🙏🏻Struggle BRINGS Strength💪🏻 Week #52

Hey everyone, this week was really good. We were able to get a lot of service hours in and help a lot of people. We had a really good lesson with our new investigator Doug. Things here in Cocoa are going great, I'm really liking the ward. They really take care of us. They have given us 250 dollars in Subway Gift Cards haha that's all we eat.. It's all good tho! 

Our Lesson with Doug went perfect, Doug is an Investigator that Elder Larsen and I picked up while we were on exchanges. We decided to call potentials that were lost in the Area Book. We walked away from that day saying we didn't get much done, but we were able to find Doug. We shared with him The Gospel of Jesus Christ as we read 2nd Nephi 31. We were able to explain to him our purpose in this life, we need to have Faith in Jesus Christ, Repent, Be Baptized, Receive the Holy Ghost and Endure to the end. He agreed to the things we were teaching and he said he had been praying about The Book of Mormon and the things that we have taught and he has felt that it is true. He also said to us that he can feel the spirit whenever we come by and teach him, at the end of the lesson, we invited him to be baptized and he said YES!!! We set a date for March 26th. We are pretty excited for him. The next day we went to give him a Baptismal Timeline, which explains when we are going to have lessons leading up to his date. And he said that he prayed about being baptized on the 26th and feels very strongly that he should do so. I'm stoked to work with Doug and help him on his journey towards Baptism. Please pray for Doug. 

Something I wanted to share that I read in the March 2016 Ensign, titled: Spiritual Rehabilitation. I had looked upward to heaven, saying, “Father, where art Thou? Wilt Thou not help me?” And yet I knew that Heavenly Father and His Son were there, allowing me to pass through my struggles but ever ready to assist me when I needed help. I now see how They taught me, supported me, and loved me through my difficult times. The Savior gives these comforting words: “Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and you are of them that my Father hath given me; “And none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost. …“Wherefore, I am in your midst. …“And the day cometh that you shall hear my voice and see me, and know that I am” Our Father in Heaven hears our prayers. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, is the Great Healer and individually assists us throughout our “spiritual rehabilitation.” Let us remain hopeful during our painful experiences. Let us keep an eternal perspective and remember our divine potential as we progress step by step.Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us more that we can ever comprehend. I KNOW THIS IS TRUU.

So on February 25, My year mark, I went on an exchange with Elder Lieshman. We both celebrated the day together it was pretty sickk!! We had a pretty good day I was in his area so he got to run the show. These really cool members took us to El Leoncito which is this really good Mexican Resturant. Can't believe it's been 1 year.

Well things here in Cocoa are still going great, we have dropped a lot of our investigators but we do have some good things going for us. The scripture I would like to share this week is John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.Heavenly Father knew we would have struggles and Heartaches, and that's why He has provided a Savior, Jesus Christ. So we can get through our troubles and be free. Love you all have a wonderful week. Happy Leap Year Everyone!!!

 

Elder Gentry
FOM

🙌🏻This Week Marks One Year🙌🏻 Week # 51 ALTHOUGH THURSDAY WILL BE 1 YEAR!!! WOW!!!! SO EXCITING!!!

Hey Everyone, This week, the struggle was real, it's all good tho. We did have some good things happen, we have been having a hard time meeting with our Investigators. We also have been doing our best to find more people to teach. Missionary work is tough but we Grindin' through it. This next Thursday I hit my 1 YEAR MARK. I can't believe that it has already been 1 year. Time has passed by so fast. I have loved every minute of my mission. I have met so many wonderful people and have grown a lot. I have also been able to make a lot of lifelong friends. #TruuuHomies  I have been blessed! Let's hope next year is just as good, if not better. 

Tuesday, I had a really good exchange with Elder Lieshman, he is an Elder that was in the same M.T.C group as me. It's pretty cool that I'm serving around him again. I had an exchange with him back when I was in Minneola when I had been out only 5 months. We had a really good day and I was happy to have had another exchange with a great friend.

Our lesson with our new investigator went pretty good, we taught her the Plan of Salvation. She is a strong Christian and attends a church so we do have some roadblocks but we ain't worried bout nothin' We focused on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and our life on Earth. We helped her understand that God has a plan for all of his Children and the only way she can know if the Plan of Salvation is True is from reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. She really enjoyed the things that we taught and said she would read the Book of Mormon, so we will see how it goes. We're excited for her. 

So Bob Ferrell is one of my favorite members in the ward, he is a Recent Convert as well as an old geezer haha. He is unable to make it to church because of some health issues that he has. I always enjoy going to his house and sharing a message with him. For the past 8 weeks we have been trying to get him to let us bring him the Sacrament, he didn't want us too cause he feels like he is being a burden. We have tried explaining too him how it works and he was Neva Down. But finally he agreed but only once a month hah his rules. We had the opportunity to take it to him Sunday and it was the first time he had taken it since November. I was happy to be able to do this for him. He has become a good friend. I love Bob hah. 

Just something to think about from a talk I read this last week. "The Savior loves you. “Shall we not go on in [His great] cause? Go forward and not backward.” As you follow Him, He will strengthen and uphold you. He will bring you up to your highest home." 

I know that Jesus Christ loves all of us for he willingly suffered, and he is the only way we can return to our Father in Heaven. I KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST LIVES!

Even tho things this last week were a struggle, I'm still doing pretty good here in Cocoa. The scripture I would like to share this week is 2nd Nephi 1:15 But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love. I really love this scripture and how comforting it is to know that our Savior loves us more than we can imagine. Love you all have a great week!

Elder Gentry

FOM

🙌🏻Blessings on Blessings on Blessings🙇🏼 week #50 wow😱

Hey everyone, my week was good, hope all of you guys had a wonderful week and were able to enjoy ❤️Valentine's Day.❤️ It's already the end of week one of the transfer. This week we had struggles meeting with some of our investigators and found out that one that we have been teaching is moving so that's a bummer. Overall it was a good week and Elder Fenn and I got work done! 

Here is a cool little story that happened this week with this Less Active we were able to see. We have had trouble meeting with her, and I have only met with her once before, (that was the first week that I was here.) So we taught her on Tuesday and had a great lesson on the importance of Scriptures, Prayer, and going to Church. She shared with us news that she just got out of the Hospital because her Blood pressure was super high, like scary high. They doubled her medicine and she felt fine. On Friday night we received a call at like 11:00pm, and she was asking if we could come over and give her a blessing. Unfortunately it was way past our curfew, so we called up a member and he was able to take care of it. We went to see her the next day and she was doing really well. She said it was the first time that she had received a blessing and that she was thankful for it. We are so happy that we were able to see her earlier this week, and that we were able to let her know that we were there for her if she needed any help, and that's exactly what she did. We are happy to have been able to get her the help that she needed.

We had Z.T.M. this week, it was ok. It was good to see some mission homies that I don't see often. There were some good things said that can help us in our area. 

We had a ok first lesson with that family that we helped move-in a couple of weeks ago, it could have gone better but it happens. We taught the restoration and were able to bring a member out with us to the lesson. It started of shaky but Sister Bruno was able to bring things under control and it turned out to be a great lesson, at first we felt like she was backing us up into a corner with all these ?????? haha. she probably would have had we not brought our member that related with her super well. We made it through tho and they agreed to read The Book of Mormon and to Pray about it. We shared with her that the things we teach won't tell her whether the church is true or not, that is the Holy Ghost. 

We have been given the priesthood of God, the power of God restored to earth by holy angels. When a man uses the priesthood “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned”, he can do many wonderful things, When a man holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, he can share these blessings by administering to the sick and giving special priesthood blessings. These special priesthood blessings can help us and bless us in all that we do. 

This week was pretty good, Elder Fenn and I are still doing great here in Cocoa!! we were able to see a lot of people, we had a couple of Priesthood Blessings to give. They always go good, the spirit always directs us on what to say and I'm thankful for the priesthood power and the opportunity we have to bless others. The scripture I would like to share this week is James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. I'm thankful for the Authority to act in Gods name, and that is has been restored to earth to further the Lords work. Hope you all have a good week!! Love ya

Elder Gentry

FOM      


       Valentines Day Tie!!  

House of the LORD!! Week #49

Hey everyone, so this week was really good, we had a lot of wonderful things happen. We were able to find a couple of new Investigators as well as drop some who aren't progressing. Going to the Temple with Sister Morton and Sister Barbara Wyles was a neat experience and it's one I'll never forget. I also want to shoutout to my lil Bro, Elder Kayden Gentry who was called to serve in the Anchorage, Alaska Mission. I'm so proud of him and his decision to serve and I know the Lord will Bless him, He will kill it' as a Missionary!!

So the news with Transfers are.... Elder Fenn and I will be staying together for another transfer. I'm happy about it cause Elder Fenn is a Good Companion and we work well together. This next transfer will be 7 weeks instead of 6 because they are moving the M.T.C. length from 12 days to 3 weeks. This will also be the first time I'm staying with a Companion for more than one transfer other than Training. And the 7th week just happens to have My birthday (March, 26th) and Elder Fenn's birthday (March 27th). So that will be pretty cool.

This week we had a solid lesson with our new investigator Doug, He's a way cool guy, who has a pretty sickk career and he's Super Talented. He is a wood Carver and he can make some Beautiful pieces. We were able to get a Member of the ward out with us for our lesson, we brought Brother Domino, They hit it off really well and had a ton of things in common and as missionary's we love when it works out like that. We taught him the Restoration and the Importance of the Book of Mormon and how he can Know that it is the word of God. He kept telling us that he just feels like he is still here on earth cause God needs him for something and he just can't figure out what that is. Brother Domino kept telling him that, "this is it, what the Missionary's are teaching you is what you are still here for, so you can accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and lead your Family to the True Church. It was a great lesson and I know the spirit was there testifying to him of the things we were saying. THIS CHURCH IS TRU!

Shoutout To Elder Stiggins and Vaifanua who go home this week, I'm really going to miss these two homies. I've enjoyed hanging out with elder V and I really enjoyed being comps with Elder Stiggins! One of the best transfers of my mission. Good luck to the both of them. 

Thursday I had probably one of the best, if not the best experiences I've had on my mission so far. I had the opportunity to Go to the Temple with Sister Morton and Sister Wyles. Brother and Sister Hall in our ward took all of us to the Temple so they could do Baptisms for the Dead. Elder Fenn and I Were sitting way in the Back of the Vehicle on the way there and everyone was just chatting it up.. We were just letting that Fellowship sink in haha. Being able to see how far they both have co me since I've been here in Cocoa has really been such a blessing to see. Just watching them as they did Baptisms made me super happy and thankful for my testimony of this Church and the little things that I know bring us closer to our Father In Heaven and our savior Jesus Christ. I had the opportunity to do the Confirmations and it was such a neat experience and I know the spirit was there. I LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE!!

A quote that I wanted to share from Thomas S. Monson's talk, Blessings of the Temple. "As we attend the temple, there can come to us a dimension of spirituality and a feeling of peace which will transcend any other feeling which could come into the human heart."

I know that attending the Temple will bring us peace into our lives, and as we strive to attend often we will see the blessings from the Lord. The scripture I would like to share this week is John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. I know that when we go to the Temple we can truly understand the meaning of this scripture and the peace we can receive therein. This transfer was really good and I'm looking forward to another great transfer, these transfers are FLYING BY.. Anyways Love you all Have a wonderful week. 

Elder Gentry

FOM

🙌"Jesus Christ's Been Through All Of Our Struggles"💪 Week #48

Hey everyone, This week was pretty good. Can't believe we are now entering week 6 of this transfer, these transfers go by quick, REAL QUICK. We will receive the phone call next Saturday on what's happening. My guess is that Elder Fenn and I are going to stay together for another transfer... But anything can happen so we will see. We had a lot of good things happen this week.

I had a good exchange with Elder Larsen, we were finding like all day and finding can be a real struggle but we made it through, we also were able to teach our investigator which went really well. We were able to help him better understand the role and the importance of the Holy Ghost, and also being able to recognize the comfort and peace that comes from the Holy Ghost.

Are lesson with our investigator Tracy was good, He has been taught by Missionaries in the past and has come to church a few times, he loves everything about the church and wants to keep learning more. We taught him the Restoration and we invited him to be baptized and he said yes, We set a date for him to be baptized on March 12th, He has such a strong desire to come closer to the Lord, He wants to be baptized very badly. The only struggle with him is being able to meet with him cause he has a crazy work schedule but we will figure it out, especially with the Lords Help!

Cool thing that happened this week, so whenever we see Uhauls as a missionary, we jump on that opportunity. We were driving through this apartment complex when we noticed a family moving in and we asked if they needed help, They said Yes, and we helped this family move all of their furniture into there new apartment. (2nd Floor is farther than I thought haha) They were so thankful for the simple act of service and The Mother Kept calling us "Her Angels". I was just thankful for my Ripped Muscles to Lift everything into their Apartment haha jk. Anyways she was talking with us and said she has been looking for a church for her and her family to attend so we are looking forward to seeing where this potential could go.

So now that Barbara's been Baptized we have been teaching her the new member lessons which are going good, we were able to get another member out with us to be able to fellowship with her and help her in the Gospel. We also have been working on her Family History so she can take some names to the Temple next Friday, we are pretty excited for that and happy that we will be able to attend with her. It will be a neat experience for all of us.

We had a lesson with The Rosendorfs last night, they are probably one of my favorite members in the ward, they are a an old couple who are Less Active but they are awesome and I love them, they are fun to be around. We Shared a message on Christ's Atoning Sacrifice. "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....His Atonement also gives us the opportunity to call upon Him who has experienced all of our mortal infirmities to heal us and give us the strength to bear the burdens of mortality." I know that Jesus Christ Died for all of us, and we all can benefit from his loving sacrifice if we choose to follow him and do our best to do as he would do. I know that Centering our lives on Jesus Christ will bring us Everlasting Happiness.

Things are still going good, Elder Fenn and I are Doin' Work and enjoying every bit of it. We're excited for the temple next week with Barbara. And for the things we have going forward. The scriptures I would like to share this week are found in Mosiah 3:7-8, 7 And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and the abominations of his people. 8 And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; these scriptures just give us a understanding of the things are savior went through for all of us, because of the love he has for each and every one of us. Love you all, Have a wonderful week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM