🙏🏻Welcome To Deland!!🙏🏻 WEEK #69

Hey Everyone,

 This is Elder Gentry coming at you from the Sunshine State of Florida here in Deland, where it is Soooooo Hotttttt and Humid!!! Hah My first week in my new area has been a good one. Elder Olsen is a good kid and I've enjoyed being with him.  His name is Dane Olsen and he is From Manti, Utah.. Crazy small world!!  It's been a trip because I feel like I'm home hanging out with Dane Olsen, the kid I knew from high school!! (which I am..) Haha especially cause some of Deland looks a lot like Utah!  So it is really weird at times.. This is his last Transfer and he will be done with his mission and heading back to my hometown!!!  We had some cool things happen this week, things are going good and really enjoying this new area!  

This week we've done a lot of less active and potential finding, we were following up with this guy named Willie who the sisters met about a year ago. We met him outside of his house and we were able to talk with him and read from The Book of Mormon. We shared Moroni's Promise and explained to him how he could now if what we were saying is true. We invited him to church and he said he would love to come, we weren't sure how serious he was but.... On Sunday he came to church and he was there all 3 hours he kept thanking us for inviting him. In Sunday school when he would introduce himself he would tell everyone how much he is enjoying this church and said he will definitely be back many times so that was Sickkk and we are looking forward to teaching him.

Sunday was just a really good day for us, we also had this investigator that Elder Olsen and his last companion were teaching about a month ago, unexpectedly show up to church!! She is awesome, it was her first time to church as well. She said "this past month has been very lonely for me and i feel that I'm missing something." So she came to church looking for us so we could start coming to her house again and sharing the Gospel with her, we had a very powerful lesson after church at her house where we explained to her what she has been missing in her life and what she can do to feel that peace that the gospel brings. It was a really powerful lesson and we invited her to be baptized and she said Yes!! Hopefully everything goes as planed we are excited to work with her!!

Something I wanted to share this week is in a talk given by Elder L. Aldin Porter. “To Bear Testimony of Mine Only Begotten” You will find that when Moroni’s promise is fulfilled and you are given the knowledge that the Book of Mormon is truly the word of God, there will come with it a witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of the world. I have never known an instance where this did not occur. Moreover, I do not believe a violation of this principle will ever take place. A spiritual witness of the Nephite scripture will always bring the certainty of the Savior’s existence. With that witness borne of the Holy Ghost will come a sure knowledge that Joseph Smith told the truth when he said that he had seen the Father and the Son on that spring morning of 1820. A knowledge that Jesus Christ lives and is our Redeemer and Savior is worth whatever the cost may be. This is the fulfillment of Moroni’s promise in our lives.

Things are going well, I have been out for 16 Months now and it has just flown by, I love my mission and feel very blessed to be apart of this great work. I know that this church in which Jesus Christ leads is True!!! The scripture I wanted to share this week is Moroni 10:4-5 ......I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. I love this scripture and it's always very powerful to share with those that we teach. I love you all have a great week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM                               Said Goodbye to these Homies on Tuesday, Very Trunky Day!!

                                      Said Bye to my Pops!! Big Daddy Weiss  (my trainier i was with for the first                                                       6 months of my mission )

                                         My new Homie Willie who came to Church!

🙌🏻1 And Done, Headed To Deland🙌🏻 Week #68

Hey everyone,

 This week has been good. Yes it is True! I am doing my 2nd 1 and done of my mission and I'm headed to my 6th Area. I am really going to miss it here in Kissimmee and I'm really going to miss the homie Hawkins!! My new companion is Elder Olsen, he is also from Manti Utah. I don't know him to well but I know he is a good kid. Elder Hawkins and I have had a very good last week here in Kissimmee, I found out I was leaving on Tuesday because Hawkins got the News that he is going to be Training!! He's going to be a good trainer! It was good to be able to tell everyone good bye throughout the week, this is a really good Ward and I have grown to love it! I'll miss it but I'm excited for the opportunity to serve in Deland!! 

We had some good news with our investigator/recent convert family that we have been working with, the mother was released from probation because they dropped the charges and she now is  eligible to be baptized, they are an awesome little family and I was happy to be able to work with them, Her Daughter turns 8 tomorrow so they will be able to be Baptized on the same day. such a blessing!! I'm going to miss this family. In the words of Bonnie' no joke we get this text from her everyday!! Haha  "GOD BLESS" May God bless this family for the love they have shown towards me!!

I want to give a shout out to 3 very good Homies that go home this week!!

Elder Weiss - I'm really going to miss the best trainer in the mish!! I was happy to have been trained by such a stud! I know Heavenly Father loves me very much because he put me back with Weiss 6 Months after training for one of the best transfers of my mission! Love ya man

Elder King - One of the Truest Homies out there, I'm going to miss Elder King so much!! He's had such a positive impact on me and my mission!! He is as loyal as they come! You tore the Game apart, who put it back together? Love ya King!

Elder Donnelly - The most humble, Christlike guy I know!! I'm really going to miss this homie and I'm happy that I was able to serve around him and get to know him! Donnelly is the type that would never hurt anyone or make anyone feel bad!! Love ya bro

Something I wanted to share this week, Every one of us is more beloved to the Lord than we can possibly understand or imagine. Let us therefore be kinder to one another and kinder toward ourselves. Let us remember that as we wait upon the Lord, we are becoming “saint[s] through [His] atonement, … submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon [us]....we are not alone. He that watches over us “shall neither slumber nor sleep.” His angels here and beyond the veil are “round about [us], to bear [us] up.”

Tomorrow I head north of Orlando up to Deland!! I'm excited for the change and looking forward to this next chapter in my Mish!!! I love the mission and everything I've learned and the people I've grown close to! The scripture I would like to share this week is Doctrine & Covenants 84:88, ......I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up. Love you all have a great week!!!

Elder Gentry

FOM

🙌🏻Look At What We Did🙌🏻 week #67

Hey everyone, this week was really good and we saw a lot of progress in our area! Me and Hawkins are still Goin' Hard!! Bike week was rough a lot of sweat and tears, but we made it thru it hahaha. I'm really starting to like this Ward and the people that our around me! We are now entering week 6 of the transfer which is crazy!! I'm hoping that we stay together for another transfer and continue to work hard and have fun. We had a lot of good things happen this week!

So some exciting news, on June 11th Doug from my last area in Cocoa was Baptized!! I wish I could have been there but it is what it is! It was really cool to hear about it. I got to talk to him for a little bit and congratulate him. I'm thankful for the opportunity that I had to be able to teach him and prepare him for Baptism!! He's awesome and he will really help build up the church!! The Elders in Cocoa also told me that he bore his testimony in sacrament meeting and said it was super solid!! I'm so happy for Doug and the decision he has made by entering the pathway back to our Father in Heaven. Doug is the Man!! 

We had some good lessons with our investigator and Recent convert Family, the kids are members but the Mother is not so we are working on preparing her for baptism, she has some road blocks but she is getting those things sorted out. She is solid and at church each week and knows that this church is true, the family is a lot of fun!! Oh and one of her kids is turning 8 in a couple of weeks so she will be baptized soon. Their always fun to teach but it can also be very challenging to get them to pay attention!! Things are going good with them!

We were able to see our investigator family, so what happened is we went to Drop of a Portuguese Book of Mormon because the parents aren't the best with English and the rest of the family was home they invited us in and asked us to share the message of the restoration again, it went really well and we are now teaching all 5 of them! We read Moroni's promise with them and we asked them to read the Book of Mormon and pray about the things that we taught. They are a really cool family and very friendly, we hope they continue to progress! 

Florida is sooooooooo Hottt!!! And MUGGY and there is nothing better than nats sticking to your sweat as you bike around Kissimmee!!! Thank the good Heavens we are going into car week hahahah! I love Florida but not enough to live here hah

Something I wanted to share this week...  The Savior beckons, “Come unto me,” and we respond, taking His name upon us. Not one of us wants this journey to be a brief flirtation with spirituality or even a notable but finite chapter. The road of discipleship is not for the spiritually faint of heart. Jesus said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” As we follow the Savior, without question there will be challenges that confront us. Approached with faith, these refining experiences bring a deeper conversion of the Savior’s reality.

Well like I said things are going just swell and we're excited for the work that we have going on in our area and the help that we can give!! We're doing our best to be like Jesus Christ and Love everyone. The scripture i would like to share this week is 2nd Nephi 31:12 .....He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do. Love this scripture, Love you all have a good week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM                           Jordan's Close friend & investigator Doug Baptised!!  so exciting..

🙌🏻Whosoever Shall Trust God!!🙌🏻 Week #66

What's Up everyone,

My week here in Kissimmee has been good!! Rain or Shine you know we be workin' hard!! Elder Hawkins and I are doing very well and can't believe how fast this transfer is going! We had some good things happen this week! Oh and I have also lost 39 Lbs so that's good! 

So we will get the bad out of the way, I was sick all day Friday and it was miserable and missed out on a party, an investigator wanted to take us out to dinner so we did a temporary exchange with the District Leader and he took them out to this Mexican restaurant that played really loud Hispanic music and they told me it was a blast but more importantly they were able to leave good impressions on the investigator and he was able to learn a lot about the church.

So we had a really cool lesson with a new Less Active we are going to be teaching, she is awesome and super friendly. She expressed to us the love that she has for the church and how much she truly misses it. She has had a lot of trials in her life and as of late she has dealt with a lot of death in her family. We read with her out of The Book of Mormon in Mosiah chapter 16 where it talks about the Resurrection. Jesus Christ overcame death and we all have been given that promise that we all will be resurrected and will live with our loved ones again!

We had a really cool lesson this new family that we picked up a couple of weeks ago, we show up to their house on Saturday and they invite us in, their English isn't very well so it's kind of a struggle to talk with them, halfway through our conversation before we started the lesson their 14 year old daughter comes downstairs and she speaks English very well so it was a blessing to have her throughout the lesson, we taught them the Restoration and it went really well the daughter had to translate a little for us but it worked out, the daughter was really interested in the things we were teaching and the family said they would love to have us back, we are going to be teaching them on Thursday, so we hope things go well and they progress!!

Something I wanted to share this week, The Lord has promised if we “search diligently, pray always, and be believing, … all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly.” I know, as did Alma of old, that “whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” Our Heavenly Father is a powerful, moving, directing being. While we may, at times, bear burdens of sorrow, pain, and grief; while we may struggle to understand trials of faith we are called to pass through; while life may seem dark and dreary--through faith, we have absolute confidence that a loving Heavenly Father is at our side.

We are now entering week 5 of the transfer, we are excited for the week to come other than bike week ending but it's all good, Who doesn't like biking in 100 degree/90% humidity weather hahah anyways I'm doing well and am enjoying my time here in Kissimmee, the scripture I wanted to share comes from Alma 36:3 ....I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day. I love you all have a good week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM

🙌🏻It Is What It Is, Trust Me You Get What You Give🙌🏻 Week #65

Hey Everyone,

Another week come and gone here in Kissimmee!!! Where you know we always be killin' it! 

Elder Hawkins and I are doing really good. Hawkins truly is the MAN OF THE YEAR!! 

We were able to see a lot of people this week and had some success! We biked a ton!!

Let's just say I'm thankful we are going into car week! Haha We had a lot of service this week 

which was good. Zone Conference was very long but good! It was Presidents last so he was a

little emotional. I'm excited for the next mission president coming in soon. 

We had a cool little experience on Thursday night, we were biking to this LA's House and

these two homeless guys stopped us and we're begging for money and food! All I had on me 

was a pack of 5 Gum with 6 Sticks left. I gave that to them and said a prayer and went on my way.

Well the LA wasn't home so we turned around to head home and I bike over a 5 Gum packet 

and kept going and then realized i gave that to them haha, so I turned around to go pick it up 

and throw it away. Well when I was picking it up this guy come out of the gas station yelling for 

our attention and we go talk to him and we had a really good lesson, really long but good lesson.

He talks a lot hah. We picked him up as a new investigator and hope to start teaching him soon.

 It was just cool to see that If I never would have given that gum away we wouldn't have been

 able to have that powerful lesson!!

We had a ton of service, like in total 12 Hours haha it was good though we got to go help out at

 a charity center which is always good to go there and help others who are less fortunate. We also

 helped 2 family's in the ward move. Which me and Hawkins pretty much did all the work on are

 own and we were very tired lets just say we sweat buckets haha

We had a really neat experience where we went and gave this non member a blessing, his girlfriend 

who is a member called us and asked us if we could do it, we went over and talked with them for a 

while and we ended up giving him a blessing of healing and the member a blessing of comfort. 

It's nice when you can feel the spirt very strongly and you know that they can feel it to, we also 

taught him the 1st discussion and we had a really powerful lesson. Let's just say I don't think it will 

be long till he enters the waters of baptism! It was good and it's always nice to go help people. 

Something I wanted to share this week, President Thomas S. Monson, who has understood and

 lived the admonition to love, said: “I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in 

service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually

shrivel up and … lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and 

flourish--and in effect save their lives.” True Christlike service is selfless and focuses on others. 

“Don’t think of your task as a burden; think of it as an opportunity to learn what love really is.” 

When we truly want to show our love and appreciation for what our savior Jesus Christ did for us

we will act in love and serve our brothers and sisters around us and I know that my mission has

taught me just that. That having the pure love of Christ will not only help us be happy but it will also bring joy to others.

Well things are still going good and our area seems to be improving week by week the scripture I would like to share this week is Mosiah 2:16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God. We serve God when we serve others, anyways I love you all and hope you guys have a good week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM

🙌🏻Nuthin' but Life Lessons!!🙌🏻 Week #64

Hey everyone,

Another week here in (Kissimmee where we always stayin' fresh) has come and gone! This was our first week back as a duo and not a trio!! But you know we still killed it. Me and Hawkins are doing really well! He is such a funny kid and fun to be around. I really love the guy. We had some success this week and we worked really hard. We got to go to the nicer part of our area this week it's like 10 minutes from Disney World. Having the car was nice but it's time we get back on the bikes for another week. 

We had a really cool thing happen to us while we were finding, we went to this potentials house and as we were walking away from the house after no one answered the door, this guy comes out of the house across the street and he starts signing at us like Sign language. We walk up to him and find that it's very difficult to talk with him!! Elder Hawkins looks at me and says its like playing charades haha. We were able to recognize some things he was doing like God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirt some things that we have learned from Primary. So we gave him a Pamphlet and he started to point to this house and we said alright we will go check it out, it just so happens to be a Less Active family from the Spanish branch here in Kissimmee. We were able to teach him and his son and they said they would love to come back to church. This was a cool little experience. 

Saturday night we had dinner at bishops house and then he came out teaching with us for the rest of the night. It went pretty good, one of the Lesson we had was with a part member family that we are going to start teaching. It is a Less Active family with 3 unbaptized kids. The kids all want to be baptized and the parents want them too they are just very busy. We did set up a time to start teaching them the discussions so hopefully everything goes as planed. We shared with them because of Him, it's a really good video that invites the spirit and helps them realize that this is the right path and next step for the family to take so they can get to the Temple and be Sealed.

Something I wanted to share this week is from my talk that I gave at church Sunday, I talked about the Lessons I've learned on my mission that will prepare me for the rest of my life. The main life lesson that I have learned on my mission is that Centering our lives in Jesus Christ and His gospel will bring stability and happiness to our lives, If our lives are centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us into who we need to be in order to return to His and Heavenly Father’s presence in the celestial kingdom. The joy we experience in this life will be in direct proportion to how well our lives are centered on the teachings, example, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Our lives must be centered with exactness in Christ if we are to find true joy and peace in this life. I don't really like talking in church but I would say that I did pretty good. At least that's what they kept telling me hahah maybe their just being nice hahah jk

Like I said things are going good and i am really happy, I'm excited for Zone Conference this week hope that goes well. I'm thankful for my mission and the lessons I know I have learned that will bless me eternally!! The scripture I would like to share is 3rd Nephi 11-39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. If we center our lives on Jesus Christ, we will have a happier and more peaceful life. Anyways hope all of you guys have a great week. love ya 

Elder Gentry

FOM

 

🙌 🏻Kissimme,Florida🙌🏻 Week #63

Hey everyone,

Another week here in Florida has come to an end! I'm now here in Kissimmee and I'm really loving it! This week has been a little different because I have been In a trio with Elder Hawkins and Elder Doman, Elder Doman finishes his mission this coming Thursday. We will miss him,  he's been a lot of fun he's a great guy! The Florida Orlando Mission will lose a stud. I'm happy that I will still have Hawkins when Thursday rolls around. Hawkins is awesome, I already love the kid. He is from Orem, Ut and he has been out for about 8 months. He is a quiet kid but he has opened up a lot. This week he said "I don't know how you guys did it but you got me to open up, I usually don't open up till the 4th week" haha so that's pretty good he's already a Truu homie!! 

So this week we had some good lessons with the recent converts Donyae (11) and Marcella (9), and there non-member mother Bonnie who is preparing to be baptized soon. It's always crazy going to there house because Bonnie the mother has 4 kids from 11 to 5 years old. They love the missionaries and always participate in the lessons but sometimes it is hard to get them to focus on the message we are sharing. I came up with a genius idea of a talking stick and it's worked pretty well for the lessons haha. They all came to Church on Sunday and it was good to see them there. They are a awesome little family and it's been fun getting to know them!!

So there are two less Active's that we have been working with this week and we got both of them to church it was pretty cool, Daniel is a cool guy who has some health challenges that make it hard for him to come. He lives in a trailer and we helped him catch a rat this week haha it was pretty gross!! We also met with John who struggles with depression and we were able to help him know how much Heavenly Father loves him and how much our savior Jesus Christ loves him. It has been fun getting to know the people of Kissimmee!

This Ward is really good, we had a very productive Correlation meeting with our Ward Mission Leader. He is very missionary minded which will help us a lot!! Ward Council was also pretty great and very productive! Our Bishop thru down, hah. He had a KILLA quote in Ward Council. We were debating on giving assignments or just having it done by volunteers. This was about 15 minutes in, and everyone was getting frustrated...  Relief Society President - "The sisters feel that the church shouldn't be run by assignment, it should all be volunteer..."

*awkward silence...* Bishop Gooch slowly leans back in his chair.. "Well... Jesus said get baptized or you're Damned." Hahahaha, I like this ward a lot already!! 

Another funny story that happened is I lost in "What Are the Odds?" To Elder Doman And had to tell this joke to the cute Sister Missionary in the ward... By the way my odds were 19 to 1 and I still lost haha

So I was like hey do you want to hear this funny joke Elder Hawkins told me this week!

Me- *knock knock*

Sister Missionary - *who's there?*

Me *you smell like mipe*   (It's a made up word)

Sister Missionary - *you smell like mipe who?" (Sounds like my poo!)

We then started laughing way hard and the Sister Missionary really wasn't too sure what to do but she laughed and said oh I can see that being a Hawkins Joke, so I saved myself hahah.. Hahah serving in trio's are the best! So much fun!!

Something I wanted to share this week is Go Ye Therefore by Silvia H. Allred "The Lord’s Church has the responsibility to preach the gospel in the world. This is the foundation of missionary work, and the duty of our missionaries 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.” I would like to speak and testify of the significant impact and the blessings of missionary work in the lives of converts, future generations, and missionaries and of how we can participate in missionary work. I love this work that I'm doing and the many life experiences that I get to enjoy. I love the Lord and am proud to serve him erryday!! 

Things are really good and Im really enjoying this new area and am really excited to preach in the streets of Kissimmee!! The scripture that I would like to share this week isAlma 29:9 I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy. I love being a missionary! I love you all, hope you guys have a good week! Deuces 

Elder Gentry

FOM