Fruita

Hello Everyone!

Wow this work is amazing. I love it so much! We had a lot of success this week with less actives. We got this family to go to a high priest BBQ. When they said they would go we sent a huge mass text to everyone we could think of and so many people were like, "don't get your hopes up, they always say they will come." Well we drove to their home 15 minutes before because we told them we would and they were already in their car! It was soooooo exciting. They had a blast. We didn't even sit near them because they had so many people talking to them. They told us they felt like they fit right in. We were really excited. Sadly they had to go to Durango this weekend, so they weren't able to go to church. 

So we had a little car issue. We ran over a huge rock...it was raining and freezing! I didn't have a coat with me, but luckily Sister Noffz had an extra. The zone leaders came after this photo to awkwardly watch the guy that was already helping us out. They gave Sister Cowan their suit jacket to put on, so that was nice of them. The car is okay. The Tire wall just fell off, but we got it back on and their was no damage to the tire or the car besides a dent mostly underneath. Who put's a random huge rock on the side of the road! And why did we hit it!? I don't know. Just had our mind on the work I guess. 

We had some people come to church that normally don't. We were really excited. This man that we are teaching wants his son to be baptized and he wants to really get back into church. His wife is not a member but she is a sweet heart. Well we asked him who would baptize his son, trying to push him to be worthy for the priesthood. Sadly he said he doesn't think he can do it. I asked him to talk to the bishop. He is such a sweet father and cares so much about his son. I feel like children are often the push to open our hearts for the gospel. He came to church alone this week for the first time in a while. His family was in Denver. 

I had an exchange in Fruita. Our neighbors were cows and they mooo all night long. Just so you know. 

We had a zone meeting this week. We made the zone breakfast before with the zone leaders. I did a training on getting people to sacrament meeting. I really focused on the way we present church to the people we teach and getting them excited and thinking outside the box to get them their. Well in the beginning. I had this nice looking red velvet cake and I asked an elder if he wanted a piece. I really talked up how delicious this cake would be. I cut it all nice and I handed it to him. I than asked another elder if he wanted one. He said yes all excited and I SLAMED my hand in the cake and SLAPPED it on the plate and handed it to him. I said. "Presentation is Everything." It was pretty intense and the zone really liked it. 

We found some really solid new investigators this week. We are really excited to get them going in the lessons. I love this work so much. I will push till the end. Enjoy to the end. I love you.

-Sister Gampe

General Conference

Hello Everyone!

This was a tough week because we didn't have as much time to be out working, so I kind of felt like my feet were in mud. But! General Conference was AMAZING! We had such a wonderful time. I felt so much guidance and inspiration. The guidance had nothing to do with the talks, so I'm really excited to go back and read the talks and study them out. The words of each apostle was perfect for the people we were with. What a blessing that we have apostles and a prophet in this time! We get to see so many miracles everyday!

This week we not only had conference, but we had mission leader council in Frisco, which was 3 hours away, and we also had zone conference. Both meetings went really well. I bore my testimony at both of them. President asked me to bear my testimony at the end of the mission leader council because it was going to be my last time there. I strictly kept my testimony towards the Savior and this gospel. I allowed the tears to just flow so I could get through it. I looked up and saw the other missionaries, my friends in more tears. I love working with representatives of the Lord. I love President and Sister Murdock. I love everyone here. We are starting a new finding technique! I am so excited!! It's an 8-step door approach... survey/questionnaire! It is sooooo amazing!! Our mission president and his wife found it in a missionary book, and one of the sets of assistants to the president took it and read it and started doing it! You ask if you can do a survey and that it doesn't take much time, and all the questions are actually soul-searching questions that missionaries always want to know the answers to! I will have to type it up one day and send it. :)  It is seems really good!! And fun!! And bold and direct and amazing! ...I have yet to try it... BUT, I can't wait!! Stats are that you get in so much more doors and more return appointments which means more new investigators, and GOOD ones! Because then you know what they need/want/are searching for in their lives and you know how to help them!! I'm excited. :) We haven't tracted in this area because we have found so much work other ways, but we want to try it out.

 I was able to sing at zone conference. I can't believe how often I sing out here. I was terrified to sing in Pennsylvania. But every time I sing, my goal is to just invite the spirit, not to sound amazing or anything. I know angels take over my voice. 

John Aubry went to see his family this week. We were really bummed because we wanted more contact, so we texted him scriptures everyday. When he came back late Sunday, we went over there. He is doing amazing. He told his family that he is getting baptized. We are so proud of him! I will never forget the voice in my head to go talk to him. What an amazing find! He was so prepared. 

John Covington watched conference at another members home. He was so funny. He called us late the night before saying he wasn't feeling well and that he might not make it. So we rushed over to his home to be PERSISTENT. He went the next day. He actually was really sick. I felt a little bad watching him struggling through it. But I know he will be blessed. After Conference he received a beautiful blessing. He knows we love him so much. It hit me hard on Sunday that he is 77 years old. His health can decline at any moment. We need to get him baptized and sealed to his wife fast! 

My companions have been really sick this week, so that also cut into our work. Wanna see something funny? Trap Sister Gampe in an apartment all day after long meetings. I learned how to play a Kalimbas. (video coming) I went crazy trying to get rid of ants. They were all in our cabinets! It was awful! I had to throw out so much food. We took a trip to walmart to get a million traps. It's getting better. I haven't seen any cockroaches. Sister Noffz was about to kill a daddy-long-legger in our apartment and I yelled at her to not do it! If I can remember correctly they eat other bugs. So hopefully our friend can stick around and hopefully none of us eat him while we sleep. Someone just told us that humans eat an average of 10 spiders every year in their sleep....I don't know how you can possibly have that statistic. 

I love you so much! The church is true! Tell all your friends! 

-Sister Gampe

Cockroaches AHHHH!!!

Hey Everyone!

This has been one crazy week! We worked really really hard. We had a competition with the elders. Our ward mission leader said that whoever has the most contacts written down gets Coldstone ice cream. Well....we smoked them. haha We contacted over 80 people. They contacted 50 something. We had 25 lessons, 6 new investigators! Seriously it was awesome. I crawled under a bush to talk to this man. That's what we really focused on was talking to everyone. I was pulling over and we would all jump out of the car to talk to someone....I'm not competitive or anything. haha But it really got us to push ourselves and even work harder than we thought we could. It was successful for the elders too because they taught more and saw more than they have ever done before. We were proud of them. Next week we are working more as a team with the elders. Our ward mission leader created a point system and if we get 300 points as a team with the elders than we get to go to Red Robin with our ward mission leader. Yummy. After this area I'll gain 20 pounds. Yeah as you can see my off sweets thing had to stay in Alameda. It wasn't working out here! The people wouldn't let me get away with not eating their desserts. 

Another crazy eventful night was when we discovered COCKROACHES! and NOT baby ones either. HUGE COCKROACHES. Everywhere! Seriously I wanted to cry. I was so grossed out. We didn't know what to do! Neither of us would squish them! (I couldn't handle the pop feeling!) Well anyways those things were fast too! So we ran over to the other sisters that live in the same apartment complex and they came over and killed them...how embarrassing. Plus the people above us got really mad because we were screaming....and laughing. Laughing because we were so embarrassed we were all so whimpey. They were huge though! Well anyways, we called around and basically we were told that they weren't going to do anything about it. So we had to just get over it. We have a system. Sister Noffz and Sister Cowan take turns squishing them and I whip them up....gross. During weekly planning the zone leaders came by to give us a white board and Elder Redd put a huge cockroach in front of my face, and I screamed and jumped back. Turns out they bought a fake rubber one....JERKS. Traumatizing week with the cockroaches.

John Aubry went to a baptism with us this Saturday to watch an 8 year old be baptized. It went really well. He was in tears. I love him so much. He came to church this Sunday for the first time. Our lessons with him always go so well. On Monday, he was talking about all his feelings and concerns. We just listened and without saying anything he just looked up and said, "and I've realized that...I want this." I wanted to jump out of my seat. He got his answer that he should be baptized! 

Ronald Covington. He's the old man in the photo. Boy is this man a character! He's 77 years old. He is constantly singing. haha It is so hard to teach this man because he never stops singing. He hummed during the sacrament. He hummed during Sunday school. He is crazy. He absolutely loves us and tells us that we are his girls. He keeps asking when/ if we know we are leaving soon. I haven't had the heart to tell him. We just tell him to not worry about it. We are trying to get him to the point where he knows he should be baptized. He agreed to a date, but he hasn't prayed about it. 

I loved General Women's Conference. I was such a baby during it. My eyes were tearing up like crazy. I just felt an overwhelming peace and love from my Heavenly Father. I loved how much it was emphasized that we are daughters of our Heavenly Father and that we are all Sisters. We had a lesson with a new investigator, Ann. She's a girl version of Quasimodo. She doesn't believe she is a daughter of God. She doesn't believe he loves her. She has a low self confidence. I felt power given to me as I testified to her how much He loves her. I told her about her self worth. I felt the spirit so strong.

I still love this area so much. We have had a lot of success finding those part-member families. They are inviting us back too. The ward can see how hard we are working and they love us so much. They give us a lot of support. It's amazing!

This upcoming week is going to be tough because we have Mission Leader Council in Frisco and we have Zone Conference and General Conference. We have every single hour that is not in one of those meetings booked with less actives and investigators. It's great! We are excited. It's just going to be tough. 

I love you so much! We are working hard. I am giving my heart, might, mind, and strength. Thanks for all your love, prayers, and support!

-Sister Gampe

PS! I've met 3 Golden doodles this week! Golden Doodles galore! This Dog's name is Ginger. I think my love for the dog got us into this home.

The Zellers

Hey Everyone!

This was a wonderful week! Well first off on Monday I got to see the Zellers! That was amazing! I love them so much! I was so excited to see them! They first saw us in Target. They knew they could find us in the makeup section. hahah I am such a girl. I actually wasn't there to buy anything for myself. I was just helping my companion pick out makeup. But I received tight hugs! Than we departed after a little of talking and we went our separate ways to allow us to do the things we need to do on p-day. (laundry, shopping, cleaning). Than we met back up at Coldstone. Yummy. :) I love them so much. I didn't want to say goodbye. I'm excited to see them again. 

I had a hard day on Tuesday. I felt really inadequate. I felt like I was so burnt out. I was missing every turn while driving. I was all over the place with my teaching. I felt pretty bummed. I didn't want to end like this. I almost lost it in tears on the way to exchanges. I felt...How can I help other sisters if I can't even help myself?...I realized I needed to just forget about myself and just work. I know the only strength I have left is the Lord's strength. I'll let him carry me. It's a humbling experience. 

I was able to help the sisters in another area find a new investigator. They have like 4 people to teach! They are so timid. They refuse to talk to people after it gets dark. They are really paranoid. The new investigator I found for them was drunk. They might not go back. hahaha He wasn't drunk, but he had been drinking and you could smell it on him. I was teaching about the Restored Gospel and he stops me and says, "I'm sorry, but you have the prettiest eyes I've ever seen." I just paused...said " Thank you." and kept going. hahaha Than he asked the sister if there was something wrong with her because she wasn't talking. She was TERRIFIED that we were even talking to the guy. It was 12 pm. hahahah We were in a trailer park where there were people all around. We were totally fine. 

The next day we had a mission leader council. President is raising the bar again. He really wants our mission to be hitting 100 baptisms a month. Right now we are getting 30 on Average. This month we are at 40 with 1 more week to go. We were shooting to get 60 this month. I like that he pushes us because I can see past the numbers and see souls being saved. We are expected for just the leaders as of now to hit 5 people to sacrament, 4 people on date, and 5 new investigators. It's going to be a lot of work, but I know we can do it. I'm going to really push myself next week even harder. This meeting gave me that push I needed to really up the work. 

We found this new investigator, John Aubry. He is amazing! I got out of the car to go see a less active and I saw him on the bed of a truck talking to another man. I reached in the car and said, "Sisters we need to talk to those men." Sister Noffz said, "I'm on it!" So we go over there and the one guy was Anti-Mormon, but at one point John said, I'm sorry but I can't turn these girls away. So we went back with a member and had one of the most spiritual lessons I've ever felt! He was in tears. I loved it! I was convinced he was going to come to church, we had a ride set up, but he backed out. We stopped by after church and he said he had past memories come back to his mind of what Mormons believed. We talked to him, he at one point said, I think it's time to end here, and we bore testimony and he let us in, and we prayed. We are seeing him tonight :) I'm so excited. I love him so much!

We also have another amazing investigator, John Covington. He is hilarious! The first time we went in there, he was testing us. He would barely let us get a word in. He was singing and pulling out his guitar. It was like a little boy showing us all his toys. At one point. I asked him if he knew, Nearer My God to Thee. He said, I don't know. So I started singing it. I got the whole first verse in and than we bore testimony about how music can invite the spirit. The next lesson we had was amazing and we were able to teach the whole restoration. He came to church on Sunday with his wife who is less active! After church he made us blueberry waffles! We put him on date to be baptized May 4th! He is seriously the best thing ever. I love him. He always gives us hugs. hahah.

Hes like my grandpa. He loved church and told us he will wear a suit the next time. We had to fight him to get him there on Sunday! 

We also went to teach this girl and her boyfriend answered. Right as he answered, this random huge dog jumped up on Sister Noffz and lifted her dress ALL the way up. hahah I saw everything underneath. I was dying laughing! Than we were talking/ teaching and I asked him what happened to his finger nail because it looked so gross and he said, oil ridge and he lifted it OFF! I literally screamed and almost vomited on his doorstep. What a weird door step. hahaha

We are seeking a lot of part-member families. I have such a strong desire to bring families together forever. It's so important. Baptisms are the FIRST step. It's the Temple that I see these people in. 

I was asked to give a talk in church this Sunday. It went really well. A lot of people asked us to come over so we can teach their children. We were given 12 referrals this week! It was awesome! Everyone said that they were amazed because they said I only looked down at my notes to read a quote. It went really well. After they ran up to us and want us to sing in their choir for the Easter program. 

Our ward mission leader is really excited about the work that we are doing. He said people keep coming up to him and telling him how great we are. I have really fallen in love with this ward. The people are so wonderful and do so much for one another. I love how kind everyone is. I was scared at first because we are in a pretty wealthy area, but the people are so strong in the gospel.

The trio is going well. I am the glue. Hopefully things work out when I leave. haha But I love them both. They are working hard. 

I love you all so much. I am running as fast as I can. I can honestly say, I talked to literally every single person I saw on the streets this week. I'll do it again. 

-Sister Gampe

Grand Junction 5th

Hello Everyone!

I am in Grand Junction! Wow! This place is gorgeous! Seriously. The ward is amazing! It's huge and I'm terrible at learning names to begin with, but I have some time to still improve myself. Make weak things strong, right? Well the ward is amazing when it comes to missionary work. Our ward mission leader is amazing! He's an attorney and is all about presentation. He taught us about  how to previcate. Previcate- embellishing or misrepresenting for a proper cause. Theirs your word for the day. Anyways, he has us write down EVERYTHING we do. We have sheets and sheets of papers of what we do for the week. He organizes it and makes us look good in front of the ward council. I'm the lucky one in the tripanionship who gets to be lazy and just drive around while the other two are writing and calling people. haha He teaches us about pulling us apart from any other missionary the ward has met. He was talking to us about what we should do during our testimonies to get people to like us...my mind was blown! I think soon he's going to force us to show up in a flaming dress like in the Hunger Games. One thing he taught us which might be a neat approach. We are building our teaching pool. We are trying to find find find. When we do that, there's a lot of people who may not be actually interested. He taught us how to get them to actually want to keep commitments. He taught us what to say and do to make the commitments an expectation because we dont have "time" to waste because there are "a lot" of people who want to learn from us. haha He's intense. I'm excited because it will be nice to give me that push to keep up with him. He is actually really excited for us because the last sisters that were in the area taught 6 lessons last week. We taught 14 without knowing anyone. Oh I forgot to mention that I'm white washing again. haha That makes things more and more interesting huh. 

The Trio is going really great. I was super nervous at first. Because usually with a trio that means that you have a crazy with you. But we are all working really hard. We are seeing miracles. We are talking to everyone. I love it. I'm with another Sister Trainer Leader that was just called, Sister Noffz. My other companion is Sister Cowan. The only thing that kinda stinks is I have been sleeping on a cot. It was funny because at first we only had 2 beds and we called the housing people and told them and they said " okay we will bring you a bed." They called back five minutes later and said, "It's hard/ inconvenient/ going to be hard to bring a bed. Is it important/ really needed to have one?"...we were like...uhhhh yes. hahaha So we come home and there is a cot! hahahaha So I took the cot because I wake up earlier than the others to get a better work out. HEY I'm in my FIRST apartment on my mission. It's really really nice to have an apartment. Kinda expensive though. But the cot was killing my back. So our Zone leaders broke into an apartment that sisters used to live in and took the 2 mattresses. So now I'm on two mattresses. It's a lot better. I think I'll be able to sleep better. 

We had a neat experience. We went to go see this part member family. The husband is a member and the wife is not. Well turned out she wasn't there, so we talked to him for awhile trying to get any information out of him. He was going off on tangents that really didn't matter. I finally cut him off and said, "Is there a certain topic that really invites the spirit in your home and touches your wife's heart?" He instantly started crying and told us that he loved the previous sisters, but all they did was hang out and not teach. It's so important to teach! This is his WIFE'S eternal salvation! He wants everything for her and it breaks my heart that he had to experience that. 

We also were talking to this amazing family, the Rasmussen family. They are a family of 5 boys. The oldest is on a mission. They are so inspiring. We were teaching and the dad came home late from a church meeting. At the end he started crying and told us that when he was driving home, he pictured his home and it was glowing because he knew we were there. That was so neat. He told us that his greatest advice is to hold a testimony meeting wit h your family once a month. He said they do it on the Monday after Fast Sunday. I was so excited for that advice because I'll never forget when my family went to Yellowstone and we had a testimony meeting. The spirit was so strong. I want to do that with my family every month. That family is super amazing. I love them so much. They all memorized the first vision so they call each tell a friend! They went all crazy on me and said that I "LOOK EXACTLY LIKE ANA FROM FROSTED". I don't know who she is or what she looks like, but they said I have the same face. They said they will buy the movie so I can see the cover. I'm a little nervous.

We have 2 people on date. We are excited. The one is for April 13th and the other is for May 17th. We are excited because We know there's a lot more people that will be ready for baptism. We just need to find them first. 

There are some HUGE homes here. Some that make me choke on my spit. The Rasmussen's home is huge. hahah I accidentally ran over a mouse with the car right before we went in to teach them. I've never done that before. They thought that was the coolest thing. I'm glad I have ways to win this ward over. hahaha

OH here is something cool. Every 2nd Tuesday of the month 2 leaders from each Auxiliary takes a "route". They all visit someone at 7 pm. They literally shoot to contact 20 people every month just in 1 day! Crazy huh! Isn't that amazing! 

I love you all so much! Thanks for all your prayers and support. Remember that Christ lives. I know it. 

-Sister Gampe

ps. Saying goodbye to Sister Vasquez was tough because I truly love her. I learned so much from her. She has grown so much and it has been a privileged to serve with her.

No More Sister Vasquez :(

Hey Everyone!

This week has been an interesting one. Well I'm being transferred. I'm pretty sure I'm going over the mountains! That will be a lot of fun. I will be in a trio. (with 2 other sisters). I will be training a new sister training leader. I'm sad to leave these people, but I know it's what is best. I also am excited to get to a knew area. I'll be on fire and blow it up. I want to set high goals and reach them. 

So this week Ricky Thunderhawk got jumped by some gang members and his mother called us frantically and asked us to go see how bad Ricky was beat up, and if we needed to call 911 So we went over there and it was pretty bad... I cleaned up all the blood off of him before his mother got there so that she wouldn't have to see him like that. And then the 4 Elders that were there gave him a very spiritual blessing. And the next day he went to work! He had a really bad concussion. And he cried because all of the Elders started bombarding him with questions. I almost lost it when he started crying. I felt so bad for him. This is a normal thing for him. That beats me up inside. Well I was cleaning his face, Sister Vasquez asked for another rag and started trying to clean around his lips. She said, "Hey Ricky, can you pucker your lips for me?" I was like "Sister! Don't say that!" hahahaha the elders were all dying laughing. But by the time we were leaving he was doing a lot better. When I went to give his cousin a hand shake he pulled in for a hug and said, "Now that's a pretty girl." The elders won't let that down. His cousins a new investigator now. 

So needless to say, I think it's a good thing that I am being transferred out of here. I was really sad to see that and didn't get much sleep this week. We are being careful. I promise. We prayed like crazy whether or not we should go in.

    

So the weather this week is ALL over the place! Its been 70 yesterday and today. Clear skies. But on Thursday it snowed for two days straight! And it wasnt that nice falling snow it was that ugly wet snow. We were soaking after we went tracting for an hour! Yes no weather can stop Sister Vasquez and I from finding more people to teach! And that day the sun was suppose to be out so I didn't wear my boots thinking that I would be fine. 

I got to go to the Temple on Wednesday. That was amazing! I got to see the new, new video. It was beautiful. I felt a lot of guidance in there. 

I got a sweet letter from a girl from the Branch. Her name is Nicole (in her 30's) and she has down syndrome. She is really high functioning though. She has the strongest testimony I have ever seen. She has so many scriptures memorized. She's the only person I know that can invite the spirit so strong in church with her prayer, that every person in the room is in tears. This is word for word, spelling for spelling of what she wrote.

"with my own spiriual eyes the veil will be thin in my mind I shall see the savior face and know he is with me. but by the power of the light is upon me and i will feel the spiritual presence by The Savior. for I have seen him with my spiritual eyes. and when he come closer to me I will feel his presence and my emotion start to make me cry with tears of rian upon my face. The Savior will put his hands upon my face and whipe away my tears from my eyes. I was not afraid of the dark for he heaven light came in and found me. Then I heard a voice of the savior saying for by my spirit it is with you and I will enlighten the room by my power. My daughter my angel for I The Savior is here and will open your eyes for you to see my face. The Savior will put arms around me like the blanket of heaven upon me with love of the Savior. For he will see way beyound me and my ability my strength and the knowledeg I have resive. That made me who I am in his eyes." -Nicole Brewer

 

I read that as the sacrament was being passed and cried every moment of it. She is so beautiful. I love her so much. I am so blessed to have this opportunity to serve and help so many people. I absolutely love every single person I meet! I am so grateful for the calling that gives you this instant love for people you don't even know. It's amazing and it's indescribable. 

I love you all so much!

-Sister Gampe

Apostasy vs Apostrophe

Hey Everyone!

This was an AMAZING week! It wasn't even amazing until it was Sunday! We usually average about 30-40 members at church, and there were about 60! It was amazing! 12 people that were their were people that we teach! 3 of them were investigators. It brought so much joy to be able to see those people be able to enjoy the spirit of going to church. Our Testimony meets are really wonderful. I was surprised the first testimony meeting, because they aren't many members, I was expecting long gaps, but there aren't any at all, and everyone does such a wonderful job bearing their simple testimonies. 

The Thunderhawks came! They are getting back into the lessons and have the desire to be baptized again! And their friend who was totally anti-mormon when she met us, she came to church and loved it and wants to be baptized! Woot woot! We are really excited. We are not allowed to go there everyday, which they were really pushing earlier, but now they want the elders to teach them as well, so we teach them every other day. They are currently homeless though because they got evicted from their home, but luckily Bernadine has section 8 so she can get another apartment for cheap, we just don't know how long it will take. This would be a situation that would cause me to FREAK out, but they are used to this kind of thing, but she said she isn't going to tell her family or friends where she goes so she has no one bringing alcohol to them. That is a very good idea. They refuse to go to shelters because they have gone before and said they are terrible, so they are trying to get motel vouchers. We helped move her things into a storage unit. Bernadine bore her testimony in sacrament meeting! It was really really good. It brought me to tears. 

So my spelling, grammar, and English are terrible. Sister Vasquez says every time I impersonate someone, I use a ghetto voice. Uh oh... that's not good. Well anyways, Sister Vasquez was making fun of me for not using the correct form of "you're" when I was writing. I get lazy and just write "your". So this was our conversation.

"I know how to use "you're", I just get lazy." -Sister Gampe

"All you have to do is add an "e""- Sister Vasquez

"AND an APOSTASY!"- Sister Gampe

"You mean, APOSTROPHE! hahaha!"- Sister Vasquez

We were helping this lady unpack her things. It's actually really fun because she was from my Green Mountain 1st ward! Super pumped to see her. Well she is this sweet older lady and she wanted help going through her genealogy so she could teach a class at her senior apartment activities, well we found out she is from Los Alamos. Which is where the atomic bomb was made! She has so many neat stories. She lived in the gated community and the town was supposed to be "unknown" top secret stuff. I realized from going through her things, which I looooove snooping through people's things, so this was the perfect service job for me, well anyways, I realized how important it is to write things down and really keep good records of your history/ life. That is something I want to make sure I do. Mom, Dad, I bet you never thought I'd be able to use my Christmas snooping skills in the mission field. :)

Well I can't think of anything else to say. Actually, I think it was in Mosiah 14:2 describes Christ really interesting. It stuck out to me a lot this morning. 

I love you all so much! Still working hard! I find out on Friday or Saturday, if I am staying in the area or leaving. Sister Vasquez and I don't think we are staying together any longer. Which makes us both sad. I love her so much. She's become one of my best friends. Eternal Friends. 

-Sister Gampe

Snake Charmer

Hello Everyone!

I got to hold a snake this week! I think that's the first time I've ever held one. It was freaky and the first couple seconds I squealed a little, but I did well overall. haha

I'm trying really hard to help the other Sisters not be so stressed. They are so hard on themselves. I see that they just need to allow themselves to relax and have fun. So Sister Vasquez and I had a Doubled Stuffed Oreo licking contest. See who could lick off the icing first. Yes. I cracked because her mom sent a package in the mail...Not fair. Well anyways Sister Vasquez whoooped on me! I was so ashamed! I lost to my favorite cookie. Well anyways I sent out a mass text encouraging the sisters to do it this week and report back to me who wins. I said, "Winner gets a bigger belly." Great motivation huh. Good thing I'm still doing insanity every morning. 

Also this week I realized how much Sister Vasquez doesn't know anything about animals. Those people from southern California are deprived. We were in an appointment with a part-member family and they were talking to me about moose, deer, and elk. So when we finally were going to start our lesson Sister Vasquez turns to the husband and said "Thank you so much for talking to us about elks and mooses." I couldn't hold it in and starting dying laughing. She wasn't able to contribute anything to the conversation. I don't know how I was able. I think I was able to act like I know things because of my family in Altoona, PA. I just tell them the stories of me hitting a deer with my car and getting Dad to pick it up and having to help him gut it...gross...never again. Hopefully the Lord ships Sister Vasquez to Meeker, Colorado.

On Saturday we got to have a fireside and Elder James B. Martino, 2nd quorum of the seventy, came and spake to us! That was so amazing! He talked about how it doesn't matter who we are companions with, we are still doing the Lords work. He told us how we will have companions that will be eternal friends, some that we just got along with, and some couldn't care less about. I was so grateful to be able to say that all of my companions are on the eternal friends list. I think it has to do with your desire to be their friend. He also taught how there are 3 things we must do as missionaries, 1)Go to work 2) Be obedient and 3) Open our mouths when teaching and talking to everyone we see. He also said that if we love God, then we should do His work. We just need to give Him all of our heart, might, mind and strength. And I can say that I am working everyday to make sure He knows that I am giving Him exactly that. But the biggest thing that stuck out the most was when he taught us what it truly meant to be called and chosen. He taught how we were called in the pre-earth life and how we were chosen here on this earth. Many are called but few are chosen. I literally thought to myself, why was I so blessed to be called and he said right after I thought that, "you were called because of your exceeding faith and good works in the pre-earth life" 

Sister Murdock also spake and she is so amazing! I am blessed to have such a great mission president and wife. She told us "forget yourself and go to work". That came from Gordon B. Hinckley. What really hit me was when she said, "What if Gordon B. Hinckley went home from his mission because he was struggling?" Generations and millions of people are impacted because of him. She pointed out how our missions will impact us the most. More than anyone else we meet. It's going to impact our families, friends, future spouse, everyone around us. What a blessing it is for me to have the opportunity to serve. I still can't believe it. 

Yesterday we got a super solid investigator and she is so prepared for baptism its amazing! Her husbands already read the Book of Mormon and I am so excited to teach this family. They are also Native American. They have such a strong connection with The Book of Mormon. They already have heard the stories in it. Christ is their "Great White Spirit". 

We also had someone call us randomly that we met and schedule an appointment for Tuesday night. I'm really excited to teach them too. 

Our ward mission leader was released on Sunday. I'm excited to work with the new one. He has served 3 missions! He's hilarious too. 

I finished all my exchanges for this transfer! wooot wooot! The sisters are doing well. I don't know what Sister Turner and I are doing in that photo. Sister Vasquez took it. 

Well I love you all so much! I tried to write a longer one since you received a whimpey e-mail last week.

-Sister Gampe

Glorious in the eyes of God

Hey Everyone!

We had a great week! We found 6 new investigators! We had 3 less active people that we teach come to church! What a blessing to be able to see the fruits of our labors. 

We have been doing a lot of service. We helped a lady scrub her cabinets. We have been still helping at ARC. The thrift store. Most of the other people that volunteer have to do it because of community hours. So they are always asking why we are there. haha. 

I've been having really wonderful studies in The Book of Mormon. I think it was in 1 Nephi 20, that I realized, I want to work so hard, that I am "glorious in the eyes of God". I know as I am obedient, work hard with all my heart, might, mind, and strength, that he will be proud. Feeling His love and approval makes me proud. 

We still have a lot of exchanges. I'm trying really hard to help out the sisters as much as possible. Something I'm noticing is it's harder for me to help them recently and I think it's because when I first started, I had a lot to improve on, and I still do, but the sisters don't see that as much, and so I think they are intimidated and scared. I try to share experiences to make myself human. I hope I can show them my love and appreciation for all their hard work. 

I love the people. I love the work. I love the Lord. I am still so grateful that Heavenly Father gave me the opportunity to serve. What a blessing it has been for my life. 

I love you so much!

-Sister Gampe

Sorry it was shorter, we have appointments to get to!

ARC

Oh Hello Everyone!

Guess what!? I got to go on exchanges with Sister Orro, and she's from Australia. No big deal. haha. She was a lot of fun. We had a great day together. We did a lot of service and taught some strong lessons. She's absolutely gorgeous and was happy to wake up at 6 am to work out with me....I think. haha She wouldn't do my insanity, but she did work out next to me doing her own little things. This insanity is kicking my bum. woot woot. 

We are seeing so many miracles everyday. One night, we were driving, and there was a guy walking in the middle of a road. We could tell he was drunk because he was stumbling a little. I was going to drive right past, because why would 2 sister missionaries want to stop for a drunk guy in the middle of the road, but without even thinking my hands turned the wheel and I rolled the window down and asked if we could help him at all. He asked for a ride and we said we couldn't but we would walk him home. He seemed to be really far and was going the completely wrong way. We walked him to a main road. and gave him a mormon.org card and told him which way to go. He thanked us. I hope he finds that card and is blessed to remember what had happened. 

Sister Pfeifer and I gave a training on Finding New Investigators. We did a role play of me being a missionary and teaching a lesson at the door, even after they say they don't have time. haha It went well. I hope it helps the other missionaries out. We have another big training on Tuesday on finding. I think we will do something similar, but add more. I want to help others by role playing getting all their information such as full name, phone number, address. It's amazing how often I'm on exchanges and the sisters don't ask for that stuff. It makes a big difference to call the person before you show up. 

We have been doing a lot of service at the Arc. It's a thrift store. They had a huge .99 cent sale on all sweaters. So we were hanging up alot of sweaters. It was a wonderful opportunity. There was a guy asking me alot of questions about the church and more specifically about the Temple. It's amazing how the mission makes you so much more confident talking about those things. 

We really want to focus on finding families. Most of the people we teach don't have a vehicle or a job. That will be tough on the branch to support all these people. So we will try to find in the more rich areas. Those places are harder. It's sad how income makes such a big difference on the people's hearts and desires to know if the gospel is true. It is true!

Well I love you all so much! Remember to love your life in the moment and not in the future or past. I love This gospel. I know it is true. I love The Book of Mormon. It has changed my heart, mind, and soul. I know it is true. I am almost done reading it for the 4th time. I'm in Moroni. I love how we have a prophet to help us understand Christ's doctrine. 

Eternally,

-Sister Gampe

ps. photo is of the scariest puppet ever that lives in our basement. and me smiling with my squinty eyes.

How about them Broncos?

Hey Everyone!

We had a great week! We taught 28 lessons! We were pretty excited! We are working really really hard. I have decided to really push myself. I am waking up at 6:00 AM instead of 6:30 AM to give myself a good amount of time to work out. I am noticing a difference in my day actually. I think I have a little more energy. I'm doing the whole insanity work out and want to puke through the whole thing. haha Just a gross fun fact: My sweat line is literally down to my belly button when I'm done, but I think it also has to do with living with a 94 year old sweet lady. Needless to say, our home is hot. But I won't make excuses because I have always known I sweat alot. 

Bernadine is still scheduled to be baptized for Feb 9th, but she is starting to feel like she is not ready. Satan is the worst. Well I personally feel like she is really, but I think we might push it another week because she didn't come to church this week. I think Satan got to her. We were pretty sad. Ricky needs to wait a little longer so he will be more ready. 

Sister Vasquez and I are having a lot of fun. The poor thing is always tired. I think I wear out my companions haha. But anyways we were walking out of an appointment, I was walking behind her and she says, "I am so exhausted. I need a pick me up." I instantly grab her bum and she jumps forward and screams. haha I'm not gonna lie, I even caught myself off guard. I haven't done that in a long time. haha But it was pretty funny and we both laughed. She woke up. 

I'm a little nervous about what everyone will be like since the Broncos lost. We of course didn't watch it, but it didn't take long to find out what happened. haha. Everyone is furious and wishes they wouldn't have made it to the super bowl because it was an "embarrassment".

We had exchanges this week. I was with Sister Smith. She's such a great missionary. We went in her area. She does a great job. While we were teaching this family, we were all on the floor in close quarters because they recently moved in and haven't unpacked. I started to pet this really really fluffy cat because...well let's face it, I'm a total cat lover. Well, anyways, this cat starts randomly attacking me! I didn't know what to do, so I started pushing it away and it wouldn't stop! I randomly started squealing, "ahhh your cat's attacking me!" The boy grabs this cat. haha I was so embarrassed because they were asking me if I was alright. haha But it wasn't a big deal or anything, I just didn't know how to get the cat to stop hahaa. That was my poor example of distracting from the lesson. But luckily it was in the beginning and I knew not to touch the cat again. haha

We got 2 new elders this transfer. The other Elders were transferred out. There was just to much going on for them and it was better for them to be moved. The new elders seem like they want to work hard. We will see many miracles. 

We have a lot going on this transfer. We have Mission Leader Council, Zone Meeting, Zone Conference, and a special fireside from a general authority. I'm pretty pumped! :)

Well I love you all so much! 

-Sister Gampe

Rickey's Art

Hey Everyone!

So I have a photo of Ricky's art. It doesn't give it justice. It was done with Color pencil and pen while he was in jail. He's really talented. I felt honored that he would give this to me. We keep trying to teach him how to shake a hand. He gives the wimpiest hand shakes. I think he has shaken hands with us more than ever in his entire life, being in a gang and all. 

This week went really well. I keep learning so much. I finished reading The Book of Mormon in 6 weeks. I actually finished a little early. It was amazing. I got an amazing letter from an investigator from my last area. He asked me what my spiritual passion was. I have been pondering that. I'm extremely passionate about The Book of Mormon, but I'm also passionate about the thought of not only knowing that we are children of God, That I am a Daughter of God, but FEELING like a Daughter of God. That motivates me. I want everyone to FEEL it. I am excited to write back my response. 

We went to see President on Friday. I'm shocked he keeps asking to see us. I would think he would be sick of us by now. But anyways he asked Sister Vasquez if she could handle another transfer in this area and if she would like to stay with me. She wants to be with me. That made me feel really good. I made a goal to hide a post it note within her things. I learned that from Sister Gage. She did it for me all the time. I would find them in the most random places. I found one THIS transfer. She's amazing. Anyways I want the post its to have compliments and things I love about her. I'll do it everyday. 

I'm officially off sweets :) sad day. 

Bernadine and Ricky came to church this Sunday. They also went to a baptism another ward had. It was awesome! I'm so proud of them! They have been making amazing changes! We watched The Testaments with them. They thought it was amazing. I know Ricky is getting a little nervous. We had him offer and kneeling prayer with us there. During the prayer he said, "Please help me know that this is true. yeah. This is true." The spirit was so strong. His prayers are so simple and sincere. I love it. They also include his ghetto gang voice haha. I love that even more. They are still on to be baptized February 9th.

We are finding people all the time. I love it. This area is booming. We are loosing the elders though. It makes me sad. I know this branch has enough work to support both Sisters and Elders. The elders took a lot of emotional abuse this transfer. I don't think they could handle another transfer. I keep telling them to press forward and don't look back on anything negative from this area. But with just Sister Vasquez and I in this area, means a lot more work to do. 

Still looking for things to do during the super bowl. hahaha hopefully we can clean someone's house or something. haha

I love you all so much!

-Sister Gampe

Humble Prayer

Hello Everyone!

It has been a great week! We are seeing miracles everyday! We were able to teach many people this week! Many are progressing! Many are being found! 

We had zone conference on Tuesday. I sang a solo. The elders asked me the day before to sing. So I sang, "Live Like You Believe." It went really well. I just prayed before I sang that I could invite the spirit. That helped me not be so nervous.

We were knocking on some apartment doors and this cute chubby hispanic kid starts talking to us. He told us which doors were english speaking and which were spanish speaking. He started following us around like a little puppy. It was hilarious. He started knocking on the doors for us. Just imagine the people opening the door and seeing two missionaries and a little chubby boy. hahaha 

We have been doing a lot of hours at the Jeffco Action Center. It is a place that people donate food and items and they give it to the poor and homeless. It is amazing. The workers love us so much because we work really hard. I cleaned out a dirty fridge that literally made me gag. Most of the volunteers are people who need court service hours. So theirs a lot of Juveniles there. They think it's funny that we volunteer just for fun.  

We have moved into a new home. Sister Grebe. The McCall's home was really far and we kept going over our mile limit. Sister Grebe just recently lost her husband. They were married for over 70 years. She is 94 years old! hopefully we can help her around the house and give her some comfort in her home. Her home is really nice. We have the basement all to ourselves. I'm excited because there is a treadmill! Get my Skinny on!

Bernadine and Ricky are doing really great living the Word of Wisdom! They haven't been smoking, drinking alcohol or coffee. I am really proud of them. We taught them Saturday night and we were really inviting them to come to church. Ricky kept giving excuses. All of a sudden there was a knock on the door. I'm not gonna lie, my stomach dropped. I was so scared his gang was going to come in a get us! But it was this man, Rafael. He walked in with a big smile. They don't even know him very well. Ricky and Bernadine were walking on the side of the road and he decided to pick them up and take them home. He wanted to stop by to check on them. Well he joined us. We were teaching the Plan of Salvation. Than he starts telling Ricky he should go to church. hahaha I seriously think he is an angel! But we are going to get him to go to the spanish ward because he wasn't able to understand to much.

The next day, Bernadine and Rafael were at church. We talked to Ricky since and he says he promises that he will come to church this next Sunday. Ricky gave me a drawing he did in jail. It's really neat. I'll take a photo of it for next week. I love Ricky and Bernadine's prayers. They are the best. So sincere.

Everyone is going crazy over the Broncos. haha It's really funny. Yesterday Sister Vasquez bought bronco clothing. I was going to get a vintage bronco looking shirt/jersey, but I didn't want to spend the money. So i booked it out of the store empty handed. 

Well I love you all so much! Transfers is Tuesday the 28th. I am pretty sure I will be staying in the area. Their not kicking me out yet. 

-Sister Gampe

 

 

3 Nephi 11

Hello Everyone!

Okay crazy week. Am I surprised? Nope :) I love it and embrace it. haha. My area is so ghetto. haha I love it so much. Mom please don't worry. I'm being obedient so I can follow the promptings of the spirit. 

The other night I was on exchange. There were these two guys walking on the street so I run up to them to talk to them. The one guy is really drunk and keeps telling me how beautiful I am and is asking me if I'm married and if he can have my number. The missionary I was with goes, "Don't worry! her number is on the mormon.org card!" OH goodness! haha I have not received any calls from him yet. 

We went to an appointment and I had to help our investigator undress his stab wound. He got it from ONE of his girl friends. I guess that's why we should only date one person at a time. He was being such a baby while I was taking it off. We had a member with us. We always do when we go there. Anyways he had crusty gross old gauze on it. But it was the stringy type so the string was stuck inside his deep wound. So we had him put it in luke warm water and let it soak and than pull it off. He almost cried. We wanted him to go to the hospital but he wouldn't because of the cost of money. We taught him the Word of Wisdom. He want's to live it because he has so much desire to come unto Christ. We have a lot to do to help him get there. The world is living farther and farther from Christ so it takes a lot of work to prepare them for baptism. His name is Ricky Thunderhawk. He's on date to be baptized on Feb. 9th. His mother, Bernadine Thunderhawk is also on date. She struggles even more than Ricky with the Word of Wisdom. They were suppose to go to church and we had a member go get them and no answer at the door. I was really sad. Ricky makes me laugh so hard. We asked him if he read 3 Nephi 11. and he awkwardly said yes. I look and him with a serious face and said, "Ricky, are you lying to us? You didn't read." He put a huge smile on his face and said. "Nah. I didn't read." hahaha he does that a lot. 

We made breakfast for Ines, the lady we live with. It was her birthday on Sunday. It made her day. She said she has never had anyone make her breakfast before besides her husband. It was really sweet. 

We find people everyday to teach, but we really need strong families because we have a few families in the branch that are active. 

We had zone meeting on Thursday. Sister Pfeifer and I did a training on Language. We did a little role play of two missionaries. One was super positive and the other was super negative. I was the positive one because I wanted it to be funny. The reason why it was funny making Sister Pfeifer the negative one is because she is the most positive person I have ever made. The mission goal is to make her have a bad day. She had a hard time doing it without smiling. The other missionaries were laughing. It's amazing how much language and attitude makes a difference in the mission. I have been able to cut out the word ."hate". I never use it thanks to Sister Hatch. I've noticed a difference in my language. 

Well we were able to get a lot accomplished this week. The Murdocks helped us a lot. They came and saw us. They also came to our meeting with our ward mission leader. I expect changes to happen. Good changes. Changes I have been praying for. 

I love you all so much! 

-Sister Gampe

 The cat's name is dog. He lives with us.