New Leaf

Mom, Dad, and the whole bunch,
It's sad to hear about Grandma, but it sounds like it was her time and it was for the better. I hope you all are doing well with adjustments. Mom, listed out like that it sure sounds like this year was one of the craziest. We never know what the future holds in store. It reminds me of a scripture I read recently in Ether 6 (verse 5 or 8 I think) which I mentioned before in an email when I was in the MTC. God used his "furious winds" to blow us toward the promised land. That has a lot of life parallels I think. The storms may seem to never end, but the end is rich which blessings. I hope we can keep that in mind as we go into 2013. And may we set goals that will help prepare us for whatever the Lord has in store.
We had some awesome experiences this week. One of which was with a guy named Miguel. Elder M and I were biking back to our apartment for lunch and saw a guy outside in his yard who we stopped to talk to. He said he was cleaning up a bit from a Christmas party the night before, so even though he declined our help, we got off our bikes and started picking up trash and putting it in bags. After a bit of talking he complimented our Spanish and made the comment that he doesn't know much English. So we told him about our free English classes like a half mile from his house. He was stoked! And he committed to see us there the following night. Well the next day when we showed up, 10 min early, he was already there! And it turned out that he was the only student because apparently the class had been cancelled by the member-teacher, but it was good because we got to focus on him. About half way through the class he said, "So you guys in your church, do you believe in heaven and hell?" Well that opened it up for us to talk about the plan of salvation and we gave him a pamphlet in English and Spanish. A member in the building poked his head in and invited Miguel to church on Sunday. To help him feel comfortable on Sunday, we showed him around the building a bit, and ran into another member who chatted with Miguel for like 15min and got him totally interested in church. He says he really wants to find a church where he feels like family and to draw closer to Christ, and he committed to come on Sunday. And he actually came yesterday! It was a miraculous series of events. What's even cooler is that missionaries from several months ago had already saved his number in our phone, haha. I know that God is watching over his children and guiding them - those that don't have the Gospel as well as those that do. He wants all His children to return home.
Well, we don't have much plans for New Year's Eve. There's a zone activity from 6-8:30 to keep us off the streets. I'm excited for the year ahead and these next few months as crunch time. Enjoy your activities tonight and stay safe. I love you all!

Elder Gathro

Merry Christmas!

Dear family and friends,
Merry Christmas! It's great to be in the Christmas season and to feel the special excitement it brings. We had our mission Christmas party this week which was a blast. After chatting with other missionaries and getting the giggles out, we all met in the chapel of a local church building and had a really nice program. Each zone was paired up with another and sang to the mission. Ours was embarassing- right at the end of the song when it switches into ocupella(?) the conductor dropped his music and we all just paused for a few seconds awkwardly. Haha it was funny though. Our area authority spoke to us as well. He always has inspiring words, and this time focused a little on how special the Christmas season is as a missionary. I really felt that I need to use this precious time - both as a missionary and simply around Christmas - to serve other people. I think that the "Chistmas spirit" is mostly about "love-inspired service." It can be hard to rotate your frame of mind and try focusing on the needs of others instead of yourself, but I know that it's rewarding and elevating. Christ is our ultimate example of such a life.
I'm excited to see and talk to you all tomorrow. If 5pm FL time is best, I'll hop on at 3pm here. I don't think it'll be possible to skype Tyler later on. Maybe I can talk to him for 5 min just before 3pm? And we're only supposed to talk to immediate family, so although Brandon is pretty much my blood brother I probably won't be able to say much to him. I guess it's cool if he listens in though. I'd like to at least call each of the other siblings like I did on Mother's Day. That was great.
Well the work took a few shallow dives and is surfacing again. We had an investigator show up at church that we weren't expected to come at all. During Gospel Principles class, the teacher was closing up the lesson and showed the class a photo of the soon-to-be-dedicated Gilbert Temple, then addressed the investigator and said, "This is the temple, the missionaries will be taking you here to teach you more about God's plan for us." So right after the prayer we jumped up and scheduled a trip to the temple this week. Things are always looking up :)
I love you lots! Thanks for all the packages. Enjoy this evening and this special time of the year. May you find ways to serve others around you and bring them closer to the Savior. Hasta pronto! Feliz Navidad!

Elder Gathro

Estar al tanto

Hey family,
I haven't heard from Brandon yet, but WOW! He sounds like he's become twice the stud he was before the mission. I'm happy for him. And glad to hear that you were able to Skype a bit yesterday. I heard from a member about some civil unrest in Egypt. I'm glad Tyler's out of there and chilling in Bethlehem for the holidays. In some ways it hadn't really felt like the Christmas season yet for me, but I've been wishing everyone I meet a merry Christmas and I can feel the excitement in the air. And tomorrow we're having a mission Christmas party, temple trip on Wednesday with half the mission in my session. Our ward Christmas parties are also this week, and I'm looking forward to meeting all the friends of members that come along. I feel like good things are soon to happen in our areas. Our talks a week ago in sacrament meeting were bomb, and then yesterday one of the members gave us a huge compliment. It was a high councilman who came with us to a lesson this week and at the start of priesthood meeting he kept going on about how impressed he was with our teaching skills and whatnot. Some members are starting to get things going with their friends, which is wonderful. I hope I'm one of those members who's always inviting my friends to church, firesides, FHE, activities, to read from the Book of Mormon, etc. "Fear not to do good."
So last night we had a mission president's fireside at the institute in my area, so my companion and I got to translate the fireside into Spanish. It was my first time officially translating and it was actually pretty fun. We just sat back in the corner and switched back and forth. Occasionally another Spanish missionary who was listening would look back at me because of how I translated it. Haha it was fun.
We kinda had a rough week with the church attendance. We invited so many people and got several commitments that we felt were solid, but only one lady showed up. And she can't be baptized right now because she's not married and her husband doesn't want to get married any time soon. It's a sad situation that unfortunately has happened a lot on my mission. And there's only so much we can do. But I know that God is working with us and our investigators. A friend of the investigator who came to church has a lot of depression, so the investigator told her friend, "Well come to church! It'll help you." Amazing! She's already a missionary.
Yeah, we can Skype at the time that you mentioned, Mom. That'll work. I'm looking forward to it. You can see how much my hairline has receded...just kidding, it's not too bad :) I pray that you will all be safe and well. I love you all!

Elder Gathro

Life at the "Table"

Hola hola!
Wow, it always seems like a load of news when I read your emails. I pray for the family, Grandma and Grandpa included. It's always fun to have the Rich and Kathy gang over for the holidays. That'll be a blast.
Some of the biggest news from this week is the mini mission tour that we had. Elder Quentin L. Cook, Walter F. Gonzalez, and Gary Stevenson came to visit our mission this past Friday. We all got together at a local chapel and they addressed just our mission. It was really cool. And they had great things to say, of course. And what they said actually wasn't anything new. Bishop Stevenson talked about Preach My Gospel's counsel to extend an invitation, promise blessings, and bear testimony. Then Elder Gonzalez (who has a funny Uruguayan accent) talked about the power of the Book of Mormon as a tool in finding, teaching, baptizing, and retaining. Elder Cook talked about removing foolishness from our lives, especially as younger missionaries enter the field. Then he said more about making powerful invitations to help people progress in the Gospel. And he also commented toward the end about how we are in the right place in our lives right now. Our family now and in the future will be blessed as a result of serving a mission. And actually typing that just now reminded me of a verse I read this morning in Mormon 3:1-2. As all the people were preparing for war and trying to make sure they were ready in every way possible, God tells Mormon that if they people will live the Gospel, He will preserve them. It's like saying, "I know you're guys are busying yourselves for war, and now you really need to give emphasis on religion." Seemingly they don't have a relation, but God will bless us in every aspect of our lives as we live the Gospel.
My companion and I spoke in our English ward sacrament yesterday and had a terrific response from the ward. A convert also shared his conversion experience and it really made sacrament meeting spiritual. All in all we had a decent week. Oh check this out: A few years ago, the Spanish ward I'm currently in had 68 baptisms in a year! This year it didn't get close to that, but it's crazy to think about the potential it has. I hope to be here for a long while.
Well, I love you all. I hope I answered your questions. Good luck with work and school and merry Christmas!

Yours truly,
Elder Gathro

My 3rd Area!

Family!

Whoa, what a change! I don't know if you got the letter from President Howes yet but in case you didn't, I'm now serving as a zone leader. And even cooler, my current companion is actually the same elder who trained me when I was a greenie. He's a much better companion this time around, which is probably just because my attitude and perspective is more mature compared to a year ago. This is his last transfer before he goes home, so he'll have to train me how to be a zone leader before he ends his mission. And we'll be spending Christmas together again. I'm excited for the transfer!
There are some really good pockets of Hispanics here which is fun. The members have had bad experiences with missionaries in the past so we're trying to build up the trust and I was doing my best yesterday to greet everyone and make a good impression. I told everyone at the pulpit that because my last name sounds like "gato" that they could call me Elder Gato (Elder Cat), which they all loved. And they already tell me that I have good Spanish. Hopefully I can make a difference here. And weirdly enough, this could be my last area if it's anything like the time I spent in my first area.
So I'm still adjusting to the area and catching on to locations and names, and I don't have a whole lot of stories yet. BUT, last night we had a pretty cool experience. While walking through an apartment complex we started offered to help a young guy with some groceries from his car. We actually let us help, and even invited us to eat dinner with him. We respectfully declined but he invited us into his house either way so we went up and met his fiance and 11-mo-old baby as well. At first we were a little weary of the guy because he seemed unusually friendly for a street contact. But it turns out that his soon-to-be-wife has a best friend who's Mormon, and she has been thinking about converting but wants to get her life in order before getting too involved. We asked more about their family, experiences at church, testified of how the Gospel blesses families, and they agreed to have the English elders stop by. After the visit we passed the referral off and the other elders gave the family a call and set up an appointment for Wednesday. It was a miracle contact and a family that seems really promising. I know that God's hand is in this work. He's closer than we think He is. And He will help us. I'm excited for the Christmas season as more people will be thinking on Christ. I hope each of you may feel closer to Him as well. I love you all!

Elder Gathro

Transfer Calls...

Hey family!

Just for starters, I love you all! Like a ton. You're the greatest family I've ever had :) Thank you so much for your support and love and Christlike examples. You each add a lot to the sweet memories I have of growing up and to everything I learned from home. I appreciate you all and pray for you daily. It's great to hear that Thanksgiving was such a blast! Sounds pretty perfect actually. What a blessing! Sorry to hear about Parvo, but he'll be in a better place. Though I'm not sure if Tyler will be in a better place after tomorrow :) Just kidding, but be safe. I'll be praying for him. And yeah, Mom, I'll be in the Christmas name-picking. Thank you for asking.
So this week was pretty amazing. Really stressful at parts but otherwise full of blessings. The biggest news is that Sis B. Johnson was baptized this Saturday and confirmed yesterday. She's an older lady that was being taught by the missionaries in the English ward before we got there, and she's a bit crazy (funny because she's a professor and doctor of mental health), but she's a great lady. After she was baptized she danced her way out of the font. Then after being confirmed, she stood up from the chair and starting singing one of her little jingles to the entire congregation about love and unity for like 20 sec. Everyone was frozen. It was priceless! But I guess it's been done before (Alma 5:26 and Mosiah 18:11).
So, last night I had one of the most spiritual experiences of my life, right up there with the baptism of Abraham and Daisy. Back in April we baptized Maria, a single lady in her 20s, whose mom is an excellent Christian who loves having us come over. She thinks I'm a hoot because I always make her laugh, and we've also had some very spiritual lessons with her before. One night I even had a vivid dream that Maria's mom had decided to be baptized. So for the past several months we've been working with the mom, but she doesn't like making changes at all. Well yesterday after church we went by to see Maria, in case I actually got transferred, and we took some photos, with the mom as well, then I asked to share a scripture. Well the scripture turned into a long discussion. And I kind of struggled a bit, because I knew that she has felt the spirit with us before but we hadn't hit her real concern. Eventually we committed her to ask God if she should get baptized, and to pray with us right there and ask. She didn't want to but we were persistent. It felt really important that she did so. Finally she started into the prayer, and when we said "amen," no one lifted their head or said a word for about 30 seconds. Silent. Then the mom asked us, "What did you feel?" We told her we had felt the Spirit. She said, "I did too. I felt Jesus' presence." It was so powerful. We asked her if she would be baptized. "Yes, but I don't want to pick a date yet." I almost could not believe my ears. I had to ask her again just to make sure I understood. Absolutely amazing. It was a miracle. God felt so close. And it's an even greater blessing when I think about all the time I've spent her working with her and on my last visit with them she received her sign. She is willing to draw closer to Christ. I really can't explain how I feel. It's the greatest feeling ever!
So I kind of hinted at it already, but we got transfer calls last night, and....YES I'm leaving the area! It'll be 11 months tomorrow that I've been here. And actually, President called me last night to tell me but before he did, he said, "Elder Gathro, we want to ask you if you will run for mayor of Chandler?" Haha I might as well. But I'll be leaving on Wednesday for sure, possibly to Yuma. I'll let you know next week where I am. I'm stoked for the next stage of my mission! And my greenie companion is too, because he'll be a trainer. He's kinda freaking out because he doesn't feel like he knows Spanish, but he'll do great. He speaks it pretty well. It's gonna be a fun next transfer :)
Well, that's all I've got. Thanks for everything. I'll send you photos next week. I love you, all! Talk to ya later!

Elder Gathro

Chilly

Hey family!
It was a great week, we really picked up on our efforts compared to the past couple weeks with our new wards. We got a new ward mission leader last Sunday who is a recent RM and he's so fired up. We're actually at his house right now using his laptops but he leaves for work soon so this will be a short email. Thank you Mom and Dad both for your emails. I pray Mom will have a speedy recovery. I'll let you know about that list next week if that's alright.
Well yesterday we also had stake conference by satellite  Elder Eyring and Elder Holland spoke to all the saints in Arizona. It was hilarious to hear Elder Holland accuse Arizonans of not liking Utahans so much that they dug a ditch (the Grand Canyon) to keep them from crossing the border very far :) Aside from that, really inspiring words concerning missionary work and being more faithful disciples.
We had a really great lesson this week with one of our investigators named Jessica. She referred herself a couple months ago but only met with the previous missionaries once. They invited her to come to church on Gen Conf weekend and she couldn't make it but she watched some of it online. She's pretty interested and is actually "investigating" in the real sense of the word. And she was asking us such good questions! It was just a lot of FUN to teach her. I think it made the lesson more thrilling to see that she was being active in her learning, seeking to understand and willing to make changes. Missionary work is fun :)
Yeah we're having a good time down here. We're working with one of our investigators to help him stop smoking. He really wants to quit but is struggling a bit. We went over a stop-smoking program with him and he got so excited! Even his grandsons we're eager to help out and tape little reminders around the house. Pray for him, please. His name is Phil.
I got to do two baptismal interviews this week for my district. They are really neat experiences. Mom, I should let you know that I quote you a lot out here. Remember that you used to tell us, "Sorry means you won't' do it again"? I feel like that is pretty much the most basic way to describe repentance. I love sharing it with people to help them understand that repentance means change. And don't worry, I give you props as well. I feel like quoting Mom always adds more credibility :)
Well, I love you all. Enjoy the cool weather and have a great week!

Elder Joshua Gathro

Gathro Gang,
Mom, this is the first mention I've heard of any surgery. How're you doing? What's the surgery for? And yes, I already sent in my vote, although I don't know anything about the politics going on right now. I just found out yesterday about a huge hurricane that just blew through the Atlantic. Any updates?
I'm still covering the Spanish ward here in town. This transfer they also gave us two English wards and put us in an apartment 2 miles away so that now we're right in the middle of our area. The elders who lived there previously are now in my former apartment which happens to be their area. It was actually the most convenient arrangement. And since the move, we have played tennis every morning in our complex. It's way fun. My companion played tennis in high school and it's my goal to beat him this week. I almost had him this morning...so close :)
This week was terrific! Yeah we had some low points, but looking back and counting my blessings it was actually pretty good. For one, the weather has been gorgeous! This is the reason why so many people put up with the heat, because the winters are perfect. And the members here really are great. We had a trunk or treat activity this weekend and members kept telling us, "If you EVER don't have a dinner, you call us." And they're busy doing missionary work as well. The only challenge so far is being organized to stay on top of the work. I feel like Time and Satan are our biggest enemies. There's never enough time to do everything we want. But we're getting better. Oh, and I told the member at dinner last night that I would let you know, Mom, that they're making sure I'm eating my vegetables. We had a "health fair" this week as well where they gave us shots, so I'm invincible against the flu now.
Thursday night our Spanish ward went to the visitors' center in Mesa and we brought an investigator with us. He and his "wife" (we have to help them get married) are our leading Spanish investigators and are amazing! She had to work but he came with us and loved the Restoration video. He said he felt like it was a "recharge of batteries", aka The Spirit. He and his wife loved church yesterday as well and said that they are definitely coming back next week. Please pray for them!
Missionary work can be frustrating or overwhelming at times, but I know that it brings us sweet joy and happiness. It's a blessing to serve the Lord and help Him bring blessings to God's children. I love you all and pray that you're doing well!

Elder Joshua Gathro

"Fasting is a very strong feeling"- Primary Child

Hola hola!
Thanks so much for your email, Dad. Its incredible to hear about recent events in worldwide missionary efforts. Four thousand applications?!? That's incredible! Jessi, you should join the team when you can :) I was in somewhat of a slump this week but I was thinking just this morning about how a main purpose of the mission is to help you become more like Jesus Christ. And to help others become great disciples as well. You can be an instrument of the Lord for the greatest good in the world. 
So happy late Halloween! We spent 8am to 4pm reading in the New Testament and then from 5 to 9pm we had to be in our apartments. It was a pretty refreshing day and studying in the New Testament really helped me appreciate more the words of the Bible. At night we managed a few prank calls to other missionaries :)
So in one of our lessons earlier this week with a recent convert, we were talking about God's plan for us and he asked, "So when we die we won't be like this anymore? with our bodies?" - "Sorry, Michael, but no we won't." - "Auhhhh!" It was actually really funny. But he seemed so disappointed to have to suffer a time without our bodies. It made me appreciate more the good news of a resurrection.
So we had some troubles with our progressing investigators this week. We found out that our investigator with a baptismal date is still struggling to quit smoking. And  the other couple progressing toward baptism is having a hard time making the decision to get married or to separate in order to live the law of chastity and be baptized. Our mission president made a promise that if we contact a certain number of people a week that our investigators will continue progressing toward baptism. So as of Saturday morning we still had a lot of contacts to go to reach our goal, and it looked pretty daunting. But Saturday night after dinner we starting our fast, hopped on bikes, and went to visit an investigator that we haven't been able to contact for a few weeks, but that was at first looking to be the most promising. He lives 2.5 miles from our house, and over that distance we managed to talk to 55 people! That was huge for us! God just kept putting people in our paths and several of them actually seem like good potentials. So by the time we were approaching our investigator's house, it was pretty late, and the owner doesn't want us knocking on the door. I really didn't know what we'd do. But biking up to the house, our investigator was just walking out into the yard. I think my jaw dropped. Miracle to find him! We ended talking for about 15 min, although we seemingly had no idea what to say. He's really struggling and has given up a lot of hope to change. But God guided our words and we set up a return appointment. Both Elder M and I know that the blessing of finding that investigator again came because of our fast and faith. When we got back to the house, my companion said, "It's kinda freaky seeing God's hand so clearly." I don't know if I explained it well, but it was a great testimony to us of the power of fasting, and as well as how much God is involved in our lives.
I love you all and pray for you. Thank you for everything. Get well soon, Mom, and good luck with the new program, Dad. Have a great week!


Elder Joshua Gathro

Mucho

Family!!
Hey a lot happened this week! The most exciting news I'll save for later on in the letter. But it's mostly for Ben. And before I forget, we ran into a member this week who happened to serve with David Holladay in Hong Kong. Her name then was Sister Lisa West. And I think she already sent David a comment on facebook. Small world eh?
B-Mac is now an RM. That's terrific news. Tell him I admire him. He's a good man :)
So Tuesday night (transfer meeting was on Wednesday) we got a call from the assistants informing us that we are moving apartments! Ten months in the same area and then I have to change apartments. Actually we already made the move this morning, and the house doesn't look very good. We're gonna have to do some cleaning today. But it does put us more central to our area...our English area! The call from the assistants was also to let us know that we now cover two English wards. So after thinking that our world had come crashing down on us, we realized that it's gonna be pretty sweet. Ever since I've been here, we have had to pass off to other missionaries any person that wants to hear the Gospel in English. But now we're the ones who cover that area in English too. It's a pretty nice set-up. I'm excited for that aspect, and, based on our interactions at church yesterday, our ward members are awesome. We were introducing ourselves to everyone at church and everyone gave us a warm welcome. I stopped one member of our ward and asked his name, and he asked for mine. Then he said, "Hmp. I knew an Elder Gathro once." Freeze! I've been waiting 14 months to hear someone say that, though he didn't give it a second thought. I said, "That was my brother!" The member didn't seem as sure and said he would text his wife to ask if the Elder Gathro they knew also had the first name Ben. Sure enough. The member is Eric Housel, one of Ben's converts from 11 years ago. Eric came back to me after his wife responded to the text and started thanking Ben for how much he changed this guy's life. He told me all about how Ben and Elder Gauke came to visit Eric and Eric told them, "You guys can come in. But I do not want to talk about church. I just want to get to know you." He said that they got to know each other really well, and Ben and Elder Gauke were absolutely hilarious, with random humor and all-around fun personalities. We also talked to the then-elders quorum president Scott Duncan who also remembers Ben. It was a priceless moment. I figure that's why God kept me in Chandler for so long. I'm excited to get to know this guy a little better. He had so many good things to say about Ben, and actually wants some way to get in contact with him. Ben, what contact information can I give him? He's eager to chat with you. Just let me know :)
So basically those are the biggest pieces of news and I'm out of time to share the rest. But things are going well. It's a bit crazy trying to coordinate with 3 wards but we're seeing success every day. I love you all. Thank you for being such a wonderful family!

Elder Joshua Gathro

PS- Thank you for the letter Jessi, I'm glad your birthday was a blast. Be sure to give yourself time to pray. Like really pray. Sounds like you could use a little more direction these days with so much to figure out about your future. You'll be ok :)
PPS- Mom, thinking about your lesson for Sunday, I started getting thoughts of following the prophet and keeping the commandments. One of the reasons that I treasure the words of prophets is because they teach us what and where our priorities should be, especially with regard to the family. And I know that all the blessings we desire as latter-day saints come because of our obedience. All the power and strength that we receive come by keeping God's commandments. It's not much of a thought, but good luck in your lesson! I love you!

Go Catholic Bro

Dear Family,

We got a phone call last night about transfers this week. I almost didn't believe it. I'm once again staying in the same area. This will be 8 transfers and a full 11 months. Good thing I love it here :) I was ready for a change in scenery but that'll have to wait another 6 weeks. My greenie companion and I are stoked to make some miracles happen.
Speaking of miracles, last Sunday after General Conference and toward the end of a zone missionary fast, we met a guy outside his house named Alvaro. Upon meeting him he asked where our church was and said, "I'll go next Sunday." People always say that, so I wasn't quite convinced. But he let us come by and teach him twice this week and sure enough he came to church! During our first visit he asked, "So how long does it take to get baptized?" He's so humble and wants to make changes in his life. He's also really smart, and answers questions so well. On our second visit (which ended up being in the laundromat across the street) we asked him if he had read 1 Nephi chapter 1 and what stood out from his reading. He said he had and then made a connection between Nephi killing Laban and David killing Goliath...that's not in chapter 1 :) This guy is good. For one, I know that fasting can bring us blessings from heaven. I know that the Lord hears our prayers. I know that He is preparing individuals and families for His prepared servants. When we met Alvaro, he said that he had seen me before, months earlier, one night when we had walked up and talked to his friends. When teaching another investigator, her husband said that he also saw me a few months ago and remembers it perfectly. It's neat to see some of the fruits from the seeds planted throughout my time here.
We got 6 new investigators in total this week. Each one is a miracle. One of the better stories is from a lady that we approached outside her house one night last week and she asked us to come by this past Wednesday. It was a really spiritual lesson. She doesn't know much about the Gospel or God's plan, but she feels and understands that God loves her. She has a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. She shared a story with us that helped teach her those things. It was great to then share with her a way to strengthen her relationship with the Lord. Toward the end of the lesson I realized that we had run out of copies of the Book of Mormon and didn't have any to give her. So I went out on a limb and let her borrow my personal copy until we could come back the next day with a copy of her own. Thursday when we returned, she told us that she had read the night before, Thursday morning, and then again before we came over. What?!? She loved it! She is a great lady, so humble. The Gospel will bless her life tremendously.
One afternoon this week we were locking up our bikes before going into a lesson and a car drove by with a guy who yelled out, "You should go Catholic bro, Catholic!!" So classic! It was hilarious, what he said and the way he said it. So now we're considering the idea :)
Thank you, Mom, for sharing that insight with me. I think you're right. And there must be so many more symbols in the scriptures than we realize. One of the saddest things to me is when people don't see us as representatives of Jesus Christ. We tell people every day that we share a message of Him and they say that they are already members of a church. They don't recognize the truth we share. I want others to hear the Savior's voice through me and help them draw closer to Him. I love you all and pray that you are well. Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Joshua Gathro

Great Conference

Mom and the gang,

Hey just to start, Mom, you can get rid of Abby's cage. It would be great if you could donate it to someone in the ward or anyone else, even little Evan. But do whatever you need to. Thanks for asking.
Yeah holy cow, what a weekend! I watched the Sunday morning session in Spanish which proved a little harder than I expected, but I'm listening to Elder Holland's talk in English as I'm typing this. What a powerful message. And what a powerful man. I left every session feeling new resolves to be a better disciple and Christian, more converted, more loving, more like the Savior. So many spiritual promptings and shouts to give a little more, to be a little better, to serve with more love. I feel like I always say this, but I want to be less selfish and more eager to reach out to others. I believe that we will become more faithful disciples through our selfless service to others than by any other means. I hope each of you have time to evaluate the words you heard and felt and set goals to make changes in your life.
And the new missionary age just made history. I'm all for it. The number of missionaries in the world will skyrocket! A bishop in Chandler got a text immediately afterward from a girl in his ward saying, "Ok Bishop, let's put my papers in." And my companion's friend from home is already decided that she's going to serve. Things like that probably happened all around the world. Jessi, I'm not sure what your thoughts are, but a mission will ensure that the right things happen in your life. You will love it, and will grow tremendously. You have time to consider more fully your options but the most important thing is that you are worthy and ready for whatever the Lord tells you to do. We serve because we want to do His will.
This week was a little rough but we saw a bit more progress with our investigators. It's so hard to get them to come to church. We fasted as a zone this weekend and now have some really good potential investigators that we're teaching this week. Things are moving along with more direction and faith. We had some fun interactions last night. The first one you guys are probably tired of hearing but it was a hoot. We were talking to a young couple on the street and after chatting a bit we told them that we usually just teach in Spanish, and I asked if they speak Spanish. When they sad yes, I started up in Spanish and the girl said, "Are you from Mexico?!" In my mind I was thinking, "We're standing right underneath a street light. How can she not see I'm white?" But just for fun I told her I was, and she jumped back while saying, "Whoa I would have never guessed it!" It was so funny! We told her the truth though afterward, no worries. Later on last night as we started teaching one of our investigators outside his apartment, a man walked up to my companion and me and said, "Are you guys Mormon?" I was thinking in Spanish so I said Si. Then he started up, "I speak English! And I gotta question for you guys! God is infallible! You think God forgot to call a 13th apostle? Why did you guys make that book?" He kept shouting at us and I could smell the alcohol so I told him so. "You think I've been drinking? It doesn't matter what you think! God is infallible!" It was a bit scary but I figured our investigator had our back if anything happened. And luckily one of his friends called for him so he walked away. Such a shame though what alcohol will do to people. He said a bit more that made it clear he wasn't thinking. Did I tell you guys that last week we taught a former member of the MS-13 gang? He is completely covered with tattoos, even a couple markings on his eyelids. But he had a come-to-God experience in prison so he's a fairly nice guy. I know Heavenly Father is watching over us at all times, just as the apostles testified yesterday. I know that true joy is found in living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I pray that we may each feel and become closer to the Savior as we apply His teachings in our lives. I love you all! Enjoy your week and happy Columbus Day!

Elder Joshua Gathro

Thank You

Hey family,
Thank you Dad for sending me your story. I don't think I would have appreciated it as much had I heard the entire story before my mission. It's very interesting to me that the real motivator and witness is the Holy Spirit. He's the One who helps us realize the truth, and then gives us the courage to act on what we know and feel. I heard a story from a man a week ago who said that after years of being married to a member, he had zero interest in the Church, even still as he was walking into his son's baptismal service a year ago. He had been invited to learn and his wife had talked his ear off about the Church, but he had no desire to make a change. And then as he watched his son get baptized, he felt the Spirit so strongly that it all changed. Suddenly he was a lot more open and interested. Now he is a member of the church as well. And it all changed with a feeling from the Spirit. 
Well this week we had a lot of lessons but no one significantly progressing. One of our investigators seemed to be getting closer to baptism but didn't come to church yesterday. And another couple (the one who gave really spiritual prayers in our first visits, who loves the difference that the Gospel has been making in their lives) just  had an adjustment to their work schedule that kept them from coming yesterday. And then this morning the wife called us to say that her husband was picked up this morning by Immigration. It was devastating news but we know that the Lord is in charge. We feel a bit that things are at a stand-still, but we're willing to make sacrifices to bring about the greater blessings that God has in store. We talked a lot about it yesterday, identified some things we can change, and we feel that there are great things soon to come. The couple who just got baptized a week ago has 37 people who live in Chandler that they want us to visit and invite to General Conference or church or to receive the missionary discussions. That's a ton of people! We're excited to get to work and watch God's hand among His children.
I'm really excited for General Conference. Last night at dinner the whole conversation was about how amazing it is to receive revelation while we watch and ponder about the things the prophets share with us. Just like Mom told me in her email, answers come as we listen and learn. I hope that each of you are able to give some time to listen to the Lord's servants. I know that God is always mindful of us and is diligently helping us to become better as we strive to help others become better. I don't have a ton of stories from this week but I know that prayer is a source of spiritual strength and direction. Trust the Lord. Have a great week. I love you all!
Elder Joshua Gathro

Invite friends to baptismal services

Saludos!
The baptism on Saturday was one of the most spiritual and rewarding moments of my life! We had a great weekend. We took care of everything in advance so on the morning of the baptism we were relaxed and at peace and things flowed flawlessly. The husband and wife were so thrilled, and they had their Mesa member friends come participate in the program. Before the closing hymn and prayer, they each briefly shared their thoughts and feelings and both started to cry. It was such a happy moment, like almost nothing I've felt before. They have made and still are making changes in their life and feel so much happiness. And it's incredible to thing about how much this young family will be eternally blessed. This has been one of the greatest miracles and blessings of my mission.
Well we had companion exchanges twice this week with our zone leaders and the Spanish assistants. It was fun, learned some good things. We also had a transfer temple trip and interviews with President. I've got heightened vision and my companion and I are full of faith. We've got to do some serious finding to be able to keep things flowing in our area, and we're confident that the Lord will bless us for our diligent efforts. 
We want to have several non-members watch General Conference with us in two weeks so we'll be inviting everyone! For the sake of my companion we'll probably watch it in English, but I think the building that broadcasts it in Spanish also does English, so we could work something out. Invite your friends to watch conference with you for a session. Think about how strongly you feel the Spirit when you are listening to the words of prophets. They can feel it as well, only good can come from it. 
I'm sorry to hear about Dad and the sister who fell. Take your time, Dad, no worries. I'm excited for the Deckers' new home and thank you for your fun, colorful letter this week :) It's cool that you're so involved, Jessi. I'm sure it's a good experience for you. Mom, you can send it to my apartment this week, we still have 3 weeks before transfers on Oct 17. Sorry this email is a bit short, the best part of the week was the baptism by far. I'll send photos when I can upload them or something. I love you all! Have a great week!

Elder Joshua Gathro

New Tongue

Family, 
I don't think my Caucasian descent has ever been questioned as much as it has this week :) My Spanish is the best I've had. Several times this week people have asked me where I learned Spanish. One day we were talking to a lady and after a few minutes she asked me, "Where are you from?" "Florida." "But your parents, are they Hispanic or gringo?" It was awesome, because I totally look gringo but I'm starting not to sound it. Again last night we were talking to some teenagers and I started speaking Spanish because they did, and then one kid said, "Are you white? Cause you don't have a white accent." It's incredibly exciting, and I know that the Lord is blessing me with a greater ability to speak the language. We're having a lot of success. This week was terrific!
My companion is pretty much my new best friend. He's hilarious and yet really committed and came to the mission well prepared. It's been a blast this week. He brings a lot of good input to the table and works hard without ever making a complaint. I've been thinking about ways to help him more and I think I just need to give him more opportunities to put into practice the things we're learning. I feel that the Lord is giving me greater abilities and I know that if I don't share my talents, I'll lose them. I want to start doing less for myself and more for others.
The couple that prayed to find us about 3-4 weeks ago will be getting baptized this Saturday! They are such a wonderful family and are so excited to be baptized. We found out this week that about 3 days before meeting us, they were at the point of separating from one another. The husband was ready to move out. And then one of their friends came over with a copy of the Book of Mormon. They found us that week and their lives have changed drastically. Now the husband is like the best dad in the world (except for my old man, of course), and their goal is to be married in the temple. They eat dinner together, read in the Book of Mormon together, pray together nightly, and are so much happier. It's the greatest miracle ever. And a blessing to be a part of. 
Another couple that we've been visiting for about 2 weeks now came to church yesterday for the first time and loved it. The husband is the more interested one and she is mostly just supporting him. But they are great people. They hit their one year anniversary this Thursday so we decorated a poster saying "Happy Anniversary" and drew stick figures of them holding hands. We brought it by the house and has just finished taping it to the door when we heard someone unlocking the door on the inside. We took off but she still saw us. She burst out laughing :) It was worth it.
Thank you Mom and Tyler for sharing those stories with me. I really appreciate it. And I hope to hear from Dad a little bit about his conversion story, if he has time. Have a great week everyone! I love you!

Elder Joshua Gathro

Que oso! = how embarassing!

Hey we got transfer calls last night...I'm staying again. The same area for going on 9 months. My greenie companion is leaving me here and I'll be with another greenie that will arrive tomorrow from the MTC. To be honest I was really disappointed that I'm staying again, but I feel a lot better this morning and am looking forward to correct all the mistakes I made as a trainer the past 3 months. I'm excited to train again. Maybe I'll get a native English-speaker :)

Sounds like life back in Florida is as busy as could be. I'm praying for you all and hope that you each have success in all that you're involved in. No I didn't know she's from Alabama, and I didn't have to write an essay for USU.

This week was super busy and miraculous as well. For starters, after visiting a potential investigator on Monday evening that wasn't home, we were walking back to the car and I looked down the street. My companion saw me and said, "You just thought about walking didn't you?" We both had the idea, so we followed it and ended up passing a house where we had talked to a kid before. He said he had been waiting for us one day and wants to meet with us, so we sat down right there and had a really spiritual lesson. It was just really neat to see how the Spirit had spoken to both of us to help bless Heavenly Father's children. And again on Friday we had a similar experience. We got out of a lesson at 5pm, when we had planned to eat dinner, but we were with some members and wanted to take advantage of their willingness to make another visit with us so we went to visit the same kid as in the previous story. We wasn't at his house, but his aunt drove us and told us that he was at her house. So we went there - no one answered. But down the road we saw a potential investigator outside and we talked to him for a few seconds and my companion asked to use the bathroom. So we went inside his house and a man was seated on the couch, so I introduced myself and asked his name. To make a long story less long, it turns out to be the same man that I had spoken to on the phone as a referral from February. We never knew his address and he never had time to meet, but I remembered his name and I felt bad that we never progressed with him. It just seemed so obvious to me that God had led us through those series of events in order to walk through the door of the house and meet this man waiting on the couch.

Those are the best two stories of the week. I'm excited for this coming transfer and excited that the summer is coming to an end. Best of luck in everything and let me know when big news comes along. I catch word when a hurricane blows through Florida. Be safe and trust in the Lord at all times. He has a plan and if we do our best, He will lead us along. I love you all!

 

Elder Joshua Gathro

One of the Best

Hey family,

This week was probably one of the best of my entire mission. It was filled with faith and miracles. Those two always seem to go hand in hand. For starters, our zone leaders talked to a man on the street about 10 days ago who wanted Spanish missionaries to come by. We had an appointment with him last Monday night and Wednesday as well. He is so excited by the Gospel. He just soaks in everything we say and even pauses while we read passages of the Book of Mormon with him to make comments about how good a scripture that was and to connect the dots between what the verse says and what he needs to do. When he read the last line in the Introduction to the BOM, he said, "Jesus Christ is coming again? Whoa!" Then on another visit after hearing a member's comment he said, "That's a good testimony!" And he's just always like that, enthused, like a little kid. He is planning on being baptized at the end of next month! Just for a better visual, he's a big Mexican guy who wears wife-beater t-shirts. Classic.
Second biggest miracle: Wednesday afternoon we were biking up to an investigator's house when we noticed that a car in the street stopped to get our attention. We turned around and they (a young couple) asked if we are Spanish-speaking Mormon missionaries. When we told them we are, they said they have a friend who's LDS and they want us to come by to teach them more about the Church. They prayed the night before to receive a sign if they should meet with us and saw us biking the next day! We went by on Saturday for the first visit and they are incredible! Their member friends have been such a huge example, especially when they told our investigators, "Just try it out. No matter what we'll still be friends." The wife said it made a big impact on her to hear that. They are looking to strengthen their relationship, family, to find more peace, happiness and hope. It seems to me that they already feel that the Gospel is true. They said they will be baptized on the same day as our other miracle investigator as they come to know that the Book of Mormon and our message are true. I thought we hit a small roadblock when the husband said he works every Sunday, but at the end of the lesson (before the family prayer which he offered) he said he's going to ask his boss to get every Sunday free so he can attend church. I don't fully feel that we deserve to be entrusted with such a terrific family who seem so ready to embrace the Gospel. But it makes me want to work even harder to show the Lord how grateful I am for His blessings. We taught more lessons this week than I have ever taught before in a week. We worked more with the members and in every lesson invited people to be baptized. Our faith in Jesus Christ has been strengthened.
Funny moments: In one of our visits this week our investigator opened the door and in my mind I was thinking "good morning," but in Spanish it came out as "buenas mananas," which just sounds really goofy. Then later in the lesson as my [native-speaking] companion was teaching how to pray he said in Spanish, "We bow our heads and cross our eyes," meaning to say cross our arms. I started chuckling to myself and almost couldn't stop, haha.
Our recent convert's daughter is progressing toward her baptism on this coming Saturday. She's really excited and seems really ready to make a covenant with Christ. She's slowly asking more questions and has a better understanding. She asked us about what happens when we make a mistake after baptism, and when we explained the role of the sacrament in repentance we could see in her expression that things just clicked. It's exciting to be a part of, and exciting to know that the Lord can and will use anyone with a willing heart to bless the lives of His children. I know He loves us and has a plan for us. I know that He wants us to reach our potential. And I know that we can as we look to Him.
I love you all and pray for you. Thank you for all your support and love. Have a great week!

Elder Joshua Gathro

how sweet

Family, 

We had a great week. It was really eye-opening with our mission tour on Thursday morning. Elder Aidukaitus came and had a lot to say about ways to improve our planning. He made a huge point of the quote in Preach My Gospel that says if we want to make the most of our mission and to reach our potential, we must master the skill of setting a goal and striving to reach it. His stories really inspired me to work harder and have more faith. He spoke really boldly and I think it put some more energy in the mission. We're trying hard to apply what he shared, especially in our planning efforts. Yesterday I was thinking about when I was first learning to drive,  somebody told me that new drivers tend to just focus on what's right in front of you, but more experienced drivers will look further ahead and are more aware of their surroundings. I feel that it relates well to life, and the need for missionaries (or anyone) to look further ahead as to be able to handle the load of work our Father wants us to have. It was a really interesting and uplifting mission tour.

Friday night we went to visit a potential investigator. She's a lady for whom we helped carry groceries in one day. When we rode up to her house, she was sitting outside reading the Bible. We asked if we could read with her and sat down with her on the porch. It turned into a very spiritual lesson, with her husband joining us as well. We taught the importance of the Book of Mormon in knowing whether or not our message is true. And if it's true, it's the most important message in the world. Her husband had a couple concerns and my companion turned to the wife and asked her to answer his question. She was so good, and helped us three times to answer and explain to the husband the need to put God first. It was so clear by the way we felt and how focused the wife was that she felt the Spirit. I really want to help more people understand the need to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Our message comes from God, and there is nothing else greater. If others are sincere and want to know, God will bless them with a confirmation. We don't need to fear or doubt. It's the truth.

Good luck with Gma and Gpa. Hang in there. I heard about Ben's Spanish class, which I think is awesome! I love each of you and support you with my whole heart. We are having priceless experiences here and learning how to be better disciples of Christ. May you have similar experiences this week in your activities. I love you!

Elder Joshua Gathro

peace, love, and happiness

Family,

Looking back on the week I feel that there were several instances when we were especially guided by the Spirit. None were extraordinary but still neat and faith-building experiences. Tuesday night we went to teach a less-active member from Puerto Rico the lesson of the Restoration. It was it bit odd because we had never met her and had no idea what her situation was like, but she was invited to hear the discussions again and said yes. So we visited her in another member's home and had a fantastic lesson. My companion and I both felt that we were being guided in certain directions and that in the end it was what she needed. And I felt that Spirit was blessing me with a greater ability to speak in Spanish. During that lesson I was saying everything I wanted to with zero problems. But after the lesson I was back to my normal sub-fluent speaking level. I learned that God will bless us with more gifts when we are seeking to use those gifts for the blessing of others.

Last night we biked down a road and the only lady we saw was just getting out of her car. She shot us down before we could say more than "Good evening." Then we looked across the street and another lady was in her garage and upon seeing us said, "Hi boys, I haven't seen you in a while." She is LDS but hasn't been to church in a long time and never receives visits from the ward. She was so sweet and glad to see us. We asked her about her reading of the scriptures, gave her a new copy of the Book of Mormon, and she has new resolves to start again living the gospel. It was an interesting contrast to the encounter moments before. And the Spirit led us to her, as well as to other places this week. Those promptings came as simple but sure thoughts. I know that the Spirit will work with us to the measure that we are worthy and are seeking to serve. I know that service to others will identify us as disciples of Jesus Christ and will help us to become more like Him.

We had a really good week. Things are going well. Best of luck with the house construction and the new residents on Claudia Drive. I love you all!! Happy Decker Day!

Yours truly, 

Elder Joshua Gathro

birthday

To Mom and the gang,

Transfers aren't for another month, and there are 6 missionaries in our district. Two of them are the Spanish sisters who work with us in the ward. Our district is a fun bunch. I'm excited to be molded a bit by this experience.

Weird to think that the house is being remodeled. Jessi should send me photos when it's all done.

Mom, I love thinking about God's plan of happiness as well. It makes so much sense to know that Father just wants us home again to be the best we can and the happiest we can. With that in mind he set up a way for us to be refined through experiences on earth and provided a Savior to make it all possible. It's wonderful. And I think that struggles in life become a lot more bearable to the measure that we put things in the frame of the plan.

Well Friday was one of the best days of my mission! For my 12-month mark I set a goal with my companion to hand out 12 copies of the Book of Mormon. By 4pm (due to planning morning, studies, and fixing a bike flat) our count was still at 0. I told my companion, "Before dinner at 5pm, let's have handed out at least 4." And God put the people in our path - 5 by dinner. Another one during our dinner appointment. Two more after that in following lesson. We were being guided from person to person and sharing the Gospel through the Book of Mormon with everyone we talked to. In the evening we went to an investigator's apartment and he wasn't home. But we saw a man chillin out on the stairs leading to the second floor. We started talking to him, and it turns out he has talked to missionaries before in Guatemala. We taught him about the Book of Mormon, read from it a few verses, and invited him to read it. He was just sitting on the stairs, waiting and thinking. It was a really spiritual experience to talk with him about the Gospel and about life. And it was neat how God led us to him. At the end of the day our final count was 16 copies of the Book of Mormon handed out. I know that setting goals and working toward them will being us great satisfaction. And it helps us to reach our potential. I know that God wants us to set goals; to set plans to do our duty and then act in all diligence. I read a talk this week from Elder Eyring where he says, "When my body begs for a rest, I give to myself this rallying cry: 'Remember Him'." I'm excited for these next 12 months, to set goals and work to achieve them, to help me achieve my potential and to help others do the same. 

We're having fun and learning as we teach others. This week we are going to the temple and next week Elder Aidukaitus will be here for our mission tour. We had a zone conference this week as well. A lot of spiritual uplifts to drive the work. May you each feel driven to give your all in service. I love you. Have a great week!

Elder Joshua Gathro

seven dwarfs

Hey family,

 

Thank you for the emails. They mean a lot. I love you all.

It rained a lot this week. Yesterday our car thermometer read 74 degrees at the lowest point. It felt great for a Sunday in July. We've been working hard this week and having fun. The baptism and confirmation this weekend went great! Our new member was so excited and looked so happy. Here family all came to support her as well. And her daughter told her after the baptism that she wants to be baptized now as well! We have a lesson set up for tonight, so we'll see how it goes. 

This week another recent convert in the ward called us up one morning and told us that she has a friend she wants us to meet. So that afternoon we all three biked over to her friend's house, got to know her, and had our first lesson. The lady is so sweet and very interested. She came to church yesterday as well and loved it. I think something I love even more than a high-potential referral is that this recent convert has been active in missionary work. Apparently she has just been raving about the church to all her friends in the area (which is fantastic because she lives in a highly concentrated latino area). She has been bearing her testimony about the church and been inviting her friends to meet with us. I just couldn't stop grinning when I found out and witnessed it in the lesson with her friend. What a joy :)

Pioneer Day fell on the day of our district meeting this week, but we stayed together as a zone and watched 17 Miracles. I was a little bummed that we were just watching a movie but decided that I wanted to receive revelation anyway. During the movie I thought, "Why were so many faithful saints not allowed to live? They're doing everything right and deserve what they want." And then I realized that that is the exact reason the Lord let them perish. The purpose of life is not to just live, but to live eternally. And the way we achieve that is in becoming more like Christ. Those pioneers who gave their all and suffered so much had qualified themselves in those faithful moments for an eternal award. They were the closest to Christ that they would ever be in their lives, and our Heavenly Father decided to secure them eternal life by calling them home at those respective times. It just seems to finally make a lot of sense to me.

Well I hope you enjoy the photos. Good luck with preparations for the arrival of los abuelos. I love you all!

Elder Joshua Gathro

progression

Hey hey,

One of the missionaries I live with is going home tomorrow morning and he commented that one of the many things he has learned on his mission is to appreciate his family. It made me think about how much I appreciate all of you. Thank you for your heart-warming letters and for letting me know how you're doing. It sounds like each of you are staying active and making progress in life. Jessi, I don't know where that book is. I doubt I have it any more. Tyler, you're a stud, in every good way.

Well we had several dust storms this week. One was on Saturday, pretty intense. Ben, do you remember having all those? They're visible from a distance because the sky gets cloudy with sand and it keeps moving closer. They just bring a lot of wind and sand and occasionally rain. It makes things exciting.

Elder Valdez and I had a good solid week. Our investigator with a baptismal date is so excited! She came to the baptism of someone else in our ward on Saturday night and just loved it. She's meeting members of the ward and is understanding more about God's plan. She genuinely seems happier. It's a thrill to witness. Those are the most cherished moments and the sweetest memories.

After the leadership meeting from last week, we have been more diligent with inviting others to be baptized. It makes a noticeable difference with their progress in learning the Gospel. And it helps us to address their concerns and for all of us to be on the same page of understanding. It sets the expectation and then we can help them along at their pace. One lady in particular has been very receptive this week. She is willing to learn and make changes as she receives answers from God. That is so critical. We talked to someone last night - who's attitude represents a majority of people here - who refused to accept, in a sub-conscience way, that he needed to make any changes to his current lifestyle. The Lord can do nothing with us if we do not remove the blindness, humble ourselves, and give Him our hearts. My friend this week sent me the talk "His Grace is Sufficient." The Savior doesn't ask us to repent because He wants payment; He doesn't expect repayment. He knows that repentance starts a developmental process of becoming more like Him. Our purpose in life is to become more like Him and prepare ourselves for eternal life. He is like a parent who has paid for our piano lessons and just wants us to practice. And if we don't practice, we'll never become pianists.

It was a great week. We got transfer calls last night (the summer is flying by), and I'm staying in the same city. I'm not sure if I'll ever leave :) But I like it here.

Keep your hope and press on with enthusiasm. Life is good. I love you all dearly.

Yours truly,

Elder Joshua Gathro

Woohoo!

Dear All,

Yay for the Holladay's and their new chamaco! It's exciting to know that everything worked out well. And thank you for your letter, Carrie and Rachel. I love my family.

This week has probably been the best so far this transfer, even though it started out as the most stressful of my mission (funny how that works). Thursday and Friday we had a mission leadership training which I attended as a trainer. It was absolutely wonderful. So very uplifting, and very timely. More than anything, it was the presence of the Spirit that made it such a great event. As a group of about 60, we discussed the Fundamentals of Preach My Gospel and other ways to refocus ourselves on what is most important and how we can better serve others. I know you know this, and I know I knew it, but I had forgotten how central the Spirit is for doing this work effectively. The purpose of Gospel is to help us change; to be clean and made perfect through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit is the One who effects the change within our hearts, to change our desires and habits. In all we do, personally and with others, the Spirit should be present to continually help God's children to progress toward eternal life. As long as those we visit feel the Spirit, our goals will be realized.

Saturday afternoon the most rain I have yet to see in Arizona came pouring down. We got out of a lesson and had to walk a couple hundred yards to our car, crossing through a street flooded several inches. It was sweet! The air got a bit muggy this weekend because of it but it was also a lot cooler. Felt really nice.

We got a referral on Thursday for a man who went to the Mesa visitors' center a few months ago, and we left a note on his door on Friday. Saturday he called us back, and yesterday he came to church with his 11-yr old son! They really felt good and we have an appointment set this week. We're excited and feel confident that he'll soon be progressing. Another one of our investigators is still planning on being baptized in 2 weeks. She is understanding things well and just simply feels happier in life. Her nephew just moved in with her from Mexico and he seems to be honestly interested. 

Yes, Mom, you were right in telling David that things are going well. Very well I would say. But not too well that we start slacking. This is the last week of the transfer and we're gonna end it with a bang. I love you all and pray for you. Best of luck in your missionary efforts!

Con carino,

Elder Joshua Gathro

Saludos

Family and Friends,

Monday night we met with the lady who came to church last week and had a terrific lesson. She is so sincere and wants to be closer to God. And she has decided to be baptized at the end of this month! She's a single mother with 4 daughters and she is trying to put her life in order. It is a thrill to see the Spirit work within others and help them progress toward eternal life. We saw that again powerfully on Saturday with a couple who are have been faithful members of their Christian church for 7 years. It was a very interesting lesson, about our 3rd or 4th time with them. They have been reading parts of the Book of Mormon and comparing it with the Bible and are seeing that the Book of Mormon is true. The wife actually said, "I know the Book of Mormon is true, I'm sure of that. I know your church is true, I'm sure of that. I know my church is true, I'm sure of that." So we helped them see all the implications if the Book of Mormon really is true, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet, and that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored. We clarified it for them and made it very simple, and then invited them to find out the truth. Really, what we want is for others to have a strong enough desire to find out the truth, that they commit themselves to study and prayer, pleading a confirmation from God to know if this is His church. I am seeing the importance of teaching it clearly so they understand, and then helping them foster the desire to know. Because this is the most important message in the world. As part of forming the desire, I've thought quite a bit this week about the role of the Holy Ghost. He is the only one that can work within them and teach them intimately what is right. In all we do, I believe that the most important thing is that we work by the Spirit. It matters less what we say, or what we do. If they feel and recognize the Spirit, our purpose is accomplished. And success will come.

Fourth of July went well here. It was one of the nicest days so far this summer. It rained in the morning, which brought temperatures in the 80s. We had to be in by 8pm so we didn't see any fireworks. But it was a good day, and I have a tie that was perfect for the day. 

We got permission to go on Saturday morning with our ward to a temple session in Spanish. It was my first time hearing it all in Spanish. I still prefer English but it was a neat experience and very uplifting, as always. 

I'm excited that Mom will finally get the house the way she wants :) And enjoy your time in Utah, Mom. I'll take care of the loan info and I'll be praying for Rachel. Congratulations, Erin, on your acting award. That's exciting. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and soaking it up. Our week passed really well and we found several new individuals and a couple. We feel that our companionship is strengthening and we're becoming better missionaries. The Lord lives and loves us. Don't forget to live the first principles of the Gospel. I love you all!

Elder Joshua Gathro

cool beans

Family,

That's a great story about a bb lodged in your chest. It's a much better alternative to cancer. Carrie, happy late birthday! Dad, my companion loves saying "cool beans" haha.

Well my impression from this week is honestly just how much more I need to work on. It's been a good and trying time. I realize that there are a lot of areas where I can focus to be a better missionary and a better trainer. I thought I was pretty patient before, but now I'm finding out how impatient I really am. And even though it's hard to swallow the truth, I feel the importance of having those things brought to light in proper timing. God's purpose is to help us become the very best we can be and the most happy that we can. I remember reading once in the church handbook that the purpose of every calling in the church is (1) to become a more faithful disciple of Christ, and (2) to help others become more faithful disciples of Christ. My branch president in the MTC said that the way to accomplish the first purpose is by forgetting it and focusing on purpose number 2. That is something I believe but it is difficult to apply 100%. In my personal study this morning I thought about the missionary purpose of "inviting others to come unto Christ." In part, that includes providing others the example of someone who serves as Christ did, and helping others develop the desire to change. Someone that impressed me a little more strongly this morning is how inviting others to come unto Christ is not exclusive of our investigators. It applies to our family, friends, ward members, everyone. 

Well we have been working hard. I'm still here in Chandler and suppose I will be until the end of the 12 week training for my companion. Our investigators right now are giving us some disappointments but we have an investigator who came to the church yesterday for her first time and she loved it. Her sister is already a member and came with her to church. It's a thrill to see her desire to learn. She is so sincere and is understanding things well. We're excited for her progress.

I better sign out now. I love you all! Thank you for your prayers. I pray for you all as well. Have a great week!!

Elder Joshua Gathro

Cold These Days

Family, 

It's good to hear that the baby has arrived and all is well! I hope things go well with Carrie and Eli if he comes early. Sounds like there's a lot going on these days, weather included. And no, I didn't know that Dennis was called to teach seminary. He will do more than well. Thank you for the email, Erin. You're a hero :)

Well this week had some stressful points and happy highlights. The language barrier between my companion and I makes it difficult at times, but he is a really good teacher and is teaching me as well. We spent a lot of time on bikes this week and stopped to talk to everyone. It made things really exciting actually. This weekend God blessed us with the chance to meet 3 new people who seem like they will be great investigators (want to learn keep commitments and progress). Two came from members that live outside of our area who referred there friends. One of them, when we arrived, was super excited to see us. He had been reading in the Book of Mormon and believes it! He was loving the lesson, as were we. Unfortunately he can only meet once a week because of work but we a feeling really optimistic about him. My companion couldn't believe that someone was so open and desirous to learn about the Gospel. He was super excited to have found someone like that. I had the feeling again that only God can direct us to people like that, or direct people like that to us. As long as we are doing are best with what we have, He will prosper us. 

Well I don't have much more to share. I'm having a blast and things are going really well. My companion is helping me with my Spanish and I get to teach him English phrases. It's really funny hearing him pronounce certain words or try to explain things like "foot fingers" for "toes." We had interviews this week with President which really helped me feel better about this new responsibility I have. It's going to be a good week and a good transfer.

I love you all! Enjoy the summer rain :)

Elder Joshua Gathro

Photo 1 is the four Chandler Spanish elders, our bishop from Spain (my role model) and our Guatemalan ward mission leader
Photo 2 is our awesome English ward mission leader
Photo 3 is my companion and another recent convert (from Puerto Rico)
Photo 4 is of our recent convert and the companion who went to Mexico

Dear Family,
This week was even busier than the last. And it has been a blast! The most recent news has to do with transfers this Wednesday. Since Christmas up til now there have been 4 elders in our Spanish ward, and each companionship also has an English ward. We were told on Friday that they are taking our English wards from us, confining us to Spanish ward, removing one set of elders and replacing them with sisters. That really put us on edge all weekend because it meant there would be more changes and we had to wait until last night to find out. Turns out that 3 of us 4 elders are leaving...and I'm staying! I'll get a new companion on Wednesday and will just be working in Spanish for at least the next transfer. I'm excited that I'll stay because we have had a lot of success this week in Spanish that I didn't want to leave. But it's sad that we're handing over our English ward because we were given two new English investigators on Saturday who are super interested. My companion and I were running around all day Saturday driving to lessons and the best lessons we had were with a 16 yr old who wants to be baptized and a 30 yr old who asked us so many heartfelt, sincere, and quality questions. It amazes us because we don't feel that we have changed much in the way we work, except with an increase of faith, and suddenly the Lord decides to shower us with blessings. I know that all we need to worry about is giving our 100% to the work and the Lord will use us according to His own will and pleasure to bring about His designs.
Wednesday was one of the best days of my mission so far. Lunch hour came and we were right by a Mexican restaurant/store that we hesitated to visit, but decided we would take a look and come back Monday to buy anything we liked. So we went in, walked to one of the shops they have, and the store attendant started talking to us, asking us how we knew Spanish, then talking to us about religion. About 15min later, in walks the ward mission leader of Tempe's Spanish ward. He freaks out to see us talking to his friend the attendant and helps us get her contact info to refer to the Gilbert elders. But he grabs us all and we had a lesson right there in the middle of the restaurant. That whole hour made us feel like a little part of God's great plan. We just felt to take a look inside the "Mexican mall" and He had made all the arrangements for this lady to have the opportunity of eternity. We are on the front lines of missionary work and even we don't really know what God has up His sleeve. It's honestly a privilege, a blessing, and a blast.
Congrats to Jessi for passing the school year in seminary. Stick with it. Do you have the new edition of the FSOY? I love it even more than the previous one. Summer here is pretty hot, but people are always offering us bottled water. The heat hasn't bothered me too much yet, although I am in a car area. People like staying inside so there's less people out and about. It's fun being down here though. And we're working for the greatest cause of eternity :)
Thanks for the update, Erin. Dennis is a hero. He's always got something. That sounds like a solid name, it'll be famous in no time.
Carrie, what's the recipe for oatmeal burgers and when is your baby due? Tyler, how do you go about teaching English as a second language? Does anyone know where my CDs are? I would still love to have my 2009 EFY and the BYU singers.
I love you all so much. Thank you for your support and prayers. I pray for you all as well. Have a great week!

Hugs to all,
Elder Joshua Gathro

Too good to be true, and yet the truth.

Hey que tal? Really good week with disappointment, success, learning, and fun. Oh and heat too. It's over 100 every day, but still preferable to Florida heat. We had a lot of good little stories, too many to share. But something really exciting was what happened yesterday. Background info: President issued the standards of excellence this week for our mission. And if we were consistently achieving those standards, there's no doubt it would be excellent, haha. But bottom line, God rewarded our efforts this week with enough new investigators to hit the goal. And they all came yesterday. Sundays are usually a bit slower for work because we have less time to proselyte, but we used our lunch (we were fasting) to go visit a few people, and the first one we visited was a lady recently met, with a lot of potential. She was at the point of getting baptized ten years ago and tore up her image of the Virgin Mary. But days later her 1-yr-old baby died, giving her the thought that God was upset and she was scared to join the Church. Now with struggles in her family, she is eager to learn and is so sincere. She says that her son is doing drugs and she feels like crying all the time. We relayed to her promised from the Lord that the Gospel will bring her family peace, happiness, understanding, comfort, stability. My companion and I talked about it afterward and agreed that as we were helping her to see the glorious vision the Gospel offers, it almost seemed too good to be true...and yet it is the truth. How wonderful! There's no problem, no challenge, no dead-end in life that living the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot fix. I love being able to feel confident as I teach that to others. It's not me making people promises; they are promises from God that will all be fulfilled. I know that is true. The other new investigators are a family we met on Friday and they came to church! They actually know a family who just moved out of our ward and became interested in the church from talking to the member family. It was a thrill having them there and seeing them learn. They really loved it, too. Our lesson in Gospel Principles was the atonement. I leaned over and asked the father if he's heard that word before. He said he hadn't. I asked, "What do you know about Jesus Christ?" "Well He died on a cross, and...I don't know. I just saw a movie once." It really surprised me. I realized it was the perfect lesson for him that day. In primary one of his kids got a handout that says "Does this choice draw me closer to Jesus Christ?" And the ward shared really heartfelt testimonies of the Savior. I think he and his wife really got the impression that we follow Jesus Christ. It will be exciting to teach them, although we've only got another week before my area will be trading English wards within our zone. With or without seeing them be baptized, it's a thrill to help others understand the role of the Savior in their lives. Well I don't really have time for much more. I'll have to tell you about Joe one of these days. We ran into him again this week. It's classic. We crashed a Catholic baptism after-party this week. That was kinda interesting, too. Carrie, what's the recipe for oatmeal burgers? Tyler, how do you go about teaching English as a second language? Does anyone know where my CDs are? I would still love to have my 2009 EFY and the BYU singers. Happy Birthday to Erin and Dennis! Have great week, everyone! Much love, Elder Joshua Gathro

He's got our back

Family, I loved talking with you all last night! It was pure joy to hear your voices and see your faces (for some). I don't know about you all but I enjoyed it a lot more than the Christmas phone call and being able to talk with you more individually. You all bring a lot of happiness into my life. Thank you. There are several things that happened this week that I didn't tell you all. First off, we had a few minutes before a lesson so we decided to knock just a few doors. The eighth and final was answered by a sweet lady who invited us in the moment she opened the door. She said that missionaries had come by a long time ago and now she feels far from God and a bit angry at him because of family situations. But she was very friendly and surprisingly interested. Although she works a lot she says she wants to learn more and committed to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon. She works two jobs and on the day we knocked, she was only home between 2 and 4pm; we knocked at 3pm. It was a miracle encounter that we hope will go all the way to baptism. Wednesday afternoon we were visited some people in a trailer park when rain actually fell from the sky. And the rain also stirred up a huge dust storm that blew through Chandler. A man saw us out there and called for us to come inside while the worst of it blew over (the Lord is protecting us, Mom :). We had to leave his house a few minutes later though for an appointment and we jogged to the car as a huge dust cloud in the sky seemed to get move closer. It was pretty exciting, we caught our flee on foot on film. Then we found out yesterday that the other Spanish missionaries' investigator had prayed for rain Wednesday afternoon, just before the storm and when the weatherman hadn't predicted it at all. Pretty cool, huh? That investigator has decided to be baptized. Our investigator from Puerto Rico is facing some hard times with her daughter and wants to wait a bit longer before getting baptized. We are a bit worried but believe she'll take the step in the near future. Friday night was seeming somewhat action-less but we got more than we expected. While walking down the sidewalk we ran into a man who claimed to be the richest man in the world (he was carrying groceries just purchased from the corner gas station). He also asserted that he wrote the Book of Mormon, and purposely included errors in spelling to get a good laugh out of it. He then said that this was his planet, and welcomed us to it. My companion asked him why he had stopped us, and he said "Because I choose the appointed time." It was probably one of the most wild street contacts of my mission. After that we started heading back to the car, cruising the sidewalk of a main road. We heard someone from one of the cars shout something at the same moment that my older companion was hit with a 40mph water balloon! I told him that it barely missed me; clearly an act of God, haha. Aside from being a little shooken up, my companion was fine. The balloon had bounced off and splashed on the road. Fun friday night. We're having a blast down here. I love the people and I love the work. I love each of you as well. Best of luck this week with all your many activities. Don't forget to give sufficient time to scripture study and prayer. Adios! Elder Joshua Gathro

Taking life by a yard may be hard, but by an inch it's a sinch

Hello, hello, hello, I'm reviewing my week chronologically to know what to share. First off, I now have a Mexican soccer jersey! Vivan las Chivas! It was a dream come true. My birthday was wonderful as well. Thank you again for cards and letters. I'll write you each back in the coming weeks. For lunch we went to Del Taco and the cashier (he and I have become friends) gave me a birthday churro on the house. The family that fed us Tuesday night made a birthday cake with candles and had a candy gift for me. It added even more flame and sweetness to the day. Wednesday was transfer meeting. Even though none of us were leaving, President asked us to be in attendance. It turned out to be a strong source of spiritual strength and unity. My visa-waiting companion was asked to say a few words because he is leaving in 2 weeks, and he called me out on my 6:30am wake-up smile. He isn't sure he wants to leave for Mexico just yet because he loves it here too much, but he knows God will place him where he belongs. Wednesday night we taught a couple who are friends of our recent convert and the husband is a hoot. In Spanish, Sunday is "domingo" and sleep is "dormir". Well the husband said that to him Sunday is "dormingo". Then later his wife was offering a prayer over some food and she said, "Oh Lord, thank you for this food." The husband interrupted and said, "You're welcome." We fought to keep from laughing. There is an investigator we have that can't get baptized right now because she can never get work off, it's a terrible work situation. We visited her this week and another lady was there with her whom we had yet to meet. It turns out that she is our investigator's former LDS neighbor who visits regularly. It was so relieving! In ways we felt all alone with this situation - in continuing to spiritually feed our investigator as we wait for the miracle. When we realized that there is someone else who cares for this lady it gave us more energy and excitement to maintain faith. Don't forget that often we're not the only ones working to better the lives of others. They have family and friends and always a Father who is caring for them. He has a plan. Friday we had a mission-wide Book of Mormon readathon. It was spiritual, unifying, uplifting, faith-instilling, and too quick. We were asked to look for a few things and one thing that amazed me was the priority Nephi gave to doing the Lord's will. They were always talking about the Savior and motivated to please Him. A good lesson was how Nephi never complained, he was faithful in everything. Such a man. There is a lot for me to learn from him. This weekend was great, and we've seen real progress with a particular investigator from Puerto Rico. She had a dream of wearing baptismal clothes and it's been weighing on her mind for a couple weeks. An absolute miracle!!! She wants to be baptized this month. We're not without gratitude nor excitement :) We are good to go on Skype next Sunday. Due to your church times and ours, as well as the time difference, it seems that the best time to Skype will be around 4:30pm AZ time, which is 7:30pm FL time (we don't do Daylight Saving). I hope that works well. Send me a letter if it doesn't and I can call at 2pm FL time, but not by Skype. If there's no letter I'll plan on calling you around 7:30pm to ask for your Skype info then we'll get going with face time. If you want to do a sibling conference call with Skype that's fine, but I believe it costs some money. Otherwise I'd at least like to give each sibling a phone call. I'll leave that for you all to arrange, sorry. Tyler, congrats on graduation! You must feel pretty accomplished, and you are! Same to you Carrie, way to go! I love you all and "I cannot say the smallest part which I feel" (Alma 26:16). Have a great week, all! Elder Joshua Gathro