Turkey For Dayzzz and A Savior is Born!! Week 39!!

Hey everyone,

I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, Me and Elder Weiss had a great Thanksgiving, we also had a pretty good week and were able to see some good things happen. We had the car so that was nice haha. Temple service was fun as always. But most importantly we were able to share the truth with others while having a good time! :)

So Thanksgiving was pretty crazy it was a Marathon, Turkey for dayzzz haha, we were pretty much stuffing our faces from 2 till about 9 o'clock haha. We had 3 dinners just like we planned and they all went great. We ate at the whitneys, who were really awesome, and just played games, then we went to the Malquists who had everyone in their family there, like 40 people. It was nuts. Then to end this day we went to the Ramriez family that we have been teaching, it was a lot of fun cause we have a really good relationship with them. This day went really good and I think it went as well as it could have gone without my family.

I had an exchange on Tuesday with Elder Harris he has been out like 7 weeks and he's killin it, It felt like I was a old missionary #9Months. He's a good missionary. He has a powerful testimony of the church, Missionaries knocked on his door when he was 10 years old and his mom and him joined the church so he has a strong testimony of this work. He is way cool and definitely a bro! 

Something I wanted to talk about was the new video that the church released Sunday. It's called A Savior is Born, I just love the simple message that it brings about God sending his only begotten son in this world for all of us, our savior Jesus Christ. And how I think it is important to turn our thoughts toward the savior especially during this holiday season. I'm thankful for my opportunity to represent our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Share the truth with people everyday. I invite all of you to share this video with others and your powerful testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer!

So Sunday night we were following up with some people, and we decided to knock on this less Active's door, even though Elder Weiss said he had knocked it 10 times and never got an answer. We are glad we did, he invited us in and sat down to talk with us and he explained his busy work schedule and why it has been such a challenge in his life to remain faithful to the Gospel. We asked him, is this something you would be interested in returning to? And he said, "I would be lying if I told you No, I know the Gospel is true and I know the blessings that come from living it" So I was pumped to hear that and I'm looking forward to working with him and helping him return to living the Gospel!

Once again I'm blessed to be going about this great work and I know it is true and changes lives! The scripture I would like to share this week is John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. I love these scriptures and how it says "through him they might be saved" because I know that it is up to us and we can all return to our Heavenly Father if we take advantage of the Lords Atoning Sacrifice. Love you all Have a Wonderful week. 

Elder Gentry

FOM

"Big Daddy Weiss" and Thanksgiving!! 🦃 Week 38

Cant Get Much Better Than This!!!

Hey Everyone,

This week has been a pretty good one, I am now in my new area Lake
Reams South, it is in the Windermere area so it is right next to
Disney like you can see the Fireworks every night. I am also really
close to the Temple so that's pretty cool. My new companion and Former
Trainer is Elder Weiss, I guess it is my turn to Train him haha. The
student is now the teacher. I'm really excited about this transfer and
I'm pretty happy that I have the chance to serve with Elder Weiss
again, it's a good thing we got along haha. So we were at transfer
meeting and we were sitting right next to each other and president
said " Elder Weiss, your new companion is Elder Gentry, we stood up
and gave each other hugs haha it's not very often you are sitting
right next to your new Companion. 👌

Lake Reams seems like a really good place and I'm looking forward to
helping this area and Ward grow. Something M. Russell Ballard said,
"Do not be a missionary who complains about his unreceptive people,
his constant refusers, his companion, his leaders, and his burdens.
Instead be a missionary who can be placed in (any area) and in any set
of circumstances, and be relied on to set things right. Become a
creator of circumstances instead of a creature of circumstances. This
is why success is not luck. It can be predicted and followed each day
into a successful week, year, and mission. Live one day at a time as
though it were a building block. Do each day what should be done that
day, and do not under-work, because that brings on the "bad luck" and
slumps. Your actions, attitude, mission, and life will be directed by
your thoughts." I think attitude is everything.

Here in the Orlando South Zone everyone is super close to the temple,
so every Tuesday we get to go and work on the grounds at the Temple,
it was pretty cool to be at the temple for a couple of hours.

Thanksgiving is coming up, we are both pretty excited about it,
apparently we will eat at like 3 different dinners so it should be
pretty sweet. One thing I'm grateful for is having the opportunity to
be blessed as a missionary. One thing I'll miss this year is being
with my family and watching a ton of Football haha.

Something that was pretty cool that happened, on Friday went we went
to see this Less Active family, they are very friendly and way cool.
We just talked with them for a while and got to know them. We shared a
message on The Holy Ghost as Your Companion by Henry B. Eyring, "To
always have the Spirit with us is to have the guidance and direction
of the Holy Ghost in our daily lives. We can, for instance, be warned
by the Spirit to resist the temptation to do evil. If we partake of
the sacrament in faith, the Holy Ghost will then be able to protect us
and those we love from the temptations that come with increasing
intensity and frequency." So we just got "Real" with them and We asked
them the simple Question. Why haven't you guys been coming to church?
And they just said there is no reason, we just haven't haha so they
said they would come to church.

Once again I'm grateful for this opportunity to serve with Elder Weiss
this Holiday Season, I'm grateful for everything I have and the
scripture I would like to share is 3rd Nephi 19:28 Father, I thank
thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of
their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe
on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on
their words, even as they are purified in me. This scripture is very
powerful and shows us all that we must go through Jesus Christ to be
purified. We should all be grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ
and the sacrifice he made for us. Have a good week, count your
blessings and Happy Thanksgiving!! 🦃🍂🍽

Elder Gentry
FOM

The Book is true, Peace Minneola Week 37

Hey Everyone,

So the big news is that I will be leaving Minneola, I'm going to miss this Ward and the friendships that I have gained here in this area. I'm also going to miss Elder Stiggins cause we had a great time being companions. I'm ready and excited for change, to get a new area and help build it up and the ward. I'm looking forward to this challenge. 

This week was really slow and was pretty challenging, sometimes it is really tough to stay motivated but it's best to just do the work and you will see great things and it will help motivate you.

Zone Conference was this week and it was a Super Loooong Meeting, so I guess the main part of having the meeting was to Get a device in our car called Tiwi's They are Super annoying but it's prob for the best. It tracks your speed and will tell you to slow down if you go over by like 5 mph and it will send them a notification if you drive to aggressive so it keep us safe, to safe haha!!  I'm not even afraid of cops anymore cause I can't speed haha. Well the meeting was ok there was a lot of Powerful testimonies and it's always nice to here them cause they help strengthen mine. But the meeting was still too long haha 10 Hours!!

Another cool thing that happened this week was we went to a fireside, it was nice to see all of my friends in the mission. One thing that I really love about my mission is the friendships that I have made. The fireside was pretty cool it had a professional pianist and professional singer. They just sang Christian songs and it was pretty cool. 

One thing that I have been doing everyday is reading the Book of Mormon, it's actually the Book of Mormon made easier. It has made reading so much better and has helped me learn things in the Book of Mormon that I haven't learned before I know that there is a power that comes from reading the Book of Mormon and the strength it gives me to keep going when time are tough. David A. Bednar said In April 2010 "The convincing and converting powers of the Book of Mormon come from both a central focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ and the inspired plainness and clarity of its teachings. Nephi declared, “My soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn” (2 Nephi 25:4). The root word plain in this verse does not refer to things that are ordinary or simple; rather, it denotes instruction that is clear and easily understood."

Things here are great I'm very excited to be moving on and I'm looking forward to tomorrow to find out where I will be going the scripture I would like to share with you guys this week is D&C 17:6 And he has translated the book, even that part which I have commanded him, and as your Lord and your God liveth it is true. I know with all my heart that the Book of Mormon is true and as we read it. We will invite the spirt into our lives and we will be blessed, I'm so thankful for the knowledge that I have gained from the Book of Mormon and the opportunity that I have to bear testimony daily. Have a Great week!

Elder Gentry

FOM

Champions Respond to Adversity!! Week 36!!

Hey everyone, another week is gone by really fast. This week wasn't the greatest it had its ups and downs but it's all good. Can't believe I am entering week six of the transfer, I could possibly be leaving Minneola but hopefully I can Stay another one with Stiggs. The only positive thing about leaving this area would be this is my last bike week here on these bless-ed hills. But anything can happen so I don't know.

So we had another solid lesson with our investigator Karla, we taught probably my favorite lesson to teach The Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel Jesus Christ is our purpose here on earth and I feel like I learn more about it that every time. Me and Elder Gillen taught it to her while we were on exchanges together that was pretty fun to do an exchange with one of my old companions. I love to teach it using 2nd Nephi 31, it explains it so simply and easy to understand.

Something that i really like that I read out of a New Era Magazine one Morning Explained perfectly what I must do to move forward "I’ve learned to let go of fear. I trust the Savior. I trust my Heavenly Father. I know we are all in His caring, merciful hands. We cannot control others or the world around us, but as children of God we can control how we respond to adversity. Cultivating a faith-filled perspective and uplifting thoughts tends to push out the negative and defeating ones. Anyone can turn on a light in a dark room; we create light and hope in the world as we choose to be happy."

So the reason why I focus on dealing with Adversity is because of how this week ended, We went into Saturday night feeling pretty Great, and tried to do everything we can to get our 4 investigators to church. We received a text message Sunday Morning from our most solid Investigator saying "I'm sorry boys, I have loved everything you guys have taught me but my husband doesn't agree and I must support him" we can respect that but it is pretty tough so we moved on and we're hoping to see at least 3 Investigators at church but none of them showed up. It's all good it was rough day but we got to move on and I know the lord will bless us if we trust in him and do everything we can to find more people to teach.  

So while this week is rough, we have Zone Confernce to look forward to on Tuesday uhhh it's so long haha I do learn a lot though haha. The scripture I would like to share this week is in D&C 6:34&36 “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. … Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” I love this scripture and the powerful message it brings. Have a Wonderful week, I know I will I Heard the Eagles had a Great Overtime Win Against the Cowboys haha #BEATDALLAS

Elder Gentry

FOM

THE SAVIOR KNOWS.... WEEK 35!!

Hey everyone this week was a pretty good week we were able to see a lot of success and get a lot done. We were able to see our investigator Karla that we have been focusing on and helping her progress towards the waters of baptism. Me and Elder Stiggins are bros and we're having fun and were killin it here in Minneola, These Bless-ed Hills aren't getting any easier to bike and I swear they are getting steeper and steeper haha. So glad we have the car hah.

Anyways we had a really good lesson with Karla, One day me and stiggs we're just chilling at the clubhouse and she walked up to us and started talking to us about her faith in Jesus Christ and About how she keeps running into those dang Mormons haha. So technically she found us hah Will take it. So later on in the week we sat down and had a lesson with her about The Rrestoration, and she just loved everything we had to say. During the middle of the Lesson I was thinking about a date that she could be baptized, I was thinking the 28th, so I was going to bring it up at the end of the lesson. Well Elder Stiggins just goes for it and asks if she would like to be baptized and if she will set a date for The 28th, it just so happened to be that she will have her birthday on the 28th, #inspired haha it was a pretty cool experience and she wants to be baptized on That day more than anything. She does have some obstacles to overcome her but I know that through Jesus Christ she can.

Another cool thing that happened this week is we were able to get a Less Active that I have been working with for like 3 months back to church, she hasn't been in like 5 years so it was pretty cool, in the words of Gordon B. Hinckley, we need to take care of the Members we have before the Lord will trust us with bringing more to the church, so it was way cool to see her at church me and Elder Stiggs were Pumped haha

Something I wanted to share from a documentary that I saw this week It is called the 5000 day project and it shows the life of four brothers. I got to see the part that talked about the second brother and his name is Luke. He served his mission over in Cambodia and showed how hard and difficult it was serving there. He ended up getting and tapeworm inside of him and he had to take pills for it and also he was very hungry. It was the end of the week and him and his companion ran out of food and it was Sunday so they couldn't buy anything. He said that he was so hungry that he was miserable. On Monday him and his companion went and bought some rice and he was so happy to be able to eat that rice but when he got it, he saw a six year old boy in the streets and he looked at him and he thought to himself, "I wonder if he ever went to bed hungry. I wonder how many nights he didn't know if he was going to get a meal." What Luke ended up doing was giving that little boy the rice and he said the little boy ate it so fast because he was so hungry. What I really liked though was when he said "I will never know what these  people go through, but the savior does."

Well there goes another week and I'm still doing awesome, the scripture I would like to share with you guys this week is Alma 7: 11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. 12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. I really like this scripture a lot it shows that we might not know what people are going through but the Savior does. Love you all have have a good week.

Elder Gentry

FOM