Eggs and bread for Thanksgiving! Yum!

Howdy everyone hope you all had a great thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving here was a normal day I literally ate eggs and bread for dinner but I didn't think about home too much so it wasn't awful hahaha

Just dying every time I here how amazing my Cowboys are playing and how once playoffs role around I'm probably going to have to call my Mission President to get him to talk some sense into me when I want to go watch the game. I cant even think about the superbowl cause I would seriously DIE! You can all go to my house and look at my old door that has holes in it from cowboys games from like 5 years ago (something to do with a last second loss from a Romo interception sound familiar?). 

Anyways it was a normal week. Struggling with my companion a little bit just because he has a very different way of doing everything and he doesn't want to work super hard. But I'm trying to be patient. 

We were fortunate to have 2 awesome baptisms on Saturday! Gabriela and Aurora. I sang a hymn in Spanish that I thought went really well and the spirit was very strong. 

I also saw someone from my first area in Limon that was a great member there in the streets! We talked for a while and she told me how the family Elder Funes and I had baptized went inactive for a bit after I came home, but they've been back in church super strong for the last 6 months or so. That was super comforting. She also told me Fredick (my favorite convert) is now married to a less active we were teaching there as well and are working on being sealed! Trying to get details on that because I will be able to go to their sealing if that happens while I'm here! 

I finished half way through the New Testament this week and particularly love the book of Romans, written by Paul! In Romans 5:19-20 ¨For as by one man´s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover... where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.¨ 

Here it is talking about the Fall of Adam and the relationship with the Atonement of Christ. By the fall of Adam we became sinners, but by the Atonement of Christ we may have eternal life and be forgiven of our sins! Where sin once abounded, the grace of the Savior superseded! I love this scripture. It teaches us that we are not born in the sin of Adam, thanks to the sacrifice of Christ. Read the whole chapter for a better understanding (Romans 5).

I know of the importance of the Atonement and that it is real. I know my Savior lives!

With love always,
Elder Gurksnis

Ch ch ch ch Changes...

Well it was a good ride in Tierra Nueva (New Land). It feels short though. Ive got changes tomorrow and still dont know where ill be headed. I only had two changes here and im pretty bummed because i have some great friends in this ward and will miss our converts and people were currently teaching.

I didnt think I would have changes, but yesterday in sacrament meeting i was pondering about it and thinking how i would feel if i did. Looking around and seeing 8 investigators in church and 6 of 7 converts all there. A total of 14 people that were in the church of God listening to His word because we were able to teach them and through us the Spirit and Heavenly were able to change their lives. Of 140 people in sacrament meeting 10% of them were there because we were obedient and hard working missionaries.

That was an incredible blessing and feeling. So although Ill miss it here, Im happy with the work that we did to grow the Kingdom of God here in a small town in Guatemala. 

I remember my feelings of inadequacy I had when first being called as a District Leader and Trainer in a new area with my short time. I studied about it the other day and found the story of Moses in the Old Testament when he was first called as a prophet. He told God, I dont speak well and essentially Im not fit to do this. He later became maybe the most famous prophet to have ever lived. 

I know God gives us great callings because he knows we are capable of completing them. I do not fear where Ill be going or what ill be doing because i know the Lord has in store something special for me, just as He has something planned for each of us. Im not scared to take on great challenges because I know Heavenly Father is with me although I may sometimes feel inadequate for the task.

I testify that this is the church of God. The bible and the Book of Mormon are true and are both testaments that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Thomas Monson is a living prophet today and his 12 apostles are true apostles of the Lord.

Have a fantastic week! With love always

Elder Gurksnis

3 Months Down

3 months down shawty 9 to go what it do whas hatnin. 

I also heard my Boys have won 6 in a row. Apparently the cowboys only win when i leave the friggin country because last time i left they went 13 and 3 and now theyre rolling again so ill just stay here if thats what it takes for them to get a ring!

Great week of work. For whatever reason in Guatemala its just really hard to teach full complete families cause normally one is interested and another not so much or whatever the case may be. But this week for the first time we had an entire family of 5 in sacrament meeting (La Familia Argeta). Theyre honestly progressing amazingly and theyre kids are awesome as well. That was an amazing blessing. 

We also taught the Gomez family this week. I wrote about them a while back but we had a lesson with them with my old companion that didnt go so great and so we hadnt visited them for a while. They were more or less contending a bit with us and it just wasnt our best lesson. We had a lesson with them Friday... all week I had been thinking about what we were going to teach them. They basically struggle with the Book of Mormon and that we claim to have the priesthood so i was just thinking what chapter can we read with them or what can we teach to help them with the Book of Mormon. But I just had a strong spiritual prompting every day that we needed to teach them about Sealings in the temple and how families can be forever even though wed already mentioned it. I kept it in the back of my head until Friday morning I finally accepted the prompting. 

The lesson was maybe the best lesson Ive had in my mission. The spirit was so strong I can truly say my skin was like hot and had goosebumps the entire time. Their attitude toward the church had completely changed. Their walls were let down and they finally accepted that this could actually be the truth! They committed to finally pray about what we had taught them, for they have read a few parts of the Book of Mormon but have never prayed about it. 

My first day in this second mission i made a few goals and my first goal was to baptise an entire family that I can come back to Guatemala to see them sealed in the temple. After their first lesson about 7 weeks ago I had a dream where I saw that page I had written on and a picture of them next to the writing. I was sure it was Heavenly Father trying to tell me to not give up on this family even though they seemed somewhat rough at first for lack of a better word. I had forgotten about it honestly until that lesson. 

Im so grateful that I have the knowledge that my family is forever and I can live with them for eternity. It is one of the greatest blessings of the gospel. I know it is true and how important it is to live worthily to be able to enter into the temple to complete that sacred ordinance.

Love you alll and have a wonderful week!

Elder Gurksnis