Week 39

Yo what the, 

It's been a week.  An interesting week.  And also a final week for me in Modesto.  Transfer calls came, and I'm being shipped to Selma, over a hundred miles south of where I'm at now.  I've loved serving in Modesto.  It's been crazy, but it's been fun too.  There's good work being done in this and surrounding areas, and I'm gonna miss Elder Greene, but he's grown up now and can be a normal missionary.  The E at the end of his name is now silent.  We were able to teach various lessons this week, and it was a good time.  Elder Greene and I got Sonic and Ike's sandwiches one last time, and we reached out to friends and members of the ward to let them know.  I'm gonna be honest, there's not a lot to report on.  It's not that bad being quarantined, my only problem is most of the people in California are still outside living life as normal, but with the quarantine on, life is now "Normal, but the Missionaries aren't bothering you anymore".  Now I'm in the process of adjusting to what we call "online proselyting" but even when I was at home using social media I had a hard time.  Elder Greene and I have been watching church movies every once in a while as they were recently approved in our mission for after our daily routine is finished.  As I've been away from quality entertainment, I realize how funny things are that I would have watched stone-faced back home.  There's this old church produced video called the testaments.  I encourage most of you to cryingly avoid it, however, given the opportunity to view it I now have most of the script memorized.  This occurred to Elder Greene as we started the movie one evening and I began speaking the lines as they came on screen.  That was great, I hope I never have to watch it again upon my return from mission.  Just realized something else, I won't get to use my grill anymore.  That is a crying shame.  I'll have to master pan-frying now.  Oh well.  If any of you are feeling up to it, please don't hesitate to email me at westin.gneiting@missionary.org, or friend me on Facebook at Westin Gneiting, it'd be cool to hear from y'all.  I've been studying a lot in gospel principles, and I've thought a lot about us and our purpose here.  Something it pointed out about the creation was how the purpose of our planet, this mortal probationary ground, was for us to be separated from God, (another necessity for the fall of Adam), to learn to earn his trust and do his will without being micromanaged.  "To act for himself" if you will.  Sometimes it feels like we've lost connection or that God isn't answering our prayers, but the truth, is that God let's us endure this disconnect so that we, by our own will power, will choose to do what is right.  We know what is right, do we need an answer to our prayers to act on it?  Been thinking about that as I chill in the apartment and make decisions as to how effective I'm going to be that day.  Hope yall had a faith-filled holy week, I know I did.  Keep saying your prayers, I'm confident things will begin to change soon.

Thank you, 

Elder Gneiting

Final moments:

Week 38

04/06/2020

Thank you to those who have been reaching out, it has definitely helped Elder Greene and I.  This week has been cool.  Early in the morning, for the first few days, our landlord sent some roofing guys and they worked on our house, ripping off shingles and replacing them with new ones.  We'd be in our apartment studying or making breakfast and we'd hear footsteps all over the house and various hammers knocking here and there, quietly and then loudly, and this would go on until the afternoon, about 4 PM.  At first I couldn't think or focus with the constant noise, and during a conference call with our mission President, one of the guys knocked on our door and said someone might have cut through our ceiling, and asked us to check.  Sure enough there was a foot sized hole in our bedroom ceiling, Elder Greene and I thought it was hilarious.  We let the guy know and he planned to have another guy come fix it the following week.  Elder Greene and I had various calls this week, we've been in contact with and invited our friends to participate in general conference, at least one of our friends watched, so that was cool.  We also got to call some of my relatives, family, and friends back home.  Thanks again to those of you who made the time to have us in your home.  Elder Greene and I bought Gushers last week from the grocery store, that was a good decision.  We've been working on memorizing scriptures, our zones are expected to compete with each other over video call, this week our zone didn't fare so well.  Last Monday we got Buffalo wild wings with some other Elders, that was sick.  It's been a minute.  I ate so many wings.  Kinda sad cuz the ceiling guy is over fixing our hole.  I'm gonna miss that hole.  Conference was cool, we managed to watch it from our apartment.  Dubai temple is definitely a highlight, just another reason to go.  We grilled some dogs and burgs this week, and bacon, it's been sweet.  I hope y'all continue to feel the Spirit and find things to do while quarantined.  We also watched the Other Side of Heaven, man, I didn't need to see that movie.  But that's okay.  Sorry if you love that movie.  Please keep us in your prayers, and fast this Friday for those effected by Corona, President Nelson straight roasted everyone who didn't.  Do it!  Let's heal the world!

Love and Sandwiches, 

Elder Gneiting

Week 37

Hey y'all

I hope life is well for those of you also confined to your homes.  To my fellow missionaries who are experiencing a change in routine or other adjustments to your mission, I love you and am praying for you.

Despite being inside for as long as we have, the time is honestly flying by.  I can't imagine doing anything else right now.  Missionary work is changing for the time being, I've been adjusting myself, however I know the Lord is in control.  He's not surprised by anything.  That's a really comforting thought for me.  Our efforts to teach people continue, and for those of you that aren't aware, we are allowed to visit with family, friends, and neighbors back home.  To those of you reading this, please do not hesitate to reach out to me this week if you find yourself in need of spiritual nourishment, or maybe you're just bored.  Elder Greene and I would LOVE to call, to video chat, or to message on Facebook messenger.  These are means we have been provided to continue to share the light and spread the word.  I know most of y'all are as busy as I am, and now that we have a reason to talk to all of you on a more personal level, I would really enjoy that.  PLEASE reach out!

This week Elder Greene and I have been eating a lot.  We've also been studying a lot.  And working out.  The grill master grilled a ton of teriyaki chicken this week, made my own Hawaiian barbecue with some pineapple we had.  Macaroni salad, the whole deal.  We're allowed to go outside for a limited time every day, as long as we maintain social distance, and it's not so bad.  It's like a long walk on the beach if you close your eyes, and your ears, and your nose, and maybe even if you stop walking and just think about the beach.  Not so bad!  We have met with friends and members here in our ward to teach some lessons, we had an experience where we taught a friend we've had for a while.  We had a lesson plan but when we went into it, we just threw the plan away and vibed with him.  We talked about his relationship with God and he opened up about our help and his willingness to try new things to develop his own connection with the Spirit.  It's so awesome to feel the spirit during a lesson, even if it's over a video call.  We've felt the Lord's hand over us, I know he watches over this work.  Not a lot else to report on.  There's a Sonic here in Modesto that's drive through is open, and Elder Greene and I go there a lot.  There's nothing more satisfying than getting a large ocean water slush during happy hour on a warm day and drinking it in the car.  The days are gonna get warmer pretty fast, so we might have to go to Sonic more.  That's fine by me.  Enjoy some pics of Elder Greene and I touring the concrete jungle that is Modesto.

Love y'all

Elder Gneiting

Week 36

"...a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation...” - Joseph Smith

Our President has compared the time we spend alone in our apartments to the time Moses spent in Mount Sinai.  Though to the Israelites, he seemed to be gone longer than they could handle, the spiritual refreshment and guidance he received while in the presence of the Lord dictated the rest of their journey in the wilderness and was eventually the step that led to the form of worship applied by their people for centuries.  Like they in the book of Exodus, we have been asked, "Who is on the Lord’s side?".  As we choose diligence and obedience like the sons of Levi, we can be strengthened and deepen our relationship with our Father.  

Monday and Tuesday were great as we scheduled appointments and taught some friends, we had a district council as we sat in a spacious circle, that was alright.  We continued to teach and call friends, however, we found that many of our missionaries were getting called to return home.  A large group of our Elders and Sisters were sent home over the next couple of days.  Our zone in particular was hit pretty hard, we gathered to take the sacrament on Sunday and found that our zone was split nearly in half.  Luckily, both Elder Greene and I are fine.  We are in good health and we have not been sent home or reassigned.  I've thought a lot about this situation and have been really grateful for the opportunity to remain in my station.  I know the Shepherd watches over his sheep.  There's not too much to update on, we got lots of hotdogs on preparation day so I am training to be a grill master in our backyard.  It's been great, I'm not too fond of being stuck inside, but we're excited to find new ways to be productive.  I'm sure the Lord has in store for us new means of spiritual growth and gospel sharing, All is Well!

I decided to be a little more careful with the scriptures I shared, considering how my last email hit a little too close to home, if you know what I mean.  

...The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth...

Elder Gneiting