Tuesday and Wednesday were killer days for me and Elder Wilkes. We both got allergies... It completely took over us. Elder Wilkes got really bad bloodshot eyes and I got hives that looked like leprosy! A member family asked us to clear out the weeds from their alleyway, so that's what attributed to the leprosy-allergies. The member had me sniff some lavender and melaluca for about 20 minutes. I swear, I was almost high. After that I washed the the rivers of our home bathtub....once. It didn't take seven times ;)
On Friday I entered the mega-state of TEXAS! I now see what all the hype of Texas is all about. Wherever you go....it's Texas. You go down for 500 miles you're still in Texas. You go over 1,000 miles...and you're probably still in Texas! Oklahoma must feel invaded having such a massive "mini-country" below them. I got to explore Burkburnett, Texas with one of my zone leaders. We had a great exchange, and I got just a little dab of the Lone Star State.
On Thursday and Sunday we had dinner at a member's home, the Hull's. They are an awesome family that moves around from place to place due to being in the Air Force. They have a kid about six years-old that likes to do magic tricks. The poor kid... He tried doing a magic card trick with me, but when he did it wrong and he guessed the wrong card... When I told him it was the wrong card he almost started crying! I felt so awful... As if that wasn't enough, he tried redeeming himself on Sunday with another card trick, this time more elaborate. After about 20 minutes of doing the trick he predicted that I had a 3 of hearts. It was a Jack of Spades... I paused for a good five seconds trying to decide if I wanted to dash his hopes and confidence again by telling him I picked a different card, or if I should just fib a little and tell him he'd picked the right one. It wouldn't have really mattered, right? I ended up telling him it was the Jack of Spades. The same results happened. I hope me and this kid are still friends! I think we are...
Sometimes I wonder if we are brimming over with confidence and we think we know what we're doing only to find out that we did things wrong. Sometimes as a missionary it feels that way. Enduring to the end sure is an important step in all our lives as we make mistakes and learn to pick ourselves back up and try again. And someday, with the help of the Lord, we'll know the tricks so well that our performance will be perfect in God's eyes. And we'll be able to dwell in His presence.
One last miracle for this week: The Hoffman family. They live just north of the elder's apartment in Purcell. Me and my trainer, Elder Evans, had found them and taught them July and August of last year. After a year of being taught by missionaries, they finally got baptized!!! The seeds have finally harvested! Unfortunately, I was informed after the baptism, but had I known it was going to happen I would have been there. This is quite possibly the greatest moment on my mission of seeds being sown. It gives me a lot more reassurance that what we do as missionaries is far-reaching and impacting--we really do make a difference. I can only imagine what comes in the next nine months...
Elder Garner
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