Happy Birthday Ben!

To my eternal family,
Thank you for your encouraging words, Dad. I don't get down on myself too much or very frustrated with the work. My companion and I are getting along great. He's actually pretty quiet and doesn't say much (so I end up rambling a lot), but when he does it's usually really funny or good input. He's from Santa Clarita, CA, been out for 15 months now. The members say that they can sense our unity as well. Oh, I never told you, but his favorite chocolate milk is DairyGold as well. That says it all!
It was a good week we had. We had some really good lessons and great interactions while cruising the streets of Chandler. A highlight I should have mentioned last week from a lesson was when our investigator was asking us about a living prophet. He seemed to feel that our prophet is just a man who has lived a good life and learned correct morals and thus with the interest of the Church in mind, gives us his best advice. It was a blessing to have the confidence in telling him that the guidance our prophet gives us is more than the advice of a man; it comes from God himself. What a blessing to know that God is the one who really leads us while we're separated from Him for a time. I'm really excited to listen to the prophet's voice in 4 weeks and bring investigators to feel the power of his words. We had another lesson with that same investigator this week. Before we had even said the opening prayer he said, "So what do we need to do for me to be baptized on March 24?"...jaw drop...huge grin! It has been pure joy seeing him make changes and feel the Spirit improve his life. So we are working toward the end of this month and really excited.
This Tuesday my companion got sick so I went with another missionary to one of our lessons. It was my first time in a Spanish lesson without a Spanish companion. I was a little nervous but it went great. I even used past subjunctive :) The Lord helped me on that one for sure.
Last night we went out to visit some members that we have yet to meet and one man opened his door extremely bothered. He said he would file a court order (whether he can or not) if "the Church" knocked on his door again. Well I know it's never personal but it's not a great feeling when someone says that. So I was a little nervous when we visited another member home and we didn't know if they were active or anti. But it was such a great relief when the sister opened the door and said, "Elders! How are you doing?" If missionaries knock on your door this week, you should give them a similar greeting. They will love it :)
For Jessi, you can find a lot of good advice online (like from Andrew Skurka) but it doesn't have to be complicated. Plan out your trip, wear some comfortable shoes, carry water, and go for it. Fort Clinch has nice trails and most places in Jacksonville are enjoyable. Sorry I don't have great advice, but maybe you could dig around a bit in a Boy Scout handbook. It varies from person to person based on your likes. You'll learn as you go.
I'm excited to hear that 2 boys will be joining the gang this summer. Congrats! And I hope that Mom is having fun in NYC. Relax and enjoy yourself, Mom. I realized this week that I'm too high-strung. I learned an important lesson that when we calm down and take a breather, the Spirit can teach us a lot more clearly.
I love you all! Enjoy your week!

Elder Joshua Gathro