April 11, 2011: Feliz Cumpleaños

Hola Familia!

Wowowowowowow! I am officially 20 years OLD!!! Crazy huh? I feel so strange. It is really hard to believe actually. I had someone we met on my birthday ask me how old I am and I was like "Ninet... TWENTY!" It felt so strange. I am not a teenager anymore. Only one more birthday to go in the field. Crazy stuff.

It was a pretty crazy week though. Super fast. We contacted a group of guys this week and they were really nice and we shared a message and talked a little bit. We got on to the subject that my birthday was this week, but we talked to them Wednesday so it was still before my birthday, and decided that Friday (cause we already had plans Saturday) we were going to bring a cake and they were going to bring the soda and we were going to have a little birthday party.

We passed by Thursday and they were all stoked to have the birthday party. 2 of them brought there dads and friends to meet us too. It was awesome. We gave them each a Book of Mormon and said we would pass by the next day.

Friday came and we invited our elders quorum president to come and eat cake with us and the investigators. We got the cake and everything and ate and it was a lot of fun. I sent some of the pictures that we took this week.

On my birthday birthday on Saturday I really didn't do anything different. We ate chicken pot pies that our cook made that were way good and then cake with this awesome family. After I pulled a ¨Daniel¨and got sick haha. I am all good now though.

Well I was thinking about Gennie and Asher this week. People that it was awesome how me and Asher shared the same birthday. I was telling my comp how mad I was when he was first born and now I love the stinking Ash-man.

Although I do want to hear what you all did for Gennie and Ashers b-day's? nobody told me. All I heard about was the craziness with Kylie (which I hope the baby can wait those like 2 weeks) and about all the snow. Which I really wish you would all share. This week it started to rain, so it has started to be more humid. This next week and the week after (which the week after is a holiday here called Semana Santa and nobody has work or school for the whole week) are the hottest two weeks of the whole year here. So I need to get myself prepared. I have been drinking so much water lately.

I am still learning a lot of patience over here. My comp is a really really great guy and really nice, but he has a problem of copying the exact words that I just said and the exact same scripture too, but he doesn't really know the scripture so he kind of butchers the scripture in the end. I talked to him about that after one of our lessons and he said he hasn't realized he has copied all that I said. I am really trying to help, but it is hard.

I feel like I don't have all to much to say this week though. We had some really good lessons and we are learning to be better. I went on exchanges this week with one of our Zone Leaders and he is from Peru. Pretty awesome guy but he is like 5 feet tall haha. He is going to end his mission this next month which is crazy to see people that I know end there missions.

Speaking of which. I already have 7 months in the mission!!! Wow that last month went incredibly fast I can't even believe it haha. The time is going so fast.

Well I am going to try and send a cd with all my pictures this week. Cause my SD card is full right now of a whole bunch of videos and pictures.

Almost done with the BOM also. I am starting Moroni tomorrow.

The other day a guy tried to bible bash us and in that lesson I realized I can really speak this language!

Well not much other. Sorry this is so short, but I love you all and hope that your weeks are great. Good luck Kylie with the baby. Talk to you all later!

Elder Gillette

April 4, 2011: General Conference

Hello family,

Wow another general conference already over. The 10 hours were super super super fast. I swear I sat down and they were gone. They were a lot longer at home. The conference was awesome though. A lot about marriage I thought. Temples also.

So this week was really up and down. We found some pretty positive people and also had to drop some people. 3 of our most positive investigators have a friend who decided to show them all anti-Mormon stuff. So now they just have a TON of questions. Like they say in UT there is a golden temple underneath the temple in Utah were we worship the devil and Moroni. I don't know they are crazy now. But we will keep trying and praying for them.

This week also, my backpack that was way awesome and comfortable, was having problems and in the end the shoulder strap snapped. Kind of sucked, so I am going to try and find a new back pack today or a new strap. We will see.

Other than those two things, everything has been going really good. I was teaching an investigator the other day about the bible and we were having a really great conversation, but he asked if I have read the whole bible and I haven't so I said no. I lost all of the confidence in him. So I started the bible this week... in Spanish! I actually read now faster in Spanish then in English. I read about 6 chapters every morning in the bible. I want to finish it in a couple months. I am almost done with Genesis right now. Interesting stuff.

This morning we went and played soccer against some of the other zones. It was super fun, but SUPER hot. it is getting humid here right now and it is always hot. I am in one of the colder areas too. I cant even imagine how it is a bit further. Last night I was sweating all night.

But we had one investigator come to conference. I was kind of hoping for more, but at least someone came and she is pretty awesome.

The best thing that happened this week is we are teaching erik ascencio right now about the priesthood. He came Saturday night to the priesthood session of conference and I got to sit by him and watch it. I like wanted to cry. Just the change I have been able to see in him and his wife. I loved how conference talked so much about marriage cause I think it helped them. It was just a really cool experience to sit next to someone that you guided to this place. I imagine that is what it is like when you go to priesthood session with your son.

I really liked the talk from Sunday I believe in the afternoon, about the difference between be and do. Luckily I got to watch this one in English, cause I wouldn't of understood it in Spanish. It had a lot of great examples and helped me understand that really I need to start Being better and if I do that i will DO better. DO is a symptom of BE.

I did really miss those donuts this week though. Our cook said if mom sends the donut recipe to me she will make them for us. SO mom if you would send that that would be awesome.

OH YA. I didn't even know April fool's was this week til just now when you all wrote me about that. Crazy that it went so fast. Sounds like it was a crazy fun one for everyone. Well just crazy for some haha.

This conference was the first time my back has hurt since coming out here. Just from sitting down to much it kind of sucked.

OH ya somebody asked me and the sun is crazy. I don´t know if you have seen how tan I have gotten. Luckily I don't get burnt. Only once I have gotten burnt, but the mosquitoes out here are crazy though.

Well I think that is it. Fun week, I cant believe this week I will also complete 7 months and the day after 20 years old!!! Crazy. Well love you all and be safe. Read the scriptures they are awesome. talk to you next week.

Elder Gillette