June 20, 2016

Hello Everyone!

Well, this week is transfer week. On the bright side Elder Vega and I will both be staying here in Monsefu. This week we were able to find a few more investigators. One of our investigators came to church with us yesterday, his name is Sandro and he is 19 years old. It’s a funny story how we got to know him. Usually every day lots of people make fun of me in the streets because I'm white, "gringo". Sometimes, they try practicing their english which can be a bad or a good thing haha. I decided that every person that makes fun of me I'm going to talk to them. You should see the faces of some of these people when I turn around and start walking in their direction. Almost everyone gets really timid and scared.  Well, Sandro is one of these people that was making fun of me! Over the weeks, we have become to be great friends and this week he came to church with us. He is a “moto taxista” and gives us rides for free and sometimes we even eat hamburgers together, it’s super fun. I'm learning to be more bold and standing up for our beliefs. I know that everyone has the light of Christ in them. As missionaries it’s our privilege to help everyone find that light of Christ within them. Sometimes the best way to help others recognize the light of Christ is to simply show the light of Christ within you. I know that charity truly is the pure love of Christ.

Love,

Elder Goold

May 16, 2016

Hello Everyone!

This week was a little hard. We are still trying to find some receptive, humble investigators. The search is on! We have one good investigator named Cesar. He came to church yesterday and loved it! He wants to change his life around and he is showing how faith is a principle of action. The only hard part is that he is a fisherman and leaves on long trips to go fishing. I'm planning on going on his fishing trips with him, so I can fish for men and fish. haha! 

This week, I was pulling a white shirt out of our dresser when I looked at my side of the dresser and then my companions side,(My companion Elder Vega is from Bolivia and is one of 16 children.) and I noticed how my companion didn't have very many ties and my side was filled to the brim with ties. The spirit hit me so strongly of all the blessings I have in my life. Also of all the small things we fail to see that we can do to help those that are the closest to us. I slowly started to take ties out of my side of the dresser and put them in his. I don't know how many times I have opened up that dresser drawer with out realizing the service that needed to be done. I would like to encourage you all to not let daily routine blind you of simple things we can do to help others. 

Love,

Elder Goold

May 2, 2016

Hello Friends and Family,

This week, I was able to visit the beach and do a work visit in Pemintel. It was a really fun experience. I spent the day with Elder Lagrava from Bolivia. He is our district leader and an amazing missionary. I learned so much from him and I can't wait for the next work visit. He taught me about the importance of using scriptures in our lessons. He knows the scriptures really well and uses them to answer our investigators questions and concerns. It’s way more powerful than using our own words to describe or answer a question. It makes me a little angry that I never took seminary and the scripture masteries seriously. This week, I have been busy making flash cards of all the scriptures masteries to increase my knowledge of the scriptures. Also this week we had the baptism of Paola. President Williams told us that he was coming to our baptism, so I was a little stressed out. Especially because President Williams is very punctual and the Peruvian people have their own standard of time. To plan well, I told everyone that the baptism started "30" minutes earlier and I also went to their houses and talked to them about the importance of being on time. Sadly, I wasn't surprised when everyone still showed up 30 minutes late. On the bright side, I still love the people so much and of course we are still working to improve punctuality haha. President Williams never showed up at the baptism. Don't know if that was a blessing or a bad thing. The baptism did go very well after everything finally got started just 30 minutes late! Oh, gotta love Peruvian Standard Time. Paola is the first in her family to get baptized. We are now working with her husband. He works a lot and it’s really hard to get a hold of him. We are not giving up though. I would like to remind you all to read your scriptures with a purpose and memorize the parts you like. You never know when a scripture can help and bless the life of someone else.      

Love, Elder Goold

April 25, 2016 - Area #4, Monsefu

This week was really busy and a little stressful.

This week we had two baptisms planned. One of the baptisms, I prepared the same day I got here. That was a little stressful because I didn't know anyone here in the Monsefu branch. Thanks to our amazing ward mission leaders, we were able to plan everything well and the baptism was a very spiritual experience for everyone. I love this branch of Monsefu. We have two recently returned missionaries that help us out so much. They understand how everything works and they also leave with us to teach our investigators. It has been a huge blessing. Hermana Claudia was baptized Tuesday. She is the third member in her family to be baptized. Right now, we are teaching her younger sister who has lots of concerns about being baptized. We plan on working a lot with her and I'm sure we can help her gain a testimony and want to be baptized. The other baptism that was planned for this week; I postponed. I felt like she needs to understand a few more things before her baptism. Her name is Paola and I feel like she will be ready to be baptized by the end of this week. Monsefu is really pretty and its not as hot as Chiclayo, so I'm really happy. For district meeting, we get to travel to Pimental. It’s about 40 minutes away but we get to drive along the beach for a good portion of the trip. It was super fun this week to be able to see the ocean. I plan on taking some pictures. Also this week, we cleaned out the other Elders room. Looks like Elder Vega and I will have the entire city to ourselves for awhile. I'm almost positive that we have the biggest area in the Chiclayo mission. I know the Lord blesses us when we are obedient to his commandments. I know that He lives and loves us. Heavenly Father gave us so much including his only son Jesus Christ. I know that only through Jesus Christ, we can become clean and pure. This gospel is a gospel of change and happiness. Something I have learned on the mission is how to slow down and realize all the many blessings from our Heavenly Father and to remember to give thanks for those blessings. I love being a missionary! It makes me so happy to share my testimony and help lift the burdens of others. I love telling people that there is so much hope in this life and that they have so much potential to do great things. We live here on earth but we really do have a celestial purpose.        

Elder Goold

April 18, 2016

This week has been really interesting and fun.

Elder Jones and I finally started to get things moving in Emperio. We had two great investigadors Ernan y Alfonzo that came to church. They both accepted baptismal dates and we are working with them to get clean and keep the commandments. To my great surprise, the assistants called me and told me that I have an emergency transfer. I only had three weeks in Emperio, but it was a really fun experience opening a new area. I'm so grateful to have been able to spend these three awesome weeks with Elder Jones. I learned so much from him. He is an amazing elder. He works harder than any elder I have ever known. We took advantage of every minute we had, and we never wasted time. Although it was sad to leave it wasn't as sad as leaving Villa Hermosa because I only had three weeks in Emperio. Well, right now I am in an area called Monsefu. All the roads are paved and its super nice here. Something I'm not really used to but I'm sure I will adjust fine. haha. They have lots of tourist shops here and lots of restaurants. I am only about 10-15 min. from the ocean. The church is the nicest chapel I have ever seen, it has an elevator and is really clean. My companion is Elder Vega from La Paz, Bolivia. He has six months in the mission and is a really humble and quiet Elder. Monsefu normally has four elders but president William took out the other elders in Monsefu, so we have the entire city to ourselves. The city is so big but I'm super excited to explore and contact everyone. Our ward has lots of recently returned missionaries, which is a blessing from heaven because I know they will help us out a lot. We will probably go on lots of splits here because this area is so big. I know that God moved me here for a reason. I'm really excited to be here with Elder Vega. I know that we will work well together and see lots of miracles. I know God lives and loves us. I know he listens and answers our prayers.                                      

Elder Glood.

haha Thats how they say my name