12/22/2014

Well ho ho ho to y'all in the west! I hope your winter wonderland is whiter than our winter foggyland over here in Ada! 

So here's the lowdown of the week: We had FHE with the Ingrams, a family with a 9-year old son that's a recent convert. Their family's been going through some stuff, and live in humble circumstances. They always try to do whatever they can to feed us or help us out. They even insisted on getting us Christmas presents. The gratitude I have for them and the humility they have is enormous.

Tuesday was our 2014 OKC Mission Christmas Conference! And guess what? We are NOT getting iPads(yet)! This lack of news was totally expected and not thrilling! YAY! Did that sound sarcastic enough? I really should repent. We're all trying to work on our sarcasm, and I've got a long way to go, ladies and gents. Anyway, the food was great, and the trainings even better. We had a fantastic talent portion. Elder Fuller and Sister Drinkall in my district sang together! And one of my zone leaders played the bagpipes!--but not in the chapel, of course! We had another group of missionaries go home the next day, and so they each got to bear their final testimonies. It's always neat hearing their final and departing testimonies. There aren't very many groups out on the mission older than me... In fact, next Zone Conference in March is when I get to bear my departing testimony. Scary. Time to spiritually prepare! 

This week we got to teach Levi, the 8-year old that asked for the Bible. Such a neat experience! He told us about the play he was in at his school. They did the nativity scene for their school play, so when we read Luke 2 with him, he knew exactly what the chapter was talking about. Elder Fuller and I are really excited to teach him and reactivate his grandpa Larry. 

And then church. Ahhhhh talking in sacrament is always exciting. It had been a while since I spoke last, so preparing for this talk kept me on my toes. I learned a lot about the foretellings of the Savior's birth all throughout the Old Testament and Book of Mormon and about the Savior's second coming. Of all the things I've witnessed and learned this holiday season, I would have to say that the celebration of the birth of the Savior is accompanied by a constant celebration of His marvelous example throughout the entire year. It is to keep in remembrance all that He has done for us each and every day. In such a strange place, I feel so close to home this holiday season. 


Happy Holidays from
Elder Garner

12/15/2014

The Gift continues to be shared! All throughout the streets of Ada, Oklahoma and all around the world! We had a couple neat miracles come about from sharing the gift! We found a lady a while back but couldn't get in to meet with her for random reasons. One day we finally did and sharing the He Is The Gift with her. When we did, she teared up and desired to have the rest of family see this and feel of the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season. I went on exchanges on Thursday and met a 15-year old and got her to have her and the other five people in her house share the gift! Being able to bring up Facebook and Twitter and relate to so many people has brought so many miracles! We also shared it with some Methodist family that's good friends with the missionaries. They invited us to help at a diner on Christmas day to help feed the homeless! They also showed us a video called the "Sainsbury Christmas Ad." I would watch it! It's pretty neat. 

Anyway, the events of this week as follows: On Monday we had dinner at the bishop's house. We shared the He Is The Gift video and then we role-played with them afterwards. I got to role play with their 18-year old daughter, Alyssa. She tool a trip to Vegas with another member, so I pretended to be a random dude on the airplane that she could possibly meet. Alyssa had no idea what to say, so it was pretty funny. Their family is helping another less-fortunate family in the ward help pay for their Christmas, which is super humble and generous of them. 

The next day we had a great lesson with Mario about the Book of Mormon. He hadn't picked it up once, so when we finally got to read it with him, he felt the spirit and was intrigued by it! We promised him we'd answer some questions using the Book of Mormon, including how to get along with your spouse, the purpose of life, etc. 

Every Wednesday we get to have FHE with a recent convert family (since he was to work late on Monday evenings) and after the lesson it's tradition that we play a board game with them (it's okay with President, I promise!) and this week I learned how to play Lifeboats. Game's pretty fun! It brings out the same emotions that Risk and Killer Bunnies do, so you can probably imagine what that was like. But we all had a good time and enjoyed one another's company.

Friday was our Ward Christmas Party! And it there was so much FOOD! And we had a less active come that never comes to anything! That was epic. Then we got to sing the Twelve Days of Christmas! The senior couple had "2 testaments," referring to the Bible and the Book of Mormon. The sisters did "six ugly skirts." They actually copied us...because ours was "twelve ugly ties!" Fun stuff.

Last miracle! A few days back we got a media referral for someone wanting a Bible. Turns out that someone is an 8-year old named Levi! An 8-year old wants to read the Bible! Such solid faith... I love it. You won't believe how inspired this was, but we asked how they came in contact with the mormon.org website, and Levi's grandma said that her husband is a member and knew about it. Guess what? That member had NO address on the ward roster, so we got a couple sweet potentials and a discovered less-active! That's the second one we've located! And there's a third on the way pretty soon! Oh my, miracles all around! 

So I'm speaking next Sunday. I haven't done it in a while, so cross your fingers I'll make it through. Thanks for your prayers and all your support! 

Elder Garner

12/08/2014

Christmas is going to be here before I know it! And then it's 2015! In Oklahoma the fog is setting in with not a whole lot of snow! We could be having a winter foggy land this Christmas. 

Well, this update's going to be pretty short. I got hit with wintertime sickness, so I got to spend a couple days looking at the ceiling. Not that looking at the fog outside would have been much more helpful anyway. Fortunately I recovered pretty quick. We spent a lot of time finding using the He Is The Gift Initiative. The Youtube takeover started yesterday! Publicity all over youtube! We've also gotten to see a lot of our recent converts this week. Amazingly enough, Rusty, one of our investigators, called us and wanted to meet with us. He's getting close to rock-bottom. His job doesn't have anything left to do, so he could be moving out of his house and looking for a place to live. He wasn't there, so we didn't see him. We tried him throughout the week, but to no avail. 

We had an amazing finding miracle in the glitzy ritzy neighborhoods of Ada! We found a guy while knocking on doors the other day, who we found out works for one of the local radio stations in Ada. We gave him a He Is The Gift card and asked him to share a message. Though he was not interested, he told us the next time he went in the the radio station he would mention the He Is The Gift initiative for us!  

Thursday was pretty wild. It was super foggy that day. We went out with a member and I thought we were going to die! We had a couple appointments that we had planned, but they fell through. Something else was calling for our attention, however. There was a struggling family in the ward in need of some guidance. The bishop called us and the sister missionaries and asked us to see to the family's needs. When we got there, we gathered up everyone in the family and one by one gave each of them a priesthood blessing, totalling 7 blessings and 1 anointing. I am so filled with thanks for being prepared for that moment! There's no doubt the Lord had other plans for us that night.

And as everyone knows, we had the Christmas Devotional on Sunday. We met as a ward an hour beforehand and had desserts. The devotional was so powerful! I especially loved D. Todd Christofferson's talk. Next week we have our ward Christmas party and then our Mission Christmas Conference a few days later, both of which we are very excited for. Christmas is getting nearer!

Elder Garner  

He Is the Gift (12/01/2014)

Guys, Mormon Oklahomans cook the best Thanksgiving meals ever! Turkey and pie for days! But of course it's nothing like good old home cooking...mom... ;) Haha, anyway who knows what the true meaning of Christmas is??? If you're a member of the Church or really any other Christian religion you know what Christmas is all about. If not, you really should look atchristmas.mormon.org or if you just happen to be curious :)

Just some last-minute Thanksgiving spirituality. It was really kinda ironic, because I read Ether 6 the day of Thanksgiving, which, if anyone knows what that chapter's about it talks about Jared and the brother of Jared's family traveling to the promised land in barges. Kinda reminds you of the pilgrims traveling on the Mayflower, yeah?? In verse 11 it says that they traveled for 344 days! In wooden ball that was tight like unto a dish! How appropriate to be studying such a chapter on the day of Thanksgiving. It reminded me of all that I have for which to be grateful.The Lord always happens to have me study the most relevant topics pertaining to whatever day it is or whatever I'm going through. 

So on Monday I learned how to play Risk Legacy. Bro. Buckmaster in the ward has gotten all of us so addicted to board games--but only for FHE and P-day! Then on Tuesday Elder Fuller and I got to teach the Book of Mormon class on Ether 2 and 3, which is the story of the brother of Jared assembling the barges. I seem to love the book of Ether lately. So many great ways for us receive answers to our prayers. Sometimes the Lord gives us specific instructions, He'll tell us what to avoid, or He'll simply ask that you turn everything over to Him. Prayer and scripture study are some great ways that we can learn knowledge and answers for ourselves! 

On Wednesday we went out with the Lemmerts and drove around and around and around looking for members of the church scattered in Pontotoc county, Oklahoma. We found the lost sheep! But they hid from us, so next time we'll have to knock a little louder. Of course, the next day was Thanksgiving, so all we were able to do was visit members. We ate at the Draper's home. Sister Drapers brother lives in the Mustang 1st ward, my old area about six months ago. It was really neat seeing his family again and catching up on all the things that are happening in that ward. I sure miss that ward... Dinner was fantastic. I ate several rolls and pieces of pie, for sure. We got to spend time with some other members and dabble here and there with their dinners, so we basically ate all day. I loved it. 

The next day we went to Pauls Valley and had a Specialized Training on "He Is The Gift" - which starts getting publicized in Times Square today! The missionaries will be having so much involvement in the initiative, and miracles are going to come out of it! All of the missionaries around the mission are crazy-excited for it, and miracles are happening everyday throughout the mission! 

On Saturday we helped some people in the ward move some outdoor equipment around. We helped winterize their yard a couple weeks back. Then on Sunday we got to have another Thanksgiving dinner at the Buckmasters. Their rolls were so good! That same day we gave three blessings to people! Another day of ministering to others! It was amazing to have been able to help them feel the guiding and healing influence of the Spirit. And at the end of the night we finally got in with Mario, our investigator. We taught him about the importance of prayer, scripture study, and keep the Sabbath Day holy. He really does want to learn more. 

December is pretty much the best time to do missionary work, no doubt. I hope each of y'all had an awesome Thanksgiving! 

Elder Garner  

Hold the Wheel and Drive (11/24/2014)

All eight hungry missionaries are ready for Thanksgiving! And Ada is ready for Christmas! Driving down Main Street in Ada and seeing all the street lamps decorated with lit-up Christmas bells reminds of driving down 104th in South Jordan and seeing all the Christmas decorations the city lined up going up and down the street. It's the holidays!

So on Monday we went around and did some pre-Christmas window shopping for P-day, and later that day we had FHE put on by the sisters with some church members over at the church building and played the Holy Ghost game! We blindfolded one of the recent convert families and had them walk through an obstacle course. They had to listen to the 'Holy Ghost' while trying to block out the 'noises of the adversary.' Sometimes they'd listen to another voice that wasn't the 'Holy Ghost,' and when they did, they ran into a wall. It was a good lesson for everyone.

On Tuesday we had to help jump the sister's car. Our Chevy Cruze against their Chevy Malibu...their engine in bigger than ours. It didn't work. Then we saw a Dodge Ram 2500 pull up and asked them for help. Seeing their truck trying to jump their car kinda put our car to shame...haha. But their truck couldn't start it either. So we had Elder Williams, the car coordinator, take care of it, and lo and behold they needed a new battery. In spite of all that, I'm so grateful we even get cars in our mission. It really is such a blessing to this work. 

And speaking of cars, the Lemmerts took us out to Roff, Oklahoma, a town that's tucked right in between Ada and Sulphur. We asked a random guy if he knew one of the members in town--the member's address only had a P.O. Box. And miracle! The guy knew who he was and where he lived! So in the most Okie fashion you can imagine, he gave us directions to his house: "Right at the corner where the post office is, past the second block, then take a left..." THOSE kind of directions! And we found him! And he was really nice to us! And we have plans to go back! Man, I love small towns and the fact that everyone knows everyone. 

On Wednesday we had another FHE with the Buckmaster family, a recent convert family. They can't do Mondays, so we got President's permission to do Wednesdays. We had a good discussion on Alma 32 about faith and humility. We're trying to help him gain a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon, because that's what he needs in his life. They've been going through a lot, and their living circumstances aren't easy for them. 

Friday... We literally drove and drove and drove. We went to District Meeting and then afterwards made our way to ALTUS! Jack, a guy Elder Garcia and I found the Saturday before I got transferred, got baptized! So we made the three-hour trip to Altus and witnessed his coming unto Christ. Elder Chavez is training a new missionary...super cool. Elder Garcia and my replacement are doing some fine work there. After the baptism we drove and got turned around while we were in Lawton and drove 15 miles the other way... That's really embarrassing for a Geography major. Anyway, we got back at 11 that night. Total, it was seven hours of driving. Ouch!

Saturday it rained all day. We had a Thanksgiving lunch at a member's house! But when we pulled up to her driveway we had to park on her grass and when we did our tires started spinning and we got stuck in the mud! So since I was driving the car the other three elders helped push the car out of the mud. Later on that day I went on my first legitimate split ever! I went with the High Priests Group Leader to make some visits to some people on his home teaching list. 

And yesterday we had a miracle happen! We took one of the ward recent converts out with us, Brother Bunner. We took him to see our investigator, Rusty. We caught him on his 51st birthday...drunk. Luckily he had two other friends there that were sober and really nice to us. So while we were trying to teach, Rusty kept interrupting and being rowdy, so eventually we all sort of just implicitly started teaching each person separately! Elder Fuller taught Jamie, one of the friends there, Brother Bunner taught and bore his testimony to Tony, the other friend. I basically gave a pep-talk to Rusty about reaching his goals in life by quitting his smoking and drinking, and in the process setting a baptismal date. Hopefully he doesn't forget that. Aside from all that, we got his two friends interested in meeting with us! 

That's a lot of stuff to be grateful for! We had a pretty fantastic week, I'd have to say. So as you're stuffing yourself with turkey, remember to stuff yourself with the word of God! Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder Garner

The 18-Month Feast (11/17/2014)

It smells like holidays and festivities up in here! Oklahoma had it's first snowfall of the season, and mission cars are already getting grounded! Luckily it's starting to melt. It's just been grand this week, and lately I've been able to feast on the word of God, particularly in reading 3rd Nephi about Jesus Christs' ministry. I didn't even realize how absorbed I was all throughout 3rd Nephi. I finished it before I knew it, and now I'm in Mormon!  

Monday we took a journey to Pauls Valley and went to the Bogers house and got to play games in their poolhouse. They'd moved into Pauls Valley two weeks before I got transferred, so I didn't really get to know them. I saw a couple other branch members there, so that was neat to catch up and visit. Have I ever mentioned how much I love being just around the corner from Sulphur and Purcell? 

Tuesday we made our weekly visit to Bro. Harjo, a recent convert. He's very quiet. He's wheelchair bound and missing a leg, so getting him to church is tough. Earlier this week though we found some great fellowshippers and a ride for him, so he made it to church this Sunday. After Elders Quorum he volunteered to say the closing prayer! Being the quiet guy he is, that was really neat to see. Later on that Tuesday we had a spur-of-the-moment dinner at another recent convert's house. They made chicken drumsticks marinated in Canola oil. Oh my goodness, the chicken was delicious, but the oil (pronounced "ole" in Oklahoma) made all of our suits smell rank with oil! Oh my, everyone noticed...haha. #Febreze #DryCleaners Probably shouldn't use hashtags in a missionary update...haha.

Anyway, on Wednesday we helped move the church's family history center into the mother's room. They turned the old family history center into a classroom and did away with the mother's room. Sorry expectant and nursing mothers! There was a green chair in there and it's just sitting in storage...so I think Elder Fuller and I are going to cart it to our apartment one of these days :)

We had an incredibly spiritual day on Thursday. That morning we gave a blessing to the bishop, who'd been feeling sick and needed all the energy he could get for his work and his calling. He felt better the next day! Later on that morning we helped an older member winterize his yard while his wife was in the hospital up at OU Medical. After lunch we went to the Chickasaw hospital in Ada and visited with a less active member who's 1-year old got a staff infection. Then we gave another blessing to a member's friend who hit rock-bottom. She seemed to show interest in learning more about the gospel, and the other elders should start teaching her soon. Neat ministering experiences all around!

Saturday was HAM! Crazy day! I hit 18-months! I have officially served a sister mission! And the best part was that we had our ward Thanksgiving dinner that day, so I got to pig out on turkey and blue raspberry jello and rolls! Then we're having another Thanksgiving dinner this Saturday and another the day of! Hahaha 'tis the season! "Eat, drink, and be merry...for in six months you leave the mission field..." Sounds appropriate!  

My prayers have been going out to all my friends soon to finish their missions that they can remain powerful and serve like they've never served before. Lately that's been my biggest goal. It surprised me to realize that I've been in Ada for a month now and how much progress Elder Fuller and I have made in getting to know the people in this area. We're on the lookout for people with whom to share the gospel, especially out in this cold weather. Pray for me!

Love,

Elder Garner 

Walks Down Nostalgia Avenue (11/10/2014)

I thought "Memory Lane" was way too overused...so I went with Nostalgia Avenue. It's an English vocabulary thing combined with an urban planner thing I suppose.

And speaking of which, that starts off this update. We made several trips to East Central University this week, the local university in Ada. The sisters are working on getting a club started there to get the gospel spreading throughout the university. On Mondayall six of us went with an investigator that's a student there to the student center and played Pool there. Since we can't proselyte on campus we were fortunate enough to have people stop and talk to us about our beliefs, which was pretty cool. It threw me right back into my BYU days. Haha, ECU's a playpen next to BYU though! Awe man...funny. 

During Pool we got invited to the Baptist Student Union lunch that next day, so we went to that on Tuesday. The food was so good! And they feed lunch to everyone! So we might make that a weekly thing, hopefully. Earlier that day we were knocking doors in the rain and it was so cold! Winter's creeping...guh. And it's supposed to snow sometime this week. Luckily, Mercy Hospital had a nice shelter for us to sit under while we waited for our ride to the college. It's called Mercy Hospital for a reason!

On Wednesday we helped the Lemmerts, the new senior couple, buy a new couch! We went with the Gatchells, the housing couple, and the Lemmerts to Ashley Furniture and got to test out all the mattresses and sofas! All the fun aside, we even had one of the workers ask us about our church! So we had a good discussion with him for about 45 minutes! Seeds planted in the furniture store! It was a neat experience. 

Thursday we helped out the sisters with their booth, which lasted for a while. The sisters and the other elders got in a bash with one of the students. Elder Fuller and I were waiting in the car, so we didn't see any of it happen. The LDS club will definitely be an item of hot topic for people at the university. Later that day we had a good discussion with one of our investigators about humility and prayer, reading out of 3rd Nephi 3. It talks about the change that the Nephites had to make in order to stand up against the Gadianton robbers to protect their rights and liberties. This investigator in particular talked about his need to pay off physical and spiritual debts and his need for the word of God. He's got a ways to go, but we're continuing to work with him.

On Friday we got to spend some time with the Pauls Valley Zone Leaders. We even had to make a trip to their area in a town called Stratford, which I used to cover while I was in Sulphur. We met up with the Zone Leaders at a member's house, and OH I wanted to say hi to the member! The temptation was so strong...man. And today we're going to Pauls Valley for zone p-day, meaning, more walks down Nostalgia Avenue! 

It's interesting how much the gospel blesses other people, even if it's in the most roundabout way. As one such as our investigator tries to pays off physical and spiritual debts, he learns that he can accomplish both by learning about the gospel and about Jesus Christ. Got problems? Remember the gospel! 

Elder Garner 

From Six to Eight (11/03/2014)

The work of salvation is hastening in the Ada, Oklahoma ward! We recently just welcomed a new senior couple into the ward! From the short time we've known them they seem really awesome and ready to engage in the work.

This week we spent a lot of time with the Buckmasters, a recent convert family in our area. We taught them a little bit about the Plan of Salvation, specifically the Spirit world. We helped them with some challenges they're currently facing, and they seemed receptive to the spirit in our visit. President Walkenhorst gave us permission to play board games with Bro. Buckmaster on Halloween night. His favorite hobby is playing board games. We got to play Seven Wonders and get to know him better. On Saturday we went over to their house to pull a dead animal out from under their house, but luckily there wasn't one there! 

Wednesday was the ward Trunk or Treat. I hardly knew anyone, especially since they were all dressed up. I have to say it brought back some wonderful memories of watching the Testaments and having a sleepover at the Pauls Valley elders' apartment last year. I grabbed some candy for the Walls family, the relatives of the recent convert Elder Fuller and the elder I replaced just baptized my first weekend in Ada. We're currently teaching her cousin and boyfriend, Nana and Jared.

On Thursday we got to do service in a town called Coalgate near the eastern edge of the mission. Going from west to east! Lemme tell ya! We helped a member from OKC move some stuff into a storage unit. He will be living in Coalgate for a while to take care of his dad. 

On Saturday we took the Lemmerts to see a couple investigators all living together. They got broadsided by the infamous Okie talking! Nonetheless we had a good discussion with them and got to set some expectations for us coming by and sharing messages with them. They hadn't been taught by missionaries for a while now, so hopefully things will start to pick up with them.

And yesterday was Fast Sunday, of course. The Norman Stake is doing a 30-day fast where someone in the Norman fast for a day, then the next day someone else fasts, and so on. The stake is fasting for missionary work to increase in all the wards and branches. With Ada growing the way it is, they are on track to get a brand-new building sometime next year/early 2016. Sounds like I have two destinations to visit: Pauls Valley becoming a ward, and Ada getting a new building! All because of the hastening of the work of salvation... Love it.

Elder Garner

Famous Appearances in Ada (10/27/2014)

It's been a fantastic week! Integrating into the Ada ward is coming along nicely. Elder Fuller and I are learning names and faces every single day. Fortunately I arrived to Ada with a fairly large teaching pool, so we get to teach people all the time and meet the ones we haven't met yet! Ada is just a happening town! For only one ward, Ada sure keeps three--almost four--sets of missionaries pretty busy. 

Yes...soon to be four sets of missionaries. We're getting a senior couple this week! I remember working alongside the Fairbourns when I was in Sulphur last year and how much fun that was... And their food was so delicious! This past week we helped move and set up furniture for the new senior couple. I haven't moved other missionaries since we moved apartments in Mustang! When that happened I became an expert at assembling chairs, desks, beds, and other random household objects. 

We had interviews with President Walkenhorst on Tuesday. He didn't say anything about iPads...oh well! Earlier that day we helped an older lady in the ward move some stuff out of her shed. The doorway to her shed was about neck height, so it was really inconvenient trying to haul stuff out while ducking your head all the time! And then we found a petrified rat! Just in time for Halloween...guh. We moved out an old sewing machine with a chair that had built-in drawers. In all the drawers there were nuts and acorns and leaves all tied together by thread. A squirrel made a nest in the chair! Or maybe it was the rat... Anyway, pretty funny stuff.

An elder in our district got some pretty bad chigger bites on his legs, and then he scratched them and in the process infected them. So he made a trip to the town hospital and even got escorted to a dermatologist in Midwest City by Sister Walkenhorst. During all that we looked after him and spent a lot of time doing exchanges with his companion so he didn't have to be bored in his apartment. 

On Friday we got to go to La Fiesta with a member family, the Solorzanos. Their food is so good! And afterwards we taught a lesson to Bro. Solorzano's parents, both of whom are from Peru. They speak very little english, so we taught the Restoration and had Bro. Solorzano translate. It was a very spirit-filled discussion, and you could tell they could feel it! We also taught Nana and Jared. Nana is the cousin of Ashley, the lady that got baptized last week. Their house is crazy, and I love it. I sort of reminds me of the Vineyards back in Sulphur and the McElvanys in Davis. A lot of fun, and very spirit-filled.

Then on Saturday we had President Walkenhorst back in Ada for the MTC...the "Member Training Center" :) We had a fireside about member missionary work and had President give a talk. We also had the opportunity to hear from recent converts and how they felt when they were investigating the church and got baptized, which was really neat. The event turned out really well! 

I suppose this week's been pretty eventful! Anyway, keep on praying for missionary opportunities and pray for this work to roll forth! 

Elder Garner

Ada-ventures! (10/20/2014)

With transfers and all you can kinda expect a slower week. I'm really not down with this rotating companions business! Hopefully I can settle down in Ada with Elder Fuller for a while... 

I made my rounds to say goodbye to everyone I could in Altus. I was told that nobody ever said goodbye to bishop Barnes when they got transferred, so I made a stop at his house a said goodbye. I think he liked that. I really wanted to say goodbye to the Smiths in Mangum, but I didn't have enough time. Hopefully I'll see them again... I saw a lot of my good friends at transfers. Elder Zeyer's going to Midwest City, Elder Watkins is going Ponca City, Sister Chevalier's going to Duncan, and Sister Young's training a brand new missionary in Mustang. It's pretty fun serving with another set of elder and a set of sisters! Except I'm pretty clueless about everything. We had three baptisms this week! One of them came from our area! Too bad I didn't get to teach her all the lessons... I did get to teach the final lesson with her though. She was prepared for baptism long before I got there though! Her example is opening up opportunities for us to teach her family members and relatives that live with her and close by. 

We had an awesome miracle this week! Elder Fuller and I went to go talk with a guy that another set of elders found a few weeks back, and when we talked to him we got to teach the Restoration to him right on the spot and set a baptismal date! Man, Ada is just GLORIOUS! 

Just to describe Ada, it's really close to Sulphur, my second area. In fact, my current area rubs up against Sulphur's area. Ada also touches my first area! So having Ada as my area completes the Noble-Pauls Valley-Ada triangle. Unlike Noble Ward and Pauls Valley Branch, I actually LIVE in Ada and not in a town away from the ward building like Purcell and Sulphur! Regardless...this is just an awesome area. Ada is the farthest east you can go in the mission. The sisters cover Coalgate, which is the farthest eastern town in the mission. The more west you go in Oklahoma, the dryer and flatter it gets, but the more east you go the more trees and hills you get. This describes Ada! Going from flat Altus to hilly Ada's going to be an adjustment for biking...big time. I don't even feel like I'm in Oklahoma anymore. I feel like I'm in London or something. It's very foresty, and the homes here are massive and historical-looking! And much like Sulphur, the Chickasaw Nation has a strong foothold in this area. Ada's only been a ward for about two years, a branch before that. 

Some things that happened since I got here: We went to a wedding for the people that got baptized on Saturday. They had to get married before they got baptized. We gave a blessing to a recent convert that was in the hospital, we taught the final lesson to Ashley, the investigator in our area that also got baptized this Saturday. And of course, the baptisms. And of course, lots of unpacking. Elder Fuller's only been here for six weeks, so both of us are meeting people in the area together and getting to know our investigators. This should be an interesting next few weeks. I'm excited to continue the work here. There are adventures to be had here in Ada! 

Elder Garner

The Pitstop to the Rest of My Fate (10/13/2014)

Wow, it's been a whirlwind of events and emotions kinda week. Lots of interesting things going on. Well, here it is: I'm getting transferred once again to my fifth (and probably final) area. After only being in Altus for three months, it's time for a new area! It was really unexpected. I suppose Altus was just the temporary destination for the work I'm being prepared for in Ada--though much was accomplished in the short time I was present in Altus. Elder Cummings, an Elder I serve with, got to Altus six weeks before I did, and he's staying in Altus, which means he'll probably be there for six months. And man... I hate to leave him, Elder Chavez, and my companion, Elder Garcia! I was expecting to spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with them. I will definitely miss them. 

Well last P-day we did some window shopping in Altus. I bought some mass gainer protein shakes to make sure I wouldn't starve in Altus. So far I'm still skinny! Elder Garcia, who came from Ada, tells me that Ada feeds missionaries incredibly well. I know an Elder that was skinnier than me and got transferred from Ada 40 pounds heavier! Let's hope this works, guys. Did you know that Altus probably has the smallest JCPenney I've ever seen? I'm telling you everything I can remember about Altus before I leave! 

Wednesday... At long last my front bike tire that I've had since day one of the mission finally accrued too many holes to be saved. I had to buy a new tube... Before that though Elder Garcia and I had to walk two miles carrying my bike back to our apartment! And it was hot! I tried thinking about Paul the Apostle and Jesus Christ and all the trials they endured. It made the trek so much less daunting and one filled with gratitude.

The next day brought a similar situation to the other set of elders. Elder Chavez borrowed Elder Garcia's bike while we were up in Mangum visiting some inactive members. While popping some wheelies he crashed and bent Elder Garcia's rim! During that same moment, we witnessed the aftermath of a severe car crash in Mangum just outside the Love's gas station/Subway. The airbags deployed... We offered our help, and luckily help was already on the way. We said a prayer for them. No fatalities occurred, fortunately.

On Saturday we found two new investigators and taught them the Restoration on the spot! One of them has a baptismal date! And he even came to church the next day! It was a miracle for us, and I'm really sad I can't watch the work progress here! But I look forward to potentially spending 7 months in Ada! And I secretly hope for roadtrips passing through Sulphur and Pauls Valley! I'm going to miss Elder Garcia and the other elders. It's been a lot of fun and a real learning experience. Times got rough, that's for sure. I know the Lord's hand is in this work a lot more than I've realized. I know He's looking out for me and all of His children. I'm excited for what happens!

Elder Garner

Meet the Mormons (10/06/2014)

It seems like Mormons have been everywhere lately with General Conference and the upcoming release of Meet the Mormons! I have to take a moment and brag... Our mission president got his hands on a copy of the DVD for Meet the Mormons and he allowed us to watch it! Before the movie even got released in theaters! Anyway, I won't give away any spoilers, but man, the movie was amazing!

This past week was crazy with inviting everyone out to General Conference. We even went up to Mangum twice in order to invite everyone that we could. On Thursday we had another visit with the Smiths. This time we got to visit with the mom, who we came to find out has a SOLID testimony of the church! And we got their birthdays so that their records can finally get sent in where they belong! Then on Thursday we got to meet Sister Kaminshine, a lady we ran into at Operation Care. She also doesn't have her records in the ward. We visited with her for a while and got to know her. She expressed her concerns and told us what she was going through, and we gave her a priesthood blessing. 

Lately Elder Garcia and I have done lots of seed-planting in Altus, especially with General Conference. It's given us one more thing to talk about when sharing the gospel with others, and we've focused a lot on teaching about prophets and Jesus Christ's ministry. Other than that this week's been all about General Conference! Of course, I have to tell you about my favorite talk, which had to be Lynn G. Robbins about facing God rather than facing men. I also loved the talk on justice and mercy, especially since I had read that account in Alma that same morning. I also really loved Quentin L. Cook's talk about prioritizing and about focusing on the best things. That gets stressed a lot in our mission: "Is this activity good? Better? Or best?" And when Sally didn't catch the ball because she was too busy thinking about foreign politics, it reminded me of why I need to evaluate my goals and priorities. 

What a great week full of inspiring words... I only have one more General Conference left on the mission! *Gulp...*

Elder Garner

That's Right, Amen! (09/29/2014)

Okay folks, whenever I say something throughout this update that you like or agree with, you gotta shout AMEN! to it. 

Starting with... Another awesome road trip to Wichita Falls, Texas! We had zone p-day and our specialized training! And for dinner we went to Texas Roadhouse again! And since we had a district leader counsel the next morning, we got to have another sleepover! Probably the best part about serving in boonie areas has to be the miraculous excuse that missionaries have to lodge at other missionaries' apartments and have sleepovers there. Okay, there are definitely better reasons than that. Don't say Amen to that! Regardless, it was a good time for us to get to know each other better and counsel as a leadership to better help our areas and the missionaries we lead. 

Lately this week our big focus has been on getting people prepared for the upcoming General Conference. Elder Garcia made these really cool handouts, and we've been passing them out to investigators and inactive members. We've been watching talks and discussing the importance of a modern-day prophet and apostles to help guide us, the children of our Heavenly Father. 

On Thursday we had the opportunity once again to go to Mangum and visit the Smiths, the part-member family we ran into at the air show. We taught them the Restoration and why the church needed to be restored. Their non-member friend, Keigha (pronounced Kee-uh, like the car!), was there and seemed mind-blown by all the doctrine we'd taught. The first time we met her last week, she was shocked to find out we didn't have horns or have multiple wives. Mmm, mmm. We got lots of clearing up to do in the little town of Mangum. Teaching their family is a blast...and sometimes a challenge. I should so be ready to teach primary kids and young mens when I get back! Amen! They are so full of questions and random comments. I'll just quote a couple things they said during the Restoration movie:

The 15-year old daughter: "Is that his sister??" (Referring to Emma Smith)

Me: No, that's Joseph's future wife.

15-year old: "Her??? He's too beautiful for her." 

The older Joseph Smith then makes an appearance in the movie and walks past Emma's yard with a shovel on his shoulder. A couple seconds later:

15-year old: "Oh. Just kidding. They're perfect for each other." 

Oh man...it just throws me back to my middle school days and the things that girls said. Silly... 

Then on Friday I went on exchanges with Elder Chavez. Pretty fun, to say the least. We drove out to Hollis with a pre-missionary from the ward. LOTS of fun... We had a good visit with an inactive member from that area named Bro. Shirey. He has two parrots! They try to act like and imitate human beings, and it's quite funny to watch. We of course invited Bro. Shirey out to conference and shared about how Jesus Christ made the sacrifice of walking 70+ miles just to have John the Baptist baptize Him. Jesus recognized the importance of being baptized and therefore was willing to make that sacrifice. It's a good reminder to those that don't live close by the church. His girlfriend and his 13-year old son are both non-members. There's potential there!

Then on Sunday after our church we went to Strong Tower in the southern part of Altus. Angela, the head honcho at Operation Care, is a co-pastor for that church. We were invited out, so we went to their afternoon services. They have a good little group, about the same size as a branch. Their church was really awesome--a lot of good, friendly people. It really reminded me of the parable of the talents, and how everyone has something to contribute. While watching "Come Join With Us" by Dieter F. Uchtdorf with a less-active member, he talked about how everyone has need of the blessings of contributing and being included, and receiving what's being contributed from other people. It was a good reminder to me of where I fit in this life and in this town of Altus. Sometimes I'm not sure where I fit in the picture. I'm trying to figure out what I bring to this town...besides being a missionary, of course. In Sulphur I learned to recognize that there were people there waiting for me, for us. So lately I've been trying to figure out my reason for being here. As with every other area, it's taking some time to figure out, but I know I'll come to that realization. 

Can I get an AMEN?? Hope y'all have a splendid week!

Elder Garner

P.S. Amen!

Who Do You Love? (09/22/2014)

As circumstances would have it, I didn't have enough time to report on the events that happened last week. My time was occupied discussing matters with my mission president about the area. I'll try to make up for last week!

So Monday (September 8th) we drove up to Norman and stayed the night with the Norman 2nd Elders, one of which is Elder Birch, formerly in Altus. I am so jealous he's in the "waters of Norman." He's probably having so much fun... Ahhh the good old days! The next day we attended our mission tour with Bradley D. Foster. We learned about prayer and how to work with ward leaders to create a vision for them and for the wards/branches we serve in. And guess what? No iPads...yet. Everyone in the mission was holding their breath to hear if we were getting iPads, but sadly, that is not the case. Yet. 

We had some great finding miracles this week. We talked to a a guy named Brian and his girlfriend, Courtney. Courtney's dad, as it turns out, is a member up in one of the Moore wards. A couple days later we found out that she got baptized at age 8. So...she's a member! We got her birthday and her info, and we requested her records that Sunday! I love finding those kind of people. The lost sheep. Saturday was the Altus Air Show, the first air show Altus had ever done! It felt like walking around Lagoon all day! My feet were so tired by the end. We got permission from our president to go to it since we figured hardly anyone would be home. AND! A part-member family from Mangum stopped us and told us to come by and visit them! And they have a daughter that hasn't been baptized yet! Their names also aren't on the rolls. The bishopric is going to be so proud of us. The three other elders got sunburnt from the Air Show, but I got a pretty sweet tan! With all the fighter jets and airplanes, I fit right in with my aviator sunglasses. 

Last Tuesday, the 16th, we went over to Lawton and had our Zone Conference. Meetings after meetings, I'll tell ya. We learned about our teaching skills as a missionary and how we can ask questions to allow the spirit to teach our investigators rather than us just lecturing them. The previous day the zone leaders challenged me to bear my testimony to my district. I decided to take it step further by bearing my testimony during testimony meeting after the zone conference. It turned out I had a lot more to be grateful for than what I was planning on saying! But oh, how grateful I was for the opportunity to allow others to feel the same spirit I'd felt all throughout the meeting. I loved it. Bearing my testimony to other missionaries is something I don't do enough.

On Thursday, Elder Garcia and I got to go to Mangum to visit the family that we ran into at the Air Show. Unfortunately only two of their kids were home. The mom was at Parent Teacher Conferences with her other daughter. Man, remember those?! But we had a fun visit with their kids. Their house is full of chaos and entertainment, I love it. They are rapidly becoming a favorite of mine in this area. The kids haven't been to church in a long time, so it's going to take us some time to get them reintroduced to the gospel and rekindle the testimonies they gained long ago. They loved having us over, and we're looking forward to going back!

Then Saturday came "Hollis Day." We experienced the same thing we did in Mangum, but in Hollis! We had plans to tract out part of the town, but we spent the whole time meeting the two families there and getting to know them better. We also have plans to go back there this Saturday. I just love road-trip days when we can go to outlying towns.

Last Friday I randomly heard a song that I listened to back at BYU. It was after our District Meeting during lunch at Taco Bell, of all places. It brought on some fresh memories. Some of you may recognize the song lyrics, but it goes something like, "who do you need? Who do you love when you come undone?" At such a time when I've felt like coming undone, I kept asking myself "Elder Garner, who do you love?" Was I turning to the Savior enough? Was I trusting in others to let them help me? I kept reflecting on that as I was sitting in the chapel in Lawton listening to everyone's testimonies. As the pounding in my chest got heavier and heavier I knew the spirit was testifying of the words that all the other missionaries had spoken. I felt prompted to share likewise. And how grateful I was to have not missed out on that opportunity as well as the opportunity to serve here. 

Elder Garner

One Door Closes, Another Door Opens (09/08/2014)

Recently I've been reading in the scriptures about the stories of Alma preaching the word of God to the people in the land of Ammonihah. Often throughout our lives we have a plan to accomplish something, but then it doesn't turn out quite the way we expected. Sometimes it fails altogether, we start over, and another opportunity arises. Alma had plans to preach the gospel to the people of Ammonihah, but was reviled and cast out. When told to go back to the city through another door, he ran into Amulek, who then became his comrade in crying repentance to the people. Zeezrom's livelihood as a lawyer becomes threatened by Alma's influence to do good, he bashes with Alma to try to confound him and catch him in his words. Such subtle notions did not work in Zeezrom's favor. Alma and Amulek remain diligent and persistent throughout women and children being burnt, them being incarcerated, and going several days without food or water. 

I'm sure it was not Alma and Amulek's plan to go through all that, but no matter what happened, God had a plan for them, and he opened a door for them to enter. Ultimately, God's plan worked out.

With a new transfer upon me I got to witness that in my area as Elder Wilkes left and Elder Garcia came in. Vince and Shelby, our investigators, shipped out to Dallas, Texas with little notice. We were sad to see them go, but we have opportunities for missionary work waiting for us here in Altus. 

With transfers taking up most of our week, here's what else happened: We helped NOT Sister Thomas with moving, but rather we helped Sister Nelson, the sister that introduced us to Vince and Shelby to begin with. When we finally finished moving her out/in, we took a break, and I gave Sister Nelson a high-five. I forgot she has bad arthritis! I felt so bad...it was a pretty hard high-five... When she clutched her hand in pain I thought she was going to fall over and croak! Luckily she was cool about it, and she even said her wrist felt better after all the pain was gone! What a relief... 

On Thursday we went over to Operation Care to introduce the new guys to the staff. They decided to play a joke on the new guys by acting mean and rude to them... Angela got up in our face and started chewing us out for not arriving on time, and Shirley even brought her taser! But we couldn't keep straight faces, so all that lasted for about 60 seconds. Finally we gave up the joke and went right into meeting everyone and doing service. Oh goodness... I love Operation Care and all their hilarious staff members.

On Saturday we biked and tracted in the rain for a couple hours. It was my first time using my winter jacket since last winter! We met a lady named Wanda that invited us right on in to talk with her! We couldn't actually go inside, but it was a great finding miracle for us. The rain was well worth it. I know more doors will open up this transfer. New companion, new ward mission leader, new transfer, something's bound to open up. Let's see what happens!

Elder Garner

Weaknesses on Public Display (09/02/2014)

Mmm, mmmm. What an excellent week. I promised this week would be a good week, didn't I? Some events of this week include: A road trip to Oklahoma City, A Pizza Hut discovery, a turning of the month, meeting Miss Gibby the cat, "The Purge," 8 hours of hard-knock manual labor, a newbie attempting to play Risk, and all cards getting put out onto the table.

Starting at the top, on Tuesday we helped a couple named Paul and Shirley in Altus get some stuff ready to move in preparation for their move to Rapid City. Shirley does service with us at Operation Care, and she's real fun to hang out with. She has a kid that's a member, so she knows a lot about the church already. After we helped them move they took us to Pizza Hut, and the waiter there gave us a discount. Turns out she knows the missionaries and happens to be a member! We have no idea who she is or where she lives, but we pray she will make her way back to church one day. After that we said goodbye to Paul and Shirley. They're a great family, and I'm kinda sad to see them go...but people have to leave Altus at some point. 

And once again, you get to hear about good old Sister Thomas. We helped her move her stuff out of her house. She introduced us to Miss Gibby, her cat. And Miss Gibby introduced us to her hairballs...nasty! We found a lot of those under Sister Thomas' furniture...ha. Later on that night the elders from Seymour, Texas (literally the lowest corner of the mission) drove up to Altus and stayed the night at our place. Remember Elder Davis? My old roommate in Mustang back in February? He was in Seymour. All six of us had a sleepover and got to watch Ephraim's Rescue. Man, I haven't seen that movie since I was in Sulphur! 

On Thursday Elder Park in Seymour, Texas, and I drove up to OKC for our leadership training meeting. We learned plenty about how to be better leaders and better examples to the missionaries we serve. The best quote that came from the meeting: "Therefore...what?" When you've performed an action, what comes next? Why do we do the things we do as missionaries? Our focus should be working towards achieving our goals and knowing why we perform our duties. 

Saturday morning we helped Sister Thomas move--get this, not her house, but we moved instead--her garage. She had a multi-car garage jam-packed with boxes upon boxes of quilting, food storage, antique stuff, odds and ends, old clothes, and what have you. What was originally supposed to be a 2-3 hour project turned into 8 hours of moving and hauling stuff from the old garage to the new garage! In 100 degrees, that was a nightmare. We were blessed temporally with a lot of goodies from Sister Thomas' storage, and physically with stronger muscles and endurance to the heat! Miss Gibby lucked out...big time. All she had to do was sit there and lick her paws.

Later on that night was the night of "The Purge." You outside-the-mission-field people probably know more about the purge than I do, but apparently there's a movie called The Purge where the people in the movie are allowed 24 hours of committing any and all crimes they want without getting punished as a way to "purge" society and eliminate the weakest links, so it becomes a survival of the fittest competition. Apparently something similar was supposed to happen Saturday night from 7 PM to 7 AM the next Sunday morning. OKC police were taking it seriously, so when President Walkenhorst got wind of it he had all missionaries in their apartments by 7 that night. So what did we do? Played Risk! I'd never played Risk before until last Saturday! Any game with a map of the world automatically piques my interest. And my, what fun I had! Even though I lost! Ha... My brothers back home know how to play Risk, so when I return we'll have to play 5-player.

And finally, backtracking to Friday. District Meeting day. Another memorable quote from the leadership training meeting from Thursday: "You are called to be a leader because of who you will become. You are called to put on public display all your weaknesses for all to see." I decided to take a leaf out of the leadership training meeting and "put on public display my weaknesses for all to see." I put all my cards out on the table. Later on the other elders in my district did the same. We went around the circle and fessed up our weaknesses for all to hear. Anyone see Pitch Perfect? The part where all the Bellas share their struggles to everyone? We did something similar to that, but it was much more serious and spiritual. And what a huge act of humility that was for all of us. When we admitted all our mistakes, some of us were more honest than others, some were more embarrassed than others, but no matter what emotions we felt we understood quite vividly what judgment day would be like. Our bond with each other was markedly strengthened that day. Of that, I am sure. I'm so grateful that no one is perfect... myself included.

Elder Garner