Sister Goss---W31: ahhhhhhhhh (Mar 23, 2020)

WOW EVERYONE just when I thought it couldn't get worse, it did. I found out this week that Sister Sands, my companion, is going home and we are now doing social isolation. Missionary work has completely changed!! This is insane!

I don't have tons of time, as you can probably tell. I have been praying hard for a lot of people. I have a lot of friends who are going home to prevent the spread and effects of Coronavirus from their missions and my heart is super heavy for them. I love them so so much and want them to know how proud I am of them.

Sister Sands will leave tomorrow morning and I'm super sad! She's sad but taking this really well and I'm impressed with how calm and optimistic she is. :) Once she leaves, I will be in a temporary trio with Sister Clyde and Sister Fransen. We're all in the Ortega ward so that's good! This trio will go down in history: brand new trainee, brand new trainer, and brand new sister training leader! Wow! Being a solo STL after only 4 weeks is craaaazy. Ahhhhh.

So this week has consisted of lots more study time, exercising and hikes, and lots and lots of phone work with calling, texting, and Facebook. We are confined to our apartment except for exercise, shopping, and limited church use. Like a relaxed quarantine. This has proved difficult as a missionary when our sole purpose is to talk to people (haha!), but there's a lot of opportunity here! I completely trust the Lord in this and am excited to see the miracles that come as we continue to be diligent and obedient! :) God knew this was going to happen, and God always provides a way for us to accomplish what He's asked us to do (1 Nephi 3:7). This experience has only strengthened my testimony in the gospel and in the peace Jesus Christ provides. The only way we can feel that true peace is by turning to Him. It has also strengthened my testimony that President Russell M Nelson is a prophet of God! He, not knowing what would happen, prophesied that this upcoming conference would be different than any other. And look what happened! I urge you all to strengthen your faith in Jesus Christ and follow the prophet because you WILL NOT be led astray! We can trust in God's mouthpiece on the earth. What an incredible blessing! :))

I love you all so much. I know this time is difficult and many of your plans have been changed suddenly. I pray for you earnestly and keep you in my thoughts! Be on the lookout for my FB posts; there will be plenty. ;) Share them, comment on them, make your own, etc. Let's flood the earth of Jesus Christ via social media!! What an exciting time to live (and be a missionary!!! I NEVER saw this coming haha!). 

I LOVE YOU! Keep smiling and be an example to those around you! 😊❤️ They are watching. ;) 

Love, Sister Mary Goss

(pictures don't necessarily reflect the order of the captions)

1) hike!!! In the Ortegas 

2) Lake Elsinore

3) the trainee, the dead, the trainer, the alive

4) hike line

5) face masks

6) Sister Sands and me today

7) candid picture from this morning because why not

8) hike again

9) awesome tunnel that echoed super good so we all sang songs and harmonized 🎼❤️

 

 

Elder Goss--W-28 Have you heard of the Caronavirus!?! (Mar 17, 2020)

That title is a joke. Unless you actually haven't heard of it. Than you should probably ask someone about it. 

Well, my story isn't a whole different from basically every other Missionary, but Elder Larrabee and I are doing great! We are trying our best to say high to people, but that's getting increasingly hard, because we're basically the caronavirus-mailmen. Actually, we're kinda asking to get sick, but then again, so was Christ touching all the lepers. So I guess we'll all just have to see. 

We had a pretty fun Zone Conference last Thursday! We went up to a camp-ground (similar to a scout-camp lodge with different stations with different activities) called Wild-wood, and man, it was raining. And windy. We first did some service digging this eroded trench, and then went and played at some of these stations. The first was an imitation of the iron rod, the second was trying to climb this tall wall, and the third was trying to Tarzan-swing from one platform to the next. They all had little lessons with each one, and by the time we were done, I was sopping wet. At first, I enjoyed the rain. It felt great to work and play in the weather. But after the games, I was cold and wet and hungry and numb and wet and wet and wet. And then, after having a devotional inside this Lodge place, the weather cleared up, and over 50 Elders and Sisters (including me) went and played fútbol (soccer). It was a blast. 

We had a lesson with Teresa yesterday, which was pretty great. We read 1st Nephi 6-7, and had a good discussion. One thing I have definitely learned as a missionary is when you read the scriptures with an interested person or with members, you always talk about what you read. You always find a lesson in the stories. And in our personal studies, we should try doing the same. Have a discussion with yourself! Ask yourself  what you learned. If the answer is "nothing," maybe you should read a little more. Ask yourself what certain lessons Nephi or Alma or Moroni are trying to teach. And take 5 minutes just to ponder. I know for me, it turns "scripture reading" into "scripture study". 

I love you all so much!

See you soon!

Elder Goss

And I keep forgetting to send pictures! Here are some recent ones:

 

me sitting on a chair carved from a stump

taking a trolley around Old-town San Diego

doing service in the rain!

my district in our matching district t-shirts (just came in from the rain)!

 

 

Sister Goss---W30: Coronavirus, of course (Mar 16, 2020)

You are all probably so sick and tired of hearing about the Coronavirus and to be honest, so are we!! But that's all people talk about when we try to contact them! And that has taken up most of my week so... Here we go! Another email about the Coronavirus! ;) Lo siento.

Yeah this week was CRAZY. It was a fairly normal week until, on exchanges Wednesday, we started to see some of the church announcements come out. I was with Hermana Coronel in Menifee and that's when we saw that General Conference will have only virtual sessions, the MTCs aren't taking missionaries for now in Provo, UT and London, England, and all the missionaries here were asked to go buy 2 weeks of food storage. That was just the start before it snowballed. Over the course of the next couple days, the rest of the announcements came out: church meetings (including sacrament meetings on Sunday) are cancelled worldwide, missionaries are being sent home if they are in the high-risk category in other places, and temples are closed worldwide for proxy work. I am especially sad for that last announcement; I have been waiting to attend the temple for 6 months. Our mission was finishing its temple trips and there were only two zones that haven't attended yet: Lake Elsinore for tomorrow, and Menifee for Wednesday. I'm part of the Lake Elsinore zone. I was devastated to see that the temples were closing and it would be another month or so before I get to go. But I know I'm here in Lake Elsinore for a reason and it will all work out; I will be able to attend soon! Hopefully! Don't take the temple for granted!! I'm so grateful the other zones in the mission were able to attend before all this happened. It was very timely the way it worked out with the exception of the two zones I work with.

Here's the update for me here in the California Riverside Mission: we continue to work like normal. Yes, I'm also kind of surprised, and it's not very easy to contact people or get in their homes anymore. We're not under quarantine yet, but we do have the 2 week food storage ready in case that happens soon. We are super privileged to meet on Sundays with the other missionaries in our zones for a small sacrament meeting, as long as we sit 6 feet away from each other and sanitize everything we touch. The work hasn't changed, though! We are still out trying our best and keeping ourselves as safe and healthy as possible! CRAZY STUFF Y'ALL!

BASH! :O

Like I mentioned, I had exchanges on Wednesday with Hermana Coronel in Menifee and Saturday with Sister Blair in Lake Elsinore. Sister Blair is actually a missionary from Hong Kong who is here until the situation abates! It was so fun to learn a little Mandarin and hear her side of the story. Obviously the Coronavirus has impacted her mission a TON! Wow! Saturday evening we were walking around trying to contact people when we ran into an older gentleman taking his trash out. We started talking and he suddenly said, "you know what problem I have with Joseph Smith?" He started talking about quotes he had heard and then said, "I'm going to go get my wife; she knows a lot more about this than I do." His wife came out and we had a short chat before she started explaining all the things that were wrong with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They attend pageants in Manti, UT where they protest against us. This was the first "bash" I've had and I'm not sure I'd even call it a bash. The both of us remained calm the entire time and I could still feel the Spirit as I bore testimony to her. In fact, the conversation we had made me even more grateful for the answers I've received from God in my own search for truth. It solidified my testimony in the Restoration of Jesus Christ's gospel. Some of the things she said were along the lines of grace, baptisms for the dead, and Joseph Smith's first vision. I was able to explain and correct some of the incorrect things she's heard, and tell her how I know these things are true. She said, "I don't want to condemn you, but..." It was hard because she would say something we believe in and then laugh at it. It would be much better and easier to explain why we believe the things we do if she didn't mock us personally for it. At the end of the discussion, I asked her, "it sounds like you've done a lot of research about the church! So I assume you've read the Book of Mormon?" To my surprise, she said no! Here is my answer to anyone who attacks the church and hasn't read the Book of Mormon:

You want us to know the truth. You don't want us to be deceived.

The only person that can tell us the truth is God. All truth comes from God. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (Moroni 10:5)

To know the truth, we need to ask God. We need to ask Him what is true. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." (James 1:5-6)

We need to ask in faith and faith is coupled with action. We have to act and ask in faith and God will answer us. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (James 2:17)

So in order to know if the Book of Mormon is true, we need to ask and act in faith. We need to read the Book of Mormon and then pray to know if it's not true. It's that simple! God has promised He will answer us! We cannot judge a book if we've never even read it and asked God. God has promised every person: "And when ye shall receive these things (the Book of Mormon), I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 10:4).

I don't mean to be pushy or forceful in anyway. But I do want to testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon! I have read every word, and I have prayed to know if it's true. I have received my witness from God that it is true, and I cannot deny the answer He's given me. My invitation to the woman we were talking to is to read the Book of Mormon. She's never taken the time to actually read it and yet she fights against it. Ask God! Ask in faith! Couple your faith with works! Follow the teachings laid out in the Bible and God will answer your question. In addition, the Book of Mormon has only brought me peace, comfort, and happiness. Why wouldn't others want that? What is there to lose?

The phrase "the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion" is so true. If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. And that means God's priesthood is still on the earth today and is guided by a prophet of God. I'm so grateful to have a prophet of God today, so that I don't have to be stressed about everything that's going on. I just made a Facebook post about President Nelson and you can go read it if you haven't seen it yet. ;) It's a LOT shorter than this email, don't worry haha!!

Anyway, I love you all!! SO MUCH!!! Trust in God during this crazy time of uncertainty and know that you can trust His prophet! He will guide us safely. Prophets have NEVER let us down before. Ever. I miss you and hope you have a fantastic week!!!

LOVE YOU!

Sister Mary Goss

More Menifee service from last week
Really cool flower we found :0
Seeking with faith and no one to talk to but pretty views soo... ;)
Workout pday with a member's workout program
Menifee service with Hermana Coronel
Jiu jitsu place we're renovating
Lake Elsinore zone!

Elder Goss--W-27 Exchanges and Everything (Mar 10, 2020)

This week I went on Exchanges with Elder Lewis, and man was it fun! We worked hard, and knocked on doors for basically the whole evening, because nobody would respond to our calls, and only one person said we could "come back" when he was definitely "not busy". But you know, Elder Lewis and I really didn't care, and that man is a legend. He has a lot of really funny stories, and loved listening to mine, and to put it simply I would love to be his companion. 

We got a phone call from a person named Janette, who stopped meeting with the Missionaries over 4 months ago. She wanted to meet with us! So hopefully we'll see her this Sunday. 

Actually, aside from that call, this whole week people have been ghosting us a lot. It is rather irksome. I don't understand it; all we want is to help them. Whether spiritually, physically or whatever they need, we are just here to love. And yet people avoid us rather obviously. Just a isty-bisty sad. 

So, do me a favor. Next time you see the Elders, give them a huge high-5 and tell them they're doing great. And help them out a little. Pray for who you might be able help find true happiness. In fact, think of your friends right now. How awesome would it be to invite a friend, and watch them grow, and see them gain a testimony and become so much happier. Simply invite your friends. Remember: your purpose here and their purpose here is to grow and be happy. So if you are put in the perfect place to help someone find their happiness, and you don't, how sad would that be. That's why as Missionaries we are to talk to everyone. Everyone. 

Just remember: they don't know what they don't know. Invite them to know. Come see. Come and view the fruits of the Gospel. And God will help you. He loves them, and needs you to help him. 

I love you so much! And those you help will love you so much. And God especially loves you. Forever. 

See you soon!

Elder Goss

Sister Goss--W29: MLC, exchanges, and giant pencils (Mar 9, 2020)

Hey hey hey!! How's it going y'all? :) 

I miss you tons! Guess what's crazy---I go home in one year today!! WHAT? Only 365 days left! I'm going to make everyday count, you can count on that. :) #9March2021

This week I've missed the little things (and big things, of course...) like music, games, social events, school, traveling, etc. Just remember at any given second how blessed you are! I mean, you can listen to whatever you music you want! Or play a game! Haha appreciate the little things. :) Likewise, I'm going to miss so many things on my mission... But while I'm here I'm living life to the fullest and appreciating the little things. Like testifying every single night to everyone I meet! How AMAZING is that? Or meeting new people everyday? Or making new missionary friends? Or living in beautiful California weather? SO many blessings. God has so many blessings for us. 

This week went by SUPER fast because for a solid three days I didn't work in my area haha! Tuesday was Missionary Leadership Council, or MLC. All the zone leaders and sister training leaders in the mission have a meeting once a month where we discuss goals, trainings, etc. It was SO GOOD. I loved almost every second of it!!!! I felt SO inspired and was able to see many of my old friends! (Like Hermanas Thompson and Longshore!!!) I already can't wait for next MLC in April. MLC is the best!! :))

Tuesday night we started an exchange with sisters in Menifee! As STLs, part of our responsibility is to spend the day with another companionship and split up for the day. So for Tuesday I went with Sister Anderson in Menifee and Sister Sands stayed with Sister Freeman in our area (Ortega). We had a great time, including finding a 20 foot pencil sticking out of the ground. Don't ask me why it's there.... But it was cool!! ;) We had district council that day and it was the funniest district council I've ever had. Part of district council is role playing, were we practice our teaching skills with the other missionaries. But this district leader decided that the district needed to practice companionship inventories instead (where you have a PPI with your companion and how to improve your goals together). I was cool with it and assumed we'd practice with our companions (Sister Anderson and I). BUT he then paired elders and sisters together, so for the next 6 minutes, I had a companion inventory with him. THAT was super awkward. Don't recommend it. I couldn't stop laughing after district council for a little while because of how uncomfy it was hahaha!!! Ooof. Awkward.

That night, we ended exchanges and then drove to the other hermana's apartment and started exchanges again!! So I stayed one more day in Menifee with Hermana Cardiel! It was also fun; they were temporarily on bike because their car was in the shop. I didn't know and didn't prepare for this, so unfortunately I didn't have my bike shorts. Whoops. I also bloodied up my leg a little bit with this screw sticking out of the side that my knee kept hitting, but it made a cool scar so that's awesome! :) We left the apartment at 4:15 and didn't get to our first contact until 5:45, and he wasn't there. We tried by two more people for the next hour and no one answered. So we biked for a solid 2.5 hours before we finally had a lesson with someone. MAN I was exhausted!! I think we biked more than 10 miles that night. Woohoo! It was an adventure. :)) I'm glad I had a little bike experience with Sister Gugelman before because otherwise... LOL

We started teaching some amazing people this week!!! Greg and his 10 year old son Bryce, were super interested and couldn't wait to start reading the Book of Mormon! They had been contacted before but lost contact with the missionaries. He had a lot of questions and we had to leave him on a cliff-hanger, which he didn't love too much. ;) He really wanted to know!! It was such a miracle to find them again and help answer their questions. Questions like "what is heaven and hell like? Do we immediately go there after death? Are there stages?" I'm so excited to keep working with them and answer their questions!! They are so awesome!!! I'm so grateful I have those answers. :) We also started teaching a man named Kevin, and a mother (Jeanneth) and her son (Christopher). We have definitely seen many miracles this week. :)) It's been great! There is so much potential in this area!

Thank you all for your support; I hope your week went well! I MISS YOU!!! Keep on keepin' on and finding time to thank God for the little things! He has blessed you so much!! :))

Lots of love,

Sister Mary Goss

1) Riverside flashback--I spy Sister Goss! ;)

2) Lake Elsinore flashback

3) That giant pencil and Sister Anderson

4) Giant pencil again :)

5) The MLC group!!! 

6) Quality lunch with these cuties at MLC

7) Sister Sands and I

8) Planting trees in Menifee for service

9) Your typical roadside attraction here; burned-out cars :) (well, we don't see a lot of burned-out cars... my point is that we see a lot of strange things LIKE burned-out cars) hahaha! 

Elder Goss---W-26 Woo-Hoo! Stress! (Mar 3, 2020)

So, a lot has transpired this week. Probably one of the most stressful on the mission so far. Lucky, with my past experiences of knowing how to deal with stress, and with God's strength, I am doing good and going strong. 

Last Wednesday, we had a bit of a crisis. We went to Mutual, some arguments happened with a family member of an investigator, which led to a breakdown of emotions. We arrived in the aftermath, and found this family member (who has emotional challenges) crying and talking about some rather serious stuff. No need to get into details, but it was serious enough that Bishop got involved, and they were taken home. Blessedly, Elder Larrabee and I were able to give this person a blessing, afterward he said that he could feel those negative feelings leaving. 

This was followed up by some more stressful events, so Elder Larrabee and I are functioning by a thread. Plus, it doesn't help that he's sick, and that's no fun. Hopefully I avoid whatever he's been plagued with. 

But despite these things, we are still having some fun and studying hard. We had a really good appointment with Gerardo, and he's really excited to start changing parts of his life. 

2nd Nephi 2:25: "Men are that they might have joy." Brothers and Sisters, this is true. You exist to be happy. So be happy. 

See you soon, 

Elder Goss

Sister Goss---W28: Lake Elsinore + STL Life (Mar 2, 2020)

My goodness ya'll. What a week it's been. I hope my email is coherent enough to follow and I don't ramble. My brain is a little frazzled right now, but all is well!! :) Forgive any sentences that don't make complete sense hahaha.

I just want to first say how much I miss all of you. For my family at home, I think about you all the time and love you to death. For my extended family, I am incredibly grateful for your support and encouragement; it means the world! For my fellow missionary friends out there (all around the world), I pray for you and am grateful for the work you do. I know - it's hard! You all inspire me! And for all my other dear, dear friends wherever you may be, thank you so so so much for being my friend. I love you!! You are all amazing!

Okay enough of that. I just wanted to show my appreciation for you because I don't do it enough. :) So my first week in Lake Elsinore has been incredibly eventful!! Lake Elsinore is very beautiful--we are on the border of the Ortega mountains and the lake is on the other side of us. Every morning and night we get to drive past the lake and look into the green mountains! I love it!! Each morning while we're studying I hear birds outside my window and it is pretty quiet here. Much more quiet than Riverside.

This week has been crazy stressful, not going to lie. I feel very overwhelmed with all that is going on with a new area, new members, new bike sisters, and of course, a new STL haha! The bike sisters, Sisters Clyde and Fransen, got here Wednesday and we finalized their area and sent over the formers and friends we're teaching. This left our area with two people to teach, both of whom were recently found and not progressing quickly. Long story short, it feels like we have a brand new area! I'm nervous because we don't have any solid lesson appointments or people to teach, so that provides plenty of opportunities to find. However, I'm also excited because it's like a brand new start to work towards finding new people and teaching everyone I can!! I'm ready to help this area catch the spirit of missionary work and finding as much as I can! It's a daunting task, but like Walt Disney said, "It's kind of fun to do the impossible." I have that quote on my study wall. :) I met Pearl, an elderly woman who said she would read the Restoration pamphlet before we come back and we're going to call her on Wednesday. We also stopped by a family who'd been taught before and they were very open! We read Alma 32 with them and invited them to keep reading before we come back on Friday. The younger son, Christopher, is especially excited. In addition, the other night we were driving to a contact when we passed this woman who's transmission had given out in her van. We ran over to help her move her car and continued to have a 45 minute chat until the tow truck came! Her name is Jean and she's super funny. A little crazy, but so is everyone we meet. ;) She invited us to go hiking with her one Monday so that's good! I hope she will allow us to share the lessons with her! It was definitely a miracle we stopped by right when her transmission gave out! :))

Work as a Sister Training Leader (STL) is a lot more overwhelming than I originally thought. But that might also be because I just left my first area at 6 months. :) Probably a compilation of EVERYTHING. So yes, it's hard and I have to juggle a lot of things at once now. This allows me to have the perfect opportunity to really rely on the Lord through this! I'm trying my very best to focus on loving those around me and letting the Lord guide my thoughts and actions! :) My companion, Sister Sands, has been an STL for one transfer and is trying to show me the ropes as we go. We will work through this together and I know that God has me here for a reason, despite my imperfections. :) God always uses the weak things of the world to show His strength. Seems to be a pattern He loves. ;) I trust Him! He knows what He's doing!! I'm SO excited to help serve and see others and myself grow! YAY!! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO AMAZING!! WOOOOO!! :))

I love you all so much!!! I hope you have an INCREDIBLE week!!! Keep on keepin' on and doing your best. Say your prayers. Read your scriptures. Go to church. Let God take the lead. ;) Love you!!

Love, Sister Mary Goss

"I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep. He hath filled me with his love. O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow? Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation." 2 Nephi 4, The Book of Mormon <3

1) Temple with Lynn!! Got some better pictures haha ;)) 

2) The new four man! Sister Sands, me, Sister Fransen, and Sister Clyde

3) Last day in the Riverside zone <3

4) Temple with Lynn

5) The whole crew who came to support Lynn! 

6) Service in Lake Elsinore

7) Sister Sands and I!