Faith (March 2, 2015)

WE had an awesome meeting in antofagasta this week. i loved it. the last two that i have been to have really changed my mission! WE talked again about faith and more about our misisonary purpose. and then on the bus i had anawesome talk with Elder Bronson

Faith is and always will be the key to everything! in moroni 7 it says that. without faith everything is useless! we need it so much. if we just keep growing our faith, not just our belief in God but our faith, the whole world will keep getting simpler and happier. faith is the base of EVERYTHING. its funny how we as humans many times think that we have tons of faith as well but... many times we are just good at saying we have faith... anyways.

Im grateful for the gospel. if you go sit somewhere and peoplewatch you can tell just how many people really need this. we have so much to help them. they need to find the true plan of Christ. I wish i could better help people see the huge need they have for this and just take the decision! just do it!!!!! it will work! please!!!!! anyways... the Gospel is good. God loves us.

Im super grateful for repentance! how comforting is it to know that every day we can be better. sometimes when i learn somehting new that i need to do, or i realize that i have been failing in something i feel bad because i didnt realize it before or i wasnt doing it before. but thats why repentance exists. there is no use crying over spilled milk. you just have to pick up with what you have and move on. if im failng, i just need to get better and everything is gonna be ok. Its incredible to think about the mercy of God. forgiving those who crucified Jesus. Peter denied him 3 times in one night. if he can forgive even those. why cant he forgive us for everything that we have done being that we only live by faith. if we can just learn to repent quick and try and be better he will always accept us. it doenst matter what weve done, it matter what we do. 

This week i had in my hands the largest amount of money that i have ever had in my life... next week some sister misisonaries are coming to be in the other sector here. so we have been in charge of setting up their apartment! we have to buy everything... so its been fun! its incredible how much this stuff costs! and this is just the most basic! its a strange experience... setting up a house. i cant imagine if i had to think about dacorating and stuff on top of it... man. way much to ask of me haha.

WE have some really awesome people that we are teaching right now. i am so excited for their progress... The devil uses fear to try and debilitate the faith. They can feel the power, but its hard for them to make the decisions to really go for it with everything or not.. but thats our job! help them to have the faith to make covenants with God! thats what the mission is! i love it!

Have an awesome week! take care of yourselfs! be happy! i love you all!

Elder Gold

God Lives (February 23, 2015)

Hello once again audience! i hope you have all had a marvelous week! enjoy that cold! im currently sweating! bueeeeeeeeena! 

So this week there was something i was thinking about. we recently talked to a woman who was telling us that people who lived religiously just lived a fantasy. she believes in god, but she believes that a religious life is a lie... i was just thinking about that.... and she is so very wrong. i wihs there was a good way to tell her that. Religion isnt the fantasy. its the only true reality. one day we will die and we will go to heaven and we will realize that all this was true. The fantasy is when we try to pretend that we dont need God, or religion. in reality, there is no other way to find true happiness. God isnt a hobby, nor is he a belief that some people use to feel better about the bad stuff that happens in this world. Basically, He is the Way, the Truth, and the Light. If we live with him everything will be ok, God blesses those who keep his commandments, early or late. ITs also a little bit sad to think that i used to be somewhat on the same page, i didnt understand that this was real, i always said i did, but i didnt understand be cause subconsciously i didnt really have that firm knowledge. Now i know that, and i want everyone else to know that too. therefore! this week! try to remember that God is the reality! he is literally watching us! We are part of his plan. Try and Get a better relationship with He who is the only sure foundation.

We talked to a family on thursday who is just so prepared it hurts! The father has been having lots of problems with stress and its been giving him depresion, we taught him how the book of mormon could help him when he was stressed if he would read and say a prayer he would feel how God would calm him and help him... we got a call on saturday night from him asking us to go to his house, so we went over there seeing as our other appointment had fallen... and he told us that it worked! He was just so happy! i loved it! He went shopping that day and went and baught himself a new suit for sunday and he went and stayed for the whole three hours for the first time in forever! so that was incredible! he is just so excited and he is already sharing parts of his testimony all over the place. I dont know if i will be here long enough to see him get baptized... but he will get baptized soon. he is so close already. golden family. so much. plus his wife loved church. she has stacks full of fellowshipping friends, and a new returned sister missionary who is on the ball as well. she just took care of her all day long. it was sweet.

WE also found a few other families that im sure will be progressing more in the weeks to come, we found one family who was truly a miracle, we were talking to an inactive family and their little girl started talking about another girl who had recently moved in who had been going to church in another ward, so we went to go talk to them... also prepared. they just want the gospel. they went to the beach this weekend with the rest of chile, but today we are going to take them to the fHE that the members do every monday so thats gonna be awesome! The parents are less active, and the kids arent baptized, they were ging to church in another ward but then they had a few things happen, they stopped going and they moved like a month ago, so they are awesome.

Today is Elder chambis birthday, so i made him a cake to celebrate, and we went and worked on the engine of a members little van just for kicks and giggles, it was a fun time! it brought back memories... we took off the oil pan, then cranked the pump to get all the oil out, and when i was underneath, we took out the pump and everything that was left in the tubes came spilling out... and i got DRENCHED in oil... drenched i grabbed a rag and clogged the hole really fast but it was much too late haha. soooo that was fun haha! walking home in my shirt full of oil... 

Random thought. What have you done for someone who isnt a family member this week?

Thank you all so much for being who you are! i love you! I know that God lives and that He restored His gospel again through Joseph Smith! Have a great week! thank you for your prayers and examples!

Elder Gold