Week 53: Hump Day

     Elder Little and I had such a great week and we got do and see a lot of great things.  Also this last Thursday, I hit my year mark!  It has been very humbling to look back on the past year and to ponder all the things the Lord has taught me.  I have seen such great miracles and I am so thankful for the experiences I have had.
   
     About 4 weeks ago Audrey, an Amherst investigator, was baptized.  On Tuesday, we got to go to the Hartford Temple with her!  It was her second time going and she prepared 25 family names!  She is so converted to the Gospel and it really is amazing to see how on fire she is.  The Hartford Temple was so, so beautiful.  It was my first time there and I was amazed.  I had the opportunity of being baptized for a couple of her family names which was very special.
   
     On my year mark, Elder Little and I celebrated by catching fireflies!  A member the day before told us that they are only around for a couple of weeks and that happened to be now!  So on Thursday, we saw and caught our first fireflies.  They really are so, so, so cool and surprisingly bright.  It was tons of fun and a great way to celebrate one year on the mission.
   
     Friday was a very special day, Elder Little and I got to drive to Worcester to go to Bob Amoa-Awua's funeral.  Bob was one of the very first investigators I ever met and one of my favorites.  His funeral was pretty interesting because it was a traditional Ghanaian funeral with everybody dressed in black and red ceremonial clothing.  We had the great opportunity of speaking a little bit at the funeral which was great as we were able to share some of our memories of Bob and some parts of the Plan of Salvation with about 100 non-members.  His funeral was very interesting since there was a lot of singing and instruments.  Throughout the funeral, I could really feel that Bob was doing well and that God's plan truly exists and is real!  After the funeral, we also got to see Carline Lysonge and her 3 daughters who I was able to teach as well.  They are doing so great in the Gospel and are moving to Florida soon.  It was a huge relief to know they were doing so well.  We had a lot of fun with them and they were so excited to see us.
   
     It has been a great week and I am really liking it here in Amherst.  One of our investigators, Amanda, came to church this week for the first time and loved it!  She said that she wants to come to church every week!  We hope to get her baptized in the coming weeks.  Also, I have an update on Eddie from Warwick.  He is scheduled to be baptized on September 2nd so I am pretty excited about that as well.  Thank you everyone for supporting me as I have been on my mission for a year now.  I am so grateful to be a missionary everyday, this work is so fantastic.  Love ya all!

Love,
Elder Gutierrez

First visit to the Hartford Temple

Beautiful Hartford Temple

Elder Gutierrez and Elder Little at the Hartford Temple with Audrey, recently baptized member in Amherst.

June 29, 2017 catching fireflies on my one year mark

Amazing Fireflies!

Bob Amoa-Awua's Funeral - June 30, 2017 in Worcester, MA

Elder Gutierrez, Elder Little, and Worcester Elders

Carline, Alexus, Benita.  Recent Converts from Worcester.  (They let us write messages on their wall because they have to paint the walls before they move to Florida.)

The Bigger's from Worcester!