When one person gets sick on an island, eventually everyone gets sick!
Pam and Less, the ones that we were able to give blessings to a couple months ago, moved down to Utah this week. I really love these people, and will miss them a lot! Less was progressing very well, but he just worked so much! Both of them were absolutely exhausted from the working lifestyle down here (literally 14+ hours a day for weeks straight). They gave us their address so we will keep in touch with them! They let us send it to the missionaries down in Utah. Hopefully the missionaries down there will be able to pick up where we left off!
Sister McGuire was sick this week, and she was very worried that some past health problems were coming back. We were able to give her a blessing with President Clark. He very kindly gave his lunch break to come help us out. She called us that evening and told us that she was feeling much better! It's cool to watch the priesthood work!
Our Daily Dose class went very well this week. Sandra, one of the ladies we are helping, accepted a Book of Mormon, and said a beautiful prayer where she thanked Heavenly Father for the Book of Mormon, without even reading it! Hopefully she does! There is a less active lady named Maria who is from Peru who has been helping us find more people to teach with this program. After the class on Tuesday, we had a good conversation with her and her active husband and set up a time to come help her return to activity!
Sheryl came to church this Sunday! The branch was very good at reaching out to her and helping her to feel comfortable. She is going to be living with her dad for the next 2 or 3 months, so hopefully it will be easier for her to use the Atonement to stop her addictions. It was very good to see her at church!
I was sick for most of Saturday and Sunday, and Elder Wilson is starting to get sick! We're doing good though. There are some good 'Missionary Moms' in this branch!
Thank you for the package and the memory card! Expect some pictures soon!
Love, Elder Gullerud
Email dated July 1, 2013
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Philipeno Party!
Hey Everyone!
Well this week Elder Wilson and I have really figured out that whenever we are frustrated at or with one another, that means something good is going to happen! Satan is trying really hard, but we've got him figured out!
The Broadcast yesterday was very interesting! The work is moving forward! I hope everyone has been inspired and feels motivated to work harder! Think of the blessings that you have recived when you talk with others, and invite them to have them as well! I know that you are all already really good missionaries, so keep going! :)
We have really seen miracles in this area, and it has really helped my faith grow. Each Sunday, for the past 3 weeks, we have had someone show up to church who was less active, but wants to be active again! The Lord really is preparing people! One of these men, Marc, who came yesterday, was someone that we had almost given up on. Thankfully the Lord knows best, and helps open our eyes! Marc is about 22 and decided to come yesterday during his lunch break! We're going to see him this week.
The Daily Dose English program is going really well! It really is a wonderful experience to watch these humble ladies pray in English for us and for one another. UniSea, the biggest fishing company out here, is beginning their English class. Suzana, one of the Daily Dose participants, came to us and said that she is sticking with us! She said that she's progressed much more with Daily Dose than the Unisea class, which she has taken 3 times! It truly is an inspired program! Ask the missionaries about it where ever you are! Danny, see if they have it going down in Costa Rica! You lucky kid :)
On Tuesday we finally had a lesson with a man from Saipan, who used to talk with missionaries way out there, named Joseph , and his wife Susana (not the same Suzana. this one is from the Philippians) which went pretty well. We got to know them and answered a few questions for them. We played them a song on the ukulele, said a prayer and left. They invited us back. Later that week, we were in the same apartment complex, trying to talk to someone else, when we ran into Susana. It was her birthday, and she invited us to her sister's for her birthday party. We met a lot of people and ate a lot of Filipino food! We were able to sing for everyone there, testify, and have a prayer before we left. It was a very good experience and we met a lot of people who would be fine with us coming by! One of Susana's sisters invited us to come by the store that she works at. We dropped by and she said "I want to introduce you guys to someone" and led us over to these two young girls, then ran away! It was a little awkward, but we managed to talk our way out of the store! Oh, and that's the 3rd time this week that this lady has done something like that!
Things with Sheril are going okay, but she was drunk last time we stopped by. I can't imagine how hard it must be to overcome substance addictions. Hopefully when she moves out things will be better! She really does want to change, it's just hard for her because of her roommates.
Hope everything for all ya'll is going well! Happy Day!
Love Elder Gullerud
Email dated June 24, 2013
Well this week Elder Wilson and I have really figured out that whenever we are frustrated at or with one another, that means something good is going to happen! Satan is trying really hard, but we've got him figured out!
The Broadcast yesterday was very interesting! The work is moving forward! I hope everyone has been inspired and feels motivated to work harder! Think of the blessings that you have recived when you talk with others, and invite them to have them as well! I know that you are all already really good missionaries, so keep going! :)
We have really seen miracles in this area, and it has really helped my faith grow. Each Sunday, for the past 3 weeks, we have had someone show up to church who was less active, but wants to be active again! The Lord really is preparing people! One of these men, Marc, who came yesterday, was someone that we had almost given up on. Thankfully the Lord knows best, and helps open our eyes! Marc is about 22 and decided to come yesterday during his lunch break! We're going to see him this week.
The Daily Dose English program is going really well! It really is a wonderful experience to watch these humble ladies pray in English for us and for one another. UniSea, the biggest fishing company out here, is beginning their English class. Suzana, one of the Daily Dose participants, came to us and said that she is sticking with us! She said that she's progressed much more with Daily Dose than the Unisea class, which she has taken 3 times! It truly is an inspired program! Ask the missionaries about it where ever you are! Danny, see if they have it going down in Costa Rica! You lucky kid :)
On Tuesday we finally had a lesson with a man from Saipan, who used to talk with missionaries way out there, named Joseph , and his wife Susana (not the same Suzana. this one is from the Philippians) which went pretty well. We got to know them and answered a few questions for them. We played them a song on the ukulele, said a prayer and left. They invited us back. Later that week, we were in the same apartment complex, trying to talk to someone else, when we ran into Susana. It was her birthday, and she invited us to her sister's for her birthday party. We met a lot of people and ate a lot of Filipino food! We were able to sing for everyone there, testify, and have a prayer before we left. It was a very good experience and we met a lot of people who would be fine with us coming by! One of Susana's sisters invited us to come by the store that she works at. We dropped by and she said "I want to introduce you guys to someone" and led us over to these two young girls, then ran away! It was a little awkward, but we managed to talk our way out of the store! Oh, and that's the 3rd time this week that this lady has done something like that!
Things with Sheril are going okay, but she was drunk last time we stopped by. I can't imagine how hard it must be to overcome substance addictions. Hopefully when she moves out things will be better! She really does want to change, it's just hard for her because of her roommates.
Hope everything for all ya'll is going well! Happy Day!
Love Elder Gullerud
Email dated June 24, 2013
Fathers, Happy Day!
Hey famoleeeeeee,
First of all, Happy Fathers day to the many fathers who are reading this! Thank you Grandpa, for your example and your love for us! Thank you Dad for all of your support and knowledge! Thank you Jacob for just being Christlike all the time! And Joseph, happy future father's day! I'm so excited for you! You will be a great father!
This week has been pretty good! We have had a good amount of success teaching with the ukulele! We have been able to see many more of the less active members by asking them if they would like to hear a song, then we work in a thought. The Daily Dose program is also going very well! The main lady we have been teaching with it has started bringing friends! They all love to pray in English, and it truly is an amazing thing to hear their humble prayers!
On Tuesday we had a great lesson with Sheril and she accepted our invitation to be baptised on the 13th of July. She has a great desire to learn more, and to change, but is having trouble because of the people and influences around her. She is moving in with her dad, who we are also teaching (He owned the "Elbow Room" which was rumored to be the sleaziest bar in the northwest), so hopefully that will help her with a lot of things! We'll keep working with her, and see how things go.
We had a very interesting experience the other night. Around 8:45, after a lesson with some less active members, our car decided not to start! We prayed and wiggled fuses around and did everything that we could think of, when I got a prompting that we needed to knock on the door of a less active member that we had not met yet. The Spirit told me that if we did this, our car would start. We knocked on the door, and met the man and his girlfriend and had a good conversation with them. We weren't able to teach a lesson or set up another appointment, but he invited us to come by some other time and gave us times that he is usually home. We went outside and the sun had come out, and our car started! It was a very strong witness for both Elder Wilson and I that God is real, and that we truly are in His hands!
That night, however, we had a similar witness from Satan, that he is real as well, and that he wants to destroy us! After planning we were just sitting there talking, when we started arguing about something very stupid. It got so bad that we both went to different rooms and had to read the scriptures to calm down! After a few minutes we talked again and could see that it was totally Satan doing that. It was the stupidest thing to fight about, and we both got very frustrated by it. We know that it was just Satan trying to get his kicks in after our witness of God. It was a lot like Moses and his experience with seeing God, then being tempted by satan. It was a very good learning experience, and has made our companionship stronger.
One of the members here is a cop, and we went by his house one day and interrupted a star wars party that he was having with some other cops. That should tell you how much there is to do here in Dutch Harbor..... Anywho, we had a good lesson with them and one of the cops has started to read the Book of Mormon!
Saturday night we were wondering what we should do, when we drove by Forest, another less active member. He asked us to help him out with some construction, so we are helped him out, and are helping out tonight! I got to build some stairs while Elder Wilson stained a lot of wood! It was pretty fun, but this man talks a thousand miles an hour, and poor Elder Wilson keeps having to ask him to speak slower! He's started to read the Book of Mormon again!
Things are going well here! Hope all is well for ya'll down south!
Much love and Prayers,
Elder Gullerud
Email dated June 17, 2013
First of all, Happy Fathers day to the many fathers who are reading this! Thank you Grandpa, for your example and your love for us! Thank you Dad for all of your support and knowledge! Thank you Jacob for just being Christlike all the time! And Joseph, happy future father's day! I'm so excited for you! You will be a great father!
This week has been pretty good! We have had a good amount of success teaching with the ukulele! We have been able to see many more of the less active members by asking them if they would like to hear a song, then we work in a thought. The Daily Dose program is also going very well! The main lady we have been teaching with it has started bringing friends! They all love to pray in English, and it truly is an amazing thing to hear their humble prayers!
On Tuesday we had a great lesson with Sheril and she accepted our invitation to be baptised on the 13th of July. She has a great desire to learn more, and to change, but is having trouble because of the people and influences around her. She is moving in with her dad, who we are also teaching (He owned the "Elbow Room" which was rumored to be the sleaziest bar in the northwest), so hopefully that will help her with a lot of things! We'll keep working with her, and see how things go.
We had a very interesting experience the other night. Around 8:45, after a lesson with some less active members, our car decided not to start! We prayed and wiggled fuses around and did everything that we could think of, when I got a prompting that we needed to knock on the door of a less active member that we had not met yet. The Spirit told me that if we did this, our car would start. We knocked on the door, and met the man and his girlfriend and had a good conversation with them. We weren't able to teach a lesson or set up another appointment, but he invited us to come by some other time and gave us times that he is usually home. We went outside and the sun had come out, and our car started! It was a very strong witness for both Elder Wilson and I that God is real, and that we truly are in His hands!
That night, however, we had a similar witness from Satan, that he is real as well, and that he wants to destroy us! After planning we were just sitting there talking, when we started arguing about something very stupid. It got so bad that we both went to different rooms and had to read the scriptures to calm down! After a few minutes we talked again and could see that it was totally Satan doing that. It was the stupidest thing to fight about, and we both got very frustrated by it. We know that it was just Satan trying to get his kicks in after our witness of God. It was a lot like Moses and his experience with seeing God, then being tempted by satan. It was a very good learning experience, and has made our companionship stronger.
One of the members here is a cop, and we went by his house one day and interrupted a star wars party that he was having with some other cops. That should tell you how much there is to do here in Dutch Harbor..... Anywho, we had a good lesson with them and one of the cops has started to read the Book of Mormon!
Saturday night we were wondering what we should do, when we drove by Forest, another less active member. He asked us to help him out with some construction, so we are helped him out, and are helping out tonight! I got to build some stairs while Elder Wilson stained a lot of wood! It was pretty fun, but this man talks a thousand miles an hour, and poor Elder Wilson keeps having to ask him to speak slower! He's started to read the Book of Mormon again!
Things are going well here! Hope all is well for ya'll down south!
Much love and Prayers,
Elder Gullerud
Email dated June 17, 2013
Fun In The . . . Rain
Hey Famolee,
So just in case you were wondering, we go to sleep and it's light, and we wake up and it's light. It's cool at first, but we have to hang heavy blankets on the windows to keep out the sun during the night! Anchorage had a high of 80 degrees this week, and we haven't gotten any higher than 52 yet....and it doesn't look like we ever will, according to the people who have lived here for years......We'll see what happens! Maybe if we pray really hard.....
Well, last week was amazing, and probably to keep us from getting prideful, this week was really hard! School ended this week, and about half of the town has left or is leaving on vacation for the summer, and everyone who stays here has to work twice as long to make up for the difference! The average work day for someone out here is 12 hours long.....You do the math!
Six out of ten of the set up lessons we had this week canceled on us, because of one thing or another. We didn't really know what was going on! We tried our best, but it was still a very hard week. Well, a little bit of 2 Nephi 2. We need the rough times to really appreciate the good.
On the plus side, Susanna, this lady from Mexico who we have been teaching English with the Daily Dose program, came to church yesterday! She really liked the testimonies that were born. It was kind of funny because she would quietly say 'Hallelujah!' and things during the testimonies! We are having our first group English learning class lesson this Thursday.
Elder Wilson is doing great! His English has really come a long way. He calls people and sets up appointments, something he was not at all comfortable with when we first got here. It's cool to watch him grow! We got a guitar! It's been REALLY nice to play one again! I love the Baritone, but it's nice to have 6 strings again, and it opens a lot of doors for missionary opportunities!
Abby, Jacob and the Bean! My Heartiest Congratulations! Why is everyone having babies while i'm gone! I'll get home to a 3-bean salad! Happy baby day!
Love to all from the windy island wastes!
Elder Gullerud
P.S. There's been volcanoes and earthquakes going off by us in Russia, and one on in between Anchorage and here. I got a picture of it going off on the flight home a couple weeks ago. They stopped all the planes that go here to Anchorage for 4 or 5 days because of the ash cloud! We'll see if the friendly looking volcano across the bay does anything fun! :) Loves!
Email dated June 3, 2013
So just in case you were wondering, we go to sleep and it's light, and we wake up and it's light. It's cool at first, but we have to hang heavy blankets on the windows to keep out the sun during the night! Anchorage had a high of 80 degrees this week, and we haven't gotten any higher than 52 yet....and it doesn't look like we ever will, according to the people who have lived here for years......We'll see what happens! Maybe if we pray really hard.....
Well, last week was amazing, and probably to keep us from getting prideful, this week was really hard! School ended this week, and about half of the town has left or is leaving on vacation for the summer, and everyone who stays here has to work twice as long to make up for the difference! The average work day for someone out here is 12 hours long.....You do the math!
Six out of ten of the set up lessons we had this week canceled on us, because of one thing or another. We didn't really know what was going on! We tried our best, but it was still a very hard week. Well, a little bit of 2 Nephi 2. We need the rough times to really appreciate the good.
On the plus side, Susanna, this lady from Mexico who we have been teaching English with the Daily Dose program, came to church yesterday! She really liked the testimonies that were born. It was kind of funny because she would quietly say 'Hallelujah!' and things during the testimonies! We are having our first group English learning class lesson this Thursday.
Elder Wilson is doing great! His English has really come a long way. He calls people and sets up appointments, something he was not at all comfortable with when we first got here. It's cool to watch him grow! We got a guitar! It's been REALLY nice to play one again! I love the Baritone, but it's nice to have 6 strings again, and it opens a lot of doors for missionary opportunities!
Abby, Jacob and the Bean! My Heartiest Congratulations! Why is everyone having babies while i'm gone! I'll get home to a 3-bean salad! Happy baby day!
Love to all from the windy island wastes!
Elder Gullerud
P.S. There's been volcanoes and earthquakes going off by us in Russia, and one on in between Anchorage and here. I got a picture of it going off on the flight home a couple weeks ago. They stopped all the planes that go here to Anchorage for 4 or 5 days because of the ash cloud! We'll see if the friendly looking volcano across the bay does anything fun! :) Loves!
Email dated June 3, 2013
Happy Memorial Day
This week has been so good! I love this little place, however far away from the rest of the world it is! God has really blessed us with the Spirit this week! There's no way we could do any of this by ourselves!
Here's a few of the cool things that have happened this week:
On Tuesday we had dinner with a great family, then went over with the wife to go visit their neighbors, Pam and Less. Pam is a less active member and Less is a non member. They are the ones that we gave blessings to a couple of weeks ago. We had a great little lesson with them, and at the end they asked us when we could teach them the missionary discussions! We set something up for Thursday and left with a prayer. On Thursday we taught the restoration and Less accepted it like it was old news! Everything that we thought he would have had a concern with he accepted right away! It is cool to see someone who has been so prepared! It's cool to watch somebody really dig in and thirst for the gospel!
We had a great lesson with Forest, another less active man, who we met at one of Donna's Saturday dinners. We watched a BYU talk with him (Brad Wilcox's "His Grace is Sufficient" talk. Really good! Find it and watch it!), which really touched him. The spirit was very strong as we testified of the truthfulness of the gospel. He committed to have us help him quit his addictions, and to read the Book of Mormon. He still has some concerns, but he's on his way back to Christ.
Sister McGuire, a lady who was less active, is doing really great! She offered to give Sheril a ride to church, and would be more than happy to come to lessons with us! We had a really good talk with her husband the last time we were over there, and found our that at one point he was more active than most of the members out here, and he was going to be baptized! He's a great man, and I think we will put our efforts towards him for a while, and see if we can help him out. They get along really well, so maybe we'll talk about temple marriage!
Thursday night we got a call from one of the members who said "Hey, if you have a Spanish Bible, bring it over ASAP!" Unfortunately we got his message at 9:15 pm (past our curfew), so we called him back and set up an appointment for the next day. We went over and met his wife, who is from Peru, and their friend Susana from Mexico. He had given her a Book of Mormon which she has been reading with excitement! We had a good talk with her, and began teaching with the Daily Dose program. It is this awesome English Language Learning program that the church has come out with. She loves it, and she's said the closing prayer after both lessons we have had with her! We told the group at Donna's dinner that we were teaching English and got a very positive reaction. We're starting to put up posters. It's going to go really well, because the population is so diverse here! Almost 30% Philippians, 30% white people, 20% Samoan,10% Hispanic, and 10% from somewhere in Africa and other countries! It's a pretty cool place!
We had a few lessons with Sheril, and with her father Larry. They are very strong Natives, who really want the best for their people. Both are very interested in the gospel, because they've never heard about it before! Maybe it will help them out!
On Sunday night we had a musical Fireside. It went really well. Elder Wilson has a great voice! While I was playing a song I wrote, I felt a tickle in my throat, so my eyes started watering, I looked up and saw a couple people crying, because they thought I was crying, then I actually started crying! Pretty crazy.
Yesterday we got to participate in the communities Memorial Day service, and met a lot of good people. Every religion got to speak or pray for a few minutes, and I got to pray for the whole island! It was a very powerful thing to see all of the religion united for something. We also had some very good conversations with many of the religious leaders, and made some good friends. Thank you to all of those who sacrificed so much for our freedom!
Anywhoo, really good week! Oh, and we didn't have time to write letters yesterday. . . So hang tight :)
Love to all!
Elder Gullerud
Here's a few of the cool things that have happened this week:
On Tuesday we had dinner with a great family, then went over with the wife to go visit their neighbors, Pam and Less. Pam is a less active member and Less is a non member. They are the ones that we gave blessings to a couple of weeks ago. We had a great little lesson with them, and at the end they asked us when we could teach them the missionary discussions! We set something up for Thursday and left with a prayer. On Thursday we taught the restoration and Less accepted it like it was old news! Everything that we thought he would have had a concern with he accepted right away! It is cool to see someone who has been so prepared! It's cool to watch somebody really dig in and thirst for the gospel!
We had a great lesson with Forest, another less active man, who we met at one of Donna's Saturday dinners. We watched a BYU talk with him (Brad Wilcox's "His Grace is Sufficient" talk. Really good! Find it and watch it!), which really touched him. The spirit was very strong as we testified of the truthfulness of the gospel. He committed to have us help him quit his addictions, and to read the Book of Mormon. He still has some concerns, but he's on his way back to Christ.
Sister McGuire, a lady who was less active, is doing really great! She offered to give Sheril a ride to church, and would be more than happy to come to lessons with us! We had a really good talk with her husband the last time we were over there, and found our that at one point he was more active than most of the members out here, and he was going to be baptized! He's a great man, and I think we will put our efforts towards him for a while, and see if we can help him out. They get along really well, so maybe we'll talk about temple marriage!
Thursday night we got a call from one of the members who said "Hey, if you have a Spanish Bible, bring it over ASAP!" Unfortunately we got his message at 9:15 pm (past our curfew), so we called him back and set up an appointment for the next day. We went over and met his wife, who is from Peru, and their friend Susana from Mexico. He had given her a Book of Mormon which she has been reading with excitement! We had a good talk with her, and began teaching with the Daily Dose program. It is this awesome English Language Learning program that the church has come out with. She loves it, and she's said the closing prayer after both lessons we have had with her! We told the group at Donna's dinner that we were teaching English and got a very positive reaction. We're starting to put up posters. It's going to go really well, because the population is so diverse here! Almost 30% Philippians, 30% white people, 20% Samoan,10% Hispanic, and 10% from somewhere in Africa and other countries! It's a pretty cool place!
We had a few lessons with Sheril, and with her father Larry. They are very strong Natives, who really want the best for their people. Both are very interested in the gospel, because they've never heard about it before! Maybe it will help them out!
On Sunday night we had a musical Fireside. It went really well. Elder Wilson has a great voice! While I was playing a song I wrote, I felt a tickle in my throat, so my eyes started watering, I looked up and saw a couple people crying, because they thought I was crying, then I actually started crying! Pretty crazy.
Yesterday we got to participate in the communities Memorial Day service, and met a lot of good people. Every religion got to speak or pray for a few minutes, and I got to pray for the whole island! It was a very powerful thing to see all of the religion united for something. We also had some very good conversations with many of the religious leaders, and made some good friends. Thank you to all of those who sacrificed so much for our freedom!
Anywhoo, really good week! Oh, and we didn't have time to write letters yesterday. . . So hang tight :)
Love to all!
Elder Gullerud
Email dated May 28, 2013
Zone Conference with Elder Zwick!
Hey all!
It was so nice to be talk with most of you, even if the technical side was a little faulty! We'll get it figured out for Christmas (assuming I'm not in the bush.....we'll see what happens!) for sure!
Elder Wilson and I were in Anchorage for most of this week! It was fun and exciting, even with the wallet thieves and it was so nice to be around other missionaries! Elder Zwick of the Seventy was there at our Zone Conference. He owns the construction company that built the Portland Temple! We had a great time and he told us a lot about building foundations. I hope you are all ready to listen to the Church wide broadcast on the 23rd! It's going to be good! He sure had the spirit with him as he talked. Elder Wilson and I learned a lot of valuable things which we have started to implement here in Dutch Harbor and it has been working pretty well!
I had a very special experience while up in Anchorage. As I told some of you on Monday a man named Wes was baptized in the Brayton ward (my first area) last Saturday. Elder Dean and I tracted into him and began teaching the lessons to him back in September. On Tuesday we got to go and see him and give him a lesson with the assistants (it's their area now). He tearfully expressed his gratitude for all 6 of the missionaries that have helped him get to where he is now. Every effort truly does count! It was very cool.
We are teaching an awesome less active lady here. Her name is Sister Mcguire, and she made it to church last week (first time in 6 years), and stayed for the whole time! Last Sunday we were asked to teach Sunday school last minute, so the spirit led us to talk about the Book of Mormon, how special it is, and all the people who sacrificed so much for us to have it. On Saturday we gave Sister Mcguire a call to see if she was planning on coming again this Sunday. She said she was and that she wanted to start reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover! We had a great lesson with her last night where we read a couple chapters with her. At the beginning of the lesson her neighbor was blasting rap music, and it was distracting for all of us. I silently said a prayer that it would stop, and we began the lesson. As we read the Book of Mormon, I realized that the music had stopped! We were then able to bear powerful testimony that God truly was mindful of us, right there, right then, and that he answers our prayers, especially as we study the scriptures. She was touched, and committed to return to activity, and to read every night! It's just as exciting to watch someone return to Christ as it is to see them find Him for the first time!
On Saturday we had a good lesson with Sheril, a really cool Native lady that we were told to go visit. Before we started, she told us that she had been alcohol and cigarette free for two days, and wants to quit for forever! We taught the Plan of Salvation, with a strong emphasis on the Atonement, and how she can really use it to overcome her addictions. It was very good, and she wants us to come over often to help her out. She wasn't able to come to church, but she will next week!
It's cool to see people really accept the atonement, and use it in their own lives, especially after seeing it work in your own! Thank you all for your love, support and constant prayers! I can feel them working!
Love to all,
Elder Gullerud
It was so nice to be talk with most of you, even if the technical side was a little faulty! We'll get it figured out for Christmas (assuming I'm not in the bush.....we'll see what happens!) for sure!
Elder Wilson and I were in Anchorage for most of this week! It was fun and exciting, even with the wallet thieves and it was so nice to be around other missionaries! Elder Zwick of the Seventy was there at our Zone Conference. He owns the construction company that built the Portland Temple! We had a great time and he told us a lot about building foundations. I hope you are all ready to listen to the Church wide broadcast on the 23rd! It's going to be good! He sure had the spirit with him as he talked. Elder Wilson and I learned a lot of valuable things which we have started to implement here in Dutch Harbor and it has been working pretty well!
I had a very special experience while up in Anchorage. As I told some of you on Monday a man named Wes was baptized in the Brayton ward (my first area) last Saturday. Elder Dean and I tracted into him and began teaching the lessons to him back in September. On Tuesday we got to go and see him and give him a lesson with the assistants (it's their area now). He tearfully expressed his gratitude for all 6 of the missionaries that have helped him get to where he is now. Every effort truly does count! It was very cool.
We are teaching an awesome less active lady here. Her name is Sister Mcguire, and she made it to church last week (first time in 6 years), and stayed for the whole time! Last Sunday we were asked to teach Sunday school last minute, so the spirit led us to talk about the Book of Mormon, how special it is, and all the people who sacrificed so much for us to have it. On Saturday we gave Sister Mcguire a call to see if she was planning on coming again this Sunday. She said she was and that she wanted to start reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover! We had a great lesson with her last night where we read a couple chapters with her. At the beginning of the lesson her neighbor was blasting rap music, and it was distracting for all of us. I silently said a prayer that it would stop, and we began the lesson. As we read the Book of Mormon, I realized that the music had stopped! We were then able to bear powerful testimony that God truly was mindful of us, right there, right then, and that he answers our prayers, especially as we study the scriptures. She was touched, and committed to return to activity, and to read every night! It's just as exciting to watch someone return to Christ as it is to see them find Him for the first time!
On Saturday we had a good lesson with Sheril, a really cool Native lady that we were told to go visit. Before we started, she told us that she had been alcohol and cigarette free for two days, and wants to quit for forever! We taught the Plan of Salvation, with a strong emphasis on the Atonement, and how she can really use it to overcome her addictions. It was very good, and she wants us to come over often to help her out. She wasn't able to come to church, but she will next week!
It's cool to see people really accept the atonement, and use it in their own lives, especially after seeing it work in your own! Thank you all for your love, support and constant prayers! I can feel them working!
Love to all,
Elder Gullerud
Email dated May 20, 2013
HOT! HOT!
Habenyeros! (sorry for my spellink) We had a BBQ in our branch on Saturday and some of the older ladies in the branch got Elder Wilson to eat a chilly pepper dip! It was really funny! For the rest of the night he would come up to me and say 'man, my lips hurt so bad!' It was fun!
This week has been really good! I love this little island! We are teaching this old native man who is really funny! He keeps telling us to go out and find him some girls and fill his whiskey bottle and stuff, but he has a huge heart! In our lesson with him this week his daughter came over and talked with us. She actually lived in Corvallis before she came here to the island! Small world huh?
Earlier this week we were driving around, and decided to take the long way to our next appointment. We were behind a bus and it stopped and let some kids off. One of them was a less active member named John, who we had only met once because he doesn't come to church that often. We pulled over and actually gave him a ride home (probably not the best thing, I know....) because he was a few miles away from his house. We had a really good talk just about school and his life. When there was a pause in the conversation he said "So, I've been thinking. I think I want to serve a mission!" Elder Wilson and I were so shocked by this that we didn't know what to say! After we got over the surprise we were able to testify about what an incredible experience the mission is, and that we will be here to help him get to that point. It was amazing to see the Spirit truly guide us into this boys path, and then to watch it soften his heart. It's cool to be able to do what the other missionaries did for me! Even if that was the only experience we had had here in Dutch Harbor, I would've considered us successful.
We had another cool experience this week with the Spirit. We finally met up with a former investigator, Janis, who is super solid, just very busy! She's a native lady and owns a lot of the land here. I love talking with the native people because they are hugely spiritual. We came in and she started to tell us all of the crazy things that had happened to her that day, and she recognized that it was Satan trying to stop her from talking with us. When we were leaving, we wanted to leave the scripture about "opposition in all things" with her to read, but neither of us could remember where it was! Embarrassingly, I skimmed the chapter headings in the Book of Mormon until I saw something that applied to her. I saw something that looked good and invited her to read it. After the lesson we were in the car, feeling kind of stupid, and we decided to look at the chapter that we had left her to read. It was 2 Nephi Chapter 2, the exact chapter that we were looking for. It was very clear to us that the Spirit lead us to share that with her!
On Saturday the branch had a BBQ which was very well attended! We invited a lot of people, and amazingly, many of them showed up! It was a very good and productive activity. There was a Samoan family who came, and actually the people for whom President Clark (the branch president) asked for a Samoan missionary. They had a great time and came to church the next day. The wife got up and bore her testimony, testified of the truthfulness of the church, and said that someday all of her family was going to be baptized! It was a very special experience for us. We had a good lesson with them last night, and talked about how our goal is not baptism, but the temple.
Well things are going very well here! Both Elder Wilson (who's English is still getting better) and I are developing a deep love for this little island and the people here.
Happy Birthday Joe! Hope everything is going well for you, Mel, and the little Garbanzo!
Love to all, Elder Gullerud
Email dated May 6, 2013
This week has been really good! I love this little island! We are teaching this old native man who is really funny! He keeps telling us to go out and find him some girls and fill his whiskey bottle and stuff, but he has a huge heart! In our lesson with him this week his daughter came over and talked with us. She actually lived in Corvallis before she came here to the island! Small world huh?
Earlier this week we were driving around, and decided to take the long way to our next appointment. We were behind a bus and it stopped and let some kids off. One of them was a less active member named John, who we had only met once because he doesn't come to church that often. We pulled over and actually gave him a ride home (probably not the best thing, I know....) because he was a few miles away from his house. We had a really good talk just about school and his life. When there was a pause in the conversation he said "So, I've been thinking. I think I want to serve a mission!" Elder Wilson and I were so shocked by this that we didn't know what to say! After we got over the surprise we were able to testify about what an incredible experience the mission is, and that we will be here to help him get to that point. It was amazing to see the Spirit truly guide us into this boys path, and then to watch it soften his heart. It's cool to be able to do what the other missionaries did for me! Even if that was the only experience we had had here in Dutch Harbor, I would've considered us successful.
We had another cool experience this week with the Spirit. We finally met up with a former investigator, Janis, who is super solid, just very busy! She's a native lady and owns a lot of the land here. I love talking with the native people because they are hugely spiritual. We came in and she started to tell us all of the crazy things that had happened to her that day, and she recognized that it was Satan trying to stop her from talking with us. When we were leaving, we wanted to leave the scripture about "opposition in all things" with her to read, but neither of us could remember where it was! Embarrassingly, I skimmed the chapter headings in the Book of Mormon until I saw something that applied to her. I saw something that looked good and invited her to read it. After the lesson we were in the car, feeling kind of stupid, and we decided to look at the chapter that we had left her to read. It was 2 Nephi Chapter 2, the exact chapter that we were looking for. It was very clear to us that the Spirit lead us to share that with her!
On Saturday the branch had a BBQ which was very well attended! We invited a lot of people, and amazingly, many of them showed up! It was a very good and productive activity. There was a Samoan family who came, and actually the people for whom President Clark (the branch president) asked for a Samoan missionary. They had a great time and came to church the next day. The wife got up and bore her testimony, testified of the truthfulness of the church, and said that someday all of her family was going to be baptized! It was a very special experience for us. We had a good lesson with them last night, and talked about how our goal is not baptism, but the temple.
Well things are going very well here! Both Elder Wilson (who's English is still getting better) and I are developing a deep love for this little island and the people here.
Happy Birthday Joe! Hope everything is going well for you, Mel, and the little Garbanzo!
Love to all, Elder Gullerud
Email dated May 6, 2013
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