🙌🏻LIGHT the WORLD🙌🏻 WEEK #90

What's up everyone, Elder Gentry sending off another weekly email to update you all on the Work of Salvation here in Sunshine State of Florida, where it's actually getting pretty cold! LOL It might not be that cold, but I've adjusted to the Florida heat and 50 degrees is pretty cold to me. haha Elder Russell and I are still doing our thing, sometimes on bikes but it's all good we are still trying to be productive. We have seen a lot of good things to takeaway from this week!

Zone Conference was this week and it was really good, Elder Schwitzer of the seventy came and did some trainings. He talked a lot about repentance and how we can help those we teach understand the need to repent! We also received our Christmas Initiative for this year which is "#LIGHTtheWORLD it focuses a lot on service and how we can share the gospel by serving. A video will be released on Nov 25th and I invite everyone to share that video with someone!! It centers around Christ and how he served everyone with love and how we can serve those around us and share that love we have received from the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

So update on Karen, She will not be getting Baptized on November 26th. She will be baptized, it's just a matter of time. She is still out of town and things have happened where she has to have surgery, sooo as soon as she makes it home we will be able to meet with her again and set a new date for baptism. It's all good! Everything works out in the Lords timing!

This week we have seen some success finding, we have been tying to work through part-member family's and we have met one that has a lot of potential. It is a family of 4. Mother and 3 daughters 14,11, and 6 the 2 oldest have not been baptized. We had a lesson on Saturday and we brought with us the Young Women's President to help out. We shared the restoration and how important it is for them to come to know that the message we share is true! The mother has explained to us that when she was baptized at age 12 she felt forced so she doesn't want her kids to feel the same way but to be able to make their own decision. We feel pretty good about them and are excited to teach them. 

Ok so a couple of weeks ago, we get a Bible referral and we knock on the door and this woman answers and she immediately invites us in and we teach her and her 15 year old son the restoration! Fast forward to this week and we go over there again and meet the whole family. They were really cool and they seemed very interested in the message that we share. We are excited to see where it could go.

Something I wanted to share this week comes from David A. Bednar ,May we increasingly learn and more fully understand that Jesus Christ is the “light which shineth in darkness.” In every season of our lives, in all of the circumstances we may encounter, and in each challenge we may face, the Savior is the light that dispels fear, provides assurance and direction, and engenders enduring peace and joy. May the beautiful lights of every Christmas season remind us of Him who is the source of all light.

Things here are going really good, we are having some struggles but that's just apart of this work. I love this work! I'm excited for thanksgiving this week! I'm doing great, the scripture I would like to share this week comes from Alma 38:9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness. Love this scripture, love you all! Happy Thanksgiving! 

Elder Gentry

FOM

Cute puppy 🐶 

I saw Willie this week!

Zone Conference!!

🙏🏻 #Blessedwithcheatcodes 🙏🏻 Week #89

What's Good everyone,

 Elder Gentry here again to preach a few words! My week was good with a little bad hah not everything can be perfect!! We were able to get some good things done and we still turnin' up! We have been doing a lot of finding lately which isn't always my favorite but it's all good, We be Busy! Haha just about everyone we talked to this week wants to talk politics haha ain't nobody got time for that!! 

To start off the week I got to go on an exchange with Elder Gillen, it was a good time for sure, Gillen is just one of my bros so it was nice be with him again!! We were slavin' all day building a fence for a non-member. It was a lot of hard work. Let's just say he better investigate the Church after all the work we put it in haha jk it was nice to help out. My feet were killing, I forgot my shoes so I had to squeeze into his shoes and it wasn't the best idea.

Update on Karen, she is still doing well. We only got to have one visit this week because she had a loss in the family and she went up to South Carolina! She will be back this next week and we are still preparing her for the 26th of November for Baptism! 

This week one of the members that I've been able to get tight with was admitted to the hospital, his name is Rich! He was experiencing numbness on his left side and shortness of breath. So he went straight to the hospital because he thought it was something to do with his heart. Turns out he's just been over stressed like crazy!! So everything was fine. He just needs to chill out hah We did however go and give him a blessing, it was a neat opportunity to be able to do that. Rich has definitely become one of my homies here in Olympia and he's someone I'll keep in touch with hah!!

We got to go teaching with one of our good friends in the ward Rico, he's about 26 yrs old and  he loves missionary work! He didn't serve a mission when he was younger and always tells us he wants to help out and how he's on his mission now!! We visited this really cool family, the mother was a Bible referral and as soon as we knocked her door, she answered and invited us in immediately, she was very welcoming! we taught her and her kids The Restoration and we think they really liked it. They invited us to come back next week. We are looking forward to seeing them again! Rico, On Sunday received the Melchizedek Priesthood and it was really cool to be in the room, his grandfather and grandmother traveled from Hawaii and it was a very emotional experience for them, the grandfather ordained him and gave him a beautiful blessing. It was their first grandchild to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood! The Spirit was very strong and I know that's because the Priesthood is a real power that God has given us to bless others! I'm thankful for the Priesthood!

The primary program was this week, those cute little kiddies got up and sang some songs haha we sang one song with them "Bring The World his Truth" it was pretty good I really enjoyed the program! 

Oh to explain the title of this email, this hilarious family, The Wades were explaining to us what the scriptures are and how they are cheat codes for life, if we read and listen to the scriptures we can get through life easier Hahahah it was pretty great!! 

Something I wasted to share this week comes from General Conference in a talk given by our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. "Love--the Essence of the Gospel" We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey. Likewise, we cannot fully love our fellowmen if we do not love God, the Father of us all. The Apostle John tells us, “This commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” We are all spirit children of our Heavenly Father and, as such, are brothers and sisters. As we keep this truth in mind, loving all of God’s children will become easier. Actually, love is the very essence of the gospel, and Jesus Christ is our Exemplar. His life was a legacy of love. Charity has been a focus for me this week I know that Jesus Christ is the perfect example of that!

Wowohwow what a long email hahaha, can't believe we are half way done with this transfer. Things are going good here in Olympia so I'm just going to keep killin' it wit Elder Russell!! I'm doing good, feeling Blessed as always! I know this work is Tru!! The scripture I wanted to share this week is Ether 12:34....I know that this love which thou hast had for the children of men is charity; wherefore, except men shall have charity they cannot inherit that place which thou hast prepared in the mansions of thy Father. Love this Scripture, Love you all have a good week!!

Elder Gentry

FOM

😂👊 Fist Bump kind of Week ✊😂 Week #88

What's up everyone,

 Elder Gentry once again makin' his declaration from the East Coast!! November is here but it's still hot haha I guess it's better than biking in the snow!! This week was very long due to riding those bikes Monday thru Friday, but nevertheless we had a great week and we made the most of it! Elder Russell and I are killin it, the area has been a work in progress but the work coon and I did is really helping at this point in time!   

This week we had a really good lesson with our investigator Karen, we were able to bring a member out with us to help out and they were able to relate a lot and it really helped, we taught her the Plan of Salvation and she Loved it!! The knowledge of the Plan of Salvation can change everything, it brings comfort knowing God has a plan for us!! At the end of the lesson we were talking about baptism and we set a date for her to be baptized on November 26th Woohoooo!! So exciting, she was so happy! She loves the Gospel and she's learning a ton! She has come to church 2 weeks in a row and things are looking really good for her!

We have been doing a lot of Part Member finding, the bishop has stressed the importance of working with the Part Member family's, this week we found a new Part member family and we had a really good lesson with them, we hope we continue to teach them and help them live the Gospel!! 

Something I wanted to share this week comes from General Conference, "Sharing the Restored Gospel" Dallin H. Oaks, Sharing the gospel is not a burden but a joy. What we call “member missionary work” is not a program but an attitude of love and outreach to help those around us. It is also an opportunity to witness how we feel about the restored gospel of our Savior. As Elder Ballard has taught, “A most significant evidence of our conversion and of how we feel about the gospel in our own lives is our willingness to share it with others.” I testify of Jesus Christ, who is the Light and Life of the World. His restored gospel lights our way in mortality. His Atonement gives us the assurance of life after death and the strength to persist toward immortality. And His Atonement gives us the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins and, under God’s glorious plan of salvation, to qualify for eternal life, “the greatest of all the gifts of God”

Things are going really good!! I'm loving it, just making the most of the time I have left! I'm excited for this next week, I'm going on an exchange with a former companion Elder Gillen and were going to party, I love Gillen, The scripture I want to share this week is Alma 5:49 And now I say unto you that this is the order after which I am called, yea, to preach unto my beloved brethren, yea, and every one that dwelleth in the land; yea, to preach unto all, both old and young, both bond and free; yea, I say unto you the aged, and also the middle aged, and the rising generation; yea, to cry unto them that they must repent and be born again. Love this scripture, love you all!! 

Elder Gentry

FOM