanksgiving week that you guys had! We had a pretty crazy one ourselves but not in the way of weather. I definitely felt a little sting of homesickness on Thanksgiving day. We had our dinner with Dave Zumbrennan, he's like the mission dad in Jersey City and he really takes care of the missionaries. We had a lot of really good food but it really made me miss Thanksgivings back home. Another family gave us food as well. All in all it was pretty good.
Boy I'm excited for Christmas! I should tell you to send me another email before Saturday. We're doing our temple trip on Saturday so that will be our preparation day for next week so I'll email you then. It's hard to believe that it's already December! As far as clothing they pretty much have all the same stores as they do on the west coast. We live in a heavily populated city here so between having two malls we basically have everything. Just for reference, even if you already bought everything it's nice to know, for tops I wear between a small and a large and for pants it's safe to go between a 32"-34" waist.
One thing I did want to make sure and say is that I decided to not ask president to switch to the Spanish program. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and even though my Spanish has been improving a lot lately and I've been using it a lot and I really would like to serve in the Spanish program, it would definitely be because it's something that I want. If it's something that the Lord wants then the mission president will be inspired to make the assignment and I am content to do whatever the Lord asks of me. For now he's asked me to lend my talents and skills to the English-speaking people and so I am happy to serve them.
So I do have to get this out of the way, if you haven't seen it already there's a substantial withdrawal from my checking account which should appear as a withdrawal of 102$ and 62$. I realize that's a huge amount of money but there's a really cool story that goes with it.
We had gone to meet with an investigator at the Newport Mall and we decided to park in the BJ's parking lot, which we've parked in several times. We crossed the street to go to the mall but we couldn't find him there and he wasn't answering his phone so after about 15 minutes we abandoned the pursuit for that time and went back to the car. When we entered the parking lot, somewhat sad that we weren't able to meet with that investigator we both came to a complete halt. We looked around, we looked at each other, the same thought clicked in both our minds which we voiced vocally, "We parked the car right there right?" It was gone! We stood there looking around for a few minutes and probably altogether looking pretty dumb trying to figure out what had happened to the car. My first thought was that they had towed it but there was no way that they could've towed it that fast and we'd done nothing wrong that I could've thought of. My next that was that it had gotten stolen. Luckily there was a nice lady parked right behind where we had parked and we asked her what happened. She told us that she'd seen the car get towed, but what's more it had gotten towed only three minutes after we'd left the car. We called the police and found out that we weren't supposed to park in the parking lot if we weren't going to BJ's and the lot was under close camera surveillance. We went into BJ's and talked with an employee about getting our car back. They told us that we needed to talk with a supervisor who was currently stationed between isles 12 & 13. We walk between isles 12 & 13 and one of the members that we know happens to be doing their shopping in isle 12. They were flabbergasted to see us there because they had actually just been talking about us and here we come. We talked to the supervisor who told us our car was across town and was actually about to close and if we didn't get our car that night we would lose the car for the whole holiday weekend! Magically the member was right there and was more than happy to give us a ride and to convince us to keep the appointment that we had in a couple minutes which we were in the process of canceling when we saw him. We rushed over and for some reason I was just in the most peachy mood for someone getting towed. I was happy as a little toad in a swamp. On the way there I was told that we'd probably have to pay cash and the thought came that I could only withdraw in 20's so I thought hey I think I might brighten the tow guys day a little bit and give him a nice little tip with whatever's left over. We got there and found out that they didn't have change so I had to give them the tip anyway but it was good that I was in the mood for it in the first place. Anyway we rush off to the appointment which is with a referral and we have a hard time finding the place but fortunately we find it and so does the member that we'd scheduled to bring with us. We knock on the door and the man answers and starts yelling at us. He tells us that we're no good and that he read about us online and that he believes in God and we're of the devil because we believe in Joseph Smith and not God. We tried for a few minutes to explain the truth to him but he was definitely not in the mood to hear as whenever we tried to respond he would just repeat what he had previously affirmed in increasing loudness and intensity. We saw that this wasn't going anywhere and were about to leave. After we asked him if he knew anyone who would be willing to listen and he smartly told us no, the door to the apartment complex opens and out walks a young man we'd met on the street the previous week and given a pass-along-card to. Turns out that this young man is the man's son and has the same name as him only he's the Jr. He's the one who ordered the Book of Mormon. After a short meeting with him, amidst the screams and competitive shouts of his father, the young man received a testimony that the Book was true and began testifying to his father that he was feeling the Spirit and he knew that this Book of Mormon, us missionaries, and this church was from God! It was really cool in that moment to see how the Devil was doing everything to keep us from being there and God had given a way for us to be in the right place at the right time.
We saw many more miracles this week in which we met people for the first time and after feeling the Spirit were in tears at the love and mercy God was extending towards them. I'm really beginning to understand my purpose out here the more that I lose myself in this wonderful service. It really is true. It really is. And I'm loving every minute of it.
-Elder Guinto
Boy I'm excited for Christmas! I should tell you to send me another email before Saturday. We're doing our temple trip on Saturday so that will be our preparation day for next week so I'll email you then. It's hard to believe that it's already December! As far as clothing they pretty much have all the same stores as they do on the west coast. We live in a heavily populated city here so between having two malls we basically have everything. Just for reference, even if you already bought everything it's nice to know, for tops I wear between a small and a large and for pants it's safe to go between a 32"-34" waist.
One thing I did want to make sure and say is that I decided to not ask president to switch to the Spanish program. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and even though my Spanish has been improving a lot lately and I've been using it a lot and I really would like to serve in the Spanish program, it would definitely be because it's something that I want. If it's something that the Lord wants then the mission president will be inspired to make the assignment and I am content to do whatever the Lord asks of me. For now he's asked me to lend my talents and skills to the English-speaking people and so I am happy to serve them.
So I do have to get this out of the way, if you haven't seen it already there's a substantial withdrawal from my checking account which should appear as a withdrawal of 102$ and 62$. I realize that's a huge amount of money but there's a really cool story that goes with it.
We had gone to meet with an investigator at the Newport Mall and we decided to park in the BJ's parking lot, which we've parked in several times. We crossed the street to go to the mall but we couldn't find him there and he wasn't answering his phone so after about 15 minutes we abandoned the pursuit for that time and went back to the car. When we entered the parking lot, somewhat sad that we weren't able to meet with that investigator we both came to a complete halt. We looked around, we looked at each other, the same thought clicked in both our minds which we voiced vocally, "We parked the car right there right?" It was gone! We stood there looking around for a few minutes and probably altogether looking pretty dumb trying to figure out what had happened to the car. My first thought was that they had towed it but there was no way that they could've towed it that fast and we'd done nothing wrong that I could've thought of. My next that was that it had gotten stolen. Luckily there was a nice lady parked right behind where we had parked and we asked her what happened. She told us that she'd seen the car get towed, but what's more it had gotten towed only three minutes after we'd left the car. We called the police and found out that we weren't supposed to park in the parking lot if we weren't going to BJ's and the lot was under close camera surveillance. We went into BJ's and talked with an employee about getting our car back. They told us that we needed to talk with a supervisor who was currently stationed between isles 12 & 13. We walk between isles 12 & 13 and one of the members that we know happens to be doing their shopping in isle 12. They were flabbergasted to see us there because they had actually just been talking about us and here we come. We talked to the supervisor who told us our car was across town and was actually about to close and if we didn't get our car that night we would lose the car for the whole holiday weekend! Magically the member was right there and was more than happy to give us a ride and to convince us to keep the appointment that we had in a couple minutes which we were in the process of canceling when we saw him. We rushed over and for some reason I was just in the most peachy mood for someone getting towed. I was happy as a little toad in a swamp. On the way there I was told that we'd probably have to pay cash and the thought came that I could only withdraw in 20's so I thought hey I think I might brighten the tow guys day a little bit and give him a nice little tip with whatever's left over. We got there and found out that they didn't have change so I had to give them the tip anyway but it was good that I was in the mood for it in the first place. Anyway we rush off to the appointment which is with a referral and we have a hard time finding the place but fortunately we find it and so does the member that we'd scheduled to bring with us. We knock on the door and the man answers and starts yelling at us. He tells us that we're no good and that he read about us online and that he believes in God and we're of the devil because we believe in Joseph Smith and not God. We tried for a few minutes to explain the truth to him but he was definitely not in the mood to hear as whenever we tried to respond he would just repeat what he had previously affirmed in increasing loudness and intensity. We saw that this wasn't going anywhere and were about to leave. After we asked him if he knew anyone who would be willing to listen and he smartly told us no, the door to the apartment complex opens and out walks a young man we'd met on the street the previous week and given a pass-along-card to. Turns out that this young man is the man's son and has the same name as him only he's the Jr. He's the one who ordered the Book of Mormon. After a short meeting with him, amidst the screams and competitive shouts of his father, the young man received a testimony that the Book was true and began testifying to his father that he was feeling the Spirit and he knew that this Book of Mormon, us missionaries, and this church was from God! It was really cool in that moment to see how the Devil was doing everything to keep us from being there and God had given a way for us to be in the right place at the right time.
We saw many more miracles this week in which we met people for the first time and after feeling the Spirit were in tears at the love and mercy God was extending towards them. I'm really beginning to understand my purpose out here the more that I lose myself in this wonderful service. It really is true. It really is. And I'm loving every minute of it.
-Elder Guinto
Monday, November 22, 2010
E-mail received 11/22/2010
Wow, sounds really weird. We've actually been having pretty fair weather here in Jersey City. Only a few days of bad rain. One really crazy thing that happened this week though is that we got in a car accident! A few drunk people coming from a party crashed into our parked car right after we'd gotten into it. It was pretty crazy. We had to do a lot of arranging but it all worked out alright. We have a lot of great senior missionaries working in the office who really take care of us really well.
I did get the package! Thanks so much. I think I'm going to make the cake today as well as mail off the card. You guessed right, I was out of stamps. I haven't bought shoes yet. Time on P-days has been really short because of choir practices for the Christmas firesides. I'm singing a solo for a song I've never heard before but it's a pretty song. It's called "Night of all Nights." Sister Bahr's crazy about it but not a single missionary in the mission has ever heard it before and what they gave us to sing off of at first was just a paper with the words. After suffering through it and finding that no one had ever heard it they decided to make it a solo instead. So I'll be singing this Sunday and then again on December 12, should be fun.
I did hear about Harry Potter coming out. It's just about all the Americans in our area talk about now a days. I hear it's pretty good. I hope that both of the seventh book movies are out when I come home so that I can just watch them both together. That'll make it nice and painless.
It's so weird to think that this will be my last Thanksgiving in the mission. Fortunately we're not going to have to worry about having 5 dinner appointments like last year because we can plan it. We know that we have somewhere for breakfast but no one's invited us for dinner yet. We'll see though. Say "hi" to everyone at Thanksgiving for me though!
That's crazy that Ben Swenson is coming home soon! It seems like his mission is on the same transfer cycle as ours. I can't remember but he's in Japan or some crazy place like that right? That'll be super weird when you guys start counting the days and your emails start ending with, "Well, see you in a month!" Elder Coffin started getting those and it made him super trunky.
Well we had a pretty exciting week! We didn't have much of an opportunity to work in our area because we had some extensive leadership training but despite the time out our area seemed to explode. The training, once again, really helped us focus on the Spirit, the truth, and the investigator. It really helped Elder Calderoni and I to realize the things that we needed to change with certain people so that they could really begin to, not just keep commitments or go to church but, have spiritually moving experiences which convert them and bring them closer to Christ. When we went to apply the training, big surprise, it worked! Everyone began to start realizing really why they've been listening to us and the impact that the message from Christ and the Book of Mormon will have in their lives. Solution after solution seemed to present itself as we addressed their needs and found their concerns. It's really been a good week for us.
We've really seen us be more excited in planning. The more we love them the more happy we are to strive with them because then it truly becomes a labor of love. One family in particular, we've been working with a while. We lost contact with them a while ago and Elder Calderoni was inspired to just drop by one Sunday morning. The mother happened to be there and we were able to find out that despite everything that's been going on, her and her family have made great leaps and bounds in changing their lives to bring them in closer harmony with the Savior and His teachings. We were so excited for them and along with other families who now have a renewed commitment to follow the Savior by repenting and being baptized.
I love the work! I love the miracles it brings and the joy we experience as we labor in this transcendent, latter-day undertaking.
-Elder Guinto
I did get the package! Thanks so much. I think I'm going to make the cake today as well as mail off the card. You guessed right, I was out of stamps. I haven't bought shoes yet. Time on P-days has been really short because of choir practices for the Christmas firesides. I'm singing a solo for a song I've never heard before but it's a pretty song. It's called "Night of all Nights." Sister Bahr's crazy about it but not a single missionary in the mission has ever heard it before and what they gave us to sing off of at first was just a paper with the words. After suffering through it and finding that no one had ever heard it they decided to make it a solo instead. So I'll be singing this Sunday and then again on December 12, should be fun.
I did hear about Harry Potter coming out. It's just about all the Americans in our area talk about now a days. I hear it's pretty good. I hope that both of the seventh book movies are out when I come home so that I can just watch them both together. That'll make it nice and painless.
It's so weird to think that this will be my last Thanksgiving in the mission. Fortunately we're not going to have to worry about having 5 dinner appointments like last year because we can plan it. We know that we have somewhere for breakfast but no one's invited us for dinner yet. We'll see though. Say "hi" to everyone at Thanksgiving for me though!
That's crazy that Ben Swenson is coming home soon! It seems like his mission is on the same transfer cycle as ours. I can't remember but he's in Japan or some crazy place like that right? That'll be super weird when you guys start counting the days and your emails start ending with, "Well, see you in a month!" Elder Coffin started getting those and it made him super trunky.
Well we had a pretty exciting week! We didn't have much of an opportunity to work in our area because we had some extensive leadership training but despite the time out our area seemed to explode. The training, once again, really helped us focus on the Spirit, the truth, and the investigator. It really helped Elder Calderoni and I to realize the things that we needed to change with certain people so that they could really begin to, not just keep commitments or go to church but, have spiritually moving experiences which convert them and bring them closer to Christ. When we went to apply the training, big surprise, it worked! Everyone began to start realizing really why they've been listening to us and the impact that the message from Christ and the Book of Mormon will have in their lives. Solution after solution seemed to present itself as we addressed their needs and found their concerns. It's really been a good week for us.
We've really seen us be more excited in planning. The more we love them the more happy we are to strive with them because then it truly becomes a labor of love. One family in particular, we've been working with a while. We lost contact with them a while ago and Elder Calderoni was inspired to just drop by one Sunday morning. The mother happened to be there and we were able to find out that despite everything that's been going on, her and her family have made great leaps and bounds in changing their lives to bring them in closer harmony with the Savior and His teachings. We were so excited for them and along with other families who now have a renewed commitment to follow the Savior by repenting and being baptized.
I love the work! I love the miracles it brings and the joy we experience as we labor in this transcendent, latter-day undertaking.
-Elder Guinto
Monday, November 15, 2010
E-mail received 11/15/2010 - Happy Birthday Kyle!
WOA! I can't believe that Mike and Fawn are getting married. It took me a while to remember who Fawn was but now that I think of it that would be such an awesome couple. That would really help Fawn with her situation too. I really hope that they are happy together!
My birthday was actually really great! This great family had us over for a great dinner and they even got me a cake and sang happy birthday to me. We had a real fun time. The Whites are super cool. Also my companion and roommates decided to have a little candle blowing out ceremony during personal study so that was fun. It feels really weird being 20. It's one of those ages that you never think you reach until you're there I guess.
That is really not good about Dad burning his hands. He really needs those. Really good that there won't be any permanent damage though. He's always trying new things. Dad would be proud to know that there's a Filipino Bakery and grocery right on our block and that I've converted the whole apartment to asado rolls and pandesal. Elder Yates and I are trying to work ourselves into buying balut but we've decided it's a process we're going to have to continue to work towards.
Bleh, Katelyn going on a date with Caleb. Not that I don't think he's a good kid, because he is, I'm just an over protective older brother and I think my sisters dating anyone is gross.
I haven't talked with President Bahr about it explicitly but I have been working a lot on it (his desire to do the second half of his mission Spanish speaking). Elder Yates gave me some Spanish Grammar flash cards to learn more things and I'm working with Elder Calderoni on my teaching skills in a lesson. It's really quite fun and I really like every opportunity that I get to speak and teach in Spanish. It's cool to see how the Spirit can touch hearts outside of our own immediate understanding. I am going to talk with him before the end of this transfer though and see what he says. Ultimately it's really not up to him or me but it's all in the Lord's hands and I am more than content to do what he asks.
This week was really a landmark week for me. With my birthday coming up I was really reflecting on how much I had changed and how much more I need to change over the next year so that I can do everything the Lord expects of me. I was given a talk to read from Elder Yates entitled "The 4th Missionary." It's a 30 page discourse on the kinds of missionaries who are out there and the kind of missionaries we should be. It really captures and teaches how to grow and develop something that I've found vitally important to life and to my mission: the Spirit of the Law.
For most of my mission I've been a letter-of-the-law missionary. I've kept the rules exactly and I've chosen to never come down from that standard but I feel now that I was really lacking in the, more important, spirit of that law I've striven to keep. One thing that I've really learned was a greater understanding of one of the things that Christ came here to do, which was to set up the higher law. These commands are to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy strength, with all thy mind, with all thy might, and with all thy soul. The second, like unto it, is to love thy neighbor as thy self. "The 4th Missionary" really helps missionaries understand what those commandments mean in great detail & intricacy. There are missionaries who go and come home because they did not have the right heart. There are missionaries who go, stay for two years but don't accomplish much by way of success in the lives of others or spiritual growth because they do not have the right heart. There are missionaries who stay for the two years, are valiantly obedient, reap wonderful fruit but do not grow, spiritually, as much as they could have because they withhold their good heart. And then there are the great missionaries who go on their mission and give their hearts wholly to God and accomplish wondrous things among God's children and let God cultivate in their own hearts something they could have never made themselves.
The central feature behind the change of heart that must occur in order to reach the full potential of your mission is essentially humility. Humility towards God, towards others and to yourself. Elder Kearon talked of the little rebellion within each of us which tells us to seek our own, to go a little shy or to do a little thing and God will beat us with a few stripes and at last we shall be saved. Our job is to stamp out that rebellion, while there are many ways to accomplish this there is one way in which we will grow from it. One way to stamp out the little seeds of our rebellion from ever taking root and growing into sin is to bury it deep, ignore the problem and the issue and forget about it. This solution is only temporary and does not give room for new seed to be planted or new love cultivated. Another path is to dig up the seed and throw it in another place. This solution, while lasting a little longer and giving place for fruit, is also only temporary. When we cast out the seed, again forgetting about it, we must see where that seed is cast: into a brother's garden. Often times we strive to put ourselves above others in our struggle for perfection and when we see others who do not strive to uphold the same straining Mosaic standard we battle to retain we belittle them or even, in our hearts, cast a burden on them and do not grow, but stay the same as we are fenced in by the law.
There is but one way. This way comes from realizing one simple, yet profound and deep doctrine. We are NOT good gardeners. We never have been and we probably won't be for some while. No matter how we toil and suffer we cannot, of ourselves, cultivate the work we desire. There is but one who can: the Lord. The answer then is obvious. We must sell the field. Sell it! Whatever the price we must stop kicking so hard against the spiritual pricks of our pride and sell our vanity, our desires (even our righteous desires), EVERYTHING that we have to the God of miracles and put our lives, our liberties, our very souls in the hands of the Father whose work this is. In short we must trust in Him.
Love is the key. Love towards all men and to the household of faith (Jesus Christ). If we capture that perfect love then we have the ability to, as Gordon B. Hinckley's father wisely stated, "Forget yourself and go to work."
This doctrine, understood, has changed my mission. I've only just read the talk a few days ago, but they've been the best few days of my life. I no longer feel unfulfilled and hopeless but I feel the redeeming and infinite love of a truly Celestial Father in accomplishing the work he's sent me to do as a servant, not as a man or a worker, a master or a gardener, but as a servant. My will now is to do the will of Him that sent me and there is greater peace in that then all the wealth this finite world could ever provide. Where there was once anger and frustration there is love. Where there was once fear and justification there is peace. Where there was once a battle to stamp out all ungodliness in an ever growing infection which could not be stopped, only hindered for a moment, now rests a long wearied soul whose joy it is to endure all things and HOPE to be able to endure all things.
I am the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. Period. I'm so filled with joy in my Savior and my King and my only joy is to do his work.
-Elder Guinto
My birthday was actually really great! This great family had us over for a great dinner and they even got me a cake and sang happy birthday to me. We had a real fun time. The Whites are super cool. Also my companion and roommates decided to have a little candle blowing out ceremony during personal study so that was fun. It feels really weird being 20. It's one of those ages that you never think you reach until you're there I guess.
That is really not good about Dad burning his hands. He really needs those. Really good that there won't be any permanent damage though. He's always trying new things. Dad would be proud to know that there's a Filipino Bakery and grocery right on our block and that I've converted the whole apartment to asado rolls and pandesal. Elder Yates and I are trying to work ourselves into buying balut but we've decided it's a process we're going to have to continue to work towards.
Bleh, Katelyn going on a date with Caleb. Not that I don't think he's a good kid, because he is, I'm just an over protective older brother and I think my sisters dating anyone is gross.
I haven't talked with President Bahr about it explicitly but I have been working a lot on it (his desire to do the second half of his mission Spanish speaking). Elder Yates gave me some Spanish Grammar flash cards to learn more things and I'm working with Elder Calderoni on my teaching skills in a lesson. It's really quite fun and I really like every opportunity that I get to speak and teach in Spanish. It's cool to see how the Spirit can touch hearts outside of our own immediate understanding. I am going to talk with him before the end of this transfer though and see what he says. Ultimately it's really not up to him or me but it's all in the Lord's hands and I am more than content to do what he asks.
This week was really a landmark week for me. With my birthday coming up I was really reflecting on how much I had changed and how much more I need to change over the next year so that I can do everything the Lord expects of me. I was given a talk to read from Elder Yates entitled "The 4th Missionary." It's a 30 page discourse on the kinds of missionaries who are out there and the kind of missionaries we should be. It really captures and teaches how to grow and develop something that I've found vitally important to life and to my mission: the Spirit of the Law.
For most of my mission I've been a letter-of-the-law missionary. I've kept the rules exactly and I've chosen to never come down from that standard but I feel now that I was really lacking in the, more important, spirit of that law I've striven to keep. One thing that I've really learned was a greater understanding of one of the things that Christ came here to do, which was to set up the higher law. These commands are to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy strength, with all thy mind, with all thy might, and with all thy soul. The second, like unto it, is to love thy neighbor as thy self. "The 4th Missionary" really helps missionaries understand what those commandments mean in great detail & intricacy. There are missionaries who go and come home because they did not have the right heart. There are missionaries who go, stay for two years but don't accomplish much by way of success in the lives of others or spiritual growth because they do not have the right heart. There are missionaries who stay for the two years, are valiantly obedient, reap wonderful fruit but do not grow, spiritually, as much as they could have because they withhold their good heart. And then there are the great missionaries who go on their mission and give their hearts wholly to God and accomplish wondrous things among God's children and let God cultivate in their own hearts something they could have never made themselves.
The central feature behind the change of heart that must occur in order to reach the full potential of your mission is essentially humility. Humility towards God, towards others and to yourself. Elder Kearon talked of the little rebellion within each of us which tells us to seek our own, to go a little shy or to do a little thing and God will beat us with a few stripes and at last we shall be saved. Our job is to stamp out that rebellion, while there are many ways to accomplish this there is one way in which we will grow from it. One way to stamp out the little seeds of our rebellion from ever taking root and growing into sin is to bury it deep, ignore the problem and the issue and forget about it. This solution is only temporary and does not give room for new seed to be planted or new love cultivated. Another path is to dig up the seed and throw it in another place. This solution, while lasting a little longer and giving place for fruit, is also only temporary. When we cast out the seed, again forgetting about it, we must see where that seed is cast: into a brother's garden. Often times we strive to put ourselves above others in our struggle for perfection and when we see others who do not strive to uphold the same straining Mosaic standard we battle to retain we belittle them or even, in our hearts, cast a burden on them and do not grow, but stay the same as we are fenced in by the law.
There is but one way. This way comes from realizing one simple, yet profound and deep doctrine. We are NOT good gardeners. We never have been and we probably won't be for some while. No matter how we toil and suffer we cannot, of ourselves, cultivate the work we desire. There is but one who can: the Lord. The answer then is obvious. We must sell the field. Sell it! Whatever the price we must stop kicking so hard against the spiritual pricks of our pride and sell our vanity, our desires (even our righteous desires), EVERYTHING that we have to the God of miracles and put our lives, our liberties, our very souls in the hands of the Father whose work this is. In short we must trust in Him.
Love is the key. Love towards all men and to the household of faith (Jesus Christ). If we capture that perfect love then we have the ability to, as Gordon B. Hinckley's father wisely stated, "Forget yourself and go to work."
This doctrine, understood, has changed my mission. I've only just read the talk a few days ago, but they've been the best few days of my life. I no longer feel unfulfilled and hopeless but I feel the redeeming and infinite love of a truly Celestial Father in accomplishing the work he's sent me to do as a servant, not as a man or a worker, a master or a gardener, but as a servant. My will now is to do the will of Him that sent me and there is greater peace in that then all the wealth this finite world could ever provide. Where there was once anger and frustration there is love. Where there was once fear and justification there is peace. Where there was once a battle to stamp out all ungodliness in an ever growing infection which could not be stopped, only hindered for a moment, now rests a long wearied soul whose joy it is to endure all things and HOPE to be able to endure all things.
I am the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. Period. I'm so filled with joy in my Savior and my King and my only joy is to do his work.
-Elder Guinto
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
E-mail received 11/8/2010
That's good that you got the package. That's actually one interesting skill I've acquired on my mission is clever ways of folding clothes. My least favorite chore but now I can do it pretty well. I actually am pretty good about treating my collars, it's just with those shirts, which are HUGE, I got to a point where I just didn't put it the effort with them anymore with the idea that I was wearing other shirts anyway. So that's why they're pretty bad.
That's so cool that Mishmashsoggyrottenickynickypotatohead is married! So much is happening in so little time. I kind of wonder how Uncle Danny's testimony is doing. I mean, knowing what goes on in the temple and not being able to go and see your daughter get married has got to make you a little homesick. I really hope that the Lord finds a way to bring him back into the fold and wrap His loving arms around him.
I'm glad Maleah is not planning on getting married till after college...or dating until she's out of college...yepp. (Maleah caught the bouquet at my niece's reception and she wanted to make sure Kyle knew she wasn't planning on getting married until after she graduated from college. She didn't say anything about dating though since she is already counting the days until she's sixteen. Wishful thinking on Kyle's part!) That's amazing that she got her patriarchal blessing! I remember mine so clearly. I also remember what kinds of things were going through my mind too. Oddly enough, to think about it now, it really bore little to no significance for me when I received it. It's amazing that a little old man, who didn't know me or who I would become, can say just the right words in the private spaces of his home that bear such powerful and meaningful significance to me over five years later. I've heard several times that the words of the patriarchal blessing will long hold sway, even into the eternities and it's application found as we faithfully live the Gospel. It's really amazing that God remains, as He will forever, a God of miracles.
That's awesome about Jaron! I knew he'd serve as an assistant. That's my bro! It's crazy that time's flown by so quickly. Everything goes by so fast when you're out here in the mission field. Could you get his address? Or the best place to send him letters for me so that I can write him? It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to my best friend. It'll be interesting to see how we've changed and what we've kept.
Thank Grandma for me! She's always been so good to me in being supportive and loving. Also apologize to her for me that I haven't gotten back to writing her yet. I ran out of stamps and really just hadn't had time to buy more or to even write letters lately. It's been crazy. If you could tell me how much is in my account after you deposit stuff that would be great. Also I bought some sweatpants and a sweatshirt at walmart today. Winter is upon us, it's getting cold, and the mission has mandated that we must be outside for morning exercise. BURRR!!
We had a great week this week! We had meetings coming out our ears so we didn't get much time to work in our area but we've really been able to lay the foundation for the great work to go on in this mission!
We had our zone leader council, which this time involved the district leaders as well. The mission is moving forth with a huge push for the month. We're calling it Thanks. Giving Month TM. (It actually is trademarked strangely enough) It's going to involve every missionary rigorously sanctifying themselves to the work and we're expecting to see a lot of success from it. I've also taken the opportunity to set a lot of really intense personal goals which will help me in my spiritual progression. It originally started out as the next phase in my diet and exercise plan but I decided to give it a spiritual twist which then turned into a big move on reforming everything that I do. I'm excited to change what the Lord wants me to change so that I can be the missionary and man that He needs me to be.
We also had the great opportunity of participating in what the Caldwell Stake calls the Ammon Academy. Some of the missionaries in the stake are asked to participate in a three day activity which involves the youth being assigned to a real full-time missionary and they get to take part in many real parts of missionary service. Including: teaching, planning, street contacting and personal and companionship study. It was a really cool experience.
On one of the times where I had my youth we also went with a member of the ward. We were able to really be led by the Spirit to the home of a less-active member. We had been blessed to go there because we felt impressed to be in a certain place where we bumped into a member and, upon asking here if she knew anyone who needed to see us right away, told us that she knew this lady. We went there and we were able to really talk with her and bear testimony of what we knew. She committed right there to coming to church and going once again in the path that she knew was true. It was kind of different though because the youth I went with spoke very little Spanish and she was a pure Spanish member so he really only had the opportunity to bear a small testimony but it was powerful.
I really have a testimony of how the Lord prepares his children and I hope you all take an opportunity to see his hand in yours and others lives, remembering the words of Pres. Uchtdorf: "We are His Hands."
-Elder Guinto
Monday, November 1, 2010
E-mail received 11/1/2010 - Year mark this week!
WOA!! KYLEE IS GETTING MARRIED?! That's crazay! I never would've expected her to get married that soon. She's only 18! That's a super big surprise. So I guess this means that her and Cameron aren't together anymore. I worry about them getting married so soon. It seems like he's just gotten off of his mission and she's really just gotten out of high school. I don't know if things have really changed much since I've been gone but Kylee is very young and inexperienced with responsibility. It'll be really interesting to see how everything works out for them. Give them my congratulations!
I did send the clothes and should be sending the sd card this week. Everything's been pretty crazy around here. A billion and a half things have changed and gone on this week.
I hope everything goes well with your interview and you're able to get a job that you can manage.
So it's a new transfer and there are so many things that this new era will bring. It is really hard to believe that this Thursday I will have been a missionary for a year! It's really going to be an odd feeling to say that this time last year I was a missionary. I'm thankful that I've kept a journal so that I can even go in depth and reflect on the particular day last year and how much I've changed. Elder Yates and I were talking about it a few nights ago about how the mission really sets you up for the man that you need to become for the rest of your life. It really is true.
The fearbuster in Newark was amazing. I actually had the opportunity to take out Elder Hicks for his first time as a missionary talking to real people on the streets of downtown Newark. He seemed scared and a little nervous but he's a really hard worker and he's excited to serve. He's actually a friend of Miranda's from school and now he's being trained by Elder Yates and lives with us. He's an example to all of us.
So my new/old companion is actually Elder Calderoni! We're companions again! It was such an unexpected delight in transfer conference to find out that we were going to be serving again together. This time as zone leaders! We've already had great experiences together and we already know how to work together so we've already hit the ground running hard here in Jersey City.
We've experienced a great share of miracles here, just in the past couple days. We talk to people all on the street and each is prepared to receive us in a little and sometimes subtle way. Each contact we focus on moving them up wherever we can. Sometimes God put us in their path, not necessarily to convert them right then and there, but, to brighten their day and to feel the love that their Savior has for them.
We did get the wonderful opportunity to set a baptismal date this week with the friend of a recent convert. He's really seen the change in the family and wants to follow the example of Jesus Christ. It's really cool to see the Gospel alive!
I hope you all make a choice to represent the Savior where you are. Remember the convenants you made at baptism to take upon yourselves His name and to always remember Him. We are His hands to save, to uplift, to inspire and bless. If we don't do it who will. I know that we can be a force for impacting lives for good.
-Elder Guinto
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