Sister Gubler is assigned her first area!

Pioneer children sang as they walked... and walked... and WALKED... AND WALKED....

Hello all!

Yep. You guessed it. I'm in a walking area. Haha! Mom, you told me it wouldn't happen. But what did I tell you?! I told the Sisters in the MTC that I was going to get a walking area because Heavenly Father knows that I HATE to exercise in the morning... And what do ya know? I'm walking. Ha! He sure has a sense of humor. We should be getting bikes soon... but we both hate riding bikes with skirts. Especially in the wind. If ya catch my drift.

Day one here in the field was spent waking up at 2am to travel by train, then traxx, to then a 10am plane to Boise. Ick. We were exhausted! So we got to Nampa and met the mission president, as well as the Elders and Sisters who had been chosen to be our trainers for the next 12 weeks. After eating lunch, we gather together and President Cannon welcomes us by saying, "Everyone grab a new companion- we're going TRACTING!" -_- yippe! haha! What a way to be welcomed! It wasn't too bad though. :)

But at the end of the night, he assigned us our companions for the next 12 weeks. My companion is Sister Halaapiapi! Pronounced (hall-uh-ah-pee-ah-pee). She's from Tonga. Seriously. She is. And she's so legit. Watch Johnny Lingo- or The Other Side of Heaven (her favorite movie) and she is LITERALLY just like those people. haha! It's so funny. She's been out for 10 months and learned English in the MTC- so she's still learning. That was a HUGE struggle for me the first few days I was here. 75% of the time, I couldn't understand a WORD she was saying. But the communication has gotten a lot better. I'm now starting to be able to translate for others (members of the ward can't understand what she's saying a lot of the time)- which is relieving. And every now and again I have to explain to her what things mean... For example...
We were walking down the road the other day and were waving at random cars as they passed by. One guy was... well... rude. And so I said, "What a punk!" She gave me the most confused look ever and said, "What is.... How you say?... A poonk?" HAHAHAHA! It's so funny. "What do people mean when they say... Uhh... How you say?... 'What a bummer'!" I feel like I need to watch what I say so that I don't corrupt her English. haha! Her favorite phrase so far is "Whadda heck?!" Oh man.

We are serving in Kuna, Idaho! Which is actually an area that covers some of Kuna, Meridian, and Nampa. We're living with a family in the ward- they gave us an entire basement to live in. And, my, is it fancy. Apparently it's one of the most coveted places here in the mission. :) There were Elders in the ward for several years here before us. So everyone is excited to have Sisters here! But Sister Halaapiapi and I are BOTH new to the area (we call that a whitewash). It's been a struggle for us. The Elders before us didn't leave barely ANY teaching records or numbers of people that they taught or any investigators. So we've had to start from scratch and do some detective work. But I managed to call around and we've gotten a long list of less actives, 3 recent converts, and about 5 potential investigators. After a long, tiring week full of struggles, we've met each one and we're pumped to start teaching. Apparently the mission president must have trusted me with something... Cause I don't know why he put a greenie into a new area. haha! He probably made a mistake. ;)

We only serve in 1 ward. But the ward is HUGEEEE. We tried walking one day... and it took us 3 hours to get from one side to the other. Yeah. Not doing that again. I felt bad because (being a greenie) I think I push my companion a little too hard... and she's getting pretty tired from walking a lot. (I joke with her about how she's such a relaxed beach girl and that work is good for her. haha!) But after one day of seeing her completely exhausted, feet swollen, I realized I pushed her a little too hard. (She jokes all the time that I'm actually training her on missionary work... haha) But I sat down that night and separated the ward into 3 different areas. I also set up a ride list and asked members to give us rides to that area during the day so that we wouldn't be walking for millions of miles. I also set up with the ward mission leader for people to stay with us during lessons for a few hours at a time. So my comp is doing a lot better now. :)

The Laurels in the ward are going to be going out with us every Saturday- YIPPEE! They're super awesome. And totally pumped to go on missions. Man, it's weird being on this side. I'm used to being WITH the missionaries- not THE missionary. haha!

The members in the ward are SO AWESOME. I love having dinner with them every night. :) It's the best part of my day. Also because I'm SO HUNGRY... ALL THE TIME. I'm praying that I don't gain 50 pounds by the time I go back home. I don't think it's normal for someone to be this hungry... haha!

We visited with two families last night that have 8 year olds getting baptized on Saturday. We were able to talk with them about baptism and the holy ghost (Dad was right- And I DID write 2 talks on baptism on notecards while in the MTC! They came in handy as I was preparing!). Both of those families have ALL BOYS. And they were all the same ages as Reid, Chase, and Ryan. I didn't realize, until I was there, how comforting it is for me to be in a house full of boys. It was weird. Yep. I miss my brothers- my home boys. Word. (Those last few sentences were for the "wanna be hipster"- Reid.)

We can listen to music here as long as it follows the white handbook. So, no heavy beats and no romantic lyrics. So some missionaries here have just normal music (within those guidelines of course). But I only have a CD player in my apartment. So I listen to it while getting ready or doing scripture study. :) Send me CD's! haha!

Sunday's here on the mission are SO SHORT. I actually wanted church to last another 3 hours. Haha! Church is awesome. :) Maybe I just like it so much because it means I don't have to walk on the side of the road. ;)
I did use my debit card in Nampa. It's the closest Walmart to us. We don't have any stores or shopping in our area- so we need to leave the area if we want to do anything. Our area is 70% field and 25% houses/people and 5% horses. I've pretty much mastered my horse calling. I'm pretty much a pro. When I walk past horses, I do my little horse call, and they all come running to me. It's awesome. I'm a horse whisperer.

I think that's everything... :) Oh! WRITE ME LETTERS! PLEASE! I NEED THEM!!!

And I also forgot to mention- I've been sick for the past week with a TERRIBLE cold. I've been blowing my brains out and coughing up a storm. I'm hoping that I'll get better soon. :) And that I won't get anyone else sick. That's been pretty discouraging... But it won't last long. :)

ANDDDD I forgot my camera at the apartment... So I'll have to send my pictures next week. GRR.

And if you can't remember my comp's name- we all just call her Sister Happy-Happy. :)

Sister Gubler arrives in Nampa

 Molly with her companion Sister Halaapiapi.

Molly with her mission president, President Cannon and his wife.

MTC Valentine's Day Photos

Sister Gubler with Brother Bishop and Sister Tyler, wearing their Valentine colors!

Last letter from the MTC

February 14, 2014 

Molly sent us a few messages today, they are included here.  She answered some of the questions we had sent her as a family about life in the MTC.

Dearest family and friends,

This will be my last email from the MTC! I leave for Nampa on Tuesday morning- our flight leaves at about 9am (11am your time). I'm hoping to call you from the airport! I'll call Mom's phone- so just be prepared because I'm not sure what time that will be at. Also, I don't know if I told you this, but I was also assigned by our mission president to be the travel leader for our mission. Ohhhhh yeahhhh.

Happy Valentines Day! A group of elders came up to our district this morning, handed us all red hearts, said "Happy Valentines Day, Sisters!" and then walked away. They normally sit at the table next to us during our meals. We said "thank you! How sweet!" and they walked away... When we looked down at the hearts we noticed that they said "Song of Solomon 1:2".... -_- REALLY?! Look it up. You can imagine our reactions- as well as our insane laughter. Sorry everyone, but Heavenly Father is my Valentine today!! :D He's awesome- and He loves me!

The MTC has gotten to be fabulous! I love it. They always say, "Just wait until Sunday- it will get so much better!" But it's really true! We've gotten the swing of things around here and really feel at home. I can't believe I leave on Tuesday and have to say goodbye to some of these sweet sisters! They have been such a blessing in my life as we've shared life experiences, testimonies, and laughed together. And I don't know if I told you about my MTC teacher- Brother Bishop. But he in a gem. Wonderful guy! He got back from his mission a year ago- he went to California, Oakland. He's the best example ever and helps us grow so much. We get to go to the temple today! :D So pumped. I love the temple! So excited!

Ohhhh... My sweet, sweet companion.... Sister Tyler... What a gem.

Today was laundry day and, well, she thought it would be a great idea to put some red pajama bottoms in with her garments. I spent the next 30 minutes or so teaching her how to use the washing machine/ dryer and how to get the pink out. Moral of the story: PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILDREN LEARN TO DO LAUNDRY! Hahaha! She's so great. Her parents send me some chocolates for V-Day! :)

Yesterday we had In-Field Orientation- which is a full day of classes and workshops devoted to teaching us how to live out in the field. One of our teachers was... *drumroll* Elder Christensen! From "The District"! Okay, well, it really wasn't that exciting... But one of the Elder's actually stood up for him like he was a general authority. SO AWKWARD. Haha! But he participated in a play that they wrote to help us laugh at ourselves. The play was all about how a greenie normally acts the first week in the new ward. Just watch The Best Two Years... And that's a perfect representation of the play. ;)

Q: DearElder letters?

A: I've gotten all of the Dear Elder's! Unfortunately, we literally have barely any time to physically write letters to anyone. So I've been holding on to them and reading them before bed!

Q: Bring sheets? Pillow?

A: Nope! they're provided here in the MTC. But I brought a blanket to remind me of BYU-Idaho! :)

Q: Is there anything we can send?

A: Nooooo. Please don't! I've gotten your packages- and they're great! But I haven't even gotten into the food you sent me. We get all you can eat in the cafeteria... So we're never hungry! haha

Q: How's the food?

A: Like I said... All you can eat. (Which is great for Elders!) But it's really not anything fantastic. Edible, yes. 5 stars? Nope. :)

Q: Free Haircut?

A: Ehhh... Maybe! We seriously have no free time at all. But I'd like to!

Q: Exercise time?

A: We go to the weight room and lift weights, as well as use the machines to bike.

Q: Devotionals?

A: WAY AWESOME!!!! They're always so great!!! On Tuesday, we had Elder Zwick come and speak with his wife. They talked about patience: being patient with ourselves and patient with others. Dang it- I wish I brought my journal with me to write you. I was going to, but I forgot... I'll have to tell you later!

Q: MTC Choir?

A: .........I haven't done it. :/ Sister Tyler and I have been SO busy with meetings (which happen while everyone else has free time) and the choir meets during dinner time. So we normally take that dinner time to relax and take a MUCH NEEDED break. I miss singing so much. I can't even explain how much. But if I don't take that free time, I. Will. Die. haha!

There's this Elder in our zone- super awesome! He has Asperger Syndrome and I just LOVE him. I told him about Chase and now me and him are best buddies. Haha! We are constantly being told here in the MTC that we shouldn't be flirting with Elder's and such, blah blah blah. (It's really not that hard to not flirt people. Just take a moment to realize why you're here at the MTC and get your head in the game.) But when we were reminded again, Elder Walch turns to us Sisters and asks, "When we talk... are we conversing or flirting?" Ohhh mannn. It was adorable. Super awesome. He is a SUPER AWESOME missionary and our Zone Leader. :)

I learned something awesome recently- well, 2 things.

1: Sister Tyler and I taught some awesome lessons to our investigators this week. The Spirit was definitely the teacher! But as the week went on, we started getting prideful that we "already knew the lessons really well". So we just kind of threw together a lesson and studied a little bit for our investigators. We slacked off in personal/ companion study... Yeah. We were really bad. But let me get to the point! We went in to our lessons and NOTHING went right. There was contention between us and an investigator. We couldn't explain ANYTHING right. We didn't know the answers to a lot of questions. The Spirit was NOT telling us what to say...

So we beat ourselves up. We were so discouraged and felt like we were terrible missionaries. So we repented. We prayed together to Heavenly Father and asked him to forgive us for being prideful and not thinking about our investigators.

The next day, we planned ALL DAY. We studied ALL DAY. We prayed ALL DAY. And guess what?! THE LESSONS WERE AWESOME! The spirit definitely taught our investigators. We were able to answer questions that we hadn't even considered before. I don't want to get too in depth- because some very great miracles happened. But, let's just say, things came out of my mouth that I hadn't prepared to say. It really is true that the Lord will tell you in the very hour what you should say.

2: Did you know that the Lord will put bad memories into our minds so that we can better help others?

On Sunday, I went to church asking Heavenly Father, "What should we teach Sarah in our lesson on Monday?" I sat through church, nothing was really coming to mind... All I could really think about was myself. And then on Monday, my thoughts were consumed by EVERY BAD THING I HAD EVER DONE. Every bad thing I had said about someone. Every time I wasn't fully honest. EVERYTHING. I was miserable. Truly miserable. I kept thinking, "SATAN! YOU JERK! Stop it!" And I wondered if I had something that I needed to repent of that I hadn't. I questioned whether I was worthy to be on a mission. Grrrrr. It was terrible. I prayed to Heavenly Father to make it go away- but it stayed. Ugh. 

We went to the lesson with Sarah that night. Sister Tyler and I prayed right before we walked in the door- asking Heavenly Father to help us know what to say in the lesson. We had no idea. But as we met with Sarah, got to know her, she expressed to us how she believed that God didn't love her because of all the bad things that she's done. WHAT?! I was able to testify to her that God DID love her! And because he loves her- he provided a way for her to repent- through Jesus Christ's Atonement!!! 

Did you know that Heavenly Father can place memories in your mind that may cause you pain- so that you can better help one of His children? :) Awesome!

AH! So much to say, so little time. I love you all!

Reid- congrats on JV! That's so awesome! I wish I was there to watch your games! Kick some behind! 

Chase- Thank you for your encouraging letters! I have been looking for spiritual experiences every day- just like you told me to! :)

Ryan- Thank you for the stickers! I've been using them well! :) Whenever I send a letter to a friend, I put one of your stickers on the envelope. And if Mom and Dad get you a dog, I will be pleasantly surprised. ;)

Mom and Dad, Thank you so much for your letters and constant encouragement and prayers. It keeps a missionary like me going!

Love,

Sister Gubler

By the way, I'm so glad that people are reading my letters and benefiting from them. I hope that people know that they are free to write me and ask me questions about my mission, etc. 

Please let everyone know that sharing the gospel is SO EASY! Don't be afraid to talk about who you are, what you believe, why you believe it! NO ONE can ever argue with YOUR TESTIMONY. Because IT'S YOURS!!! And hearing about the gospel can only HELP people. 

Will you please send me Austin's address? I'd like to write him a letter. :)

Also, sorry for misleading you... But I wasn't the one who said that quote... :/ It was President Uchtodorf. I wish I was as wise as an apostle though. Sorry if that miscommunication causes a burden!

Oopsie,

Sister Gubler

By the way (again),

My companion is from Texas. And she refers to it like it's a foreign country. "People in Texas do this..."

I just want to make all Texan's aware- it's not.

Most of the time, It's not a Texan thing. It's a teenager thing. ;)

Molly's drop off to the Missionary Training Center, Feb. 5, 2014

Molly enters the Missionary Training Center! First letter!

Hello All!

The MTC is.... quite the experience so far. I'm not going to lie- this is the HARDEST THING I have EVER done. I literally sat in my bed the first night thinking, "What have I gotten myself into? This is 18 months!" But after much prayer- I know that I'm where the Lord wants me to be. I know that I'm going through the refiner's fire. The Lord has a much bigger purpose for me than what I know now. I came into the MTC thinking that I was hot stuff... but I was QUICKLY torn right down. BIG dose of humility. But, Sister Jay (one of the Sisters from our district) told me something awesome: "Humility isn't thinking less OF yourself- it's thinking less ABOUT yourself." I find myself focusing too much on my problems, emotions, faults and not listening to the spirit. That's been my biggest lesson so far. 

But our P-Day is Fridays and we have an hour to write- which doesn't add up to much in the end. We also haven't picked up any mail yet- but we'll be doing that today. :) I've enjoyed reading the cards from the family- yes, I'm following the instructions and reading one at a time! :) And thank you to Gideon and Alyssa for the card when they dropped me off. It made these first few days wonderful to know that there are people supporting this decision to serve. But- I want to send a special thank you to Reid for his letter. I read it last night, on my roughest night here at the MTC. Thank you for reminding me to look at the bright side of any situation. I carry that card with me in my scriptures and it is a constant reminder to me that I need to think positively. Love you, Reid!

My MTC companion is.... *drumroll* SISTER TYLER!- who is also serving in my mission. And, let me tell you, she is the bomb-diggity. Mom, are you sure that you didn't have a child 19 years ago and put her up for adoption? Cause I'm pretty sure she could be my sister. Everyone is always saying that we look alike. We take it as a compliment- because, of course, we're both beautiful. It's the spirit, what can we say. When we first saw each other- it felt like we had met before. But- NOPE. It was probably in the pre-existence. Sister Tyler and I are in a district of ALL SISTERS. Which I hear is pretty rare to happen. But we love it. These Sisters are amazing. They have such strong testimonies of the gospel. Half of us are going to Idaho and the other have are going to New Mexico. We met our branch last night and Sister Tyler and I were given an assignment for the 2 weeks that we are here. 

Sister Tyler and I were assigned to be Sister Training Leaders and District Leaders for our district. WHAAAA?! We are feeling very humbled to be asked to take this assignment. For those of you who don't know, we run district meetings and pick up the mail every day (SCORE!), interview the Sisters, report to the branch presidency about the Sisters, etc. And when the new Sisters come in on Wednesday, we'll have the opportunity to welcome them to the MTC and give them a tour around the grounds. Whew. Crazy life!

Time at the MTC STOPS. It doesn't just slow down. IT STOPS. But there's still not enough time in the day to get everything done. It's quite frustrating. But I love going to bed feeling like I've accomplished something and that I've grown from all that I've done. We've had the opportunity to teach investigators in a group setting- and Sister Tyler and I will teach our first investigator tonight- by ourselves. Please pray for us, that we can have the spirit with us as we teach, and also for our investigators, that the spirit will testify to them of the truthfulness of the gospel. We've only been here for 2 days... but it feels like eternity. Sister Tyler and I were talking about how we can feel a literally miracle happening to us and all of the missionaries. It's only been 2 days, but we feel like our testimonies have grown in crazy amounts. Only at the MTC would that be possible. We feel the "missionary smile" already when we talk to investigators about the church. It's so amazing to be here.

We had the opportunity to attend the temple this morning. What a great experience! What a strong spirit that is there! I encourage everyone to attend- if possible. I'm hoping to attach pictures at the end of this email, but we'll see if it works. Maybe I'll send them separately. :)

Just a few updates:
We can get skirts lengthened here for only .50 cents! WHOA! Awesome! And guys can get theirs fixed as well for the same price.
Also, we can get one haircut for free. Sweetness.
Free BYU icecream on Fridays!

I'm not sure what else to tell you- other than I am growing so much here at the MTC. I'm so excited to get in the field though! YAY NAMPA IDAHO! What would be super helpful is if you guys have questions, send them in a Q and A kind of format. :) I'll be sure to get back quickly. :)

I love and miss you all! I know that this gospel is true! I know that God is our Heavenly Father and that we are His children and that He loves us! I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he atoned for the sins of the world! I know that the Book of Mormon is true! I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet who translated the Book of Mormon and restored this gospel on the earth today! I know that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet! I am SO excited to share the blessings of this gospel. I love you all!

Love,
Sister Gubler