The South Will aRise Again!!

Weekly questions from home for the elder. His response in his email back today.

Q1. How’s the weather in the ATL?..we just got 4 inches of snow today…70 degrees one day the next snow?! haha..

A1. 60-70 degrees down here in the South! Lovin' It!

Q2. What is your p-day routine like?

A2. The morning routine is still the same, exercise, studies, 

Then we clean, email, shop. Either we go on a 3-4 mile run, or 6 mile if we are ambitious with the office elders or we play basketball. Usually we have some time to study and prepare then we head back to the office at 6 to start the week.

Q3. Glad you were able to attend the temple. What a blessing. Is the temple in your mission area?

A3. Yes the temple is in our mission boundaries.

Q4. Who can we pray for and exercise our faith in-behalf of?

A4. Stake Leaders and Ward Leaders here in the Georgia Atlanta Mission.

Family,

Dad great to read your message again so inspired and absolutely true. Thank you for teaching and living the gospel in the home. So that if your children will exercise faith they will come to know with the same conviction of the truthfulness of the gospel. Thankfully Sister Harding gives me a copy of the ward news letter so I was able to read it yesterday as well.

Speaking of yesterday this was HUGE! For the first time Elder Parker our area 70 invited our mission council that consists of (AP's,ZL's & STL's) to the coordinating council meeting which consists of Stake Presidents and High Councilors over missionary work. In the meeting we aligned members and missionaries goals for baptisms and hastening the work of salvation. It was simply amazing, powerful! We are uniting here in the South and throughout the world to bring about the lords work! Elder Parker then joined our mission-wide conference call last night. 

April we will be visited by Elder Giddens and Elder Zwick, President and Sister Harding will then be instructed by Elder Holland at the mission president seminar in Florida. The brethren are getting out there and ensuring we are hastening the lords work! It's incredible to see and be apart of. The south will aRISE!!!!

We will attend the temple again this week with our mission leadership council and strategize how to climb the summits in April!

Grateful for your combined faith and love for the Lord. May we know that we are where we ought to be at this time in our lives. Look to the Lord in every thought doubt not fear not.  

Love, Elder Gautavai

You Only Get 24 - Serve It Like You Mean It!!

Serve WIth aLL your Heart, Might, Mind and Strength
D&C Section 4
#4thmissionaree
(photocred: GAM)

The Lord's Will and Mind In Everything We Do

Questions for the elder from home included in his email this morning. His response follows in his email.

Q1. This must be a busy week with transfers coming up, yeah..We’re excited about seeing elder Perez (probably at his homecoming address in April) Do you have a new companion?
A1. I do Elder Porter from South Ogden he attended Bonneville High school.
Q2. You’re getting down to your last transfers yeah?
A2. Rumor has it that I only have a few....
Q3. Are you in need of anything at this time?
A3. Nope.
Q4. We are praying for the 300+ investigators, anyone else we can pray in faith on?
A4. If you could pray for President Parker Stake President in the Fayetteville Stake and his family.

Greetings family!

Leading a discussion at Leadership Training (photocred: GAM)

Spring is here! Can you believe we are two weeks away from hearing from the Prophet, members of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles!? You just have to pinch yourself with how lucky and blessed we are to know that we have on the earth a modern day prophet and apostles to guide us through often difficult times here in this mortal existence!

Transfer planning week was last week. Like always, it is a hectic week filled with a wonderful opportunity to truly stretch for revelation as we seek to do the Lord's will in everything we do. How grateful I am for revelation and the knowledge that if we will ask in faith doubting nothing we will have our prayers answered on time. We done everything from planning, to teaching a little of seminary, to speaking at a youth fireside last night in the Fayetteville Stake in preparations for divine inspiration.

This is the Lord's work he will absolutely provide a means by which it is to be accomplished no matter who we are if we are willing and worthy he will use us.

I had the chance to attend the baptismal service of Leslie D. who was just recently married to Austin D. a less-active member that we visited when I was just three weeks out in the mission field. Seeing the change in his complete demeanor and countenance truly was a testimony builder to me that the Atonement will change your life if you will come and align yourself with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, be baptized and continue (endure to the end) to be a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Exciting to hear that everyone continues to move forward despite the challenges that come our way.  

KEEP CLIMBING!

Love, Elder Gautavai

We Should Be The Happiest People in The World

Weekly questions from home for the elder. His response in his return email.

** Congrats on the baptism..tell us about it in your email.
** Great job on the musical number (I Am A Child of God in Samoan)
Q1. Do you need anything at this time?
A1. Nope.
Q2. Who or what can we can add to our prayers this week?
A2. If you could pray for the 300+ investigators who have committed to a baptismal date here in the mission.

Zone Trainings (photocred: GAM)

Greetings!

Well as you know this week has been absolutely incredible! 

Through the prayers of the faithful and the spirit J. and N. were baptized and confirmed members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this weekend. Bishop Kennedy performed the baptism and confirmation for J., while N. performed both the baptism and confirmation of his daughter N.

Satan, like he always tries to do with the L's, sought to keep them from the eternal blessings that come through entering in by the gate. Whether an hour before, or even as they came out of the dressing room in their baptismal clothes, the Adversary tried very hard to stop the sacred ordinance of the gospel from happening. Notwithstanding this, the faith and love from ward members and missionaries combined to overcome any fear and they were able pull through. J. looked so happy!! Never have I seen a person make such a 180 degree change. The light of the gospel was beaming from from her!

The chapel was nearly full with ward members who came out to support the L.'s A lot of these ward members have played such key roles in helping the L.'s get to this point so it was touching to see them come out in support of this great family and be spiritually uplifted themselves! 

Sunday they were both confirmed and given the gift of the Holy Ghost in Sacrament meeting. It was very cool as Norris confirmed N. pronouncing a blessing on her to grow up to be a strong missionary! It came straight from the heart and was so simple yet powerful! We also had one of the Atlanta temple presidency members and his wife who were speaking in the ward witness this and which led beautifully into their invitation to come to the temple to be endowed with power. HASTENING THE WORK OF SALVATION!

If you could only see the hand of the Lord right now here in the Atlanta Georgia area it would confirm to you as it has to me that Jesus is the Christ, He is at the head of this--HIS WORK, Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration, and that we are led by President Thomas S. Monson His amazing prophet today. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and will continue to stand as a second witness to the world that our Heavenly Father speaks to us today. We should be the happiest people in the world because of this knowledge!

Till Next Week,

KEEP CLIMBING!

Love Elder Gautavai

His Promises Are Sure - Choose To Be Chosen!

"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." 
1 Nephi 1:20

Courtesy of the GAM

Families - Living The Gospel Blesses Your Posterity

Weekly questions for the elder from home in today's email. The elder's response in his email back.

Q1. How did your leadership meetings go this week?

A1. Wow amazing! Never received so much revelation in one week! Each week keeps getting better! Truly humbled.

Q2. How is J.L. progressing?

A2. Hurrah for Israel it looks like she will indeed be baptized with her other daughter N. this weekend. Bishop Kennedy and Bro. N. will perform the baptisms.

Q3. Do you need anything at this time?

A3. Yes, so about 9 months ago J. asked if I would sing I Am A Child of God at her baptism...only twist was she wants it in Samoan. I can do the first verse pretty well second and third I have no idea. I'm wondering if somehow someway you could send me the lyrics and break it down into pronunciation. Can you say gift of tongues? lol

Q4. Who can we add to our prayers this week?

A4. A. D. is a LA his finance is getting baptized in two weeks they're in the Sharpsburg Ward. Unbeknownst to me..I ran into him at the Elder Cook meeting and he remembers all too well my companion and I coming to visit with him, getting him to come back to church and asking him if there were anyone that he knew of that we could teach.

Greetings Family,

Elder Quentin L. Cook Quorum of the Twelve - 8 March 2014 (photocred: GAM)

This week has been unbelievable. I stand all amazed at the love the savior offers each and everyone of us who choose to be chosen!  We are being led and directed by prophets, seers, and revelators one of whom was in our midst for two days. The Lord's work continues to move forward for the living and the deceased. The temple has and will continue to be a lighthouse in my life enabling me to focus on what's most important. SO BLESSED SO BLESSED!

The missionary meeting with Elder Quentin L. Cook was amazing! Elder Cook bore witness of us being where we need to be right now. He shared the process of receiving a mission call what the brethren go over and how there are a few impressions that come to them as they place missionaries throughout the world. I know that I am where I need to be at this time in my life there are to many experiences that I cannot deny I am where the Lord wants and needs me to be at this time. 

Stake Conference was amazing as again Elder Cook spoke to us testifying of the hastening of the work. Halfway through the meeting he asked that President and Sister Harding come up and bare their testimonies they did such an awesome job! Elder Cook spoke of the strength that comes in a stake, the importance of families which I have never received so much revelation then in just those few moments. It was an overall solid meeting.

I share with you one last experience. I had the chance to speak with Elder Cook as he was being escorted out. When we shook hands I shared with him that Jerimiah Alip sends his love and that I was his grandson. Elder Cook then embraced me with a hug and thanked me for the warm feelings that came into his heart as a result of the spirit. He then shared memories of him serving with his good friend "Jeri" (Grandpa Alip) and then to send his love to to our family!
**The elder's maternal grandfather Jeremiah Ieleiwae Alip who also shares his middle name, former Stake president of the San Francisco West Stake served with Elder Cook and his brother Joseph Cook in the San Francisco Stake presidency before elder Cook's call to the Quorum of the Twelve. Elder Gautavai's Grandpa Alip was 2nd counselor, Elder Quentin L. Cook was the 1st counselor and elder Cook's brother Joseph Cook was the Stake President. The family remains friends.

Grateful for family members that live so righteously and through their faith and diligence allow their posterity to experience moments like this.

Well like work in the world...being out of the office for a week..means some catching up to do!

Love Elder Gautavai

Like Our Captain Of Old

Zone Leadership Trainings (photocred: GAM)