Spiritual Feast!

Letter from September 8, 2014:

This week was full of spiritual goodness! It was my 7 month mark (yippee!), followed by zone conference and zone meeting. I'll write about all that went on this week and, at the end of my email, I'll share the things that I learned this week. :) 

On Tuesday we had dinner with Sister Rohrbacher- the Relief Society president in the ward. Everyone always asks us what we want to eat, and our answer is always the same: "Oh, whatever! It doesn't matter to us! Just make whatever is easiest for your family!" Cause, seriously, we really don't know what we want to eat. haha. Well, Sister Rohrbacher decided to be the saint that she is and she looked me up on pinterest! haha! She made my FAVORITE enchilada recipe innn theee worlddddd. It was SO good. That's been the best meal so far on my mission! Sister Pritchard and I were looking forward to it all day long. :) 

Tuesday night, the Relief Society had an activity that they called "Taking it Back Tuesday". We learned (or re-learned) all sorts of "lost" skills- making pie crust, embroidery, decorating cards, making hand soap, canning, and etiquette. It was such a fun night! I feel like I'm going to come home from my mission and be a trained farmer's wife. Haha! I'm ready! I'm sending home some of the things that I made. :) 

Did anyone watch the BYU vs Texas game Saturday night?! I didn't either... But the older couple that we live with (we live in their basement) were watching it. They know that I went to BYU-Idaho... (So I guess that automatically makes me a BYU football fan? haha!) so they were screaming down to me whenever BYU made a touchdown. It was seriously the funniest thing ever. Some 80-somethin' year olds screaming down "TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN, SISTER GUBLER!!" Hahaha. But, hey, BYU WON!

We went and visited with Jesus- we haven't been able to catch him at home for a really long time. But we had an amazing discussion with him! We pretty much taught the entire Plan of Salvation on his doorstep. It was awesome. But, at one point, he started talking about how he's dating this 26 year old girl... (Jesus is 62.) And he started asking us if it was acceptable... haha! (Again, I'm a MISSIONARY. I'm not qualified to give dating advice.) I gave a quick rundown of the law of chastity (I'm not shy. I get to the point. haha) to which he responded: 

"How old are you?"

"I'm 20."

"If you were in love, would you ever date a 50 year old guy?"

Awkward. Seriously. But I just flat out said, "No, Jesus. First off, I don't think that (falling in love with a 50 year old) would ever happen. So, no, I can't say I would." 

HAHAHAHA. I don't roll that way. He is one lonelyyyy dude, though. I feel bad. But he felt a little bit better after we explained life after death- that we return to live with God. We don't just disappear into nothingness! 

We had a lesson with the Stewart's on Sunday afternoon. As always, it was amazing! Richard is SO prepared. He's even started to tell people about his baptism! He told us that he prayed about everything that we've been teaching, and he knows that it's true! :D I'm so happy for him! Elsie is the same- she's prayed about it and knows that it's true. As I told you last week, she's already been following the Word of Wisdom (even before we taught it!). Rocky is a little behind though. He knows it's true- he feels that it is. But he hasn't read anything, hasn't prayed, and he hasn't been coming to church very much. But Rocky is the type of guy that wants to do everything 100% or not at all. He's getting there. Their entire family is so prepared for the gospel! They committed to keeping the Word of Wisdom as well!!! They are so excited for the gospel (and me as well, can't ya tell?!). Funny thing that happened during the lesson though- Rocky went outside for a few minutes while we were visiting. And while he was outside, he yells in: "Mom! The cops are here!" And here I start freaking out thinking, "Crap. Our investigators are actually criminals. Dang it. What did we get ourselves into?!" Elsie goes outside- turns out that the cops were just trying to find the house for a lost dog. hahahahahaha! I worried for nothing apparently.

New investigators! Seth and Chasey. They were originally being taught by our District Leader and his companion, but they had requested to be taught by Sister Missionaries. (Yay for Sisters!) Seth is a member, but went really less active throughout his life. And Chasey, a non-member, is his girlfriend. We are so excited to teach them! We went over and met them last night and they are awesome! 

Zone Conference was great- with Elder Godoy of the 70. I really needed the spiritual uplifting this week (tough week, tough week). And it was (as always) fabulous to see all of my mission friends. :) 
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Sister Cannon spoke on Mosiah 5:12-13. Learning to recognize the Master's voice.

"The way we FEEL is more important than what we hear." -Sister Cannon
"Your call is to work after the manner of the Lord, not after the manner of men." -Elder Gay

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President Cannon- How to Become a "POWER" Missionary

D&C 79:1
D&C 109:22-23
Example of Paul- 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 - The SPIRIT is what teaches.

P - Priesthood               D&C 84:19-20
O - Obedience               Because we LOVE our Father
W - Witness                  
E - Example                  "White Shirt Policy"
R - Righteousness         The powers of heaven cannot be controlled or handled otherwise

I loved how President Cannon talked about his "white shirt policy". Long story short- his white shirt policy is just things that he has said that he would always do (even though they weren't required of him). For example, he would always wear a white shirt to church, he doesn't drink coke, his family doesn't go do anything on Sunday, etc. And I noticed that I have my own "white shirt policy". My problem is just that I tend to want EVERYONE ELSE to keep MY same policy as well... I need to work on that. haha. In my opinion, when flying an airplane, the higher above the tree line that you are, the safer you are as well. 

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Elder Godoy (of the 70)- 

I've been having a hard time lately with feeling that I'm growing- spiritually. I had a talk with my companion this week, ya know, just complaining, about how "I could be growing just as much if I were at home". Blah blah blah. Yeah, I've repented of that philosophy. I was way wrong. But Elder Godoy made an analogy that made everything clear. He talked about how your spiritual age is the same as your physical age. Sometimes you cannot see the difference in your physical growth until you look at a picture of yourself from 1 year ago. It's the same as your spiritual growth. You get so used to looking at yourself every day that you don't see a difference. But there is! YOU ARE GROWING. If others from home saw you, they would notice. He also made the point that you are not here on a mission to be who you were before. You need to ALLOW the change to happen within you.

Elder Godoy also gave some helpful tips for sharing the gospel with our friends. Think about what you like about our doctrine and share that with non-members. Is it that we are children of God? That we are sealed as families? Is it that we do work for the dead? Is it that we believe in repentance? Share those points that you most cherish.

Another talk that I had with my companion was about how I feel that (sometimes) I am not receiving blessings even though I am doing my best. There are some missionaries that baptize a million people and everyone loves them and they're so happy all the time... And then there's people like me. People that still question their effectiveness as a mission. People that feel like they aren't doing anything right. People that aren't happy 100% of the time. Elder Godoy talked about how sometimes the Lord holds on to our blessings and saves them for later. He doesn't give them to us all at once (in the form of baptisms), but sometimes he saves them for when you've been home for a couple of years. Or he saves them and gives them to you 20 or 30 years down the line. Other times, he takes your blessings and transfers them to others who need them more than you. He knows what you're strong enough to handle- and maybe that means that you don't need to see a million blessings in happening in your life. I thought that was an interesting point.

Elder Godoy feels very strongly about the parents of missionaries. He asked us: What were your parents last words to you before you got on the plane? Some missionaries (who have had a lot of missionaries in their family) had very wise counsel given to them. Others don't have a huge history of missionary work didn't have much said. But Elder Godoy shared Moroni 8:1-3 with us and promised us that "The Lord will help you and He will answer the prayers of your parents." (I hope you're praying. haha) Elder Godoy told us to live each day like your mom (or dad) was your mission companion. Work so that you know, without a doubt, that they would be proud of you. 

The last point that he made to us was: "Don't be afraid to promise blessings. The angels of heaven will back you up." I liked that.
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Zone Meeting

Having the Humility to Change (Christlike Attributes: Humility)
     -D&C 12:8 We cannot do this work without humility! 
     -Alma 5:27-29 --> Alma 26:12

How Can We Realize Our Potential?
     -Do not fear man more than God. It is better to be trusted than to be loved.

Don't Judge Who Will Accept (Chapter 9: Preach My Gospel)
     -1 John 4:7-11

BECOMING a Missionary
     -We talked about how we need to constantly work towards being those "perfect missionaries" that the members expect that we are. WE (as missionaries) know that we are just average joe's. We aren't anything special, like ward members think that we are. But we need to work to fill that role- constantly.
     -Keep growing even after your mission. Don't "shrink" when you're released.

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This week was definitely a spiritual feast! :) 

Sister Gubler

I CAUGHT ONE!

A letter from September 1, 2014:

We went fishing this morning with the Stewart's- bright and early! I've never fished in my life. I've never even touched a worm in my life. I don't think I've even held a live fish in my life! BUT I DID IT! AND IT WAS AWESOME! 

I'll take this email "step by step, day by day...." (Isn't that the theme song to a TV show?)

Monday- Every Monday morning, we get together with some ladies from the ward (and some non-members too) and do PIYO. It's awesome. Love it. And I'm sooo sore. After that, we email home (yippee!), have lunch with the Parma 1st Ward Sister Missionaries, and then go to the Walmart in Ontario. That part is pretty much the same every Monday. (We live such exciting lives, don't we?) One of the Sisters from Parma 1 has been having a rough time this transfer, so we decided to spend the day with her and her companion. We watched Ephraim's Rescue and had a true girl day- hair, nails, etc. It's not really like me to do that, but I enjoyed it. :) Sister Pritchard went to beauty school, as I think I've stated before, so she was ALLLLLL for it. haha! Sister Pritchard tried to color my hair a little bit- but it didn't show up. My hair is defiant, I guess. ;) That night, we had family home evening with Wagstaff family (one of about 10 Wagstaff families in the ward haha). They taught us how to make cinnamon rolls- and they were DELICIOUS. (Seriously. And I wonder why I'm gaining weight?)

Tuesday- Tuesday morning, we went to Patti's house (one of the ward missionaries) and helped her clean. She's planning a surprise birthday party for one of the ladies in the ward. (so nice of her!) But Patti's husband passed away a few years ago, and now she's started looking online for a new boyfriend, using LDSSingles. haha! I was trying not to completely CRACK UP as I read her the profiles of her "matches". ;) Ohhhh, gotta love online dating! That afternoon, we went out with Susan (another one of the ward missionaries) to go and visit people. We stopped by the Johnston's (remember the people with the house straight out of Country Living?) and chatted with them for a while. I seriously love them. They're the nicest people ever. And they always hook us up with service projects in the community. :) Gotta love that!
Not much else happened that day... Just a lot more visiting. haha That's the usual in the missionary life.

Wednesday- Wednesday was what I call a complete failure. Our district meeting was cancelled at the last minute, so we had an extra 4 hours of unplanned time to kill. And no one was home- even the members. Lots of knocking, and doors not opening. That was pretty much the entire day. But we had salad for dinner that night! So that was a plus! haha Look for the positives, right?

Thursday- So, there were 4 funerals for the Parma community this week... Sad. So we helped set up for one of them on Thursday morning. We weren't invited to attend, but we helped set up! (That seems to be a pattern for missionaries. haha) And afterwards, we did our weekly planning. Patti took us out that afternoon to do some visits- but, again, no one was home. We ended up at Allison's house (a girl... lady?... She's only a couple years older than me... Okay. She's a girl!.. That just had a baby) and we (spur of the moment!) helped her to clean her house. She's been going through a hard time, so she really appreciated our help. That made our day. Gotta love service! :) 

Friday- We went to PIYO Friday morning- love love love it. Mom, you should totally give it a try. Well... maybe not. It might be hard on your hip. But it's still fun! BUT we WERE invited to attend seminary afterwards!!! So we did. :) And it was great! They did a scripture mastery game... and it brought me back to the good old days. But all of the scripture masteries have changed since I've been in high school. So I was totally outmatched. But I'll just have to study up and play again! I WILL BE VICTORIOUS! We had a lesson with Ginger that afternoon (who is less active) that went just fabulously. Sister Pritchard and I were really having a hard time knowing what to do with Ginger. She wasn't really progressing at all... and when we would go over for our lessons she wouldn't say anything. She'd just sit there and listen. (Which isn't bad... It just makes it difficult when you're trying to know what they need.) So, during comp study, after talking about it for a long time, Sister Pritchard suggested that we say a prayer and ask for help- so we did. And then we didn't discuss it again. But when we were in the lesson with Ginger, she totally came to life! She talked the whole time! She expressed to us all of her concerns with coming back to church, all of her roadblocks, and we helped her out with such. Heavenly Father really helped us out with that one. We were honestly prepared to drop her and stop visits... But now she's progressing more than before!! 

Saturday- Since our district meeting was cancelled on Wednesday, we had it on Saturday! Yay! I love District Meeting! But we went out to lunch at this... sketchy Chinese place called "Wong's". You know, those places where they can't even speak English? Yeah. I did NOT want to go. I haven't been feeling 100% since I've come on my mission... I don't need to get food poisoning now. haha. But the Elder's wanted to sooo bad, telling me that I needed to try the "authentic cuisine" that Nyssa had to offer. PSHHHH, please. But, I gave in. So we ate there. But it was NOT good. Just sayin'. They should have listened to me. haha! That night, we went to Anne's house and quilted again. It was fun! Our scripture cases are almost finished! Anne just got a foreign exchange student from Iraq named Arvin. He's a typical teenage boy. And Anne made him sew with us... Poor kid. Haha! But he was a lot of fun to be around.

Sunday- Sunday we sang in church, gave impromptu talks in sacrament meeting and I taught Gospel Principles! We also had 3 food appointments that day... Ugh. haha. Mariah and Dallas spoke in sacrament meeting and did GREAT! (I was surprised, she's only been baptized a month and was already given that scary assignment!) But Sunday was a good day. Really exhausting though.

Some exciting things coming up this next week.... Zone Conference on Wednesday- Elder Godoy of the Seventy is coming! And Zone Meeting on Friday! And my 7 month mark is coming up this next week! WHOOHOO!!! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!

Sister Gubler

Miracles DO happen!

I'm sorry to hear about the news from home. :( Send my love to their family during this time. Isn't it so great that we know the plan of salvation? It brings me so much comfort to know that we will be with our families for eternity! 

This was a slow week... but full of miracles. We set 4 baptismal dates this week AND found a new investigator! 

Last P-Day, I literally slept alllllll dayyyyy. Then I woke up to head off to proselyte from 6 to 9 pm... And then I came home and slept all through the night! Can you tell I'm exhausted?! Soooo tired. All the time. But... there's no break for a missionary! Keep working! Keep working!

The onion harvesting is in the process, so the air in Parma always smells of onions and makes my eyes start to water. ;) And onions are covering the roads because they fall off of the trucks. People eat onions like apples around here... so the other day, Sister Pritchard and I decided to pick one up off of the road and give it a try.... It was nasty. We're hoping that we can go out and have a "day on the farm" with someone from the ward sometime soon. We want to really experience the life of the every day farmer. haha :)

We met with Anne this week- she says that she wants us to come over, but every time we try and talk about the gospel the conversation always turns for the worst. So, this time we just went over there to visit. We ended up quilting with her for... 2 hours. It was a long time. haha! But she's helping us make book covers for our scriptures. And she is so excited about it! So, I guess now is my time to learn how to sew. :) 

Our bestie, Amanda, decided that she was going to do some facebook challenge... and enlisted our help. (Picture to follow.) Of course, we agreed, because I LOVE doing random things like that. haha! So we poured ice cold water over her head... and I got a little wet. haha. It was fun :) She says that it's OUR turn to do it today... I'll have to think some more about that one. ;) 

One of my favorite activities to do on my mission is to bake cookies, and then take them to people's houses. It's the best! Who can turn down a plate of delicious cookies?! Sister Pritchard and I always write a scripture on a sticky note and put in on top as well. Gotta have some spiritual uplifting! :) I always recommend that members give it a try with their neighbors. :)

Penny is our new investigator. She actually asked one of our ward missionaries if she could meet with us! (Member missionary work at it's finest!!!) We've set up weekly appointments with her. She was actually a member at one point... but... ya know, stuff happened. But she wants to come back! And she is amazing. We're hoping to visit with her again on Thursday :) 

We attended the Meridian Temple groundbreaking this weekend! Well... the broadcast of it. :) Elder Kent F. Richards told us to pick up a small stone and keep it as a reminder of our covenants, and also admonished the community to start doing their family history! He challenged everyone to get family names ready so that the Meridian temple can run on ONLY family names! (That's a BIG challenge! But the Boise temple is almost to that point.) Elder David A. Bednar also came and spoke- he talked about how we need to be grateful even when times are "easy". He joked about how some of us will drive by the temple site every day, take pictures of the progress, make a scrapbook of all of the news articles, show it to all of our friends and family for generations to come... and then we won't ever attend the temple. We will become preoccupied with the "oh, I can go tomorrow"'s and the "when I'm done with this"'s. He said that when times are "easy", THAT is when we will find if we are truly grateful. I challenge everyone to recommit themselves to attend the temple as often as they possibly can!
"The decision to build a temple is not based on the numbers, but is based on the HEARTS of the people." -David A. Bednar

Rocky, Richard, and Elsie all committed to prepare for baptism for September 21!!! We have only had 2 lessons with them... and we've already taught them about The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Tithing/Fast Offerings, Modesty, Word of Wisdom, the Priesthood, Studying Scriptures, Prayer, Obedience, 10 Commandments, Eternal Marriage, ANDDDDD Temples and Family History Work!!! They are SO prepared for the gospel! They ask a million questions (Which I LOVE!) and they study the scriptures together and pray about everything that we teach them! Elsie told us that she's been praying about it, and that she knows that it's true. She even told us that, several years ago, she received an impression that she needed to quit drinking coffee and smoking, but didn't know why. AND, at about that same time, she was feeling like she needed to get baptized, but didn't know what church to get baptized in. She said that she knows that this is the true church that she needs to be baptized. WHAT?! It was amazing! And after we taught them all how to pray, Richard offered the most wonderful prayer I have ever heard. *tears!* They're even starting to use "LDS lingo" in their conversations with us. I'm just so excited for them. :D

So many miracles are happening. So many people are ready for the gospel! Go out and invite them!!!

Sister Gubler

I LOVE this district!

The weeks are going by faster and faster... The first 6 months of my mission went by SO SLOW. Every day felt like an eternity. Now we're struggling to get everything done that we need to in one day! It's awesome! And I'm almost at 7 months! WHAT?! Craziness. I love my mission, don't get me wrong. But being on your mission makes you so excited to get back and start the rest of your life.

Mother- Why would I, a missionary, go to a home decor store?? haha! I don't think that's an effective activity. Especially when I'm no where near Nampa right now. :P What do you think I do all day?! Shop?! haha

You should send me some cute missionary stickers! I love decorating my letters/envelopes with stickers. And every transfer we decorate our missionary planners. :) Thanks for sending that package- I'll look for it today. :D I'm sure that I'll love whatever is in it. :D

Yay! School is starting up again! I'm not sure if I'm happy for that or not... Summer time is great for missionary work (for the most part). People tend to be home more. I hope that the boys enjoy school though! It'll be a great year!
Sorry that Nana and Papa won't be able to visit SC. I guess we'll have to move closer to the west coast! ;) I'd be totally cool with that. haha Saves me some money with having to travel to and fro after every semester. ;)

I really don't ever see my mission president- besides at interviews (which happen every 3 months). He's more quiet... And he doesn't do a lot of trainings at zone conferences or anything. Most of the time he shares a parable from the scriptures and then talks about it. He's a nice guy. I'm sure if I ever became a Sister Training Leader I'd get to know him a bit more. Normally you really only ever get to know him if you're having some issues.... Soooo, maybe I need to get some issues or something? hahahaha! I did ask him for a blessing once, after a zone conference a couple months ago. And it was really nice. I've felt more focused after that experience.
And his wife is really quiet too. She's really nice though. She's a good listener... Because that's really all she does- LISTEN! They're awesome people.

 6:30 am morning workout!
Sister Pritchard and I have been working out a lot more this week. We've been going to the church at 6:30am with Kristey (the one who's sent you pictures this week) and doing Zumba. It's been a lot of fun, and a great workout! (Btw, we should totally go do those Zumba classes at the YMCA when I get home. I'm going to need to lose some mission weight. haha) I've been feeling a lot healthier... and a lot more tired. Mostly tired actually. :P But hopefully, after a couple weeks of working out, I'll get used to it and not want to fall asleep during every lesson we have.

 The missionaries helped make these love bears to be donated.

 Sister G (as she is called) was studying for a lesson she would be presenting to a newly baptized member.

We had our first district meeting of the transfer on Wednesday! I LOVE this district. :) They're my kind of people. (A lot of changes happened in the mission this transfer- with missionaries moving around.) But I'm finding that- even at 6 months- I'm starting to be known as one of the "older missionaries". There's only 2 other missionaries in the district (Elders) that have been out longer than I have- in a district of 10 Elders and Sisters. So, it's kind of cool actually. :) I don't feel like a "useless greenie" anymore. :)

Ready for the awkward tracting story of the week?! We had a zone tracting blitz in Ontario on Saturday. This house had a door covered in frosted glass (so you couldn't see right through it, but you could see movement) and there was an open window right next to the door. We went up to this door, knocked, and we hear this little kid yell, "Grandpa! Someone's here!" ...no answer. "Evan! Someone's here!" ...then we heard a whispered, "Shh, just come here. Don't answer the door." And then silence for a while. (RUDE) I was about ready to walk away and give up, when Sister Pritchard sees the little kid through the frosted window of the door and says, "Hi! How are you?" The kid had been caught. hahahaha All of a sudden, this teenager pops up from underneath the window and opens the door. He had been laying down underneath the window and trying to hide from us! Are you serious, people?! Come on. Our conversation was short, they obviously weren't interested. But I was trying REALLY hard to not saying anything about it. haha Who hides underneath a window?!?! Like that's not obvious.

Service for the week: We helped Kyna pick up horse poop again this week. It was a lot better, now that it wasn't 106 degrees outside. haha! We also went back and dug up huge weeds in the Reeder's backyard. (work out!) And we also attended a Relief Society humanitarian night. We made backpacks for kids in need, stuffed love bears for the hospitals, and tied quilts for families. It was a lot of fun.

We had another 2 lessons with Mariah and Dallas this week... We are seriously their only friends. And it's kind of sad. So our lessons have turned into marriage counseling sessions. I think they forget that I haven't been married... haha I don't know what I'm talking about half the time. I'm a missionary- not a marriage counselor. haha! But they are continuing to grow in their faith and in their testimonies. So I can't complain!

Did I tell you about Jesus Delarosa?? He thought he was a member? Well, we found out on Sunday that he's not. He just received a blessing when he was in prison. So, now we have a new investigator! haha YAY! But, yeah, he's been in prison and done who knows what in his life... so if he were to get baptized, it would probably take a while. He's an interesting guy. But he came to church and stayed for 2 hours yesterday! :)

The Stewart's have accepted the invitation to prepare for baptism!! We went over there for our first lesson, after they had been attending church for 3 weeks straight, and they are awesome!!! They have already noticed so many blessings from coming to church and from making little changes in their lives. They had a brother pass away in 2012, and they love the plan of salvation and the temple. At first, they were a little uneasy about listening to the lessons. They had attended church and heard things that didn't make sense. But after explaining things more simply and more in depth, they accepted it. And they all committed to reading The Book of Mormon and praying together and individually. They are just an amazing family.

Sister Gubler

 They found these glasses at the church and were being silly with them.

I just want to say...

IT'S MY 6 MONTH MARK! YAY!

So... I totally forgot my planner today. So I'm shooting from the hip on this email.

But I'm not getting transferred. Sister Pritchard and I are both staying in Parma.

We had a lesson with Anne this last Friday. That was interesting. We felt that she was trying to convert US to HER religion... She told us about her mission trip to Honduras and read us the scriptures of salvation from the Bible and cried and cried. And we just sat there as she preached to us. It was interesting. Not that I didn't mind hearing about her religious background- I was just confused as to why she'd invite us over and then not even let us talk. Haha. But that's happened a few times on my mission. She's a very "born again Christian"- she told us that we don't need authority to baptize, that we don't need a prophet, we don't need a church, we don't need additional scripture, shared the typical scripture from Revelation, etc. But we testified, gave her a Book of Mormon, told her to ask God if it's true, and invited her to church again. Aaaand- she was at church again on Sunday. And she was taking a LOT of notes. We have another appointment with heron Friday.

We did service this week. And it was amazing. (Service is my favorite part of missionary work!)
We went up to the local Girls Camp and dug up weeds on Tuesday night for a 2 ward service project. It was great to see so many people there- and we got 2 fields cleaned up in an hour and a half. Boom! Quick work!
And on Saturday we went and helped Old Brother Reeder with his yard. Sister Reeder has MS, and so Brother Reeder has been sacrificing all of his time taking care of her and building a ramp from their front door so that she can get outside. Because of that, his yard has turned into weeds and dirt. Sister Pritchard (being from AZ) had never run a lawn mower before... so that job was delegated to myself. Like I said, the whole yard is dirt and weeds, so when I started the lawn mower the dirt turned into a dust cloud around me... and stayed that way until I was done. And rocks were flying out from the mower and hitting me (which hurt really bad). Brother Reeder gave me a dust mask- but that didn't help the amount of dirt that was flying into my nose. Bleh. We then dug out the weeds that I had mowed down and gotten the front of his house ready to plant flowers. We were there for about 2 hours. Sister Pritchard was making fun of me because you could barely even see my skin underneath all of the dirt... haha! I wish I had brought my camera to take a picture!
It was all made worth it when Brother Reeder brought his wife up to the window of their house so that she could watch us work. She was beaming from ear to ear and gave us a wave. It was awesome.

Remember Rocky? The guy who came to church last week? Well, we went back to invite him again (but he wasn't home) so we talked to his brother! And his brother Richard came to church! YAY!
Funny story about that though... Their crazy uncle was there... And he started telling us about how he's seen things that we wouldn't believe! He's even seen the Garden of Eden in a vision! It's in Southern Ukraine! And that we didn't have to believe him... That nobody did... But, if we wanted to come over later that week, he would tell us about all of the things he knows about the world. Meanwhile, Richard and his friend were CRACKING UP in the background... haha. Oh, the life of a missionary.

Man... I can't think of much else that happened this week... This is what happens when you don't plan ahead! Pictures to come!

Sister Gubler

 We went and got Parma hats... Yup. Our life is exciting.

 Hermana Turner, my first and best and closest friend here in the mission, has completed her 18 months and is returning home tomorrow. SAD DAY! It finally hit me that our missions really do come to an end... 

We met these guys yesterday. They bring every missionary that enters their home a "garment grooming device"... haha! (They've only ever had Elders over. We were the FIRST SISTERS to get one! I consider that an honor.) But they're not from ID, they were visiting from AZ. :)

#MissionaryMiracles

This week has been full of miracles! So many... And I don't feel worthy of all of them. But Heavenly Father is trusting me with His children.

The transfer is almost over. So, if letters are going to be coming to me AFTER Saturday, send them to the mission office. :) You never know where I'm going to beeeeee....

We had a 24th of July party on... well... the 24th. haha! But I think that was the first 24th celebration that I've ever been to. I had to ask my comp what we were celebrating. haha! I'm a terrible person. But we had a BBQ and a swim party at the public pool (obviously we didn't swim!). Sister Pritchard and I had invited a lot of different investigators and less actives. And a couple of them came! It was awesome! Yay for ward parties! :) Okay... but... there's something wrong with the Parma/Nyssa area. They love onions a little too much. There was onions in EVERYTHING. Onions in the chicken, onions in the salad, onions in the fruit, onions in the mac n cheese... It was weird. I'm trying not to judge.

We also had exchanges this week. So that was nice. I didn't have to plan anything for a 24 hour period of time. SO RELAXING.

Mariah was baptized Saturday! 

What a lovely day. There has been such a transformation in Mariah from the time that I met her to now- especially in the time since she was baptized on Saturday. She is blossoming! And I'm SO grateful for this ward. The baptism would not have come together if we didn't have the help from all of the ward members. 

Angel- She is totally progressing! We were really worried about her at the beginning of the transfer, but she is really embracing the gospel. She's invited her sister to each of the discussions that we have with her. She's reading her scriptures and praying every day. AND she's always getting on her husband about coming to church with her. It's awesome! 

We had 2 miracles at church yesterday! 

Rocky and Pentana- We met Rocky's brother, Richard, while tracting last week. And we had been going back and inviting them to activities and such. They came to the 24th of July party that we had invited them to! We were so happy to see them there! And so, on Saturday night at about 8:30 pm, we invited them to come to church the next morning (at 9 am). I totally wasn't expecting them to come, people rarely do... But as we were sitting in church... Rocky and his daughter Pentana walked in! Pentana is 7 years old and totally loved church. She was so excited for primary and made a TON of new friends! And Rocky came with us to Gospel Principles and then we sent him with our ward mission leader to go to Elders Quorum. He loved every second! He read along with all of the lessons and you could tell that he was really listening. It was awesome. We have an appointment with them next Friday :) And (hopefully) Rocky will be joining us for a service project Tuesday night.

Anne- Anne was this lady that we saw walk into sacrament meeting and sit with a lady from our ward. She totally looked like a member, so we didn't talk to her. But then we got to Relief Society and she introduced herself as a visitor (I'm still struggling to get to know the members in our ward- I have no idea who people are)... She said that she had lived here in Parma for a year- moved here after her husband passed away- and was just visiting different churches trying to find the right one. WHAT?! GOLDEN! We totally cornered her after Relief Society and have an appointment with her on Friday. :) YES! And she made a TON of friends with the ladies in the ward.

Random side note: I realized that I have a new pet peeve. I get so frustrated when people can't make decisions! I could care less if they make the wrong decision or the right decision. Just make a choice! Grrrrr. "Who do you want to bless your baby?" and then they take several weeks to get back to us... And every time we talk to them about it they were like, "Let me think about it." Ugh.
Yeah. Random venting moment.

Pictures to come! 

Yup yup.

--Sister Gubler

If you aren't clothed... why even come to the door? Seriously. Why?

From Sister Gubler's letter dated July 21, 2014:

Okay... we tried to do the whole "missionaries in a field" picture... But #1 it was a million degrees that day and I didn't do my hair or make up and I had to hide the hand that was holding the keys... Yeah. It didn't turn out.

This week just flew by so fast! Where did the time go?! The weeks are going by faster and faster!

Sister Pritchard and I feel AMAZING about how this week went. We didn't have a lot of appointments or a lot of lessons or find new investigators... but the people that we did see are progressing so much! And THAT is a wonderful feeling.

Mariah is set to get baptized on July 26th! That's Saturday, people! We are so pumped. This will be a great day for her. Sister Pritchard and I were talking the other day about how (for our first baptism) we always imagined feeling so successful. I imagined crying my guts out in joy for the investigator and feeling like I had worked so hard to get them to that point. I thought that I was going to feel like I was "their missionary". 

But that's not how it's supposed to feel.

Mariah was prepared for the gospel. Everything that happened in her life, good and bad, got her to this point. She is the happiest person that I have ever seen. Every lesson we taught and every commitment we extended, she was more than happy to accept. She was attending church before we even came into the picture. She is the LORD'S investigator. All of the work and success that I wanted to feel... I don't want to feel it- ever. All of that success goes to the Lord. Not to me. Not to my companion. To the Lord. And Mariah is 100% the Lord's.

Matthew came to church! YES! He finally came with Angel and he stayed for all 3 hours. :) We were so excited! He got along really well with the guys in Elder Quorum- and actually chatted with Dallas (Mariah's husband) for a little bit. They clicked pretty well actually. I think it's pretty safe to say that they're now best friends. haha! 

"Need a friend? Ask the missionaries! They can help!"

I heard about the flooding at BYU-ID!!! WHAT?!?!?! We went over to a member's house and she was showing us all sorts of videos and pictures. I was going crazy! MAN! I miss that place. And that would have been so much fun to be in. haha. I wonder how the Snow building held up.... If anyone has pictures, send them my way!

So, ya know that Pioneer concert that the Mormon Tabernacle Choir broadcasted on BYUtv? Yup. We watched it. :) We watched it with this older couple in the ward. It was awesome. A great way to end the day. :)

The zone came in to Parma and we had another tracting blitz! Those things are so successful, let me tell ya. We got 11 referrals from it! It's going to be a busy week of contacting. :) 

And, to end my email, I just have a question....

If you aren't clothed... why even come to the door? Seriously. Why?

--Sister Gubler


This is Sister Guitierrez and Sister Ketring... Sister G fell asleep on our way home from interviews with President Cannon. I was driving, so I had Sis Ketring take the picture. hahaha BLACKMAIL!

 Here are some pictures from the 65th Anniversary party. They are so cute. I need to get a picture with the newly weds. I'll have that next week. :)

 I think I'm going to start a blog and call it "Cool Church Cars". Cause this seems to be turning out to be a weekly thing. :)

 I found a dinosaur in the church!

Look at how cute these kitties are!!

I made a salad... It's been a long time... But my companion was so amazed at it that she had me take a picture. haha (She only eats cereal and milkshakes.)

 Here's a picture of Boy's. 1 of 3 restaurants in Parma. They feed missionaries for free. :)

 The Thueson's had their 65th Anniversary party this weekend- and we helped make the decorations. Do you see how cute this T is?! I almost stole it.... Stash it away.... haha
 Do you see how small this bench is?!?!?! It was like a tiny park! haha

 We helped a member from the ward with her beans. But we started goofing off a little bit... haha