Random Pictures

This is a random place we found when we were tracting. Pretty flowers~!

This is my Mimi. She is very old and in a care center. She is just the sweetest lady.

This is our FHE treat at a members house who are going to be the mission president for Sacramento Cali! We watched a talk by Holland in their Egyptian theater.. it was AWESOME!

Happy St. Patty's Day 2014!

Conference Weekend!!

I can't believe it's Tuesday again.. Well this week has been packed full of wonderful things!

Events:

At District meeting, Sister Allen and I were in charge for a bit and played a game using scriptures. It was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. 

On Thursday, we had zone conference! President and Sister Hiers talked about principles and patterns which was really good and then the AP's did a role play which was super helpful. As a missionary, you are constantly learning. It is CRAZY. There's so much to learn in such little time! Oh and there's a new rule now in our mission that we can only talk to people in the mission on Facebook. Sister Allen and I haven't been on a lot recently and it's great! Facebook is a big distraction sometimes and a temptation as well. So just note! If you want to talk to me, WRITE ME A LETTER OR EMAIL! 

On Friday, we helped move someone's stuff into their house with a ton of missionaries. I helped carry a dresser and felt pretty good about myself :) I'm strong! 

On Saturday..... GENERAL CONFERENCE!!! To sum the experience up: We left early so weren't able to listen to the morning session (bummer I know, I heard it was fantastic and President Monson talked about the youth celebration in AZ! Whoop whoop! Now every time I say where I'm from.. they talk about it haha). We got there and had to eat lunch really quick and then get to the conference center. Then, their translator radio thingumabobs stopped working so we had to go get different ones and then THOSE stopped working towards the end. HOWEVER, I think Bianca and Xochilt had a great time. We gave them little notebooks that say General Conference Notes on it and they took more notes than I thought they would! I really likes Richard G Scott's talk about how converts need to know God loves them perfectly and how we need to help them understand that. I also loved W Craig Zwick's talk. He shared the story about his wife jumping out of the semi truck with thier son because she thought they were going to die and she just wanted to save him! I loved that he talked about putting yourself in the other's shoes and the see through their eyes to eliminate miscommunication. 

 I'm so excited to read all the talks and be able to get more out of them. How amazing is it that we get to hear modern scripture! We are so blessed to have the resources and materials that we do. Sometimes we take them for granted, but my challenge for you all is to not! PLLLLEASE read the talk by D. Todd Christofferson called The Blessing of Scripture from April 2010. It is so easy to access this and you can even listen to it as you get ready in the morning. 

People:

Eli- We stopped by not expecting to have a lesson because they had family over but they eventually all left. We started to talk and came to find out that he isn't very interested. He doesn't want to be "a Mormon" and doesn't understand why he needs to worship God to have happiness. It was really sad to see his lack of faith and especially the fact that he is struggling but tries to not show it. We will be meeting with him tonight.

Darcy! We are teaching a 12 year old girl who is in Burch Creek's area but they wanted Sisters instead of Elders. We 2 really great lessons with her but haven't invited her to baptism yet. She has lots of questions but hasn't come out with any yet. 

Logan- Still unable to meet with him. When we went to his apartment, his buddy answered the door with a beer in hand and said he was sick. Then he said, well actually he was my D.D. for last night, but then got in a fight and got sucker punched in the face and so I'm taking care of him. We left and held in our laughter till we were out of hearing. Gotta love mission stories :P 

Brother O'Dell- This is the man who just got married and we just started teaching! We have him set to be baptized April 26th! The lesson was just amazing. He is so sincere and ready. He misses the blessings of the priesthood and going to the temple. Although his baptism doesn't count for our numbers, I don't really care. He is a son of God and is coming back to the fold. I'm just happy I can be apart of it and to see their family so happy. :) it was a very sweet and spiritual lesson. 

Well I think that's all I'll share this week! I want you all to know that I know, this is Christ's true gospel. It has blessed me in so many ways and brought me so much peace and happiness. Do not wait to find out if it is true or to strengthen your testimony. DO IT NOW. Have the missionaries come to your home, feast upon the words of Christ, and do what you know is right. I promise you, as a representative of Jesus Christ, that as do, the Holy Ghost testify to you that it is true. 

Love you all. Thank you for all your love and support. 

Sister Gietz

5 Months Out!

HELLO!!! This week has been absolutely crazy and awesome. We did the most random things, laughed really hard, had some great lessons taught to us and taught some as well. There's seriously way too much that happened this week so you only get a little taste of this insane week.

We went on exchanges this week and Sis Allen got to be with my Grandma (Sis. Campbell who is Sis. Kuwahara's mom) and I went to Pleasant Valley with Sis Ingram. We had 4 lessons right after another and it was crazy! I learned a lot of new tricks and skills about teaching which will help me to spice up my lessons.

Saturday, we had a District Companion Study. It was on the Atonement and absolutely was one of the most spiritual experiences so far in the mission. We talked about our fav. scripture on the Atonement and then watched a Mormon Message called None Were With Him. It was pretty touching and a great reminder but then we did an activity. We went into a room, sat down, and looked up at the chalkboard. Written on the board were words such as: Pizza, Pens, Home, Friends, Family, Scriptures, Prayer, Priesthood, Prophets, Sacrament, Holy Ghost, and Jesus Christ. We were asked to imagine this was our life on the board and we had to go up, one at a time, and erase something from our life. The room was silent and the beginning of the activity was easy but when it came down to the last few words, it was rather difficult. We sat for a while looking up at the board as someone debated which to erase. When Jesus Christ was erased, my heart dropped. It was painful and to think without Him, we'd have nothing! After the activity, and elder said, "Do you really live your life this way? Do you spend your time thinking more about the things that aren't important as to the things that are?" It hit me hard that there are some things that I can be doing much better in my life and as a missionary. Let's just say... I cried pretty hard. Haha it was an amazing experience and I challenge you all to do it individually or with your family! 

After that, we went to a wedding at the Hill Air Force Base! Oh, I guess I never told you about that.. Well, they are kinda less active and the husband isn't a member anymore but wants to be! We decided to volunteer to help with the reception and made some posters and such for decorations. We also helped out at the reception which was really fun! Their bishop came and talked to us and told us that we need to re-baptize Brother O'dell! So that will probably be happening soon!

When the reception was done, we met up with our ZL's to get things situated... Note: This day was CRAZY. Well we finally ended up being able to go with their investigator to the General Women's Conference in Salt Lake!!!! We had such a great time even though we were late. She really enjoyed having us and invited us to her baptism this coming Saturday. Haha we are going to General Conference for the afternoon session with Bianca and then will race home to go to the baptism. We also have to sing now too! 

OKAY, story of the week. On Sunday, we went to Bianca's ward and saw that she wasn't there but that Xochilt's husband was. Sister Allen went to go talk to him while I talked with others. When she sat down next to me, she told me why they weren't there. Xochilt's little boy, Kye, was hit by a car and was in critical condition but being taken care of at home. We were shocked and our hearts ached for them. Later, we were given a pie and decided we would go over and give it to them. When we got there, another little family was there giving their love. Sis Allen explained to Bianca that we would put his name on the prayer roll at the temple and keep him in our prayers. Then, Xochilt asked if we would like to see him. Sister Allen and I looked at each other unsure, but said yes. We went upstairs and saw laying on the bed with a splint and all... their DOG!! Sister Allen and I looked at each other and so many things were said to each other telepathically. HAHAHA! When we left the house we about died laughing. We just took pie for a dog.... HILARIOUS. 

Well that's all that I will share for this week! Hope y'all are doing great and I love you SOOOOOO much! 

Love, Sister Gietz

Utah Ogden Mission!!

So.. Hello! This week has gone by so fast and so slow. Mission time is so weird... Anyways! We had some interesting experiences this week!

So Tuesday night, we had a lesson with Elijah. He's 17 and is currently living with his grandparents for a reason or two. He is just the most interesting minded kid, it blows me away! We taught him about the Restoration and it was going so good! The spirit was strong and he even cried a bit about wanting to be like his grandparents. We were leaving him with a Book of Mormon and he misunderstood what Sis Allen meant and started to read his homework right then. Dang it. Then... I made a terrible mistake. I asked the grandparents to bare their testimony on the 1st vision... Why did I do that?! The lesson became a whole hour and 15 mins!!! :( ahhhh! The spirit kind of stepped outside and I could tell the information they were spiting out was confusing him. That was an exhausting lesson emotionally and spiritually. Good thing we went to bed afterwards! 

We got together with our zone and boy is it different! We have 4 new Elders and 1 new Sister. One of the Zone Leaders is from England! Shout out to my brother Conner! :) I love being able to serve with so many different people from all over, even though a lot of the missionaries in this mission are from Arizona haha we have 4 just in our zone :P it's awesome. But anywho! It is going to be the best transfer ever! I'm really excited and looking forward to the new changes (which there are a lot but I wont get into them). 

This week seemed to be cancel your lesson with the missionaries week because we had sooooo many! Unacceptable. One Wed. we had all 4 cancel... So we stayed at the Relief Society Birthday Party and it was so fun! We played Minute to Win it games and Sister Allen and I won one of them!!! It made us happy and so did the food :) 

We had a lesson with Bianca about the Restoration again but really focused on helping her to understand the authority of the priesthood. It was a phenomenal lesson and the spirit was really intense. I showed her a quick video ad on General Conference and her eyes literally sparkled. She was amazed. Then, I asked her to go to conference with us. She was so excited and her cousin was even more excited! It was really fun to see how excited they were to be able to have this opportunity. Xochilt (pronounced: So-chi)(her cousin) has never been to conference and so we pulled some strings.. and All 4 of us are going to the Saturday afternoon session of conference!!! WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! :) hopefully we can finally set a baptismal date for Bianca afterwards and that Xochilt and her husband will be more prepared to go to the temple again! What an exciting work to be involved in. Thank goodness for me Spanish speaking companion! Oh and just a fun fact.. A Spanish and English companionship is called Zebra. Cool right? 

Also! We taught a new guy named Logan who's from Montana and is almost done with his Microbiology degree.. or something along that science stuff. He had the lesson outside on a bench because we didn't have another sister with us. The lesson went.. okay. Haha not our best but he agreed to meet with us again. I know we'll do better next time, it's just a matter of better preparation! I gave him a talk to read because he had said he didn't think Mormons were Christians and he doesn't agree that we are to become like God. The talk I gave him is by Dallin H. Oaks called Apostasy and Restoration from the 1995 general conference. READ IT. 

One last thing I want to share is about an experience I had on Sunday. The Gailey family FINALLY came to church. Lexi ( turing 9 this summer ) can't get baptized until she starts coming to church more. So we went into the Chapel a little late and they saw us. We sat on the back row and one by one they came to sit with us. :) it was a precious time for me to finally see them at church and to be with them. Lexi rested her head against my arm and her little sister sat in my lap because there was no room. It was a tender mercy that Heavenly Father sent to me because I dearly miss my beautiful nieces and nephews. I'm so grateful for my family and families all over who are wanting the best for those they love. I KNOW that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best way for us to have a strong and loving family. I KNOW that we are literally children of God and that he loves us more than we can comprehend. I'm thankful for Jesus Christ who has shown us the way to eternal life and eternal joy as well as has made it possible! The family is precious and sacred. And Satan knows that. That's why it is so important to keep our families safe by living the gospel. 

I love you all and hope you know you are in my prayers. I'm so grateful for each and everyone of you :) 

Love, Sister Gietz

I'm STAYING!!!

One more transfer here baby! Woohoo! I shrieked like a little girl when they announced it this morning... I'm just so EXCITED!!! I still have so much work to do still and it's great because we're gaining member trust and getting better at teaching! Okay okay okay so we had a GREAT week! Made lots of contacts, teaching new people and having a great time.

We had Ian's baptism and it was amazing. The Spirit was so strong. His fellowship gave a spotlight and Ian started to cry. He is so scared about the surgery that will happen today and he will need the strength of the Holy Ghost during this hard time. I wish I could put into words how amazing it was but I can't. He was confirmed on Sunday and ordained to be a Deacon! Sister Kuwahara even came and surprised us all! We hugged and cried and it was just so fun. 

So Sister Allen has been sick! We bummed it one day because she was so out of it. We went to the doc and they just said it's a virus and there was nothing they could do... So she just has to tough it out. It's so sad though because her voice is shot and she sounds awful.. I've been getting a sore throat but we are downing Emergen-c packets like crazy trying to fight it off. Well the morning that she slept in, Lindsay came over (Gladwell's daughter) and had breakfast. I told her I was going to have a lesson with her and she said okay! We had a good talk about the 1st vision but then we got distracted and started talking about other stuff. I will bring her back though! I'm determined. 

We just had some interesting experiences this week.. 

I talked to a friend from high school on Facebook and came to find out that he's atheist and believes in Evolution. Man was that sad and an eye-opener. 

Then, we were out going to referrals and I stopped at a house we hadn't gone to in awhile. Turns out, we hadn't gone there at all. They welcomed us in (LDS obviously) and started talking to us. They called to their kids to come meet us and I heard the name "Marin". I asked, "Did you just say Marin?" They said yes! I was like.. What?! That's my name! How do you spell it? M-A-R-I-N. I have NEVER met another person with my name and spelling. Apparently, it's a Swiss name! So we were about to leave and then I saw some stuff... I will send pictures. Weapons of all kinds were throughout the house. Knights with armor were equipped and in the corners of the rooms. IT WAS BIZEERK. He's a martial art teacher and has trained some pretty pro people. They are really interesting and have an interesting story haha I wish I could share it all. He offered to train us on a P-day but it would have to be at night, they've done it with other missionaries in Texas so we will see. He has Bow-staff skills and Numb-chucks.. and lots of other skills. We were laughing when we left and quoting Napoleon Dynamite with all his skills :) it was even more funny when Sister Allen's laugh was deep and hoarse. I think I'm having too much fun out here... 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! We had dinner at our mission president's councilor's house. It was so awesome. The kitchen and dining table looked like the holiday threw up on everything. GREEN GREEN GREEN. We had most of our zone and some other missionaries there and just laughed and talked. We had a green Tres Leches cake that tasted like Lucky Charms cereal. Greatest St. Patrick's Party I've gone to... and probably the only one I've gone to haha       

Overall, great week! Love you all! 

Sister Gietz                                                                                                                                                 

Zoom Zoom! Transfers Next Week!!!

Time is flying! This transfer came super fast and I hope I get to stay in my area one last transfer! So lets see.. What happened this week?

Well! I forced a lesson on Wyatt (10 yr old) because his mom was getting in the tub, we had fellowship and our STL there, and I was going to have a lesson!! He stopped the video game that he was absorbed in (looked familiar..) and taught him and 3 of his friends about prophets. We left smelling like smoke for the rest of the day but I was satisfied :) 

So our STL (sister training leader) ,Sister Hawes, came on a very good day. We were busy busy busy with 5 lessons and a dinner that made me check the date because I could have sworn it was Thanksgiving dinner. 

We had a Companion study with our District leader and another elder which was super fun and.. surprising. Sister Allen and I role played a lesson we were going to have that night with Brother Trujillo on the Law of Chastity. The spirit was for sure helping us and I can't believe we got through the whole thing the way we did. We had never taught it together and we were super nervous to teach Elders about it... Haha but we were all pretty shocked at how well it went! The lesson it's self went different but still pretty good :) he's golden but not.. We set up an interview with the President to see what he will have to do to be baptized. Exciting stuff! 

Ian is getting baptized this week! Woooooo! Finally! We're really excited and hope that everything goes well with it as well as the surgery he will have next week. 

Bianca is doing well but I'm pretty out of the loop because of my lack of Spanish skills... Haha but we are finding what we need to focus on and such. She came with us to the Zone Leader's baptism which was great! I think she felt the spirit :) we're excited! She is adorable and her cousin is enjoying the lessons too. We're working on helping them get back to the temple as well. 

We went to the Family History Center with Brother Graham for like 2-3 hours.. I thought my brain was going to explode! He has TONS of work to do and that stuff is mind-boggling. I was impressed with the little lady helping us and her reasoning for certain things. We were able to find some of his aunts and uncles and hopefully can do the work for them soon! We also had FHE with him at the Whiteside's home and it was super fun :) he talked about taking care of the physical heart and then we talked about taking care of the spiritual heart. We had lots of fun with everyone and they did too! Brother Graham has some YouTube videos on his surgery stuff if you're interested in seeing that and hearing him talk haha unfortunately, I don't know what it's called. 

We had Elder Stevenson (A senior missionary that works at the cannery) take us out to dinner and it was so fun! He was super cute and was like, "I have permission from President Hiers that I can take you out!" Imagine it in a cute old man voice :) 

It's official.. I survived daylight savings. It was a killer though. We may or may not have crashed during lunch on Sunday haha but afterwards we felt much better! 

Well that's all I can really think of! We just took a major crazy hike up a mountain with no trail with some Elders. Of course it was their idea... Haha it was intense and my legs are screaming at me but it was super fun. It was a little snowy but not too freezing... Probably because it was a work our for all of us haha! 

Hope y'all have a great week! Love ya so much! 

Sister Gietz

4 MONTHS And Still Kickin' It

So todaaay we went to the Logan Temple with a lot of missionaries in our zone because one of our ZL's gets released Saturday! I don't have a ton of time so this may be a little short.. Sorry!

Wow... Well last week feels like 3 weeks ago. Time seems slow but fast at the same time, mission time is crazy. We've has the mosty bi-polar weather here and it's driving my nuts. One day it is Spring and so beautiful we are having a picnic and then the next it's raining and the most gloomy day of my life. Today was a bit of both thankfully. It was a little scary for us as we drove the hour long drive to Logan as rain turned to snow and we were speeding down the canyon trying to catch up to the Elders we were following. But on the way back there was white clouds and a beautiful blue sky. We were definitely protected today! Tender Mercy! 

So update on people:

Ian: His surgery is planned for the 19th this month. His mom text us last night and informed us that her parents would be coming the week before and so Ian will probably be able to get baptized! WOOOOHOOOO! I feel bad that he has to have this surgery but it's a blessing that his Grandpa can come to Utah and perform that service for him. So cool :) I have to keep praying it will happen though! 

Mario Trujillo: Not much has changed with him. He keeps putting other things over church and so it's been hard for him to progress but I think he's getting there. He recognizes the difference the scriptures and praying make in his life and so one day he'll come around to being committed. He is so sweet though. He told me a while ago that something I said to him changed his life. This last lesson he brought it up again but disclosed who said it as he told the fellowship. THEN, he gave me a present for my birthday! An adorable jar of honey :) isn't he sweet?! Haha

Bianca: She is doing great! We are just taking it slow with her but she is SO ready. It's great because our last lesson we had, Bianca's cousin opened up and told us that her and her husband weren't married in the Temple and that she lost the Spirit. But when we come over, she feels that and wants it back in her life. They all have been coming to church and it has just been so amazing to see. I just wish I knew Spanish... Why didn't I take Spanish in high school?!! Dang it. 

We've been meeting with some new people this week but I'll wait till next week to talk about them. I don't know them very well yet. One of the ward missionaries is doing this new tactic he made up and it has been pretty successful... He takes someone with him, knocks on everyone's door, tells them about earthquake preparedness and keeping the family safe. Then, he introduces to them a DVD that we have called "Together Forever". He explains a little about it, gets their contact info and then gives it to us. He got 8 out of 10 to accept! One was even the Evangelist guy that we met and I gave the Family Proclamation to the World pamphlet to! Speaking of which..

I had a really bad day this week. Everything was going fine and we were so excited to go meet this new family that wanted to hear more. WRONG. They wanted US to hear more. The hard thing about being in Utah.. Anti-Mormons. They are just so lost and confused, you feel sorry for them. It took me some recovering to do but I'm happy with the way I handled it. I pretty much told them that we have strong testimonies of this gospel, that we are here to teach and not to bible bash or anything like that. I said if they wanted to learn more that we would come back but otherwise we weren't. He seemed kinda disappointed but agreed to have me back. The wife even forgot some of the questions she had that made her leave the church.. That boggles me. I pray that this next meeting will not damper my day like it did this last one but that it will be helpful for them and for us as well. Please pray for us? Sister Allen has never dealt with this before and I've only had a little experience with it. So we shall see!!! 

Oh, and I had my 1st Zone Blitz! Super fun! So the zone gets together in someone's area and everyone gets a new companion! Then, we get a list of names and address to go tract and see if they are interested! We had one say yes! Victory! 

Well, in all I had an amazing week. Glad to hear so many wonderful things about the Gilbert Temple!! 

 I wish I could share all the fun and funny little things that happen but there's just not time! But I will tell you, we were dog rescuers yesterday. Haha you can see a pic on FB. I was just praying that he didn't have an "accident" in the car..  

Love you!! 

Sister Gietz

Best Birthday EVER!

I had an AMAZING birthday! And this week was super long and full of great things so I'll try to not bore you to tears.

Last P-day, Sister Allen and I had Lindsay ( Grandma and Grandpa's daughter ) do our hair and make up like 50's girls. Haha it was quite funny but the best part was when we had to take President's wife out with us to our lessons! I was a little embarrassed but she thought it was fun. Sorry don't have a picture to share with y'all. 

Had interviews with President and I'm not too sure if I will be staying next transfer. He hinted to me leaving so I'm just trying to prepare myself but I don't want to leave! :( I just started remembering everyone's names and where they live. Ugh. Sister Allen is going to try to plead with him to let me stay though so we will see! 

We had an FHE with the Thomas family, who I love so much, and it was so fun! Sister Thomas took charge and taught the lesson. It was with Angry Birds and they each had a name like: Cutting Words Angry Bird. Haha it was so funny :) and well done might I add. Hope everyone is doing FHE and their personal studies! It's important to do! :) 

One bad piece of news but possible miracle... Ian has a rare tumor in his sinus cavity and has to have surgery very soon. More details to come today but his grandparents are coming so possibly we will have a baptism... but we shall see. 

So on the other hand, I have awesome news! The work is moving and we are meeting more and more people. The other day, everything fell through and we had no idea what to do. So Sister Allen kept driving through the neighborhood. She felt prompted to turn and then stop at a little area with a few houses. She saw a house and said that, " we need to go to that one." I said, "Okay!" so we did. Sure enough, a man answered the door, we had a great conversation, and he accepted to learn more and have his family all there. We walked away and my eyes were wide. I just looked at Sister Allen and said, " Did that just happen?" THAT RARELY HAPPENS PEOPLE! It was such a testimony builder for the both of us. We NEED to follow the spirit, get on our feet and work! 

 

We also are now teaching a girl (21) who's from Nicaragua and started living with her cousin about a month ago. Sister Allen couldn't have come at a better time. We are teaching her in English and Spanish and she is very interested. At church, an RM who served in Tijuana gave his homecoming talk. She was the first one out of her seat and talking to him when the meeting was over. She was the one that invited him to come over for the discussion! Everyone is super excited and knows she will accept the gospel very soon! 

 

Yesterday, we had dinner with a man and his grandson at Olive Garden. He is 17 and is currently living with his grandparents. We talked a lot and you could tell that he's going through some things, which he even admitted to. But somehow, we got into talking about the Plan of Salvation. On Sunday, there were some bookmarks made that had the plan on it and I put one in my bag just because. I was able to give it to him and he was so interested! His eyes lit up as I explained some of the things we believe and it was just a great experience. He said he would be interested in learning more after his choir trip! 

 

One more! So we were in this apartment building and we saw these people knocking a door. I started talking to them and found out they were passing around fliers for their church. I asked them about the LDS church and the man said he really loves the family unity that we believe. I quickly remembered some training we received this week from President and Sister Hiers and introduced The Family: A Proclamation to the World. I prayed that there would be copies in the car and I ran out and sure enough there were! I was able to give them it and our number if they had questions. Talk about a good birthday :) 

THEN! We were having FHE and this time we were playing murder in the dark. After 2 rounds I was the murder and I couldn't find ANYONE! Then, I heard some screaming so I went to the scene. I looked and in the kitchen everyone was there and yelled, "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" and followed with the song :) it was so nice. A sister made a cake and it was hot pink because the other day when Sister Allen asked, I said that was my favorite color for the day haha! 

 

Great Birthday. Thank you for all the presents, love and prayers :) they were all greatly appreciated and I couldn't have been happier. I love you all so much :) hope you have a fantastic week! 

Love, Sister Gietz

It Feels Like Spring!!!

Hallelujah! The snow is melting and I'm wearing normal clothes again :) it's a miracle. I fear it won't last long though...

So this week was MUCH better! In regards to my emotional and mental health. WHEW that was a doozy but I'm alive! 

I don't have my journal again so bear with me as I try to remember the highlight..

So we went to a care center (one of the branches) and we were suppose to be decorating cookies... but they double booked and so instead of decorating, we listened to a bluegrass band! Haha oh it was fun and funny as well. Good ol' bluegrass haha! I forgot I was in Utah.. 

Valentine's day was an interesting day! But good! We had choir practice and planned and other little things. It was nice though. The night before, we decorated the table with a bunch of hearts and a note for Grandpa and Grandma. Funny enough, we woke up to a nice hot yummy breakfast, a rose and a card! They are awesome. 

We had our musical fireside on Sunday night which went really well. We were in the choir but after the solos and beautiful numbers performed... I didn't want to sing again. They were SO GOOD. There's a lot of talent here and there was just a beautiful spirit in the room. 

Sister Allen and I are getting along really well! We have lots of fun (of course we work too) but it's nice to just be able to laugh with someone. We get quite the AB work out from it too. I'm learning a lot from her and it's great! She is super good at teaching children which is perfect because that was something I really wanted to work on. I read something just today that said you don't fully know a principle or doctrine until you can teach it to a child. Interesting! You should try it! 

We've been getting a lot of referrals but still are a little slow right now.. The work will come though I just know it! I also know we need to get it out there and work for it. 

We met the other night with Brother Graham because I felt like I just can't stop teaching him. There's so much to learn and know and for him to teach us! So we asked what he would like to learn about.. he has quite the list! So we started with Patriarchal Blessings :) he wants to get his and it was just such a nice refresher on what they are and how to use them. We went over President Monson's talk: Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light. Another SO GOOD. Anyways, he is super awesome and doing great! He said he felt like he was on fire for days after his baptism and that it was just amazing. Pretty much, he's a rock star. 

We had a good lesson with Brother Trujillo and things seem to be going.. slowly but surely to baptism. He's got some things that need to be cleared up before we can baptize him but I think his faith is growing and he knows that what we have is true! 

Nicholes hasn't called us back since our last visit :( hope we didn't scare him off. We're still trying though! 

Well that's all I can remember so hope that's enough! Love you all and you are always in my prayers! Thanks for all the prayers that come my way :) they are needed and appreciated. 

THE CHURCH IS TRUE! THE BOOK IS BLUE! AND I LOVE YOU! 

Love, Sister Gietz

Utah Ogden Mission!

I have a new companion! Her name is Hermana Allen and this is her first English area! She's been out 8 months and is from Casper, Wyoming.

This week has been pretty interesting... I'm learning a lot about myself and as a missionary. I'm not going to lie and say everything is happy go lucky but I will say it's a mountain I will climb and can climb. Since Sister K left, I have a lot on my plate now. I didn't realize how much was really going on until it was all in my hands and the blind fold was taken off. I will get the hang of everything I have no doubt about that, it's just the matter of organizing and letting the work be divided between us two. This is a whole new experience for Sister Allen because she's never been in the English program so it's my job to show her how it's done. Please pray for me that I don't get overwhelmed! It will be all good though, no worries! 

So I know lots of you are dying to hear about Brother Graham's baptism. It. Was. AWESOME! I was super stressed out trying to coordinate with the new ward mission leader who never did a baptism before but eventually it was all put together. Bro Graham had 2 friends from work give talks and they were just amazing. One of them brought in the spirit so much and talked about his son that passed away. She talked about how angels were in the room celebrating with us and I can say that I felt their presence. After the baptism, he gave a beautiful testimony. He sat back down next to me and said wow.. that was just amazing. He later sent us a text that said: "I'm ecstatic! Thank you." Sunday, he was confirmed and given a great blessing by the bishop. He said he felt like he was on fire and it's describable. He had me write my name and stuff in his brand new scriptures he bought. It's amazing to watch someone grow and develop a relationship with the Savior. I'm so excited for him and this new adventure. I love him so much, he's one I will never forget. 

We got a referral and from that, a new investigator! Yay! His name is Nicholes Klien. He's 32, working 2 jobs and will be moving into the stake soon. He grew up here and just is interested in how everything works and it's structure. He is so ready to learn! I hope we can do just as good if not better with him! We have a lesson tonight and will be teaching him the Plan of Salvation... possibly. Depending on the spirit of course! 

We have a musical fireside next week and so we went to a choir practice on friday. Haha oh my goodness. It was like I was back in high school. It was funny to see that I'm still the same choir student. You may not understand what that means but pretty much I just have the same feelings and attitude as I did before. It was good though and we are singing some nice songs. 

We are slowly but surely getting referrals and the work is moving! Keep us in your prayers please! We are doing well and have a lot of adjusting to do but this will be a good transfer :) 

Something that I've noticed a lot about this mission, is how many people get offended and leave the church. Why do people do that? Seriously! I just want to tell people to get over themselves. It's just like what was said in conference not too long ago: God works with imperfect people, so we ought to be patient as well. Not word for word but that's what was implied. The gospel is what's perfect, not us. That's why we go to church each week, because we're not perfect but are doing our best to be like Christ. 

Love you all so much! Hope you enjoy the pictures! Oh and the one with the big family is the Johnson family. They are active members and there son is preparing to go on a mission so we taught them all the lessons. Love them! 

 

Sister Gietz

I'M STAYING!!!

Hello everyone! So this week has been a little crazy but not too bad. So the big news... Sister Kuwahara is being transferred to the North Ogden East Stake with Sister Norton who was at the MTC with me! I love that girl, she's the country one from AZ. I'm interested to see how that companionship goes! So my companion will be Sister Allen. All I know about her is that she was in the Spanish program and I think this will be her first English area, should be interesting!

So good news and terrible news... So in our lesson with Brother Graham, we told him that we need his wife's consent to be baptized. He said that she won't give it although she's been in the mood for signing things. My heart dropped. She's filing for divorce. He really opened up about it and I'm sure we were one of the first people he's talked to about it. We gave our condolences and said that he could get a blessing if he's like. He said he would and so one was given right then and there. So great to have a worthy priesthood holder there on site. The spirit was so strong during the whole lesson. I wish I could describe it but it was just comforting. Later, we asked permission to get him baptized without his wife's consent and President Hiers said yes! We're so excited!!!! So his baptism will be this Saturday :) happy happy happy. 

You wouldn't believe how much Japanese food I've had.. but it's a lot! Haha we're having some again tonight for a goodbye party for Sis K. We had a Sushi night with Ouza (Japanese exchange student) on Wednesday and that was really fun and we had a great lesson on the Atonement before that. It's amazing to think that so many people don't know who Christ is and what he did for us. It made my testimony stronger to talk about it and to teach someone with little knowledge of him about it! 

We had our last lesson with the Guay family :( I will miss them sooooo much. We also had our last lesson (possibly..) with Chase and introduced him to the YSA Elders. I hope it goes well for him, he's never had Elders teach him in the past. We also kind of dropped Brother Ferguson. He's not progressing and has no desire to stop smoking. Thankfully, Sis K did it and not me. She started teaching him so it was best that she end it. I also got some bad news yesterday when I went to visit a family. She wants a divorce because he's been cheating on her for 7 years and is a lazy bum. It's so hard to see families struggle and to look at the kids and think about their future if they do not cling to the gospel. I know I would be a wreck without it. Please keep the Gailey family in your prayers. It's funny being a missionary, people just open up to you and you have to deal with it all. It's like we're portable psychiatrist... Haha 

Finally, someone gave notice to my roots and took us to get Mexican food! Haha the Thomas family took us and it was super good but not as good as back home.. sad. I love them so much and we are now done teaching them as well. Gracie (daughter like 13) wants to go where ever I go haha she's so funny. Her mom told me that Gracie thinks I knew her from the pre-existence and I'm like her soul sister. So funny. I've also been getting a lot of people telling me I look like someone they know. Probably happened 4 times in the past week or two. Crazy... 

Yesterday, Sis K had a leadership meeting and so I was out with Sis Whitfield and Hermana Maldonado again! After meeting with as many people as we had to meet with, we decided to do something awesome... We went to Farr's Ice Cream!!!! It was Hermana Maldonado's first time having ice cream in America and my first time at Farr's! So fun :) 

Well, that's all I can remember for this week! Hope you all are doing well. I think of you when I can and pray for you always. I know that this work is so important because it's true. I urge you to deepen your relationship with Christ and think about how amazing it is that you have the truth so accessible to you. Love you all! 

Love, Sister Gietz 

Pics: First family is the Thomas family. The second with all the girls is the Guay family.

One of the Best and Worst Weeks of My Mission

Just want you all to know, I'm alive.

Wed- District meeting. It was a really great and needed instruction on how to help people make commitments. The best part of the day was going to the Brigham Temple with the Paris family. Brother Paris is our recent convert that is Muslim and we had the wonderful opportunity to do baptisms for his deceased family, I got to do one for his grandma! It was so beautiful and the whole experience was just so peaceful and heart-warming. On the ride home, Rachel (daughter 16) kept hitting Adam (son 13?) with a slinky. They were just harassing each other the whole time..in a loveable kind of way and it just made me laugh :) good ol' siblings. 

Thursday- Zone Conference! We had some great instruction here and were able to go over our Top 5 Strengths that were determined by a test we took earlier. My top 5: Empathy, Includer, Harmony, Developer, Positivity. Yes, I know. It's funny. Of course Empathy is my top one.. Ha! Anyways, it was really good and we got to chase bouncy balls around the gym. Later that night, we got a text from brother Graham. He said, " Are we meeting this week? I would like to plan baptism for Feb 8th." SERIOUSLY?! WOOHOO!!! We asked him what made him decided and this is his response, "Two things made me decide. The first is the Plan of Salvation. The second is the redeeming of the dead. The more I read about that, the more people I think I could help. I have many deceased relatives and friends whom I could help. The first step is to get baptized." Isn't he just awesome? I thought I died and went to heaven. 

Friday- I rested because I felt off for the past few days and Saturday would be a busy day. After dinner, my stomach would NOT settle. We had a lesson with Bro Graham which was shortened because he had an emergency surgery to do.. thank goodness for me. I rushed home and lets just say.. not pretty. I was up the entire night going to the bathroom.. I couldn't understand how anything could be left in my body after the first few times. Anyways, nasty.

Saturday- No throwing up! YAY! Very weak, aches and chills. So I got a blessing from my zone leaders and just rested the whole day. 

Sunday- Much better. Stake conference with Elder Oaks! It was fantastic. The talks were amazing and perfect even though they were unplanned. Elder Oaks talked about the Satan's efforts are concentrated on disrupting God's plan. A lot of it was about how he tries to confuse us about who we are, who God is, and anyway to take away the spirit. I know that this topic was so perfect for EVERYONE. Satan is out to confuse us but we can't let him control us and we have the power either way, to give in or not give up. I wish everyone could have heard it but we will hear from him again in April! He was super funny too, I love him :) So ready for the kicker...... drum roll.... We had lunch with him at our stake presidents house!!!!!!!! You may need to reread that sentence. It was SOOO COOOOOL!!!!! I'm the luckiest missionary I'm pretty sure. :) 

Monday- Practically 100% back to good health. Had a great time with the members that fed us dinner. They are a young couple and the husband was baptized 6 years ago after going through a lot of struggles with the word of wisdom and all that. He finally realized his life was not on a good track and that if he wanted a good life (and his adorable wife) he needed to straighten up! Later, we had FHE with the zone and played volleyball! I'm fantastic at volleyball.. Haha I really did have a few good hits though! It was super fun. 

Altogether, wonderful terrible week :) gotta love it! Transfers are next week... PRAY FOR ME!!! AHHH! 

Love, Sister Gietz

Another Week in the Utah Odgen Mission

Hello! So this week has been really great! I went on exchanges last p-day and hung out with my home girl (literally.. She's from Mesa) Sister Shreeve. We went shopping! It was a good time and we went to Costa Vida, our favorite place from home. Not getting trunky... it's just nice to have that attachment. Everyone talks about Arizona anyways so it's kinda hard not to think about it. Especially the beautiful Gilbert temple and the nice weather. You've guys got it good.

On Wednesday after District meeting, we went to lunch with the zone and let me tell you... Most awkward lunch I've ever EVER had. Haha it was interesting. Then that night, we had a lesson with Sister Luck's granddaughter, Ashley. She's trying to come back to the church but is hung up on the WOW ( word of wisdom ) and some things in the church. Because her husband wasn't there and she had LOTS of questions, we decided to do a girls night and just answer and address her questions and concerns. It was a great thing! It brought us closer together and helped her to trust us. It was a good girl's night! 

Thursday, we went on exchanges again and I was with the other STL, Sister Sauder and she's from Indiana. We had a great time! We helped a widow take down her Christmas decor and then had a few lessons. We also talked a lot. It was refreshing :) 

Friday, we had a lesson we've been trying to set up for a while with a sweet Hispanic family that we met at a Christmas party. The Spanish elders came and decided they would take the lessons from them. I was lost the whole time they were speaking... I want to learn Spanish so bad!!! I was practicing with another sister while sis k was in a meeting and it was fun. She's from Spain and we came out to the field the same time. For dinner, y'all would be so proud. I ATE SALMON. It was not my cup of tea though so I gave the other half to sis k and ate the other things. 

Saturday, we did a Super Saturday Missionary Youth Activity with our ZL's stake. The youth were separated into 2 groups for breakfast, Mexico and Germany. I went to the German one. I don't think it was ANYTHING like a German breakfast haha! We had greek yogurt with granola, and this hard bread with jam. I think Bryant ate WAY better food or just cereal like most missionaries ha but it was a good effort. I was put with 2 girls to help them teach the Restoration to a family we would visit. Thankfully, the family was an active member family. I don't know what happened but the girls like blanked and just kept looking at me to talk. A photographer also came with us which was kind of weird but I doubt they will be in a church magazine because the mom wasn't there! It was weird not having a woman there but we went in anyways. 

We also taught a new person, Bonnie. She has been less active for a while and is just trying to figure out what church is right for her. She suffered brain trauma from an accident 9 years ago and got brain surgery 2 years ago. It's been hard on her but she knows she's blessed and has seen the blessings on the priesthood in her life through the blessings she received from family members. 

Sunday, we sang at a care center the song called The Test. It's a really good song, especially for those people going through those kinds of trials. We made lots of people cry and that made me happy to know we had touched someone's heart. We later gave a talk in sacrament on the 1st article of faith. I got a little teary-eyed as I talked about how Heavenly Father knows us by name and knows EVERYTHING about us. That's a great knowledge to have, I am a daughter of God who loves me and I love him.

 Later, we had a good roast beef dinner with all the goods :) just like home! 

Yesterday, we had a pretty chill day. We only had one lesson work out and that was with the Gailey family. We tried their patience by doing a fun activity. They lasted 15 MINS of having a chocolate kiss and cookie in front of them and not eating it! Even the 2 yr old! It was amazing :) 

For FHE, we played Murder in the Dark at the Stake Center. IT WAS SO FUN. The last round was crazy. I was the only sister left and there were 3 other elders and one was the murder. Unfortunately, we killed the wrong person and the murder won! Ha it was really fun though. 

So that's been my week! I'm so grateful for my mission and everything it has given me so far. I love being able to study and just focus on the Gospel and Jesus Christ. If you aren't reading the Book of Mormon EVERYDAY... START! We need to always be feeding the seed of faith so it can grow and be fruitful. Don't let it die from the lack of effort and being a careless gardener. Love it! Feed it! Grow it! 

Love, Sister Gietz

Very Great Week!

So this week has just been fantastic. I LOVE my area and don't want to leave for a while. We've had some really great lessons and I love the people. Every day is different and exciting and I think that's what keeps me going. Because Sister K is an STL, I get to go on exchanges like every week and attend a special meeting on Thursday's. Our zone is so fun and I love being with them! They are always on top of things and trying to improve us missionaries.

It snowed again! Ugh how I really dislike the cold and slushy snow. Thankfully the roads are clear now but I about have a panic attack every time I have to drive in the junk. 

 

We have been doing really great on our TTI's (Teach, Testify, Invite) this week! We got 8 last night! We have met some interesting people tracting.. haha gotta love a mission. I feel so blessed to be serving and gaining this experience. There's no other place I can get this training and I'm so glad I'm here! 

So Brother Graham is progressing wonderfully!!! He attended church Sunday wooooohooo! He also set a baptismal date for Feb 1st! I just know it will happen! He's our golden investigator and I will forever remember him as one of the best. He's been without coffee since we taught him the word of wisdom and I'm so proud of him! We taught the law of chastity last night and it went really good. We were able to talk about his family, their interest level and his wife's support. She's pretty anti but he said that she will let him do what he wants. I know that the gospel can really bring families together and by his example, they will see that as well! He's in Ether, so almost done with the Book of Mormon! So excited for him :) 

Brother Trujillo is doing great as well. We've only had 2 lessons but he's come to church twice now and his baptismal date is Jan 25th. I hope it will happen! He's just the sweetest guy and he's started the BOM! 

So I have fabulous newwwws! For stake conference.... Elder Dallin H Oaks and Elder Callister are coming to speak!!! We will gather in the Ogden High School so EVERYONE can see and hear them. I'm so excited! So stake president wanted to talk with us and sis k said we'd probably be speaking as well.... I thought I was going to DIE! As we walked into his office my heart raced and I thought, "surely I will faint if I'm up on the stand with one of the twelve apostles and have to speak." Thank goodness that he was just informing us about a meeting. Whew! 

Well I think that's all I'll report this week! Love you all so much! Thinking and praying for you! Remember that! 

Love, Sister Gietz

Hope you all had a great New Year's!

This week has been very busy like always! It didn't feel like New Year's but that's okay! I made brownies and we played games with our zone, those who played RISK didn't have as much fun as us though!

After our District meeting, we went to my favorite place in the whole wide world... Costa Vida! It felt like home :) so nice. Grandma and Grandpa were leaving that day for Cali so we went home, said goodbye and were on our way to paint Sister Luck's Bedroom! Sister K was super excited because she's never done it before. It looks fantastic! 

We went on exchanges on Friday and it was sooooo fun! I got to be with Sister Shreeve, she is from Arizona and went to Mt. View! We talked A LOT and were able to have a lot of good visits with people. We met a sweet widow (member) who just wants someone to talk to. She has in a car accident and is recovering from a broken neck and back. She wants us to come over so she can do facials and makeovers ( she's a Mary Kay consultant ). So sweet. 

Yesterday, Sister K had a meeting with all STL's and ZL's so I went on splits with Sister Whitfield and Sister Maldanado (Spanish sister from Spain who I came out with from MTC). We had a lesson with a Irish less active member named Danny who's going through a divorce. He brought his daughter who is 5 and it just broke my heart. BUT! He was super funny and we were able to help him find and watch President Thomas S. Monson's talk, I Will Not Fail Thee, Nor Forsake Thee. I LOVE that talk. It can really be applied to all of us sometime in our life. Anywho! After that, we were able to go tracting for an hour in some apartments! Haha tracting is quite the experience. Love it. One woman opened the door, looked at us, then pointing her finger said, "I'm all good with this." then closed the door. We just laughed. I know it's really not that funny but it's interesting to see the way people react to us. It was really great though, I love going on splits! 

People:

So we have a new investigator! His name is Mario Trujillo and just recently got out of prison. He started going to an LDS church while there and really likes it. He said he's never felt comfortable in the Catholic church. So we taught him the Restoration and even took him to church! We're excited for our next lesson with him.

Brother Graham is doing fantastic! He just needs to recognize the Spirit! Last night, he was on Moroni so he's probably done now! He said it's like he's uncovering history! He knows it's true and that it's helping and changing his life. He opened up to us about his 4 yr old son drowning a couple years ago. I think he felt the spirit when we taught the Plan of Salvation and knows he can be with his son again. He also told us that he hasn't told his wife that's he's investigating. She is sarcastic about the church and he doesn't want her to keep him from progressing and change his mind. Hopefully he can be open with her soon and be an example as well. 

Not much has changed with everyone else. However! I was able to run into Brother Jolley. He said they quit the program and are still drinking... I asked him if we can have a lesson again and he said yes! We'll get things set up this week. 

Well that's pretty much it! Hope you all set great goals for this year! I'm excited that I get to give all of 2014 to the Savior and His work! The church is true and the book is blue! Love you all! 

Sister Gietz