Week 67

Hello! This week was seriously miraculous! I love being a missionary so much!

This week I got to go on two exchanges! I am always amazed by how much I learn from the sweet sisters I serve with! On Wednesday I exchanged with Hermana Nichols! She is so cute! We did lots of service and she just worked and worked! She is a great example to me of serving with all your might! Yesterday I got to double exchange, so I had Sister Foy and Hermana Dahlke! It was pretty much like spending a day with my besties! We laughed so hard! We also had an amazing lesson! They seriously blew me away with their teaching skills! 

Thursday was Thanksgiving and it was awesome! My heart is overflowing with thanks for all of my many blessings! We had breakfast with the Morby family! They are such a fun family and I laugh 99% of the time that we go over there! We spent Thanksgiving dinner with Sister McGoffin who is an angel! She always makes us feel right at home when we walk in her house and we even got to decorate her Christmas tree on Friday!

So at zone conference, my zone leaders gave a wonderful training on how faith precedes miracles and that we need to have the faith to find the elect people in our areas. Ever since then, I have been praying with my whole heart that we would find someone who is prepared to receive the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. On Sunday, we were sitting in sacrament meeting. Sister Stapelman nudged me and told me there was a man named Earnest standing in the foyer. They had talked to him at the park a while back but haven't been able to get in contact with him since. We invited him to come sit with us and after the meeting we were talking with him. He said that ever since he met the sisters at the park he has had a special feeling in his heart. He said he came to church to feel that again. we asked if we could meet with him and he said he would love that. So we taught him the plan of Salvation yesterday and invited him to be baptized in December. He is praying about it, so please pray for Earnest as he continues in his conversion process. Faith. Faith precedes the miracle. "Ask and ye shall recieve. Knock and it shall be opened unto you." 

Much love!!!

Sister Gish

Exchanges with Sister Foy and Hermana Dahlke

Exchanges with Hermana Nichols

Sister Gish and Sister Stapelman decorating Sister McGoffin's tree

Sister Gish and Sister Stapelman at Thanksgiving

Week 66: Sister Gish Hits Her 15 Month Mark! Happy Thanksgiving from Loveland, CO!

Happy Thanksgiving week my sweet family and friends! I hope we can all take times to reflect on our countless blessings this week! I love the sentence in verse 20 of 1 Nephi chapter 1. "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." 

Tender mercies are so real! I certainly see them every day as a missionary, and I know you all have them too! Sometimes you just have to look for them! 

This week we put Mike on date for baptism! We weren't planing on it, but he told us that he has a terminal diagnosis and he wants to work out his salvation! We shared with him God's great plan of happiness for his children (one of the many things we can be grateful for!) and we invited him to be baptized next month! He came to church on Sunday too, so that was exciting!

Exchanges! This week I went on exchanges with Sister Abraham! Oh my gosh! I was laughing all day long! She is HILARIOUS! That girl is loyal to the soil! She is such a good friend to all those who know her! I also went on exchanges with Sister Carrasco! She is from Argentina and she is so darn cute! I loved hearing of her experiences and her testimony! She will do amazing things on her mission!

One of the things I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving season is the opportunity I have had to be a missionary. My favorite accessory this past 15 months has definitely been my little black name tag. I love getting to literally wear the Savior's name on my heart everyday! My mission has not been easy, but it has been sacred! There is so much I want to accomplish and so little time left. I have no doubt I will go home wishing I could have done more. That was a thought that was troubling me for a while, but after some good advice from the best trainer ever, Sister Warren, I find comfort in knowing that all good disciples of Jesus Christ have a desire to give more than they sometimes have the ability to do. 

My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude! I have been so blessed. I have wonderful family and friends at home. I feel your prayers and it means more than you know. I am thankful for all 11 of my wonderful companions! Each one has changed me for the better and they all hold a special place in my heart! I am thankful for President and Sister McMurray! They have had one of the greatest impacts anyone has ever had on my life! I look up to them in so many ways! I'm thankful for the people of Colorado and Wyoming that I have had the privilege to serve. I am thankful to be living with the Smith's and for all they do for me and Sister Stapelman! Mostly I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the peace and happiness it it brings me! I am thankful for my Savior! I'm going to stop here, or I will be writing this all day long! So I love you and I hope everyone has a delicious Thanksgiving meal and that we reach out to serve those who are less fortunate than us! 

Love, 

Sister Gish

Sister Gish hit her 15 month mark!

Sister Gish and Sister Abraham

Service with Hermana Dahlke and Sister Zundel

Exchanges with Sister Carrasco

Week 65

Hello! This week was so amazing! Being a missionary is simply the best! 

This week I went on exchanges with Sister Foy! She is pretty much my soul sister and we spent a good portion of the day laughing our heads off! She is a great example to me of staying positive and she reminded me that we rise by lifting others!

Happy one year mark to my cute companion, Sister Stapelman! We celebrated all day long on Thursday! We had a surprise party for her at district council, we went to lunch with the Smith's, and we got lots and lots of return appointments. We even talked with the girl at the Dairy Queen drive thru (I think it goes without saying that we got ice cream that day) She had complimented our dresses and asked if it was a special occasion! We told her it was Sister Stapelman's year mark and we told her what we do as missionaries! It was super cool and she said she would be interested in learning more! I'm just really glad Sister Stapelman came on a mission so that we could be forever friends!

Interviews! These are always a highlight of every transfer! I love President McMurray and as usual he gave me wonderful counsel! I may or may not have cried for 5 minutes in the car after! I only have 2 interviews left! I never want my mission to end! Sister McMurray joined us for companionship study that day and she took us to lunch! I love her and I will cherish every moment I spend with her. 

I got to see one of my favorite STL's this week! Sister Bertha was the first person I ever went on exchanges with and she has impacted my mission greatly! It was fun to catch up with her and play with our tiny hands just like in my good ol' greenie days! 

Sacrament meeting was amazing! First of all, this ward is amazing! I just felt like I was home because everyone welcomed me so warmly! The whole ward was fasting for missionary opportunities and the spirit was overwhelming as people bore powerful witness of the Savior and His sacred work. 

Yesterday was zone conference and the theme was charity! I particularly enjoyed the assistants training on loving God! I learned that the great test of this life is obedience and the great task is to align our will with God's will. When we are obedient and align our will with God's, we can fulfill the first and great commandment to love the Lord with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind. After all, we must love Him, because He first loved us!

Speaking of love, I LOVE All Of YOU!

Sister Gish

Sister Gish and Sister Stapelman

Sister Stapelman hit her one year mark!

Sister Gish and Sister Foy

Sister Bertha

Sister Gish and Sister Foy doing service

Zone Conference!

Week 64

Hello Friends! I hope everyone had a great week and that Halloween wasn't too scary! 

My week was amazing! Being back with Sister Stapelman is a dream! Like literally, it doesn't feel real sometimes! Everyday we say "I can't believe we're comps again!" It has been a blast though and I love this ward! There is seriously so many wonderful things happening in this area of the Lord's vineyard! 

I love living with the Smith's! They are so sweet and to say they spoil us would be an understatement! First of all, having a dog has been so fun! I love giving Loki snuggles! Also, it feels so good to be in a home with a righteous priesthood holder and I love always having Sister Smith to talk to!

On Halloween, we got to watch 17 Miracles! There was one part where Levi Savage is talking about pushing the handcarts. He said at times he felt like someone was helping push the carts, but when he looked back there was no one there. Like everything else, I related this to my mission! I am almost 15 months in! I have loved my mission, but it has proved very challenging at times. I can testify however that I have often felt the presence of angels pushing me day to day! I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us and that He sends His angels to make our burdens light.

We had MLC on Friday! It was great! The theme was love and it really inspired me to strengthen my love for the Savior, so I will have the courage to talk to more people. 

On Sunday, we had a broadcast for the North America Central Area! We got to hear from Sister Bingham, Elder Carpenter, Elder Wilford Anderson, and Elder Holland! They talked about ministering, attending the temple, keeping the sabbath day holy, and gathering scattered Israel! It was so inspiring! I will list a few of my favorite quotes below:

"The work will continue unbroken and unabated until the Savior says, 'It is finished.'" 

--Elder Holland 

"May we give the gift to others that has been given to us." 

--Elder Holland

"People say the jews kept the sabbath day, but the sabbath day kept the jews"

-Elder Anderson

I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Love, 

Sister Gish

Sister Gish and Sister Fuge

Cleaning the Temple with Sister Stapelman, Hermana Dhalke, Hermana Marin, and the Hardie's 

Sister Gish and Sister Hardie

Sister Abraham's Birthday!

Sister Stapelman and Sister Gish

Sister Gish and Jerri

STL's