February 20, 2012: City of Coconuts

HOLA FAMILIA!

 

It is good to here that you are all finally having snow. I really miss the snow right now, cause it is getting really hot over here. Sounds like the family is doing really well. I always love hearing about the kids and how they are doing. That stinks about what happened with Asher. Hope he feels better.

 

Well this was a really crazy week and a bit long at times not going to lie. Monday I was working a lot, but Tuesday was just spent saying bye to recent converts and a lot of good friends from Molino. I really do LOVE that area and all the members. I hope that I have the opportunity to go back there some day. It was so hard though. Saying bye to the Family Hasbun was so hard. They invited us to lunch and we ate with them and after saying goodbye was like leaving the house all over again. I didn't realize how much I really love that place and how great the members really are. 

 

On Wednesday I got on the bus and came to my new area. It is called Las Delicias and It is in the Department of Sonsonate aka ¨the city of coconuts´ It is a good thing I have learned to love coconuts. Sonsonate is known in the country as one of the hottest places and it is really close to the ocean too. I am excited to one of these days when I will go to the port and be able to see the ocean again. It is REALLY hot here though. I am sweating all the time, cause it is also really humid. My arms stick to papers and furniture all the time. 

 

My new comps name is Elder Norene. He is from Sacramento, California. I couldn't believe that I was going to be with another American. It doesn't happen to often.  We were joking that President just considers me a Latin haha. Elder Norene is a good guy. Not going to lie it was really hard realize that I wouldn't be with Elder Hobbs anymore. We got along super well and the 4 months with him flew by and we had a lot of success, but I am super stoked to be with Elder Norene. 

 

When I had gotten to the area there was no investigators. This week in church there were no investigators and it just looks like we have a lot of work. We have already started working with the members a lot and we have found some great people to start teaching. 

 

I am zone leader again and I am excited that I can come into this zone and know what I am doing. Last time I really was just guessing a lot of the time, but I think I will be much more useful haha. The zone has some great missionaries too. Mom, just so you know i am now the Zone Leader of Sister Campbell. We share a ward also so I see her all the time. 

 

Well other than all of this I feel like there is not much more. My house is pretty sweet even though the back patio is just dirt so when it is windy it always blows a whole bunch of dirt inside. There are 4 missionaries in our house too. One is from Mexico and the other is from California. They are good guys. 

 

I don't think there is anything else. I love you all and have a great week. Enjoy the snow and the cold also. I am jealous. Talk to you next week.

 Elder Gillette

February 13, 2012: Adios Monilo?

Hola Familia,

Well this past week was another really crazy week. My zone has been struggling lately cause we have gotten a whole bunch of new missionaries and some problem missionaries. So this past week I wasn't in my area AT ALL. I went around my zone doing a tour to try and help the other areas get stuff going. They went really well actually. I was able to work with a lot of missionaries and get to know some parts of Santa Ana I didn't know. I had some pretty sweet experiences too.

It has started to get a lot hotter here (which I am not to excited about) cause last year it was pretty bad, but I was in an area that wasn't even that hot in comparison with other parts. How is the weather over there? Snowing? Sounds like it hasn't been very wintery over there.

Their are 2 really big news from this week. First is that Friday night I received a call from the zone leaders of Ahuachapan (Where I was before Molino if you don´t remember) and they gave me some super super sweet news. when I was over in Ahuachapan I baptized Iris mom and Iris daughter and another kid from the family, but the Dad (Oscar) read the Book of Mormon and loved what we said and wanted to get baptized. we even taught about sealings and the temple and he wanted to get sealed, but he could never go to church cause he worked so much. I guess he just barely quit his job driving buses and decided to go to church and they told me that Saturday he was going to get baptized and he wanted me to be there. So I was able to go back and see all of them. He asked for me and my old comp Elder Romero to be there cause we were the ones who taught him and found them. It was awesome to see the family be completed. The bishop of the ward baptized him. I love that guy. It was a super sweet experience and they told me that 14 of February 2013 they will be sealed in the temple. That will be awesome.

Speaking of families going to get sealed, a family that I baptized in march of last year is doing great. I saw the mom of the family in a pupuseria and it was so awesome. The dad is now in the bishopric and they will be getting sealed next month so I will go to see that.

The other big news is that this week we have changes. Today we received the call for who is leaving and coming. Me and Elder Hobbs now have 4 and a half months together. Really he is an awesome comp and we really thought that we were going to stay another bit together. We have had a lot of success together and work really well and best of all we have a lot of fun, but the news came and I am leaving!!!!! I can´t even believe it. My time in Molino has gone by SO SO FAST! I feel like I just got here. It will be super hard to say goodbye to my converts and stuff and all of the great members here. This area is really amazing and I was so blessed to serve here. They haven´t told me yet where I will go or who I will be with. It will be interesting to change, but Molino has helped me a lot to be a better missionary. I love this place.

But enough about me. that is sweet that Elder Anderson Came to the stake mom and that he knew Kent. He always has sweet talks.

Kylie that is crazy that basil will turn 5 next month. I remember before my mission thinking that he would be 5 when I came back and I thought by that time he would have forgotten me.

KELSY! I can't believe Austin Stidham is engaged. That is so crazy! I here you also have a sweet dance date next week ;)

Well I love you all and I hope that you have a great week. Next week I will have some pretty interesting stories I imagine haha.

Have a great Valentines day!

Elder Gillette

February 6, 2012: Intercambios locos

Hola Familia,

Wow, this week was another pretty crazy week. We weren't able really to work very much in our area which was kind of a bummer, but it was for good causes. This week we have had to run all around our zone and get everyone working better. We have had a little bit of difficulties with some of our missionaries and the work. I think we did a good job of helping them work better.

I am trying to see if there are any really cool stories you would all like. I had a reality check this week and realized that what I had been teaching for the past 17 months wasn't done in the best way. I feel like this week it just hit me the real way we should be teaching. I feel like we have gotten a bunch better and that we have some really great people who are starting to progress.

We got some interesting news this morning that the mission is going to split my area and put another companionship in a part of my area. We have been doing really well and the ward is growing so I hope that this other companionship can help us to grow even more. It would be sweet to this ward grow even more.

Everything here has been pretty fun though. I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of different people this week and we had some really great training meetings with President Cordon. He really is super smart. We are learning how to save our time better.

BY the way that is sweet that you all went and at pupusas!!! I love them. Just so you know Hilary that cole slaw stuff you ate is here too, but it is prohibited for the missionaries to eat it. I hear it is really good though. I do have to say though that you all didn't eat them right. I looked at the picture and it seemed so odd to me. YOU ALL ATE WITH UTENSILS??? that is such an odd thing. I think it is like the first time I have seen someone eat pupusas with forks and knives. You are all such gringos haha. But I hope you all like them. One night when I get back we will have to make pupusas.

So the other day me and my comp were walking and I saw in a trash can a pizza box that on the side said "Jesus viene pronto". It made me laugh really hard. That phrase translated means "Jesus comes soon". I thought that would give you a little peek on how the Latins use scripture and all types of stuff referring to Jesus on anything. I actually thought it could of been a pretty good line if the pizza delivery guys or the businesses name was Jesus. That way it could of been referring to the guy bringing the food really quick. Maybe that is what they were referring too? It would have been a clever pun. But just so you could all get the real good image, I took a picture of it and I will send it to you.

Other than that we had the 3 that got baptized last week get confirmed yesterday. They are all such great people and the ward really is excited. Also Rolando Hasbun who got baptized in Christmas received the Melquisdec priesthood this Friday which was awesome. He is going to give a talk this next week and is so excited. I love seeing the progression of these people.

Well I love you all and I hope you all have a great week. I am glad the Giants won. Yesterday I was walking and I looked inside a house and I saw that someone was watching the game. I just had to look forward and keep on walking. It was tough haha. But have a great week and talk to you next week.

Elder Gillette