WEEK 21: This week has been nuts

This week has been NUTS!! 

The mission president decided to close this area and I'm going to Nevada, Missouri.  I heard my dad read this and thought it said the Nevada Mission - Ha Ha.  I was supposed to get assigned my MTC companion which I was really excited about, to spend time in the mission field with her but about 10 mins ago, before i wrote this,  I found out she had a medical condition that caused her to go home :(:(.  For now, I don't know what will happen nor do I know who my companion is.  I'll tell you next week how it works out.  It'll be fine.  

We've been packing up our entire apartment, 18 years of having missionaries in it..  You can only imagine the kinds of things we've found left behind.  We have so much stuff, junk for the most part.   Because we are so far out we're on our own to pack it all up, no help from other missionaries.  This week has by far been the hardest for me.   Sister Rudolph is keeping me sane , ha.   I'm sad she is leaving me but she goes home in 6 weeks so I'll hear from her soon. I have loved her, a great companion for sure.  Our teaching and comp unity is the best. 

We don't have a car this week so we are doing a lot on the bike - OMG.   

I'll send you more pictures of my week and videos soon.   

I miss you all.  Thank you for supporting me and picking me up on the rough days and weeks.

I know I can overcome everything.   

Love you

Sister Sister Gilmour 

WEEK 20: Chickens are ferocious :)

Hey everyone.. yes another weekly email because sometimes my weeks feel like forever. But this week was great and had lots of lessons and miracles happen. 

We have been teaching the Plan of Salvation to a lot of families and we are so happy we have families, because we are trying to get our little branch to grow out here. We have seen many miracles and are finding new people to teach daily. The plan of Salvation is my favorite lesson to teach because we get to talk about forever families and to help people understand you get to be with your family forever, beyond this life on earth through the proper priesthood authority and temple marriage.  It's an amazing gift and message we as missionaries get to teach. I LOVE IT!!!

I've been doing hair and teaching people. Mike and Jeannine and there 2 boys.  As I cut all of there hair the other day we taught them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ" invited them to church and we will be watching general conference with them here in a few days.  I'm so excited to hear from our new prophet. 

This week we went to Bronson, Kansas where some of our less actives live, along with some investigators. We went and saw Paula who we are teaching every Friday. Paula is the most loving person I've ever met, she gives to those all around her and makes soap.. she gave me like 6 bars for free.. I never have gotten so many free things in my life from people. On your mission you just get given things and that's a blessing because I'm sure they think we need things. But Paula has a farm and we got to hold the baby chicks, and baby ducks.. also go to love the baby goats. I'm loving all these farm animals.  We also got to teach more about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, another Testament of Jesus Christ-with the Bible, the gospel is so much clearer.  I love talking about that too.

I was standing by the chicken coop and got chased down by the male chickens and went running across the farm. Sister Rudolph probably thinks I'm crazy.. But I was afraid for my life. I was screaming and I'm sure looking stupid while running and flapping my arms everywhere. This mission is worth it though. 

I love you all. Another eventful week with crazy experiences and memories I'll never forget. 

Have a good week everyone and remember to serve others. 

Love Sister Gilmour 

WEEK 19: Not my first rodeo but i knew better. Like my helmet?:)

Hi again! This week was another one for the books! 😂 

I went to my first rodeo, here at Fort Scott Community College! A member named Zach, and his girlfriend (who we are going to start teaching) invited us to go with them. We excitedly agreed!!  

  ...Wow was that just a disaster! First off, we thought the arena was an open/outdoor one. So despite ME BEING allergic to horses, we decided to go. BAD. IDEA. We get there, and its definitely an indoor arena. Right off the bat we are watching these bucking horses, and the air is just a mess. Within 10 minutes MY eyes were red and she was coughing. In the next 30 minutes (I refused to leave) MY throat started closing off. We go out into the hall and track down a member of our church who works there. He tracks down the guy who's over the rodeo safety. He finds me some benedryl. I takes 2 of those and then insists, between practical wheezes, on going back in so I can enjoy the rodeo. my companion was like  "I'm not about to kill my companion!" LOL needless to say, we left early to get me home. Especially because the benedryl started to make me loopy and tired haha. That night, I barely slept because even though the meds knocked me out fast, my airway was still tight and I was so afraid that i  was going to  stop breathing 

Lots of service

This was all on Saturday night, and just the night before, i got a phone call and was asked to speak in church on Sunday. So i kinda panicked that i wouldn't be able to do that anymore because when your throat swells up your voice kinda gets raspy and torn up. 

service on our faces

Long story short, we end up at church the next morning, stay for the first meeting so i could  talk and cough at the pulpit (LOL) and then go home for naps. I'm doing a lot better now; I've made a near full recovery! lol. Lesson learned. No more rodeos for this companionship. 

Miracles in teaching/finding:

We were able to teach Connor last night! Its been a few weeks since we have been able to really catch him and figure out how he is doing and how we can help him. And I am so glad we did because what we talked about and shared was so powerful. We asked him to make a list of all of his goals, and also a list of his fears. We talked about each fear and what he could do to overcome them so that he can achieve the goals that really matter to him. In the end he realized that the most important goal to him was to be joyful (Happiness is temporary, joy is eternal). And for him to have joy he needs to improve his relationship with God and develop trust in Him. 

We spend some time talking about why he doesn't come to church, and he admitted that it's because if he starts coming again and changing his life, he KNOWS he is going to want to serve a mission. Which he wants to do, but its also scary to him. He knows that he will want to be, "a good Mormon," and eventually have a Mormon family in the temple. He knows that it's a life commitment. 

We really understand Connor on a different level now- he wants to be the best there is at this, but its a long road. We are so ready to support him and get him to, where he now realizes, he wants to be. 

I love that I get to be a part of this life as a missionary! I love getting to see the Lord work with His children. God loves Connor, and all the rest of us. 😊

Its been a good week! I hope you all have had a good one too. 

Catch you next week!

Sister GILMOUR

WEEK 18: HEY Y'ALL. another week.. with CRAZY stories.. This place is interesting.

I have been really needing this week and the experiences that we had.

We just keep on finding and this week we walked and walked and walked.. 40 miles on our feet.  Our bodies are DESTROYED.   The work keeps going forward and and Lord just keeps providing us with great opportunities. 

Something this week that was really hard...people don't treat you like a normal person.  They see your badge, cuss you out and then tell us we are crazy for what we are believing.   Someone through a drink at us this week while we were walking, not cool!!!!!  No matter what things people do or say, my testimony of the gospel has become so strong that nothing could get me to stop what I'm doing, or get me down.   I'm so beyond grateful for the Savior. He made it possible so that we didn't have to hold on to anger, sorrow, and sadness. He can take anything away from us that may be hard for us. He is the way to have Peace, Joy and Happiness. 

Like I said, we walked a lot this week on our feet and have been exhausted but its so rewarding when you find someone that you just know that the Lord has prepared just for you and your Comp.  So many good times.  Even though a mission is hard physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally it's all worth it because you are working hard and the blessings come upon you. The Lord has been watching over my family back home and I can't help but know that he is doing that because i'm working hard. I love my family and i know that they are being watched over. It makes me want to work harder every day.

We ran into a guy named Jared this week. He is tattooed head to toe and the biggest teddy bear person i have ever met.   He loves the member's of the LDS church and we are going to be teaching him 2 times a week along with his mom, step brother and best friend and his best friends girlfriend. A miracle story with how we found everyone. So much potential and i cant wait to tell you all about their progress.  We read with them the Book of Mormon, they have had contact with missionaries before and really like Sister Rudolph and I.   We are hoping that as we teach the restoration this will be an amazing experience for everyone. The spirit was so strong as we were testifying of the Book of Mormon and how true it is. 

I would like to end this email with a conference talk 

"Tomorrow the Lord will wonders among you"

As you desire of me so it shall be done unto you,” the Lord has declared.

“… Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously. …

“… [Then] whatsoever you desire of me [in] righteousness, … you shall receive.”8

My brothers and sisters, the first great commandment of all eternity is to love God with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength—that’s the first great commandment. But the first great truth of all eternity is that God loves us with all of His heart, might, mind, and strength. That love is the foundation stone of eternity, and it should be the foundation stone of our daily life. Indeed it is only with that reassurance burning in our soul that we can have the confidence to keep trying to improve, keep seeking forgiveness for our sins, and keep extending that grace to our neighbor. 

President George Q. Cannon once taught: “No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do so]. … He will [always] stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace;we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them.”

I love you all an i know that we are loved, never alone and that we are always able to become someone as the Savior sees us. 

LOVE Sister Gilmour