Elder Goss---W17: New Years Eve!! (Dec 31, 2019)

Hi everyone! Happy New Year! 

What a crazy week! I don't even know if anything unique happened, but it's been absolutely crazy trying to just operate right now. Temple Shift was good, we got one more look at the Temple Christmas lights. They're very pretty. 

We went on Exchanges this week! It was pretty good. I felt bad, because I tried planning some activities for us to do, but a lot of them fell through. Elder Baker was good, though. We watched some videos, and did some tracting. And then we had a dinner appointment with a member (yes, 100% spanish), and no, Elder Baker speaks 0 spanish, so we went and it was great! I was able to understand basically everything he said, and what I didn't understand I was about until I understood. 

We did an escape room today! It was an absolute blast. We finished with over 17 minutes remaining. It was scary/clown themed, and at first I was iffy about it because I don't like scares a whole lot, but it turned out really fun. (And it wasn't scary at all) 

And, with the New Years tomorrow, I thought I'd share about goal setting and that stuff. As a missionary, setting goals is an underrated activity, in my humble opinion. Without goals, you kinda just float along. There is no reason to improve, there is no motive to progress. Or even if you WANT to grow, you don't, because there is no action to back your passion, you won't get anywhere. 

So, when you set goals, here's what I suggest from my experience: A) make a few goals that are spiritual, physical, and fun. You can include intellectual or emotional if you want. But make goals that cover different aspects of life. You'll feel more productive and experienced greater growth. 

B) make each goal have a constant check-up. I mean, how many of us have made goals and then forget about them? Do something or plan something with a consistent follow-up (with another person is best) on a monthly, weekly, or perhaps daily schedule. 

I promise if you set goals in life to become better individuals, you will be glad you did. Amen.

See you soon!

Elder Goss

Sister Goss---W19: Happy New Year 2020!! (Dec 30, 2019)

Hello everybody!!! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! :) I miss you more than you can know. <3

Christmas Eve on Tuesday was so much fun! We wrapped presents for the retirement home in the morning and we went caroling that evening as a zone. Our zone has a lot of really good singers and it was impressive!! We even sang songs in Spanish and the listeners, after talking to the Hermanas later, didn't know we didn't speak Spanish fluently. Woohoo! News flash: I'm learning Spanish on Duolingo and it's actually so fun. :) I'm getting better and want to make sure my brother, mother, and sister can't have secret conversations in Spanish when he gets home! I'm determined! ;) We ended caroling by singing in all four languages represented by our zone (English, ASL, Spanish, and Chinese) at our mission president's home. He and his wife loved it. 

Christmas was amazing!! We opened up our presents as a four-man in the morning and then went to the Senior couples home for breakfast. We caroled a little more and then headed to another couple's home from our ward for brunch. Afterwards we called our families and visited Tony, Amy, and Suzie for dinner. They decorated their home for us and it was a fantastic visit! They were so happy to have us and we really strengthened their faith in Christ. As soon as that was over we had a zone activity at the church building where we played volleyball and had a white elephant exchange. Overall, it was so much fun and I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas away from family and you all. 

The rest of this week has been interesting. We had to pause both Harminder and Nilda, both of whom we're not progressing even after giving them many opportunities. It hurt more than I expected! But I know that's what's best for them right now. I will miss them. :( Last night was especially difficult. Sister Gugelman and I had over 20 specific people to visit/contact, a mixture of less-active members, formers, people we're currently teaching, etc. A solid 0 let us in. Many people never answered the door, many said they were not interested or were sick (for the fiftieth time), and several slammed the door in our face and told us to not come by anymore. It was not an easy night, but I can tell you I climbed in bed satisfied with our work. Although it was the least successful night of my mission so far, I felt God's approval and pleasure for our dedication and commitment. We are not the only ones to be repeatedly rejected; there was One far greater. I'm so grateful to know that no matter what happens, if we give our all, we can have the confidence we are doing God's work and gathering Israel. He is proud of us whether we have "success" or "no success." We walk in His footsteps.

On a side note, I found a free pair of brand new shoes that would probably make you all laugh. And I couldn't be more excited about them. ;) They are the coolest, shiny, silver, light-up shoes I've ever seen. Hahahaha!! I'll attach a picture of them when I have one. Don't worry -I guarantee you will all be so jealous! ;) 

God's work is moving forward!! I know that 2020 is a special year. It marks the 200th anniversary of the First Vision and the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 2020 is not only a technical term for perfect vision, but a goal we can set to more perfectly align our vision with God's. Be willing to learn, be willing to grow, be willing to consecrate yourself, be willing to be humble, be willing to serve, and be willing to testify. Let Him change you this year! This year will be unlike any year we've known before!!

Miss you all! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
Love, Sister Mary Goss

Mosiah 4:21

Our Christmas tree!

The 4 man at Suzie, Amy, and Tony's

Christmas evening

Face mask with Hermana Longshore

Hermanas Longshore and Thompson making a chocolate house with me

Street clean up service!

Baptism I played the piano for again

 

Elder Goss---W16: It's CHRISTMAS EVE!!! (Dec 24, 2019)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! It's CHRISTMAS TOMORROW!!! woohoo! This week has been pretty sweet and really challenging. But mostly sweet. Ana got Baptized on Wednesday, and you could just see the happiness radiating from her face. It was actually her Birthday, too! Which was pretty grand (coincidence? I think NOT!). 

Then, on Thursday, we dropped off Elder Rhodes at the airport. Honestly, that feels like MONTHS ago. This week has probably been the longest week of my life. Elder Smith has never trained before, or even been senior companion, so we are, um, learning a lot. I am his first companion who has less time in the field than him. This week has been a bit stressful, especially because it's Christmas, and a lot of service, and a lot of trying to schedule everything. Without Rhodes. Oof. Big oof. 

But, Christmas is tomorrow, and at noon today we're going to Costco to buy a bunch of stuff. Then, tomorrow on Christmas, we're going to compile said stuff into gift bags for the homeless. I am pretty excited. 

Hey, I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who has been a part of my life. You all have been so good to me, especially my family, so thank you so much. You are all fantastic. This Christmas season has been an excellent time for me to practice finding joy in any circumstance, because this Christmas will be very different than all my other experiences, and a lot of things are not the same. But I testify that joy is not in the circumstance, but in the focus, the work, and the perspective. 

I love you so much. Merry Christmas. 

Elder Goss
--
Aaron Hyrum Goss

Sister Goss---W18: Merry Christmas!! 🎄♥️⭐ (Dec 23, 2019)

Merry Christmas everyone!! I love you all so so so much! 😊 Can you believe I've been out for 4 months!??!? Wowza!! 

I'll start with the best news: Lynn was baptized on Saturday!! 💙 It was such a wonderful service and the spirit was so strong. I'm so proud of her! She is so happy and you can tell a difference in her. 😊 In fact, that night she called us and asked how many members there are in the ward because she wants to get them all goody-bags for Christmas. She proceeded to buy enough stuff for over 200 bags and handed them out with us! She is so selfless and Christlike and I am so blessed to know her. She's amazing!!!

I have some other crazy news: we low-key went viral!! Many of you probably saw, but the 4-man filmed Silent Night a capella and posted it on Facebook. Within 48 hours it had 10,965 views and 244 shares. 😲 Here's the best part! A member here who is very involved with missionary work on Facebook let us know that she sent 5 referrals across the world because they watched our video! People in New York, Georgia, Las Vegas, Canada, and Pakistan were interested and got in contact with missionaries where they lived. The man in Pakistan went to church today! YAYYY!! If you haven't already seen the video, go watch and share it! 😊 It's sparking people's interest and bringing them closer to Christ! #LighttheWorld

I have a neat miracle story to tell (as if I haven't already shared a million!). We were invited to carol at a rehab center as a zone so we sang several songs. At one point the ASL Elders said, "why don't we go to the back and sign a song so the rest of you can copy us?" Of course we loved that and started signing and singing Angels We Have Heard On High. In the middle of the song a caretaker rolled a woman out in her wheelchair and explained that she can't hear so she uses ASL! We continued to sign and sing songs until it was time to go. As we were walking out, Sister Gugelman told me what the caretaker told her. Apparently this woman has been petitioning for an interpreter because she is very lonely and doesn't understand anything. She doesn't know what operations are being done to her and she can't communicate her fears. This caretaker was in the middle of a meeting asking again for an interpreter when an employee ran in and said, "there's a bunch of kids signing Christmas songs right now!" God is so aware of us and there are no such things as coincidences. The ASL Elders are now able to visit this woman and although they can't interpret for her all the time, she has someone to talk to and they are teaching her the gospel. I can only imagine this woman's reaction to hearing and seeing 20+ missionaries signing about Christ in a moment she needed to see someone use her language. ❤️

Zone conference was this week. It was with the whole North half of the mission! It was an incredibly uplifting meeting; I felt the Spirit strongly. A question President Hammon posed for us was this: (follow along haha!): why do we do what we do when we know what we know? I ask you all the same question? Why do YOU do what you do when you know what you know? We sang our Silent Night quartette for the closing song and it was very quiet; there were a lot of tears. Oh, and guess what? Sister Gugelman and I won cleanest car award again. 😉 Woohoo!!

I miss you all more than you know, especially this Christmas time. Thank you so much for your love and support and gifts and notes; it means the world! From the very bottom of my heart I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I can't wait to see you again! May Christ be at the center of your life this season and 2020. 😊❤️

Merry, Mary, Merry Christmas!!! ;) 

Love, Sister Mary Goss

1) Feeding America service 

2) 4 man!! 

3) Zone conference sisters

4) Lynn, Julian, and Jeremiah

5) Lynn and Brother Poulsen, our ward mission leader

6) Riverside zone with President Hammon

7) Lynn took us to IHOP this morning!

Elder Goss---W15: Baptism Tomorrow!! (Dec 17, 2019)

Okay, sorry if I've confused anyone; this IS week 15. I'm really good at getting them out of order. I just calculated that just a few days ago, I passed the 100 day mark. That's crazy! It feels like I've been out a lot longer. 

This week has been pretty fantastic. I got to give a blessing in Spanish, which was extremely broken but I really felt the Spirit there, and that was awesome. 

Yesterday at the Temple was very sweet. We talked to this one Muslim gentleman, who was very nice and intrigued by the temple. It was cool to talk with him. 

Guess what?! Ana is getting baptized tomorrow! CRAZY! The date has been jumping around a bit, and she wanted to do it before Rhodes left (which is in TWO days!). We haven't seen Armando in a while; we don't really know what to think of him. He really enjoys our teachings, and talks about how much he wants to get closer to God, but he is rarely there whenever we've come by recently. I don't think that he's trying to avoid us, but we can't help him if we can't teach him. 

Anyhow, I was asked to spontaneously share a spiritual thought, at the temple, and I thought I'd share it with you. If you want to be happy, you've got to BE happy. You have to do things that a happy person would do. You have to think like a happy person. Talk like one. A big lie that the world likes to say is "just be happy." But you will never be happy if you aren't living happy. In my opinion, happiness is less a choice and more a habit. But it starts with the choice to change the way you live. The way you see the world. 

Thanks so much!

See you soon!

-Elder Goss

Sister Goss---W17: Best Christmas Present EVER (Dec 16, 2019)

Hello everyone!!!! I have a lot to be grateful for and have so little time, so it will be a short one this week. ;)

Christmas is in full swing here! We bought a 6'5" Christmas tree and I love walking into the room everyday and seeing it. It brings me so much joy haha!! This week has been wonderful and full of service, lessons, and contacting! Everyone is very kind and you can just tell that Christmas time creates a change within people. Have you seen The Christ Child nativity video? GO WATCH IT because it's incredible!!  18-minute video

Last night we had an interfaith Christmas concert with a special guest: Clay Christensen!! He played Hark, the Herald Angels Sing on the organ for us and I've never heard the organ played so well in my entire life. WOW. Clay Christensen is the organist for the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square (Mormon Tabernacle Choir) for the past 32 years. It was sooooo cool!!!

To explain the title of this email, Sister Gugelman and I got an exciting phone call this week. We've been emailing the Mission President about Lynn's situation, and he said he'd call us. Well, a few nights ago we heard the phone buzzing and saw that it was President Hammon! After checking in with each other, he asked how Lynn was doing. We again explained the situation and emphasized how ready and excited she is to be baptized. Despite her situation, President then said, "well, let's get her baptized." Hermana Thompson and Longshore were listening in and broke down in tears, and I was overcome. After a year of waiting, it's finally time!!! So a couple days ago we met with Lynn in person and told her we had an exciting announcement. I was so honored to tell her that she can now be baptized. She first screamed, "REALLY?!?" And then was speechless; she just stared into my face with tears streaming down. She held her youngest son tightly in her lap and couldn't speak. Finally she quietly said through tears, "I never thought this day would come." Of course, if you know me, I was also crying and it will be a moment I'll never forget. She asked to be baptized immediately so she will be baptized this Saturday!!! In fact, her son Julian was baptized the same Saturday exactly one year ago. Sister Gugelman and I and everyone else are more than thrilled; Lynn has been waiting for so long. I have been so blessed to meet with her every week for the past three months and teach/strengthen her faith in Christ. To watch and act as a witness for her baptism is the best Christmas present I could've ever asked for. Additionally, Saturday is my 4 month mark exactly! God is so good and I can't express my excitement and love enough!

I love Jesus Christ and His gospel. I know He lives and that He loves and is aware of each and every one of us!! I sincerely wish you all a Merry Christmas and encourage you all to #LighttheWorld! :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Love, Sister Mary Goss

Elder Goss---W:14 Short Letter

This week has been pretty good. We have been having a lot of fun in a trio, and today we went window shopping. I bought a harmonica! So now I'll fill the apartment with the sounds of piano, guitar, AND the shrilling, ear-bleeding screeches of a harmonica! Yay for my companions!! 

Spanish really has been improving. Prepositions are still hard, but I'm beginning to conjugate naturally. I've decided to "up" my Spanish studies, because the faster I get Spanish, the faster I'll be ready to do the things missionaries do. Who knows? One day, I may be called upon to say or do something, and I want to be ready. Because how disappointing would that be if there was a moment where I could have touched someone, but I didn't, and couldn't, because I had not studied as I should have. The Lord will be with us if we show the Lord that we want his help. It will be a while before I speak Spanish naturally, but I can do something about it. I can accelerate my impact in the lives of others. And so I will! 

I guess that was my spiritual thought. "Prepare yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you."

Have a good one!

--

Aaron Hyrum Goss