Changes

Let's start off with the changes - we have three greenies in our zone!! Elders Peterson, Ralph, and Reynolds are all training. One of the newbies is Elder McKee, and he's Spanish-speaking, so we'll be getting to know each other really well!

Our last picture as a zone

  And now for the BIGGEST news of the week - LUIS CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And he brought his two kids!!!!!!!! They were only able to come to sacrament meeting, but the talks were so perfectly directed to him and everything he's going through! I was playing the piano, so I didn't get to sit by them, but Hna Cedeño told me that he was crying during the first talk, which was all about the healing power of the atonement and how we should be grateful for our trials because they bring us closer to Christ. He really seemed to enjoy it, and the branch was AMAZING about welcoming him and making sure they all knew who he was and he got to meet a bunch of them. We also introduced his kids to others in the ward, and both of them said that they really, really wanted to go to primary!! It really was a miracle, and we know it was an answer to all of our prayers and fasting! We're SOOO grateful and can't wait to meet with him this week!!!!

One thing that really came out of this week was just more companionship unity. Hna Cedeño and I already loved each other soooo much, but we grew so much closer this week as friends! We've talked about anything and everything.

One thing that came from all of our tracting and walking around this week, though, was a miracle on Saturday! We were knocking on the doors of this apartment complex and knocked on the door of Isaac. He doesn't speak Spanish, but we taught him a little bit about the Book of Mormon, and we actually have an appointment with him today, and if he's interested afterwards we'll pass him on to the English missionaries. But the real miracle came when we asked him for referrals. He gave us SEVEN referrals!!!!!! That's what most people's WEEKLY goal is in this mission, and that day alone we got three more!!!! For the past week, we had 17 referrals, which is absolutely incredible!! Now the challenge is contacting them, because a lot of the time they're not home, but we'll keep trying until they are!!! That day we also knocked on 40 doors. My knuckles hurt.

Also, I hit my three months this Thursday! WHAT???

Luke 15:20. This is during the parable of the Prodigal Son, and I hadn't really ever noticed this detail before. The son is returning to his father to seek employment, and verse 20 reads, "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Those words - "when he was yet a great way off" - were incredibly significant to me this morning. It doesn't matter how much further we have to go in the repentance process. If we turn to the Lord and are making our way back to Him, with a contrite heart and a willingness to change, He will run to us immediately and embrace us with His love. And however much further we have to go, He will stand by us the whole way, as long as we keep our focus on moving closer and closer to Him.

Les quiero muchisimo!!!Hna Garner

I Have a Brother-in-law Now!

I wore my bridesmaid dress on the 20th, and of course I took pictures! :)

I LOVE hearing about everything from Allison's wedding, thank you so much for including so many details!! Of course I wish I had been there, but it's so fun to hear about, and I think it would be harder if you just didn't tell me anything. I think that the thing I missed out on the most was Dad singing!!! That is absolutely hilarious!!!!!!! I laughed out loud when I read it!!!  I'm SOOO GLAD they went ahead and danced to "I Don't Dance!!" The daddy-daughter dance being to "Your Gonna Miss This" is precious.  

Okay, the pictures of the wedding are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to see the professional ones!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, this week was a week of changes!! I have a brother-in-law now,  we found out about transfers, and now I wear glasses, which is really, really weird!  

Transfer news ........... we're staying together!!!!!!!! Hna Cedeño and I are both sooooooooo happy!!! Sisters Sorenson and Young are also staying here, so unless they're bringing in a new pair of sisters our house is staying the same, which is nice!! But there are a lot of other changes happening in the zone and in the whole mission, because there are 28 new missionaries coming in this week!!!!!

The conversation that stands out to me the most from this week was with Ricardo. We've talked to him once before, and even though we have an appointment to see him next week we're not counting him as an investigator yet because he's really just interested in talking about theology and the bible and not about investigating the church. He loves to talk about the prophesies of the last days and how they're now and we need to be prepared for when Christ is going to come. When we were talking earlier this week, he was pointing out in the bible where it says that Christ will knock and it's up to us whether or not we answer. Well, as he was reading he said, "Literally, Christ will be knocking on someone's door. This may have already happened, we don't know, but it's going to. And it might be your door, and it might be mine - that's why we need to be ready."All I could think as he said that was that Christ had already knocked on his door - as missionaries, we are representatives of Christ, and we are fulfilling that prophecy by literally knocking on people's doors, representing Him and inviting them to come unto Him. And as much as he says we need to be watching and waiting for that moment, he didn't recognize it - at least not yet.​

There were a few hard moments during the week as it led up to Saturday, and Allison's wedding but once the day was here I was just happy. Happy for the great time I knew everyone must be having and SO happy for Allison and Stephen!!!!! I did get a little teary-eyed in the visitor's center that morning, because we went through the Eternal Families exhibit with our new investigator, Kenia, and it ends with the daughter getting married, and I knew that pretty much right then you were all in the temple, but I know I received a lot of comfort and strength from the Lord. It was so wonderful to talk to all of you and tell you how much I love you!!

We fasted for our investigators to come to church. None of them showed up, and of course we were disappointed, but I looked around and saw a number of less active members - who've never come to church since I've been here - walk in the door. That in and of itself was a miracle, and I know we'll continue to see miracles as we continue to work hard and devote our time and energies to the Lord!!

Yesterday was the mission choir concert!! I messed up a few times on the piano, but of course I'm the only one who noticed. A few families from the branch came to support me and Hna Cedeño and see me play the piano, which was so sweet!!! I'm so happy I'm staying in Gilbert!!!!!!!!!!!!

First, one thing I forgot to include in my other email - this week, I've come to realize even more just how amazing of a person Hna Cedeño is. The situation in Venezuela is horrible, and people ask her about it all the time. She's always calm and composed about it, and doesn't let her worries for her family stop her from being positive and diligent in the Lord's work. Hearing her talk about the things she's been through and seen is humbling. We've also grown closer as friends this week, and in our love and trust of each other.  She's such a strong, humble, spiritual, kind person, and I feel so humbled to have her as my companion!!!

This morning I was reading in Genesis 2:23-24, and thought about Allison and Stephen, since they just got married this weekend!! It's right after Eve was created, and Adam says, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh ..." And the next scripture says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:and they shall be one flesh." It struck me how Adam took her into himself and really embraced his wife as a part of him - flesh and bones that couldn't be separated from him. It's also symbolic of the purpose of marriage, that husband and wife join together in everything and are united, with one purpose and one voice.

I love you all, and I know the church is true!!!!!!Oh, one more note - Friday night, I understood almost every single word they said at dinner during the conversation!!!!!!!!!!!! :D<3 Hermana Garner

When You're Focused on the Work, the Days Don't Seem Long Enough

I feel like time is going by so incredibly fast. I can't believe I've been in Arizona for over a month,  When you're focused on the work, the days don't seem nearly long enough to see everyone you want to see and do everything you want and need to do. Okay, first off - LUIS! He is absolutely amazing. He came to noche de hogar (which was a MIRACLE thanks to your prayers!) and really enjoyed it. He specifically talked about how there was something different about the people there and he just felt really comfortable, which is awesome.  Both of the lessons were filled with the spirit, and we're seeing miracles!The coolest thing this week happened at the end of our lesson with him on Thursday. We were about to leave, and he stopped us and said (in Spanish, so I'm paraphrasing some), "Before you go, I want to tell you something. I was praying to God for more direction and to know what I needed to do in my life to get closer to Him and find more happiness. That was the afternoon that you came to my door and told me that you had a message about how we can find joy through Christ. Any other day I would have rather been sleeping than talking to you, but that day I figured I would be stupid after having prayed that prayer to ignore what you were saying." It was incredible!! He's already recognizing the spirit in his life and how the Lord is answering his prayers and giving him guidance! Also, his prayers are always so beautiful and moving. He said that same night in his prayer, "Thank you for preparing me for something greater, so I can understand the things your daughters are teaching me." And when we met with him on Saturday, he prayed, "I put my life in your hands. Help me to know and follow your path."  He's so sincere.  

So, we're having a lot of trouble getting our investigators to actually come to church, which is frustrating. On Saturday we'll be fasting for them, in the hopes that we'll see miracles. Obviously none of you will be fasting on Saturday, but if you could remember to include that in your prayers I know it would help tremendously!!Last thing - I got glasses today. Turns out I have a slight bit of near-sightedness and astigmatism. It's crazy because I never thought I had blurry vision at all, but after having the exam it was amazing the difference. 

I've learned SO much in my studies this week, especially this morning! One of the principle things has been just how perfectly and individually Our Father in Heaven knows me. Questions that I didn't even quite realize that I had have been answered.  There's real power in reading the scriptures every day and devoting that time to understanding more the nature of God and our divine nature as His children!  

Isaiah 26:3-4 - "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." This  is a scripture that is now one of my favorites! It's such a scripture of hope, and really helps us to understand what it is that the Lord wants for each one of His children and how we can achieve it - simply by trusting in Him always.

Mark 12:41-44 - This is the story of the widow casting in her tithe. The last line of verse 44 says, "but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." It made me think about the calling to be a missionary, and about casting in all that I have to the Lord, and how I can continue to do so once I return from my mission and am released. We're not asking to give all of our money to the Lord, but we are asked to consecrate our lives and efforts to Him and His purposes, and as we do that we will be incredibly and eternally blessed.

 I've found such joy and comfort in the scriptures over the past two months and encourage you to ensure that you're ALWAYS doing your daily scripture study!!

Love, Hermana Garner

Herman Garner was excited to have her favorite food, Pho

I'm so grateful for what I'm learning and experiencing here as a missionary!!

It's really crazy how time flies here. Every day I'm surprised that it's been so long, and yet the days themselves seem to go on forever. It's that weird paradox of time, and I'm just trying to soak in every moment! (Which is probably why my emails are always so incredibly and obnoxiously long ...)

This week has been crazy. The craziest thing that happened was that Sister Sorenson got hit by a car!  The miracle is that she was able to walk away from it, and other than being sore (and needing a new bike) she's completely fine. It just goes to show how the Lord takes care of His missionaries! She was pretty shaken up that day and the next, but she's doing fine now!

There were so many different times this week when we were teaching that Hna Cedeño and I - without talking - had the exact same thoughts and feelings. It's such a blessing to know that we're both in touch with the spirit and can follow those promptings. As always, there are ways we can improve, and we can always become more sensitive to the whisperings of the spirit, but it's been a powerful testimony to me this week of our divine calling as missionaries that we are in sync together and with the spirit.

Thursday was a crazy day. Hna Cedeño woke up and was so dizzy and delirious that she could barely bring herself to pray, let alone stand. But being the stubborn person she is, she insisted on getting up and going out to work. But she really wasn't herself - she was hardly saying anything when we were talking to people and she was having trouble standing up straight. We came back for lunch, and I tried to convince her to let me call the nurse, but she wouldn't let me. Well, guess who came to the door right as she was laying down? THE NURSE! Sister Payne came to check in with Sister Sorenson and see how she was doing, and I was able to tell her what was going on and force Hna Cedeño to listen to her. Eventually she was able to get through to her, and Hna Cedeño was ordered to stay in bed for the day and focus on drinking water and getting electrolytes.

Since she wasn't able to work, Sister Young and I left her and Sister Sorenson at the house so they could both get some rest and went out on splits! Hna Cedeño had an appointment with a NEW investigator named Diana, so we headed over there. She wasn't home, so we just started knocking doors on the street, and for the first time I literally had a door slammed in my face (felt like a right of passage). We knocked on the door of this guy named Tim, and he is the definition of a golden investigator! He's read parts of the Book of Mormon before, he's in the process of coming to know God better, and he and his wife and kids are praying and looking for a church that they can go to as a family!!! We were able to share a message with him, and even though I won't be teaching him (since he's English speaking) I'll be able to hear about his progress through Sisters Young and Sorenson!

So after talking to Tim, we headed towards the car, and just then Diana got home and started walking to her door!! She apologized for being late and let us in, so we were able to teach her about the restoration. It was amazing to see how prepared she was, and to see the spirit testifying to her of the truthfulness of our words. We're going back to teach her on Thursday, and we're really excited because we really feel like she's ready!! It was an interesting lesson - half in English, half in Spanish, because Diana speaks English pretty well and Sister Young doesn't speak any Spanish - and it was amazing to see the Lord using the two of us, who have never taught together before, to share His word and touch the life of his precious daughter.

We'd been trying to meet back up with Vielka for over a week, and she was never home because she was so busy with work. That night we were driving to a member's house so I could drop Hna Cedeño off and she could keep resting while I went out with another member, and we decided to just drive past Vielka's house. Miracle - she was in the front yard!!   Well, I dropped Hna Cedeño off and then came back witha sister from the branch, Hna Acuña, to teach the lesson. It was a little daunting because Vielka doesn't speak any English and Hna Acuña practically doesn't speak any either, so I know I would need to rely on the Lord to help me through it. I realized that I knew more Spanish than I thought and that the Lord was helping Vielka understand what I was saying even when I didn't say it completely correctly. The spirit was there, and at the end of the lesson I invited her to be baptized. She said that if she comes to know it's true she will be, and she committed to the date of August 27th!!! It truly was a miracle! 

Overall, there were a lot of challenges this week, and a lot of people who we couldn't see, and quite a few moments where I felt down. But there were also, as always, SO many miracles. I'm so grateful for what I'm learning and experiencing here as a missionary!!

Psalms 33:18-22. I love this whole passage, but verse 22 specifically stuck out to me - "Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee" (emphasis added). We must have faith and hope in order for the Lord to be able to extend his mercy towards us, because if we don't believe we can receive that mercy we won't be able to. Having that hope makes all the difference!

Another one from Psalms - Psalms 121:5-8. I read this Saturday morning before we went out to bike all day. I'd prayed during my prayer just before scripture study for protection from the sun, as well as protection from anything else (since we've all been a bit more cautious after Sister Sorenson's accident). This was the first scripture I read, and it says, 

         "The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. 

         "The sun shall not smite thee by day,

         "The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 

         "The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 

         "The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." 

It was such an immediate, direct, and literal answer to my prayer!

  I love you all so much!! I can feel the strength of your prayers lifting me up, and thank you for your love and faith!

new necklaces with maps of Gilbert

Two Months as a Missionary

we went to the temple this Wednesday for a session as a zone

 It's crazy to think that it's already been two months since I entered the MTC! That means I'm a 9th of the way done with my mission already!!! When you really think about it, it's SUCH a short time! I'm definitely trying to make the most of it!! 

As always, so many amazing things happened this week! We a great lesson with Claudia, and we taught her lesson 3, which is the doctrine of Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, confirmation, and enduring to the end). We hadn't planned on inviting her to be baptized, but as we were teaching I kept feeling like I should. I didn't know at the time that she'd been invited to be baptized before, and that she'd pretty adamantly said no. Well, I went ahead and invited her, and she said yes!! When Hna Cedeño brought up the idea of a date, she was a bit more hesitant, saying it was a big change and she had a lot more she needed to learn, but we talked about how we're there to help her along the way and you don't need to have a perfect knowledge to be baptized. In the end, she committed to the same day, August 20th!! ... Only, right now, she's in Mexico because her mother is sick, and we're not sure when she's coming back. So pray that her mother will be well and we'll be able to get in touch with her soon to keep teaching her and get her ready for baptism!! It was also a really cool experience because Hna Cedeño told me afterwards that she'd been feeling the same prompting, and she thought I was going to do it but was thinking to herself, "If she doesn't, I will!" It's great to know that as a companionship we're unified and both listening to and following the promptings of the spirit!

It's really amazing to see the way that the spirit works, and the wisdom of the Lord. On Thursday we were OYMing in an apartment complex, and we saw two young women sitting on a patio and talking. We went up and started talking to them, and gave them a short lesson, bearing our testimonies (in English). Then, as always when we talk to people, we asked if they knew anyone in the area who spoke Spanish, and they referred us to a few doors down where Saul lives. He answered the door, and we quickly confirmed that yes, he speaks Spanish, and started talking about the gospel and our purpose. After a few moments he laughed a little bit and said, "It's weird to hear a Mormon talking to me in Spanish!" Come to find out he'd had the missionaries over quite a bit before, but really just as a friendly courtesy. But as we talked, he just kept smiling, and said at the end, "I like it better in Spanish." It really was amazing to see some of the purposes of the scripture in D&C that says that every man shall hear the gospel preached in his own tongue and in his own language! It's SUCH a wisdom in the Lord, because even though this man speaks perfect, fluent English, hearing the gospel in his own tongue opens him up that much more to feel the spirit. It strengthened my testimony of my calling of made me even more humbled to have been given the opportunity to bring this gospel to these people who are living in a foreign land in the manner that they can best understand and learn and feel the spirit! We have an appointment to see him tomorrow :)

Two more quick experiences (actually, three) - on Saturday, I called Lucina, and she told us that she was going to come to church on Sunday, so we were super excited! But yesterday, she wasn't there. I was playing for sacrament, and kept waiting for her to come in, and when she never did I had this feeling we should skip gospel doctrine and go over to her house. I brought it up to Hna Cedeño, and she was surprised by the idea (as was I) but we went anyway. Long story short, she was there (which was a miracle in and of itself) and we were able to have a great conversation and set up an appointment. It was clear that we needed to be there right at that moment, and it was humbling to know that the Lord had used me as a tool to get us there.

Yesterday we also met with and taught a less active. We'd gone over to the apartment to teach the mother, but though she was present for the lesson, the person we actually ended up teaching was her son, Luis. Luis has a number of things that he's struggling with right now, but one of the chiefest things is incredible pain in his stomach that he's been dealing with for over a year. He can't work and it hurts to do almost anything. He was baptized when he was 8, but he's 23 and hasn't been to church in about ten years. As we taught yesterday, he talked about his desire to change and about how he's felt different since he started coming back to church. We were able to testify to him and give him a new Book of Mormon, and as we left he said, "You know, you two have really great personalities. You make people comfortable." We thanked him, but talked about how anything he felt from us was really coming from Our Father through the Holy Ghost. He then said that we helped remind him of things he knew before and made him want to seek those feelings again! 

We went by again this morning to give him an Ensign (because there's a GREAT talk in the August Ensign that was perfect for what he's going through!) and gave him a short lesson. Last night we'd asked him to read Alma 32 and we really didn't expect that he would have done it already. Come to find out he'd read it twice!! He was really able to apply it to himself, and without us even asking he said he's going to start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning. It's amazing to see the atonement working in people's lives and to know that you have been a vehicle to bring the spirit to their hearts. I've known that all along, but to see someone truly accept that spirit, truly feel it and let it work within their hearts the desire to change and come closer to their Father in Heaven, fills me with more joy than I think I can describe!

The Gilbert Mural

This week I had my first exchanges!! Hna Bailey is my sister training leader, and she came to Gilbert, so I got to lead the area for the day! (She also served here for a long time, so she knew her way around and was able to help me :))

So, in this picture we're standing in front of the woman's house. You can't really see it in the background, but here's the story - we were walking back to our car, and we saw her sitting on her porch, so decided to make conversation (one of our goals in the mission is OYM - Open Your Mouth - which basically means just talk to people and make sure they know you're missionaries and leave them with a good experience even if they're not interested). So Hna Bailey noticed that she had a bunch of cats, and we started talking about that. But when Hna Bailey introduced us a few minutes later, and then I asked, "Have you ever heard of the church?" the woman said, "Yep. Some missionaries came by here once and I chased them away with a chainsaw and told them that if they ever came back I'd call the police." So ... we were a little shocked, and honestly I was a little scared. But we had a really good interaction, and even though she joked that she just didn't have a chainsaw handy, she never yelled at us or demanded that we leave or anything. But as we were walking away, she said, "Have a good day, just don't come back!" in this sweet voice. It was kind of a hilarious and bizarre experience, which is why we had to take a picture!

Okay, now for scriptures!

Matthew 26:30. This is right after the last supper, and right before Christ went to the Garden of Gethsemane. It reads, "And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives." As I read that, the spirit touched my heart. The last thing our Lord and Savior did before going into the Garden of Gethsemane to atone for our sins, before suffering all of the pains, afflictions, griefs, sins, and sicknesses of the world, was sing a hymn with his disciples. There is such a sacred power in music, and there's a reason why D&C 25:12 is my favorite scripture. 

Matthew 28:1. This verse reads, "In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." Think about when we were in Israel and everything we learned about the rules and laws of the sabbath. As soon as they possibly could, these two women made their way to the Savior's tomb. They didn't wait a moment longer than they had to. It made me think about how eager we should be to find the Savior!

As always, there's so much more I could write about (ESPECIALLY all the people we met this week and their amazing stories!!) but I doubt you'll even have time to read all of this!!

Les quiero MUCHISIMO!!!!

Week 2 In the Field

Hola, Familia!

The bridal shower sounds like a blast! I wish I could be there! One fun thing about this week, though, was that we actually got to help out with a wedding here in the branch! It was wonderful to be able to help them have such a special experience, and it was fun imagining how great that day will be for my family in August!! 

So, I'm going to go right ahead and start with the sad news of the week - Rosa dropped us. She was the one who committed to a baptismal date, and we were so excited and happy that night. Well, Saturday we were supposed to go on a church tour with her, and she texted us and told us that she wasn't going to change her religion and would we please not visit her again. It was heartwrenching, especially since we'd just been praying and planning about the church tour and how we could best help her. All we can do is keep praying for her and let her know we're still here.

Okay, on to the rest of the week - WE CAN DRIVE!!!!!!!!!! Hna Cedeño and I woke up SUPER early on Wednesday morning to go to the DMV so she could retake the written test. We got to meet a lot of people there and talk to them as we were waiting for the DMV to open - we were the third ones in. Anyway, we went in, and Hna Cedeño took her test. She passed it, which was super exciting! The DMV only has 25 tickets for the road tests per day, and since it's summer and all the high school kids are out of school those tickets go super fast. We were sure we wouldn't be able to do the road test that same day, but the woman who was doing the paperwork for Hna Cedeño after she passed her test was the same one who'd been there last week and helped us figure out what we needed to do in order for her to come back and pass her test. Well, as soon as she saw that Hna Cedeño had passed, she smiled and kind of winked at her and said, "I have a card for you." She'd remembered we were going to come that day and planned ahead so there would be space for us in the schedule!! It was really a tender mercy of the Lord! Hna Cedeño was able to take and PASS her driving test that day, and it was perfect timing because we went to the temple that night with a recent convert and we were able to drive ourselves!

There were a lot of cancelled appointments this week, a lot of slammed doors, and a lot of rejected invitations. But at the same time, there were a lot of beautiful moments with us teaching and getting to know more of God's children. I saw the Lord touch peoples' hearts and help them be a little more humble, even as others have hardened their hearts. I've noticed a pattern - every time Christ performed a miracle by healing someone, first, they came to Him. They called out to Him. They asked to be healed. If we don't ask - if we don't come to Him with real intent and purpose of heart, believing we can receive - He cannot help us, because he will not ever take away our agency and ability to choose. But if we merely call out to Him, we will see miracles in our lives.

We didn't teach as much this week as we'd intended to, because there was a lot of training and a lot of service projects that we were involved with. We also spent a good amount of our time trying to contact our referrals, and the ones we contacted either weren't interested or weren't home. So there have been a lot of hours walking around and knocking doors, but we know we're working! It's really fulfilling to come home at the end of the day and know that you've really WORKED and done everything you could, even if your "stats" don't exactly reflect it the way you'd like them to.

One investigator that I met this week (that Hna Cedeño already knew) was Daniela. She's seriously amazing, but at the moment her family is going through a lot, so if you can remember please pray for them. Anyway, the first time I met her she told us about some of the spiritual experiences she's had, and it was just amazing to hear. We went over on Saturday night to visit with her and teach her about the Plan of Salvation, but that was when she'd just gotten some bad news from her parents. They were leaving as we came in, and rather than teaching a lesson we just talked with her and comforted her for 45 minutes. But I know that though we didn't "teach" her, we were still able to help her grow her testimony. We did share a couple scriptures with her and we bore our testimonies of the power of the atonement to heal and comfort us in our lives. And then she told us that every time she's gone through a trial like this in her life, almost immediately the missionaries have shown up at her door. She called us her angels. I was able to bear testimony to her that we were sent to her from God, because He loves her, and that it wasn't a coincidence that He sent us that night. 

It's amazing how the Spirit leads you even when you don't realize it to those who need you right at that specific moment. That happened at least two other times this week that I know of, but there were probably more that I don't know about. It's really humbling to see how the Lord is using us as His instruments as we strive to do His work!

So, the appointment I was waiting for all week was with Vielka!! We met her last Sunday night (she was the one looking for her dog) and our appointment was for Saturday. I'd been praying about it all week and looking forward to being able to teach her. When we got there, she initially didn't answer the door, and I felt my heart start to break, but then I called her and she picked up and quickly let us in. We were able to teach about the Plan of Salvation to her and one of her sons, Enrique. They're truly an amazing family - a FAMILY - and really so ready to receive the gospel if they hearken to the spirit!! We have another appointment with her on Wednesday, and we fasted for her, Daniela, and Rosa on Sunday, because she too is going through some difficulties that can't be easily fixed without help from the Lord. The spirit in her home as we taught her was amazing, and I know she felt it. When she said the closing prayer, I felt the spirit surround us all, and I pointed it out to her, to which she just nodded with a smile. 

It was an emotional night, and what made it all that better was that we were able to bring an AWESOME member of the branch with us to fellowship her! Sister Espadas and Vielka are both fairly new to the area and they live just about a block away from each other, so it's perfect! They also discovered that they have a lot in common! Hopefully it's a budding friendship that can help her feel more comfortable and open up to receiving a witness from God about the truthfulness of this gospel!

Members make SUCH a huge difference in missionary work!!!

Well, that's it as far as news for this week! (Other than the GIANT wolf spider that was in our house that took up all our exercise time one morning) 

Hna Garner

I Love Being A Missionary!

Hermana Garner's group she arrived with

Sister Garner's new address is:

829 Park Avenue

Gilbert, AZ

85234

(For letters)

Packages need to go to the mission home:

1001 N Burk Str

Gilbert, AZ

85234

Okay, first things first - I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!!

Second, I LOVE MI COMPANERA!!!

So, some background - in the MTC, I prayed really hard that I would have a companion who was a native speaker, I really wanted to be challenged and have someone who would be able to help me not only to increase my vocabulary but the learn idioms and phrases. Well, come to find out, there's only one native speaker in the whole mission ... and the Lord answered my prayers and made her my companion!!! Hna Cedeño is simply amazing! She's from Venezuela and she's been on her mission for nine months! I also prayed for someone who was cheerful and had a really positive attitude, and that definitely describes Hna Cedeño to a T! I love spending time with her, and I love working with her! We're both dedicated to the work, and we've gotten to be such good friends here! She helps me a LOT with my Spanish and is really patient, and I get to help her a bit with English too, which is nice! But most of the time we speak Spanish to each other, which is great practice for me. She also gives me tests to take in Spanish during my language study time ... :P

So when we met on Wednesday, it was her BIRTHDAY!! She just turned 20! It was so fun, because we had lunch and dinner scheduled and at both they had cake for her. The people here love her so much, and it's because she really loves them! She has such an easy, approachable way about her when she talks to people, and she jokes with them a lot. She's hilarious, and just a ball of sunshine to be around. I really, really love her.

The Spanish. It's going good!! I wish I understood more, but really, I understand quite a lot, and I'm learning fast. It's been a confidence booster, but it's also been incredibly humbling. I know that the only reason I'm able to speak as well as I can and understand as well as I can is because of the Gift of Tongues, and without the Lord's help (and Grandpa's help) there's no way I'd be able to teach as well as I can. But I've felt confident in our lessons and been able to explain concepts to people and answer their questions, even if it takes me a bit longer than it would others as I search for words or conjugations. But everyone's patient, and they love to help me learn. It's funny too, because everyone says that if you eat spicy food, you'll be able to learn Spanish quicker. So I've been eating a LOT of spicy food per the request of the members :P

That's another thing - the food is AMAZING!!! Seriously, every meal I'm absolutely amazed by what these members cook for us!! I love, love, LOVE Mexican food, and I get to try food from all different regions of Mexico and even other countries as we go to member's houses. The members are so giving and kind, and they LOVE to feed us! 

The bike! It started out REALLY hard. The bag that we bought was great at the beginning because I didn't have a basket or anything to put my things in, so I was able to strap it on and ride. But it was HEAVY. That first day, when we were biking to our first appointment, I felt like I could barely breathe. It was so hot, I was sweating like crazy, and my legs very quickly were tired. I remember riding along behind Hna Cedeño (she's pretty fast) and praying to the Lord to give me strength that I would be able to do His work, because there were points where I really felt like I was going to fall over and die (I did fall over, though .... eight times :P The problem was getting off, but Hna Cedeño helped me and I haven't fallen for the past two days, so we're good! It was really funny, though, and Hna Cedeño and I both got some great laughs out of it). 

On Friday, a miracle happened. We biked to a neighborhood to tract, and the first door we knocked on happened to be a member's home (I'd just fallen in her driveway ...)  When we got to my bike, we saw that - for the THIRD time - the chain had come off. I got the chain back on, but there was still something wrong with it. At that moment, Sister Allen's son - CB - pulled up in his truck. He's also a member of the church and saw that we were having trouble and offered to take us to a bike shop in his truck. Well, the shop happened to be in our area, and right next to where our dinner appointment was, so it was perfect! We got there, and the man at the store quickly discovered what was wrong and fixed it. He also tightened Hna Cedeño's kickstand, and didn't charge us for anything. Since we were already there, I picked out a basket for my bike, and when I went to pay for it Brother Allen wouldn't let me - he insisted on buying it for me. So we were able to fix the problems, get a ride to our dinner appointment, and get a basket for my bike all for free! It was such a blessing, because with my bag in the basket instead of on my bike, it's SO much easier to ride!

Which brings me to my scripture study from this morning - I've been studying and learning SO much, but one thing that really stuck out was Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Remember when I prayed for strength? Well, the Lord gave me strength. And He also made my burden light by sending Brother Allen to us so I could get a basket for my bike. It truly was a miracle, and now that I've learned how to get off of my bike without falling all over the place, I actually really love biking! It's fun, it's good exercise, and it's a GREAT way to meet people!

Like last night!! We had such an amazing experience, and made SO many new contacts! As were we riding, a member drove by and rolled down her window to talk to us (this happens a LOT, and it's really fun - we'll be riding down the street and we hear people honk at us all the time in passing. It really helps give you more energy to do the work! People also are always offering us water, which is such a blessing!). Anyway, we asked the member if she knew anyone in the area who spoke Spanish, and she pointed out two houses. We went by them and were able to talk to people at both! The first people were really nice and we had a great lesson with them in their driveway, but when we asked if we could come back, they said no, they were happy in their church. But I think we still were able to help them come closer to Christ, and we gave them a pass-along card and our number and told them to call us if they ever need any service. The second person was really nice as well, and he obviously is being humbled and prepared by the Lord. We were able to get to know him a bit, and we set up an appointment to meet with him on Sunday.

So after that miracle, we passed by a house where we were supposed to have an appointment, but they weren't there. They let us know that they do want us to come back, though. It's a cool experience, because the way we first found them was totally by the Spirit. We were riding our bikes to another appointment on Friday, and we were actually going to be a little bit early. We rode past their house and I saw them sitting on the porch. Something told me to turn around, so I called out to Hna Cedeño and we did. They were very receptive, and we're really excited to be able to teach them! It's amazing how the Spirit has led us to other opportunities like that - after we went by their house last night, we had a similar experience - we rode past a man working in his yard, looked at each other, and just knew we were supposed to turn back. His name was Jose, and he invited us to come back and visit with him and his family.

After talking to Jose, we rode down the street a bit towards a recent convert's home and saw someone else standing outside, actually talking to one of the members of the branch! She's VERY Catholic, but she had questions and invited us to come back and teach her some more!

And then, after all of that, the timing was JUST right for us to meet Vielka! We were still headed towards the recent convert's house, and we saw a woman on the street calling out for a dog. Hna Cedeño asked her in English if she was looking for a dog, and she respond, "No hablo ingles." We were really excited! Immediately we got off our bikes and used our headlights to find the dog. Then, of course, we told her who we are and what our purpose is. We talked for a LONG time, and she has been SO prepared by the Lord! She's going through a lot right now, and was eager to invite us to come back. She even said she'll come to Family Night (Noche de Hogar) TONIGHT at the church! She's really, really amazing! She also lives with her husband and two sons, so we're going to be able to teach the whole family when we visit her later this week! It truly was a miracle and we were able to be exactly in the right place to meet her because we were on our bikes!

We had a lesson with Rosa. I'd been to one lesson with her before, and she's so humble, and like everyone else here she has so much faith. She too was baptized Catholic when she was a baby, but she doesn't go to church anymore. We've been working with her for a couple of lessons now, and she's kept every commitment we've given her, even though it's hard for her. When she reads El Libro de Mormon, she doesn't really understand it. Listening is better for her, so we showed her how she can listen on her phone through the church app. But even though she hasn't understood what she's read, she's still been reading and keeping every commitment we've extended to her. So as we were teaching about the Plan of Salvation yesterday, I felt the spirit and invited her to be baptized once she knew these things were true. Initially, she responded by saying she was already baptized, but when we explained the importance of authority, she said YES!!!!!! She said that when she knows it's true, she will be baptized, and she committed to the date of .... (drumroll please) .... August 20th!!! That's right, the day of my sister's wedding!! I have confidence that she'll be able to make that date, and that this is one of the many reasons why I was led to sacrifice being at my sister's wedding - so I could help others come to a knowledge of the truth and find the joy of baptism and confirmation, and the blessings of the temple! When we were riding our bikes to our dinner appointment afterwards, Hna Cedeño and I seriously couldn't stop cheering. We were SO happy, and even though we were sweaty and hot I hardly felt it. It was really an amazing experience!

I've seen so many miracles and received so many blessings throughout this week and I can't even imagine what the rest of my mission is going to be like!

And FINALLY, I'm done! There's so much more I could tell you - and so much I could write about my last week in the MTC that I haven't written - but this is already the longest email I think I've ever written in my life. But the past few days here really have been such an amazing blessing, and I can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing at this moment.

OH, one more thing - so on Friday morning, we played kickball with our zone (and I actually scored two runs!) against another zone. And when we pulled up to the church where we were going to play, I recognized it. It was the church where Grandpa's funeral was. It was a little surreal to be there again, now as a missionary, four years later. I keep wondering if I'm going to see anyone around here, but that's not where my focus is at all - I really don't have time to focus on it, there's so much to do! But it's comforting to know that I have family close by, and I can feel your love and prayers every day!

Les quiero MUCHISIMO!!!

Hna Garner

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