Week 78: March 13, 2017

Happy Happy Monday!

          What a week, this past week was amazing.  Sister Renier got baptized and confirmed this past week and it was an amazing service.  Plus we had two investigators there that are preparing for baptism in may.  They are awesome, they are two young boys about 11 and 12 years old.  They are super exited to learn more and came to church on Sunday!  Their mom is kinda interested but really busy so we meet with her boys more than her.  Hopfully she will gain a stronger desire soon.  But they are great!  So that went really well, our finding went well this past week.  We found 4 new investigators and lots of potentials for follow up with for this next week.  So that will be great!

           Also the weather has calmed down this past weekend to a nice cool temperature.  That has been nice to see.  Because I'm afraid that the summer is going to be really hot.  But I will endure, I've done one already, so hopefully I can do another.  I'm sure I can ️️️

            So today I'm up in Brunswick Georgia for today and so I'm running out of time because we have to drive back to Kingsland.  But just know that I know that God loves us, and that he cares for us.  I see it every day in my life as he leads me along the path.  But I hope y'all have a great week!!!

ELDER GUINUP

Sister Renier's Baptism was this last Saturday.

Me and Leroy, he is an awesome dog

Week 77: March 6, 2017

Happy happy Monday, and oh man what a week it has been!

         Anyways life up here in Kingsland Georgia is amazing, I love it here so much.  It does have a kinda small town feel but it is great.  I love it a ton, plus there are so many nice people.  His past week we had the opportunity to meet so many new people who are interested in learning more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  I'm so grateful for all the opportunities to share the gospel.  There was many awesome experiences but here is one of them.  Yesterday we tried to see a member of our church, but she was busy cooking dinner.  So we decided to meet a couple of our neighbors.  We felt like we should cross the street, the man we knocked into was going through a lot of trials and didn't know if he could trust God anymore.  He said he hasn't felt Gods love in a very long time.  We testified that God does love him and that God wants him to be happy.  We then shared the message of he restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  After he said he felt better and said a prayer at the end.  It was so powerful, in the prayer he asked to be loved as he try's his best to come closer to God.  And after the prayer he said he felt good and better.  He is amazing and we are going back to see him in a few days.

         But anyways there was one more thing I wanted to mention.  This past week a leader of the church mentioned how a study that he did all about the savior.  He read all 2200+ scripture references about Christ.  And he said that he gained a stronger testimony of the savior.  He is a leader of the church and already had a super strong testimony of the savior, and this study increased it.  Why wouldn't we want to do it as well?!?  So I started the study a couple days ago, and I'm happy to say that I do feel that my testimony of Jesus Christ has increased.  I feel more of his love and spirit.  So I would encourage y'all to try it as well, you can find our more about it on LDS.org  so try it out.  

Anyways hope y'all have a great week, love y'all!

ELDER GUINUP

All the missionaries in the Kingsland Zone

Me and a member's dog named Domino

Week 76: February 27, 2017

Anyways onto the week, this week has been amazing!!!!  Kingsland is so great, little town feel.  Like it is small, but I love it here so much.  I'm here with Elder Berg, he is from Elizabeth Colorado.  He is really awesome and we are getting along really well!

         One really awesome thing is I have met quite a few people here in Kingsland that have lived in Tacoma, or near Tacoma.  Because there are only 2 nuclear sub bases in the country to my knowledge (let me know if I'm wrong). One is here in Kingsland area the other is up near Seattle.  So that has been really awesome.  I've meet people who went to Mt. Tacoma high school, Franklin Pierce, and some others.  So that has been super cool! 

         So here is a miracle from this past week that I thought I'd share.  One miracles I want to share is of the power of the priesthood.  We have an investigator, Sister Renier, who is preparing for baptism on the 11th of march.  She had given up smoking and has been off for over a week, but was struggling with coffee.  We talked about it with her, she had about 1 1/2 weeks worth left.  We talked about blessings and she wanted one.  So we told her to follow any prompting she that she would receive.  So we blessed her, right after the blessing she said she felt good, really good.  She got up grabbed her coffee mix walked to the trash and dumped it all in there!  Is was so amazing, after she did she said that she felt cleaner and really felt the spirit!  She is so amazing!

Anyways hope y'all have a great week and talk to y'all later!!!

ELDER GUINUP

Last district meeting in fort Caroline

Elder Wilson and I on our last day working together.

Week 75: February 20, 2017

Happy happy Monday everyone!!!  

          Ah, so this week was great.  But before I get into we have a transfer update, I am transferred up to Kingsland Georgia!  I'm super excited to go there, I haven't served in Georgia before so it will be a fun experience.  So there's that little update!

           But onto the week, this past week has been really fun and really fast.  It is crazy to think how fast time goes.  I have been in this area for 6 months now and it doesn't feel like I have.   But that's beside the point, anyways onto more important things!

           This past week has been really productive, we have knocked into and talked to lots of new people we call potential investigators.  That just means someone we haven't taught more than once who could become someone who is investigating the church.  So hat has been really awesome, there was one guy we met yesterday who was watching a movie so he asked if we could come back in a half hour.  And so we did and we were able to share the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ with him.  He was super nice and liked the idea of a modern day prophet and the Book of Mormon.  He was really nice and is happy to have us come back, and he wants to make us dinner which is a plus.  And it was great because we had many similar experiences to that one this week (beside the part of feeding us dinner, he was the only one). So it has been a really great week.

           So the past couple weeks I have been thinking a lot about the importance of church.  I have come to realize how much I need it in my life.  It isn't just the uplifting message, or the felloshiping, or the spirit.  But it is really all about the sacrament.  The sacrament is the most important reasons we go to church, it is the way we remember our savior Jesus Christ sacrifice.  Because we take the sacrament weekly we renew our baptismal covenants and can have the spirit with us more.  I'm so grateful for that opportunity we have to do that weekly.  Because of the sacrament I am able to make it through the week with Jesus Christ always on my mind and the spirit stronger.  I love my savior.

Well I hope y'all have a great week, talk to y'all later.

ELDER GUINUP

My best friends from the MTC

Mission Leadership Council this past week.

We got Starwars Pez from a member for Valentine's Day.

Week 74: February 13, 2017

Happy Monday, 

           Today is officially named Ingrown Toenail Awareness Day....mainly because i have one right now....and I'm going to the doctors soon after I send this email.  So that will take some of our free time today but that's ok because hopefully the pain goes away. So there is update number one.

            Besides that life is amazing, the weather here right now is perfect.  Nice warm and not ridiculously hot.  I like the weather right now, today is mid 70's and clear skies, what more can we ask for.  

         But onto this week, Here's one quick miracle, we were at the St Johns town center the outdoor mall handing out cards and talking to people.  For some reason we brought a My Family pamphlet, we were walking up to a guy sitting on a bench and we felt prompted to give the pamphlet to him.  We came to find out that he has a family reunion coming up soon and that the pamphlet would come in handy.  Then we were able to share e message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ with him, he loved it and was super excited to read from the Book of Mormon and said yes to baptismt!!!!  It was an awesome experience to see God lead us to that man, we can't wait to see him progress.

         Anyways I hope y'all have a great week, and just always remember that I know that this gospel is true.  And that Jesus Christ is my savior.  I love him and am so grateful for him and for our Heavenly Father sending him.

Have a great week!

ELDER GUINUP

Week 73: February 6, 2017

Happy Monday February 6th!!!!

           I don't know what's special about today, it might be nothing but for missionaries all around the world it is P-Day!!!!  Hopefully today's email is decent, we are lazartagging today.   But to start off I hope y'all have had a great week.  Ours has been crazy busy but awesome!!!  I feel like last Monday was just yesterday, but it wasn't.  Anyways enough jabbering and onto the email.

           This past week has been awesome, we have put a big emphasis on finding new and more people to teach and share the gospel with.  It has been awesome to see the lord lead us to those who are ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is amazing to see the gospel change people's lives,  one of our investigators has really seen the change in his life as he has read from the scriptures.  We have encouraged him to read from the Book of Mormon daily and it has really helped him as he has done so.  

          As missionaries we have a new schedule and it has really helped.  We now can get a little bit more sleep and we have more flexibility in our schedule.  So that has been exciting.

Anyways, hope y'all have a great week!

ELDER GUINUP

Week 72: January 30, 2017

Happy happy Monday,

          Ahhhh what a week, so many miracles happening left and right.  One great miracles is our investigator Jeffery has been making some great progress.  He came to church yesterday and loved it.  He loved what he learned and wants to continue to learn and grow.  He is doing so great, and I can't wait to continue to see him grow.  So more news on him coming up here in the future weeks!  

          So onto other things we had a special world wide missionary broadcast this last week and it was awesome!  I learned so much about how to be a better missionary.  One hint I have been realizing more recently is the importance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Making sure that our investigators and members are always growing in faith in Jesus Christ, becoming better through repentance, make promises with god through things like baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  This gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing and has truly blessed my life,  I continue to stand in awe at the love Jesus has for me and for all of us.  

Well I hope y'all have a great week, love y'all!!!

ELDER GUINUP

Mission Leadership Council

Week 71: January 23, 2017

Ahhh, happy Monday yet again,

           It's kinda crazy how quick time has gone by this past week has just flown by.  Craziness!  But this week has been very rewarding.  Lots of miracles coming up everyday!  First thing I have to mention is the weather.  It has been quite pleasant temperature.  It has been warm and nice, I love Florida winter.  Another thing was a big storm we had this weekend, it didn't hit us too hard.  Lots of rain and wind but I heard it impacted a lot of people in other states.  

           So more about this week, this week.  We worked a lot with members of our church going out with us.  So it has been awesome to see how a testimony of a member of the congregation is so impactful in the lives of our investigators.  So that has been really awesome to see.  

      Another thing I have learned a lot about this week is patience, sometimes it is really hard to have it.  But I have learned that it is of great importance to obtain it, any attribute that Jesus Christ has I strive to gain.  Because we want to become like him, and I have found myself feel closer to him as I have lived as he lived.  I love my savior and am so grateful for him.

         Well I hope y'all have a great week, sorry for the shortness of the email.  Have a great week!

ELDER GUINUP

My "pet" cat Toby, well he's not my pet, he lives in our complex and we pet him a lot.

Week 70: January 16, 2017

Happy happy Monday from me to you,

          I just wanted to start by wishing everybody a happy week.  This past week was awesome, lots of Miracles and great learning experiences.  But I hope y'all had a great week as well and were able to feel God's love for y'all each day.

          This week we had lots of great opportunities to share the gospel.  One hard thing right now is how early the sun goes down.  It is dark by about 6pm and we work till 9pm.  And for some reason people like to go to sleep as soon as the sun goes down.  So occasionally we have people that get mad at us for knocking on their door at 7.  But hey that's life, it's kinda funny sometimes and then it's sad the other half because their mad at a message all about peace hope and love from Christ.  But even during the hard times I love my mission.

         This week we have had a great opportunity to serve many different people, it is amazing to be able to share the light of Christ with others who could really use it.  Even if the service might not be fun it is always fulfilling to serve others as Christ would.  That is one big thing I have learned on my mission.  Service is amazing, I'm so grateful for all the opportunities I have to serve others and I would strongly encourage all of y'all to find ways to serve your fellow brothers and sisters in this world. 

         Well that's all for now hope y'all have a fantastic week!

ELDER GUINUP

Week 69: January 9, 2017

Good morning and happy Monday!

             This past week has been so awesome and has been a lot of fun.  The first thing I have to comment on its the weather.  So recently the weather has been really nice, perfect temperatures.  But this past weekend has been brutal, it has been freezing!  The past couple days have been down in the 40s normally and at not time in the 30s.  I'm not used to that any more.  So that has been weird, but fun.  I have been wearing more sweaters and coats.  But that has been a fun change, and I'm sure it will be back to normal heat soon.

              But onto the week, this week has been great, Elder Wilson and I have been working on just going out and being as diligent as possible.  And as we have put in the effort we have been able to find many new people to teach.  One of them is super excited for us to come back and teach her more about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  So there are so many miracles out there for us all we have to do is follow the spirit.  

           One of the cool things from this week was we had a zone conference.  So we had half of the missionaries in our mission were gathered together.  It was awesome to feel the spirit at that meeting and to receive trainings from our mission leaders.  One of the things they put before us was our year goal for 2017. And that goal in us past has usually been a goal for baptisms for the year.  But this year we set a goal of finding the ONE every day.  That means finding one new investigators a day, and as we do so we will see many miracles.  We can't help others come closer to Christ by being baptized unless we find people to teach.  So that's our goal for this year.  And I'm super excited to see how it plays out over the whole year, for my last 8 months of my mission.  I love this gospel, I love my Savior and I'm so grateful for all of he blessings I have received from living the gospel.  And I know that this is true, and I'm grateful that I have this knowledge.

        Well I hope hall have a great week!  Love yall, talk to yall next week!

ELDER GUINUP

 

Scraping ice off our car this morning

 

Week 68, I think I was behind on weeks: January 2, 2017

Happy happy Monday!!!!

          This past week has been awesome!!!  But first off I just want to say that I feel bad because I haven't emailed y'all since last year.....ahhhh I love that joke too too much and need to stop using it.  Anyways I cant believe how quickly time has gone by so so so so so so so so so so so quick!  I don't know if I like that, time goes by quickly.  But I guess life just goes like that.

          So with it being New Years we weren't supposed to be outside after 7pm, so we don't get shot by fireworks.  So we were at a members house and we played some games with them and had an awesome dinner.  So New Years was awesome beside the fact that I couldn't fall asleep until like 1am because of all of he fireworks.  But hey that's what happens on the New Years.

          But the rest of the week was full of many many many different miracles.  We found a couple new families, one was a part member family we knocked into was super awesome.  They were super excited for us to come back and want to hear more about the gospel.  It is incredible to see God lead us to so many of his children who are ready to receive the gospel!

         Well I hope y'all have a great first week of the year, have fun!
           
ELDER GUINUP

Photo of the Atlantic Ocean

 

Our district

 

Week 65: December 26, 2016

Merry Merry Merry Christmas even though it's a day late!

       This weeks email will probably be shorter but here are a couple highlights!  This past week was awesome!  So many awesome miracles have happened and it has been so awesome!  We have one investigator who has been coming to church a lot and has really felt the spirit and is excited to continue to learn and progress!

        One awesome thing from this past week was Christmas, and I hope all of y'all had a great one.  For me it was awesome!  We just hung out with members of our church and did random things.  And I got to FaceTime my parents which was so awesome.  It is weird because I haven't talked to them in 7months except by email.  So that was awesome.  Plus we got tons and tons of candy from people.  Ahhhh I'm going to get fat!

Well i hope y'all have a great last week of the year!  Talk to y'all in 2017!

 

ELDER GUINUP

Missionaries at president and sister Lee's home on Christmas Day!

The 4 of us in fort Caroline

 

 

 

We went Caroling!

 

Week 64: December 19, 2016

Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!

         Oh my I can't believe it will be christmas in a few short 6 days.  Time has gone by too quick, next thing we know it will be 2017.  But anyways on with the shenanigans of my weekly letter.  First with it being Christmas I get to FaceTime my family for a little bit!  I'm super excited for that, it has been 7 months since I talked to them by voice.  So that will be awesome!

           In other news life here in Florida is great, I'm loving every second of it.  Elder Wilson and I have seen many miracles this past week.  I'll share one of them real quickly.  We were out knowing doors and were not having much success after about an hour.  We were going to stop and go have dinner, but we felt like we should just keep going.  A little bit latter we knocked into a woman who had just gone through a recent tragedy in her family.  It was amazing to see that God had prepared her and led us to her the very minute she was ready.  She told us that she knew us knocking on her door was a sign from God.  I'm so grateful that God prepares many of his chrildren and that we have the opportunity to share the gospel with the,.  I can't wait to see her grow and progress in the gospel!  #Miricles

          So one great things this week was this past Saturday, here in the south there are many many different churches.  There is a Christian church right next to ours.  And on Saturday they do drive thru prayers.  The other missionaries in the ward had a baptism this past Saturday, and after it we decided to go to the drive thru prayer.  We pulled up and they walk up to your car and ask what you need a prayer for.  It was awesome, they prayed for our families back home and prayed that we would see success when sharing the gospel.  It was a super awesome experience, they were super nice and it made my day!

         One thing I love about this year is the Christmas lights, and a lot of people here put some up.  So it has been awesome at night as we bike or drive by all the lights.  I just can't wait for Christmas, it is definitely my favorite time of year.  So I'm so grateful for this time of year where we get to remember the great blessing Jesus is in our lives.  I'm so grateful that he was willing to come to earth and die for us.  I love my savior and am so grateful for this gospel.  

          Hope y'all have a great week!  And have a merry merry Christmas!!!!

ELDER GUINUP

 

Photo from the Missionary Leadership Council from this past week

Week 63: December 12, 2016

Happy happy happy Monday,

           This past week has been awesome, it has been so great!  Elder Wilson and I have seen so many miracles.  We have met so many great people, two of which set baptismal dates!  We are so excited to see them continue to progress in the gospel!!!

           In other news I have to report that the weather right now is amazing.  We have had to wear sweaters most the time because it is cold!  Ah it has been great.  I love the weather right now.  So I know I did bad in my email last week and I will do just as bad this week but I have a lot of photos.  And a photo is worth a thousand words right?!?  So here are a ton.

Me and one of my past companions Elder Bangerter.

Doesn't look great but there are these neighborhoods in our area that do crazy Christmas lights.

Elder Wilson and I in front of the St. John's river

All the missionaries I came with, we saw each other at the mission party.

Week 62: December 5, 2016

Ahhhhhhh Happy Happy Monday everyone!

        This time of year is just incredible, Christmas is just a few short weeks away, the spirit of service and love is in the air.  So I'm so excited for this time of year and so excited to continue to see the miracles come.  

         So on to more with this week, here's one incredible miracle that we saw.  We have this one investigator Jeffery.  His mother is a member but he isn't.  So we had taught him a little bit but not too much.  He wasn't showing any interest until recently.  We shared the awesome message about the restoration of the gospel.  He loved it and asked question after question and was really understanding.  Then Elder Wilson invited him to baptism and he said he really wanted to.  And he said he wanted to wait till February but we are super excited for him.  He is so awesome and so ready for the gospel!!!!  So can't wait to see him continue.

         Other news my companion is awesome, elder Wilson is awesome!  He is from a small town around Idaho falls, that's where my last companion was from.  But it's great we are getting along super well and working hard.  Since he has been here we have seen so many awesome  miracles and I know that God is leading us to ose who are ready to receive this gospel!

         On to another subject this past week there was a devotional by John Bytheway.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he is a member of our church who has written many many different talks and books and it is super funny and yes his last name is Bytheway.  So our whole mission made a choir where we sang infant holy, it was so awesome.  The spirit was so skrong and it was a super awesome and funny devotional!  I would highly encourage y'all to go check out his stuff if you haven't heard it before.

Well that's all for now, hope y'all have a great week.  But most of all I hope y'all know that I know that this gospel is true.  Is is so true and has blessed my life so much!

Love y'all,

ELDER GUINUP

Me and John Bytheway

Merry Christmas from the fort Caroline elders!

Elder willets is up front, then from left to right is me, Elder Wilson, and Elder Dusenberry

Ghetto Christmas tree we made, it is awesome!

Elder Wilson and I serving on dec 1st!

Week 61: November 28, 2016

Happy Happy Monday,

            Hope everyone had a great thanksgiving, mine was awesome.  Except for the days following thanksgiving.  Long story short I got food poisoning, and then got a small cold.  So that has been fun to deal with but I'm super grateful for 2 things now because of it.  First is modern medicine.  Second is e power of the priesthood, I asked the other elders I'm with right now for a blessing.  And I can say it isn't gone, but I received a lot of comfort from god to help me endure through it.  And it is leaving my body quick.  So that has been a great blessing for me.

              One awesome thing from this week was the other missionaries in our congregation had a baptism this weekend.  It was awesome to be able to see her take a step of faith and be baptized into Christ Church.  She was super prepared for baptism, so it was awesome to see her receive the blessing of baptism.

             So one thing that's coming up soon, and just crazy quick it's approaching.  And that's Christmas!  I love Christmas so much and am so grateful for the time we have to remember the great gift Christ is in our lives.  One thing he church has done to celebrate Christ birth is this years christmas initiative called #LightTheWorld.  They made a video and a calendar with service ideas for the 25 days leading up to Christmas.  You can find these awesome things at Mormon.org.  I would invite everyone to go check it out and find ways to serve others this Christmas season and just #LightTheWorld  

             Final news is this week is transfers and elder Barnes is being transferred out.  And I'm getting a new companion.  Like really new, I will be training a new missionary starting this week.  So that is awesome, I'm nervous because it's a big responsibility.  I'm going teach ''tis missionary how to be a missionary, I just hope I do good.  But it will be a good experience!

Well that's all for now, hope y'all have a great week!!!!!

ELDER GUINUP

Missionaries in our district

Week 60: November 21, 2016

Happy Monday and Happy thanksgiving week!!!  

         This past week was awesome!!!!! So many miracles and so many awesome people that we met and it was awesome.  A lot of the new people we have met is from knocking doors, though it may not feel like it's worth it sometimes because of rejection.  Hard work and dedication brings forth blessings, that is one thing I have learned a lot on my mission.  One of the experiences from this week was awesome, we knocked into a guy named Jose last week.  We had a a return apointment with him this past Saturday, when we showed up he let us in and he invited a friend.  They both had sir bibles on the table......and at first I was like great they are going to try to bible bash us.  But when we sat down and started the lesson, and they weren't bashing they had great questions and were just curious.  Elder Barnes and I just tried to follow the spirit as best as we could.  It was an awesome lesson, they did have some concerns with the Book of Mormon and Joseph smith but at the end we just bore testimony.  It was so powerful, and so at the end they accepted he invitation to learn more and to read from the Book of Mormon.  It was super awesome!

         So I don't know what else to talk about for this week.  It was honestly a great week, I just can't really remember much.  Though one thing that I'm super excited for is thanks giving.  I'm so excited for the food of course, mainly because we have a couple dinners lined up.  But also because it's the time we have to reflect on what we are grateful for.  I'm grateful for so many things, for my family, for friends, this gospel, for all the blessings from God and for his love for each of us.  I know that God lives and that he loves us, each one and knows us perfectly.  I'm so grateful for him and for all that he has done for me.

I hope y'all have a great week and that you will feel of gods love this holiday season!

ELDER GUINUP

Week 59: November 13, 2016

Some missionaries I came out with

 

Happy Happy Monday!!!!!

       This past week has been incredible!  So many awesome experiences and miracles, so hopefully I will be able to share some of them in this email.  First report is the weather, I have to give updates each week.  This weeks update is it cold!  Crazy but yes, in the morning and night it's cold.  I have had to wear a sweater a couple times now.  One night we were out biking at about 8pm and it was 52 degrees outside with wind.  So it was cold.  Maybe not for y'all but I have kinda acclimated to Florida heat.  But it has been a nice change!  And it changed really quick.

         On another note this past week we had so many meetings as a mission.  We had a mission tour, which means we had a general authority visit us.  A general authority is one of the church leaders, I.e the quorum of the twelve, and quorum of the 70.  We had Elder Gavarett of the 70 visit us.  He is awesome and we learned a lot from him.  One thing that I have been thinking about recently is blessings from God.  And trying to recognize it.  One thing that Elder Gavarett brought up was in the book of judges chapter 7.  His is he story of Gideon, he was about to go to battle with his 32,000 men.  God told him that he had too many men, so he slimmed down to 10,000.  Then God again said he had too many.  He ended up with only 300 men against who knows how many.  But because of the little numbers when they won they knew that had won not by their own strength but with Gods power with them.  It has made me realize that we have these hard trials and tests in life.  But the reason they are hard is so that when we overcome it we can recognize that God has helped us.  And that we can't do it with out him.  This is how I have grown in faith and trust in God.  As we have faith in him we can have the steadfast assurance that he will support us.  I know this is true, and I know that God loves all of us and wants to help us.

          So I can't really remember much more of the week.  We did meet a lot of new people this past week but we have just been so busy going around visiting people.  We did meet this new guy who is really awesome, he is Muslim which is new for me to teach.  But he is super kinda and just let us right in and said that he wants to learn about our beliefs.  It was super awesome and we hope to help teach him more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

So that's all for now, hope y'all have a great rest of you day and have a great week!!!

Washing dishes after volunteering at USO

Missionaries in east Jacksonville and Elder Gaverett

 

 

Week 58: November 6, 2016

Happy happy Monday from me to you,

            So it's Monday again somehow, and it's November!  Crazy time flies when your having fun spreading the saving words of Christ. This past week have been incredible and hopefully I will be able to share a good amount of them in this email.

            To start off I have to mention the weather, it is incredible.  Not hot, actually kinda brisk at times.  There has been a nice wind coming off the coast recently and it has made the weather really nice.  Then there is day light saving, nice instant gratification by getting an extra hour of sleep.  But it was not lasting joy, now its dark at 6 and people are a little more less nice when we knock on there door and it's pitch black.  So that will be fun the months to come.

           Also so here's an awesome miracle from this past week.  So we went to follow up with a lady named Joyce at we met about 3 weeks ago.  When we showed up she immediately asked what the word was for today.  So we began to share the restoration with her.  How Christ has called another prophet to the earth, how he has brought back the authority to baptize.  When we shared these things with her she was in awe.  She said that no other religion has taught her something new, and something that felt right.  She was so excited to be able to read from the Book of Mormon.  She truly was prepared to receive this message and to learn about it.  I just can't wait to see the gospel continue to change her and to see her grow and get closer to God.

          Another thing we were able to do this week was service.  We helped someone move in.  That was awesome, plus they made us really good barbecue ribs and chicken.  Ahh so good, I love good barbecue.  Then we did habitat for humanity, we help the, build houses so that's awesome.  Plus the workers there know us really well and we got habitat tshirts this last week so we are super excited to wear them in the future as we go.  I'll send photos of it in the future.

          So here's my big aha moment from this past week, I was pondering the word joy.  President Nelson of the quorum of the twelve gave a talk about a month ago about joy.  As I have read it and studied it I had a thought come to mind.  In the world now society has deemed joy as being instant gratification.  That's why when people sin and break commandments of God they think they are happy but that happiness doesn't last.  But when we keep the commandments and do the will of God it can bring happiness to us for eternity.  I know this is a true principle.  I'm so grateful for this wonderful gospel and the ability to to feel joy.  It might not be the "hip" and "trendy" thing to do, but I know god blesses those who follow him.  As we keep our standards high and do his will we can keep our head held high and have eternal joy.

Well that's all for now, hope y'all have a great week!

Elder Guinup 

Week 57: October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

         I'm so happy that Halloween is today, because since Monday is our day off persay we don't have to go out working and get mistaken as older boys dressed up as the Mormons.  So that is great, Also it is so crazy that tomorrow is November!  Ah time is moving fast, way to fast.  Oh and today for our pday all the missionaries in east Jacksonville are getting together and carving pumpkins and playing games so that will be a blast.  I'll try to include photos. 

          So I recently received a note from someone commenting on the lack of words in my emails (cough cough my mother). But she's right so this email I will put forth more effort and it will be better, at least I think it will be.  I'm no avid writer like JR Tolkien, or Paul, or Shakespeare, or William Tindale, or Mormon.  But I will try my very best.  So after receiving a few suggestions I feel this weeks letter might be the best yet.

        So first off I have to say the weather right now is perfect, it is warm and a little humid but not overbearing.  It is nice to step outside and feel a nice cool breeze or warmth from the sun.  On top of that I love the area that I am assigned to, i have been here in east Jacksonville near the beach in a area called fort Caroline.  I love Jacksonville so much, it is a great city with tons of people.  A lot of them are really nice to us and let us share our special message of Christ and the restoration of he gospel. 

        Since as missionaries we don't have too much spare time a lot of the members of our congregation invite over for meals and take us out to eat.  I have to say, I love southern food so so much.  A couple days ago some members took us to bonos BBQ, "If it ain't a pit, it ain't legit". Pit BBQ is the best, plus all of the fried appetizers.  I have come to love them all.  We had fried okra which taste so good, fried squash, onion rings, and corn nuggets.  Corn nuggets is like a fried ball of sweet corn and is by far my favorite.  Ahhh, my mouth is just watering talking about this.  Plus i love me some grits, i eat grits a lot when we are just at our apartment.  

         One thing that I have been thinking about recently is how the gospel can change individuals.  If you remember I mention this experience a while ago when I started my mission is jax beach we taught a guy who threatened to kill me and my companion, ps he was drunk.  And we met with him more often and he didn't understand why.  As he started to listen he changes.  Eventually to where he became sober.  Then I got transferred to a different area.  Recently now being back near the beaches I found out that the missionaries stoped gong by to see him because he wasn't calling the, back and wasn't home.  One day last week we stoped by a Papa Johns to pick up a pizza, when I saw him.  He immediately recognized me and thanked me for sharing the gospel with him, I set up a time for the missionaries assigned to his area to go back and teach him and he has been doing great.  I'm grateful to have seen first hand god take a man who went through a lot of trial turn back to Christ and find hope.  He has found a new path and is working on become clean again and coming unto Christ.

        Well, I hope y'all have a great week.  Remember that God loves you!

ELDER GUINUP