June 29, 2015

Loved ones,

The girls look so cute! Haha I'm sure they had a lot of fun at the parade! I love seeing the pictures  of y'all and to see how everyone is doing. However, I decided that it would be fun to not send any more pictures of me for the remainder of my mission. Therefore, the next time you see me will not be on a computer screen. So yes, mom, I did buy a new suit this week and I really love it... but I'm not going to send a picture haha.  
  

 

We visited with Nancy Walter this week. As you remember, she's married to a less active member named Christopher, who is a returned missionary. It is amazing to watch as the two of them read the Book of Mormon together. When we first met Nancy, she was a little hesitant to visit with us but as we started answering some of her questions she began to really open up. As we taught her the Restoration and gave her a Book of Mormon, she began to read with her husband. The two of them have been reading together and the blessings are significant. They admit that they had been contemplating divorce for years, but now their relationship is being healed. If any couple on earth will simply live the gospel their relationship will be healed and will continue to strengthen for the rest of their lives. As we read the Book of Mormon together, and pray together, and keep the commandments, we will grow in our love for the Lord and grow in our love for each other. No relationship will struggle if together they faithfully keep the commandments and strive to live the gospel.

It was amazing to see the look on Nancy's face as she came to church with her husband. As we visited with her a few days after she was talking about how excited she was to attend church the next Sunday. One of the greatest blessings they have seen through meeting with us is the strengthened relationship they have with each other.  

The Gospel has been restored, not only so families can be together forever, but also so that they can reach their true potential here on earth.

 

Jody and her return missionary boyfriend Tui, are still doing well. Jody wants to be baptized and we just need to get them married. Please keep them in your prayers along with Nancy and Christopher.

 

I know that a loving Heavenly Father has given us the Book of Mormon. As additional evidence of his incomprehensible love for all his children. As we prayerfully read the Book of Mormon and live by the teachings therein, we will grow in our love for the Lord and by so doing we will strengthen all our relationships. I know that is true. I am the product of that promise.

I love y'all

Love, Elder Giles

June 22, 2015

Beloved family and friends,

I could tell stories and experiences that
happened this week, but I
would rather do this... I'm going to take a few
minutes to share a few
thoughts about Father's Day.

As members of The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have
greater reason to celebrate
Father's Day than any other people on
earth. We should have more joy and
excitement for this occasion than
all other people combined. We actually know
the true significance and
importance of fatherhood. I'm going to share a few
thoughts on the
doctrine of fatherhood...
(Though in this letter I will only
refer to fathers, many of these
apply to mothers and fathers)


In the
beginning, "God created man in his own image, in the image of
God created he
him; male and female created he them."(Genesis 1:27).
Christianity should know
that fathers are literally created after the
image of our Eternal
Father.

What does the Savior Himself teach us about the role of
fathers?

“The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father
do:
for [whatsoever things He] doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise”
(John
5:19).

“I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me” (John
8

The very Son of God acknowledges and addresses the importance of
fathers,
especially His Father, in the teaching and upbringing of the
human
family.


Okay, now let's talk about why we love and appreciate fathers
more
than all the earth.
So, What is the restored doctrine of
fatherhood?

"Each is a beloved spirit son... of heavenly parents, and, as
such,
each has a divine nature and destiny."(The Family: A Proclamation to
the
The World)
We know that all earthly fathers were part of a family well
before
this earth was formed. We know that parenthood is not only an
earthly
principle. We know that fathers have a "divine nature and
destiny".

What is the "divine nature and destiny" of fathers?

"By divine
design, fathers are to preside over their families in love
and righteousness
and are responsible to provide the necessities of
life and protection for their
families."(The Family: A Proclamation to
the World)
We know that fathers are
divinely appointed to preside in their
families. We know that there are many
responsibilities that come with
fatherhood, and fathers "will be held
accountable before God for the
discharge of these obligations." (The Family: A
Proclamation to the
World)

We also know that because of the restoration of
God's Church it is
"possible for individuals to return to the presence of God
and for
families to be united eternally."(The Family: A Proclamation to
the
World)
We know that being a father is more than a 30-50 year experience.
We
know that fathers can, and will, be fathers forever. Elder Tad R.
Callister
once said, "In the life to come, I do not know if titles
such as bishop or
Relief Society president will survive, but I do know
that the titles of husband
and wife, father and mother, will continue
and be revered, worlds without
end."

So, what do we know about fathers? More than the rest of the
world
combined. We know all the truth that they have, and much more. We
know
better, so we must be better.

I would like to express my love for my
father. My father, who would
give anything and everything for his children. My
father, who taught
me how to work. I would never be who I am today if I had any
other
father, and for that I thank God that I had my father.

To my father,
to my friends, to myself and all who read this E-mail, I
close with the words
of President Ezra Taft Benson, “Remember your
sacred calling as a father in
Israel--your most important calling in
time and eternity--a calling from which
you will never be released.”

Love, Elder Giles

June 15, 2015

Loved ones,

Well, the heat has arrived here in Texas"...and there is none
to
escape...." (D&C 1:2). We did, however, have a break in the heat
yesterday.
It began on our way to Church early in the morning. Just as
we were pulling
into the parking lot, a little bit of rain was falling
on the windshield, we
didn't think too much of it. After we got out of
our meetings, the rain was
coming down pretty bad. Sacrament Meeting
began with only a handful of people
there, and few were filing in as
the meeting progressed. The downfall outside
was continuing to get
worse. Soon, the chapel was being echoed with many phones
going off
with "Severe Alert: Flash Flood Warning" (Let me make this
remark
here: Mom, everyone was okay, no one was injured in this
experience).
The Bishop ran out of the chapel to the backdoor. Why? Well, there
is
a large canal behind the Church, the top of it only a few yards from
the
parking lot.
He returned to report that though the canal was fast-flowing, it
was
not over-flowing. Sacrament Meeting continued, however the whole
time
alerts were beeping on people's phones.
Following Sacrament Meeting, we
went to the second class,'Gospel
Principles'. We enjoyed that class for about
ten minutes until a very
startled looking woman ran in and exclaimed, "The
water is flooding
the parking lot! Everyone needs to leave now!
Awwwhhhhh!!!"
....well, that got people's attention. As I walked out of
the
classroom into the hallway I felt like I was in the middle of
a
'jail-break'. Three wards worth of people were running around like
mad-men,
grabbing their children and trying to survive. The "river"
(It was now a river)
was filling the parking lot and approaching the
Church. Many cars were in the
water, some up to the windshield.
As I walked outside I was surprised to see
firetrucks and ambulances
all around the Church, helping to evacuate the
cars.

........ A memorable day in the Castle Hills ward.


Now to
important things:
--TUI & JODI--
Brother Tui is a less-active, big ol'
Hawaiian who wants to come back
to Church. Jodi is his girlfriend, and she is
incredible!
We met them for the first time last Sunday, as they showed up for
the
first time (I believe I mentioned them in last week's E-maill)
So, we went
over to their house on Wednesday, and had one of the
greatest lessons on my
mission. We taught her the Restoration lesson,
and she understood all of it
almost instantly. For example: After we
taught about the Great Apostasy I asked
her, "Jodi, what would God
have to do to bring back His Church". She instantly
responded, "He
would call a prophet, just like he always as". Good answer.
The
Spirit was incredibly strong throughout the visit, especially as
we taught
about the First Vision. After I taught a little about Joseph
Smith I was about
to recite the First Vision to her, when I felt
prompted to ask Tui to do it.
(Now, Tui is a returned missionary, but
has been completely inactive for over
10 years). Many missionaries
struggle to memorize the First Vision for the
first few weeks, but
here I was being prompted to ask a 10-year inactive member
to recite
it from memory.... well, I asked him.
With tears in his eyes, he
said, "....I saw a pillar of light, exactly
over my head, above the brightness
of the sun which descended
gradually until it fell upon me... When the light
rested upon me I saw
two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all
description,
standing above me in the air.  One of them spake unto me, calling
me
by name and said, pointing to the other, 'this is my Beloved Son,
hear
Him!'"
He quoted it verbatim! Word for word! The Spirit flooded the
room.

Jodi is now set to be baptized :)    (Now we just need to plan
another
wedding...)


Well, I could continue with stories (trust me, I'm
full of stories),
but I will end this E-mail with testimony:
In the 29th
chapter of Alma, verse 10, Alma is praising his God for
all the blessings he
has received while being a missionary, "And
behold, when I see many of my
brethren truly penitent, and coming to
the Lord their God, then is my soul
filled with joy; then do I
remember what the Lord has done for me, yea, even
that he hath heard
my prayer; yea, then do I remember his merciful arm which he
extended
towards me."
I echo the words of Alma. Every time I see people feel
redemption, and
freedom, every time I see people find purpose and clarity in
life,
every time I see people feel the Savior's love, "..then do I
remember
what the Lord has done for me.."

Only in God's Church, can the full
power of the Atonement be accessed.
Thankfully, there was a restoration.
Thankfully, Joseph Smith was a
prophet. Thankfully, we all know these
things.


I love y'all! Save some strawberries and creme for me!
Love, Elder
Giles

June 8, 2015

Hello beloved friends and family,


I hope that y'all are really enjoying spending time with family.
Family is central to God's plan for the happiness of His children, and
it must be central to us as well. I love my family and each of you
individually!


Elder Hendricks and I get along very well. We continue to find and
teach. So many incredible things have been happening in this area. The
recent-converts are all
doing very well. Danny Cavazos loves to help
us teach and to share his
testimony with others!  He was one of the
first people up there yesterday to
share his testimony. Gilbert
Navarro Jr. was ordained a Priest and received the
Aaronic Priesthood
yesterday! Evon Kardos taught part of the Gospel Principles
lesson.
Angelita spent all day Saturday with the Relief Society doing
service.
David Boyd is always one of the first ones in Church, with his
new
suits and ties. I sure do love this ward so much!
Yesterday we met a
less-active member named, "Tui". He used to play
football for BYU, he's a big
Hawaiian. He joined the Air Force and
over the years went inactive. He's now
with a wonderful woman name
Jodi. She wanted to go to a Church on Sunday. He
said, "I'll never go
anywhere besides my Church". So, they showed up to Church
and both
seemed to have a really good time! We are going to start
teaching
Jodi, and help them to both become active members. They are
really
cool and easy to get a long with. I'm excited for this!

EL
TEMPLO:
(The Temple)
This past week we had another wonderful opportunity to
attend the San
Antonio, Texas Temple. Two "zones" of missionaries were able to
go
with our Mission President.
My love for the Temple has increased
hundredfold while on my mission.
The Temple is the goal for these people I
teach. It's not just to get
them to attend Church, or even get them baptized.
It's about preparing
them to endure faithfully to the end. I really felt that
in the Temple
this last week. I want these people to be in the Celestial
room.
I know that the authority of God has been restored, because I feel
it's
power in a very real way. I feel it especially strong in the
House of the Lord,
The Temple.

Following the Temple, we met at a nearby Stake Center and there
we
distributed Ipads to the zone and helped them get started. The
whole
mission now as Ipads.



It's great to hear that you each have
strived to go out of your way to
do something nice for somebody else!!

I love y'all!

Love, Elder
Giles

June 1, 2015

Those whom I love,

Well, this is my first E-mail from my new iPad...

I received that package this week, thank you very much. My new
companion and I
have really enjoyed all of those snacks! I really
appreciate all the letters
and packages I have been receiving, though
I may not respond with a letter in
the mail there are all really
appreciated.

Mom, you look great with that
machine gun in your hands haha. I do not
think you have ever purposefully hurt
even a spider before, but you
would make a great big game hunter

(I am not
used to typing on this wireless keyboard, and it is a little
annoying, so this
letter might be a little shorter than usual)


Well, one of my best friends,
Elder Nebeker, went home this week. It
was actually pretty hard to say goodbye.
I have spent the last 18
weeks with him basically 24/7. He is a great friend,
and a phenomenal
missionary. He had a great love for the people of Texas, and
people
just love him. I look forward too seeing him again.
My newest companion
is Elder Hendricks. He is from Bountiful, Utah. I
didn't know too much about
him before hand. We got to work
immediately, and worked really effectively
together. He is full of
energy, and loves to have fun. He is such a personable
person, and
people love talking to him. We already have a great relationship.
It's
very possible that he will be my last companion in Texas, lucky
number
10!


It sure has been a lot of fun showing Elder Hendricks around
and
introducing him to everyone. All of our recent converts were at
Church
this Sunday, so he saw all of them there. David Boyd was there in a
new
suit, looking very classy. Angelita was one of the first people
there, just to
make sure she wasn't late and could say Hi to everyone.
Gilbert Navarro Jr, was
sustained and received the Aaronic Priesthood.
Danny Cavazos was passing the
Sacrament, for his very first time, and
was the one who passed it to me (which
was such a wonderful
experience!). Evon Kardos was sitting with her young
family surrounded
by all of the many friends that she has in the ward.


I
love the Lord, and al the mercies he has given to me. My entire
mission has
been me being placed in the right place, at the right
time, with the right
people.


We continue to labor. The work continues to progress. We have
some
really incredible people that we are working with right now, I would
like
to ask y'all to pray for:
-Alan & Zanida Garcia
-Saul Garcia (not related to
Alan & Zanida, Garcia is just a VERY
common name in San Antonio)
-The Shaffer
family


THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENT:

Go out of your way to do something kind
for someone.
-Write me and tell me about it (and yes, I am going to do the same
thing)



I love y'all!!
Love, Elder Giles