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