Technology!

   Our car broke down ... three days in a row ... we've become really good friends with the guys at the auto shop ... and we now have a new car! 

   The biggest change this week was obviously the addition of technology! It's something I really wasn't sure about at first, especially with social media being brought into it all, but we've already been seeing miracles - some people just open up a lot more on social media than in person. 

having fun with their new phones

Of course, there are also temptations associated with it, and distractions. The Church has a wonderful booklet called "Safeguards for Using Technology" that we're studying, and it's something that can benefit everyone (you can find it in the missionary section of the gospel library app). Sister Showalter and I have also come up with our own companionship "safeguards" to help keep us completely focused on our purpose. There's going to be a big learning curve with this change, but it's something we're all excited about.

In district meeting this week we really focused on talking to everyone, no matter how quickly or how awkward the situation. Well, Sister Showalter and I tried to apply ourselves to that and we saw a HUGE miracle - almost everyone we talked to was Spanish-speaking! That NEVER happens when you're just contacting people on the street, especially in the kinds of neighborhoods we were in. But we definitely felt the Lord blessing our efforts and putting people into our path so we could meet them and hopefully share the gospel with them!

Most of our investigators have hit a bit of a plateau in their progress, so we're praying for them and actively working to find other people to teach as well. A couple of them moved back to Mexico this week, which was sad, but they're going to keep meeting with the missionaries there which is all we could hope for! 

We also helped some investigators work on their homework as service. I ended up working with one of them on graphing quadratic equations. Now, solving quadratic equations I remember and love (and I did a lot when I was tutoring at Huntington) but graphing them ... I think I was more of a hindrance than a help haha.

I can now draft my emails throughout the week, which is awesome, so that's what I'm doing. I'll try not to overwhelm you with information though 😁 

I'm continuing to read through the Old Testament, and I had a profound thought this week. We read so many lists of people and the numbers of their households. But as I read one of those on Thursday, it struck me that those aren't just numbers - their individual people who are loved and cared for by our Heavenly Father. It was humbling to think about how even though we don't have all their names, the Lord knows each and every one. 

Also, in Nehemiah 8:10, I was struck annd comforted by the phrase, "for the joy of the Lord is your strength." We don't often think about not being a strength, per say, but I've definitely seen that in my life. As you all know, joy can be a hard thing for me to feel, but the Lord lends me His, which allows me to move forward.

I was also moved by the story of Esther as I read it yesterday, but particularly the miraculous preservation of Mordecai's life. It's not coincidental that the king couldn't sleep and that what he ended up reading happened to be the record of Mordecai saving his life at the exact moment that Haman came to petition the king to hang him. It was a miracle, and the Lord preserving a righteous servant's life - in great part because of that faith that Mordecai had that he would do so (Esther 4:14). 

Job 3:23 is a great scripture that helps us understand the purpose of trials. Though in this chapter Job is mourning his existence, and the day he was born, he teaches us that trials are necessary. "Why is light given to a man whose way is hid, and whom God hath hedged in?" If we're 'hedged in' we cannot learn - we cannot receive light and knowledge. 

Love,

Hermana Garner

Prepare Your Heart

They got messy doing some service this week

This week honestly felt like a month. Soooo much has happened and Sister Showalter and I feel like we're tripping over our own feet trying to keep everything straight and get everything done!  

Our phones are all set up! We'll get the last of the initial training on it this Wednesday, but we're already good to use LDS Tools and other things that I'm SUPER excited about to enhance our missionary work. Sister Showalter and I had a lesson this morning where we were able to use some resources that we don't normally have in order to help our recent convert prepare for the temple. I'm so grateful for modern day technology and that I get to use it in this way, and I want to take and apply the things I'm learning on my mission to my everyday life after the mission!  

We found TWO new investigators this week! One of them is a sophomore in high school and is really interested in learning more about the church. We met her on Tuesday, and when we went back on Thursday she opened the door, and through the screen we could see a book in her hands. Sister Showalter asked, "What are you reading?" trying to strike up friendly conversation, and she said, "Oh, it's the Book of Mormon," completely nonchalantly. That made our day. 

 There's a new sister in our house! Sister Neahusan is from Nevada, and she's in a trio with Sisters Hanson and Fuimaono. She's awesome! She's pretty much already fluent in Spanish, and she's also fluent in German.  She's really funny and witty and I look forward to getting to know her more!  

One of our investigators is doing great,  he's set September 30th as a goal for himself for when he'll stop smoking. We're proud of him and praying for him a lot! He was touched when I told him that you've been praying for him as well. 

 The other sisters' car has been having all sorts of problems - they were almost stranded on Thursday night going to dinner because their car was going to break down. We've had to rescue them a few different times this week, including right when we started emailing today - they called because their car wouldn't start and they were stranded with all their groceries in the Wal Mart parking lot. So that's been an adventure! But at least our car's not having problems now so we're able to help! 

 I've been learning a lot about hope this week and how to continually have hope in our lives. Moments of despair are going to come, but they're just moments. They will always pass. In the moment, it's often hard to look past it, but if you just take a breath, take a nap (if you're not a missionary, lol), you'll be refreshed and it won't seem like such a big deal. It's not something that's easy for me, but it is something I'm learning. Happiness really is a choice! 

A few quotes from Ward Conference yesterday. It was a really impactful Sunday for me, I felt the

with Brother Mitchel 

Spirit so strong and feel like I better know what the prophets are talking about when they tell us to "feast upon the words of Christ" and to "hunger and thirst after righteousness."   ​The Stake President said a few things that stood out to me - "The Church and Kingdom of God will go forth with or without you" and "Let us not live below the privileges." In other words, ​you choose whether or not to be a part of this work and enjoy the resulting blessings. It's entirely up to you.  And then, Brother Mitchell said a few things that really stood out to me (well, more than a few, but I couldn't record his lesson haha). The quotes I wrote down were, "The power of the priesthood is the power to organize - to create" and "When your heart teaches you things that your mind doesn't know, listen to your heart." talking about his testimony and how he puts aside his doubts in favor of what the spirit has told him is true. He's really a great example, it was such a privilege to be in his class!

The one scripture I wanted to share this week was Ezra 7:10. It's a perfect example of how we qualify and sanctify ourselves. Ezra 1) studied, 2) applied what he learned in action, and 3) shared the gospel. But before any of that, he "prepared his heart," which meant that he was willing and ready to receive the counsel of the Lord in humility. He was open to the spirit, and it was because of that that he was able to qualify for the spirit and to be a servant of the Lord.

Love,

Hermana Garner

Untalent Show 

https://drive.google.com/a/myldsmail.net/file/d/0B_8FkIqMG6oPclB3cXMtOVRiMDQ/view?usp=sharing

This link is a pretty funny video of Hermana Garner doing the "Untalent Show", she got second place and won a rubber pig nose!

It's been a good week! We're all kind of on edge right now though because everything with transfers is still completely up in the air. We have TWO new Spanish sisters, and President also wants to do zebra companionships (one Spanish sister, one English sister together covering a Spanish area and an English area) so there are too many factors to call it. I don't know where I'll be this week then haha but just go ahead and send letters to my current address, if I move the other sisters will get it to me.

I know I say this almost every week, but I don't know what happened to this week. Time is going by so fast.

We roasted marshmallows in our backyard (we have a firepit) and Sister Norgrant had the brilliant idea to put the marshmallows between oreos instead of graham crackers with chocolate.
They were AMAZING. It was also just super fun :)

I've definitely felt myself humbled this week and felt the Spirit prompting me to be a more and more dedicated servant, to increase my own testimony so I can help others. And my testimony truly is increasing. It's a wonderful experience. People think of change and repentance as something painful, but it's wonderful and joyful when it's done with pure intent.

We were antied by a couple people on Tuesday. One of them insisted that we don't believe in Jesus Christ ... I repeated the full name of the church, and he said, "No, no, no, you're Mormons." So ... that made no sense. But we just testified to him and left. Sometimes that's all you can do.

We had a great lesson that night though with some investigators! I don't know if I've talked about them at all in previous emails, but their son is a less active and they've been investigating on and off for a long time. We read 3 Nephi 11 with them and talked about the role of baptism, and why we're talking about it if they've already been baptized in other churches. Christ Himself speaks of giving authority to them and of them baptizing in ONLY the way that He teaches in this chapter, and that seemed to hit them. Sister Showalter had invited them to be baptized before (three times, actually) and they'd said no, but as we were talking I felt very strongly that I needed to invite them again. So I first invited them to pray to know if our church had the authority, and they said they would. Then I said, "And when you receive your answer that it is true, that the priesthood has been restored in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through Joseph Smith, will you be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?" They were both really quiet, but they nodded their heads. Hna Showalter was thrilled when we got back to the car, because it wasn't a flat out 'no.' We feel like theyr'e opening up and beginning to understand the gospel.

We've seen an amazing change in Jimmy this week. He has more hope and is really beginning to rely on the atonement to help him change. It's amazing and humbling to see him allowing more light into his life.

We also found a new investigator this week! He has a lot of questions and we're excited to get to teach him.

Saturday night was stressful - we were about to go out and try to visit some people when we got a somewhat panicked call from asking us to come help her fill out some papers. She got a new job that's going to pay better, so we were more than happy to do it (they were all in English, so she needed someone to help translate). Well, we got there, and it at first was the standard job forms that are easy ... and then we had to fill out tax forms. TAX forms. First of all, we had to read and understand them in English, and then we had to TRANSLATE them. My head hurt so much by the end of the night, it was definitely slow going! We were able to help her, but we still have to finish it tonight (there's a whole handbook she's supposed to read, and they didn't have a copy available in Spanish so we're translating it all to her ... I'm realizing how limited my Spanish vocabulary is.)

I've been repenting of not studying enough from Preach My Gospel. One thing that stuck out to me this week was that I need to pray less for the Lord to give us guidance and more to recognize that guidance, that I can be sensitive to the Spirit and follow His will.

 There was a verse that really stood out to me in this study - Isaiah 58:13-14, which has some great counsel and promises related to the Sabbath Day: "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

Also, I love the Old Testament. If I tried to share everything I've been learning from it I'd never end my emailing time haha, so I'll just exhort you all to study it :)

Love,

Hermana Garner

It's Been a Really Amazing Week!

 I can feel my heart changing more and more as I continue in the Lord's service, and am truly humbled that I have the privilege and opportunity to be here serving Him. 

The highlight of the week was definitely Elder Andersen's visit. It's always special to be in the presence of an apostle of the Lord, and I was reminded of President Wheeler's admonition last zone conference that, "Every time you're in the presence of an apostle, if it doesn't change you, it's your fault." So I went there with the intention to change and striving to have a humble heart and follow the counsel he was going to give us. He talked a lot about having the faith to find, and about how faith is a real power that can cause things that normally wouldn't happen to happen. He told us we needed to raise our expectations, especially in a place where people are already so familiar with the church and generally have a lot of friends and family who are members. It was very inspiring, and he gave us a few ideas about what to do to increase our finding.

 At the end of the meeting, he focused on how we can have a bedrock foundation in Christ, and about how if we have that bedrock foundation - if we really believe and know that Christ is our Savior, the Son of God - that we will never fall from the church. He made us a lot of promises relating to that, and told us to take a few steps to strengthen our testimonies not just for our missions but for the rest of our lives. They're steps I would like to invite you to take as well. 

1) Take some time to sit down and write what you really believe about Christ. Not what's always been taught to you, not the rote answers, not just quotes from the scriptures and apostles. What you really believe. When I did this exercise, I started with, "I believe that Christ is my elder brother," and went on from there. Before writing down each item, I paused and thought, "Do I really believe that?" And each and every time, I felt the spirit confirm to me once again that it's all true. It was an amazing experience. 

2) Read the New Testament, and constantly ask yourself, "Do I believe Christ did this? Do I believe He said this?" 

3) Search for scriptures that are the essence of your testimony, scriptures that cause you to feel the spirit testify of their veracity each time you read them. Elder Andersen invited us to choose ten from the New Testament and ten from the Book of Mormon, and then to memorize them, so that we could always have them in our minds and call upon them at a moments notice to share with other people and to support ourselves in moments of doubt. That's a lot of scriptures to memorize, so my invitation to you is to choose three from the New Testament and three from the Book of Mormon. He promised us that as we did these things we would never fall away, we would have more opportunities to share the gospel, and we would be happier in our lives and gain more and more knowledge of the gospel. 

 The testimony he shared at the end of the meeting was especially powerful. He said, "I never thought I'd have the opportunity to look beyond the veil." As much as this statement brought the spirit and filled us with some awe, what he said next was even more powerful to me: "I didn't think I needed that to stay faithful." The reason he and the other prophets and apostles throughout the dispensations have been granted the privilege to look through the veil is because of the greatness of their faith, and that they didn't need to see through the veil to believe and know it was true. And we don't either. I can know it's true with certainty without that great privilege, and know that one day all things will be revealed and we will have the opportunity to see our Savior face-to-face. 

So now for how we've tried to apply the things we've learned this week. We've had a lot of service opportunities with members and non-members (Sister Showalter was praying for service all week). Friday was the biggest one - we were in the middle of weekly planning and one of the other companionships announced in a bit of a panic that they had a part-member family who needed help moving - they had to be out of the house by 7:00PM that night, and only had the moving truck until 5:00. It was noon. So we finished up our planning and got there as soon as we could.  Sister Showalter and I somehow ended up in charge of packing up the master bedroom, We were happy we were able to serve, we were able to be the Lord's instruments in helping His children who were overwhelmed and stressed. 

while tracking they came upon a
star wars themed party

We haven't been able to get in touch with a lot of our investigators, but we've been working really hard with Jimmy. We saw him almost every day this week. He's really struggling, and is feeling discouraged about his smoking and unsure of whether or not he can actually do it. Every time we talk to him he feels a little better, and motivated to continue, but it's been really, really hard for him. We're praying for him a lot and doing what we can.  Just keep him in your prayers - he's earnestly striving to change his life.

 As a side note, I'm starting to work on the Christmas concert, which is exciting and fun. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to use my musical and directorial talents to bring the spirit and bless lives.

D&C 18:13 - speaking of the Savior, it says, "And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!" It hit me so much just how much the Lord rejoices when we turn to Him and leave behind the sorrow of sin. I feel that too as a missionary when I see people changing their lives. The Savior has so much love for us, and this work is so important to Him!

Love,

Hermana Garner