E-mail received 3/29/2010 - Transfers!

Sounds like the girls are doing great. That would be awesome if Katelyn got into SOAR. That's what's really set me up for after my mission. It makes me really grateful, talking to other missionaries about their plans for after the mission, that God has really blessed me so much to have the amount of direction and planning that I do have to really feel secure about what the future holds for me. I'm actually pretty jealous still of D. What I wouldn't give to have it as rough as he's got it! I want to be roughing and all that stuff. There's humbler people there and I bet the kind of learning and preparation you get there is amazing! But I'm glad of where ever the Lord needs me most and obviously he needs me here. Yeah I need to thank Kelly for all the nice things she's done for me. But I lost her address and I don't have her email address. Could you send them to me? I really need to thank her. She's a champion! I've tried to get in contact with V J but no one ever answers the door. But it looks like my time here in Sparta is over because I'm getting transferred tomorrow! I'm really nervous. Not really so much that I'm going to a new area but I found out last night that I'm going to have a lot of responsibility there. I got called as a District Leader! It's apparently extremely rare for someone as young in the mission as I am to get called as a district leader but I guess the Lord needs my leadership to help out somebody. I only hope that I can do what is necessary and be able to be a blessing and to be able to serve those missionaries as best I can. It's pretty scary knowing that I'll be leading missionaries who are probably older and more experienced than I am and who I don't know in an area I know nothing about! But the Lord will provide. Elder B and I are the only missionaries getting transferred from our zone. Elder W is going home. I can't even think that far ahead. That'll definitely be an odd feeling but thankfully I have plenty of time yet until my service ends. Can you believe I've been gone for almost five months? I feel like I've grown and changed so much is such a little amount of time. It's a wonder what the Lord can work as we do his will. This week we did a lot of valuable work. We're desperately low on our miles so we've turned our humongous car area into a humongous walking area. We've definitely been getting some good exercise, which I loved, and we've been able to help people to learn, love, and accept the Gospel. One investigator we saw frequently we helped out a lot. In the beginning of the week he passed us in his car and we ran to go and talk to him. We found out that he was running on some really tough times and had NO FOOD to eat that day. So, much to Elder Q's surprise, I said that we had some food at our apartment that we would gladly give him. We returned to our apartment and, again much to Elder Q's surprise, I put every non-perishable food item we owned into a large box which we excitedly delivered to him. He was so grateful for it and we were able to invite him to a meeting which we had later that week. At that meeting he felt the Spirit so strongly. With tears of gratitude and humility he pulled me aside after the meeting and told me the words I'd been dying to hear, "Let's do this baptism thing." Elder Q and whoever his new companion is will be working very intensely with him over the next few weeks to prepare him for his scheduled baptismal date of April 18. It's so amazing and exciting to see how the Gospel touches the lives of these amazing people and the profound effect such a change can have on every aspect of their being. I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ truly does have the power to save lives and the work of saving His children goes on throughout the world on the shoulders of His nineteen-year-old servants, uplifted by the Spirit and strengthened by the truth. I look forward to the bright possibility of the future and the blessings that I know God will give me to complete his work and be the means of bringing some soul unto Christ.
-Elder Guinto

E-mail received 3/22/2010

Yes. I love crocheting! I'm making another beanie but this one i'm  making with ear flaps and a bill. It should be cool. We don't have much time but I work on it when I can. One really cool thing to note from this week. We had a zone conference this week and one of the people who we got taught by was Brian Kehl, outside linebacker for the New York Giants! It was really cool. He taught us about exercising. I got a picture with him. We look good. That's cool to hear about David. That's good that's he's getting thrown in early because then he can do more good for the rest of his mission. I've been trying to incorporate some Filipino phrases in things so that I can slowly learn it again but I probably won't learn it as fast as David will. We've had a really nice sunny week this week with highs in the upper sixties and lower seventies. We've done a lot of walking to enjoy the sunshine and we've been doing a lot of service for people like putting in floors and working on roofs and things like that. It's been a real enjoyable week. We're getting low on our miles though so I think we're going to have to start walking whenever we get the chance. We've been working in particular with this one guy who lives in Stillwater. He was a referral from a member and he's progressed really fast. One day he was having bumps in his relationship with this one person and we were able to really help him out with words from the scriptures. The words of Christ just really speak to this man and even though he's a simple guy and has a hard time understanding a lot of it, the Spirit definitely bears witness that these things are true. I feel like I've finally gotten used to Elder Q and now transfers are coming up next week! We'll see what the future holds and by next week when I email you you'll know whether I'm going or staying in Sparta South. That's really awesome that Cameron got into BYU! We're going to the same school now. How is he doing by the way? I feel like I've gotten so out of touch with everything but then that's probably a good thing because I can really focus on what I'm doing here and now. I am taking more pictures, which should make you guys happy. I try and take at least one every preparation day and then if I meet anyone cool than I'll record that. It's just remembering to do it that's hard. I truly love doing missionary work. And you really have to because if I didn't I think I'd go crazy. But I do. So it's good. I hope you guys have a great week. Sorry there's not much to report this week but I'm doing well and you are all in my prayers. Make sure you are all doing your family and personal scripture study and get excited for General Conference in two weeks!

-Elder Guinto

E-mail sent to Maleah on 3/15/2010

Kyle sent an e-mail to his sister Maleah in response to an e-mail she sent him that had some pretty good council in it that I felt was worth sharing with everyone.  It's stuff we can all use:

That's actually pretty bad that everyone has a computer of their own. Everyone being on the computer in separate rooms only promotes disunity in the family and brings us further and further from each other. Rather we should do all we can to bring the family together in one room and do wholesome recreational activities which bond us together and build lasting and eternal family relationships. One great activity, of course is the studious searching of the words of the prophets. You may laugh but studying and talking about deep scriptural topics is what missionaries do for fun out here! And it really is fun! When we consider the weight in our lives that the words of the scriptures really are and when we truly consider them to be what they are: an accurate, real, and literal history of the children of men, reading and pondering about the scriptures ceases to be an irritant and becomes a quest. A quest which if duteously traveled brings us the greatest and most valued and even coveted knowledge and understanding. In relation to your braces I say simply thus, the road to perfection is rocky and untamed if not only for virtue of its relatively untraveled state and when we strive to blaze the trail before us we know that the end result will be far greater than if we had forsaken the right for the easy. Just think that over. Write it down on a piece of paper and tape it to your door. It applies to far more than just your dental correction. My final counsel to you is this, just because someone likes you doesn't mean you should date them. (Maleah was teasing him that by the time he came back she would be dating). You are a daughter of God. You hold a higher standard than the rest of the world around you. Know that the standards of the Church are the standards your Father in Heaven wants for you and are not there to restrict you but rather give you greater freedom than the deceitful alternative. Remember freedom is found in and through the great Mediator, even Jesus Christ, while captivity is certain in the power and influence of the Devil who seeks that all may be miserable like unto himself. Remember you can't date until you're sixteen and that you should only date in groups and above all date WISELY. Remember that someone being fun or funny is only one trait of a thousand you should EXPECT out of a man. Also remember if you really care for the people you date you probably shouldn't date them...because then I will kill them...yepp. Church is true, book is blue, the boy knew and so can you. Hope you have a great week and remember that the greatest reward can be gained through building family relationships and studying the scriptures. Oh be wise, what can I say more.
-Elder Guinto

E-mail received 3/15/2010

We got a little of the storm. Lot's of rain and lots of wind but nothing that i'm not used to in Washington. It's the snow that gets to me but we don't have it anymore. We're not allowed to use any other internet sites other than church sponsored ones but i'll definitely use the outlet to talk to V. We've stopped by her house a couple times and no one answers the door. We'll keep trying though. I got the package and thanks so much! The cookies didn't last long and I love the ties! Green and purple are actually some of my favorite colors in ties so it worked out real nice. I'm sure i'll enjoy the scarf and earmuffs next winter. Something's got to change in M. He's too used to a chaotic lifestyle in which he's just scraped by and it's been enough for him. He's got to rise up and desire some form of excellence in his life. That's so good that E is starting to turn towards her Father in Heaven again. Make sure you guys do whatever you can to support her in that effort. It will be well worth our while when she has that mighty change of heart. Oh something I forgot to add in my email last week. I took up crocheting. It's something several of the missionaries do out here in their "abundant" spare time. I made a beanie with ear flaps. It's pretty cool actually. This week has been really great. We've really worked hard and received great benefits. I don't know if I told you this but we've been teaching an elderly gentleman who lives in a nursing home in Andover. It's never too late for someone to receive the Gospel! Anyways he told us this week that he's been thinking about it a lot and he wants to be baptised! He's scheduled to enter into the covenant on April 11! We were so excited when he told us this! It truly is amazing the power of the Book of Mormon. Only the week before he was having his doubts about the church. He read only ten pages of the Book before he told us that he knew it was a blessing from God and it was exactly what he needed. Truly a blessing. Sorry it's a little short but not much really to report on this end.

E-mail received 3/8/2010

I'm glad you got the photos. Yeah i've lost more weight since then. I'm down to 217! Woo! I'm not so much getting slimmer anymore so much as I'm getting ripped. (pronounce rip-ed) I can print pictures myself here at the walmart so if I want prints of pictures I can get them myself. However pictures of people back home would be nice. Like people in the ward and how they're doing and if you run into any of my friends a picture of them would be nice too. Elder Q is fine. I definitely have grown to appreciate Elder T a lot more. We argue sometimes but we solve it pretty quick. All and all we get along just fine. He's definitely from Utah that's for sure. Growing up in a place where the Gospel is generally accepted breeds a different kind of missionary in most cases. Hopefully my future eternal companion and I get along better. I think we'd have to before I'd be comfortable enough to pop the question. Being with a companion out here really does in many ways prepare you, I think, to have an eternal companion because of the love that you have to "make" so that you can stand being 24/7 with a person. Definitely makes me think about the people I've dated in the past and what, really, were their traits that I admired and traits that I probably could do without for eternity. Eternity is a pretty long time. I definitely have a lot more to think about than I have been. I feel like I have really grown out here just in the way I think about things. I was reading my old journal entries last night and I laughed a little bit about how immature I thought I was, and that was only about four months ago! The weather here has actually gotten really nice and sunny. Elder Q hates the heat but I love it! I really miss the warm West Coast. A couple interesting stories this week. I had my first run in with the cops. We were tracting in Andover, NJ and we got in our car to go to another appointment and the cop pulled up next to us. Apparently someone had complained about us going door to door. He was nice enough because we really weren't doing anything wrong. Proselyting is different than soliciting so they can't do anything to us but we were encouraged to go and apply for a soliciting permit just so things go smoother the next time someone complains. We've actually done a lot of good work this week from following up on referrals we've gotten from members. We've been teaching this one guy who's really interested. The Gospel just seems to really hit home with him and he really likes it. He came to church for the first time yesterday and he really like the lesson in elders quorum about moral courage. I think he'll be in the water in no time but it really is great to see the Gospel touch someone in such a profound way. A couple of our members haven't been coming to church so we visited them to find out why. We eventually found out the main reason they haven't been coming is because they really have been slacking on reading their scriptures. I believe it was Gordon B. Hinkley who said that in order to bind people to the church they must have a friend, a calling, and be nourished by the good word of God. While we seem to always strive for the first two, I believe the nourishing with the scriptures is by far the most important. It reminds me of when Dad always said that we needed to be spiritually fed and I would come up with some literary rebuttal to try and escape family scripture study but now I know that is probably the most important part of our day. We spend each morning, for two hours, studying the words of the prophets and nothing but that could really prepare us for the challenges ahead. I hope that you all are doing diligent and faithful scripture study for as the Lord said in Section 103 of the Doctrine and Covenants that all victory and all glory comes to us through diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith. I hope that Katelyn and Maleah are diligently making time to study their scriptures on their own and greater that all of you back home are making concerted efforts to study together as a family from the words which promise to bind us and to bring us together unto Christ. There is no other name given by which salvation cometh. I pray that you all may receive something from the scriptures that will strengthen and fortify your testimonies of the truth this week but that must start with you actually going to the scriptures to find that answer. If you feel like you aren't getting answers the real question you should ask yourself is "Are you really looking for them? Or are you just hoping that the answer will come spontaneously?" Something Mom always said is "You won't find it by standing there. Look for it!" Similarly you won't find the answer by sitting there. Look for it! In the scriptures. As you do you will find what you seek. Seek and ye shall find. But it starts with seeking. This I say in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

-Elder Guinto

Pictures at last!

We finally received Kyle's latest pictures.  Enjoy! http://picasaweb.google.com/dvguinto/Mission3#

New E-mail Address!

Just a heads up. I have a new email address because they decided to upgrade to a new system. it is kyle.guinto@myldsmail.net