January 2, 2017 - From Sam

Happy New Year Muh Duds!

Hope it was a great New Years Eve for everyone!  Guatemala loves fireworks and things that make loud noises so it was a pretty nutty 31st here. Ill send a video! We got to go to the roof to watch it all go down.

So my new companion is Elder Larsen! Hes from Las Vegas, NV and superrrrr awesome. He was the Assistant for 6 months and finished his time so he came back to be a zone leader with me! Its been such a great change having a companion I get along with and who wants to work hard and be obedient. 

Weve already seen a difference in our area and its been great. Were working really well with members and encouraging them to read the Book of Mormon and to be missionaries individually. Were kinda starting from scratch and changing a lot together, so we may not see the ¨fruits of our labors¨for a while, but February will be a good month for area Colombia. 

I wanted to share a short spiritual thought for this New Year for you all! Mosiah 3:19 reads

 19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

King Benjamin is giving his speech to all the people under his kingdom here. It says the ¨natural man¨is an enemy to God. Anything that isnt a Christlike attribute that we have is the natural man (impatience, anger, pride, etc.). We are invited by King Benjamin to put off the natural man, and become a saint through the atonement of Jesus Christ! Become meek as a child and willing to do the will of the Lord. 

I invite you to ponder this scripture and as you make new years resolutions, think of the things you do that are part of the natural man that keep you from being more Christlike. Then make goals to be able to conquer those weeknesses and become more like Christ through the Atonement. 

Im out of time, but I love you all! Have a great 2017!

Love,

Elder Gurksnis

January 2, 2017 - From Mom

Happy New year Elder G! 

I'm so anxious to hear about your week!  How is your new comp?  Have you felt like you've been able to get back on track?  Here are a few questions, before I forget, that I really want you to answer:

1. How is your back?  What are you doing about it?  I'm attaching some core strengthening exercises that are helpful for a strained back.  These should help whether it is a muscular problem or a disc problem.  Just be gentle when you do them but do them day and night to help give you strength and relief.

2. Do you still have the cash and credit card we sent you with for emergencies?

3.  How tired are you feeling?  Are you able to get some more protein and veggies in your diet?  How about the protein shaker cup and protein powder?  Can you get some today?  I was thinking you could bring a protein bar or pb sandwich with you when you leave so you don't have to rely on the little stores with chips and junk food.

4.  I forgot if you were going to print your fb pictures or if I was going to send them to you.  The next time I could get them to you is a February 5th trip that the delivery service is taking.  I have a deal for $.04 per print.

5.  I really can't wait to hear about your comp and how your week went!  I'm praying it has been a positive change!

We've had a good week.  They never found our suitcase... it was probably stolen so I've spent a good amount of time dealing with providing the airlines with a detailed itemization of the contents and receipts so they can reimburse us for the contents.  Such a bummer.  But the fun part was on Friday we got together at the Cordy's and had our fondue dinner like we did last year.  I really love the Cordys.  For New Years Eve, Dad and I went with Ama and PopPop and the Waltons to Babes for dinner and then a movie after.  The movie was so great and I'm adding it to your list of things to watch after you get home. 

We have been talking about our family goals like you suggested.  As a family we are reading the BOM by the time you get home.  We mainly need that much time because  Abby and I are so focused on the NT right now with seminary and so I can't start the BOM until May.  But it will be great to do it as a family and really talk about it.  The other thing we are going to do is pray daily for missionary opportunities.  I think it will help us to be focused on sharing the gospel and be more aware when they come.  We started by giving a BOM to Misti (well sortof a BOM... it is like an easy reader version.  I told her it would help her begin and she can understand the story.  But then I told her she should switch to the actual BOM once she becomes familiar with the story and she will get much more from it.)  I'm hoping she and Kevin will read it together.  We had them over one night this week and had a great talk about the gospel with them.  Kevin definitely knows the gospel is true but he doesn't know much about it.  It would be great if they would read together.  What do you think we should do as a family?  Can you add to the discussion?  What are your personal goals?

I start seminary back on Tuesday.  Its tough to get back on schedule when I've had two weeks of sleeping in.  But I love being immersed in the New Testament so that part is great.  We are finishing up with the last days of Christ's life.  I'm learning so much and my testimony is so much stronger.  It reminds me of a quote I gave to you in your journal (the one I made... do you still have that?) that says what today feels like a sacrifice, will become one of the greatest investments you'll ever make.  Seminary has been a huge blessing in my life inspite of how difficult it is.  I'm sure you can relate:) 

I am still on a high from getting to talk to you last week.  I just want you to know how incredibly sweet and meaningful it was for all of us that you told each of us how much we mean to you.  And then when you prayed for each of us... it will be something I will always remember and one of my most precious memories. I went and bought a journal because I wanted to write about it and never forget.  You are such a wonderful son and brother.  We all love you so very much.  And I feel so blessed to be your mother.  I love you so very much!  I don't know if I could ever convey it to you.  But I hope you have some understanding of it. 

One final thought... Dani's grandmother died a few days before Christmas.  She was a really wonderful woman and Dani posted one of her grandmother's favorite things to say... "The good thing about big trouble is that you really have to turn to the Lord and it is such a good feeling to find Him there." I just love that.  And I have found it to be very true. 

I love you my sweet son!  I think about you all the time and pray for you multiple times a day.  Sometimes in the middle of the day I say a silent, quick prayer that you are safe and you feel my love for you.  I hope you do.

xoxoxxo

infinity + infinity

mom

December 26, 2016 - From Mom

Hello my sweet, amazing son.  I am full of tears tonight but full of joy at the same time.  I love you so very much and I have no greater joy than comes from seeing my son become the most incredible man.  You are the greatest oldest son I could imagine.  Of course you are not perfect, but you have taken those mistakes and made them your strengths.  You are the greatest example to your brother and sister and to all of us.  Thank you for your sweet prayer tonight.  The way you prayed for each of us meant so much to me.  We all talked about it after we hung up and each of us felt your love through that prayer.  Thank you also for your sweet words to Gray.  I know they meant so much to him and he will be better because you have taught him the importance of that.

It is after midnight and I've just finished packing and updating the picture and post you wanted.  The only thing I couldn't do is update your facebook picture because the picture of all of us is too big.  You end up just seeing two heads and no one else.  Do you want me to put a different picture on your fb background?  I did post to Instagram and fb for you. 

I'm attaching some of our pictures from tonight and one from the temple the other night.  I love these pictures with us together!  This is a difficult Christmas because you aren't with us.  But I think as we all look back on it (after you're home) we will appreciate the special sacrifice that we all made to have you in Guatemala serving our Heavenly Father. 

I'm so incredibly happy for you Sam.  You have done something amazing by returning to Guatemala and you are thriving there.  Your sacrifice will have far reaching consequences in your life.  The good kind of consequences:) 

I love you so much my son.  I've got to try to get a few hours of sleep so I have to run.  I'll talk to you tomorrow after we land. 

Infinity plus infinity

xoxoxo

mom

December 26, 2016 - From Sam

Merry Christmas yall!

Hope everyone had an incredible Christmas as I did. Talking to my family for the first time in 5 months was amazing and a special experience for me.

It´s hard! Serving a mission and spending Christmas away from your family twice in a foreign country is hard! Lemme tell ya. But its worth it. This Christmas I wont ever forget. Im unbelievably lucky to be where I am, doing what Im doing. 5 months have already passed by since I left last and its blown by. 

We have changes tomorrow. My companion is leaving the area and Ill be getting another new companion. Kinda nervous, but Im going to work harder to make sure our future companionship gets along and works better together. 

This was my toughest change. But I know we have to pass through difficult times to appreciate the great times. And I know the Lord will help me if I continue to try to work hard and be obedient. 

A short letter, but I hope all of yall had a great Christmas! I love you all. Take care and have a happy new year as well!

Love,

Elder Gurksnis

December 26, 2016 - From Sam

Dear family,

My heart is full today. I am so happy and full of love. Thank you for that amazing Christmas day yesterday. It was so amazing to talk to each of you. I am beyond grateful for the love that I have for you all and the love you all have for me.

It was truly a special Christmas that I will treasure for the rest of my life. 

I want you all to know that Im ok! Im seriously happy and just so thankful that I was able to talk to you. My heart is truly full. We are so lucky to know that we will be together forever! 

I love you family. Mom, dad, Grayson and Abby. You all individually mean more to me than I can describe. Thank you for the love and care that each of you have shown for me. 

I love you all and am grateful youre all back home safe in Texas! Take out my shotgun and pop one off for me ;)

¨Dad, why are you yelling??¨

¨What hes in Guatemala?¨

Love your brother and son,

Sam

December 19, 2016 - From Sam

Howdy USA! 

I hope everyone is enjoying this awesome Christmas season back home. Really.

Christmas season is definitely different here, but I still feel the spirit and presence of Heavenly Father even stronger around this time of year. 

Its been hard these past couple of weeks with my companion and our area. It hasnt really been the same here as it was in my old area. Changes are 2 days after Christmas but Im pretty sure we´ll both be staying here together for another change. 

One thing I have learned is how to really depend on Heavenly Father in times of difficulty through fervent prayer. It has sincerely helped me especially when I feel alone. I dont know if yall have seen this video but it is truly remarkable. Its a song by David Archuletta that just came out recently. But here is the link....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrPPJCu22ZI

What an amazing song! I have saved and watched that video probably 10 times this week. Every time I feel the spirit and know that He knows me. He knows my trials and fears and is ready to listen to me and help me. 

I know He is there. Im 100% sure. 

I feel like I am constantly thinking about my faith. I know I have faith in Christ and in Heavenly Father, but I sometimes get upset because I feel like I dont have the same faith that others in the church have had in the past, or the faith that the apostles had to heal and perform miracles. Ive been trying and trying to study faith and let it grow but it sometimes is dissapointing! I know others have felt the same. But I had an incredible experience this week. 

We had a lesson with an athiest this week and one thing I said to him I didnt know where the words came from but it was one of those moments where i felt i just opened my mouth and the Lord gave me the words to say. We were talking about faith and believing in things we can not see. He doesnt believe in God because he said theres no way for Him to show Himself to him. 

I told him that if he knelt down that night I knew that God would make Himself known unto him by the power of the Holy Spirit. I said he didnt need to know for a surety but if he placed a tiny seed of faith in his heart, with just the hope that some supreme being could answer that He would do so. 

He then said to me, someone annoyed, ¨If you have such great faith, do you have the faith to say unto God right now ´show yourself unto me´? Do you have the faith to say that and know that He will appear right now? Do you have faith to show me a miracle?!¨

I sat there thinking, and doubting myself. But the Lord blessed me so greatly in that moment.

¨No. I dont have that faith in this moment,¨ I said. ¨I dont have the faith to know if I say to Heavenly Father show yourself to this man right now that He will do so. But I have 100% faith and a surety that if you kneel down and pray to Him tonight, that by the Holy Ghost you will know that He is there and He is listening. Because I have placed that seed of faith in my heart many years ago and have let it grow. So I may not have the faith to know that God will appear from heaven and show Himself to you right now, but that seed is still growing. And what I do know is that He is there and answers our prayers. Pray to Him, and He will answer.¨ 

We left and a few days later we passed by him in the street. We asked him if he prayed that night and then if he believes if God exists. He said with a funny smirk, ¨Maybe.¨ Hahaha it was really funny actually. But I knew that God had answered him. 

I know that although I may be having a tough time right now, that thats part of the mission first off, and second I know that God knows my problems and that He listens to me. And I have faith that problems will fade away in time. 

The Lord loves you! I hope all of you can remember Him even more this Christmas. I hope you all have an amazing Christmas with your families! 

Love, Elder Gurksnis

December 18, 2016 - From Mom

Hi my love!  The next time I talk to you, it will be face to face!!!  I CANNOT wait!

Well its actually Sunday and I'm in Draper with Noelle and fam. I got here early so I could go to Karlee Winter's wedding last night.  It was pretty fun.  She was a gorgeous bride.  There were a lot of TX peeps represented.  I attached some pics.  They were married in the Draper Temple.  I like her husband.  He is a good guy.  I think you might have met him before you left. 

We are getting ready for Christmas here.  Dad and Abby got in late last night.  It is absolutely freezing here!!!  High of 19 degrees today.  Lots of snow on the ground. I'm a wimp in this cold now.  I don't really love it!  But I love being together with our family so it will be fun!  I've got my laptop and I'm going to test out skyping this week to make sure everything works!  What is the plan?  Do you have one yet?  The only time I can't skype is between 10-12 because we will be at church.  They are just having sacrament meeting.  Are you doing the same?  

There is no decision yet for Grayson and his mission papers.  He has an appt with Bishop Brown on the 28th after we get home so we will hopefully know more after that. 

I also heard about a roommate possibility for you.  Mitchell Cordy is transferring to BYU Provo this semester and he and Kade Nielson are rooming together (Kade just got home a few days ago).  I don't know if that sounds like a possibility you'd want to consider ... let me know what you think. 

I've been thinking a lot about some words of advice I could give you to help with your comp situation.  I know this area/change/comp has been a little taxing on you.  I have been praying for you and all the Dallas and Draper temples are praying for you.  Two thoughts I want to share with you.  The first one is that had there never been a storm on the Sea of Galilee that caused the apostles to fear for their lives, Peter would have never learned he could walk on water.  Sometimes the difficult times in our lives help us to turn to the Lord because we feel we have no where else to turn and then He can help us do miraculous things.  Or at least see his presence in our lives.  So first of all, I hope that during this "storm", you are able to focus on those moments where you see that He is there and can give you aid when there is no one else who can.  Hopefully you are beginning to learn how to "walk on water.'

Secondly, I know it is hard for you to be a jr. comp.  You are a natural leader and you have sacrificed tremendously to be back on your mission.  So, working less and being unproductive doesn't work for you.  And its tough when you don't feel like your opinion is guiding the team.  In someways, this is what will drive you to succeed in life.  But its good to learn to be a team player and be good in a supporting role as well (when necessary).  So I've thought about some people that I'd like you to study this week.  One person that I have always admired so much is Hyrum Smith.  He was Joseph's older brother and you can imagine that it would be easy for Hyrum to feel a little put out when his younger brother was the leader, the one who speaks with God, and the head of this glorious dispensation. Hyrum played a supporting role.  But the thing I love about Hyrum, is that at least in anything I've ever read about him, he was truly devoted to Joseph and the gospel.  He doesn't demonstrate irritation or jealousy in any way.  But the Lord is aware of him and recognizes his devotion to the gospel.  The Lord said this:  “And again, verily I say unto you, blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith, for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart, and because he loveth that which is right before me, saith the Lord.” [D&C 124:15.]  Hyrum was devoted to Joseph and the gospel and had tremendous leadership ability in his own right.  He gave Joseph trusted counsel and advice. But he was also humble and had a quiet strength. And then the prophet Joseph said this about him: “I could pray in my heart that all my brethren were like unto my beloved brother Hyrum, who possesses the mildness of a lamb, and the integrity of a Job, and in short, the meekness and humility of Christ and I love him with that love that is stronger than death, for I never had occasion to rebuke him, nor he me." 

I hope that helps you to see that you have an important role to perform in the jr comp position.  That is one of support, encouragement and example too.  Some others I thought of that you could study this week is Helaman and Capt Moroni.  Capt. Moroni was kindof the rockstar of the time.  Yet Helaman had such an important role to play and became one of the great heroes of the BOM.  (Read Alma 48: 17-19)  They both were a vital part of God's Army and each had important part to play.

Think of Sam and Nephi (Read 2 Ne.4:11) Sam’s role was basically one of supporting and assisting his more acclaimed younger brother, and he ultimately received the same blessings promised to Nephi and his posterity. Nothing promised to Nephi was withheld from the faithful Sam, yet we know very little of the details of Sam’s service and contribution.

I hope some of these examples give you some things to think about.  I can only imagine how frustrating it is when you want to work harder and be more productive.  You will have that opportunity soon.  In the meantime, try to encourage your comp and help him to see the blessings that come from hard work and obedience.  You've seen those miracles and blessings so many times. 

My letter has been a little "lengthy" this week.  haha!  So I won't say much more.  Only know that I could NOT be more proud of you, Sam!  I love you so very much and I know the Lord must be so proud of you too!  You are such an example of sacrifice, testimony, hard work and love to our family and many others around you.  I couldn't love you any more! 

Merry Christmas my sweet son!  I'll talk to you in less that 1 week!

All my love!

mom

xoxoxo