It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right I hope you had the time of your life. (BLOG

I hope you enjoy my story..

In 2015 i found myself in a state championship rugby game. I found myself lined up against kids twice or even thrice the size of me yet i still felt comfort. I was nervous but not scared. As the game started confidence was tested and i quickly came to realize that it was going to be a lot harder than i thought it would be. I never lost the faith that we could win but I definitely had to realign my goals and my ways of conquering such a big opponent. As the game went on we quickly found our footing as a team and took off. We felt unstoppable. We felt so confident in our game that we almost got caught being too confident. Of course the other team did not go down with out a fight. The game continued on and the other team quickly picked up speed and evened their stride with ours. Before I knew it, it was the closing minutes of the game and we were about to be tested more then ever. I can remember having to tackle someone over and over on the goal line. My body was aching more then ever and i just wanted to quit. I thought of the quote "You already in pain, you are already hurting... get a reward for it!" Those last 5 minutes of that game were maybe the hardest thing I had ever done in my life. But I did it. We held that team on the goal line until the last whistle. I had given it my all. I did my best. I remember walking off the pitch that day with my head held high knowing i had given it everything i had...

In 2017 I found myself leaving on a mission. Taking only with me my knowledge of the gospel and the stories my siblings had told me about their own missions. Soon after I was on an airplane to a country where i didn't know anyone, i didn't really know how to speak the language and i just felt hopeless. Yet i was only nervous, not scared.  i knew Heavenly Father would look out for me and take care of me as long as i did my part. The some what confidence i had gained in the MTC was obliterated in the first couple days and I had to adjust. The phrase "Thy will be done O Lord, not mine" quickly became present in my mind. I learned the Filipino way and found myself falling in love with both the culture and the people here. I found my footing. I found my way as a missionary and really started to love what I was doing. I accepted Heavenly Fathers will for me. The more and more time went away and the closer and closer i got to going home I found it hard. There came a part in my mission I was really struggling. That pday i received a long letter from someone that hit me really hard and at the end of the letter was this paragraph.. 

"Take on every challenge with gratitude. Welcome the storms and the mountains in your life. Serve your mission with significance and every second of your life afterwards."

From that day forward I made it a goal to do everything i could with significance. I wanted to be the best I possibly could be for my Savior Jesus Christ. I wanted to make Him proud. I wanted to make my family proud. I have held my ground these last months. My body has been aching and i have wanted to quit. but I did it. The final whistle is coming and I know I have given it my all. I know I will walk off this field with my head held high knowing I gave it my all. Momma I left every ounce of what I had on the field. i got nothing more to give. 

love,

elder gsack

woohoo!

Hello!  This week was a crazy week. We had a lot happen but overall we really enjoyed the week and ended the week with smiles on our faces. So because of some reasons or others we had the opportunity of working with our APs all Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It was a really cool experience! One of the APs is Elder Pedersen and he is my batch so he goes home with me in a couple weeks and then the other one is Elder Ugalino! We were companions for 2 transfers back in San Gabriel. So needless to say it was tons of fun. I really like working with someone i have been with my whole mission but have never legit got to work with him and then working with an old companion was super fun too! We were able to go to church in their ward on Sunday as well and we had a really cool experience. Sacrament meeting had started and we were all sitting in the front and mid way through we looked back and an investigator walked in and sat in the back. She didn't have anyone beside her and looked quite lonely. So we got a member to go and sit next to her. After the meeting she told us how she felt so alone at the start and she was about to get up and leave and just then the member got up and sat next to her. Its so amazing how some times we do such a small thing and it has such a large impact on others.  Well i have this weeks letter and next weeks letter and that is all. So i am taking this letter and made a list of things i learned on my mission. Some are more seriously then others. But this list was started in my first area and i have added things every week to it and today i finally hit the send button. Hope you enjoy.  112 things i learned on my mission: 1. Male cows are not nice like female cows. try your best to avoid coming close to males as they might run at you and you have to run through a muddy rice field 2. If you get an infection, get medicine asap and don't delay because if you don't, your companion will get it as well and both of you will be screwed  3. Seeing someone pick up a cat but the neck and swing it like a rag doll is quite traumatizing  4. If you pray with a sincere heart and with real intent Heavenly Father will answer your prayers, even if its at 3 in the morning and you are praying for a dog to stop barking 5. When you are given opportunities as a kid growing up, take advantage of them, My biggest regret growing up, is not taking piano lessons seriously.  6. Always be prepared as a missionary. You may wake up one morning and have no water at all and no money to go and buy water and go days without showering.  7. Cats fighting is really entertaining during the day but keep you up all night 8. Praying can be a very sacred experience. If you truly pray with a sincere heart miracles will happen in your life. I was told countless times but my mission president to always be praying and miracles will happen and it was absolutely true. Praying can cause miracles. 9. Facing rejection comes a lot and it sucks but learning to bounce back from it is when you grow as a person and missionaries 10. Beating your child is not okay. End of story.  11. Always take your house keys with you. If not you will be found standing on your companions shoulders squishing into the 2nd story window 12. Boiling Oil and water DO NOT mix. Do not try. You will get 3rd degree burns 13. If it is your birthday don't tell anyone.. or else people will crack eggs on your head and sprinkle flour on you 14. don't put food in your trash can or else maggots will grow... lots of them 15. God truly has a plan for us. He knows everyone of you individually. I have a very strong testimony of this.  16. Getting Emergency transferred at first seems like a lot of fun and then you really how much packing you have to do and it sucks 17. When you are given an assignment in the church it truly is coming from the Lord. Don't doubt yourself, The Lord believes in you so you might as well believe in yourself as well.  18. Not matter what happens, your mission president always has your back.  19. If you wake up and your fan is smoking, unplug it and don't plug it back in or else it will start a fire and explode causing your fire alarm to go off 20. Holy week is a really big thing here in the Philippines and its sometimes to stay far away from 21. Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of us. No where in the Bible of the Book of Mormon does it say to reenact this and crucify people...  22. You will learn more from companions that you don't like then you will from companions you get along with really well.  23. Giving up something you love for the God you love even more will bless your life greatly 24. The three nephites are truly real people.  25. punching someone in the face hurts your hand a lot more then you would ever think.  26. the fire department in the Philippines is just guys running around with bucket of water, its no help, if there is a fire evacuate asap 27. watching a human give birth, yup that's a no go 28. sister missionaries can be the best but the absolute worst 29. Chastising with the scriptures is the most satisfying thing in the world 30. The Lord has truly prepared people to hear the gospel from YOUR mouth 31. Learning to rap lesson one is the worlds greatest thing 32. just do you. don't worry about anyone else 33. Leadership positions are great experiences but they don't give you any prize or make you popular 34. Being willing to be broken by the Lord so you can be built better then you were before 35. Old people are my favorite kind of people 36. Always love and support your companion no matter how many short comings they may have 37. Find joy in others 38. Don't be so quick to judge others, you may not know their full story 39. Obedience > Disobedience  40. Always respect others beliefs and especially religion..  41. The gift of tongues is so beyond real 42. Members and way better finders then the missionaries are.. don't be afraid to help the missionaries 43. All things in all places should have a balance 44. We can do hard things. 45. Give it your all in all aspects of life.. If you aren't giving it your all you are just cutting yourself short 46. Put others needs before yourself. 47. How to shuffle cards like a casino dealer 48. Wash my clothes by hand without any washer or drying machine 49. Exercising every day is very important 50. When times get stressful don't forget to take a time out and breathe.. relax 51. Always stay loyal to know what you know is right.. ever when its hard 52. I really like plays. 53. Be mindful of others around you 54. Write in your journal as often as you can.. if possible daily 55. Always remember that others are thinking of you.. even when you feel all alone 56. If you aren't having fun you are doing something wrong 57. If you aren't helping someones else's life be better then you are wasting your time 58. How to out run all different kinds of animals; Chickens, dogs, pigs, cows, horse and goats! 59. How to stomach down nasty food. 60. Never complain yourself with others 61. Fresh coconut juices are the best 62. The feeling of the spirit in times of teaching or working is a feeling that is unbeatable  63. Alcohol never does anyone any good. 64. Don't let anyone else ruin your day! 65. Such great joy comings from serving others 66. Faith healers are scary people 67. Everyone here on earth is truly one big family 68. Its okay to take a sick day if you need it 69. Trust in the counsel of the years. 70. General Conference is the best time of the year! 71. Always have patience. 72. Naps are unbeatable  73. I really enjoying playing board games and cards 74. God comes first, then family. 75. How to fix a washing machine 76. Don't sleep when you are tired or sick of whats going on.. sleep when you are finished.  77. Getting tazed hurts a lot more then you think it would.  78. I really enjoy my time reading the Book of Mormon. 79. No matter how bad or good it is everything happens for a reason 80. Cutting down bamboo trees are really hard 81. Banana trees are my favorite kind of trees 82. Thunder and Lightning may be a fun thing when you are indoors but if you are outside it is so beyond scary and you better run fast 83. Give blood as often as possible if you can. You never realize how many life's you are truly saving by doing that 84. Even if its pouring (as long as there is no thunder and lightning) don't forget to dance in the rain. 85. You have a full team to work with so make sure you utilize EVERYONE on the team 86. The Book of Forgiveness is a great book but make sure you read it at the right time in your life 87. The best place to think with a clear mind and no distractions is at the temple 88. How to speak Tagalog 89. How to make adobo and other philippino food  90. manicures and pedicures are 110% worth your money 91. Threading your eyebrows hurts really bad but looks really good ;) 92. crazy people are scary and even more so when they are on drugs.  93. To Always understand the weight of my calling. 94. to always be open and willing to go on an adventure  95. Always be worthy of the priesthood... you never know when you are going to get a phone call to give a blessing or preform an ordinance.  96. Boodle fights are a really fun thing to do 97. Take all of your responsibilities seriously.  98. How to kill a pig and gut it 99. A male can get an ultra sound too! hahahaha 100. Always clear the tension you may have before moving forward 101. If someone says they can do something.. believe in them that they can do it! 102. How to wipe my butt with my hand.. hehehe 103. Push my body past limits i thought i couldn't pass 104. I learned how to adjust to others to keep things rolling 105. Before this life we were all the same... no race, weight, height or anything.. just children of God. 106. What to do when a bus breaks down 107. Frogs are stress relievers from God 108. Do NOT pick up any stray cats or dogs or they will bite you and you will have to get rabies shots 109. Teaching English to people as a second language is a lot harder then you think it is 110. Balut is not as bad as they say it is.. the more you eat the better they get 111. Its better to be right then liked. 112. Coming home is a lot harder then leaving home.  Love Elder gsack

How much can you take and keep moving forward?

Hey! This week was a good week! We are starting to talk to lots of new people and teaching them as well. That may be one of the best feelings is going to a return appointment and the family is all there waiting and ready for your message! Its the best! One of the new people we are teaching is Nanay Moana. yes her name is really moana and it made us laugh a little. Anyways nanay moana is 78 years old and lives by herself! all her kids and husband have passed away. She is very sad because of this of course but still has a really good attitude about it all. The other day we were just walking around a new place and we met nanay moana. she was outside by herself washing and hanging clothes and we stopped and offered to help. I made my companion hang up all her clothes while i talked to nanay. (It was way funny) But as soon as i understood her whole situation i knew we had the things to help her feel more peace and comfort! so i offered a short prayer for her and taught very briefly about the plan of salvation and how death is not the end. She quickly accepted a return appointment for the very next day. Well the next day came around and as we were walking down the road down to nanays house we could see in the distance old nanay sitting in a chair with her pamphlet i had given her and two chairs sitting in front of her for us. The lesson hadn't even started nor had we said one word to nanay but i could already feel the spirit. We taught a very powerful lesson about the plan of salvation and told her that if she did what she needed to do here on earth she would return to live with all her kids and husband. At the end of the lesson we stood up to leave and she looked at us with tears rolling down her cheeks and said "Thank you Elders. This is what i have been looking for." Its such a satisfaction to walk up and down streets all day with something everyone is looking for. A lot of times people dont know the  truth because they dont know where to find it! No matter the weather, season or circumstances someone is always looking. Just depends on us to find them! I love this work. Thank you all so much for you love and support! days are going faster and faster! Love you all! Elder gsack  ReplyReply allForward

week 97

hello!

Everyone wants eternal life but no one wants to do the things here on earth for it. Man this week was a little rough in some points but REALLY good in others. A lot of people are showing such interest in lessons and then when commits come in they all fall through. So we are sorting our small investigator pool to be even smaller. But its okay!  The bright side of this week is Brother Echano. He was a referral to us a long time ago and showed some interest at the beginning but nothing to crazy. We had taught him the first lesson given a book of mormon and had given reading assignments. Him and his family just werent keeping commitments and so we stopped going to them frequently about 2 months ago. However the other day we were walking out of our subdivision and a trike pulled up and said "Elders get on! Ill give you a free ride!" So of course without evening looking who was driving we got on. When i got on the back of the motor though i realized it was Brother Echano! We werent planning on going really far so i knew i had to say something to get straight to the point. Before I could even say anything he turned and said to me "Elders i am so sorry. I know you are just trying to help me and my family. You invite us to church every week but we never come. This week elders I am coming." It kind of threw me off guard but I was excited! So we said great we will see you on sunday! well fast forward to sunday. we were at church 30 minutes early like always and there was alreaday a decent amount of people in the chapel. So when we walked in there was Brother Echano and his family surrounded with members talking to them and sitting by them. It was such a great sight. We didnt have to ask any of the members to talk to them or sit by them they just did it! We were able to sit down with Brother Echano after church and ask him about his experience. He said "elders i have never felt so much peace and relief in my life... I have so many new friends too! I cant wait to come next week again!" Well Brother Echano and his family left the church smiling and excited to come back this coming week so we are really happy for them For changes in the mission we got a new mission president! President and Sister Cauilan. They are so cool! They have 3 kids as well here with them in the mission. We were able to have a meet the mission president and family meeting this past week which went really well. It was cool to see the meetings conducted in Tagalog. Our mission also got the island of Mindoro added to it so that is a cool little change up unfortunately though I will be gone before any real changes get made. Oh well.  Loving my time here in the field and dont want it to end! Love you all lots! Elder gsack

week 96

Hello!

This week was a good week. Lots of changing of thinking but it was good! More about my companion. His name is Elder Fomai. He is 19 years old. He is pure Samoan but in 2013 he was adopted and moved to Australia. Thats where he was baptized and became a member of the church. He plays rugby and we have a lot in common so we get along really well. He looks like a boy from the Tongan branch or someone I would play rugby with. Its great.

As for the area.. umm.. its a little rough. My time here at the start we spent a lot of time "harvesting" and we didn't do the best job planting. So we have kind of hit a dry spot in the area. We do have a couple of investigators that are progressing but just in this past week lots of different issues came up so we are about to just start over. As we talked about it i felt super disappointed. I put it together that my last transfer in the mission would consist of just walking around and finding new people. Not the most exciting thing. But two things came to my mind that i want to share. The first was a letter my older sister wrote me just last week and I dont think there could've been better timing for the letter. In the letter she told a story about a women from her mission who started investigating the church in 2009. She simply saw two american blonde boys who were always walking around with a smile on their face. little by little she met the missionaries, went to church and was baptized but not till 2013! so even though she met the missionaries in 2009 the fruits of the laborer didn't come till 4 years after. The second thing that came to mind was the baptismal interviews I had the chance to do this past weekend. We spent a lot of the weekend traveling around to areas in the district to do interviews. Each of the 4 interviews I did, not one of them had been found by those missionaries. They all ranged from months to years of investigating. However each of the 4 could name every single elder or sister who taught them the gospel. 

Sometimes as a missionary you want to just baptize everyone and do your own thing. You are focused on yourself and how to help yourself. This week has taught very clearly that its not about me. Its about the people here in Tanza. So if i spend the next 5 weeks walking around smiling away at people that is okay. Of course I am going to do my best to do more but if thats all I get.. then its okay. I am so happy to serve the Lord and to give it my all. 

Love you all!

elder gsack

week 95

Hello!

Today was transfer day and elder calmacio is gone! Its a sad day but he is off to bigger and better things and I am really excited for him. Its been a really good transfer and I am happy with the things i have experienced. Well today also starts my last and final transfer! i will be finishing my mission here in Tanza! My new companion is Elder Fomai and hes from Sydney Australia! He seems really cool and I know he plays rugby so things are looking up for me.

This week lots has been going on and its been lots of fun! We have continued to work with our newer ward missionaries and they are the best. It is kind of a good pick me upper when they work with us. They are always smiling cracking jokes and really willing to talk to new people.

A really cool experience we had though the other day was when Elder Wakolo from the Seventy came and dedicated our chapel here in Tanza. Before the chapel was dedicated he stood up and gave an amazing talk about being and staying active in the church your entire life. He shared a quote from Elder Bednard which said "Your testimony will not save you in the last days... only your continuous conversation will save you." I love that. This gospel and church is not just a one time thing. Its not just a thing you do for a little and then quit. Its something we always need to be striving to be better. We always have room to improve. 

Sorry dont have a whole lot to share its a busy day and I have no pictures because I left my camera at home. But love you all lots!

Elder gsack

week 94

Hey!

This week was an okay week. Lots going on and we had a super different kind of zone conference. Of course it was Presidents last zone conference so it was almost like a funeral hahaha. They explained how the switch with the new mission president is going to work and how everything is going to change. Just a little odd. However both sister speirs and president shared with us some cool things they have learned while serving here. That was really sweet to see both miracles and some other fun things. 

Also this past weekend we had our one day mission and it actually went really well. It was almost funny how excited these kids were to share the gospel. We got instructions to let all the youth start conversations and find people and if it came down to a teaching situation we were supposed to step in and take over. So I had with me a 13 yr old deacon and a 18 yr old priest who is preparing to go on a mission. They didnt seem very excited but we got to the entrance of the subdivision and i gave them both 20 pass along cards. I told them if they would legit talk to 20 people each and give out all the cards with a testimony i would buy them ice cream, and wow they took off. who knew ice cream would motivate kids so fast. Well within two hours we had talked to over 40 people, taught several people and found tons of new investigators. When the cards ran out I was expecting them to turn to me and ask for their ice cream but they turned to me and said "Elder there are still so many houses we haven't tried, do you have any more cards?" It almost made me laugh. Here I was with a deacon and a priest who were complaining earlier and now they were asking for more. So we continued to share and knock on doors. At the end of day i kept my promise and bought them ice cream and asked them about their days and they both shared with me how they always thought missionary work was hard but today proved them wrong. They said how they both really enjoyed their time and sharing the gospel. I know sharing the gospel sometimes can be scaring but if you give it a shot I know you will have fun with it! 

I love you all lots! Hope you have a good week. Transfers are next week and I got no idea what is going to happen so stay tuned for my last transfer!! 

Elder gsack