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