New companion, new area, new gangs....

Wow its been a month already! Pretty crazy.

Well as I said last week I had changes! I'm now in "Tierra Nueva" (New Land) also called "Parroquia" (Pah-Roh-Kee-Uh).  I'm now a District Leader and my new companion is Elder Leiva from Chile! He's 18 which is weird that he's the same age as my brother, but he's really super awesome. He just finished his training and now has 3 months in the mission. He's super humble and easy to get along with and we've become friends pretty quickly. He played semi-professional futbol in Chile. Dude has four hands I swear he's insane watching him play. 

The new area is great. Its the first area I've ever had where the ward is super strong and we get a lot of help from them. A big part because there's at least 12 or 13 return missionaries which especially in Central America makes a huge difference.  

I can also now say that the three areas I've been in in my mission have also been the three most dangerous areas in the mission. All the members joke with me about it when they hear about my previous areas. Pretty similar to Limon as far as gang activity and violence. The gangs ask for money monthly from every store and all the bus drivers. If they don't pay or don't have enough they kill them. Without really blinking an eye. Honestly I don't feel it at all though, everyone respects the missionaries and I loooooovvvvveeee making jokes with the gang members. Honestly its whenever you walk past them and ignore them and act scared when they mess with you so I've learned to talk to them and make jokes with them. 

One of them challenged me to an arm wrestling match and I told him if I won he had to come to church on Sunday. So, obviously, I whooped his friggin can and his lil gang bangin self was sittin in the 3rd row pew in church on Sunday. Super dope.

We saw really so much success this week. So many miracles and investigators stepping up to the plate and coming through with what they asked them to do. One guy named Jose Maria came up to us one night super drunk. He's a complete alcoholic. Every night he drinks half of a flask of 36% liquor bottle and then wakes up at 4 in the morning to drink the rest. He asked us to help him and he has a serious desire to get his life back. He is a little nuts, but I can tell you he hasn't drank a sip of alcohol in three days. Pretty incredible for drinking basically a flask of almost moonshine every night.

Although I saw much success in my first mission and was fairly obedient, I can't really describe the difference in my second mission here. Especially this past week. I know why I'm here. I know my purpose and the things I have to do for myself while I am here. I'm not saying I'm this super amazing person or missionary by any means. I just know the change that I have experienced and really the difference in my mentality is night and day. I love this mission and I love serving these people and bringing them to the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Alma 36, Alma the Younger is telling his son Helaman about his experience when the angel came and rebuked him for trying to destroy the church. All his life as a young adult he went around teaching good people about the error in their ways and that there was no Christ and tried to lead them "to their destruction." Then the angel came down and struck him dumb that he could not move for three days. 36:12-13 reads "But I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins. Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God and that I had not kept his holy commandments. Yea, and I had murdered many of his children, or rather led them away unto great (spiritual) destruction." Then verse 17 reads: And it came to pass that as i was thus racked with torment while i was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world." Verse 20-21: "And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain! Yea, I say unto you my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy."

The experience that Alma had is one we can all relate to. I particularly can relate to this. I know the pains of sin. I know the agony it brings. But I have also experienced the joy in forgiveness and the joy in the knowledge that Jesus Christ died for me.  We can all experience that same change of heart if we seek Him. 

Here are some pics of me and Elder Leiva and then the sisters in my district. Also a hugeee ditch where everyone just tosses their trash... Guatemala lol

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Elder Gurksnis

Elder Gorksnees

Week three and my final week in the trio with Elder Flygare and Elder Cardenas is in the books! It was a solid three weeks. We had a lot of success and a lot of fun together. Two really great missionaries. Especially Elder Flygare! He´s from my MTC group and is going home tomorrow. 2 years is up. Kinda weird that my group is going haha

The change is over and as expected Ill be heading to a new area! Don't have any more details than that and wont until tomorrow morning. Well get to the office and they'll tell me where and who I'm going with and jump in a taxi and head out.

Before you read any further check out the pics... The ward had a ¨going away party¨ of sorts for me and Elder Flygare. They made us signs and mine said ¨Good luck in your new area Elder Gorksnees¨.... I guess three weeks isn't enough time to learn a name like Gurksnis for Latinos especially hahaha I was dying when I saw it.

Don't have a lot of time this week.  But Laura and Hillary are two investigators we've been teaching.  About a week and a half ago I saw their husband bringing down a bunch of cement blocks. I felt a strong feeling to offer to help. After I saw how much he had left I felt as if I might regret it, but two hours and a little bit of booty sweat later I was happy that we were in their house teaching their family. Laura and Hillary have been at church two weeks in a row and will be baptized shortly after i leave! 

Jose was another miracle who was just a 16 year old kid we contacted in the street. He and his dad now come to church every Sunday and leave at 630 in the morning so that his disabled dad can have an hour and a half to walk there. Jose bought a suit on his own a week later when really they have absolutely nothing. Dirt poor. His dad cut his long hair and shaved his two year long beard. All on their own. 

I've been blessed to see so many miracles in three short weeks. I cant wait to see the miracles in my next area.

My scripture for the week is John 6:67-69

Jesus preaches to the multitude of the sacrifice He will soon make. Those that will eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood will have eternal life¨. Many followers did not understand and found offense to this and left Him. Then Jesus turns to His apostles and says 67:Then said Jesus unto the twelve, will you also go away 68:Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life 69:And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

As this world continually becomes worse and worse, I am sure that God is saddened by the turning away of many of His children. I ask you when you feel temptation to be as Peter. ¨Lord where else would we go? Though hast the words of Eternal Life.¨

I love you all! Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Gorksnees

Part 2 - Week 2

Wow what a week. We had quite a succesful week and it went by fast and was great! 

Ill start with a couple funny things. Elder Cardenas is super skinny and he wants to get big. I gave him a few excersises he could do. The next day he was bugging the crap out of me and Elder Flygare. We got back that night and he asked what he can eat to get bigger. I told him my secret is... grapes... he went out and bought literally five pounds of grapes and he just pounds them down every night hahahaha I constantly laugh while watching him eat grapes but he has no idea why hahah

So this week was succesful because we taught 41 lessons in one week which was the most in the mission this week! We worked super hard and it felt great. We had 9 investigators in sacrament meeting and are teaching FIVE different families right now who ALL have super awesome potential and are progressing. Truly incredible. I am sad that changes are next week and theres a very small chance Ill be here to watch them progress. But theyre all pretty amazing. 

One mother in particular has been an investigator for quite a while now. We were teaching her this week and I felt inspired to tell her the conversion story of my dad. He took a long time to commit to baptism because he felt he needed to know every single thing about the gospel before he was baptised. There was apparently even a picture of him in the mission home and under his picture it said ¨Baptise this man and go home two months early¨. Haha! Then a senior missionary couple started teaching him and the elderly man told him although hed been a bishop and had held multiple different callings, he was still learning something knew every day about the gospel. He was then baptised soon after. I told her that story and she committed to baptism. Pretty special. 

My scripture I wanted to share this week was Alma 5:60 ¨And now I say unto you that the good shepherd doth call after you and if you will hearken unto His voice he will bring you into His fold, and ye are His sheep; and he commandeth you that ye suffer no ravenous wolf to enter among you...¨ I love this scripture. Although at times in our lives we may feel far from our Heavenly Father, he is always calling out to us with open arms. He is our shepherd and we are His sheep. The bible says ¨what shepherd having 100 sheep would not leave the ninety and nine to find the one that is lost.¨ If you are lost, he is searching for you. Ive experienced this in my own life many a time. Especially in this last year or so. He loves you and will always be ready to accept you back into His fold if you seek after Him. 

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Elder Gurksnis

Back in Guatemala...

Welp! Im back. Crazy to be back after being away from Guatemala for over one year. First let me just say I´m doing great! I love being back in the mission. It´s really an incredible feeling.  My spanish is all coming back and I already feel almost back to my normal mission self.

President Crapo thankfully put me in a trio with two zone leaders Elder Flygare, who is my buddy from the MTC who is going home in two weeks, and his companion Elder Cardenas.  Our area is called ¨Quatro de Febrero¨ which is the name of the main colony we work in.  We have seen so many amazing things already.

The first couple days were some of the hardest days ever to be honest. I was a little homesick, but the anxiety I had from doing a complete 180 of my daily life was insane. I´ve never had anxiety before or stress like that and it was almost unbearable. The mission is already so different from normal life, plus a lot of the things I remembered about the mission had changed. The way we work and the weekly routine. Not drastically but it was just another thing that was different and made it more difficult. I definitely thought at one point that there was just no way that I could do this.

Wednesday night I prayed so hard. I just prayed that my head could clear and I could focus again on what I came back to finish and what I am to accomplish as a missionary. I prayed that I could leave all of my personal problems and focus on the people that I was suppose to be serving.  It was difficult, but then I read in the Book of Mormon Alma 7:11-12 ¨And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind. And this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and sicknesses of his people... That he may know according to the flesh how to succor (comfort) his people according to their infirmities.¨ 

Although those first 2 or 3 days I felt as if no one could really understand what I was going through, it was then that I realized, again, that the Savior always knows our pains and afflictions. He understands them better than we ourselves understand them. I woke up Thursday morning and all the anxiety and stress was gone. I felt totally back to normal and accustomed to the mission again.  I was honestly maybe the most thankful that I have ever been in my life, that God answered my prayer. 

There´s honestly so much I want to share with you all.  But my time is limited so I´ll end with one last spiritual thought.  I read this week as well in Mosiah 15.  Verses 7-8 prophecy of the Atonement and Crucifixion of Christ. It says, ¨Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up by the will of the Father... and thus God breaketh the bands of death...¨  

Jesus Christ did not want to suffer the pain that he suffered.  He asked His Father to ¨let this cup pass from me¨.  But he says ´nevertheless not my will, but thine be done´. One thing that I feel I can be proud of in these past few years is always trying to do what the Lord wants me to do. I knew how difficult it would be to come back but I know doing what I want to do isn´t how I become closer to my Heavenly Father, but by doing His will for me.  

I love Him with all my heart. And I know this year will be tough at times, but I know 100% that this is where I´m suppose to be. I can´t wait to continue to see the miracles that will happen in this next year.  I know this church is true with every ounce of my being. I know I am on the Lord´s errand doing His work.  I love you all with all my heart! Talk to you next week!

Love Elder Gurksnis

Some quick family pics before Elder Gurksnis headed out.