Christmas Day 2013

Note:  We talked with Joseph on Christmas Eve since that was Christmas Day in Japan.  It was great talking to him.  For those who haven't heard already, we've received his flight itinerary for his return home.  He will arrive in the evening on February 14 - Valentine's Day.

Dear Family,

Well it was nice talking with just a few hours ago. There is not a lot that I have to say. We had a fun Branch Christmas party and have been wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I love you all and hope you have a great Christmas.

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

P.S. Here are a some pictures of my zone at Thanksgiving, the four of us at a samurai resturaunt, what my area looks like from a really tall building, and my district with their secret santa presents.

December 16, 2013

Dear Family,

I always enjoy this time of year and look forward to Christmas. We have been talking to everyone about the true meaning to Christmas. Most of the people we have talked to so far did not know that Christmas was connected with Jesus Christ. So we are hoping that we can bring many people closer to Christ during this season.  Right now we have a few really good investigators that all want to keep learning. So hopefully things continue to go well. 

I have a feeling that this next week is going to be busy. We have a Branch Christmas party this Saturday. The committee decided to make me the elf leader. So we are in charge of some of the entertainment and will probably do a couple of small skits. I`ll probably juggle and pantomime for everyone as well. It has been fun putting the party together because we have two investigators that are working with the members to put it together. It is going to be another full week. 

Last week went really well we did a lot of finding and just tried talking to as many people as possible. We are also doing a 12 days of Christmas for an investigator. We are going to be doing a small act of service or give a gift to them each day. 

I love you all so much and hope you all have a jolly Christmas!

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

December 9, 2013

Dear Family,

 

It has been another really good week. We have an investigator we are meeting with about every other day who is really progressing. She seems like a member but still hasn`t received baptism. She does however help us in our missionary work. She invites a friend to come listen to the lessons with her. Now both of them are preparing for baptism at the end of this month. Last week we couldn`t find a member to joint for a lesson so we had to go to the park. At the park they had one of those hot springs you can put your feet into. So we decided to put our feet in. It was too hot to keep them in for very long but while we were there we talked to a man who was also there about the gospel. He was super nice and showed quite a bit of interest. He does live in another area but I was glad that we had the chance to share a message.  I`m so happy every time I have a chance to share the gospel which is why I think mission life is the best because we have those chances everyday all day. 

Well Christmas is in a couple of weeks and the mission office asked that we do our Christmas calls on Christmas so that would actually be Christmas Eve for you.  So this year I can`t use skype because our computer doesn`t have it so it will be just a normal phone call. By the way we got a second phone for our area because we have been super busy with phone calls between missionaries, members, and investigators. 

I love you all and keep you in my prayers. Have another good week!

 

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

December 3, 2013

Dear Family,

 

So yesterday our church computer was locked in a different room so we couldn`t e-mail. So I don`t have a lot of time to e-mail but I`ll do my best explaining what happened. 

So Elder Ramey is on his 7th transfer and he is from Idaho. He is also a power lifter and is convinced that I can gain ten pounds of muscle before the end of my mission. However he really likes to joke around and have a fun time. Then there is Elder Apina who I met in the MTC he only has a few weeks left and then he goes home to Hawaii. Elder Poole is the youngest and he is from Australia and they are both just a funny combo. So at the apartment we are always laughing. 

This last week I felt like we did a lot of planning and trainings. We had to go to Fukuoka and had a missionary council meeting with Pres. Gustafson. We also had to train everyone in the zone a few days ago. I feel like everything went really well. We talked a lot about being prepared and gaining confidence. 

We also have two great investigators who are preparing for baptism at the end of this month. So we are looking forward to that and helping them get to that point. By the way Yamaguchi is really cold and we should supposedly have a white Christmas this year. Well I`m running out of time. I love you all so much.

 

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

 

P.S. We had a big Thanksgiving lunch with our zone which was super delicious even though the food was mostly made by the Australian. (Who doesn`t celebrate thanksgiving)

November 24, 2013

Dear Family,

Well last week was transfer week. I`m no longer in Miyako in fact I got sent up to Yamaguchi which happens to be one of the coldest places in the mission. Everything here is super pretty and I enjoy seeing mountains again. 

My new companion is Elder Ramey and he is from Idaho. Our apartment also has two other Elders as well. Elder Apina, the Hawaiian, and Elder Poole, the Australian. They are all super funny so I feel like it is going to be a fun transfer. Elder Ramey and I are the Zone leaders. We have 22 missionaries in our zone 12 are Elders and 10 are Sisters. Even with all of these missionaries we are one of the smallest zones in the mission. 

The Branch in Yamaguchi is great. I still don`t know a lot about the area but we have between 30 and 40 active members who all seem amazing. We also have some good investigators. Last week we invited a girl in our english class with her investigator friend to come to church together. Yesterday they both came and ended up knowing some of the other members in the branch that they were already good friends with. So that was awesome how things just seem to work out perfectly. It definitely is a testimony to me that so many people are being prepared in many different ways. Anyways I`m looking forward to this transfer. I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

November 18, 2013

Dear Family,

Well, if you are wondering why this is a day late it is because it is transfer week. We should be receiving our call in a few hours to see if anything is changing. 

Last week has been an amazing week.  So much happened. We were able to meet a lot of our investigators, even a couple that we haven`t seen in a while. I feel like all of them are doing great and would make great members. So I`m hoping that all will go well with them. 

Most of the less actives are doing great they just have a couple of things that keep getting in the way from them coming to church. I`m praying that a way or something might open up to help some of them come back. 

Yesterday the volunteer couple missionaries who were here also went home. It was a blast having them here for the last couple of months. They were a huge help and did a great job at helping strengthen the branch. 

We had an awesome experience on Sunday. We had just finished having a lunch at the church and got ready to head out and work. As we were about to leave, a former investigator that Elder Nakabe and I had started teaching came in. He told us that he wanted to be baptized and knew that this church was true after going to some of the other churches around here. The other Elders were able to set a baptism date for the 30th of this month. I was so happy to see him come back because he was super close to being baptized before but then dropped himself. I hope that he will be able to get baptized in just a couple of weeks and overcome any challenges he has. 

Everything has been going really well and I have enjoyed my life as a missionary. I feel like there are so many blessings I have received which I`m forever grateful for. This next transfer I have decided that my transfer theme is going to be "In the Strength of the Lord."  I know that with Him all things are possible which are according to His will. I love you all so much and am grateful for all of your prayers.

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

November 10, 2013

Dear Family,

It has been another great week we got to meet with many of our investigators. It had been awhile for some because they had been super busy with work. They are still all doing well. We are just trying to do our best to teach with the Spirit. We are praying for each of the investigators here so they will be able to gain their own testimony. 

We also went on a companion exchange with the missionaries down in Ishigaki. So Elder Jameson and I got on a plane and flew down. We were there for a couple of days helping them with their work. It was a lot of fun but also it has been kind of hot during the middle of the day. I sometimes can`t believe it is November because of the heat. I`m just glad we are not sweating as much anymore. 

On the exchange we were able to find a couple of new investigators for them. I was with Elder Vance who is on his first transfer but the last door we knocked on was answered by an American. He invited us in and had a lot of questions.  Being familiar with the Catholic church and other protestant religions he wondered what was so different about the Mormon church. For me it was kind of weird teaching in English this time. There have been other times where teaching in English was fine. However the lesson still went pretty well and he seemed like he had been in the process of being prepared to hear the gospel. 

We are looking forward to another week and we hope that we will be able to help as many people as we can everyday. I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy