Sister Mitzi Gates // Week Seventy-One

Seriously time is going by way to fast. I cannot believe it's March!

LISA FINALLY GOT CONFIRMED YESTERDAY!! It was amazing. It seriously

was like a patriarchal blessing. She was so ready to get the Holy

Ghost! Such a dry mormon.

We also teach gospel principals every other week because we have the

Spanish elders in our Ward too. So for gospel principals they go with

our Ward mission leader (who speaks Spanish too) and they have their

own lesson. Lucky us!

The first day we got snowed in we decided to go out and tract. Well we

found this really cool guy John. We went in and taught him the

restoration! He said we could come back. So we went back this week and

went throught the restoration again. He had a hard time understanding

prophets. So we left him to just pray about it. Well we get a call

this morning during studies. He also gets up at 5:30 every morning to

read his bible. So he said he was studying about prophets and was

praying and said that his heart has been opened. He was so excited to

tell us!! Wahoo for miracles and prepared investigators.

We are teaching so many people we hardly have an hour to find and

tract each day. It's a good problem!

The members are also so involved in the missionary work out here. We

go on exchanges a couple times a day. This week we had 13 member

presents. Our zone is leading the mission in members being present. We

are focusing on that as a mission.

We had a less active dump all of her sweet tea out in front of us and

say she is going to do better!! That is a good feeling.

We also had district meeting up in Foxcroft, which is in Illinois. We

were an hour and a half away from St. Louis!!! That is some place

where I want to go someday. I'm going to try and ask president if we

can go up there on a P day with a member;) catch a Cardinals game or

something. Jk

Also I went over to dinner at a members home. I saw a picture of the

St. George temple on their wall, come to find out Brother Lee Syphus

grew up in St. George. He asked if I knew Brandon Gates, then said he

went to school and graduated with him. Then he said "Mr. Gates in high

school, is that your grandpa too?" I proudly said yes!! I love hearing

stories about Grandpa Gates, especially on my mission. Who knew in

Paducah, Kentucky I would find such a tender mercy from the Lord️

Also Brother Syphus is really into studying and and learning cool

facts about the scriptures. So he had all the missionaries over, as

well as Lisa and her family for a study. It was amazing! It was more

of a study of facts and the little details. It really helped me

understand more. I love the Book of Mormon. No matter how many facts

and how much proof we have, I will always know it to be true. It is

life changing.

Well we were suppose to go down Friday morning to Nashville for a

meeting. But it started to snow Thursday night, so we had the zone

leaders call president and ask if our zone can stay at the mission

home over night, so we don't get snowed in. He approved it! So we

drove down Thursday night, such a party! We drove with the Foxcroft

sisters. Then stayed at the mission home. Can I just say home much I

LOVE President and Sister Andersen? They are seriously so down to

earth and do so much for us. Amazing. But we stayed the night and they

fed us breakfast and we went to the meeting. It felt like one big

happy family!

But Elder Schweitzer from the 70 and Brother Gonzalez came, we had a

mission wide conference. They talked about iPads and the use of

technology. Our mission was selected to be a test mission for the

iPads because we are obedient. So they literally just gave us iPads

last year and said here, figure it out! So we always had to report

problems and tell them how it was going. Well now they have programs

for us to go off of, they have programs to train us now. So we will be

getting new iPads this week and we will be getting off Facebook. We

will do this for two months, to be able to receive additional

training.

So they are coming out with a new program. You know how new

missionaries are going to be buying iPads as part of the things they

need for their mission? Well they will get that before they

even enter the MTC and will start training on it. They will train with

it in the MTC with it, then apply it in the field. They are also

working on a program for when missionaries go home. You will have to

do training on the iPad. You will set goals and go home and show your

stake president and family so they can help too. Isn't that sweet?!

The biggest thing they stressed the whole conference was when

missionaries go home, they will know how to deal with technology. They

will of mastered the right way to use it. Such as how much time you

spend a day and what you post!! They said it's hard for missionaries

who go home and have been kept from it for 18 months -2 years and come

home and be bombarded with it. So they are preparing us for when we go

home too. Because the only reason we have the Internet and social

media is to spread the gospel. Not for self proclaiment. They shared,

D&C 133:37 "And this gospel shall be preached unto every nation, and

kindred, and tongue, and people." They promised it will be through the

Internet and what we post, gospel topics, that this promise will come

to pass. HOW POWERFUL!!

He said that we were foreordained to come to Nashville and use iPads.

So that was a cool promise too. I know I needed this training to help

me when I go home, in what I post and how much time I spend.

I challenge you all to step back from social media and to review what

you post. Is it helping others come closer to Jesus Christ? Is it

uplifting? Is it what the Lord would want you to post?

I love you all. Thanks for all your love and support.




Sister Gates



Lisa's confirmation day!! Wahoo‏









Traveling down to Nashville with the Foxcroft Sisters, Ellis and Hiss. Also sleeping at the mission home!!‏









Lunch with Alivia, a RC. A treat with Lisa and Sister Long! And exchanges with Sister Brenaman!!‏













Down in Nashville, well Franklin at the mission wide iPad conference. Sister Svedin. Sister Tongilala. And Sister Oldroyd. Andddd the Kentucky sign!! Haha