Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Transfers


I had a great Christmas! I got to go to the Buenos Aires Temple, meet with the whole mission, see all of my friends there, and Skype my family! (The name for the software is derived from "Sky peer-to-peer", which was then abbreviated to "Skyper". However, some of the domain names associated with "Skyper" were already taken. Dropping the final "r" left the current title "Skype", for which domain names were available. Who knew?) 

It was a great week, and the Christmas asado was very good. Also surprise, I'm getting transferred! I have been here in Francisco Alvarez for 3 months and tomorrow I will be going to a new zone called Merlo. I will be more in the city. I have not met my new companion yet but his name is Elder Jameson and I think he is from Utah. 

I do not have much time to email today because we need to go have lunch (Argentine fast food aka empañadas) and pack really fast because I leave tomorrow. I am very excited to go to a new area and meet new people!

Feliz Año Nuevo!! 
Elder Gygi




Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Feliz Navidad!

Merry Christmas Everyone! 
Christmas is... a little different in Argentina. It's not a very calm and peaceful holiday like back in the States. The tradition here is on Christmas Eve, everyone has a huge party all night long with fireworks and food and friends. We will eat dinner and one of the ward members house. The traditional food to eat on Christmas is asado, which is the best food ever. Basically a huge barbecue with steak, ribs, chicken, choripan and also some more fun foods like lenguas (cow tongue) and corazón (cow/chicken heart). I'm very excited!

I found something amazing at church the other day, a copy of the May 2014 General Conference Liahona... in English!!!! Finally I get some talks to read in my own language! I read a great talk by Thomas S. Monson that was all about love that we need to have. A quote by Dale Carnegie that really stuck out to me was this: "Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them for a lifetime." I have seen that in my mission. Just by kindly smiling and saying 'Hola' to someone on the street is guaranteed to make their day a tiny bit better. 

I hope everyone has a very Feliz Navidad! 
Sincerely, Elder Gygi



Monday, December 14, 2015

Everything We Have is Because of Him!

The colder it gets back home, the hotter and more humid it gets here. By now I am used to being sweaty all the time. I feel like we are really working hard. 

Thank you mom and dad for the packages. (Thank you Missionary Packages Argentina for facilitating!) I did not expect Cocoa puffs and Frosted Flakes when I opened it. They are soooo good. The weird thing is that here they don't really eat cereal with milk, we use yogurt. And Frosted Flakes with strawberry yogurt is amazing. (Anyone going to try it?)


Our little branch all went to the temple yesterday. We did not get the chance to go, but some of our investigators went. The L. family had a great experience. They are ready for baptism and everything but need to take care of some personal things first. Anyways, he told me that they loved the temple, even though they were not able to go inside, but just being in the gardens he said he felt the spirit. He went to the visitor's center and purchased a picture of the temple to hang on his wall. He proudly showed us a new book he had bought. "Steps to Addiction Recovery." He told us that has been trying very hard to quit smoking, and he plans to use this book to help him. I am very proud of him.

I love seeing families come closer to Christ. Especially in this Christmas season. I remember that everything we have is because of Him.

Sincerely,
Elders Vance, Furtado and Gygi 
Elder Gygi

Post Script from Jared:
In Argentina, Christmas is not a nice, quiet, family holiday. It is a huge party with fireworks and games. The traditional food to eat is asado, (Argentine bbq) which I am very excited about. My new companion, Elder Vance is very fun. He is from Gilbert, Arizona and went to Perry High School. I went to a few football games there. We talk about stuff we remember from Arizona, like ASU sports, Tia Rosa's, Mexican food, and other stuff. He reminds me very much of Taylor, in the way that he can remember any sport statistic and player ever. On the 23rd we have a mission meeting for Christmas where we will get to go the temple as a mission.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Surprise! New Companion!


Adiós Elder Huefner
It was a crazy week! I randomly received a new companion this week because Elder Huefner went home early! (He was due to be released on December 30) He and I were doing weekly planning and we got a call from President Robertson saying he was in front of our apartment and wanted to come talk to us. He came in and said that Elder Huefner was going to go home 3 weeks early so that he could be with his family for Christmas! He had about an hour to pack and we left for the mission offices. There I received my new comp and said goodbye to Elder Huefner. I'm grateful that he was my trainer. Everyone says he was one of the best in the mission!


Nuevo compañero Elder Vance
My new companion is Elder Vance, from Gilbert, Arizona! He lives like 25 minutes from me! He is way cool. He has about 9 months in the mission. He got flashed to my area. It all happened crazy fast! He was going to have a baptism last Saturday in his last area, so we got special permission from President to go to it! It was about 3 hours away. The man being baptized, J. is from Nigeria. He doesn't speak any Spanish. He came to Argentina looking for work. He got here and found one of the missionaries, Elder Peterson (a buddy of mine from the MTC), and asked if he knew of a church around here. He wanted to find the true church. This Elder took him to the church building and showed him around. Six weeks later he was baptized. The whole baptismal service was done in Spanish and then translated to English for him. I got to sit next to him and translate what was going on. It was an awesome experience. At the end, he bore his testimony. He said "I am new in this country and I have no friends or family here. I do not even speak the language. I have nothing here. But I know that this church is true. You all are my new family." The spirit was so strong. I have a testimony of sacrifice. If we sacrifice, and endure our trials with faith, I know that the Lord will bless us.

Sincerely, Elder Gygi

A note from Elder Gygi to a very dear friend of his that loves him and supports him ;) 
You wanna know what I’m getting for Christmas this year? 45 minutes to Skype with my family. And that is probably the best present I could ever get. A lot people think it is really hard to leave everything for 2 years and come to a different country. But I see it differently. I have had a very blessed life up until this point. And when I get home, I will continue to live a very blessed life. But for 2 years, I get the opportunity to share a message with people, I have personally seen how happy these people are when I teach them about God and Jesus Christ. And that is what will make this my favorite Christmas ever.

Monday, November 30, 2015

Fear Not


I’ve learned that time is weird on a mission. I said something to my companion the other day like "Hey Elder what did we teach that family yesterday?" and he replies "Elder we haven’t taught those guys in a week." Time just flies by, (Tempus fugit). I can’t believe that I have been on my mission for three months. Feels like I just left. 
Elder Huefner and I went to the Argentine black market today. That was a fun experience. I bought a BOCA jersey for 170 pesos! It was a $70 jersey that I bargained for and got it at $17. It was super fun.
We had a kind of tough week. A couple days ago, we were just getting rejected by everyone. No one wanted to hear what we had to say. It was tough but the scriptures say, "There must needs be opposition in all things." I would never learn to appreciate the good days without experiencing the bad ones. Our family of investigators, familia R. set a date to get married on 30 Dec! That means that they are set for baptism in early January. I’m so excited for them and we have seen a huge conversion take place. 
I found my new favorite saying in the scriptures. It is found in my favorite scripture, DyC 6:36. "Look unto the Lord in every thought; doubt not, fear not." The phrase 'fear not' sounds like it could be on a Nike shirt. I love that phrase. To me, it means that no matter what happens to me, I never have any reason to be afraid. Because I know that the Lord is on my side. Reminds of David and Goliath. No one wanted to fight this huge guy, but David said, "I'm fighting with the Lord on my side, how could I lose?" I know these things are true.
When I say my area is out in campo, this is what I mean. We’re in the middle of nowhere. Instead of Francisco Alvarez, my comp calls it Francisco Mars.
Con amor,
Elder Gygi

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Sunshine In My Soul

Missionary Trasportation
It rained like crazy this week, our bikes are so muddy. The other day, our bikes were broken (a weekly occurrence), and it was raining super hard, lightning and everything. We were pushing our bikes through mud and water. This whole time I was singing, "There is Sunshine In My Soul Today." The mission has really taught me to be positive and look at the bright side of things. Every time a challenge arises, or something seems hard, I remember the story of Nephi, Laman and Lemuel. The Lord had commanded them to retrieve the brass plates from the wicked King Laban. Laman and Lemuel said, in effect, "No we don't wanna do that, it's too hard." But Nephi stood tall and replied, "I will go and do the things which the Lord has commanded." When I first arrived in Argentina, I thought to myself that I had the attitude of Laman and Lemuel. "This language is too hard, I'm too tired to study, I don't want to exercise at 6:30 in the morning." But as I've tried to adapt and learn, I've felt more like Nephi. Now when a challenge arises, I think to myself "This will make a sweet story."


Venezia's Pizza?
Remember how we didn't end up giving talks in sacrament meeting last week? Well we gave them in yesterday's meeting. It actually went really well. At the start of my talk I said that I was still learning Spanish and I'm sorry if it's hard to understand me. After I finished, I sat down and a man came up to who I hadn't met before. He says, in English, "Elder Gygi, don't be so hard on yourself, your Spanish is great. I understood everything and it was a fantastic talk." After talking with him, I found out that he went to BYU and learned English there. He has even visited Mesa Arizona before.
Mary, Our Lady of Luján Basilica




Luján is famous for this Basilica and its shrine of Mary

I know this is the Lord's work.
Elder Gygi

Monday, November 16, 2015

A Little Jaunt to Capitál

I finished my first 6 weeks! Transfer are this week, Elder Huefner and I are both staying here in Francisco Alvarez. Which I kind of expected, it doesn't make sense to move when he only has a month left in the mission. 
Also called the Cowboy Roll
I had to go to Capitál (downtown Buenos Aires) this week for tramités (not sure what that is in English but it's basically my government paperwork to stay in Argentina). [It translates to formalities, procedure or as we know it "red tape."] It was fun to be in a big city. Picture Paris mixed with New York but everyone speaks Spanish. I had to travel around to all the government buildings to do paperwork. I also had to bring a bedroll to sleep on. I felt homeless haha just walking around a huge city with another guy my age with a blanket and pillow! I was with a different Elder this whole time. I was with Elder Enriquez from Mexico. He doesn't speak English. While we were there, we got to eat at McDonald's!! It was the best thing ever! It's exactly like home. [FYI, Jared had 2 Quarter Pounder's and a Big Mac!! What?!!! Where'd he put all that food?!!]

The family we have been teaching, familia R., is going to get married so they can be baptized! We're super excited for that. 
Yesterday in church, Elder Huefner and I were asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting. We were asked 1 hour before the meeting started if we would talk about missionary work. I thought OK maybe I can do that."How long do we need to talk for?" "30 or 40 minutes" Seriously???  I was very nervous. I did not even have a notebook with me to write down some thoughts. All I had was a pen and my Spanish Book of Mormon. I opened up to the last blank age in the book and wrote some notes of what I wanted to talk about. During the sacrament, I was still very nervous. I said a prayer asking God to help me because I still do not speak the language fluent enough give a long talk. I felt the spirit and was very comforted. The words of a scripture came very clearly to my mind. It was "I will be on your right side and on your left, I will lift you up." [D&C84:88] I'm not even sure where that scripture is, but that is what I felt. I knew I would be able to give this talk. I was all prepared to get up to the stand and talk, but others were already on the stand. I was a little confused. 4 other members ended up giving talks and I didn't have to. Even when the Lord knew that I would not have to give a talk, He still comforted me. I know that He will always help us when we need it.

Sincerely,
Elder Gygi
Elder Gygi and Luján Zoneleaders

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

The Handlebar Miracle

The electrician
I want to share a miracle that happened this week! This week started out not too good. My bike handle bars broke, but only on one side. So I had been riding with one handlebar for like 2 days. Then our electricity went out. I was confused as to why we were having these trials when we were working so hard. Some men came to fix our electricity and found that they didn't have a part that they needed. We searched our apartment for something that would work. The guy saw my broken handlebar and said that he could cut it and use the pipe to fix the electricity. My broken bike became useful later. I know that I went through a challenge in order to strengthen my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father loves and looks out for his children.
Jared's twin Elder Millet 
A sister in our branch had a dream the other night that she told us about. In this dream, she saw a friend of hers. She felt that he needed to hear our message. She asked us to visit him. So we did. He and his family are from Paraguay. He is 28 years old. We taught him the story of Joseph Smith and the Restoration. This man and his family, who had no knowledge of our church, said that our message was very clear and even sounded familiar. We have an appointment to return and teach them more. It was cool to be used by the Lord to bring this message to them.
December is Elder Huefner´s last month in the mission. He wanted to set a high goal that would make us work hard. We prayed and decided on the goal of 20 baptisms for that month. It will be tough. But I have faith that if we are obedient, repentant, and work our best that the Lord will respect and help us with our goal.
I love the work here. I love the people. There is no joy equal to that of sharing the message of the Atonement of Jesus Christ with God´s children. 
Elder Gygi


Why do boys send their moms these types of apartment photos?

Monday, November 2, 2015

A Good Week!

It was a good week! We had a baptism! Her name is R. and she is 70 y/o. The Elders before me were teaching her but stopped because she needed to quit smoking. Elder Huefner and I were riding our bikes and saw her on the street and stopped to talk to her. She told us that hadn´t smoked anymore and really wanted to get baptized. We started teaching her again and the baptism was great. The water was freezing! Her brother was the one who baptized her.

I got to go on splits with the Elders from the area next to us. My companion for the day was Elder Oyarce. He is from Chilé and speaks no English! I really had to use my Spanish that day. It was very fun. Oh and our power went out on Friday. I thought it would only last a few minutes like back home when the power went out every once in a while. But minutes turned to hours, and then to days. We had no hot water for like 2 days. So to shower, we had to heat up water on the stove. It wasn´t ideal but hey at least I have a sweet story to tell! I´ve learned that Argentines have really creative insults, Like this one said I look like Captain America before he was experimented on hahaha I was laughing at that one. Oh and I finally got attacked by a dog! This big pit bull just knocks me over from behind and tries to bite me. I stood up and picked up a rock and it ran away. It was crazy.
Also, soccer is nuts here. We were in a lesson yesterday and then I just heard fireworks go off. I was confused so I asked the guy what was happening. He said that BOCA just scored. (There are two major teams in Buenos Aires, BOCA and River, I´m a BOCA fan). As we were walking home, people are in the streets just yelling, everyone is honking their horns, Everyone´s radio is on full volume. You can hear the game anywhere you are.

Last story, we almost got robbed. We were riding our bikes and a guy on a motorcycle comes up to and says "give me your phone." We were just like wait, what? He says "I´ve got a gun and I´m gonna shoot you if you don't give me your phone." I was just thinking, "this guy is riding a motorcycle, how is he going to take our phone and hold a gun at that same time without letting go of the handlebars" haha. We just quickly turned down a street and rode away quickly. It was kind of funny.

I totally forgot that was Halloween yesterday. I was laying in bed and I said to Elder Huefner, "Hey I think it´s Halloween today." I am definitely improving in my Spanish. I can talk and understand much better than when I got here. I actually have trouble talking English sometimes. Elder Huefner goes home on December 30. He is from Bountiful Utah. His personality is to always follow the spirit. Like we will be late for an appointment and he´ll say "Elder, stop I feel like we should knock on this door." (By the way they don't knock on doors here. We stand at the gate and clap a few times).

I realized how great our ward back home really is. I sat in sacrament meeting and saw maybe 40 people there and I remembered how packed the whole building was at my farewell. And no one cleans the building at all here. We have no ward council or mission leader to work with. It gets frustrating trying to work with members because they don´t want to come to lessons with us or anything. I´m grateful for the ward back home. (Shout out to Las Sendas!!! Another lesson learned for a future leader...) 

Well, I keep seeing more miracles every day!

Yo soy Elder Gygi

Monday, October 26, 2015

Passport Peace

Hola everyone!
We had a great week! It is still pretty cold here. I wanted to share an experience that I had a while ago but never shared. Yesterday my companion and I were teaching the Gospel Essentials class in church (The branch is small and there are no teachers). We taught about prayer and I remembered something that happened a while ago. This happened on the day I left the MTC in Utah. Our whole group of missionaries made it safely to the Atlanta airport. I had about 45 minutes until our flight for Buenos Aires left. I called my family and talked for about 15 minutes and then got some dinner. It came time to get in line to board the plane. So I was standing in line and was going through my papers to make sure everything was in order. I had my boarding pass and my baggage claims but I could not find my passport. I searched every pocket in my suit. I looked under every chair I had sat in and every hallway I had walked in at that airport. I could not find it. There was not much time left to board the plane. I knew that if I did not have my passport I would not be able to leave. I felt that I needed to pray. I sat down in the middle of this busy terminal and prayed that I would be able to make it on the plane. Immediately after, I felt calm and I knew that everything would be alright. I received a prompting to just get back in line. Nervous, but with faith, I followed the prompting. I was almost to the front of line when a sister missionary in front of me opened her purse and pulled out my passport. She said that she had no idea how she got it. My testimony of prayer grew so much stronger that day. I know that the Lord answers our prayers in His own ways. It would´ve been to easy if I had ended my prayer and my passport was sitting right in front of me. I needed to have my faith tested to follow a prompting. I am grateful for this miracle I had.
We have found some new investigators this week! We also have a baptism this Saturday! Her name is R. and she is about 65. We taught her a few times in the past weeks but she couldn´t quit smoking so we didn´t visit her for a week. We were riding our bikes and saw her on the road and stopped to talk to her. She told us that she hasn´t had a cigarette at all the last week and she wants to be baptized! We are very excited for her.
Mom, in case you don't believe about the food here, I wrote down some of the meals members made for us this week. 

-Tarta (baked veggie pie) with pork chops
-Milanesa sandwiches (milanesas are like really thin breaded and fried chicken breast)
-Chicken, beef, and ham & cheese empañadas with Dulce de Leche cake
-Argentine pizza
-Real chicken soup (they cook a whole chicken in the pot and fill it with veggies and broth)

I´m very happy to be serving the people here.

Yo soy Elder Gygi

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

¡Felis Día de la Madre!

Holá!
Elder Gygi is the "son" of Elder Huefner
We've been teaching some great families. One family we found, the R. family, is progressing very fast. On our first lesson with them, we left a Book of Mormon and asked them to read and pray about. We came back a few days later and asked how it went. The mom said she read it and doesn't even need to pray about it, she just knows it is true. They accepted a baptismal date for the 21 of November on the first day. I'm excited to keep teaching them. Plus they always give us matté cocido and these Argentine snacks that are kind of like big, sugary donut holes. Every family we gives visit us food. 
Yesterday was Argentinian Mother's Day, so mom ¡Felis Día de la Madre!
No one here can say my name correctly, so I do not even bother trying to correct anyone. They all call me Elder She-She, pronounced with a slurred g.
My companion Elder Huefner got really sick this week, we think it is because he drank some tap water. He is doing much better now though.
My bike keeps breaking haha so I keep having to go get it fixed. But that gives me an opportunity to work on my Spanish and learn how to use pesos! They have really good candy here. There are ones called Alfajores, They are like 2 crumbly cookies with Dulce de Leche in between them then covered in chocolate. I don´t know if you can find them in the states, maybe on amazon or something.
Like I said last week, we are in the area of Francisco Alvarez, which is about 30 minutes from Luján. There is branch here at about 60-70 members. They are very nice. We do have a small church building here. It is surrounded by a tall gate and has bars on all the windows. Every house has barred windows here.
I had a much better week this week. I am not as homesick as I was. I´m sacrificing my time to help bring others to Christ. I have felt the joy of the gospel in my life and now i ave the responsibility to share it with others.
Yo soy Elder Gygi
Luján Zone


Monday, October 12, 2015

I'm Finally Here

I´m finally here! Argentina is great! It´s a huge culture shock for me. It´s so different from home. Stray dogs are literally everywhere. Cactus are to Arizona as dogs are to Argentina. They're usually not mean though so that´s good. But I've seen some huge Rottweiler's. 
We have had lunch a few times at member's homes. They always feed us great pasta, I love it. My first meal was some noodles with some kind of meat in it. I asked the Dad what it was and he said that a cat killed some chicken and dragged it into the backyard so they cut off the bad parts and cooked it up. Hahaha! luckily I had already finished my plate. 
My companion/trainer is Elder Huefner. He´s from Utah but he´s half Argentine. He´s been on his mission for 22 months. I´m learning a ton from him. 
Basilica of Our Lady of Luján
We are out in what´s called El Campo, which means the field. It´s not the city like other parts of the mission. We're in a town called Luján in an area called Francisco Alvarez. We have bikes too! I was very happy to find that out. But then I saw them. Haha! They are so rusty and dirty but it´s OK because no one will be likely to steal them. This is a relatively safe, but poor area. The people here are very humble. 
We currently have 7 investigators with a baptismal date. We taught the L. family last week. They live in a house that they pretty much built themselves from mud and bricks. They are from Paraguay so they only speak Spanish at about my level, haha! Which is good for me but frustrating for my companion. The Dad can´t read so we taught them the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation with pictures I drew! It was way cool.
I´ve already seen tons of miracles. I may be a bit homesick but I know this is where the Lord wants me to be.

Yo soy Elder Gygi

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Jared Has Arrived in Argentina

Dear Family and Friends of Elder Jared Gygi,

We are writing to inform you that your missionary, Elder Gygi, has arrived safely in the Argentina Buenos Aires West Mission. We have enjoyed becoming acquainted with him and are excited to be serving together.

Thank you for the sacrifices you are making at home to have a missionary in the field. We know the Lord blesses and cares for the families of the missionaries.

Warmest regards,         
                            
President David P. Robertson and Hermana Julie Robertson

President & Sister Robertson with Jared at the Buenos Aires LDS Temple

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Final MTC Letter

Hey I'm writing my letter today because I don't have a P-day this week. It would be tomorrow but it's General Conferencia so no P-day tomorrow. I finally leave the MTC on Monday! I'm so excited to get to Argentina. I have a 3.5 hour flight to Atlanta and then an 10 hour flight to Buenos Aires. I will have a layover for about 2 hours in Atlanta so I'll call Dad and Mom and talk for a while. I think I'm most excited for the restaurants in the airport that I can eat at. (Sounds like Smashburger and Krispy Kreme requests!)
On average, it takes about 5 years for a person to become fluent in a language. Our district just did it in 6 weeks. OK, yeah maybe we are not fluent but we're to the point where we won't be hopelessly lost trying to hold a conversation. I'm just amazed at how much the Lord has blessed us
MTC District
Oh yeah it's my birthday on Sunday!! Thank you Mom and Dad for the packages! The coat you sent is way warmer than my other one. I said goodbye to our two teachers today, Hermano Savio and Hermana Imbler. They are both so awesome and we're like family now. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had for them to teach me. Elder Claudio R.M. Costa came to speak to us. He has such a crazy conversion story. The misioneros came to him and asked him to read and pray about the story of Joseph Smith. He decided to read each paragraph and pray about each one. After 14 hours of studying, he knew the church was true. The next day he found the misioneros and told them that he needed to be baptized and that he had no time to waste. They told him that he needed to be taught all the lessons first and then go have an interview with the Mission president. He said "OK, teach me right now and then I'll go talk to him and then you can baptize me." He is a very funny guy. 

I'm looking forward to calling home. My next letter will be from Argentina!

Yo soy Elder Gygi

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Week 5

I should stop putting week numbers on these emails because it feels like I've been out way longer than 5 weeks. I'm doing a lot better from my concussion. I've been cleared by the doctor so I should be all good now. I realized this week that singing in Spanish is way more fun than English. The words just sound so cool. Elder Brockbank's ankle is much better. He is emailing his right next to me and he just turns to me and goes "What, my sister is getting married. She makes me sick to my stomach." Hahaha it was really funny. You'd think that by 5 weeks I'd be sick of the food here, but I'm not. It's still super good. (He said he's gained 5 pounds!!)

Nothing crazy exciting happened this week. We've still been teaching people. A few new people. They want us to talk to people from outside the United States so we taught this one sister from Mexico City over Skype. It was way cool. She was also an English professor at the college there so she understood us pretty well. We also taught a girl from El Salvador. She is here at BYU learning English. It was a very good lesson.

I've been watching lots of old conference talks in preparation for General Conference next week. I'm very excited for that! Plus my birthday is next Sunday! (In Argentina, the birthday child receives a pull on the earlobe for each year they have been alive.) And then we leave for Argentina the next day. I only have one full week left here. Our flight is so long. It's 3.5 hours from Salt Lake to Atlanta and then 10 hours from Atlanta to Buenos Aires. I'm not looking forward to that. I guess I'll have a lot of time to study Spanish before I'm thrown into it. I'm not prepared to go to a place where there is no English. Oh well though, I just have to keep studying.

I'm glad to hear that some of you took my challenge to read Ether 12! That is one of my favorite chapters and it has definitely helped me here.
I'm looking forward to finally leaving Utah. I've had a ton of fun here. I saw one my good friends from school here! Elder Skabeland aka Gibby! It was great to see him! Love and miss everyone!

Yo soy el Elder Gygi
Elders Gygi and Gibby



Sunday, September 20, 2015

The Problems with PE at the MTC

Buenos Días! I had a good week this week, aside from a bunch of doctor’s appointments. Last Saturday I was playing soccer in our zone tournament and I had the ball on a fast break but someone stole it and I tried to get it back but he kicked it away. As he kicked it, I jumped to block it and took the ball straight to my face haha. I had a pretty bad headache after that. But at least I blocked his kick. On Monday I was still having headaches so we went to doctor and he told me that I definitely have a concussion. He gave me some medicine for the headaches and a muscle relaxant to help with some neck and jaw pain. It's been hard because with a concussion I'm not allowed to study Spanish, read scriptures, or participate in gym time. On the bright side, I have a lot of time to watch talks on LDS.org so that's good. My short-term memory is so bad right now. Everyone in the district keeps joking with me saying stuff like "What? You don't remember that?"  I'm slowly recovering and doing much better.
This is Elder Morgan. His mom's side of the family are all Gygi's. We found out that we have the same great-great-great grandpa, Rudolf Gygi. So we are 4th cousins or something.
 Elder Brockbank was playing basketball on Monday in another zone tournament and he fell and rolled his ankle. We went to the doctor and got it x rayed and he tore a ligament. So Elder Wilson is the only healthy one in our companionship haha.

Our Tuesday night devotional was given by Sister Rosemary Wixom, the general primary president. She gave a good talk about missionary work and listening to spirit, which I had an experience with the other day. We were teaching a new investigator, J. We had a whole lesson prepared but Elder Brockbank felt prompted to ask her the question,” Have you experienced any difficult trials?" J. then told us about a time in her life when she was very depressed and on medication. She took too much and ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks. She asked us why God would allow this to happen to her. I then felt an impression to open my Book of Mormon to Ether chapter 12. I did and I was looking for what I was supposed to say. Verse 6 caught my eye, it's all about faith and trials. I asked her to read it for me. She did and just started crying. I bore my testimony to her that we need to have faith in order to endure our trials and we will receive blessings. I want to challenge you all to read Ether 12, and keep in mind while reading it, a trial that you are going through. I know that if you do, you will receive an answer to what you are supposed to do. I know that God is real and loves us because there is no way that I would have been able to give that entire lesson in fluent Spanish without His help.
Sister Ellis and my mom are on Argentina Missionary Moms Facebook page. She noticed my name tag and introduced herself. She returned from Argentina BAW mission 2 months ago. 
I just got back from the Provo temple this morning. We were eating breakfast in the cafeteria and I saw a few elders sitting at another table. One of them looked to have some sort of medical condition that gave him a pretty bad limp and his hands were constantly shaking. I've seen him here on campus before. He and his companion were just eating. A few minutes later, an older man walks in on crutches and he was struggling to hold his tray of food. He set his tray down and started eating by himself. The younger elder with the limp stood up, walked over to this man, and asked if he would like to join him and his companion at their table. The older man said yes and went to pick up his tray of food to move it. Before he could pick it up, the young elder grabbed it and took it his table, very slowly, so his hands would not shake, and the older man could use his crutches. For some reason I was just amazed at this tiny act of service. This elder didn't let his condition stop him from serving a mission and helping people. That, to me, is the exact definition of charity. Just pure Christlike, selfless service.

Thank you mom and dad for the packages! IBC Root Beer is my favorite (way to call that one, Dad!!). I love all the letters you have sent me!

Yo soy el Elder Gygi
Weekly Tie Trade! 

Saturday, September 12, 2015

The Church is True!


Good Morning!

This week pretty much just flew by. Our investigator Señor G accepted our invitation to be baptized! I'm so happy for him. I don't remember if I’ve told you about him or not. He is a nice 60-year-old Chilean guy. He's pretty funny because if we can't remember a Spanish word for something I’ll just say it in English and he'll just tell us the Spanish word haha. During our last lesson with him, we felt that we should ask him if he has had any experiences with prayer. He then told us this story about how his oldest son has cancer and was in the hospital for a while. Due to his treatment, he couldn't sleep for a long time. So Señor G and his son said a real, sincere prayer asking Heavenly Father to let him get some rest. Immediately after saying amen, he fell asleep. We told him how grateful we were that he shared that with us and bore our testimonios that prayer will strengthen his relationship with God. Those are the moments that I know I made the right choice to serve a mission. I love hearing people share personal moments like that. I love feeling the spirit and watching other people feel it too.



Last Tuesday at our devotional, we heard from President Gerald Causse, of the presiding church bishopric, and his wife. They gave fantastic talks all about missionary work. And to end his talk he walked over to a piano and played an arrangement of the hymn "Come, Come Ye Saints." It was so cool and unexpected. 

Oh I’m getting better at volleyball! I play it everyday at gym time. A few of the elders I play with are going to go BYU for volleyball so they're really good and I’m not haha but it's still way fun. Also p-days are awesome. And so are Sundays. We have Sacrament meeting and then priesthood meeting, too. Our tripanionship taught the lesson last Sunday. Luckily it only had to be in English, though. I've been having dreams in Spanish for like 2 weeks now! haha

Red Mountain High School graduates Sister Boren & Elder Gygi

I'm going to send out some letters in the mail later today to friends. I love it here at the MTC. It's hard but worth it. Joseph B. Worthlin said, "Come what may and love it." I believe that the way we react to adversity is a major factor in how happy and successful we can be. My high school marine bio teacher put it best: life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. My companions and I had some tough moments this week. We were all kind of annoyed because we had a ton of lessons to prepare. But we got everything done and talked it out and now we are all good again. 

Yo se que esta iglesia es verdadero.

Yo soy el Elder Gygi




Saturday, September 5, 2015

Teaching Week 2


Hey Everyone!

This week felt like it went by so fast! I have been so busy with all these Spanish classes. Sorry if my grammar or spelling is messed, I’m not really in English mode. 

Our district and zone are doing great. We all get along so well. I'm amazed at how fast we can learn the language. Our companionship has taught two investigators already. We had 5 lessons with a girl named Lizbeth and 2 with Gabriel. All in Spanish. We had a great spiritual experience with Lizbeth. As we were teaching the last lesson to her, I was using words that I didn't even know that I knew. 

Last weekend we got to go the temple and we will get to go again today. Sunday was great as well. We got to watch a video of a devotional given by David A. Bednar to the missionaries a few years ago. It was all about Christ and how we can become more like him. In the video, he says that we need to stop thinking of ourselves. Christ never thought of his own needs over someone else's. That made me realize why I really want to serve a mission. This mission never was, is, or will be about me. It's all about the people that I will get to go help. 

Oh I joined the MTC choir! My one companion Elder Wilson was happy to go with me but our other comp Elder Brockbank doesn't like to sing haha but we dragged him along too. We got to sing at the devotional on Tuesday night. Every Tuesday a general authority or someone from the church gets to come and speak to us. This week we were so lucky because we got to hear from Dallin H. Oaks and his wife. They gave fantastic talks all about how to teach by the Spirit and also why we should use the Plan of Salvation is our lessons. One impression that I felt while listening to Sis. Oaks talk was that we should always be an example and act righteously because we never who is watching and looking up to us. 


Our branch is so lucky to have an awesome branch presidency. President Swenson served as a mission president in Chile a few years ago back when the earthquakes happened there. He is such a rock solid guy. Thank you everyone for all of your emails (jared.gygi@myldsmail.net) and letters (Elder Jared Gygi, OCT06 ARG-BAW, 2005 N 900 E Unit 121, Provo, UT 84604) and packages! Every time I get something it feels even better than Christmas. One of the elders in our hall said he'd rather get a package than have his birthday hahaha. I'll try and take more pictures this week! Love everyone.

Yo soy el Elder Gygi

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Elders and Cousins!

Elder Hunt and Elder Gygi
I received a photo from my sister, Michele of our boys at the MTC. Gotta love this!

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Week 1

My 3 Suns!!
Hey Everyone!

My first few days here have been awesome! I love my companions. I am in a trio companionship. Elder Brockbank is from Alpine, Utah and he is like 6'4. He is going to the same mission as me. Elder Wilson is from Heber, Utah and he also like 6'4. hahaha He is going to the Texas, Lubbock mission. I feel so small standing in between them. 
Our district is already so close. There are 9 Elders and 3 Sisters. I've only been here for 4 days now but I have learned more Spanish than 2 years of high school. 
Yesterday our tripanionship had to teach our first investigator... in Spanish. It was a pretty rough lesson and even though I could barely understand what was being said I could totally feel the spirit so strongly. I've realized how much we have to rely on the spirit to teach. We have a follow up appointment with her tonight. Our teacher only ever speaks in Spanish so I have to learn fast to understand what we're supposed to be doing. 
Today is Saturday and it is my prep day. Our entire zone is having a big soccer game today so I am looking forward to that. I just love the atmosphere here. Everyone is so kind and helpful. 
Oh I've seen my cousin Conner a bunch of times already! There's no one else here that I knew before but I’ve met a bunch of people who went to the other high schools in Mesa so that was cool. 8 out of the 12 people in our district our going to Argentina as well. 
Thank you for the packages! All the other elders in our hall were so jealous that I've already gotten so much food. Please send more, it's like Christmas when I get a package! And love getting letters as well. 

Elder Jared Gygi
OCT06 ARG-BAW
2005 N 900 E Unit 121
Provo, UT 84604

I was informed that on Sundays, 4 people from our zone are randomly selected to give a talk in sacrament meeting in Spanish. So I need to go write one later today in case I get picked. 
If you have any questions for me, email them and I'll be sure to answer them next week. 

jared.gygi@myldsmail.net

I couldn't figure out how to upload pictures, so sorry, haha. I’ll try to figure that out too. I love it here and I'm so happy for the decision that I’ve made to serve.

Yo soy el Elder Gygi

Fabulous Friends!
Saying Good bye to Otto