Come Unto Him, And Make Weak things Strong! Week 34!! 8 Months as of yesterday!!

Hey everyone, this week went by super fast but also it was a pretty good week. I can't Believe I have hit my 8 Month Mark I have officially finished 1/3 of my mission. It is crazy to think about how fast it has gone, things are still going really well and Florida is getting better and better. It's not hot anymore the weather is perfect, like 75 to 80 degrees. This year has gone by so quick can't believe it's almost Halloween.

Tuesday was a really good day for me and my companion and for our Investigators, we were able to get them to the church and attend the face to face event with the Piano Guys and you can watch it on Lds.org. It was perfect for them my favorite part was towards the end when they played Nearer my God to thee and Come Fount every Blessing and they show bits and pieces of the Bible Videos of Jesus Christ and what he did here on the earth for everyone he loved everyone with a perfect love, while this was playing the spirt was so strong and I'm so glad Karen, Susan and Josh were able to make it. Also this kid in our ward was a champion he went and sat by Josh and gave him his CTR ring and Josh loves it and hasn't taken it off it made him feel very special. It was A blessing.

This talk is something that I've been studying lately and really enjoy it, it's titled Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ by Dallin H. Oaks. Our Savior …knows our struggles, our heartaches, our temptations, and our suffering, for He willingly experienced them all as an essential part of His Atonement. And because of this, His Atonement empowers Him to succor us—to give us the strength to bear it all. … Sometimes His power heals an infirmity, but the scriptures and our experiences teach that sometimes He succors or helps by giving us the strength or patience to endure our infirmities.....I know that if we humble ourselves we can use Jesus Christ's Atonement to Help us in our life. And he is the only way we can be free form the burdens and struggles that we carry Daily.

We were pretty disappointed on Sunday when we were planning on Susan, Karen and Josh being at church this week and they failed to show up. It can make it so tough sometimes when you do all you can to get them there, but it wasn't all bad a investigator of ours that were weren't expecting to show up came to church we were pretty pumped when we saw him come to church. There is a special spirt that you can't get anywhere else that you get from the sacrament. And we just want all of those people we see to enjoy that blessing.

I'm still doing very good and enjoying Minneola and the great Companion that I have, looking forward to this next week but I'm pretty sad that car week is over haha oh well better get biking them hills anyways the scripture I would like to share this week is one of my favorites and one that I share with those that i teach. Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. Hope you all have a great week and a Happy Halloween 👻🎃

Elder Gentry

FOM

Family's Can Be Together Forever! WEEK 33!!

Me and My Girl.... Haha

Hey everyone, I'm doing very good it is finally starting to cool down here in sunny Florida. The temperature is way nice. We just got done with bike week so I'm looking forward to car week. Me and my comp are still doing really well. Me and Elder Stiggings are pretty tight so things are great. We saw a lot of success had a lot of fun this last week.

A really cool thing that happened this week, the 20-year-old kid that I was talking about last week that we've been teaching, His mom comes up to us in church who is semi active and she says are you guys the ones that come over and visit My son. And we're just thinking like what did we do wrong Haha. But then she says thank you so much for putting in time to help him because I know he's been going through such a rough time and he's been really struggling so thank you guys so much you mean so much to me for you guys to come over here every week just to see how he's doing and helping him out. It was way nice for someone to come thank us for the work that we do every week.

Something else they I really want to talk about was how important family's are. One thing that L. Tom Perry said in his last talk was: "We believe that marriage and family ties can continue beyond the grave--that marriages performed by those who have the proper authority in His temples will continue to be valid in the world to come. Our marriage ceremonies eliminate the words “till death do us part” and instead say, “for time and for all eternity.” Family's are the Most important unit here on this earth. And Family's Truly can be Together Forever. Bruce R. McKonkie said in a 1977 BYU Devotional, That a Family Unit is More Important than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Now that is throwing it down hahah.

We taught a way good lesson on Wednesday night to one of our investigators. He is the only Non-member in the family, he is the father. We focused on eternal family's and the reason why we were their to teach Him, that reason is so they could all live with each other for time and all Eternity. also a big thing we focused on was the power that comes from the Priesthood and how he needs that in his home and it will continue to bless them immensely. We are looking forward to seeing him and his family next week and helping him progress towards the waters of Baptism, so him and his family can work their way to the temple.

I just want to say how thankful and blessed I am for the family that I have and the influence they have all been on me and helping me to get to this point in my life. The scripture I would like to share this week is Genesis 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Looking forward to another great week love ya all. Have a Wonderful week.

Elder Gentry

FOM

The Savior's Example For Us.‏ WEEK 32

 Hey everyone, things are going pretty great here in Minneola Florida, I got my new companion this last Thursday and I Love this guy already. His name is Elder Stiggins. Is from Provo Utah and he is been out on his mission for about 20 months so he's pretty experienced. We get along great and we were able to get a lot of work done. I was talking to my trainer Elder Weiss and he said when he saw the President Berry put Elder Gentry with Elder Stiggins that President was trying to create best friends haha. One thing that I have learned is your companion means so much and if you have fun you will love the work.

                We had a pretty good lesson with one of our Less Active members of the ward, he came to church like the first four or five weeks I was here and now he doesn't care to come to church at all so we can do is keep working with him and trying to get him to have that desire to want to go to church. We shared with him a video that talks about how just like our bodies need food and water are spirits need Scriptures, prayers, and going to church. We talked about how it's so necessary for us to do those things that invite the spirit in our lives and help lead us and guide us to doing the right things and giving us the desire to do those things. We challenged him to read a chapter of The Book of Mormon a day so he can gain a testimony that when he reads his days will go better because he will be inviting the spirit.

                We are unable to set a date with Karen and Josh, because we were unable to see them they've been really busy and Susan has been in the hospital. One thing that was really cool is that Karen who is  the nonmember, asked us to come give Susan a blessing, it's so cool to see that she already has faith that our blessings do help and there is a Priesthood Power. Our goal with them next week is to meet with them and set a date for them to be baptized and to go on a temple tour next Saturday so they can feel the spirit that you get when you are at the temple.

                 Z.T.M. This week was really good, a training that really stood out to me was about earning trust with members and finding investigators through them by receiving referrals. One thing that I really noticed is that members pay attention to missionaries a lot. We are watched like a hawk haha.  They know that their kids look up to us as examples so if we're not doing our best and showing that we care,  they're not going to trust us with their friends. So one thing we have been working on is building trust and relationships with members and always asking for referrals. And being the best example of Christ that we can be.

                This week went good but was kinda slow. This next week we will be picking up the speed and will be able to work a lot harder and do the things that we need to do to bring others closer to their heavenly father, the scripture I'd like to share with you guys this week is 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. The Savior is the best example of how we need to be and I'm thankful for all that he did for me. Love ya all, Have a Good Week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM

Sent from my iPad

Inspired Words Of the Lord.‏ Week 31

Hey everyone, 

         Things are going really good here in Minneola. But a lot of stuff is changing. I'm losing both of my companions Elder Black and Elder Gillen. I will be staying in the north area for at least another transfer. Elder Gillen is going to the south area. So he's not going to far for me we will still be living in the same apartment complex which I'm happy about because I love Elder Gillen. I'm pretty excited to find out who my new companion will be tomorrow and get to work. A lot of successful things happened this week and we had a pretty good transfer.

        We had a really good lesson with our new investigator Kandie, she has met with missionaries in the past so she knew little bit about the Book of Mormon. We taught her the restoration and helped her have a better understanding that Christ's Church has been restored to the earth again. After we shared the unique message of the restoration, we invited her and her family to be baptized and they all said yes. I'm pretty excited with my new comp to set a date next week for them to be baptized.

        General Conference was once again was a success. My favorite talk was by Jeffery R. Holland, he is such a powerful and Inspiring man of God. "No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. You see, it is not only that they bear us, but they continue bearing with us. To all of our mothers everywhere, past, present, or future, I say, “Thank you for giving birth, for shaping souls, for forming character, and for demonstrating the pure love of Christ.”  Once again I am so thankful for the Mother that I have and the impact she has had on my life and making who me who I am today.

        Another talk that I really enjoyed was by our Beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson who said. "Each of us came to earth having been given the Light of Christ. As we follow the example of the Savior and live as He lived and as He taught, that light will burn within us and will light the way for others. The Savior brought hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak. … As we emulate His example, we will bless lives, including our own. As the world moves further and further away from the principles and guidelines given to us by a loving Heavenly Father, we will stand out from the crowd because we’re different. As we make Christ the center of our lives, our fears will be replaced by the courage of our convictions." I really enjoyed this talk because we all have that light of Christ and we all can make a difference if we choose to stand out and be different and make the right choices and center our lives on Christ.

This was a great week and an even better transfer and I'm grateful for the people that I got to know but I am looking forward to transfers and continuing with that Light of Christ to work hard to change lives. The Scripture that I want to share this week is D&C 1:38 What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. I loved Confernce and I know that those words that were spoken to us from prophets were from the Lord. Have a Wonderful Week!

Elder Gentry

FOM