Week 17: Mother Nature must have gotten her taxes back.. BECAUSE SHES BEEN MAKING IT RAIN!!

This week was so wet and rained everyday.. Didn't stop us from going out and doing the Lords work. Many miracles happened this week and It's been an Eventful week.

CRAZY STORIES:-

First things first.. Such a crazy thing happened on Tuesday and man was the Lord and his Angels surrounding us. We have investigators who are a couple.  We had another ice storm hit and my companion wanted to stay in for the night because it was probably safer to do so but i told her we needed to go to our appointment with them.  She agreed and we walked a mile in freezing rain...but we got there.   He was going to go teach at the Jail when we got there. He teaches classes about Addiction Recovery and how God has help him overcome his drug use.   If God can help him he can help you. HE IS SO AMAZING! Anyways he was waiting for his wife to get home so he could take the car to the jail that night.  She called and said she was 5 minutes away. 10 MINUTES went by and he walked outside and she was laying on the icy sidewalk. She had Slipped and split her head wide open.  We get her up.  He doesn't do well with blood so i got her sitting down and put my hand lightly on her head to stop the blood from gushing out.  I got Sister Rudolph to call 911.  I told the boys to grab me a cold wash cloth so that i could clean her hand and neck and my hands too.  The ambulance got here and they looked at her head while i was sitting there trying to calm her and the family down.  I believe they were all in shock. They told her she needed staples in her head and so we got her cleaned up and got her put in the car and got her on her way to the hospital.  One miracle from this experience was as we were about to leave we said a prayer.  I was still holding the towel on her head but we prayed for the family and for her, for comfort and to watch over them on the way to the Hospital. The POWER AND HEALING i felt flowing through my body was UNREAL. I cant even explain the Feeling. I could feel the Savior and Angels surrounding us as we had the opportunity to help this amazing family we are teaching..The love was amazing. We got them heading to the hospital and back to the Apartment. 

Sister Rudolph turned to me and said.....thank you Sister Gilmour for listening to the Spirit and making me go out tonight. If we wouldn't have been there mike would have left to the Hospital and his dear wife would have been on the Sidewalk laying there bleeding. MIRACLE and i'm so beyond grateful for this. we also will be teaching their 21 year old son from it and his girlfriend too. They were super interested in learning more about the Savior and the church.  

We found 11 new investigators this week and had some amazing experiences with them, makes our hard work wroth it.  Some hard stuff too but i'm so grateful for this week.  The people here need me and I've realized it's not about me. It's about the Lord and helping his children find their way back. We had Zone Conference and we also had exchanges with our Sister Training leaders and that was a BLAST!!!!!!!!!

I got to take their car to Bronson with Sister Blackwell and go find our referral and give her a book of Mormon. WE got to feed chickens and also Find Paula who i call the Chicken Lady. I love her. first time feeding chickens.  :):)

Our referral.

She was amazing and we will be teaching her though Facebook because Bronson is to far to walk. Its about 45 mins away in the car.. we just have our buff - 2 legs to get us around here. We will be teaching the restoration to her on Tuesday.  We talked about faith and repentance with her. She is finding God as she just got out of Jail and is a recovering Meth Addict. She knows she can't do this without God. She loves the Book of Mormon and Bible and that is what got her through the years in Jail. I could already see the Light that the Gospel brought into her life. I can see light and hope brought into her life in the 1 and a Half we were with her. I shared. " Bearing your Burdens with Hope" She started to cry because she said that she needed to hear the Message that we brought. The Spirit is amazing and i'm so grateful to have the Holy Ghost as a constant Companion. 

This church is true. Our heavenly Father knows each and everyone one of us. I'm so grateful i get to be an instrument in the Lords hands to help those lost sheep find there way.

I LOVE YOU ALL!! Have and amazing week. Put others before yourself and serve.  

WEEK 16: NO PLACE LIKE HOME is what they say in Kansas right???

THIS WEEK has been crazy. 

I went from a beautiful home with wonderful people in a wonderful neighborhood to a little town in the Kansas BOONIES.   We're learning to love the long 20+ miles we walk throughout the week and being 1 hour away from our home on foot.   Our cute church building has 30 members and they are all over 70 yrs old.  I just have a lot of new grand parents and they are the cutest.  

Fort Scott is a little town.  It has lots of poverty, lots of gangs, drugs and violence.  It's a shame but it's home for a while. 

We walked really far the other day into a really scary neighborhood where there happens to be a lot of crime.  Apparently a lot of the time when violence happens no one calls because the cops get called over to that area a lot.   we've heard lots of stories about the area, not going to lie it's a bit scary.  D&C 84:88 popped into my head. It talks about angels being on your left and on your right to bear you up.  I felt the protection as we walked in the streets at night trying to get home. As scared of the dark as I may be at times and how dark the street may feel, the light and protection I can feel around me from angels, and passed on family members like my grandad makes walking every long hard step home feel safer.  As I get home I cant help but drop to my knees and thank Heavenly Father for the protection and light to guide us home. 

My fast walking skills are turning into a fat man jog.  I wake up and work hard everyday. My companion is amazed at how fast I fall asleep. 1....2...3...4...5... I'M OUT and I SNORING.   It's okay, we got her ear plugs.

Thanks Mom for the Valentines package, we love them.  

Regardless of all the scary stuff I see, this town has so much potential.  I'm so excited to see what can happen here in this town. We found 10 NEW investigators in 4 days and we are trying to build this branch up as much as we can.  I feel your love and prayers back home and thank you for supporting and helping me. 

I know that this is the only true church here on the earth, my appreciation for Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon for bringing me closer to Jesus Christ has grown since I've been on my mission.  Heavenly Father loves us so much and i want all of you to know he hears and answers your prayers. Be patient.  Hard things are possible to over come. 

I LOVE YOU ALL xoxo

Love Sister Gilmour - who is stuck in the Boonies

WEEK 15: I'm a travelling missionary, in more ways than one:)

Another week gone by, another Weekly email! This week has been INSANE.

Earlier in the week:

We got a big ice storm and have been inside for 2 days. If anyone has ever experienced ice storms they are nuts.   Sister Snyder and I, Sister Shelly and Sister Beckwith all had to stay indoors.  Due to the ice storm we couldn't drive. We went Ice skating without ice skates and it was so fun!  

We are living with the other sisters in Ozark - sudden change and recent events caused us to have to move.   

Today Monday:

I'M GETTING TRANSFERRED to Kansas.  I Know - WHATTTTT?   Fort Scott, is the town I'm in.  It's a cute town that has brick roads and cute homes.  My new Comp will be Sister Rudolph and I'm excited to get to know her. I never thought that that in 4 months I'd be on my 5th companion, 3rd State, in 3 transfers.   My Mission hasn't been easy but if anything I've been so blessed to have had Sister Snyder as my companion.  I love her and our friendship has been great. I learn lots everyday and I know that the friendships I'm making will be friendships that will last forever. 

The other night we went ice skating and ... Yep i ate it hard!  I thought I was going to crack my face open. These storms are so weird, it rains likes crazy and within seconds it would freeze and everything would be covered in a sheet of ice.   

Man do I miss the Normal Sundays away from a mission life.  No movies or anything-ha.  We did stay busy all day and it helped to have the other Sisters with us.   We made a Fort and slept in it one night,  we have been doing small things to have fun despite the Weather Conditions. 

Another Funny Experience that happened to me this week.. Me and Sister Snyder were tracting and knocked on this door.. we hear a man yell... ONE MINUTE, okay... we looked at each other. 3 mins passed and we hear someone coming to the door. This man opens the door BUTT NAKED ahahahahahahahahaah um.. hi... we are the Sister Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. How are you doing? He then responds with good and I couldn't keep a straight face so i just started to laugh and he got offended and shut the door in our face.  I walked down the stairs and fell off/down the last 3 stairs and just laid there till i could stop laughing.  I laughed so hard that I cried my Mascara off. 

Oh the joys of missionary work.  Nobody told me that might happen:).  

I have had a lot of opportunities to study and have a lot of spiritual experiences with the Scriptures and a lot of the time with conference talks.   I have grown to love the words we have been given from Prophets and Apostles.  This church is true.  Seeing so many religions here in the South you see a lot of people who believe differently and like to tell you, that you are wrong.   This has been a big testimony building experience for me because I know that the message we come and share is true.  I love the spirit I feel as I teach the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation.  The joy and the Knowledge it brings into peoples lives is worth all the doors that slam or swear words people call you.   It's all worth it.  You have to have the bad days to experience and love the good days.

This week was tough.. probably one of the hardest so far on my mission but I've read a few talks that have lifted lots of my hard trials off my back and I've been able to be comforted in ways that I cant even express my gratitude.   I'm doing my best to try and stay positive.  I'm sure there are those who think mission life is easy and that we should be happy all the time, news flash -we're not happy all the time

Here are some talks i want you all to go listen too

 "Tomorrow the Lord will do Wonders among you" Jeffery R Holland

" Bear up their Burdens with Ease" David A Bednar

" Like a broken Vessel" Jeffery R Holland

Also read D&C chapter 11