Family Matters

Hey guys! So this weeks definitely been a change. Its been quite a bit of a struggle. I'm wanting to help the people and dive right into the work, but its kind of hard to do that in a Spanish speaking mission and not being able to speak Spanish, and if the people don't let us help them. We are on the streets for about 3-6 hours a day trying to make contacts and find more people to teach with little or no success. Its definitely not been good for me. I like to feel like whenever I do something to see results, but I'm not seeing results and i was getting down pretty hard on myself. But i have to realize that i probably wouldn't stop and talk to someone out on the street that had a message about religion either, so with that in mind we are doing OK i guess. I just wish there was more i could be doing out here, but there's not much I can do without taking away their agency, and that's not what we are about. Well anyways like i said before my Spanish is

Dear Brother and Sister Gunnell, Thank you for your help in sending your son, Elder Joshua Dee Gunnell, to serve in the New Jersey Morristown Mission.  I had the pleasure of welcoming Elder Gunnell at the  Newark International Airport.  Enclosed is a picture of him with Sister Hess and me and a picture of him with the other missionaries that arrived with him . We have also included a letter regarding the communication process and some ideas of how you can feel a part of the mission while supporting Elder Gunnell. I interviewed him and found him eager and prepared to be an outstanding missionary. Sister Hess and I look forward to working with him and consider him as if he were one of our own sons. His new companion and trainer is Elder Reese Keith Mayhew from Queen Creek, AZ .  The address to which you can send first class letters to Elder Gunnell for this transfer period is:                                               Elder Joshua Dee Gunnell 9 Bay A

Hey everyone!! I'm here in Jersey. I have to make this brief, but I'm here in Jersey safe and sound. You'll hear from me next Monday.

Hey everyone! So last week here in the CCM and I'm both excited and nervous right now. We've started packing because they want us to make sure our bags aren't overweight, so that's pretty fun. Pack then unpack, just to pack again. It's pretty great. Well Elder Gunnell here still doesn't know a lot of Spanish, but I'm able to understand it fairly well when reading so I guess there's that. That's mostly why I'm nervous right now, not being able to communicate with the people I'm going to be talking with, but hopefully it will get better, but it might take longer than I like because I'll still be in the states and not immersed in the language. But esta bien. But I'm way excited to get out there and teach people and help change some lives. Practicing on our teacher is great and he gives some really good feedback but some good real life experience is going to be great to have, and help them to learn the truth and help then to

Happy October  everyone! So....yeah into week 5 in the CCM and things have definitely gotten better hear. My fellow missionaries are starting to get into the missionary spirit now, especially my companion. I've been sharing little things with him here and there, but then yesterday our tarde maestro took him aside and talked to him for a little bit. He came back a little bit stuffy and was crying just a tad, and the way that he has coducted himself has been such an improvement. Hes definitely had a change in heart and decided to finally started his mission. Anyways. This week has been so full of spiritual messages and things that I've learned that I don't know where to begin.  The top thing that I've learned this week is that the first convert on our mission needs to be ourselves. We've been taught this the whole time that I've been here, but I didn't understand why until this week. When we are converted, we are trying to do everything we

Heyo everyone! This weeks been a different week here in the CCM for sure. We are really starting to crack down on the teaching part of it now, over an hour of class time both in the morning and in the afternoon, but I don't really feel ready for it yet because I still don't know a lot of stuff in spanish, but last week Elder Bronson sent me a story of this missionary that served in England back in 1994 and it is probably the best things read in my life(besides the Book of Mormon of course ). I just started reading it today because I got it after my p day ended, but that thing is packed with awesome stuff for new missionaries, or any missionaries for that matter. One of the sections of it was titled, I fear no man. And that really hit me. Have I been worrying so much about what i'm saying, i'm not really saying it, and also my thoughts went to my thinking about what it's going to be like when I get into the field. Am I going to fear those that I am sup