Pictures!

Here are some pictures from Kristy's mission so far!

December 3, 2012

Hello my beautiful little family...

We started teaching a family this week!! Families are exciting stuff as a missionary. I think they are exciting in general.

But they are super sweet. They have three small chilldren and are sincerely seeking to find a church to raise their children in. The mom said, "You know at first, I was really skeptical but that acctually makes a lot of sense." It was after we taught the restoration. Haha, I was like of course it does!! I didn't say that but I love when it clicks for people. They are great!

We also met an older phillipino man. He is the cutest thing ever. We had a prayer with him and he just started crying. He is struggling a lot right now. He really felt the spirit. It was super neat. He came to the Christmas devotional last night and then asked if we could pray again. A member of our stake presidency gave him a priesthood blessing, pretty cool. AND we have a lesson with him today! He says he is a great cook and so he is making us phillipino food. Seriously, he is so sweet.

So Sister muni and I have been mocking the GPS a bit. We named her mabel and like to immitate her accent. Unfortunately when we walked into our zone meeting last thursday, one of our new zone leaders is from Austrailla! Now that is not unfortunate at all. Whats unfortunate is that we can't talk in an accent anymore because we dont want him to think we are making fun of him. But we still do it anyway.

We have a couple in our ward thats super sweet and there friend is interested in hearing more about what we believe. He said he doesn't plan to fully embrace our religion but wants to pick out the truths... Good thing its all true! We met with him for a short time this week and will have our first lesson with him tomorrow. He has some great questions. Im excited!

Other than that... not much is going on. Just doing the missionary thing. They say people are nicer around Christmas but as a missionary I haven't noticed much of a change. But I prefer honesty to insincerity any day.

Its just shocking to me how many people try to tell us what we believe. It doesnt make since to me to ask a fish how to fly but people seem to think that way. I just don't worry about them.

Learning new companions is an interesting thing. Then it seems once you figure them out, they change. But I'm learning a lot. Mostly about myself and things I need to work on.... thats a long list. But Sister Muni is great.

Thanks! I love you both so much! I hope ya'll are doing wonderful! Thank you for all you do and all your support! It means so much. I love you like a fat kid loves cake :)

 

Love,

Sister Gilmer

November 19, 2012

HELLO!

 

The boys were confirmed on Sunday with beautiful confirmation blessing given by Brother Long who baptized them. The ward tried to get other men from the ward involved but all of the boys wanted him. It was really sweet. He is the one who got them clothes, picked them up for EVERYTHING, and just really did a lot. He means a lot to them and they mean a lot to him as well. It is really cute. Damarrius also got the priesthood on sunday!! It was awesome! 

My companion found a baby christmas tree in our dark pit of a closet to day and we are excited to decorate it. haha. Its really small. It makes me think of you how we have christmas trees and decorations all over the house. I love being home around Christmas. 

So this week we met with victor who just got baptized and had a really good lesson. His mom sat in and we all just had a really good talk. I have said it before but we are hoping she will take the lessons soon. We are getting baby steps closer. She is such an amazing lady! We also had a lesson with his brother this week and victor bore is testimony and it was just amazing! Seriously, this kid is amazing! I cant wait to hear his mission stories! So there were some funnies that happened this week...

We met a guy- keep in mind its pretty late and dark outside. So my companion starts talking to him and so we stop. Im thinking oh goodness because not only is it late and dark but he is big and I hate to say it but I'm pretty sure he was on something. Dont worry dad, we were in a little shopping center so there were people around. Any ways he turned out to be pretty cool, he had some great questions, and we will hopefully see him this week! Oh yeah, his name is Julius Ceaser. 

There is a dinky little keyboard in our appartment which I thought was broken all his time ... but its not! I turned it on and have been managing to plunk out the christmas hyms. haha. Im not sure my companion appreciates it but I think it is pretty exciting. And who knows, maybe I will come home a pianist! Probably not, but a girl can dream.

We went to an appointment this week... well we tried to go to an appointment but unfortunately pulled up behind a drug deal! In the middle of the day. Really? So we left. It was stinky. There is a man in the ward who is a vetran and get all kinds of puzzles, kits to build stuff, crossword puzzles, and food. He likes to share for "all of our free time" and "When we get bored." Haha. Its really sweet but really funny the stuff he gives us sometimes.

Im still amazed at the things people tell missionaries and how interesting people are. Remeber when we lived in Vernal and they had the dinasaur museaum. Well we drove by a house this week who had an exhibit in their front yard as lawn decoration. It was pretty special. I will hopefully be sending a picture soon. Yes, I had my companion turn around so I could take a picture. It was great. Well Happy Thanksgiving my beautiful little family! I love you so much and hope you are doing well!! Transfers are at the end of the week. Good bye training! Im not super sad about it,.Hope yall are having a great week! LOVE YA'LL :)

 

Love,

Sister Gilmer

 

P.S. I love mail :)

November 13, 2012

THE BOYS WERE BAPTIZED!!! EEK!! Sorry this e mail is a day late but Monday was a holiday so the libraries were closed. I hope ya'll weren't worried. But I did get some pictures in the mail of the baptism and some other things. So Damarrius, Deiontae, and Darian were baptized this past Sunday and it was so good! They were so excited!! Nervous, but excited and they did so good. They are the sweetest and so smart and I am just so proud of them.

They are just fully embracing the gospel and the ward LOVES them to pieces. They are so helpful in all of their various needs and it is such a neat thing to see how much they reach out to help. It is also neat to see the boys grow. Brother White (their great uncle who they live with) said that they get so excited when we come over and to read scriptures and pray. At night, he said they just want to keep reading! I didn't know it was possible to be so happy. Its such a blessing to have taught them! They are doing great and the youngest, Donnovan will be baptized in February when he turns eight. He was sad he couldn't get baptized but is excited for February!

I know that Heavenly Father is so aware of us and He definitely provides a way to accomplish all things. If their is one thing I am learning out here, it is that.

In our ward here they are doing a  " Christmas in Nauvoo" the food will be in the gym and then the whole building will be decorated with different rooms like a black smith shop, a theater room ( for the kids ) , a  candy shop and just different things like that and people can dress up. I think it will be pretty cool. I dont know if I will be here though!

Transfers are in two weeks! Who knows what will happen. I love that the youth are coming over for the lights! I do wish I could be there. I miss my sunday school kids and think of them all the time. Esspecially sundays at church. I love love love your perspective of Romney running and how much it has got people asking questions. Its so true. As missionaries, we love questions!! haha. I had my first Multi Zone conference and it was awesome. We found out that every mission has a compliment which is how many missionaries that can be in our mission the compliment went from 200 to 250.

We are at 180 so we will be getting 60-70 new missionaries over the next comming months!! Its so exciting!! If finally started getting cool here and I can wear my scarfs so I am loving the weather. I am so excited for the holidays!! I love this time of years.

 Sorry its short today. I know I have other things to tell you but we are pressed for time because its not p day. OH! I remembered. Im going on splits tonight for the first time. It will be exciting! I hope... haha. We are splitting off with the senior sisters so I think it will be fun. Also as part of my training, I have to lead ALL the lessons this week. ALL of them. It will be good. I love this work, even when its hard. I have grown to love the gospel more than I ever thought I could and Im so grateful to be a part of it. I love you both so much! Be safe. LOVE YOU BIG BIG. Talk to you soon my beautiful little family :)  miss you!

 

Love,

Sister Gilmer

 

I love you I love you I love you time ten!! and more :)

October 29, 2012

A man yesterday started his talk with a quote "A talk should be like a woman's skirt- long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep your attention." I love how you never know what to expect. I laughed so hard.

A few little fun things that have happened that I haven't mentioned yet. A few weeks ago we went and talked to a lady who's big big dogs were in the yard. Her husband kept them back while we were talking to her ( she wasn't very nice) but when left, the woman goes " get em' girls." What! She put her dogs on us?? People. She called them back when they started towards us and were were fine but it was just funny.

The other day we went to talk to an older gentleman sitting in his garage that he had turned into a shop where he made toy trains for the kids for Christmas. TONS of trains everywhere, it was really neat. He was a super sweet man and we are going back to see him.

But before we left he asked us our names. To which I replied " Sister Gilmer." He leans forward and says "Kristy?" My jaw dropped.

Sister Schillemat repeated Sister Gilmer and told him her name and I was left speechless. What a weird little situation. We went to  a Halloween party the other day.

But lets be honest, things like that are just awkward when your a missionary. We kind of had to because they were our dinner though.

What else... Someone fixed us beans and rice! Sausage and everything! It felt like home. It was the best! :) So victor, the young man that got baptized a few weeks ago received the priesthood yesterday and is still excited for a mission! I cant get over how awesome he is! He makes my day every time. We also met another man names Ismael who is a little older.

We have met with him once and taught the Restoration and are meeting with him again on Tuesday. He is also pretty sweet! He committed to baptism before we even finished inviting him and he was very receptive to the lesson. Super sweet and said the most humble and sincere prayer I think I have ever heard. He is amazing! We met another kid who is 18. his name is Daniel and we had a similar lesson with him. I have never seen someone so excited to receive a Book of Mormon. He was pretty awesome as well!

I know I have said it before but it continues to amaze me how prepared for the Gospel some people are. I know that Heavenly Father is truly preparing people and it is such a blessing to be a part of their lives. I love love love. teaching people.

For Halloween we have to be in by six or at the zone activity. Unless your us. My companion and I are going to the Haygoods ( senior couple in our ward) and having dinner and playing games. I'm super stoked! They are amazing and I love them to pieces! They might invite some elders but either way, its gonna be awesome! Please tell everyone I love them! And I love hearing from everyone! Its so great to get so much support through letters and I really appreciate it! Even if I don't get a chance to write back as soon as I would like. I really do appreciate all of them so much!

We also went to see a girl that we are supposed to be teaching because she invited us back but they never answer their door when we come. So we have an appointment and she pulls up at the same time as us... gets out of the car and runs inside. Little strange but, ok. We knock on the door and they turn out the porch light. haha! fun stuff.

Its sad when people are that way but when it is that extreme, all you can do is laugh because that really just happens. 

We are still teaching the four little boys and they are the best! They are so fun to teach and so excited for baptism. Their great uncle keeps me laughing. He picks on my ALL. THE. TIME. I love that man. He says we're best friends. :) alright. Thats it for today. Hopefully I will be able to get a letter and some pictures in the mail. I LOVE YOU ALLL!  :)

 

Sincerly,

Sister Gilmer :)

 

October 15th, 2012

Okay!

So this week was pretty normal. Just a lot of running around and trying to meet goals. We are still in the finding stage and we are finding but it is a slow process. But When we look for them we still see miracles and blessings every day. It is truly a tender mercy of the Lord. 

Okay, are you ready? Normal week, but AMAZING weekend! VICTOR WAS BAPTIZED!!! He continues to amaze me. The ward was so supportive! there were probably 50 people there at the baptism. And most importantly his mom, brothers, aunt, and grandma came. His mom said that she see can see the changes in him and how he is just happier. She will hopefully be talking to the spanish missionaries soon! Everything leading up to his baptism was just awesome! So many people in the ward reached out in so many ways with rides, clothes, refreshements for the baptism, and just being a friend. He is just a part of the ward now and was even before he was baptized. It has been a blessing to watch him grow and to play a small role in his conversion. His testimony and faith is bigger than life and he cant wait to recieve the priesthood and go on a mission soon! 

When Elder Pieper came a several weeks ago, he promised us that there were people out there who had been prepared to hear the Gospel. And that if we would work hard and focus on our purpose as missionaries and strive to find those people that we would. Victor was prepared. He was so ready. 

This is a hard work, but it is a great work, and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I will send pictures of the baptism and a few extras hope probably next week.

That was the sweet news, now for the bitter. Our sisters are leaving us! The sisters that we shared an apartment with are getting transfered out! And not only that, we arent getting new sisters! We are now the only sisters in our zone and our appartment is going to be big and quiet, but I know that it will be great! That being said you can guess that I have made it through my first transfer and this week starts transfer number two. Same companion, same area. Nothing much changes when your getting trained. But I know it is going to go by fast so I am just trying to soak up all I can. The ASL elders got moved out of our district but we got to keep the chinese elders and I think we are getting spanish elders- so we are still tri-lingual :)

Today we got to wash our car! woot woot! Its nice to put your toes in the grass and get a little wet. It was also sister Grahams birthday! So we washed her van too :) She lets us wash our car, do laundry, really whatever we need. Lets be honest here- we have a key. I think I have told you that before but its pretty crazy. The ward is so good to us. We have another couple in the ward, the Bonillas; they coordinate our dinner calendar- which is always full. Anyway they have a candy droor in their fridge and get offened if we dont walk in, make ourselves at home, and grab a zip lock bag and fill it with chocolate before we leave. ey ey ey! Good people. 

Im trying to think of anything else exciting thats happened but the baptism is pretty much all that has been on my brain. Sorry, I didnt write things down through the week. I will tell you though. We are teaching three little  boys and they are the cutest! There are acctaully four but The youngest is seven so we cant technically count him as an investigator. they are awesome though! They came to Victors baptism and are even more excited to be baptized now!!!! they are so fun to teach. Their great uncle is a member and he is awesome. He is an older man from Louisiana :) And picks on me ALL the time. Its fun. 

Wish me luck on a new transfer! I LOVE YOU BIGGER THAN LIFE. 

My letters during the week have dwindled. I guess that is normal but still sad. lol. So I would love to hear from you.  I love love love you. Ya'll have an amazing week!! 

 

PEACE& BLESSINGS,

Sister Gilmer :)

October 9th, 2012

18 and 19 year old missionaries! WHAAAAT! There are going to be so many more missionaries!!! This is such a great work and these are the last days! How exciting is that!!

Okay so lots to tell you in a short amount of time. First of all thank you so much for your e mails and thoughts about conference. I loved hearing them!! and thanks for the pictures of the puppies, haha. I miss those little stinkers. 

Some one gave us a buttercup squash the other day. About six minutes in the microwave and they are apparently pretty tasty. Sorry I didn't e mail yesterday. I guess it was Columbus day. Not that any one celebrates Columbus day, but the library was still closed.

Halloween!! Are you so excited for Halloween!!! ??? I am :P I got some Halloween stickers and some pumpkin spice granola cereal to get me in the mood. Hahah. I wish we could decorate! Seems like everyone decorates here so that is fun.

We talked to one lady Sunday who was burying some bones in her yard and she was the sweetest thing. We actually talked to her for about 20-30 min and were late for our dinner appointment but it all worked out. We are hoping she will call us.

So we have been teaching a family and they are wonderful but not progressing and its been a little heart breaking. We got to a point where we were just stuck. We have taught them for two months, they know most of the lessons, we have brought so many ward families over and done FHE's and all kinds of stuff and nothing. They wont keep their commitments! We didn't know what to do and kept praying and the other day the mom called and said they were going to stick with their church and just going to try to be more faithful in their own religion. At first I was pretty sad but thinking about it. Maybe we just needed to nurture the seed that had been planted in them. Their faith in Christ was strengthened and I am grateful to have been a part of it and to be able to know them and see their family grow.

Its amazing to read the scriptures as a missionary. With such a concentrated focus on the Gospel things stick out at me that I have never taken notice of before.

You know how I said I was learning it all over again in the mtc? Well I'm learning it all over again, AGAIN. But its the best. One of my favorite talks in Conference was Elder Bednar. He rocked it! It is not simply good enough to have a testimony but we must be continually converted to Jesus Christ by His Gospel. AHH! Amen to that. It is by doing the little things every day that helps us really build our foundation in Christ (Hel 5:12) that helps us be continually converted. What a blessing!

Other favorites from conference- Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Holland! OHHH so good! I can't wait for the Ensign to come out! Well I have almost made it to the end of my first transfer! CRAZY! Almost two months. It goes fast. And yet I still find time to miss you. But the blessings and miracles are unreal. With the business of normal every day life cut out... although we are still busy, I find myself noticing and appreciating so much more than I did before. Like washing the car is actually fun! Its the closest we can get to playing in water. :) But for real, its fun. I guess there is just a lot I have taken for granted in life.

The sisters are great. My district is great. I got to see my mtc district today! It was awesome! Seeing Elder Albright was the highlight of my week. HAha. He is the best. Its amazing to watch people grow and also to come to understand how much I need to grow. But no matter what our strengths or weaknesses, Heavenly Father makes up for what we lack when we align our will with His and give it all to Him. I'm so grateful for that. I love you so much and look forward to hearing from you soon. Go to the temple a little extra for me. I just went and am already beginning to miss it. We are still looking forward to a Baptism on the 14th! There is nothing more exciting than watching someone take that step.

 

Sincerely,

Sister Gilmer

love ya!

Hello :)

This week has been a good one. If Im being honest, it was hard and stressful at times. But when you get to see the miracles, It makes it all worth it.

You wouldnt believe I have already warn out two pair of shoes... crazy. I guess that is a good thing. So there is a lady in the ward from Louisiana! She is an older black lady and her name is Sister Betty Harris. She had us over for lunch and made homemade fried chicken, fresh greens, and cornbread. Everything about her is Louisiana and let me just tell you, I felt at home.

Its interesting where the little tender mercies of the Lord come in through the simple things like that. While we were their she also had a friend over who had lunch with us. we just chatted and then at the end shared a spiritual thought. I dont even remember what sister Harris said but her friend replied "well how do you know that? I want to know where I came from." We had a lesson on the plan of salvation.. coolest thing.

The other day was a doozie. I think it might have actually been last week and I just forgot to tell you but I have to mention the Haygoods and how wonderful they are to us. They are a senior couple serving here in Riverside and they are in our ward. I was having a hard day and we went up to the office and brother haygood gave me a blessing we talked for about an hour. Again, dont worry. This is truly the best expierience of my life, it just gets hard sometimes. But there are so many wonderful people here taking care of me. But he also gave me some scriptures that he used when he first came out. They are full of lessons, quotes, and cheats haha. It was really sweet and definitely made me feel loved.

Remeber how I told you about Sister Jenkins. Well there are always stories about sister Jenkins. She was telling us the other day about going trick or treating on her scooter dressed up as a cowgirl singing Christmas carols. She said she comes home with lots of candy though so l guess whatever works. We dont get to go out on halloween. We actually have to stay inside; but, the haygoods are trying to get permission for all the sisters to come over and watch a movie(mission appropriate of course). So that will be fun. Of course I will be thinking of you and missing Hocus pocus. Yall should do something fun for your anniversary! Im only going to be gone so long :) might as well enjoy it! haha.

Oh! We knocked on doors for the first time this week! It wasnt as bad as I thought and people are really nice for the most part. Usually we do street contacting and go to parks and we are able to talk to a lot of people that way but we tried the whole door to door thing. We do things I thought I would never do.... dad plug your ears. Like talk to homeless people. DONT WORRY! we do it during the day, we listen to the spirit and the lord is protecting us :) love you.

GENERAL CONFERENCE IS COMING UP!!! Im a little excited. I hope you guys are planning on watching it. I know you are :) 

And oh my goodness thank you for the cute little cards here and there! They help more than you will ever know! You guys are the best! 

We went to the temple the other day and and it was an ASL session!! It was pretty sweet but I had to ignore the ASL screen after a while because I was paying more attention to that than the session. It was pretty cool though. Its amazing what a strength attending the temple is. Im so grateful we get to go.

Okay more miracles! We had some pretty sweet ones this week and I have about twenty minutes left so I will share a few. We have an area book that just keeps records of our investigators so no one gets forgotten. So we go through it as often as we can and try to contact people that we have met with in the past. So we came to this one kid named Junior. It said he had a gang background, etc. We hesitated on calling for just a moment because as sisters there are some situations we dont get into but decided to call him anyway.

Ready for a miracle? No one answered the phone and we were ready to close our planning when someone calls back from the same number. It wasnt junior, it was a woman who didnt even live in our area; but, she said that her children live here with their father who is not a memeber and they havent been to church in a long time. She prayed that they would find a way back to church just that morning. We havent been able to meet with them yet but we have stopped by and talked to the dad and called the daughter and will hopefully be meeting with them soon.

Prayers are answered? Of course they are! We went to visit another man who had met with the missionaries quite some time ago and unfortunately he has just had a beer. BUT. He was still impressed and interested and we are going back to meet with him when he is more coherant. But we talked with him about the restoration of the church and it was a really good discussion. Now for my pride and joy. I told you about our investigator who is on date for baptism. He is amazing! We took him to a baptism last night and he said he cant wait for his baptism. Its in two weeks!!! He goes to any church thing he can during the week and always comes to church. He is excited about genereal conference and keeps all his commitments. This kid rocks! He even fasted yesterday and he is so smart! Every lesson with him is the best. He just gets it, and even when he asks questions ... he's like, yeah that makes sense. We talked to him about the word of wisdom and he was totoally cool with it. Then he asked if their were other restrictions asking specifially about tattoos and we talked to him about it. He replied " ok, good".

When we talked to him about the priesthood, he said " thats a big responsibility but I think I can live up to it". We had a lesson with him yesterday and he prayed for more challenges so he could prove himself. He is amazing. He is so prepared. I may have alerady said this but I feel like I walked into a miracle. Its awesome! He is awesome! The work is awesome! I love love love it!

Well those are the biggies this week. I wish I could share all of the wonderful things that happen. Its incredible.

Well thats all for today. I love you all so much. Im so grateful for you and all that you do. I feel so blessed to have your support and love. It means the world to me. Im so grateful for the Gospel. It is the biggest blessing. Love you big BIG. More. Better. and Best. Have an amazing week!! 

Okay, LOVE YOU!

 

Love,

Sister Gilmer :)

September 24th, 2012

Hello!

Today is another prep. day and I am hoping that it goes a little smoother than last  p-day because everything tried to go wrong. Sister Schillemat and I went to get our hair cuts which took four hours. Thats a lot of time as a missionary. Then we came to the Library to write e mails and the computers shut down. Because we didnt have a lot of time left and we have to wash our car ever Monday, we decided to go through one of the quick ones that do it for you- we did the cheapest one, $7 but it didnt give us the change for the $10 we put in it.

Then a homeless lady walks out in the middle of the road up to our car asking for money. I had about no time to write letters and it was a little sad but all in all still a good day. We laughed about it. I think some other misfortunes happened but I dont really rememeber.

This morning our Zone hiked Mt. Rubidoux... and by mountain I mean a rocky hill. But it still took quite a bit of effort expecially in the sun. Totally worth it though. It was really pretty. Hopefully I will be able to send some pictures. We are going to try to print some today. Sorry I know I keep promising pictures. There just never seems to be enough time.

Side note- I REALLY appreciate all the letters I have been getting. It really makes a huge difference and has made me feel very loved. So yeah, I really appreciate that :)

I promise I am going to try to get to as many of them as I can today. Its just we can only write on p day and I have 17 to answer! Goodness.

Today I finally talked to our ASL Elder who is Deaf and It was exciting to get to actually use my sign. I have talked to him here and there in the past but we finally had a real conversation so it was nice. Unfortunately he goes home in three weeks but another one is coming in!

It seems like little miracles happen every day even when your in the middle of a challenge. I think my favorite this week was a lady that we have been trying to go visit since I got here three weeks ago. We finally stopped by when she was home and she let us in. She is an older woman and told us all about how she is moving because she had been scammed and all her money was taken. She said that it really tried her faith but she is trying to work on her relationship with God. Naturally, we asked her if we could teach her. She said not now for a few different reasons and then I had a really neat experience. Before we left I bore my testimony to her. I have no idea of what. But she looked at me and said that she would give it a shot and that after she gets moved we can come see her because she really felt something as I was talking to her so she thought we could help her.

I think it was in that moment that I realized why Im here. I knew it wasn't me. I know it was the spirit. But I was grateful to be a part of that experience. I feel so blessed to get to share this message of hope and love with such amazing people. She was my first "new" investigator and Im so excited to get to know her. I love this Gospel.

This week has seemed to be a bit of a challenge but I never feel alone. I know with all my heart that this is the Lords work and I am so happy to be a part of it. I cant believe Im half way through my first transfer. It really does go fast. I miss you all and love you  tons. Sorry to make this one short but my time is almost up.

I would love to hear from all of you. Sorry I cant write as often as I would like. Please know how much I love you.

One more thing... my bishop reminds me of Mr. Gibson!! (HS band director) It makes me smile. And I dont think I mentioned that we have three other little boys, twin11 year olds and a twelve year old getting ready to be baptized. :) and then I told you about the 18 year old :) and the last visit with him his brother seemed more interested.

Its exciting! The whole family is truely a miracle. I will have to tell you more about it next week.

 

LOVE YOU. READ AND PRAY EVERY DAY. Why you ask? because its pretty much the best.

 

 

LOVE YOU MORE BETTER AND BEST.

 

Sister Kristy Leann Gilmer

 

September 18th

We went and got haircuts this morning and in took FOUR HOURS. Goodness, that wasnt expected but its okay. Worse things could happen. 

This week was wonderful. The conference with Elder Piper was absolutely amazing. It took pretty much the whole day but seemed to fly by.

I feel really blessed to have been able to have learned so many things right at the start of my mission. Can you believe a month has already gone by? We have someone on date for baptism! He is amazing! He has definitely been prepared. The things he knows are amazing and his prayers are so sincere. He is 18 and comes to church alone but has come for the past three weeks and loves it.

He and his brother are full of questions all the time and its awesome to just sit down and discuss the gospel.

We also have three little boys that we have been teaching that want to get baptized. Its so fun teaching kids. Im pretty sure there is nothing better. We try to come up with different kinds of games and activities to keep them interested, but that will still help them to learn and understand the lesson.

It is such a blessing to get to be a part of the process. So obviously we go out and talk to people a lot- anyone and everyone. It is really neat to hear peoples stories and their relationship with God. I love it! I have a funny story to tell you and I guess you can decide if you want to put it in the blog or not. but there is this older lady in the ward who calls us to come over and do a chore for her and share a spiritual thought at least once a week. She is so funny! She has a wicked laugh. So just a few quick things about her because I am almost out of time.

She rides her scooter around town when she wants to go somewhere ( you know like the motorized wheel chairs). She thinks she works for the police department and so she will go down to Staters ( one of the local stores) and put in an hour of " patrolling". haha. Whatever that meants. She also writes and goes down to where all the homeless people hang out to get "inspiration". She is so sweet though. She keeps us entertained. She prays for us that we get "fed and watered properly" and that we dont die :)

Our sisters we share the apartment with continue with their pranks. they put little glass beads on top of our fan so when we turned it on they all flew off.

Getting smacked in the face with a pillow is not uncommon when walking around a corner and they have made it more interesting by putting baby powder in the case so white dust flies everywhere. It keeps life exciting, they are a lot of fun. I continue to run into Deaf people around the comunity and it is fun to get to talk to them.

Oh! I also learned to introduce myself as a missionary in spanish. Im not very good at it. I totally sound like a white girl but its still exciting. Well my time is up but I love you both so much! :) Im so grateful for all your support, it makes all the difference in the world. There are missionaries here who have no support from home and I can only imagine how hard it would be. 

A few other things... our district is tri lingual. Not sure if I told you that but we have english, mandrain, and ASL. Its pretty sweet and one of the ASL elders is Deaf  :) 

I love life. I LOVE YOU! I love the gospel. 

Have a good week! LOVE LOVE LOVE!! okay... times up. LOVE YOU!

Sister Gilmer

 

Sister Gilmer is out in the mission field!

Sister Gilmer is out in the mission field! 

The new group of missionaries right after they stepped off the plane in Riverside California!

Sister Gilmer and her companion.

This blog post is from parts of an email Sister Gilmer sent to her parents this past week. 

"Just some random things happening .... our district leader just asked me and my companion if we could teach for thirty minutes on sunday.

There is some mtc somebody sitting in on our district meeting and wants to hear from a compatable and loving companionship or something like that. wow! expeirences! Its crazy how quickly things like that just become so normal. Not that it doesnt make me nervous but I think from teaching SO MUCH. I have really been able to learn to listen and trust the spirit. It is the greatest thing. But dont get me wrong I still have so much to learn. Not to mention, I dont know if I already told you guys but for sacrament meeting everyone has to prepare a talk and then they just pick someone at random. Like you litterally find our that you are giving your talk when they announce that your next. 

Guess who they picked. haha It was our  entire district squeezed in one room and I was sitting on the back row in the far corner where it was impossible for me to get out. I acctually said it my head, "heavenly father, please just not today" well I guess he knows best. I know he does. the mtc has tried my testimony a lot. some days are really hard. But it has strengthened my testimony so much more that it doesnt even matter what trials or challenges I have, they are so worth it. I finally caught up on my letters today! that was exciting and the temple was wonderful as always. It definitely helps get me through the week!! for sure! Cool thing. My teachers taught an entire lesson to an "investigator" for us to see today. Such a neat experience. I think my favorite part is when someone quotes the first vision. I cant help but feel the spirit and it continues to strengthen my testimony every time! Its also neat to see how all of the things we have learned and practiced really do come together. It is so great. I dont know if any of this is making sense... all my thought are jumbled together so I hope it does. but most importantly, just know that I love you guys so much!"

Please keep her in your thought as prayers! and please write her a letter! She would love to hear from you!

Sister Kristy Leann Gilmer
California Riverside Mission
5900 Grand Ave.
Riverside, CA 92504-1328
United States