Elder Goss---W10: be Great!

Hey everyone! Elder Goss, still here in San Diego! Who'd have thought. I have been working hard at doing the work, and I'm doing my best!

Saturday I went on an exchange with Elder Smith, and it was very awesome. We have a LOT of similar interests; we like the same books, enjoy the same games, etc. He is also very hardworking, and we had an extremely full day. We did over an hour and a half of tracting. And two member appointments. I was very tired that night. 

We did some service for Ana yesterday, which was fun. We just cleaned up her backyard, which had weeds and leaves and stuff. She then gave us tacos! 

I was reading a General Conference talk, and I thought I'd share my favorite quote: "The Christian writer C. S. Lewis described it this way: “Christ says ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You’" (April 2017, Overcoming the World, Anderson). I then started thinking, it is good to sacrifice our efforts, time, and resources, but it is heroic to sacrifice ourselves. Many people gain great wealth, gain great power, and do great things, but few become great. Greatness comes with shedding those things that others embrace. The great man is the one who is not controlled by his greed, lust, ambition, populism, or pride. And that is where satisfaction is found: in looking back over a life spent becoming great. Sacrificing your desires now, because you want to gain more pure desires later. THAT is truly great. 

I love you all so much! I hope you choose to become great. See you later!

-Elder Goss

Sister Goss---W12: Rearranging and reevaluating

Hello dear friends and family that I love so much!!

This mission experience is so unlike what I anticipated. 🙂 I have ups and downs ALL THE TIME and it's crazy! This week I had some of the lowest points and some of the highest points. I have learned to hold to my Savior during the lowest points, and to rejoice in Him during the highest points. He is everything to me!! I have complete confidence that everything I'm experiencing is for my good and will change me to be the person He needs me to be. 😊 I can't glory in Jesus Christ enough!! Alma 26:12,16. HE IS SO GOOD. GOD IS SO GOOD.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever. Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

God placed several people in our path to be taught this week. We found 4 new people!! Some others we found a few weeks ago turned us away, which is sad. But we're not discouraged because Christ is by with us every step of the way. 😊 The work is progressing! The truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independently!! 

Sister Preator, Hermana Weston, and Hermana Thompson were talking in their beds last night while I was praying in the other room. The lights were out because we were going to bed. I heard one of them ask, "where did Sister Goss go?" So I took this choice opportunity, ran out of the room, and screamed. They screamed so bad and then couldn't stop laughing... Hahaha!👌 I forgot how much fun it is to scare friends. 😉 My roommates are amazing.

We rearranged our room and it's going to be good to have a change of pace! I'm also reevaluating what to focus on. I need to focus on others. Turn outward rather than inward! This is the character of Christ. 😊 (Throwback to my second email!)

Today is going to be a good day! I'm praying for you all and LOVE YOU! Keep smiling, keep dancing, and keep singing; God is good!!!

Love,

Sister Mary Goss

 

Sister Preator and I

The whole mission! With special guest, Elder Andersen

Service Saturday

Service last Saturday

 

Elder Goss---W9-Obedience

Hey Everyone! I love you so much! I think about you a ton. 

The Mission has been going super well! We continue to teach Ana really well. I love teaching and I love seeing them grow. For Halloween, we went to the other Elders apartment, and played games. It was such a blast. 

I also love San Diego! It is so cool to be next to the ocean. What a blessing. 

My spiritual thought is simple. I promise you that there are blessings in commandments we don't understand or think there is no ample reward. To be 100% honest with everyone, before I came on my mission, I struggled to see the benefits of serving one. I knew I was going to, but I didn't understand or see. You could say I was blind. I couldn't vision the blessings. But I did obey, And now, I'm beginning to see the fruits of my efforts. I can't just come here and say "okay God, where are my blessings?" I knew that along with obedience needs hard work and eternal patience. But I'm already starting to see the benefits so early, and I can't wait to see more. Perhaps you're blessings may take longer, but obey and you will be blessed. I promise. 

A quote I heard here was this: "obedience brings blessings, but perfect obedience brings miracles."

Have a good week! 

Elder Goss

Sister Goss---W11: Halloween spooky day

Hey look- it's my street!

Hey everyone!!

I hope you all had a fantastic week!! I just want to remind you all how much I support and love you; thank you for your support and love in return! Even being on my email list means a lot. :)❤

This week I was able to teach someone how to do indexing and family history! She expressed how she's lonely at home and feels like she doesn't have any purpose anymore. The Spirit prompted me to show her how she can help those who've passed away by making their records available to others, thus making temple work a possibility. She was so enthralled and excited! I'm so grateful for the opportunity we have to help our ancestors and learn more about them. :) For more information on this, see FamilySearch.org! It's amazing!!!

This week was Halloween and it was so much fun! :) Due to safety reasons, we can't be out at night so we had a zone activity in our church building where all the missionaries in my zone (Riverside city) get together. We had a pumping carving contest, made caramel apples, watched 17 Miracles (TOTALLY recommend that movie!!!), and just chatted. It was nice to have a little break and enjoy an activity with my friends. 🦇🎃

The work is going well; we are continually meeting with Harminder, Cole, and Lynn. They are progressing and it's wonderful to see! Tony and Jackie haven't changed much so we're going to see how we can help and if they are still interested in coming closer to Jesus Christ. I have grown to care about all of these individuals so much and know God has incredible blessings in store for them as they continue to learn and act in faith. Sister Preator and I are teaching a new woman named Joyce! She is so willing to listen and very sweet! We taught her about the Restoration of the gospel (Acts 3:19-21) and she said we can come back next week and agreed to read from the Book of Mormon. That's all we ask; that people give it a sincere chance. I'm so excited for her!

For those of you who don't know, this is our purpose as missionaries: Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. ❤

Thanks for reading! Good luck with your week and know I'm praying for all of you!! Your Heavenly Father loves you SOO much!

Love,

Sister Mary Goss

Gorgeous sunset 🌅

Zany zone sisters

Zone Halloween!

Our pumpkin Liahona 🎃

 

 

 

 

Elder Goss---W9: I love the Fall!!!

Greetings all! I am doing so well here, and thank you all for your letters and notes. I miss you all so much. 

This week was especially awesome for a couple reasons. First of all, there were some cool winds that came by, just enough to feel cold but not enough to get you cold. And I totally loved it. I love Fall. I will say though, I miss the leaves. They're my favorite. 

We had a branch Halloween party, and it was fun. I played with the kids a lot, because I didn't have to talk with them to make them laugh. That was awesome. 

We continue to teach Ana and Armando, and it's been going really well. In the past, Armando said that he felt religious, and with with time his faith faded. And he told us the reason he started taking the lessons was because he wanted to just get religious again. But during the lessons we've been teaching him, I've already seen the growth of his understanding of the truth and wanting to be more than just religious. He's such a good guy. 

You know, I have been really enjoying life. And as I was thinking why, I realized I really started enjoying every little blessing in life. I love taking a hot shower in the morning, I love eating good food; life is good. And one day, when I was loving feeling a cool breeze across me, I thought "I am so grateful for this breeze. Thank you for sending it, to bring me this happiness." I felt so lucky and blessed to be living such a wonderful life. I then came across this truth: With loves comes gratitude. When you truly love something, you'll just want to kneel down and thank God for being able to experience that. I was so grateful for that breeze because I loved it. 

I hope all of you find joy in God's little tender mercies. That is when you find happiness. Love your family. You'll be happy. Love Autumn. It's awesome. Happiness, love, and gratitude are one eternal round. 

Love you all!

-Elder Goss

Sister Goss---W10: Miracles, power, and apostles

What a glorious, fantastic, and wondrous week I had! My heart is full and I can't wait to share with you all the miracles I've seen and the witness I've received of God's power. ❤ I hope you all had an amazing week as well; if not, I hope my email can uplift your spirits. Love you all.

We met with Cole this week and he committed to work towards a baptismal date! This is the first person I've put on date and I'm so excited for Cole! 😊 We had a lesson with Harminder and I'd like to copy a part of what I wrote in my journal: 

"We met with him before the ward's trunk or treat and we talked more about prayer with him. Sister Preator asked him to kneel down and pray every night this week. He said 'sisters, I will try, but what if nothing happens?' I started explaining how it takes time and used the example, 'you may not see a huge difference after a week, but you will after, for instance, a month!' And then the most awesome thing happened. When I started saying this next sentence, my mind literally thought 'wait - stop!! What are you saying?? You don't have the authority to say that!!' But then a new thought came (the Spirit told me), 'no - you DO have the authority and power to say this. You are My servant and you are calling down the power of heaven upon My son, Harminder.' And though they were not my words, I said 'Harminder, if you kneel down and pray every single night this month I promise you will see huge blessings in your life that you've never seen before.' That may sound simple but the feeling and conviction and power behind that promise changed the atmosphere in the room. I literally felt God's power sweep through me; I've never experienced anything like it before! Harminder said, 'Sister Goss, I've heard a lot from missionaries and from you, but I've never heard anything like that. I felt different and more hope than I ever have.'" I know that I have been set apart and ordained to preach God's word. The truths I testify of are real and they carry power. And as I am exactly obedient to God, I am a vessel of His power and can speak His promises. This will be an experience I never forget!!

But wait- there's more!! Like I hinted to in my title, the whole mission was privileged to have an ALL mission conference (which apparently never really happens) with Elder Neil L Andersen, an apostle of the Lord. 😄 I am SOO blessed!!! We all shook his hand and my zone, the Riverside zone, sang Peace in Christ as a musical number. He smiled really big with his sweet squinty smile when I shook his hand; probably because I was grinning ear to ear. 😉 His message was so inspiring!! He asked us to "put powerfully into our bones that Jesus Christ lives" because if we do, we will never waver and we will KNOW the Restoration has happened. We will know Christ's true church is on the earth today. Jesus Christ is the center! Focus your life on Him! Elder Klebingat, another church leader, also said "I've been with apostles in hospitals before and that makes me a witness: what happened in the New Testament happens today." Take that in for a second. ❤

I could go on with the miracles. So many people are willing to listen to us and we were able to visit wonderful members and less active members. We have lots of potentials and God is furthering His work. The three sisters in my apartment and I have been studying Revelation for companion study and I am growing everyday in knowledge and understanding. God always provides opportunities to learn more about Him. I have felt so spiritually in tune with my Father in Heaven this week and couldn't have asked for a better one.

I recognize this email is long, but I want to testify that God lives and He has living apostles and a prophet on the earth today just as He did when Christ was on the earth. This isn't just another church- this is The Church of Jesus Christ (as Elder Andersen said we would one day be known as throughout the world)! The only way we can know of this for ourselves is to sincerely read the Book of Mormon and ask. If you never take that opportunity, you'll never know. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true. I've read it. I've prayed. And I've received an answer from God that I cannot deny. This is not just something I believe in; it's something that is not only true for me, but is true for you. Take my challenge. Ask for yourself.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!! To God be the glory!! ❤

Sister Mary Goss

John 21:16

Plan of Salvation chalk the walk!

District picture from last week

Elder Goss---Week...8? Aqui en San Diego!

Oh, goodness me, there is too much to talk about. First off, thank you for all your letters! I never recognized how much they mean to Missionaries. 

Second, my travels went well, and no one was lost or died. That's successful if you ask me. At the Dallas airport, there were several different groups that said "Hey, look! It's the Missionaries!" One couple even bought us lunch. So nice. 

Third, I'm here! I'm actually here! It reminds me of Arizona a ton. When I first got here, the was a meeting (there is always a meeting), and then I met my dad, Elder Rhodes (that's what they call your first trainer here). He's on his 23 month, so He's pretty much a veteran. He's a pretty pretty cool guy. And he knows Spanish really well. And he teaches really well. And he... well... you get the point. He actually has a guitar, so I've been practicing, and that's really fun. 

My Mission President, President Stubbs, is SO great. He loves us all so much and jokes around. He believes in missionaries being guided by the spirit, so he is flexible with mission rules. He really just trusts us to do the right thing, and the Mission has never been more obedient. He's awesome. 

So actually, up until last night we've been sleeping at a member's house because our apartment was being renovated. They were so nice, and fed us a lot. But now our apartment is done, and it looks really nice. It also has a view of the ocean, and no AC. But it's so good. 

We are currently teaching 2 people, Armando and Ana. Armando is middle-aged, and runs this flower shop. He knows a little English, so it's not too hard. When he was first contacted, he didn't believe that he needed to be baptized again. But this last lesson, we taught him the Doctrine of Christ, and by the end of it he said that he now sees the need, and wants to get there eventually. 

Ana is a mother of a energetic, 5-year old girl named Stacy. Ana's husband in Honduras is a member, and she really wants to know. Also, she knows no English, and we're some of the only people who talk to her in Spanish, so we really mean a lot to her. 

And Life is good! Today for P-day we went to the coast and saw a bunch of seals and the ocean, and it was SO fun. 

Anyhow, spiritual thought: God loves you. He always has, and always will. If you can't feel that love, and A) you really want to, and B) you are willing to put in the work to clear your perspective and clean your spirit, I promise you will feel more love than you ever have. 

I love Ustedes all! Por Favor continue to pray for me, and I'll do the same for all of you. Everyone. You are all so great. 

-Elder Goss

P.S. I was unable to BCC this email, so please just reply to me, otherwise everyone will see your extremely personal response. Thanks. : )