One Year Later....

Hello hello!

Well first you better tell the boots family(brother boots especially) i say hello! i reflect back on my farewell talk sometimes and it makes me cringe. my knowledge of the gospel and the book of mormon was primary level compared to what it is now. thank goodness i have a homecoming talk to redeem myslef. haha. topher is going to be a lights out missionary! he has no reason to be nervous.

This week! another busy one. my concept of time is gone.. the days all feel the same, i woke up today and didnt realize it was p day! The mini mission ended and we all meet back up at a chapel, the mini missionaries are given the opportunity to bear their testimonies and share experiences from their mini missions. it was SO cool! all i could think about was brandon as he's about to leave, and ty as the mission is not too far off. What amazed me was the power of these kids faith to come out and give up their time to do this!

Had another great week teaching *****! teaching is my drug. im addicted to teaching! if a missionary could teach all day everyday there would be no thoughts of home, or being sad, or discouraged. the feelings that come with teaching others about the restored gospel unforgetable, undeniable, unbelievable! ahha a lot of uns.. lol but its so true. teaching is what keeps us going. we taught some important commandments this week. Chastity, tithing, word of wisdom! she understood and accepted them all. she also passed her baptismal interview yesterday so we are 100 percent in the clear ready for the covanent! cant wait till friday.

Unfortunatly we couldnt catch up with carrol this week. it bums me out because she has been prepared and is ready. she just needs us to come over and have one more spiritual experience ans she will be hooked. with new people we find and teach it takes time for them to recognize the spirit for what it truly is. we dropped by carrols place probably 4 or 5 times before she let us teach her. then she realized what we had to say was good so she let us come back. from there we have to distinguish if she is for real by chruch attendence. if they come to church they are for real! we havent been able to really reach her the importance of church and we hope to next we see her. our job is just to present them pure doctrine and truth, their job is to use their agency. we havent been able to present her with enough yet.. sometimes i want to grab people and scream saying LET US FINISH! once we have taught them the basic lessons and commmandments then they can make their choice but it doesnt make any sense to stop seeing us until weve offered all we can offer. ah frustrating! but we still are feeling optimistic about her abd hopefully we can see her this week.

Im such a sook lately and i dont know why. i think being away from my family for an entire year has something to do with it.. a year is a long time not to see family. also, im genuinly loving those I serve and its turned me into a total baby. i dont want baptisms or high numbers to look good for my leaders or to show president what i accomplished this week. i just care for these people. i love them.

i read an article in this months ensign. called BECOMING perfect in Christ. if oyu havent read it yet do it! it tells us how the savior can transform us. change our expectations for ourselves and others! perfect doesn't mean without sin or mistake. it means completion, finishing, enduring. and applying the atonement on the way.

being a missionary will test you in every way possible. its up, down, left, and right. but one thing is consistant. if you work hard, you will be happy. if you give the lord everything he will take care of you. moroni 10:32 as you love lord with everything you have you will learn to love those around you. guys like us are far from perfect but if we let the atonement become our anchor even we can become perfected in christ. i love it. and i love you all! have a great week.

-Elder Jake Guzzo