13.4--2014...is now... 2015!!!!!!

Dear Blog Readers,

Whoa, can all y'all believe that it is almost the end of 2014? Where is time going? If someone can find me an answer to that question, I will be best friends with you forever. Also these are my last few days of my black-out year. In the mission, we call the full year that you will be in your mission your black-out year. 2015 will be the year I will be going home. What? That's a weird thought.

Here are some things that I've learned this year:

1. You can fix a clogged disposal by using a toilet plunger

2. God has a terrific sense of humor

3. It is entirely possible to take a selfie on a bike

4. Chainsaws are incredibly useful

5. You castrate a bull using a Masticulator with Masticulation Bands

6. God always knows best. Even if we choose to think otherwise

7. It's actually not all that bad to pray for: Patience, Humility, and Virtue.

8. I really enjoy reading the Epistles of Paul.

9. Money goes a lot faster than you'd like to think

10. Sometimes the things we want most we just have to wait for.

And one quote that I heard on Sunday that I thought was really profound is:

"When we come into contact with other people; it helps to assume that they are trying their best with what they've got. Because most of the time they are." -- Brother Noe

Also, this past week we were able to meet with two boys that have been coming to church and have been meeting with us. We were able to teach the Plan of Salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them, and they are now on baptismal date!! :) And so hopefully mid-January we will be having 2 baptisms here!!

Also we've been having a lot of success finding new investigators. We have been hitting up the people who've met with the missionaries in the past, and we are finding good success with them! And also, we've been getting referrals from members of our wards. Hopefully we are going to be able to teach several new people because of that.

Anywho, I hope that y'all had a Merry Christmas, and I hope that y'all have a happy 2015!!

Elder Jacob Guymon

13.3--Christmas is coming!!!

Dearest Ladies and Genteelmen,

So Christmas is just around the corner, and there is a special Spirit in the air here in ABQ! Everybody is bustling to and fro trying to do the last minute shopping, mailing, and traveling so that they can have the best Christmas ever :)

And it certainly is looking to be that way. But sadly we still do not have any snow.....or iPads..... but hey, we'll have to see what happens in the future, right? Aside from the hopes of the Impossible, life has been going really good down here. Last week we were able to see more of our new investigators, and they all seem really nice. Some might even be interested in baptism!

We had 3 of our investigators attend our sacrament meetings :) :) The two boys that I told you about last week came with their dad and their sister, and one of our investigators in the other ward came as well :) :) WOOOOOOOO

Anywho, this coming week we are going to be fairly busy!! :) On Christmas Eve, we have a few appointments, and then we are going to go CAROLING!! Elder Summers is going to bring his Uke with him, and so it is looking like it most certainly will be a jam! :)

Also Christmas is looking like it's going to be one of the busiest days of our year! We are going to be trying to stop by people who have nobody else :) And so hopefully we will get to see them, and maybe we can brighten their Christmas! :) We've also been doing secret Santa runs for people in our ward, and it is super fun!! :)

Anywho, I think that's all for now! Happy Christmas!!! :D and remember "He is the Gift"!!

Elder Guymon

13.2--Summer-time in Paradise*

Dearest Ladies and Gentlemen of the Internet,

So now's the moment that you've all been waiting for.... (or maybe not) but anywhooser.... I am back in Albuquerque, except for this time I am on the west side. Also in my zone is Elder Jewett and Elder Roylance.... #landofpreviouscompanions

Oh speaking of companions, my new companion is Elder Summers, and he's from Bountiful, UT! What? #utahcomps. He's been out for about 5 months, and he's our district leader. And so what does that mean? That means Elder Summers is pretty much a steed. We just got a new apartment with a washer and dryer and a car because we cover two wards. ( One of which being the Paradise Ward *the reason for the name of this post.) Both of our wards are very wealthy, which is a little different from my previous experience here :) But I feel like the work will be good, I am sure there will be some new challenges, but I am sure that Elder Summers and I are going to have success.

Anywho, both of the wards are very missionary-minded which makes our job much easier, and we are grateful for all of the support that we have been getting. It is a different dynamic though, serving in two wards at the same time. It equates to about 6 hours of church every week (excluding meetings), and we are having to juggle learning new names, learning a new area, and finding new people to teach. But it is exciting, and we will see what happens!

Oh I just realized that I never gave y'all mah new address! I would love to hear from you! Its:

10001 Coors Bypass NW Apartment 916

Albuquerque, NM 87114

Oh and tomorrow will be an exciting day for us too! We will be having our Christmas Zone Conference!! And we are praying for ipads or snow... either one would be great and if we got both I may just die! :) But we will see what happens!!

Anywho, that's all for now folks!

Elder Jacob Guymon

13.1--Goodbye Ol' Paint (El Paso)

Dearest Ladies and Gentlemen,

So we have the transfer news: I will be leaving El Paso and heading up the Paseo Del Norte. Back up into the Northern/North-of-here areas of our mission. And so I will inform you next week about where I'm going and who I'm with.

As always, I feel sad to be leaving my area. But at the same time, there's a lot of excitement for a new place and a new face to serve with. I am grateful for the time that I've gotten to spend with Elder Allen down here! I am also grateful for the chance I have in the future to spend serving the Lord.

Anywho, this past week was a blast! We had the Christmas Concert at the University of Texas at El Paso, and we must've had 500 people who passed by or stopped and watched. We also gave out over 200 of the "He is the Gift" cards #heisthegift, and one of our Senior Missionaries may have found us or the sisters a new investigator from it.

Also, this week we have 2 new investigators, and we actually had 2 new people come to church yesterday! :) huzzah!

Oh and one fun thing also, the woman who was baptized had her birthday and invited us to come over to her house and celebrate with her family! :) It was fabulous. Her family is all so nice, and her mother is a FANTASTIC cook. And so that was a good experience, and we got to say our goodbyes.

Anywho, that's all for now folks!

--Elder Jacob Guymon

 

12.6--I CAN FINALLY SING CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

This is actually my second time writing this email, because I just accidently deleted my last email........ GOOOGLE!!!!

 

Anywho, life's pretty good down here in El Paso! :) This past week was great, and thanksgiving was especially wonderful! We were able to go with our ward and volunteer at the annual parade that they have down here! And it was fabulous! :) We got a free T-shirt, and we got to dress down. Oh I should probably say what we did at the parade: we were on clean up duty! Yay! :) After the parade we got to go and clean up all the garbage, and we even weren't on Horse Apple duty either! :) Pretty great! 

 

We also had all three meals that day :D :D And all of which were good! We ate in the morning with one of the recent converts in the ward, and then for lunch, we ate with the Senior Missionaries, and in the evening, we ate Thanksgiving dinner with our bishop! :)

 

Oh, we were blessed with a new investigator. He cuts hair, and he has a rad suburban with Giant Rims. El  Paso is great.

 

Other than that, work is work down here.... OH WAIT!!! I just forgot one thing, this next Tuesday (Dec 9th) will be Transfer Week, and Elder Allen are both praying that we will get to stay, but neither of us have any idea about what's going to happen. But either way, whatever God wants me to do or wherever He wants me to go that's fine with me! :) Because I know that He has our best interest in mind.

 

Anywho, I love you all and I hope that you have a good week!

 

Elder Jacob Guymon

12.5--Things to be grateful for

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen of the internet,

 

Things have been going well here in El Paso! :) And this upcoming week is looking great! The holiday spirit is in the air, and it's an exciting time of the year to be a missionary. :)

 

As I have thought about Thanksgiving, I was reminded of things that I have been grateful for this year:
1. I am grateful to have a new sister-in-law, Kamilah.

2. I am grateful that my Grandma was able to complete her cancer treatments well :)

3. I am grateful for the 5 companions that I have had so far this year.

4. I am grateful for the 3 areas I have gotten to serve in.

5. I am grateful for the members and nonmembers who have been willing to feed us.

6. I am grateful for my Mom and Dad. And for all of their support.

7. I am grateful for getting to see Anahi baptized

8. I am grateful for all of the crazy experiences

9. I am grateful for the Spiritual  Growth that I've seen

10. I am grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. And my relationship with him.

 

Other than that, this past week was a little frustrating. All of our investigators that we have found in the past several weeks have all gone cold... which is to say they aren't responding to our calls or our text messages; which is frustrating to me, because just a little while ago, they we so willing, and then they weren't, but all's not bad. We were able to fill our time by giving service, and we were blessed with receiving many new referrals so that way we will be able to find some new people to teach.

 

 

Anywho, I hope that all of you have a blessed week, and that you are able to have a stellar time during this holiday season.

Elder Jacob Guymon