Transition to Dallas

I'm not gong to lie, it was really weird landing in Dallas last Monday and realizing I'll be here for two years. We had a day and a half of training, then went out into the field. My trainer is Elder Walker. He's from Lehi Utah (just like my MTC companion) and he's on his second to last transfer. He's really easy going and flexible, so we get along well. The work is going fairly well--I think more than anything we just need to exercise more faith and be more goal oriented. We found a guy yesterday that seems golden--he understood why the message is important, said he wanted to know if it was true and would know by what he felt as he read and prayed. We have a few other great investigators and less-actives we're working with, so I'm excited to see what happens this week.
Oh and guess what? We got into the first house I knocked! Unfortunately we've had trouble getting a return appointment with him, but we'll try again this week.
   It feels so different than I ever expected being in the field, but I'm making the adjustment. I had a moment yesterday when it hit me that every single one of the people we talked to are precious children of God, and that that's why He sends us out to serve. You cannot successfully and diligently minister without a firm testimony of the divine identity and love for those whom you serve.
   The Savior lives, and he is helping us every day in ways we don't even understand.

Love,
Elder Gaughan

FINAL WEEK IN THE MTC!

Ok, I REALLY don't have too much time today--I have to do all my packing and finish up a bunch of other stuff today. 

It's exciting and a little scary to think I'll be in the field next week, but I know the Lord has been preparing me and those with whom I'll speak. 
Tell the family I say hi, I love them, and to share the gospel! 

Love,

Elder Gaughan

Almost Done

Thank you so much for the updates! I'm so sorry, I was responding to other people and I'm really slow with this, and I ran out of time. Here's the news for the week: I ran into Elder Logan Nelson and Sister Danissa Dunn! I seen other people here that I've known here, but those was by far the most exciting and coolest experiences. I got my travel plans for Texas! I'm leaving the 24th at 4:30 in the morning (from the MTC) with three other missionaries in my district going to Dallas. I'm sad to think I have to let go of the elders and sisters in my district, but I'm excited and ready to go out into the field. The night before on Sunday, I'll be singing in the giant MTC choir for the church-wide missionary work conference on the 23rd. If any of you are going to that, look out for me! Mom I got the package, thank you so much! That was so nice of you to do in the midst of all the packing and everything going on right now. I loved the Sprite packaging too, that was a nice touch. 

We belong to the true the church of Jesus Christ, and this is His work. We have so much to be grateful for! Good luck with finishing the move, I'll be praying for you!

Love,

Elder Gaughan

Missionary Training Center

Well it's been a good week here. On Friday morning, someone from the MTC's PR or something came into our room, gathered together our district, and told us we'd have a group of baptist ministers visiting our class with the president of the MTC and Elder Hinckley (President Hinckley's son, the emeritus General Authority). Unfortunately it messed a lot with our focus for the day, but the experience itself was really, really good. They came into our class, and besides asking a few questions, spent 15 minutes praising us for being here and spending our time in the Lord's service. They even said a blessing over us and prayed for us, it was amazing. And we all got permission to say the baptist "amen" as the head minister talked about how loving the Savior is the great commandment, so that was pretty fun. But really, it showed me that there are good, good people outside of our church that love, serve, and know Jesus Christ, and that it's not quite so much "us against the world" as I always thought. One of them offered a prayer, and it was one of the warmest, most sincere, and most beautiful I think I've ever heard. It made me think a lot about how I speak to my Heavenly Father and how I treat my prayers. 

The MTC is a humbling experience. Every day the Lord teaches me that I need to depend on Him, and that I have no hope of being the missionary, companion, or leader He needs me to be without His help. Especially in terms of learning to love people like the Savior--I'm starting to understand how fundamental that is, and why it comes before everything else. I read 3 Nephi 17 this week, and I feel like I just got the smallest glimpse of how much He loves each of us, and how much He helps us every day. 

Love,
Elder Gaughan

                                       Our District during a VIP guest visit

Life is Good

Wow, things are really crazy over there. I'm sorry, I spent too much time reading and working on other letters so this will have to be a quick one. The district is doing well, we're learning and growing a lot. We set a goal to speak 100% Spanish yesterday, so that was hard, but went well. We're doing good though. I realized the other day that almost whenever I speak I end up slowing down a lot and "um"ing through a lot of my sentences. Haha we taught a native speaker last week, and I had to keep myself from laughing when I heard him talk and realized I barely know what I'm doing. But things are good. Did I tell you that there's a sister from SVU in my district? Crazy right? Her name is Sister Libby Braddy. I didn't know her too well before, but it's been cool having someone from my "previous life" here. Things are good besides that. Your weaknesses really come out in here, and you start to realize just how far you have to go. But every day is inspiring and motivates me to be a little better, and to lean on the Savior a little more. And don't worry, I have a lot of fun too. My district is hilarious and our teachers are awesome.

I'm praying for you guys, I hope everything keeps moving forward well. The gospel is true! 
Love, 

Elder Gaughan

Growing and Learning

First of all, I don't know when I'll have time to respond to everyone (I can't believe how many letters/emails I've already gotten), but you're posting this on the blog right? I just hope everyone knows who's written me how much it's meant. Every letter puts a big smile on my face. I don't know if I ever mentioned this to anyone before I left, but I realized recently that at least in part, I wanted to dedicate these two years as a big thank you to all the family, friends, and teachers that have helped me get to this point. I'm here first and foremost because I love the Savior and want to bring His gospel to Heavenly Father's children, but I've been almost overwhelmed recently as I've thought about all the goodness and kindness I've received throughout the years. 

     By the way, I've run into a ton of people I know. I met Bro. Jarman's brother literally on the first day--he taught a workshop my companion and I just happened to run into. Haha I couldn't believe how similar they were, I almost felt like I was back in Green Valley Ward. Elder Wood got a picture of us, so I'll try to send that to you soon. I also run into Elder Justin McBeth every day or two, so that's been a lot of fun,

    The Spanish is coming along really pretty well, we've taught 5 lessons and it's definitely becoming a little easier every time. 

  The gospel has opened up to me both intellectually and practically this week and a half in really meaningful ways.

Love, John

Picture Update: 

First Email Home

First of all, everything has been a crazy blur. The MTC has been an eye-opening and really good experience so far, but it's definitely a lot harder than I expected. Every second of the day there's something scheduled, you get a lot of (really good) goals and challenges from a multiple, uncoorrdinated sources, we're in class for about 16 hours every day, and we already taught our first lesson in Spanish. It's amazing here though. On the first day they had three big rooms, and they took all the new missionaries in to watch a simulated discussion in each one. Long story short, it really displayed to me the power in this work and the difference we can we can make as representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. While the intense schedule and demands are already leaving me a little bit stretched, every day I'm seeing little miracles, and there's always at least one or two really powerful moments when the Spirit hits home and gives me a broader perspective and gets me really, really excited for the work.

      My companion's name is Elder Wood. He's from Lehi, Utah, and he's a great young man. He wants to be as obedient as possible, and he's always sharing great spiritual insights with me, which has been great. I can't tell you how grateful I am the Lord gave me a companion that's looking to be his absolute best. We have our disagreements and things about each other that don't click, but we've really been able to help each other be better missionaries. I know the Lord had a purpose in mind when he made us companions. Haha funny story about that though. When I went to class and met my district for the first time, my companion didn't show up. We sat around, had a little orientation, then went to the new missionary devotional with all the elders and sister that reported this week. My comp still hadn't showed up, so I just sat between the other two elder companionships in my district. The main speaker, a member of the MTC  presidency, kept saying things like "Well here you are, presumably with your new companion," and "we have a little exercise for you and your companion" and "here's some advise about how to make the best out of your companionship," so my district got a kick out of that. But we were unpacking in our rooms a little later and Elder Wood finally showed up, and we all celebrated.

       This gospel is true, and this work really is the most important and glorious on the earth. It's hard, really the most demanding thing I've ever done; but there's no where else I'd rather be. I wish I had time to tell you about the first lesson we taught--I've never experienced anything like that. The spanish is coming along well, but I know I can push myself to use it more.

Love you!

Elder Gaughan

P.S. I was called as District Leader yesterday. To me, it's just another testimony that Heavenly Father knows what His children need. I feel like at least in part this was given as an opportunity for me to focus on loving, helping, and lifting those around me. It means a few more responsibilities and meetings, but I'm grateful for the opportunity. Would you mind keeping the district in your prayers? We have a great group of missionaries, but I know we all need the help.