April 23, 2012: El Fiebre

Hola Familia,

Wow, what a crazy week. Sounds like for you all it was a great week. Also, FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS HILARY!!!!! Sounds like Hilary's birthday was a hit like always. I am super happy you decided to watch The Sandlot. That movie is so great. Also that you all made the house into a giant fort is pretty sweet also.

This week was super Ironic after what we had talked about last week and the hospital. Cause right after I wrote last week I started to fell sick and Tuesday morning when I woke up I woke up with a fever. So for three days this week I had to rest. IT WAS TERRIBLE! Not because I was sick and had a fever, but just because I couldn't do anything. All I could do was sleep and watch movies from the church. At least I wasn't like super, super sick or anything  (so don't worry to much mom).

After those terrible days of doing nothing we got out and worked and it felt good to get out and work. We have found some pretty sweet families and we have had to look for a lot of new people cause all the people we were teaching all got baptized or we dropped cause they weren't progressing. SO we have gone back to knocking doors. We had some pretty good experiences.

The best part of this week was that Friday night I was laying down to go to bed when our phone rang and I picked it up. It was Armando (the guy who said he was going to get baptized after going to the temple activity 2 weeks ago, but last Sunday decided he didn't want to anymore and didn't get baptized). He called and I couldn't hear what he was saying then he yelled to me that he was ready to be baptized and he wanted to do it Sunday. I was so shocked and we went over the next day and he was serious about it. Yesterday he got baptized! It was sweet, but when I went to baptize him I forgot my tie so I felt super weird without it and after I did the baptismal prayer while we were in the font, after he just went straight back as fast as he could and shot water all around. I had never gotten so wet in a baptism. He really wanted to get clean.

It really was amazing that he got baptized cause we barely worked at all this past week cause we had both gone this week sick, but God really came through and gave us success. IT was a sweet blessing and they are now a sweet family in the church and have there goals on the temple in a year.

Well the good news is that I feel better and we are working. I have got to start buckling down and using these last months to the best. Love you all and thanks mom for the packages they were awesome. I also loved your letter Jonathan. IT was hilarious.

Love you all,
Elder Gillette

April 16, 2012: Quick Week

Hola Familia,

How is everyone doing? Sounds like Hilary is still the big superstar. I get letters all about her now haha. It's super sweet though! Also it sounds like everyone is vacationing right now. Joff and Kylie, Randy and KC, Hilz going to Arizona, Brandon going to Puerto Rico. Sweet stuff. I have been doing a bit of traveling too, but within the same city of Sonsonate.

This week was a good week. I was able to go to a couple areas and work with a bunch of good missionaries and that was a lot of fun. It is fun being able to get to know so many missionaries and work with all different types and learn a lot.

The bad news of this week was that guy I told you all about last week that went to the temple and received his answer and all, decided not to get baptized in the end. It was sad, but he knows what he has to do. WE told him pretty straight out and he said that he will get baptized, but is scared for after. I have faith that he will take this step soon.

We did have a really cool experience this week that one of the members asked us to go to the hospital and give someone a blessing. So we went to the hospital and when we entered in it was like big and had white walls, but like no lights and was really empty. I felt like I was in a horror movie. We walked down the stuffy halls and got to the entrance of the clinic we had to go to for this girl. It was cool cause the security let us in cause they consider us clergy and most people can only get like 1 or 2 visits at a time and 2 were already up there, but they let us go. We went up to the 4th floor (which I believe it was my first time going up a flight of stairs in like 19 months). We found the member and we gave her a blessing and it was really cool. After the blessing we started talking to her and when we were about to leave we said hi to the lady next to her. We started talking to this family and the mom was having problems with her kidneys. We asked if there was anything we could do and  she started to cry. She explained to us that she is a member of the church and was inactive for a very long time, but 2 weeks ago she went to church for the first time again. She asked if we could give her a blessing. So we gave her one and it was an amazing experience. The whole family was so happy and we were really sent there and she knew it too. It was also a crazy experience going to a hospital. The good news was that it was my first time going to one my whole mission and hopefully my last haha.

Other than that we received some great blessings and found some really great investigators that are chosen from God. It is really a blast out here and my birthday was super sweet. We ate cake with some members and they shoved my face in the cake. Also some members made us pupusas for my birthday. It was sweet.

Love ya all though and take care!!!
Elder Gillette