2 college classes, 3 exchanges, 1 district meeting,1 ward christmas party and all that holiday nonsense!! Why do I put myself through this??!!?

I ate a ton of food and it was really really good.

 

  Thanksgiving was a blast even though I wasn't able to be on the football field this year showing off my top nominee Heisman skills to all these country folks out here. I love football but I'll just have to put those talents on the back burner for the time being.

 

I'll start at the beginning of the week.

 

So on Monday Elder Sauer and I got to teach some great lessons, and had to accomidate several missionaries to stay the night with us, they traveled in from Normal Bloomington, and Pontiac to stay the night here in Peoria. We have to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and were on the road by 4:45 and made the long trip all the way to Iowa City for the mission tour. I drove of course in my van. When we got there I saw so many of my missionary buddies and it was great. There were 6 of the 10 zones there and so like over a 100 missionaries at this mission tour.  Elder Sauer did a special musical on the piano for the 2nd half of the conferance so he went and did his thing in the RS room before the meeting.

 

  Elder Clarke reminds me so much of Grandpa Nelson, a really old school guy except he's from Rexburg ID. He just has the old school way of manners and talk and is always winking at people ;) He is a very great man who gave us so much instruction including the importance of the ONE. He hit strongly that everyony that we talk to and teach is someone's Dad or Cousin or Brother or Convert that we need to take very seriously. I Realized the truth of his statement that "if we don't take care of other's converts, then no one will take care of our converts". On Wednesday I got a call from Delores Sinks who I was teaching back in July and August and she got baptized up in Detroit a a couple of months ago and now she moved back and is one of those converts that i must help take care of.

 

Elder Clarke also introduced us to the new Church Christmas campaign mormon.org/christmas. I'm excited to get some good media referrals from this program and start teaching like it's the best thing on earth, because it is. The best feeling that I can get right now is the spiritual high that i get after a great lesson with an investigator. I love to teach and will probably beg President Chugg to let me teach some of those Missionary prep classes next fall.

 

After the mission tour we let everybody out and we had a Zone Leader Council in the chapel with Elder Clarke. He told us what we needed to get to our goal of 400 baptisms. He got very personal with all of us and really wanted to know every name of the people who had baptismal dates. Elder Sauer and I implimented this strategy into our zone training meeting on Friday.

Elder Clarke also answered some questions we had and then he went off for a while about post mission stuff and just life advice in general. It was so good to hear his take on how to live a good gospel centered life, how to pick our a spouse ( something that I've already done) and how to get rich hahha yes he told us how to get rich and it was great. It just takes hard work, good schooling, and a dedication to Family Life, Work Life, and Church Life. He is great and I love him so much, but Sister Clarke made a comment that i didn't like. She said " When you get home from work it should be the time to be with family and that means no golfing after work because that takes to much of your time". I thought about that and I know through the spirit that her comment was the biggest piece of false doctrine that I heard all day. On mormon.org we have videos and testimonies about how golf can get you ready for all aspects of life, especially getting you ready to be a mission president. Also I have a book at home that shows Prophets of God playing the game and enjoying themselves so don't give me that comment Sister Clarke even the scriptures talk about golf being heavenly. " The course of the Lord is one eternal round" 2Nephi 10:19  if it's in the scriptues, it's true. I did get to shake his hand and give him a hug and tell him why I can't speak spanish so yea he knows who I am.

 

I love thanksgiving we has lots to eat. We had a dinner at noon 2, and 4 and we had full meals at every single one of them. Oh boy can I eat when I want to eat. It's a good things that this next Sunday is fast Sunday.

I'm excited to keep teaching the gospel. I realized that my time here in Peoria is coming to an end and that i only have 4 more sundays left here. I super excited for Skype  on Christmas and it's going to be a ball. so much to talk about but never enough time here on the computer and I just blank when I do come here.

 

I love the cd you sent me but it was the wrong one so I just took the liberty to order online the cd that i wanted. sorry but it's the best stuff ever.

 

I do have a christmas tree, and what would I do with decorations anyways, I'm busy trying to organize the work of the zone and help people achieve their fullest potential I don't have time for little Christmas crafts and I don't have the time to fiddle with all that sorry.

 

Sorry to hear that Uncle Stan died... I don't know who that is...   It's a good thing we have the Atonement.

 

I love you all and i need to leave here because with our exchanges and college class and stuff we will be a little busy and have apt's set up today so peace.

 

Elder Gonzalez   Peoria Illinois    the place to be.

 

 

Mission Tour + Thanksgiving= awesome week (from November 19, 2012)

I'm really excited to get out and work this week because we only have so much time to do it this week with today obviously being p-day and then tomorrow being gone all day for a mission tour in Iowa City with Elder Clarke which I'm most excited for because it's not very often that I get to shake the hand of a GA if ya know what I mean. So he spoke in conference and then last year Elder Bowen came through the mission and he spoke this past conference too and it was amazing. The bad part about all of this is that since we're out here in peoria we are super far away from everything and so we have to be in our seats spiritually preparing for them meeting by 8 and so we have to leave here at 5a.m. and that's going to kill me for sure because I'm driving and we have to wake up at like 4 and get going or we'll be late to the meeting which is going to have over 100 missionaries there and President or Elder Clarke will put a curse on me. Let's just say that I'm way excited and we have some missionaries staying the night with us and will be with us tomorrow for the drive. The meeting will start at 9 and so between 8-9 everyone will get to shake his had one by one and get to talk with him for a sec then the meeting will go from 9-12 then an hour for lunch then the second half at 1-3 then after that we have a zone leader council with Elder Clarke from 3:30 -6:30 and we will probably be getting drilled with how we will reach our baptismal goal this year of 400. We as a mission have 316 baptized with 126 with a date. Now the mission is about 50% with those with baptismal dates actually making it to the waters of baptism, so we will  be getting the run down for sure. Elder Sauer and I have our plate full with trying to get things in order with the sisters trying to figure out the area we're in due the the East Elders being closed down for a couple of transfers and having to split everything with them. We are also getting everything ready for the mission tour and the meeting after, as well as a 2 1/2 zone training meeting on Friday and then 2 days of college class that we have to teach next week. I'm feeling a little unprepared for this one but I know that I'll be able to receive revelation about what needs to be said and what questions these college students will bring up. I mean I've never even been to a day of college in my life and now I'm supposed to teach the class........ talk about climbing fast haha

So for thanksgiving we have plenty to eat and places to go. I'm just a likable guy and people see that so we gets the food if you know what I mean. sometimes I hear all the street slang down hear and it starts to flake off on me and I start to get spitting like Slim Thug. President Jergensen doesn't want us to be playing any football at all on Thanksgiving due to injuries and whatnot so it looks like I'll have to take my talents next season to Riverton and pull some Tim Tebow on yall haha I'll knock ya flat. BTW I did 64 pushups this morning in a row without stopping with my push up stands( they kinda hurt my wrist) that's hard and it's alot.

I do not want to have thermal G's because that would just be weird. Tony has all the stuff and it will all workout with him unless he passes it off to you mom. 

We do have Greg not really ready at this time for baptism but we did replace him with a lady named Phyllis Vaughn who will work towards Dec 22

I love you all and I know that this work is true and even if the dude next to me is looking at bad stuff I'll stand strong in the faith   Elder Gonzalez

6 More Weeks (from November 13, 2012)

I'm so happy to be here for 6 more weeks. I love Peoria and all that it brings with it.

 

  So i know that I said that I would be here until Dec 27 but when transfer calls come around you just never know whats going to happen, but yes Elder Suaer and I will be serving for 18 weeks together........ pretty sweet. He's for sure my favorite companion even though he's so completely opposite of me like it's not even funny opposite.

 

We had a great week and are seeing so many miracles our key indicators are as follows 0 0 2 1 2 6/2 2 1 1 4 3 4 and tony can tell you all about those but yes we do have 2 investigators set on baptismal dates and they are NW Whitley and Greg Taylor. NW wasn't able to make it to church and so it was sad to not have him there, but one eyed greg came and it was a great sunday with him there. We even had a linger longer as so he got to talk to some of the people in the ward. He is set for Dec 22 and has made seriously a complete 180* turn around from when we first met him. I was on an exchange with Assistant to the President Elder Parkinson and we laid the law with him and he seemed to back out when we were finished with him, but a couple days later we went back and he was praying and wanted to be at church so we made that happen, and he really liked it as is looking forward to next week. I know that he is starting to feel the spirit in his life, and I'm praying very earnestly that he will prepare himself for baptism.

 

We are seeing some serious changes in the mission right now with more missionaries coming out. So right currently now we have 182 missionaries and will be needing to stock ourselves up to about 250 in the next year so every ward in the mission will have 2 sets of missionaries and lots more sisters and an additional 2-3 zones. So right now we are losing more then we're getting in a couple of days with transfers and so our zone is closing 2 areas and that's going to take a hit on the work, but we'll just have to redouble our efforts. Canton Branch is closing, and The Peoria east elders is shutting down so Elder Sauer and I will have to split their area with the Sisters and get to working evern harder and Redouble our efforts. We have some great lessons set up this week and could get some more baptismal dates here on the way.  I"m super stoked.

 

In regards to the election...... I"m just glad it's over, and that I don't have to get all the Romney jeers that come from passing cars and what not. As for the next 4 years, bring it on Satan I WILL LAY YOU OUT. God's in charge and he tells the prophet what needs to be done and that's good enough for me.

 

It's getting cold out here and so we are all bundled up and gots our gloves on and not quite a beanie yet because i don't want to mess up my hair. As for missionary work in Utah that's got to be so nice. Whenever a non-member moves in the whole ward just pounces on them and then out here we have in the Peoria Stake 21% hometeaching each month with 33% active so yea the work out here needs a make over. The midwest in general is just so conservative and so slow and people just get in their little ruts and don't get out of them. We'll change that.

 

We are preparing for a mission tour with Elder Don R. Clarke of the 70 next tuesday. and that's going to be super sweet because right after the meeting we are having a zone leader council with Elder Clarke. Presiding and will receive special instruction from him for an additional 3 hours.

 

On the 27th and 29th Elder Sauer and I are teaching a world's religion class at Heartland Community College on "Mormonism" and so we're basically going to get destroyed by 30 college students on those 2 days which is both an hour and 15 minute classes. so pray for us please.

 

I love yall so much and can't wait to skype home in 6 weeks today!!!!!   Elder Gonzalez on the front lines in Peoria Illinois

Redouble!!!! (from November 5, 2012)

Hi there my good friends

 

  I'm sitting here in Peoria Lakeview branch in the Peoria Public library system and it's a sad place.... Libraries are an interesting place, people come to get knowledge and to raise themselves to a higher plane of thought and try to their best to become better people. I admire that and I wish that I could help all of them to see that this is a place of temporal things, now I'm not saying that the knowledge aquired here is no good, but that it is in comparrison dust and dirt to the value of what is found in the Book of Mormon. Chances are there is a copy of the Book of Mormon in here somewhere, I want to know how many times it has actually been lifted off the shelf. I'm looking around at what truth is available. Books on how to fix your house, the purpose of the cardiovascular system,  gardening, auto repairs, far east cooking and more. Even the books of how to lose weight, how to have a happier family, how to conquer the stresses of life, and best off how to find peace of mind in a changing world. If only they could find the Book of How to Gain happiness in life and Eternal lIfe in the world to come. I marvel at the desires of society. Most things must be an immediate satisfacation, or a temporary cure for something that never should have taken place. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I have that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has both the ability to be happy in this life and have eternal joy in worlds to come. I'm grateful for the immediate satisfactions that the Holy Ghost brings and eternal and endless joys of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful for each week being able to take that sacred and renewing sacrament and feel myself begin to understand the Savior and get ready to go to work.

 

Elder Sauer and I had Brother Whitley  at church yesterday as well as Debra Owens. We have Debra praying for a baptismal date and NW Whitley set for December 8th and he's very excited for that. I'm so glad that we have been able to seen success come from our efforts in this area. I'm growing greater charity towards the people dispite to geers and taunts that come with missionary work.

I've learned that I need to be better every single day. I recently read in D&C 127:4 about redoubling our efforts, and that's exactly what we're doing here. Elder Suaer and I are exhaused at night and somehow want to do it all over again in the morning. We are planning better, we're working harder, we're being bolder, and we're relying more and more on the spirit.

 

Do to today's schedule we are teaching even on p-day and have to make this session a little shorter then what we would like. Sacrifice i guess is what you would call it.

 

I love yall and will be seeing you later and will let you know next email wether or not I"m staying or going.

 

God Bless yall  Elder Gonzalez

Fun Week... Plus We Have Work 2do!!! (from October 27, 2012)

I Just want to say that Yall are just the bee's knees and I love you all

 I didn't mention in my last email that I did get your packages and they are the boss and I was so much in love with the Utes stuff and i Loved the good kind stuff that i now have. I do need to mention that I am now on my 4 months to 6 months to sexy and all the candy that I've been getting is starting to reverse the effects of my morning workouts. Please do keep the packages up because I act like a little girl when I see a box with me name on it and I think that it has nothing but straight gold in it.

 

 I do realize that sometimes I tend to do some venting when I email because there is a tone of stress that comes upon me throughout the week. I never thought that a mission would include all the responsibilities that Elder Sauer and I have, sometimes I just want to go back to the regular old companionship or better yet I'd like to train a new 18 year old missionary and teach him how an old and experienced 20 year old stud from Utah does it. So be aware that I come to email sessions with all the stuff that lagging me down and all the more or less negative things that are on my mind.

I do want to take some time and talk about the importance of having spiritual time with the scriptures. I have learned through the workings of the spirit that the Book of Mormon is the most powerful tool that we have to conquer our tasks in our lives. It was trully made for our day. None of the people of the Book of Mormon ever had it, they never had any of what we enjoy so freely. They may have had a reference to the Brass Plates and some teachings of their fathers but it was made for our day and is a gift so important that it came before anything else in this dispensation. The most important truth that we learned in this dispensation was what the Prophet Joseph Smith discovered in the grove of trees. When he came out of there 4 eternal truths came out with him. 1. God the Father and Jesus Christ are distinct individuals. 2. God the Father and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and bone and are in the image of man. 3. The cannon of scripture is not complete and that there is more truth out there to be learned. 4. The heavens are open and God is communicating with men and whosoever wants to be part of this comminication only needs to kneel down and ask for help.

  We often talk about how Joseph Smith was delivered the plates, and that they were sealed and no one can read a sealed book. Well he was given power to translate that record and now we have it and it only becomes a sealed book to us when it sits in the corner or on the table and isn't opened because we through our own ignorance have it sealed. I talk about the first of those truths that Joseph Smith was shown and the number one truth was that God is real and that he talks with man. He discovered that he was actually praying to a person and not a mist or unseen power but to a God who is very much part of our life. If we don't know who we are praying to then what is the use. It must be to that God who gave us life. Jesus said that "this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent". Joseph learned that very quickly and he then had a sure knowledge of what kind of work was about to come forth, even a great and marvelous work, yea even a wonder. 

I am amazed and what the gospel is doing all over the world, and I know that it all boils down to 3 questions

It is the What, the how, and the why of missionary work.

1. the "what" of missionary work is for the soul purpose of gathering scattered Israel. Everything that we do in the church points towards that goal and mission. What are we doing? Gathering Scattered Israel

2. the "how" of missionary  work is the missionary purpose- Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End.

3. the "why" of missionary work is to give glory to God. Did he not say that" this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" God is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient. What could possibly give him more satisfaction then witnessing his children turning their hearts to him and giving thanks and all the glory to him. With all of that, our life has a course that the rod of Iron helps us get to and that's to that tree of life, it's to eternal life which is most precious and sweet above all that is sweet.

My prayer is that with the 10 months that I have left I want to give it my all. Life is tough but the atonement was tough and we wouldn't appreciate it if we ourselves didn't shed just one of those tears that Christ did for us in that garden. Indeed each of us must go through our own Gestsemane and conquer whatever is in our path, whether it's cancer, or a job, or a mission, or just the worst week that we've ever experienced. Just remember that when you have the "tough days" you stand shoulder to shoulder with the best blood that ever walked this earth. Please read The Book of Mormon, is was made for our day, countless prophets were preparing it for us and we can't sink our teeth into it or drink from it's well of it's closed and put away. Wise men still seek for Jesus and it would be wisdom to follow their example an learn from the master.

I love you all and I'll send the stuff soon with pictures and what not in it.