A Good Week in McKinney! 4.27.2015

Hello, hello!

Another good week in McKinney! First and foremost, Sister Weichers and I are staying together for another transfer! Party! Oh, we are so happy! What a blessing to get to serve in this wonderful area with this wonderful companion for another 6 weeks! 

Happy 10 months!

An update on BE! He is home from the hospital and is recovering well! He's going to be having a lot of free time due to his 6 month recovery, so we challenged him to start reading the Book of Mormon. He readily agreed, so we are excited about that! 

Wednesday we got this little black box in our car. It's called a Tiwi, and it tracks our driving and stuff. We lovingly call it Kevin. Anyway, we got to go to a meeting and get spiritually fed once again. I always love seeing Sister Taylor and my other missionary friends. 

I learned/was reminded that the Holy Ghost directs, instructs, and corrects. The Holy Ghost will give us little course corrections necessary to keep us on the covenant path. Heavenly Father expects us to take steps forward, but he won't let us go wrong. He'll always let us know and give us corrections or directions to keep us on track.

So I've been having this perfection complex on my mission. Like, I know that I'm doing good things, but I have so far to reach who I want to be. It can actually be a little debilitating at times, but I've rediscovered some really good scriptures this week that have really helped. And I did some "likening" with it as well. 

Ether 12:23-27

23 And I said unto him: Lord, the Texans will mock at these things, because of my weakness in [contacting, teaching, etc]; for Lord thou hast made me mighty in [testimony, conversion, etc] by faith, but thou hast not made me mighty in [contacting, etc]...
 24 And thou hast made me that I could [contact, teach, etc] but little,because of my awkwardness.Behold, thou hast not made me mighty in [contacting, teaching, etc] like unto the [amazing missionaries who I am comparing myself with],...
 25 ....Wherefore, when I [contact, teach, etc] I behold my weakness, and stumble because of the placing of my words; and I fear lest the Gentiles shall mock at my words.
 26 And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me,saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Loved it. I've learned a lot about trust. In Relief Society yesterday, someone said, Let it go, and let God. I really liked it. Someone also said, Don't let the small imperfections blur your vision from the progress that you're making. 

I'm so grateful that we have this time on earth to progress and become better. No, I'm not perfect, but I'm trying. And that's a good start. 

Good news! SU passed her baptismal interview and is all set to get baptized this Saturday! I'm so excited for that sweet girl! 

At church yesterday we got to teach Sunday School for the 16-18 yr olds in one ward, and Priests' quorum in the other ward. We got to teach the Restoration in both classes and I realized how grateful I am that I get to testify of the restoration every. single. day. It's the best. 

Bishop and Sister Hook selfie

One funny story: after a very scant dinner yesterday, we were both really hungry. We would normally just go to the store and buy food. But it was Sunday. So we called our Bishop's wife and she made chocolate chip waffles for us. BLESSINGS. Waffles are blessings.

We ended the week with a very sweet lesson. A family in our ward had some of their non-member friends visiting from out of state and they came to church with them. Sister Weichers and I were speaking in sacrament, so that was nice, and they came to Sunday school where we talked about the creation and God's love for us. Sunday evening, we went to their house, answered some questions, and showed the 20 minute Restoration. The Spirit was so strong. Then the members in our ward shared their testimonies of the Book of Mormon and the dad then invited their friends to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. The invitation was about a million times more powerful coming from the member to their friends! They agreed to do so. I am so grateful for wonderful members.

I love this gospel. I love this work. I love each of you!!

Love,

Sister Gilbert

Hey Y'all 4.20.15

I never know what to put in the subject line.

So we'll just go with that. :)

It's been a good week! We've worked hard and had fun, all the good things. :)

Last Monday we had some really good Family Home Evenings. The McKinney Stake President lives in one of our wards, so we had the opportunity to go to their home and teach the Stake President, his wife, and 10 year old son the Restoration. It was a really nice visit! I sure do love the members! 

Tuesday we had a good time at the Relief Society activity.They had a service auction where everyone brought an item or service. Then they had this fun little survey to award the "points" to bid with. Sister Weichers and I ended up bidding together and winning some adorable little texas blocks. 

Wednesday was crazy. Not only were we super busy, but we found out some crazy news. We were just finishing up at our service activity helping with the GED classes when we got a text from FL. She told us that BE had a heart attack. Luckily, he was at work (at the hospital) when it all happened, so he was able to just immediately go into surgery to get help! Our Bishop and one of his counselors were able to go down to Plano to the hospital and give him a blessing which he gladly received. He ended up having to have 6 bypasses. I think that FL receiving the blessing just a few days before really helped prepare him to be willing to get a blessing. Crazy. But he's doing well now. He's out of the ICU and is walking around. FL said he should be home on Wednesday. He'll be out of work for 6 months for the recovery. He's going to go crazy though not being able to work for that long!! Good news though is that they are still on track for marriage and baptism. I think it upped the ante a little bit. 

Friday we got to work at Trade Days again. It sure does make for some LONG days, but it's nice to just have so many people to talk to. So our dinner on Friday was great! Brother and Sister Clark are both artists, so Brother Clark drew caricatures of Sister Weichers and I! So fun. So if you ever wondered what I looked like in cartoon form, now you know!

Saturday we had a great new member lesson with AB again. She told us that she wants us to come live with her and be her big sisters! It was the sweetest thing. 

Saturday night the winds started a blowing. We were giving some supplies and stuff to the zone leaders and just chatting in a parking lot. The wind came in and the temperature dropped like 10 degrees and it started sprinkling. We knew a storm was coming, so we jumped in the car and drove home. By the time we got home about 7 minutes later it was a torrential storm! We were outside for about 20 seconds, just long enough to run inside and I was SOAKED!!!!! Hahaha. It was so great.

Sister Weichers and I were able to go into Young Women's yesterday and share our experience of deciding to serve a mission and how that is our path to eternal life. I hadn't shared the story and deciding to come on a mission for a long time, and I realized once again how involved the Spirit was in that decision and preparation. I am so grateful for this beautiful gospel. I know that I'll get to live with my family for eternity, and I am SO grateful for that. I know that power comes through living the gospel and from relying on the Atonement. 

I invite y'all to 1) have a beautiful week and 2) share your testimony with someone. I can promise that doing so will strengthen your testimony!

I love each and everyone of you!

Love,

Sister Gretchen Gilbert

Another week! 4.13.2015

Hello! It's been another full, crazy, busy week in McKinney, Texas (just the way I like it).

Monday started off with some delicious Thai food. Yum. Nothing beats a good Pad Thai.

Tuesday we finally got back in with an investigator we meet over a month ago. She was really receptive and kind to us, so we shall see how that all goes. We had a picnic dinner with one of our favorite families. Nothing beats a good picnic.

Then Tuesday night I got to go on an exchange with the lovely, Sister Aumua!! It was so much fun to be reunited with my trainer for a day! We were very nostalgic and just shared memories and stories from the good old days in Allen! :) We had a really good lesson with SU and she and her family were able to watch two sessions of conference, which we were really happy about! SU’s mom told us that as she watched she felt really strongly that she needs to read the Book of Mormon. She has questions about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and everything, so it was wonderful to hear that she received revelation to read! Also, good news! SU, her mom and her brother all came to church! Yes! I've loved seeing the change in that family over the past few months! It has been incredible! I love the their family dearly and pray that they will be able to continue and progress.

Wednesday night we got to help with the youth's activity. They were going out and taking surveys to some neighborhoods about family history! We ended up getting 13 referrals from it. I was so proud of the youth for getting out there and getting rejected and accepted. So good. The youth are amazing!

We found out that JE and CI watching all the sessions of conference!!! Boo yeah!!! I love when investigators choose the right and keep commitments!!

Sister Weichers and I had a really good heart-to-heart Friday night. I sure do love that woman!! We are truly enjoying every minute of our transfers together. :) LOVE.

Saturday was awesome! The zone leaders had a baptism and we got to give the presentation of the Restoration while she was changing. I love the message that we share!! it's so wonderful to testify of its truthfulness time and time again. We ended up getting in with 2 less-actives and 1 recent convert who we haven't been able to meet with yet and teach all of them! Oh it was so good. Miracles in McKinney!

We also got to teach sharing time in Primary. The lesson was, "Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ." Again, I love teaching and testifying of the first vision. It's such a wonderful, hopeful message!

HERE'S THE BEST PART.

So, remember BE? We committed him to baptism a couple of weeks ago?? WELL lo and behold his girlfriend said yes and they're getting married!! Which means that BE can get baptized!!! So we now have a date for him, July 11 - a week after they get married!! I'm so excited for them. #weddingplanning. FL was a little unsettled, but we had some brothers from the ward come give her a blessing. We were able to explain the priesthood more to BE and help him catch a further vision of who he can become! FL told us that during and after the blessing she really just could feel of God's love and comfort. Oh how I love these people!

WELL, have a good week! Remember that the Lord loves you, and that He knows you perfectly!

LOVE Y'ALL!!

Sister Gilbert :)

Be real, be genuine - 4.6.2015

Hello to all my beautiful people!

It's been another great week here in the TDM, especially up here in Mighty McKinney!

Here's some miracles and cool stories real quick for ya!

Monday we were early to our FHE so we were knocking the doors around their house. We knocked on a door and asked if we could share an Easter video. The lady said they were just sitting down to eat dinner, but to come back in an hour. So we did FHE then went back. We showed her the video and taught her the Restoration! She really liked it! We got a text from her later in the week telling us that she and her husband were no longer interested, but it really was just a great experience to have another tracting success.

After a good district meeting on Tuesday we went with Sister Stensrud to visit ST again. She wasn't doing very well, but we just chatted with her and prayed with her. I love that woman!! Even when she's having such a hard time, ST sure just knows how to make me feel good about herself. LOVE. Anyways, on Wednesday, Sister Weichers and I went back with Sis. Stensrud and cleaned her apartment!! I scrubbed her showers for about 2 hours (don't worry,they weren't that bad, I just am slow and thorough). I had a realization that it's so much easier to clean for someone you love!! It didn't feel like a chore, just another opportunity to express love for her! And then on Saturday between sessions of Conference, Sister Weichers and I "heart attacked" her door with scriptures!! Oh, how we love her.

We moved SU's baptismal date back to May 2, but she committed to come to church every week in April, AND she watched 2 sessions of general conference! SU told us that she's excited to get baptized and just needs to be a little more comfortable at church. I love that girl.

We've spent all week just going around trying to show people the Because He Lives video. Every time that I watch it, my testimony, love, and devotion for the Savior just deepens and grows. How I love Jesus Christ!! I truly know that He lives!

Thursday we had interviews and zone meeting with President Taylor and the Assistants! It was another wonderful meeting! We received a training on "transitions" so like how to have a normal conversation with people then direct the conversation to the gospel. I'm still really awkward at that, but we're practicing and it's getting better. We also received training on being real, being our selves, being genuine. The mission makes us grow. We become refined! We also got a really good training on "Correcting the drift and recalculating with minimums." We talked about how sometimes we've "drifted" away from the person we want to be or thought we were. But, if we use minimums we can recalculate. A minimum is the smallest meaningful unit of behavior that will make a difference  (change or close a gap) in our lives. I LOVED this training so much. It was definitely an answer to prayer.

Friday. We had another lesson with BE. (I think I've told you about it??? Maybe not. Anyways. His girlfriend, FL, is a member and her daughter were baptized last year. Well, BE's been investigating the church for a few years on and off. He's just a little stubborn and loves the Bible. (Nothing wrong with that). So on Friday, we just chatted for a while with them because we're friends, and BE is more receptive if we are ourselves. So we got into the lesson and taught using the pamphlet again. (Best tool ever.) Can I just say that that was the most spirit-led lesson I've ever taught?! We were given so many inspired questions, and BE really did most of the talking, just teaching himself the lesson. We helped him understand the priesthood authority and how it's been restored. And!?!?! Then we popped the question: If you come to know that this is true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding that priesthood authority? And he said yes!!! We don't have a specific date yet, but he said yes. And he agreed to say the prayer at the end of the lesson. It was a very spiritual, specific prayer asking to know if the Book of Mormon is true and thanking Heavenly Father for his many blessings. I love that man. I hope he continues to progress!!

We got to watch conference with JE and CI!! That was a big blessing! I love them. We had a blueberry muffin and orange juice party and had a grand old time.

Also, I fulfilled one of my life goals: Eating at Texas Roadhouse in Texas. Check.

I loved General Conference. I really enjoyed Elder Cook's thoughts about the sunflowers. "The Lord is my light and my salvation." Also, Elder Bednar's thoughts on faith. "Fear is dispelled through correct knowledge of and faith in Jesus Christ.' Also, President Uchtdorf's thoughts on grace. "Grace refines us and helps us become our best self."

Well, I love y'all! Be Good!!

Love,
Sister Gretchen Julie Gilbert

If You Believe In Heavenly Father, Raise Your Hand 3.30.2015

Wow!! It has been a week to remember, that's for sure! 

So, Brother Donaldson (the head of proselyting in the Missionary Department) and Brother Jarman (the director of MTC teachers) came and visited us!! They talked all about the Doctrine of Christ, how to make planning more effective, and last but not least, they trained us in this WONDERFUL way to teach the Restoration really powerfully! We use the pamphlets (ps check out the app LDS Pamphlets) and can teach it in about 7 minutes!!! So awesome!! It was seriously my favorite meeting that I've been to on my whole mission!! Plus I got to see a few of my missionary friends who I haven't seen in a while. I'm not entirely sure why  I got invited to that meeting, but I do know that it has rekindled the fire of missionary work in my, and that I have the tools to be an even more effective missionary!!! So awesome. It was kinda neat, because I had been taught some of the principles and applications at the MTC, but had forgotten them over the 9 months of being in the field. GOOD REMINDERS FOR SURE.

I'll just highlight some of my favorite things from the meeting: 

• The way that we come to know Christ is through making and keeping covenants.
• You can feel the Savior's love and Atonement before you are baptized, but you can't access the redeeming, enabling, exalting power of the Atonement until after baptism. It's like the Holy Ghost; we can feel the influence, but we are granted the GIFT after we have made covenants. 
• My purpose as a missionary is to connect people to heaven.
• The missionary lessons could be summarized into the following: Revelation, The Atonement, and the Way. (Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Gospel of Jesus Christ)
• The more you understand the doctrine of Christ, the more it will change you and cause you to want to share it.
• The people we meet and teach were all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Premortal-day Saints. Help them connect with Heaven, and they will remember. 
• Also, the First Vision directly coincides with Lehi's family. Visions and truth, persecutions, a new book, obtaining a record of scripture, and leaving an old life for a better. So neat!

So following this amazing training on Thursday, we had an amazing experience on Saturday! We had a media referral for someone name JO asking for a bible. So we went to his house and gave him the Bible. We then asked him if we could share a message with him about how much God loves him and wants him to find truth and happiness in his life. We then taught him the Restoration using the pamphlet in about 10 minutes. We invited him to be baptized which he gladly accepted! We then committed him to May 9 and to come to church and read the Book of Mormon. All within about a 20 minute time frame. We arranged a ride for him coordinating through our ward council. We were texting him to confirm and he told us that he was so excited to come to church and be surrounded by more godly people. Well, he came to church yesterday! He enjoyed sacrament meeting and the ward was so welcoming to him! My testimony continues to be strengthened that the Lord truly prepares people! I have great love for JO! He texted us this morning and said, "By the way, I believe we have met before, I just don't know where, but maybe you can figure it out better than I can." I had the spirit witness to me that Sister Weichers and I did know JO before this life in the spirit world! What a tender experience!

Also, with the new initiative out for Easter, the #BecauseHeLives, we went out on Saturday morning before our set appointments. Within 15 minutes of being outside, we talked a guy named JE taught a few concepts, prayed, and set a return appointment. BOOM. New investigator! Wow, I'm telling you, the Lord is preparing his children!

The weather is beautiful here. On Saturday we went down to a big-o lake/pond thing to read The Book of Mormon with a less-active. It was such a tender mercy for me to be able to be outside for a little while and just enjoy the nice weather and the scriptures. 

My favorite quote from church yesterday: a little 5 year old bearing his testimony. "If you believe in Heavenly Father, raise your hand. Looks like all of you. Then you know it's good for your soul." Oh I died it was so cute. :)

My testimony echoes his though. I know that this gospel is good for our souls. It's actually essential. :) How grateful I am for it! I know God lives. I know He loves us. Because He Lives, I too can live.

Much love,

Sister Gretchen Gilbert

Happy 9 Months?! 3.23.2015

Holy Tolito! I hit my 9 month mark this week (aka on Wednesday). Where has the time gone? I honestly can't believe that I've been out this long. What a great journey it's been so far though!

This week has rocked! Week 1 of transfer #7. Love it. 

Here's a quick play by play/list of miracles from this week. (And when I say quick, I really mean really long.)

We were finally able to connect with 4 or so less-actives that we hadn't previously been able to get in contact with! So that was awesome. On Tuesday we felt impressed to go drop by one of our members and share a scripture with her. So we did. She told us that she'd like to go out teaching with us, so we were able to coordinate with her to have her come with us to read scriptures with a less-active male that we haven't been able to visit because we just couldn't find someone to come with us. So that was a huge blessing. 

We taught SU twice this week! For one of the lessons, we had another mom/daughter combination come with us. We taught the plan of salvation, and Sister McLaws and her daughter were both able to testify of the plan. It was so sweet. Then we saw SU and her mom (who is a less-active member) again on Saturday. We weren't able to find a member to come with us, so we just went. It ended up going really well. SU's mom was able to help teach parts of The Gospel of Jesus Christ to her, so that was really amazing to see. :)

Sister Weichers and I both had really profound statements that I'd like to share:

• Sister Weichers: Finding people is what builds us but when we find them, God gives us the opportunity to help build them too. It's a 9:1 ratio. 90% of the time we are being built and 10% of the time we build.
• Sister Gilbert: It's not that the mantle of responsibility has gotten any lighter, it's just that we've gotten stronger.

We got to start helping out at some GED classes. We're just tutoring the students and giving them one-on-one help. The people are very humble and very dedicated. I'm excited to see where it will go.

We got to go to the temple and see the PR family (a family from Gilmer) receive their endowments and be sealed together for time and eternity. It was even their anniversary! Oh it was a special day. And even better, Sister Weichers and I both were able to find a family name to take to the temple. So, it was just wonderful.

Sister Weichers and Sister Gilbert at the Dallas Temple

So on Saturday we had an hour or so before dinner. We had planned to knock doors on a street called Sunflower. So we drove over there, chose a side of the street and started knocking. The first door no one was home. The next door, a guy answered. We gave our normal contact ("We're missionaries form the Church.... We're sharing a message about Jesus Christ and His gospel and how His gospel can greatly bless our families. Would you be willing to listen to our message?"). Typically people will say no. BUT TODAY WAS DIFFERENT. This man said yes! (PS his name is FR). So we taught FR the Restoration on his doorstep! He works with a Mormon lady and had a bunch of questions about the Word of Wisdom, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. We were able to answer some of them, and he was genuinely interested. So we asked for a return appointment, and he said yes again! We got his information and went along our way. Obviously, Sister Weichers and I were very excited! So we kept knocking the doors on Sunflower. At the next 6 or so houses, no one answered the door. Then we knocked on a door and a guy answered. We totally recognized him. Turns out, we had knocked on his door like a month prior and he had told us no. We came to realize, that we had ALREADY KNOCKED SUNFLOWER. But we had just totally forgotten and not made a record of it anywhere. If we had remembered though, we wouldn't have knocked the street again and we never would have found FR!! Oh my goodness. It was just so amazing. Oh, and the best part is that it's in 7th ward, where the work has previously been much slower. BOO YEAH.

And last but not least, we had 12 new people (investigators and less-actives who haven't been previously) at church in 7th ward!!!! SU was one of these along with her mom, dad, sister, and brother!!!!!!! Okay, it was just amazing and SUCH a miracle!!

What an amazing week it has been in the old Texas Dallas Mission. Love. It. 

Cool insight from an 8 year old this week: 

CTR - choose the right

RTC - return to christ.

I can testify that Jesus is the Christ. He loves us. He loves you. He loves me. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and how grateful I am for his sacrifices! And "[I] know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). How grateful I am for this gospel!

One last thing from President Monson: You will one day stand aside and look at your difficult times, and you will realize that He was always there beside you. Oct 2013 We Never Walk Alone.

I love y'all!! 

Love,

Sister Gilbert

PS if you want good brisket, come to Texas. :)  

There is sunshine in my soul today - 3.16.2015

Oh what a good week it has been! Miracles as always! The sun is shining and the grass is green in good-o Texas.

Thursday we had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Elder Bradley D. Foster of the 70. And OH BOY what a great meeting it was!! I was able to lead the music for the meeting and it was a wonderful privilege to look out on all the singing missionaries. There's just something about a large group of Elders and Sisters singing hymns together. Also, my pen wouldn't write fast enough, but there were some really good concepts that I took from the meeting.

• We must have faith that the Savior has great faith in us. 
• You don't have to be perfect to be a good missionary.
• "I have been selected as a personal representative of the Savior Jesus Christ. My commission is to do what He wants done." 
• Sometimes we have to look back to our ancestors in order to move forward. Family History is past, present, and future. 
• Keep the end in mind. Who do I want to be by the end of my mission. How will my last prayer as a missionary be? 
• Self esteem comes from doing esteem-able things every day. 
• Prayer is an act of faith, love, and agency. Praying authorizes the Lord to bless us. Action before answers.
• And last but not least, The Lord knows me, Sister Gretchen Julie Gilbert.

Then on Saturday we worked at the Family History Booth at Trade Days again (like a flea market/swap meet). I was taught a great lesson: the Lord is the one who softens hearts. I can try as hard as I want/am able, but the Spirit is the great convincer. When the people are ready, they will be ready. We had several people just open right up to us about family history and express their interest.

Here's a neat miracle we had this morning! There's a family who lives in our apartment complex that we haven't been able to meet yet. This morning we were walking down to the mail box for Sister Weichers to mail some letters, and we saw a lady walking down the stairs. I saw her and knew that it was JE, from the family we've been trying to meet. Sister Weichers told me afterward that she knew it was her too. So we were able to talk to her and introduce ourselves and get a return appointment! We'll be seeing her on Wednesday evening.

Also, last night we were just doing some stop-bys, and we were finally able to get in with a family. They told us that they were recently traveling in San Francisco. They went to the visitors center at the Oakland temple and had a really good experience with the missionaries there. Then they were out walking in downtown San Fran and met another pair of missionaries. They had a good conversation with them as well. We were really glad to hear that they had been having such positive experiences with missionaries lately. We continue to pray that their hearts will be softened and opened. We had a really good discussion with them about Jesus Christ and got a return appointment with them for tonight!!

The work is going well. I also feel like I have grown and progressed more in this transfer than the rest of my mission put together. I've learned a lot about trust, prayer, and relying fully on the Lord. It feels like God's will this transfer was to strengthen and build Sister Gilbert. Even though it hurt at times, I am very grateful for that.

Sister Weichers and I are blessed enough to stay together another transfer in good-o McKinney, Texas. I love it here. I have officially adopted Texas as my second home. Deep in the heart of Texas, Sister Gilbert fell in love with the big skies and awesome sunsets and just the whole deal.

But even more than I love Texas, I love Jesus Christ. Oh how dearly I love Him. I know that He lives. I'd be willing to die for Him, but more importantly, I'm willing to live for Him and dedicate my life to his service!!

I also love all of y'all too. :)

Much love,
Sister Gilbert

ps we got a car. no longer living the bike life.

pics: the most delicious pie ever. unfortunately it wasn't eaten on pi day.... but i'll still include it. It was called Cloud 9. It had a layer of sea salt carmel, then butterscotch custard with a brown sugar meringue. Yum.

happy pi day. ;)