Busy Week

Hey! 

been a hectic week over here! we had branch conference so the stake presidency came up with a bunch of other stake leaders and it was crazy.

Since I'm the branch clerk I had to go to all the meetings and all that good stuff. we went on rescue visits as well, and I went with one of president lindsays counselors in the mission presidency and of all the people we went to see, not a single one was home and it was a disaster haha! but he served a mission, so he understands how it goes.. then we had a branch valentines party after the visits which was fun! bro ferris from merriwa ward is in the high council so he came up with them and I got to see him. We talked about **** and **** and he said they are still solid and go to church every week! he said **** has a calling! I cant exactly remember what it is, but that's pretty great. 

this next week is going to be wild too. we have to get everything ready for ****** baptism and unlike normal wards we dont have a ward mission leader or a relief society to help us plan things.. so we'll be doing it all as usual. should be pretty great though! as of right now **** isnt going to be baptised this week, but who knows. shes 13 years old which is a tough age, all she wants to do is fight with her mom and do the opposite of what her mom wants her to do just because. its killing me. but I know..

the Argyles are going to take us to this place called kalbarri this week. its like an hour and half drive north of geraldton and its supposed to be so pretty! big diffs into the ocean and kangaroos and so we're pretty excited about that! I wish I had a pic to send you of the Argyles! they are seriously my favorite people. they remind me a lot of grandma and grandpa. they have been married for ages but they still laugh at eachother and love eachother so much! hahah but they really like elder eti and I and so we spend a lot of time with them. great people! and why I'm telling you this is because I know you and dad talk about it but you two have to serve a mission. HAVE to no option. whatever you need to start doing to get yourself ready, start doing it! senior couples have such a great impact. think about it, you and dad could be serving in some small town in who knows where, running this little branch. dads the branch president you're the relief society pres and you two make things happen there. if this branch didnt have the Argyles it would fall apart! I'm serious guys. You HAVE to.

Best- after a long branch conference of meetings and stress! the stake president came up to me and took me by the arm and said, you are doing an amazing job up here. I'll make sure president lindsay knows about all the hard work you are doing up here!!

Worst-definately when I was with one of the mission presidency on less active visits and no one was home... so bad.

Silliest-when I'm at the flat I put on those nike sandals cause our floors are gross.. any way the Argyles were coming to pick us up to go some where and I was all ready walked out, got in the car, we drove to our appointment and I look down to get out of the car and I'm still wearing the sandals.. ahahah all my church clothes with the sandals on! haha so funny

so its been a great week! busy and that makes the time fly. these past few weeks have been on fast forward I swear. this is the last week of the transfer! I don't think elder eti and I will be going any where but still! cant believe this transfer has come and gone. cant wait to hear all about the family this week. 

love you all.

-elder guzzo

Book of Mormon Challenge

G'day everyone!

So it's been a great week here in Geraldton. First thing our baptismal date... ****** is back in town and doing great! She called us to come see her the day after she got back and she was kind of a mess at first. ******* battles with depression and is all over the place some times. Her partner left her with three kids and wants nothing to do with them and from the way she tells the story, he's been a pretty bad guy to  her and the kids (granted there are two sides to every story... but still) so that is really hard for her. She doesnt usually trust men anymore and her self confidence is gone! poor girl. So we start talking to her and she is clearly having a down day, she invited us over to come talk with her but we were doing all the talking.. elder eti and I were really struggling as to how to help her. Luckily we had the senior couple, Elder and Sister Argyle there with us and they did a great job talking to her in a way that helped her open up to us. ****** said she still really wants to be baptised and really believes that the church can help her! which it will! so this is good. She came to church and brought her oldest daughter with her, and now her daughter is interested so that's good too! ****** is having a house inspection this week and so we asked her if she needed any help because the house is pretty gross. So we came and cleaned and mowed her lawn and edged and made it look really good! She was so happy. So thats it with ******* for now. We have a few more things to teach her but I'm very confident that she will be baptised on the 8th of February as planned.

So the pacific area president Elder James Hamula is coming to speak to our mission in March and he has challenged the entire mission to read the book of mormon cover to cover by the 7th of March. WHAT THE?? It's gonna be crazy. Pres Lindsay is making a schedule and we're looking at a solid 15 pages a day! gonna be nutz. But as we read we highlight any reference to the gospel of Jesus Christ. so..

Faith in Jesus Christ

Repentence

Baptism

Revieving the gift of the holy ghost

Enduring to the end.

Finding these things shouldn't be hard at all. In fact, we might spend more time highlighting then aacctually reading but hey it should be sweet! So I'm challenging all of you who read this to get yourself a paper back copy of the book of mormon and read it by the 7th of March with the australia perth mission! I can promise it will change everything. 

So that's about it for this week. Elder Eti and I are having a great time up here and never want to go back to the city! hahaha. love you all!

elder guzzo 

Gone Country

hey mom! 

So some crazy things have been happening over here. Turner went home on Friday, so I've been in a three way with Elder Shinn and his companion. But I got a call from President Lindsay this morning and he told me that I'm going to my new area tomorrow... and the crazy part is I'm goin country. Remember how I explained country on the phone? Just me, my comp and no one else for miles… I'm excited but at the same time not. Ha! I've been here for so long and I have a day to say goodbye to everyone and pack. I'm pretty stressed!  ahh I don't know what to think, like literally I will be away from everyone! all the missionaries say that when you go country and then come back its never the same. hahaha! It should be cool but just not what I was expecting right now ya know? I think there's only one branch in the area, not even a ward, so we'll be busy. I just hope I get a cool companion! The library is closed today, so we're emailing at a members and I don't have a ton of time. Are you online?

I have to go mom. I love you have a good week!

** I just received this message from a member of Elder Guzzo's ward. This family, and many others, have taken such good care of my boy! I'm so grateful for the awesome members in Australia!!

hey sister Guzzo and family just want to say that Elder Guzzo had be transferred to the country and were so sad feels like there's a part of my heart that is missing and it has been such an amazing pleasure having him in my house and serving in our ward, next holiday destination is Provo in the new year for sure so great how I have family living there and NOW extended family (The Guzzo Family) that I can visit/stay at while over in your guys area haha so we shall keep in touch!!! Such an amazing son/Elder you guys have!!! What an amazing blessing!!! sad to see him go

Not much to say today… Just can't wait to Skype!!

What up dad? yeah! That would be cool if you got them a leg of lamb, either way I think they will be pretty stoked! have you sent it yet? It would be easier if you just ordered it cause its a struggle to get rides places and chucking a 5 kg leg of lamb on my back and riding my bike home doesn't sound that fun! haha. you know me! not gonna let people see me with lamb on my back, especially riding a bike! Ha! It's felt different here because the christmas traditions are totally backward since its so hot! It's so weird that Christmas is in two days…  it feels like its the middle of July right now! the work is good.. it's been slower during christmas time. no one is home or no one has time for us, but it's all goods!

Mama, Will you check my account and see if I have any money? I don't know where my money goes. I've spent a lot of money on public transportation going to meetings since being DL. I'm sorry that I've needed extra, I'll be smarter with my money. There is this microniesan girl in my district that has absolutely no money from home.. and living off of what the church gives us is really hard. Anyway, her family cant afford to send her stuff for christmas so I went a little crazy on her.. like I bought her a couple cute skirts from kmart and then a few shirts and some candy!! I can't wait to give it to her, she's such a sweetheart. 

Blake sent me the best email ever! hug him for me please and tell uncle rick I miss him! Ty sent me a pic of all the boys at wingshak and it about killed me. haha! I miss everyone so much!! So let's talk Skype. I'll call you on your Christmas Eve, it will be christmas morning for me which will be sweet to talk! Then we can set up Skype on your Christmas Day, Boxing Day here. I'm sending a few random photos...

(The Elder on the left is the son of a friend of a friend. I just heard about him serving in Perth this week, so it was funny when I noticed that this was him. I told Jake about the connection and here's his reply)

hahah Elder Rigby is the man! he is elder turners intake! I wish I would have trained him lol. he's a cool kid! well I have ten minutes left.. anything else before we talk in two days??!! ahhh. And what is going on with gay marriage in Utah??

I love yous so much! Can't wait to talk to you all in 2 days!!!! BYYEEE -elder guzzo

The Fourth Missionary

Hello family, sorry it's been a busy day. I had to go to the mission office this morning.. so yeah I just got to the library. but while I was in the office I got one of my birthday packages!! the one with the pants and the ties!! I loved them so much, thank you mommy!!

With everything going on with my comp it's been a stressful week, but I'm doing fine mom. I don't take this lightly when I say this. I LOVE my mission!! I want you to google something called The Fourth Missionary. I read this and it changed my mission. I'm doing all I can to be the fourth missionary. I miss home but don't want to be there! I miss all of you but I know I'm not going to see you for 19 more months and I've come to peace with that. My mission is going to change who I am. I've bludged my way through life but I'm not doing that out here. Don't worry about me mom! I came here to struggle and I'm learning so much. okay? okay.

9 more days I cant WAIT! I'm going to call you on christmas eve to tell you details about when we are skyping and all that! but we still have one more p day until then so we can cross that bridge when we get there. my b day was good! des and hiri threw me a bbq and a few members came and it was chill. I'll send you a bunch of pics right now. The sisters in my district threw me a little party too and bought me that shirt and shorts I'm wearing!

momma I got to go. I love you so much! thanks for everything. I wasn't able to write all the family but tell them I love them and read the fourth missionary. have a great week!

Happy Birthday Elder Guzzo

HI MOMMA!

so no, my other b day packages are not here yet.. I'm pretty bummed. can you track them? I hope they aren't lost in the mail. That would be really awesome if you sent hiri something! honestly I don't know what he would want.. if you want to wait until next week I can find out or if you want to get creative you can too! haha

I cannot believe I turn 20 years old tomorrow. thats a trip! I was just emailing michael and wishing him a happy 17th b day and I realized I was just 17.. like it was not that long ago! but I'm excited. desiree and hiri are gonna throw me a bbq tomorrow night and the hemi family (rachaels mom) has been so nice to me and are feeding us lunch tomorrow! 

oh hey I'm a district leader again.. long story there were some mix ups in the areas and they needed another DL so I'm back hahah but I have to give district training on my b day.. oh well it will be a party!

I don't think elder turner and I are doing a Christmas card.. maybe. we're too broke for that business lol. We're doing good, he's a cool kid. **** baptism was awesome and I gave him the holy ghost that next day and the bishop gave him the aaronic priesthood! that was really cool. This 50 year old man now holds the priesthood because I came here.. that's something to think about. So it was all around an amazing experience! I had a good chat with pres lindsay this week and he had a lot of really great advice. Even though he makes up some crazy rules, he is the man and he holds the keys for the missionaries in WA and he knows what's best for us.

I cannot believe I'm saying this but I miss the cold.. it is so freaking hot here. I can't handle being in pants and a tie in like 100 degrees and its only getting hotter! but a lot of people feel bad for us working in the heat so they invite us in and give us water and sometimes will listen to our message... sometimes! I bought myself a little b day present from the money gma & gpa sent me haha just a nice pair of shorts for p day! the style out here is so me. there is a store called roger david that I am in love with. its expensive but it is just so my store!! 

But yah it's good to have something to look forward too:) ah and I'm still not over that poster you made me! I got a little of your creative gene because I was riding my bike and saw this floral couch and so I took the fabric off and made a tie out of it and it is soo cooL! so I sent it to elder pula and he wore it at transfers and long story short my ties are the talk of the misson! haha I made one of the APs a tie and so many other elders want one! haha I'll send you a pic of them next week haha! but yeah thank you for everything you have done to make my b day a special day! I cant wait to see you and talk to you on Christmas! so I'm going to probably call on Christmas here and then skype the day after so Christmas day for you guys! I can't wait. I love you so much!

Another Good Week

Hello everyone!

So it's been a pretty good week over here! nothing new and exciting to report on but it was a good week. Here's the good news!! I got the birthday poster! hahah I didn't wait till my b day I just couldn't.. BUT I seriously loved it so much! I can't even express how happy I was when I opened it like wow.. I hung it up in my room and every missionary that sees it freaks out! SUCH A COOL IDEA. you are awesome mom! if that was my only b day present, I would be okay with that. besides my homies serving and andrew that poster had everyone I care about on it. Those were all my people and it was just so fun to see it. so thank you! oh ya I was thinking about uncle curtis! will you get their home address for me? I wanna send them a letter. 

**** is still on date for this saturday. President Lindsay is the man. He's intense though, he has been coming out with new rules that are tough... But President Lindsay is for sure awesome. He is taking our entire zone to lunch today because we met our goal for baptisms last month!

3 packages?? wow I'm getting spoiled. hahah I cant wait to get the other ones. oh my gosh if I got to skype andrew that would make my life! I'm not exactly sure when we are skyping.. it might be the day after for us and then Christmas day for yous. but we will figure that out. I will call yous before to set it out! so if a random number calls your phone you better pic up hahah.

but yeah I'm doing good! It's been a much better week. Transfers are today and it was not a good one.. I'm staying in the same area, which I knew I would be, but all my homies in my district left so I'm so bummed about that. They closed down an area that was close to me and before there were two districts and since one area closed down they just made the two into one district and so I'm not district leader anymore.. which is good and bad. I'll be able to focus on elder turner and the work more.. but I don't know, oh well.

mom honestly good work with that poster I about died and I did use the tape hahah! but mom dont go too crazy for christmas! you are already going all out for my b day and I just want to talk and skype for christmas! thats all I need at this point.

that's it for me. I love you and I'm so grateful for your love and support.

-elder guzzo

A Man of Few Words

MOM,

I cant believe you got my present already! that was fast. but I'm glad I got there safely I was worried about it! hahaha I knew you were going to love it! and your making a book? that's cool! I guess I need to send more letters home!

keith clearwater is the man. and so is nick! we have been emailing back and forth pretty much every week since I left and he is such a good missionary I can just tell. This next transfer is his last one! he said he is already enrolled in school and all that.. ahhh. not going to lie I'm pretty jealous. I feel like I'm never coming home. this week has been hard, my companion is young and ah yeah that's all I'll say about that. pray for us. hahah!

 

Since I'm the district leader, any time anyone in my district has a baptism I do the interview! The sisters in my district have one this weekend so I interviewed this lady and it was so fun. After the interview she asked if I would baptise and confirm her.. ahhh. the baptising is easy but I'm nervous for the confirmation. ***** baptism is the next week and I'll be confirming him too! scary. They do the confirmations in sacrament meeting.. I don't think we do that back home.

 

ah you saw Jeremiah.. I'm so jealous! I have not gotten any of my packages yet.. i hope they don't come until closer to my b day because i don't know how long I'll be able to wait. hahah but I'm so excited! I have a few members that have offered their house to skype i don't know who yet but the good this is I'll be able to call home and tell you when I'm skyping and all that good stuff! I cant wait. this has been the longest four months ever. I miss you guys so much! but I'm doing good.

 

thanks for everything! i love you -elder guzzo

Blessings of the Priesthood

No costume necessary at the ward Trunk or Treat

Hello everyone!

So it's great day to be a missionary in Western Australia as President Lindsay always says! but it has been a great week! We had our second lesson with **** (husband of ****, Jakes first baptism) and it was amazing. One of the first experiences where I could feel the spirit speaking through me. I don't remember exactly the things that were said but everything that came out of mine and Elders Turners mouth was from the holy ghost and was exactly what **** needed to hear. As I told you about last time he DIDNT believe in God. We taught faith and prayer, and as we bore testimony the spirit manifested the truthfulness of the things we were saying. After the lesson he told **** that he 100% felt a presense in the room, one that he couldn't describe. As the lesson progressed I could tell that he felt it and the timing was right, so I asked him if he will prepare himself to be baptised on the 30th of november! He committed! what a great day that will be.

last night elder turner and I went on splits with the assistants! this was awesome. elder jordan is who I went with and he served in merriwa almost a year ago. so we met with the sweetest woman, she isn't a member but has so much faith. she is more spiritual than a lot of members I know.. but she just doesnt think that she needs to do anything more. she feels that she already knows God and her Savior enough. so elder jordan knew her from when he was here and I know her really well.. we call her mom hahah because she loves us missonaries so much. but we had a lesson with her and it was unreal. she knew whaat we were up too right from the start and said that she is good with where she is at and doesn't see herself changing.. but elder jordan has so much faith, to be honest I didn't think there was more we could have done right then but he pressed forward and started to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ. repentence, baptism, recieving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end. The gospel of Jesus Christ can solve any concern there is. The gospel of Jesus Christ is life, it is what we are here to live. As we shared this with her, love and the holy ghost filled the room, there was no denying it. Everyone was in tears as we challenged her to put her worries aside and follow the Savior. She wasn't set on date for baptism, but when I write next week I'm pretty confident that we will have a date for her. Another cool story about this lady is that she loves the church and has so much faith in the priesthood. She got really sick last month and she had a cat scan that showed a little shadow or a dot in her lungs that the doctors thought could possibly be cancer. she asked john if he would call specifically elder pula and I to come give her a blessing. I've never been more grateful for my priesthood that on that day. I believe that priesthood blessing are predicated on the faith of the person recieving the blessing, and this lady has so much of it. A few weeks after the blessing she had anther cat scan... the spot was gone. When she told me that I about lost it. I can't really talk more about it because it was so intense but yeah.

So its been great week! I had some amazing moments this week that helped me realize why I'm here. why I'm in western australia, and specifically why I'm in merriwa. we need these moments to fuel us through the rough patches. but I love what im doing! time is honestly going quick.. it seems like I just left. I have a long way to go but I have so much to look forward too. I sent your b day present so I hope it gets there on time. There is my sd card which had a video on there so I hope you enjoy that! I absolutely loved hearing about the missionary experience you had today! sister missonaries really do carry a sweet spirit, much different than elders. The sisters who you taught you guys are way too cute! I'm glad they were able to teach the first lesson! the restoration is my favorite thing to teach! 

Yeah and my district is on fire! we have some of the best numbers in the mission right now hah! Elder turner and I had to speak in sacrament meeting again... joys of being missionary. haha but my time is running out! I hope yous have a great week! I love you all. I love this gospel. thanks for all your support and prayers! cant wait till next week. love you! -elder guzzo

Doing some Service with Elder Liutai

Greenie to Greenie

hi momma!

Elder turner is all good! reminds me of myself as a greenie haha so like last month.. haha! he is from fort worth texas! he's cool. so christmas.. I mean like it seems like you are going all out for my birthday so christmas doesn't need to be anything big! I just cant wait to see you guys. be ready to skype! hahah. You can send me whatever you want! maybe you could send me another thing of spice bomb? that would be sweet and missionaries always need more ties hahah! but serious mom don't go too crazy. I love you!

But yeah having a good week here! **** husband **** just became a new investigator! woohoo! I want to baptise him so bad and then in a year go through the temple with them! how cool would that be? Hey so my first district meeting is tomorrow and I have to give training on the plan of salvation.. do you know any fun activities I can do to help me teach that? I need your creativity! 

I'm serving around some super cool dudes. Elder Liutai and I are becoming close homies.. He's from sydney and is a rugby player but I'm trying to convince him to come to Provo and play football hahaha he is the big guy in the picture. We have been doing a lot of service for people which is good, its a really effective finding tool. OH go on youtube and watch merriwa and mindarie trunk or treat! you should see me. the bishop made this video on halloween haha. thanks for your help! I love you mom. remember that every night I pray that wherever you are and whatever you are doing I specifically pray for you to feel my love for you right then and there. so I hope you do. I love you so much momma! I'll talk to you next week :)