President's Day - See Y'all Tuesday!

President Monson's 5 Year Anniversay Highlighting Ministry

Do Your Duty With A Heartful of Song

(I mentioned to the elder that I would be traveling to Tampa, Florida today, his P-day even as he was reading the email letter. I told him it would be cool to know that we would be in the same time-zone for a few days..haha) 

Hey Family,

(Dad) You're just right next door a couple of hours away that is cool! The pictures of  Ry's signing day is incredible. Oh my how Bountiful high school has changed since I was there. Ry's decision to play this year and get a head start in school is exciting! I know this is part of the Lord's will and plan for him and that he will influence the lives of those he comes into contact with at BYU. Moreover, the experiences he will have at BYU will help him on his mission and throughout life.

This week has been a really busy week as it is the first week of transfers as always. I continue to serve as a solo Zone Leader. With this I have been assigned to lead the zone with the help of our Heavenly Father. On Tuesday I went on a short, brief exchange in Sharpsburg and was able to talk, teach and preach one last day in the area in which I have called home for 6 1/2 months. While there I recieved a call from the Assistants requesting my assistance in picking up our 24 new missionary warriors from the airport that day. The missionaries were scheduled to arrive in the ATL at 1 pm, however, because of delays didnt arrive until 10 pm that night. The beam and excitement of these missionaries was so incredible! This is the first set of missionaries since the Prophet announced the lowering of missionary service age option. Amongst these mighty warriors were 9 new sister missionaries who are a powerful force and will provide a much needed boost to our units. After delivering the missionaries to their residence for the night ending about 1 am, we realize there was still a lot that needed to be done. With permission from President, we continued to press forward the rest of the night. I continued to help the Assistants get things done for transfers the next day. It was about 5 am when we finally arrived to our home. After a quick power 45 min nap which is about all the time we had, we were out the door at 6 am to pick up the new missionaries and take them to the meetinghouse.  

The next day we had Mission Council to prep for our Zone Training meeting Tuesday. I also had to do a number of Baptismal Interviews throughout the Zone. On the next day Elder Ulisses Soares the new Seventy over the Southeast Mission spoke to the entire mission which proved to be a neat experience. The brethren have so much love for missionary work, the gospel and the atonement and really want to be right out there with us teaching and preaching to those here in the mission, it is really cool! This week we had 4 baptisms in the zone and to show support for our missionaries and their investigators I attended each one -- man do I love BAPTISMS!  

WOW!! It's so awesome to hear of faithful brothers and sisters back home who know the plan and are allowing the Atonement of Jesus Christ to strengthen and heal them enabling them to do things that on our own we cannot do. I testify of the Atonement and of its neccesity in our lives, the power to CHANGE to become more of who need to BE.

Love Elder Gautavai

Predicad Mi Evangelio -- It Is The Same

Hello Family!

It's so exciting to hear from y'all and of your experiences especially the blessings flowing your way. Y'all look to be doing very well and I am grateful to our Heavenly Father for His blessings bestowed upon us all.

This has been a very good week despite being a little under the weather.  We were lead to 9 new investigators this week and did a lot of teaching which is fantastic. I was able to go on an exchange with the Spanish elders even though I cant speak a lick of Spanish lol. My Spanish companion helped me read in Spanish so I was able to participate. I testify to y'all of the spirit I could feel! It is the same in the Spanish appointments, and just as strong as when we teach in English! It's simply AMAZING!

I have taken on Elder Bednar's challenge of reading the Book of Mormon with a question and then underlining all the things that have to do with that subject or question. The power of the Book of Mormon is incredible reading it every day gives me the strength and arms me with a shield to fight off the adversary.

I am very grateful for the opportunities and the responsibilities that our Heavenly Father has entrusted me with. With total trust in Him, and complete faith in Him, I know He will provide a way. HOORAH for ISRAEL!

Love, Elder Gautavai

Armor Up! (Ephesians 6:10-18)

So I didn't know this at first but the Bishop of the Whitewater Ward is Greg Kennedy president of customer service at Delta Air Lines, and a UTE! haha

Hello Family,

Definitely a surprise but nonetheless a fantastic one to receive an email from you dearest mother. Yes 'mam, Patrick is a stud. He mentioned that he talked to you over the phone and that all ya'll are fixin to go out to eat when he comes out there. Incredible update regarding Ry and his mission call coming soon in addition to the in-home visit from BYU Football Coach Mendenhall and Tidwell. I'm sure it will be a strengthening and uplifting experience. Mekelee doing well in school and working hard in his sports and school play is also welcomed news!

This has been another great week full of demonstrating exact obedience and exercising a lot of faith. Its really so remarkably simple. Everything is in our favor! We succeed when we unconditionally surrender ourselves to the Lord's way. We are destined for success. Through stripling warrior like obedience, and unwavering faith like captain Moroni we were lead this week to 12 new investigators; and committed 8 souls to enter to the gate of baptism onto the path of eternal life.

I am so excited about the changing culture of our mission. It's changed from when I first arrived last July. The change that has come about is effecting the Mission and the lives of the people here in Georgia in such an amazing way. Currently in our Zone we have 25 baptismal dates committed and scheduled!!! Hoorah for Israel!! I have really grown in leadership in the mission and learned how to set personal proselyting goals through focusing on LEAD indicators to get us to our LAG indicator or vision. The vision being "baptism for a remission of sins to be endowed with power to qualify for eternal life."

Transfers are on Feb 6. Its been a long and very uplifting transfer. I will hopefully be completing the Book of Mormon yet again by next week. I love the Book of Mormon and the power it has to change our lives for the good and better.

Let me finish with my love for each one of you and my continued prayers for your success -- you truly do walk on water!

Love Elder Gautavai

Faith Precedes The Miracle

Hey Family,

It's always a great blessing for me to be able to share my experiences each week with ya'll and I am absoulutely certain that EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS FOR A SPECIFIC REASON, not by chance...more on that a little later.

Thank you for the update on your weekend down south in Provo. From the looks and sounds of it, unbelievable memories were made where we will be able to look back on and say without question our Heavenly Father has blessed us through the Atonement enabling us to do great and amazing things. Hoorah for Israel! Ya'll are looking good by the way!

Well this was a crazy week for me. We worked really hard this week focusing on increasing our teaching pool here in the Whitewater Area by being out talking with everyone about the wonderful message of the Atonement. As Thursday rolled around we had added 11 new investigators to our pool. I testify that this is a result of His blessings upon us as we demonstrate exact obedience and unwavering faith in Him, trusting and placing no limits on what He can do! We taught a powerful lesson in President Harding's home with the L. family setting a date for them to be baptized on Feb 2. HOORAH FOR ISRAEL!

Due to the changes my last companion went through in a short period of time he was emergency transfered into another area. Moving into this area is Elder Demotropoulus who has been out for 4 months. Elder Demotropoulus will be my companion until the end of the transfer. I'm hoping with the Lords help I can inspire and lift him up to do great things! He is my 10th companion in 7 months. With each companion I have learned so much! I know the Lord has a lesson for me to learn and grow in with each one...THIS IS SO EXCITING TO ME!

I'll leave you with this cool story from my week. We were tracting late at night due to an appointment that was canceled on us. Late nights are usually a time a lot of missionaries don't like to tract. However I felt a distinct impression leading us to a specific area because someone in this subdivision was waiting for us. At about the 6th door we knocked on, a man answered and invited us into the home -- long story short -- he told us about how he was a convert to the church, however was not active. In fact his records aren't here in Georgia. Despite being less active he said he was ready to come back to church with his family who are not members. What was really cool about this is that his wife and kids are of Hawaiian ancestry from the North Shore (Hawaii) and they are all eager to come to church to learn how they can be together as a family forever. We are having dinner in their home tonight and will be teaching them how they can receive eternal life as a family! The Lord truly does provide miracles, we just need to provide the faith!

I love each of you so much and I am at peace seeing the Lord blessing ya'll in so many different ways.

Love, Elder Gautavai

Holiday No Email

Spiritually Prepare and Fortify!

(The elder was assigned this past week to prepare and fortify the Whitewater area within his zone mid-transfer. He teams with Elder Bakes to accomplish a great work here. The elder still serves as the Sr Zone Leader in the Fayetteville Zone and maintains responsibility for the Sharpsburg area along with his other companions Elder Price (ZL) and Elder Holt. The Whitewater ward is the local unit in the area and home ward for President and sister Harding and family).

Hello Family!

Thank you for your righteous desires and examples of doing as the Savior would do and being who He would have us BE, like Him. It's exciting to hear of the successes you have with the opportunities the Lord has blessed you with that in turn enables each of you to strengthen yourselves as well as those around you. It is awesome hearing of your opportunity to fellowship with the Redding's -- an amazing and wonderful family who I have the greatest love and respect for.

These last couple of days have been fantastic serving here in Whitewater! Through my studies of Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon, I have learned so much of his leadership attributes I will need as I have been called to "make preparations and to fortify" the Whitewater area to move the good work along, and to execute and diligently search out finding those prepared to receive the Atonement in their lives and help them start the process and be BAPTIZED. Since Friday, through unyielding faith and surrender to the Lord with exact obedience, we cried out to Him for 5 new investigators, through His help and our effort we found 9 new investigators!!! -- something that hasn't happened in Whitewater for a very long time.

Sunday was my first day at church in a different ward since East Point..by the way fantastic news sister P. an investigator that we found and started teaching in East Point was baptized on Saturday. HOORAH for Israel!! Sunday we had a 2 investigators at church as well a lot of less active members. My goal for this area before I leave is to unify the missionary effort in the ward with the full-time missionaries. I have learned so many leadership skills and how to present information to other church leaders with love.

Elder M. Keith Giddens, the area Seventy here in the south-east and over the missions, spoke to us and "threw-down" on the Atonement teaching the doctrine of not only being forgiven of sin but having the "effects" (Alma 7:11-12) of sin rooted out from us through the "sanctifying" power of the Holy Ghost (Alma 13:12). After the meeting we had a chance to talk with Elder Giddens, and wow was it a neat experience to feel his love for the Lord and us missionaries, it was so comforting.

Well I love all y'all and continue to pray for y'alls safety and success. Have fun at the BYU recruit weekend and Ry's official campus visit. I look forward to hearing from y'all next week!

Love Elder Gautavai