Cultural Fair

So, I'm not getting transferred, but I'm moving houses, so I'll let you know my new address next week!

Sister Showalter's getting transferred. 

It was a good week, though a little bit slow as far as the work goes. Not a lot of people answered the door and we dropped a lot of potentials. 

    Choir practice was good, but I'm realizing just how much I need to practice leading the songs. It's definitely not a skill I've really learned! But it's a good challenge and I'm having fun with it.  

We had a lot of fun dancing on Friday, even though we didn't do the best job ... but hey, we got to be part of a traditional Mexican dance! The "Fiesta de la Hispanidad" basically turned into "Fiesta de la Hispanidad AND Samoa!" Sister Fuimaono has extended family in the area, and they're teaching them (because not all of them are members). She invited them to come to the cultural night (it's to celebrate all the cultures found in the ward and anyone in the area who wants to participate, they're just mostly hispanic lol) and MAN they put on a show! I'll send a couple videos, it was fantastic! The food was really good, too, We had to leave right at 9, which was sad because it kept going for much longer after that. I want to come back next year and just party all night long with the members :P 

 There are also a lot of community events that happen here, and we volunteer at a lot of them but can never participate really. One of them was this weekend, it was a HUGE Halloween activity that took up most of the nearby shopping center. We just helped set up for it. It looked like it would be so much fun! 

 We met a potential last week who we had an appointment with, but when we stopped by she wasn't there. No one answered the door for the longest time, and we were a bit disappointed, but then her husband FINALLY answered. He apologized for her, and then said, "She said to tell you she's sorry, and to give you this." In his hand he had a small nativity ornament from Mexico. The first time we met her, we bonded over our nativity collections, and she said she was going to give me one of hers. I didn't expect her to in the slightest, but even though she couldn't make the appointment she remembered and had him give it to me! It was so tender, I almost cried! I will treasure it forever. We're hoping we'll be able to see her tonight.

  Other than that, things have been pretty slow here. We're weeding out our potentials list, but not really finding any more. Pray that we'll be led to those the Lord is preparing over this next transfer.  

And I just have one scripture this week that I wrote down to share - Psalms 103:22-21 ...  11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.  12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Love,  Hermana Garner

Music Practice, Heavenly Homes, and Dancing With Piñas

Choir practice started this week for the Christmas concert!​ It's been exciting, and nerve-wracking at the same time. I didn't have a pianist, because neither of the ones in my area could make it, so I had to play out parts and direct with my other hand. Which was ... interesting. I'm looking forward to directing more and not having to focus on so many things at once haha.  But it went well overall! We also had a meeting with the narrators for the program to brainstorm a bit, and I used some techniques that I've learned throughout my schooling and teaching to generate ideas. As I was getting everything started, one of the other sisters said, "You should be a drama teacher." I laughed, thinking it was a joke. It turned out she had no idea that I am, in fact, a drama teacher. I guess it was just meant to be :)

  We had an incredibly humbling experience with a member that we met. She goes to an English ward, but she's from Ecuador and Spanish is her first language. Immediately, she welcomed us into her home and served us an impromptu dinner (which was a miracle, because we didn't have dinner that night, and it was GOOD). She lived in a small apartment with her two daughters, and there was furniture packed up the walls. Turns out they had just moved from a big house to that little apartment as a waypoint as they look for a new home. But the moment we stepped into that cramped little apartment, the spirit was overwhelming. That woman truly is celestial. As we visited with her, we learned of all that she's given up for the church - family, friends, even a house - and she is actively sharing the gospel with everyone she meets. Being in her home, I was reminded of Elder Bednar's talk, and I truly felt the same spirit that I feel in the temple. At one point, she said, "Satan has no power here," and it was true. Because of her faithfulness and her choice to be cheerful despite her circumstances, there was no way for the devil to enter that home. I strive to some day have half the faith that she has.  

with Ana Maria

And speaking of celestial homes, we got to go to the Mesa temple!! Normally in this mission we never get to go inside the Mesa temple, but Gilbert was closed for cleaning and our recent convert, Ana Maria, was getting her endowment, so we got special permission. It's beautiful inside, I have a newfound appreciation for it! And it was just wonderful to be in the temple again. We also saw Sister Weyand, who came back for it, which was so fun!  ​

reunited with Sister Weyand

In other news, we're going to be dancing this weekend. Somehow the members convinced us to take part in a traditional Mexican dance from Oaxaca, la baile de la pina, which celebrates the harvest of pineapples. So ... we're dancing with pineapples. It's going to be interesting for sure!​  

​ I was humbled and shocked by a visit that we made to a member. ​ I felt like we needed to show her a video about using technology to spread the gospel. As she was watching it, she started crying, and proceeded to tell us about her grandmother's funeral. In the middle of sharing some thoughts about her grandmother, she wanted to play "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" for those in attendance (the majority not members) and rather than going to LDS.org to find something, she went to facebook - and played the video that I recorded a couple weeks ago, holding her phone up to the microphone. She said that there were many people there who were touched by it, including her brother, who said he felt the spirit stronger than he has in a long time.  As I listened, I couldn't believe that the Lord had used the small prompting I received to record that video to reach people who I've never met all the way in Texas through this one member who saw it. Nothing is a coincidence, as Elder Rasband taught us in conference, and I felt the spirit confirm to me that I was an instrument in His hands in ways that I don't even know. I likely never would have known about her decision to share that video with her family and acquaintances. And it wasn't something that I needed to know - but it was something that strengthened me this week and showed me that yes, my efforts are making a difference, and in ways that I can't even see. 

Love,

Hermana Garner

I've Been Loving the Work!

     

We've fallen out of touch with a number of our investigators, which is saddening, but we're working hard with those that we still have and have seen miracles as we've tried to really have daily contact with them. The scriptures talk a lot about how we need to be continually nourished by the Word of God, and we're trying to help nourish everyone we meet.  

        I've been LOVING the work. As we've gone through our area book (we have to enter all of it into the church's app, which takes forever but will be SO worth it) we've found names and addresses of people that we've since contacted and they now have some potential. Miracles are truly coming from us prayerfully trying to find. 

     We also get to go to the temple this Saturday with Ana Maria to get her endowment, which is going to be amazing!! I'm excited, too, because since Gilbert's closed we get to go to Mesa, so I get to see what the inside's like!   

      There are so many wonderful people here. We got a call from a member in an English ward one night out of the blue asking us if we had dinner or not, and then she invited us over and gave us some great Thai food, and we got to be part of her hula class that she was teaching to some neighborhood girls. Her name is Sister Jarvis, we love her! 

      We've also made a great relationship with a number of families in the area that, though they're not interested in learning more about the gospel right now, they see us as family and we keep inviting them to social activities and things.

      Oh, the BIG thing that's been going on is preparing for the Christmas program. We got everything approved to move forward, ordered the music we didn't already have, and today I'm trying to work on putting them all in folders but realized that the arrangement I picked up from the office isn't the one we're doing ... so I'm going to have to cram it in tomorrow and Wednesday. Rehearsals for the whole choir start on Thursday and we're going to set up rehearsals with the small groups soon as well. I love being able to use my talents to work this way, we're also going to have four narrators that I'm going to have help me decide how to present everything (slightly theatrical, but not really, just telling the story more than just singing pretty songs). I'm excited about it!

    So I'm reading through the Book of psalms right now in my personal study and have been struck by a number of the verses. 27:14 stood out to me especially: "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." 

  I was also really struck by the JST footnote in Psalms 30:9 - "my soul shall declare thy truth; for what profit am I, if I do it not?" That is a piercing question! Truly, we are not accomplishing our purpose if we are not declaring the truth of the gospel, not just vocally but also in the way we live. We're not just here for ourselves, but to help others!  

    Love,

Sister Garner

I Love General Conference!

  We saw miracles this week with service! We've been trying to just randomly serve people on the street, not just ask if they want help but just go ahead and start helping. It's led to some great, door-opening conversations. We even met a Spanish speaker through it! We're going to try to go back this week. 

  We had our first Facebook lesson! I was really, really skeptical about doing actual lessons over facebook, but it was such a miracle. Our investigator opened up like never before and the spirit was so strong. They then came to conference and had a wonderful experience where they said answers to questions were received. It's amazing to see the power of conference and see people progress!  

  And of course, conference was amazing all around! Just like I challenged everyone else to do, I came to conference with three questions written down. I received direction and answers to ALL of them in the FIRST session, and continued to receive more direction throughout. I know that the talks we hear in conference are inspired, that they're not just meant for the world but for each of us individually, just like the scriptures. And we've been able to share messages from conference IMMEDIATELY with our investigators because of the technology access we now have, which has been such a blessing and really brought about miracles!  

The psalms have brought me comfort this week, particularly psalms 9:9-11, which says, "The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings."   

Conference! (Just highlights, don't worry 😋)  1. Service, service, service! I need to lose myself and focus on others. As a missionary you kind of have no choice but to do that to a certain extent, and I've already been trying to do so, but I felt it more as a warning for when I go home in 6 months, and I felt impressed with a promise - that the only way to find and be sure of my own path is to lose myself in serving others. 

 2. Salvation is individual, exaltation requires family. 💖 

 3. Elder Holland's explanation of the inconceivable gap between the 10,000 talents and the 100 pence touched my heart. The 100 pence is all the Lord asks of us - we CAN and MUST give it. 

 4. Just a quote from Elder Rasband: "Coincidence is not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God... The Lord IS in the small details of our lives." 

 5. In many talks they stressed how we can't control our circumstances, but we can control how we react. This was stressed as well in women's conference. I need to be better about this for sure. 

 6. Tad R. Callister's talk was AMAZING and I want everyone to hear it haha 

 7. Elder Andersen - I need to repent of not giving more heed to the conference addresses in the 6 months between conferences. The spirit taught me that there are messages contained that are specifically for me, but not at this moment - but I WILL need them in the next six months. I'm grateful for the new technology I have to help that be more accessible on my mission. 

 8. Elder Hales' words as shared by Elder Andersen: "When we choose to have faith, we are prepared to stand in the presence of God." What an incredible example and final message, as he has shown us his own faith and now taken another step towards that ultimate goal.

Love,

Hermana Garner

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JKBS0m_EGHYS1SeEsycGY0ejQ/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-JKBS0m_EGHMlJRYTM3Qzl6YVE/view?usp=sharing

She was excited to have crepes because her dad always makes them.