Week 39: Week 9 in Zollikofen: Met the Kohlers-iPads, the 4th, and Busy, Good and HAPPY!

Where to even start. Such a good and happy week :)

First of all. Switzerland has BY FAR the BEST thunderstorms and rainstorms!!!! It has gewittert every night this week. And right now.. the church is shaking. It's marvelous. 

They came to Zürich and we had 2-zone meeting.
It was really good.

I guess I'll just start with the coolest part of this week, and that is the arrival of the 4 coolest, and most loving people ever: THE KOHLERS! That's right! They're here!! President Kohler is WONDERFUL. Seriously. So young, so cool, and SO perfect for this calling. It's really cool cause you know that they are all scared out of their whits to be here. They're so real with it all. President made it very clear that his family took priority and things are going to have to change a little from how President Miles did it. Totally fine! Totally cool! He said there could be times when he takes off his tag and goes swimming with his kids. Cool. And he has such good ideas and thoughts for things here. And the best? He's not changing much from President Miles. Which is good, cause he was wonderful. But he is going to put a spin on things... a Kohler touch.

Now. The rest of the family.

Sister Kohler. She is so LIEB!!!!! (Loving, or something in English). She's so terrified of being here. But she's really prepared herself. Her whole life, not just the last 10 months. She even took German at BYU to prepare :) She bore us her testimony and is was pretty much flawless. Simple, but really good. And she is so talented! I think it is a rule that Mission Presidents have to be musically talented. 

Now, their oldest daughter, who's name I have forgotten, is serving a mission in Tokyo Japan and will be getting home, which is now Münich, the same month as me! She's cool. And they have iPads in her mission (more on that later :D)

Tanner: 16. And cool. He's a bad guy, but the coolest band guy ever. He plays the trumpet and is really good. They did a musical number for us. He's the most excited to be here. He thinks it's the coolest ever. And he's going to leave on his mission from here. So that's also a really cool thing. Always getting to be with missionaries.

Erica: 13. Seriously, so cute. I think she's the most grown up 13 year old that I know. And she loves her brother soooo much. It's wonderful to see. I just had to hug her! She reminds me of Bree. Super thin, gorgeous, and so cute. Just... yes. Wonderful.

So. This is going to be a good ride for us all. A really good way to just... start over. Every  missionary (if they need one), has a fresh start with a totally new person. And he's really great. I really look forward to working under him for the next 9 months of my mission.

And another REALLY cool part of this conference, was that we just got news that all of Western Europe will have iPad's by the end of 2014! That means us! And we just have to buy them:) and then we keep them after our missions! Way better than a bike... way better. Can't wait to get my hands on that. Life as a missionary will be way, way easier... well. As easy as a mission can get ;)

All in all, I'm really excited to work with them and see how things will go for the next 9 months.. only 9 :(

Now something not so great about the week. 

Well no. It was really good, but also really not so good.

We were in a lesson with Anton, and new investigator as of.. 2 weeks ago? He's really receptive to the things we tell him and he told us he knew the Book of Mormon was true after us just telling him about it. Okay. Cool. We took the Elders with us cause we needed a joint teach and it's easiest when we just bring them. Good thing we did, too. We got to his apartment and I asked him how he was doing. He told us that it wasn't going so well for him right now cause he's in a lot of pain.

Turns out, he's got something really similar to what dad had last year (BG: Microdisectomy sugery for herniated L4L5 disks-Tiger Woods had the same thing-he's still a better golfer than me) . The last three spinal bones have grown together, but after the stuff in between has been pushed out. Yeah, I'm trying not to throw up just typing about it. But anyway, I kept thinking back to dad last year, and it was horrible. Just remembering the pain and the tears, and the crying, and the screaming of those 6 weeks. It was really hard for me to even hear about it. I don't know how he was just.. sitting there. He's had that for 4 years, too.

The good part of this lesson: the elders gave him a Priesthood blessing and he was crying and said he could really feel God's love for him. I bore powerful testimony of the Priesthood and started to teach. I have been praying to have more powerful lessons and to be more bold about what I'm sharing, and I really felt it the first time in this lesson. I just.. bore testimony, and stared him straight in the eye.

As Sister Wüst was speaking, he seized up in a LOT of pain. I was having flashbacks. No need to detail... you all know what I'm talking about. I was like... trying not to cry on the couch. We had no idea what to do. Luckily he pressed his emergency button and the nurses came, but... man. It was really bad. And he won't get surgery cause there's a 95% chance he'll be in a wheelchair. My gosh. Just DO IT. 

Another cool story about bearing powerful testimony:

We went by on a... what's it called... a past investigator. I don't remember how to speak right now. Any who. We've been by on her a few times and she just pretends she's not home. I had had ENOUGH of this, so we prayed, then rang the bell. I put my finger over the peephole so she couldn't pretend she wasn't there. They were speaking Portuguese on the other side of the door, so she was clearly at home. I took my finger off the hole and plastered the biggest "I'm so happy to be here" smile i had on my face. She opened the door. 

Went right into telling us that she was just about to go out to by her daughter new shoes cause she had NONE without holes. Mind you, it was 6.30 and all the shops are already closed at that time, as I'm looking at her perfectly good shoes on her feet. Okay. 

She told us she wasn't interested. This is where I was just... no. I just told her that was too bad cause there are things we have to do in this life to return to the Fathers presence. She just was like... yeah, you have your beliefs and I have mine. 

Just to make this long story short, I pretty much just told her how it was. Really powerfully and blankly. I told her the Book of Mormon IS true. No questions asked. 

She told me that she had read it and God told her it wasn't. Mmmhmmm. 

She told us that her main problem with what we believe is that we think that what Eve did by eating the fruit was good. Which is was, because without that choice we wouldn't be here. She just figured that out before Adam. Ugh. I told her that, too, and she just replied that it was TERRIBLE that she was here on this earth and had a body. Then Sister Wüst asked her if it was bad that she had a daughter, and she said yes!! What on earth?! Right in front of her daughter!

I was like.. Right then. I'm sorry that you don't want to know more and wished her a good night. And walked down the stairs. Sister Wüst is an angel and was really nice, putting the band aid on the wound I just made. She's great. 

I'm just so sick of Satan getting to these people! They know it's true! And then they take a week off of meeting us, which turns into a month, and then 2, and then 3. And in those 3 months you see a total change of character. Sister Wüst kept saying that.. I had never met with her, so I didn't know her before. 

Satan. Tsk, tsk. 

We picks Mehrdroobelies on Thursday (Johannes berries). Soooooo good. Perfect for the next day... which was:

FOURTH OF JULY!! 

We were just two American babes that day. Pancakes for breakfast, normal salad for lunch, and then a homemade grill for dinner, all dressed in red, white, and blue. What fun :) We are making the best memories together :)

Chloe loves to cook now.

Sis Wust, they are Happy, Happy, Happy!

Her American flag decorated pancake

Girl on the right is the girlfriend of an Elder in the Zurich zone.  She got home a month ago.

So. A packed week. As you can see.

Sunday. We had a great lesson about how life is meant to be filled with laughter and smiling. It's the Plan of HAPPINESS, after all :) It was really so, so good. I thought lots about it. 

As tired as I am (due to the really rapid changes in the weather everyday), I love my life here. I love what I am doing! I love seeing that none of this in my hands. If God wanted this place to be booming, it would be. We can only do our best :) 

He answers prayers. He hears them. He knows the desires of our hearts. 100%. That I know.

Have a good week :)

Sister Gilmour

xx

Enjoy the thunderstorm videos I sent. And enjoy the German ;)

Week 38: Week 8 in Zollikoffen: Nice and busy! Just like I like it! "I - We - need to endure things well"

Hallo Zamme! Just trying to teach you some Swiss. Could be of good use at some point in your life... HA. Actually, no :) No one speaks this crazy cool language. 

So, before I tell you all about this last week, I just want to tell you about the best study that I had this morning. 

I was reading in the January Liahona, and I read the talk from President Eyring about giving gifts to our future family. I don't really know what about it touched me so much, but it was probably one of the most spiritual studies of my mission. It was beautiful.

The things we give to our families later in life are really developed here, right now, when we are in school, and when we are young. Being able to help our children with math or writing problems, or the feeling of failure and the healing power of the Atonement are really the most priceless gifts we could ever give to our children. 

I then read about the Godhead (The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost, 3 separate individuals, one in purpose, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man). I have not really thought about this one. But today, I was given testimony that they are there. They are separate, they do work together. All that we do, is through the three of them. I have such a strong, and indescribable testimony of this. 

We made this:)

Okay. Now. For the week. It was really good :) Nice and busy! Just like I like it!

Tuesday: 

Had a really, really good first District Meeting. Elder Conteh, our new DL, is wonderful. Really one of the best meetings I've had. 

Found a new investigator... finally. Things are starting to look up :)

Wednesday:

CLEANING DAY. We cleaned.. ALL DAY. Don't worry, we were asked to do so. We had a mission-wide cleaning day. I loved it. We went way deep and cleaned everything. Our apartment sparkles. Really. It was good therapy. And we stayed in sweats the whole day. Also really nice. And I got to hear more about Sister Wüst's family. Gosh, I love that girl. She's such a trooper. Then we had GMR, which was REALLY good. I love watching wards start to take the work really serious. It was really successful. And I gave the spiritual thought about giving up something... an addiction, in a sense. I'm giving up cracking all my joints. Hard stuff, people. Hard stuff.  (BG, she's terrible at this, we'll be following up on this one, weekly)

Thursday: 

Visited Sister Gygli. She's wonderful. 90 and totally there. She gives the best advice. I love her. She's from England. She's a family history wiz. AND THEN. We went to Sister Giantti's, a less active, to visit with her. Then she told us about this painting on the wall.. then she just mentioned in passing that SHE painted it. It's beautiful. Then she was like.. yeah, I painted everything in my living room, too. She then pointed to a glass case full of porcelain... and she told us that she painted all that. I was so confused cause there were no paintings. And then it clicked.. SHE PAINTS PORCELAIN. And I don't just mean like.. kinda paints pottery. I mean.. she's professional. She paints with real G. And she's SO GOOD AT IT. I took a few pictures and sent them to you. Take a look. 

She also sewed and embroidered her own chair and also embroidered a picture. I was literally stunned. Then we had a really good eating appointment with Bischof and did a family mission plan. Probably one of the best we've done. It was way good. They already do so much.

BEST PART OF THIS DAY: We referred Sister Wüst's family to the missionaries in Frankfurt! Which is like.. a really big deal. It was really happy and we were jumping up and down and were just so pumped. I really think this was the right time. We'll see on Thursday if they've dropped by yet. 

Friday:

Lunch appointment with Sister Jordi. Long story short, she's really sick. She makes really good, natural food. It was a fiasco getting to her house, though. Really... one of the most interesting appointments of my mission. Good memories. We're going back next week. YES. 

Saturday: 

Nothing of importance.

Sunday: 

I stressed about the trials I am going to face in my life. (BG: Geesh:))The whole day, from personal study to the joint class with Priesthood and RS, was about facing trials and enduring them well. I was like... okay! Isch guet! I get it.. I need to endure things well. No matter what life-tearing things are thrown my way. I just thought a lot about what could possibly hit me. So.. I'm waiting for something life shattering. (BG: Oh no!)

Had a really lovely dinner of fish and rice and really healthy food with the Von Allmans. They are really wonderful. I go to Ava when I need anything. She's kinda like my mom here in Zollikofen. Then we had a really good lesson with a less active family from Togo. It was a translated lesson, but still really good. Our GML and his wife came along. He's awesome.

So... things are starting to pick up :) We had numbers to report, so that's always nice ;) (Even though numbers mean NOTHING. I know that.)

I LOVE YOU ALL! Til next week!

Sister Gilmour

xx

Week 37: Week 7 in Kollikofen: My Soul Is Tired, So Many Prayers Answered

Hello all. I took a nap for P-day today. My soul is tired. But that's okay :)

This week was full of amazing and spiritual experiences. So I'm going to tell you about those this week.

Wednesday. Miracle day. 

We went dooring, because... let's be honest. We've been getting the answer that that's what we need to do. So we prayed, got the answer that we needed to go to Worblaufen, so we did.

We got off the Bahn, said another prayer, and both turned in the same direction, and headed off. We went to a building, did the whole house; no success. 

Second building. Almost the whole house done when finally someone said yes. His name is Yusuf. He is Muslim, but also Christian. He really believes the same things we do. We had a good lesson on the doorstep, and promised to come back with a Book of Mormon. It was really such a spiritually uplifting hour. We love miracles :)

Same day, we went by on an "investigator" and actually got to meet with her. She's Chinese and the whole God thing is really hard for her. But we had a really good lesson about how God is our loving Heavenly Father. And a whole lot of other things that were all really good :) She's so open to everything we say, she just doesn't quite... get it. But, we'll get it. She's awesome. 

We have a joint teach with the Elders with one of their investigators, Fernanda. She's from Portugal. She's got a really long, interesting story, but basically she told us that she prayed about the Book of Mormon and got the answer that she was already on the right path and didn't need to switch, even though she believes the book is true. Ugh. But we read 3 Nephi 11 with her. My goodness... the Spirit just bore witness to me that was took place during this chapter REALLY did happen. It was amazing. Even if she keeps listening to her lady-bishop, I received the answer again that the Book of Mormon is true. It was wonderful :)

We had a few good appointments with members this week. One was particularly good. I really got to help the mother out with personal health problems that she has. Again, in the words of Erin Maxfield, "God is not random". This family is wonderful :) We got to go by to give them a "Personal Touch" the next night and that.. was really inspired. It was so good. I love being able to follow the Spirit :)

I just want you to know that God answers prayers. We sometimes just need to look and pay attention to the answers. He answered so many of my prayers this week. Just enough to light the dark path and give me a little light to help me continue to walk in faith. He continues to do that daily. Missions are hard. Really hard. Especially when you are STILL not seeing anything. For example, I was sitting on a Bahn yesterday, on our way to contact in Suberg, when I went to talk to a women, because.. yeah, we should always be talking to people. I just complimented her ring, and she didn't understand a thing I said! "Ich mag ihren Ring". Is it really that hard to understand. I know I said it right. It was so hard to not just start crying right there; "what am I doing here", I asked myself. "No one is listening. No one sees the specialness of what I have to give them". It was a hard moment. 

Sister Wüst just had to remind me that my German is not bad. And that it's not my fault that these people don't listen. I knew it already... but it's hard. Missionary work is hard.. let me just say that a few more times :) 

I gave a talk yesterday. It was MUCH better than the last one I gave. I wrote it all myself (hopefully I can do that after 9 months in the field, right? ;)). I had Sister Wüst correct my mistakes, but guess what?! I didn't really make any! A few wrong endings on words, but even native speakers make those. And then I switched around a few words just to make it sound more correct. But it was really a confidence booster than I am learning! It was really cool :)

I gave the talk. There were no nerves, I didn't trip over the words, and it was perfectly the amount of time I was assigned... no 38 minute long talks like at my Farewell.. whoops ;)

So like I said, the power of prayer is real. It's so real.

Pray that we stay healthy here. Pray that whoever needs to see a doctor in the next few weeks will get good test results better. And that she can handle the needles and the blood and that she won't faint. We don't need any repeats of that one time in Tübingen ;) No hospital visits are needed right now! 

The church is true. Even when no one else will accept that. I know it, and one day I'll find the people who need me. One day I'll get to teach these eternal truths to people. My study stays fest on the Book of Mormon. I'm in Helaman 13, by the way. In German. I love learning more and understanding more as the days go on :) I am so blessed here. 

I love hearing about the mission calls of all my friends. The work is being hastened... it really is. Now pray for the people. They need the prayers, too. 

All my love from Zollikofen,

Sister Gilmour

xx

P.S. We get a new President this week. How weird is that? Hmm.. it should be good!

Week 36: Week 6 in Zollikofen: Making our own MILK: ZUMBA in Switz from Pro 'English' Dancer - Mormon.org ):)

Hoy Zamme!

Man, I love you and mom. You two are the best examples! I love that you both pushed through the marathon and half marathons this weekend (mom deciding the night before to do it-she rocks!), despite the issues and knee pains. Heal yourselves, though! I want two parents who are healthy and strong when i get back,please :) 

I heard you PR'ed Dad, even though your 4:07 time wasn't as good and you wanted it to be? Way to go!!

And Sandi qualified for Boston... man. One day I'll be as cool as all of you :) Matt is doing well, too, I hope?

I know Erin Maxfield was a great missionary. she has helped me numerous times throughout my time here on a a mission. We're still knocking doors... nothing. Maybe we're just not saying the right things? But that really shouldn't matter cause the Lord prepares people to hear us, no matter what we say, no matter how bad our language is. So... we just keep pushing on. We're hoping that the new activities we've got planned will bring new people in.  

AN EXAMPLE:  We're doing Zumba with a pro- dancer from our ward

 

(Here's her Mormon Message. She's the coolest: mhttp://www.mormon.org/vanessa ) 

The ward was really excited when it was announced, so we're hoping to see new people there, and all their friends :):)

Nothing from the American house. Sadly. 

What did you end up doing for Fathers Day? Beside sitting in pain?

We have started the ab challenge as well... on day 3. Too easy. But running again in the mornings :) that's been really good... considering i've/ we've been having our weird health problems. 

****

So I wrote a list of things I wanted to include in this weeks email. So I'm just going to write it like I have it listed out in my planner :) 

First things first, Sister Wüst and I are now lactose free... or... intolerant. Her more than me. We've been experiencing stomach pains and bloated-ness. She can't even sleep sometimes. 

So, naturally, we asked for Priesthood blessings. We asked Bruno and Jona, both are wonderful. Bruno's wife (this is the couple that we Skyped you from) is the most wonderful and talented women. I love her. She was telling me about things that say "lactose free", that aren't actually lactose free. So she told us how to make our own rice milk and almond milk.

So we did :)

Success. 

Who needs to eat during the dinner hour? Not us! Especially since we can't eat anything... 

Anywho, the blessing. I don't remember what was said, but I do remember what I felt. Which is the most important thing, right? As, Bruno laid his hands on my head, I was instantly filled with the feeling of healing. I could feel myself being cleansed and blessed, right from the very beginning of his blessing. It was all in German as well, and it was a great experience. I love German. There is something so beautiful about it. They can express themselves in a way you can't in English. Which is strange since German is really restrictive. 

Maybe it's because I don't receive Kranken Segens very often, but it was so good. And so powerful. 

Now, the reason I needed a blessing.

Hi... I've been out for 8 months. Everyone says that there is a level of exhaustion that is reached on a mission about half-way that no one can explain. Well... Ich stimme zu. I am so tired. I AM SO TIRED. I can only get through about 20 minutes of studies without falling asleep. I get 8 hours of sleep, sometimes 8.5. And I wake up with really bad headaches almost every morning. They last only until about 11, but they are still really annoying. 

I think I am low on iron. So we are buying iron today. 

***

Enough on my bodily issues :)

We got the permission from President to watch two World Cup games... cool, eh? Good thing I didn't come on my mission to watch Fussball. I don't know if Sister Wüst and I will end up watching any games. If we do watch any of them, it will be on the 26th: Deutschland v. America. The Elders are all really pumped, as I'm sure you can imagine ;) 

***

We had a joint teach with the Elders this week with a women who has been investigating for about a year. She is a HEAVY smoker, so we talked about das Evangelium Jesu Christi and der Wort der Weisheit. (BG: Really?:  she thinks we speak German too:))

It turned out really differently than we thought.

Turns out, she trusts doctors more than God. 

They told her that she HAS to drink coffee and smoke because without these things she'll get like...some kind of sickness that runs in the women in her family. 

Uh.. .is it lung cancer? 

I wonder why.

I was just literally stunned. I didn't even know what to say. 

Well.. I did, but I am a missionary and need to say things that Christ would say in these situations. So I didn't say much. And my language is a bit limiting. 

The whole lesson was just really frustrating. She said she could stop smoking whenever she wanted, but didn't have any desire to do it. She stopped during her pregnancy because she felt it was the right thing to do, not because it messes the baby up.. cause the doctors said it didn't have anything to do with the development of the child. Quatsch. 

(I don't know what doctor she's seeing, but I think he needs to go to school again.)

She didn't accept any of her commitments. She said that the Word of Wisdom was outdated and given at a different time. Never mind that God is the same today, yesterday, and tomorrow... :)

***

This week was good. Sister Wüst and I are staying together this transfer. Thank goodness! We got calls later than usual, so we were freaking out. But.. we got them eventually :)

We continue to knock on doors. We continue to talk to everyone. We are trying new things. We spend lots of time on our knees, thanking and asking the Lord. We are growing, and we love each other a whole lot :)

The Gospel is STILL true, as will it always be. The people may not be perfect, but the Gospel is. Always is, always will be. The Lord is the SAME. Always. I know it. We are able to infinitely grow.. but only with His help. He must be in all things :)

Today I read in the Book of Mormon - Helaman 6. I'm obsessed with it. It's so good. As is Hel. 5. Read it :)

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you, daddy :) Here's something to honor you from all the way in Switzerland: Earthly Father, Heavenly Father

Check out the Swiss site to see if we show up from the broadcast with Pres. Uchtdorf: swiss website for the church (BG: unfortunately, not yet)

All my love,

Sister Chloe Gilmour

xx

Enjoy the photos.  (BG: she didn't attach:(:))

Week 35: Week 5 in Zollikofen: Goodbye Miles', Love MY Zone in Bern, Pres Uchtdorff's visit .. A Day of Pentecost:)

I don't really know where to start with this week. The work is still... so slow in Zollikofen for us. We have now reached the point where I can say that we have NOTHING to do. (BG: I don't think so:)) We are talking to everyone on the streets (when there are people out), we are now dooring (I'm sure you can feel the enthusiasm in my voice), we are trying to get new things up and started, but... still nothing. We're trying the service approach.  we're also trying to get our hands on a phone book.  We found a house decked out in american flags.  We knocked on it but know one was home, we'll try again, we did leave a funny note and testimony, we'll see...just trying to make it more enjoyable:)  It's all worth it!

Despite that saddening news, I love life as a missionary :) We are only being tested and tried right now. Yeah, it's not so much fun, but our testimonies and faith are being tested :) For which I am grateful.

And in between all the hours of contacting and walking the streets, we had some amazing things this week :)

Tuesday we had our Zone Training/ good-bye for President and Sister Miles. It was really, really good. It's good to be apart of the Bern Zone. Something new, but something good. These missionaries are amazing. I am really impressed. And it's funny to see how different zones are in different countries. Things are really different here. Not a bad thing, of course :) I did have that "oh no" feeling at the beginning cause I thought I would start feeling like a bad missionary again, but... that only lasted about 10 minutes. I don't think it's a bad thing, either. In fact, it was healthy. I could see my mistakes and see how I needed to be better to be a better missionary, and then I saw that it was okay because the Lord still loves me.   Our zone has a baptism every weekend it seems, its exciting!  Our mission i think had 300+ last year.  We walk and ride buses and trains a lot in this mission, there's only a few car areas, and a few bike areas outside of Munchin.  Transfers are this Friday, my companion has been here 3 transfers, we are hoping she's here for another one.  There aren't enough sisters here to make a lot of transfers.  

It's really cool to see how I can be so honest with myself. That's something I never would have been able to do a few months ago. I figured it's better to just be honest when I'm not perfect. I'm not expected to be. No one expects me to be, either. 

We got to hug President and Sister Miles before they left. It was really emotional. Which was surprising. I never felt like I had a huge connection to them, even though I love them. There are just too many missionaries to be super personal with every one. I understand that. It was a good meeting. Really good.

Wednesday was our exchange. I was in Thun, Switzerland with Sister Couper (from Scotland:)). It was really good. I love seeing when we talk through the Spirit.  We really felt like we had things we could give to each other. I got to know her better, and I think she is wonderful.  It was really good to be back in a big city and doing bus contacting- I felt RIGHT at home. I LOVE PUBLIC TRANSPORT CONTACTING. It's so much more normal than street contacting. And Thun is the most gorgeous little place ever. I loved it :)  This is where we had the pday with the scooters a few weeks ago, its about 45 mins from our area.

I am also really, really grateful that Dad is so clean/tidy and taught me the importance of a clean home and clean habits, and that my companion is also like that. And that she loves eating healthy and that we don't eat sweets or junk food. That's all I'm going to say....

We Tausched back on Thursday. Then went to the Von Allmens. They are wonderful. Such great members. Talk about giving all that you have to the Gospel. I love them. 

Friday we were with a member, Esther Müller. She served her mission in St. George and she is adorable. She's got a baby girl, Emma. She made us pancakes cause I told her I was craving them. Then she did a few alterations on some skirts and dresses for the two of us. I love members. She also said that our ward isn't doing enough missionary work. Which I loved cause I thought they were doing really well! Guess not! (BG: Perspective:))

Saturday we went to a Phillipino grill for a little girls birthday. I loved it. I love this little family :) The mother has been recovering from surgery she had a few months back due to a tumor growing on her brain. Came to find out it's actually not all gone and won't ever be. But right now it's not growing. But it will in a few years. She's amazing. We had a lot of ward members there. I love to see how much they love each other as members and the love they show us as missionaries. Plus the food was so good. So healthy. I don't even want to tell you how many fruit kabobs I ate. Okay... 7. But it was fruit, so I feel no guilt ;)

Also on this day, we were refilling all the pass-along card slots in the church for President Uchtdorf, when I looked through the YW window and saw a familiar face! It was Matt Robertson!! (My dad knows Matt from his mission in England (and he's been to our house in UT), and the Robertsons are in my Aunt Alison's ward in Frankfurt-love it, love the connections !!) It was really cool to see him :)

Matt took this picture of the Sisters - Thank Matt, IOU!

It's crazy to think I am now serving with Jake Robertson in the AGSM, and that I was at their house this time last year! Boy, how times flies. He's the coolest. And I love that family. Wonderful people. 

My companion is hilarious. Which  is really good cause it has been STINKING hot here. So without her funnies, the hot days would be miserable :) But we're a good team and we have a good time :) :)

Okay... the day you've all been waiting to hear about: SUNDAY. UCHTDORF. ANDERSON. REEVES. TEXERIA. 

They were all there :) It was broadcasted to Switzerland, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It was really cool that I got to be there. We sat right in the middle in the center. We got ROCKIN seats. Like... some of the best. I feel so blessed to have been able to get tickets. They weren't easy to get. But our ward loves us :) 

President Uchtdorf and his wife were matching and wore bright orange. (BG: Matt I stole some of your pics from FB, thanks) They are the sweetest. And he's way tanned! 

They all had really good things to say, all of them something about not giving up with the work in Europe. They know it's hard. But they really pushed the members to do more. The missionaries have nothing without them (we being the best example ;)). It was really, really good. 

Then President Uchtdorf got up to speak to us. It was more like a Stake President speaking to us. It was really cool and kinda weird to see him like that. He was so normal. He also told us that he had just barely rededicated Switzerland that morning. But it's not something they usually make known to lots of people. But he drew a connection between that and the fact that is was the Day of Pentecost. Uh. I think that's a pretty big deal. I know the 3 pages of notes I took from him definitely say so. 

Here are a few points about what he talked about:

(He's really funny, by the way)

-Family History (DO IT, PEOPLE. I NEED TO KNOW WHERE MOMS FAMILY COMES FROM.) Dresden

-Every thing good he has in his life is because of his membership in the Church

-the spiritual importance of the day

we need to be united as members

- the day represented  day of outpouring of the Spirit; a day to change

-we need to have a greater desire to do His work; make it a new start

- Bern temple is the symbol of NEW STARTS

-Temple: proof that God mends broken hearts

-"Recapture your tesimony every day"

-We will be persecuted in these days. every one of us. every single one. keep going. 

-Faith, faith, faith, faith, faith. Have it. 

-"Satan wouldn't mind if we shared the Gospel with the attitude that things are negotiable. They are NOT. BE BOLD."

-Know the simplicity of the Gospel. We can go deep, but there's no need. 

-*he quotes himself a lot*

-"When the going gets tough, the tough get going"

-"Tought times never last. But tought people do"

-We were prepared to live NOW. in this time. 

-We were given what we need to become eternal *wow*

-"Hold on a little longer!"

-"these time MUST be times of Penticost"

He's the best. I felt really spiritually fed after that. 

I got to shake his hand, and SPEAK GERMAN WITH HIM. That was really cool! His German.. is so good. I forgot what a normal German accent sounds like. I love those Hessen people. Awe! I also got to record something about missionary work. I have no idea where it will be, but there's a part that we were asked to record especially for our families. So if you get something, enjoy it!

This Gospel is true. Yes it is. Meet with the missionaries where you all live and listen to what they have to say, being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, is a GOOD LIFE!  

We are working all day long. If you have ANY ideas as to how we can get things going, PLEASE, hit me up with an email. 

I love you :) Have a rockin' week! Pray we don't die of heat :)

Sister Gilmour

xx

Oh. And do Family History. I really need names from mom's side of the family. And dad, all your stuff needs to be put onancestory.org. Thanks. Our roots are done all the way until 480 BC. Pretty cool, eh?