FELIZ DIA DEL PADRE!!!!!!!!!!!!! (HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!)

Hey first off I hope that you had a great father’s day dad!!! Sorry I couldn’t be there, but I am busy doing the work of my father in heaven bringing my brothers and sisters back to him. But from your emails it sounds like you had a great day!!!! 

So guess what, I BOUGHT A DR. PEPPER THIS WEEK!!!!! We went to the market, and they had one there and I broke down and bought it, 7 months since I have had a Dr. Pepper and it was amazing!!!!!! I am getting pretty tired of orange Fanta every day!!!! HaHa. So the other day we went with our district to do service for the city because we have a contract with them so that marriages are easier, and we were cleaning and some old guy came up to the sister missionary and pointed at me and said... look that gringo is Satan.....so apparently I am Satan!!! HaHa and then when he left he walked by me and called me Satan again. Gotta love the people here!!!  

 

So I hope everything went well with grandma’s birthday, sounds like everything was good, you are all gomers in the family picture HaHa but that’s okay because that describes our family, we are all very interesting people!

 

So mom asked if I have been working on the new part of our area, honestly no, we haven’t done any contacting lately we have been so busy with investigators its insane, this month for the 29th, we are going to have 2 marriages, and it is a pain to do all the paper work here and get everything ready to go for those marriages that we have been working with them a ton to get them ready for the 29th, so we have two marriages, and 4 baptisms planned for the 29th, and it all depends on if we get the paper work done in time!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!! I am so happy that the marriages in the USA are easier!!!! But we need to find new people to teach because when they get baptized we won’t have anyone. The first couple is Lucila and Wilington, the other is Jacinto and Rocio. But Rocio is member so she won’t get baptized again, but her daughter Carmen is going to be baptized that day as well so those are the 4 with date, and they honestly are the best people ever, I do not want to leave this sector because these families are the best people ever!!!!!! I feel like they have become my second family here!!! Yes the jungle is still all hot and humid and every day I sweat off about half of my body weight!!!!!! But no it is not raining every day like your iPhone says; it hasn’t rained in about 2 weeks or more, so that’s why it’s so hot here!!! 

So about Ronaldiño, we still don’t have the permission from his parents so we don’t know when he is going to be baptized but I hope that it is soon. Because he is awesome!!! And he has the biggest desire to be baptized so we are still working with them to get the signature from his parents because they have to sign the baptism record because he is only 12 years old. But we are working hard here, and let me just say it’s very tiring!!! Emotionally giving all sorts of advice to people every day, and physically in how much we walk and how hot it is. But that is the life of a missionary, and that is how we receive blessings is by helping other people receive blessings!!!! So I love you all and I am sorry this email was kind of short, but I loved hearing from you, and I hope that I hear from you next week as well!!! I LOVE YOU!!! Have a great week and keep moving forward!!!!

LOVE ELDER GOASLIND!! 

Sorry there aren’t pictures today, the computer is being dumb and won’t accept my memory card, but oh well, I will send some next week!!! 

BAPTISM #11!!!

(June 10, 2013 Email)

Hey everybody!!! So as mom wrote me in the email, yes I did complete 7 months in the mission the other day!!! I am starting to feel a little old especially because my comp pointed out the other day that my 20th birthday is only 5 months away now, so I not only have a lot of time in the mission, but a lot a years in my life!!! Ahhhhh!!! Ha-ha. So to answer all the questions you have. So we got the new elder in our apartment he is from Lima, and this is his last transfer and he finishes his mission, but he leaves 2 weeks before the change because he has to start at the university, so we will be in a trio for those 2 weeks I am assuming. No I have not got the package yet, but that is because it gets to the office, and they wait to send it until there are other things to go, so it doesn’t get her very fast. I can’t believe school is out for you mom!!! What are you going to do with yourself this summer!!!!! So I am using revelation that Steve and Kristen are going to have a boy this time, ha-ha. 

I was sad to hear that Harlan Hammond got released from young men’s, he was great I learned a lot from him, and I don’t think I would be the missionary I am if it wasn’t for him pushing me along those last 3 years in young men’s!!!! Tell him thank you for me!! So dad no the bus does not stop when traveling it is 10 hours straight through, but it is a big tour bus!!! Elder Brey is doing good, his Spanish progressed a lot he is talking really well now!!! No I still haven’t got the license papers done yet, because I think I have to go back to Lima to finish paper work for my card, and then I will get that. The new area that we are allowed to work in is the area where all the people were rebelling, and throwing rocks, we couldn’t work there before because it was property of the military, but it isn’t now so we have permission but all of us are scared to enter so we haven’t gone there yet. And we still meet in the same place for church! 

So now guess what happened in our mission!!!! We have 6 assistants to the president!!!!!!!!! 2 elders and 4 sister’s missionaries!!!! How crazy is that!!!!!!  So yesterday was the birthday of my companion, so I planned with this family to have a dinner, and cake and all that and he didn’t know, he thought it was just an appointment so we got there and I had told them his favorites foods, so they prepared those, and bought a huge cake and it was awesome!!!! And I bought him a gift and then gave him one of my ties, so I hope he liked his birthday, also the branch president surprised him with another party and cake the afternoon before the dinner, and today we had cake with the zone!!! So I have eaten a lot of cake yesterday and today!!!!! 

So yesterday also I gave my first talk in the mission. I have been out for 7 months, and yesterday was my first talk. President of the branch asked me to speak for about 10 minutes about obedience. I thought it went really well. It was the first talk I have ever given without writing it word for word and it was all in Spanish so that was interesting, but it went well!!!!! 

So not a whole lot happened this week BUT WE DID HAVE A BAPTISM!!!! We were supposed to have 2 but one of them his mom wouldn’t sign the form for permission! So we only had one, but her uncle was baptized about a month ago, so now there are 2 members in that family. But it was a cool experience!!! I got to baptize her, her name is Karolyn. And she was so excited about her baptism. I know I always count how many baptisms I have but it’s not because I want a lot, it’s because I am counting how many souls I have helped begin their journey to Christ!!! So this week was very slow, but it ended well so I am happy with that!!!! 

So I read the talk from Elder Holland yesterday that he gave in this last conference, and I realized that not all the time is necessary to know that things are true, if we can just start with a belief we will continue to grow and grow! And I loved that!! It is true! When we teach people they don’t know for sure if things are true, they pray and start with a belief that what we are teaching is true, and through their life they come to know!!!! Throughout the mission I have learned so much and everything that I learn has helped me, Paula said this in her email but I want to repeat it because it is true. I have learned and matured so much during the mission then I could have ever imagined, and these things that I am learning I KNOW will help me for the rest of my life!!!! this church isn’t just some other church that people attend to say .-----I believe in god------- no this church is true, we are a part of the church of JESUS CHRIST it is his church, and we are a part of it because we have prayed to know the truth. And if you haven’t prayed to know I encourage you to do so. Because it changed my life and I know it can change the lives of other people too!!!! 

I am so proud or as Grandma Goaslind always says we shouldn’t be proud, we should be happy! I am happy that I am a part of the truth and that as a missionary I have the opportunity to bring others into the truth!!! The mission is something special that you can’t experience unless you serve!!!! I love my mission and I know that I am no better than anybody else, I am just here as an instrument in the hands of the lord!!! 

I love you all so much!!! And I am so happy that I am a part of the truth!!

I hope you all take the time to pray and ask god if these things are true even if you have done it before do it again to strengthen that testimony and then help others to strengthen their testimonies also!!! I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE MY SAVIOUR!!!!!!!!

CON MUCHO AMOR

ELDER GOASLIND

BACK FROM VACATION!!!

Hey so I am back from my vacation in Lima!!!! It was awesome!!! So I traveled alone for 13 hours from Puerto to Cusco, and guess who was waiting for me when I got there!!! ELDER BREY!!! He was standing there with a huge smile on his face, and we started talking and I don’t think we stopped talking the entire trip! I do have some pictures of us to send you so you can send to his parents also because he didn’t take pictures!!! So after we went straight to the airport along with 15 other missionaries got on a plane and went to Lima!!! We got to Lima and did paper work the whole day and then we ate at McDonalds and of course the church paid like normal so it was amazing!! Then we got to our hotel at like 4:30 Tuesday afternoon, and we just hung out in the hotel the entire night and talked and I don’t think I have every laughed so hard in my life listening to stories from the other missionaries!!!!

 

So then Wednesday morning we got to go to the temple!!!!! It was awesome we did an endowment session but I had to talk with the Temple Presidency because I don’t have a recommend because it was in my wallet when I got robbed at the beginning of my mission so I have to get a new one, but they let me in anyways. I’m a missionary!!!!! So after that we went and bought some stuff I bought some scriptures covers because my scriptures were crap without them, so check my bank account please because I didn’t have enough cash!!!! I also made another small purchase for a gift for one of my converts so that is on my card too!!! But after all that we went to the airport and got back to Cusco at like 4 in the afternoon. And we hung out in the mission office until 8 that night, then I went and took the bus alone again, back to Puerto, and got there Thursday morning at like 7. So it was a very tiring week, and now I am sick!! So that’s always good!!! Haha

 

So about the transfers, I will be in Puerto with Elder Torres for one more transfer, and only 1 Elder in our room has a change, and we are so happy because we all thought we were going to kill him!!!!! So many problems that I can’t even begin to explain them!!!

 

So I am not surprised that Ali has another boyfriend!!! But tell her congrats!!! Haha.

 

I feel bad to hear about all the health issues with Karson, but that just shows that he is a member of our family!!!!!

 

Mom I cannot believe that you are going to be done with another school year!!! That means I graduated a year ago!!!!! How crazy is that!!!! I cannot believe it!!!! 

 

So sounds like the Lowell’s cup was great!!!! I’m sad I missed it!!! But that’s okay; I will play again in 2 years!!!

 

Dad thanks for the scripture references I will do that during personal study one day this week!!! So thank you I am excited to read it!!! 

 

So not much happened this week, but I do have a story about an investigator!!!

So we have been teaching this person since we got here 2 months ago, and she never attended church because she works on Sundays.  So we have our fast this weekend, and we prayed for her that she would be able to attend, and then we went and taught for about the tenth time why she needs to attend to be baptized. So we talked and I felt the sprit so strong, and she was crying and she kept putting up all these excuses, and but then at the end she was like, ya I am going to talk to my boss. So that day after the lesson we were walking and she passed by us on her scooter, and stopped and said, hey I’m going to church tomorrow, and every Sunday after that so I can get baptized!!!!  We asked if she talked to her boss, and she said she quit her job because she didn’t need the money for anything important, and that her dad said he would give her money until she found new work!! so she came to church yesterday for the first time after 2 months!!!! It was amazing!!! I just love being a missionary and having the people follow through with their commitments!!! It’s the greatest!! And it’s all because we teach with the spirit, if you don’t have the spirit then you can’t apply the things we teach!!!!

 

Well that’s about all for this week, I hope everyone is doing well and I can’t wait to hear from you next week!!! You are the greatest, and I love you all so much!!!!!!

Also I haven’t got my package yet!!!! But it will come!!!!

 

CON MUCHO AMOR

ELDER GOASLIND!!!!!