February 10, 2014

Dear Family,

Well this last week has been pretty good. We have been working and searching for some new investigators and finally found some. All of our investigators and members are doing great. It has been great working here in Yamaguchi. We have got a lot planned for these next few days that is going to keep us super busy. 

As far as news goes I was asked to speak in church last Sunday. It was pretty funny because this was the third Sunday in row I have given a talk. A few weeks ago I was assigned a talk to give about the Godhead and then last fast Sunday they found out I was going home soon so they asked me to bear my testimony thinking it was my last chance.  Then the other day a few of the speakers did not take very much time so they had a lot of time to fill and so then they asked me again to come up and talk about Baptism and the Sacrament. So that is kind of funny and then I know I have to give a talk next Sunday as well. So I`m hoping the fourth Sunday goes good as well. That is just something that the four of us have been laughing about recently. 

Well I`m excited to see you in a few days. Until then I`ll keep working hard. I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

P.S. I just want to ask and make sure that only family comes to the airport on Friday. Thanks. I Love You! 

February 4, 2014

Note:  Just a reminder that Joseph will be home next week and will be speaking in Sacrament Meeting on February 16 at 11:00  (at the Hunter Central Stake Center on 6000 West).

Dear Family,

Well last week was great.  We have been working super hard. We were able to find a new investigator.  The only downside is that he is going to the Philippines but we are planning to refer him to the missionaries over there. 

We also had a special conference the other day with Elder Aoyagi from the 70. It was awesome hearing him speak. There was a lot that I learned and other things that helped me remember some of my own personal experiences. I felt like it was a very spiritual meeting. The meeting was held in Hiroshima and I got to go back and spend the night in my old area. I saw so many missionaries that I knew,  a couple of which were in the MTC including my MTC companion. 

Everything has been going fantastic and I`m loving every single minute of mission life. I`m going to keep doing my best until the very end but I don`t think that will be the end. My mission will continue on throughout my life and I will still be a missionary. I hope to be like Paul "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."(Thanks Daniel for the great scripture.  At least I `m pretty sure it was the one on your mission plaque.) Anyways I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers of support.

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

January 26, 2014

Note:  Joseph will be returning home on February 14 - Valentines Day.  He will be speaking in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, February 16 at 11:00 at the Hunter Central Stake Center (3930 South 6000 West, West Valley City)

Dear Family, 

Well it has been a really good week. We have been doing a lot of finding and keep meeting with all of our investigators. Some of them have been doing great and are beginning to progress. This last week we went on a couple of companion exchanges. We went to do some training for some of the new District Leaders, which was awesome.  I enjoy working with so many people and seeing their fire for the work. I also got to do a baptismal interview for another area's investigator. It was the first time I got to do a baptismal interview. It was a pretty cool experience.   Their investigator was super prepared and definitely ready for baptism. 

It is so much fun talking to people on the street because you meet some of the funniest people. Just everything about missionary work is awesome. One of our investigators went to Hawaii this week and was going to meet some missionaries that I worked with earlier so we made a little message for each of them. It is amazing how many friends I have made over the past couple of years. I love being a missionary and just want to keep sharing the gospel with as many people as I can. Thank you for all of your prayers. I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

January 20, 2014

Dear Family,

Well this last week has been pretty good. We have been out working as much as we can and trying to find those who are being prepared. We also had interviews with Pres. Gustafson this last week. During the interviews the AP`s had a training which was great. Elder Poole and I applied the stuff that they taught us and one day half of the people we talked to actually stopped and listened to a gospel message. Some of the other missionaries in our zone had similar experiences. 

The Branch here is also trying to think of ways to help us find more investigators. We have a few great investigators we're still working with. One has a hard time understanding but he feels like this is something he should believe in. Another wants to be baptized but her parents are against it so she is just waiting until she moves out. Then we have a family that says they have changed so much since meeting the missionaries. They said that the missionaries always bring this wonderful feeling and that this is the best church but that they don`t want to change right now. Everyone seems to have something that is holding them back but we are going to keep working with them and do our best to help them. Heavenly Father knows their needs and he has provided a way for them. I hope that we can work with the Spirit to help them see the way. 

Well that was the sum up for last week. I`m still enjoying mission life and love serving the Lord. I love you all so much and am grateful for your prayers.

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

January 12, 2014

Dear Family,

Thank you for all of the birthday wishes. I had a great birthday.  We all went out to eat but we spent the entire day on the street talking to everyone we saw.  It was a lot of fun and I just really enjoy talking to people. 

This week that was our main focus. However we also had some great visits with members. We also have some really awesome investigators. They all seem like they want to believe but are not sure on how they can. We are doing our best to explain things simply and helping them recognize the Spirit. We know that if they feel the power of the Holy Ghost they can come to know this message is true. I think that is something that will help them progress and come closer unto Christ. 

Last week we also went to Fukuoka for a leadership training and learned a lot of great things on setting goals and connecting with people that we meet.  Pres. Gustafson also talked to us about the Atonement and had a lot of neat insights. On Thursday we passed that training on to our zone I felt like it went well but President definitely gives it the best. 

I`m still doing my best and working as hard as I can everyday. I hope that things continue to go well and that we can keep seeing miracles. I love the Lord, this gospel, and this work. I love you all so very much and am grateful for your support and prayers. I hope you have another good week.

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

January 5, 2013

Dear Family,

Well this last week was New Years and transfer calls. So I now have a new companion who just happens to be the Australian (Elder Poole) who was here with me last transfer. It is fun working with him and I`m sure we will get a lot done. 

Another piece of news is that there are also two new Elders here with us. Elder Bush and Elder Rees who are both from Utah. The cool thing is that I knew Elder Bush from high school we had a few classes together and we`re both friends with Braden. I knew he was in the mission but didn`t meet up with him until now. We are actually both zone leaders and district leaders together but have different companions which is an interesting set up. So I feel like it is going to be a super fun transfer. 

For New Years we were invited over to a members house where we had a bunch of traditional Japanese New Years food which I thought was great. It has been a good week and we are still trying to find some new investigators. However everything is going good and we have good investigators we are working with. 

Well for some reason I always blank on what happened last week when I`m sitting in front of the computer. Anyways I love you all and hope you enjoy the New Year!

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy

Happy New Years!!

Dear Family,

Well this last week has been good. However my companion and another Elder have been sick for most of the week. We were still able to go out and work for a couple of days. I also did a companion exchange with the other Elder who was not sick. 

It was a great Christmas season. During Christmas we also went caroling with some members. The Australian (Elder Poole) was dressed up like Santa. While we were going around we had a couple of kids ran up to us. They were super excited because they thought they found the real Santa. It was hilarious because they were running around trying to tell their friends. We had to hurry out of there before more came. 

As for New Years usually everyone gets together with family and has a party with a lot of food. They always seem to have mochi which is basically smashed up rice that becomes kind of gooey. Well today is transfer calls so we will find out if anything is going to change. Other than that there is not to much other news I can think of at the moment. I love you all and hope you have another great week. 

Love, Elder Joseph Gandy