This is it, everyone. The end has arrived. My time spent for the best two years in the Oklahoma City Mission is up. My thoughts, as you might imagine, have been filled with nostalgia and reflection over the events that have gone on in the past two years. I thought about the Savior's mission in Jerusalem, especially the times when He entered into a new city or into a new environment and ministered to the people that needed Him at the time. What a sight to behold! The news of His presence and His fame was spread all throughout the land.
Another thought on my mind is the things I've learned since I've been out here in Oklahoma. I came to the conclusion pretty quickly that though I have learned a lot, I will always be learning and will continue to learn. So with that being said, why not pursue learning for the rest of your life? You may never know it all, but how much of an advantage will we have in the life to come? Tuesday was a great example of that. Our mission had Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge come out for a mission tour. He talked about his famous missionary talk, "The Fourth Missionary" and talked about how to teach people better. One thing I gained from him was learning to tell people the "why" of missionary work. In a church that focuses so much on the dos and don'ts, it's really easy for people to miss the point of why we must live the gospel the way we do. In Preach My Gospel it talks about how people will more readily accept the gospel if they understand what's being taught, and that people need a reason to live the gospel--that reason is change through repentance.
It's pretty good that Elder Corbridge came to our mission this week, because missionary work has come to a close since then. On Wednesday we were informed officially that our ward would be losing a set of elders, and since I depart the mission this week, the obvious choice is our area's companionship. Elder Tanner is also leaving, and he's going to be a Zone Leader in Norman. The Assistant to the President said that it would be up to us as to how the areas would be divided. The sisters will be taking over our area and most of our investigators, less actives, and recent converts. The other elders are also moving out of their apartment into our apartment, and the mission office will be closing the older apartment. Since we received that news, we've spent many hours just in the past few days getting the area ready to be handed off and the other apartment ready to be closed. We still have a ways to go, and a lot has to happen in the next few days.
A few events with investigators did happen, however. We were able to teach Stephanie the Word of Wisdom and hand her off to the sisters. We also set a baptismal date with Dayton, our 13-year old referral. Saying goodbye to Memery and Zavior is going to be so hard... Zavior is going to be devastated when he finds out both Elder Tanner and I are leaving. He will be such a great example for his family.
Interestingly enough, I ended my mission the same way I started it when I came out to Oklahoma: storms. The rains came and the tornado and flash flood warnings were announced. Wednesday through Saturday we had torrents and the most tsunami-esque weather I've seen out here! It's a surprise that no tornadoes touched down over here. I will always remember Oklahoma for its unpredictable weather.
To end this week, I got to go down to Sulphur for one last visit. I got to have lunch with Michelle and Tammy McElvany. In so many ways they stayed the same, yet in other ways they've changed completely. I'm so incredibly blessed to have been able to meet the people that I did, and that I didn't get to miss out on the opportunity to serve a mission for Heavenly Father preaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
These really are the most amazing and best two years of my life. I'll see y'all in Utah!
—Elder Garner
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Monday, May 4, 2015
Let Your Light So Shine (05/04/2015)
Oh my goodness, this is the week to give it my best! Time to bring down the house and testify of the true and everlasting gospel like nothing else matters! This past week got me pretty pumped for finishing strong. Our week was eventful, and miracles happened. The attitude I've had towards finishing the best two years is way different than I thought it would be. At the start of my mission I thought I would be battered and beat and ready to leave, but only the first two adjectives apply in this case. Behind the scenes of all the emails I send every week, I've had a lot of things happen. Some might say, "I don't have much time left, I may as well just slow down and give up." But lately I keep thinking, "I've done this for nearly two years, surely I can do it a little longer." And it's kept me going.
We met with Stephanie a couple times this week. Nothing new with her and Nashoba, but he's still living somewhere else. We taught her the Restoration and set a baptismal date for the 13th of June. I was amazed by how willing and readily she responded to baptism. There was no hesitation in her response to the invitation. We taught her again later in the week about the Doctrine of Christ. We're planning to teach her the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity before Nashoba potentially moves back in with her. She came to the ward talent show with her two kids and loved it! We were happy she got to come and have some fun, that way she could see what Mormons are like apart from church. She had a lot of people come up and talk to her.
And speaking of that, the ward talent show on Friday was BOSS. We had such a good turnout and the food was amazing! When little Josie dressed up as Elsa and sang "Let It Go" my heart liquified. It was the most adorable thing that happened in the entire talent show. Definitely more adorable than the elders' talent. We did a glutes and thighs workout in front of the entire ward. I was completely out of sync with the other elders...it was great. If you're curious, just look on Facebook.
On Wednesday my companion had to go to the dentist, so I got to go with him. The dental lodge we went to happens to be in one of my old areas--Noble! I had no idea this dentist office even existed! It must be new or something. So as I waited outside I got to talk to a lady from Noble. We talked about random stuff for about an hour. She lives in Noble, so I got to tell her a little bit about the experiences I had when I served there almost two years ago. Finally when our conversation was over, I invited her to the Lamb of God and to attend church in Noble. Surprisingly enough, I remembered the church building address. Whenever that seed grows, she will be attending the most noble ward in Oklahoma. #NobleMemories
On Thursday we spent most of the day with Brother Starnes. We did some service for Sister Duffy, one of our recent coverts. She has a non-member husband that's a trucker and does about 25 days on and 5 days off. She asked us to mow her lawn. It took forever even with two lawn mowers and an edger. I even found a dead snake in the backyard! After that project we got cleaned up, had dinner, and saw Dayton, a referral from the Bunners. He's 13-years old and hangs out with the Bunner's 14-year old daughter. He told us up front that he wanted to join the church, so we got him started on the discussions and even got to teach two of his siblings, Amya and Eva. They are way smart for their age. We see amazing potential in them.
Saturday we saw the Lamb of God concert. What an explosion of spirituality! We had a pretty good turnout there as well. Lots of members and non-members. It's done by the Central Saints Chorus, so if they make a soundtrack, y'all should check it out. And to finish the week we saw Memery and Zavior. They have officially moved out of their duplex and moved across town into a house. Their living situation is so much better now. It truly is a blessing for them. We shared Mormon 9 with them, the chapter we did in Book of Mormon class. We talked about how miracles happen today. It was pretty interesting. Earlier that day after church we had lunch with the Sweeneys. They asked me to give some parting advice and share some miracles I'd seen in my mission. I shared some stories and miracles I had seen in Purcell/Noble. Meeting lady on the side of the road and helping her make her way back to Wetumka, watching Thayne give $300 to Carol, and meeting the Hoffmans. All those happened so long ago, but I remember them like it happened not so long ago. I'm grateful for the miracles that confirm and build my faith. I know that Heavenly Father is willing to bless us as long as we have faith in Jesus Christ, nothing doubting. Everyday of your life is a miracle!
Elder Garner
We met with Stephanie a couple times this week. Nothing new with her and Nashoba, but he's still living somewhere else. We taught her the Restoration and set a baptismal date for the 13th of June. I was amazed by how willing and readily she responded to baptism. There was no hesitation in her response to the invitation. We taught her again later in the week about the Doctrine of Christ. We're planning to teach her the Word of Wisdom and the Law of Chastity before Nashoba potentially moves back in with her. She came to the ward talent show with her two kids and loved it! We were happy she got to come and have some fun, that way she could see what Mormons are like apart from church. She had a lot of people come up and talk to her.
And speaking of that, the ward talent show on Friday was BOSS. We had such a good turnout and the food was amazing! When little Josie dressed up as Elsa and sang "Let It Go" my heart liquified. It was the most adorable thing that happened in the entire talent show. Definitely more adorable than the elders' talent. We did a glutes and thighs workout in front of the entire ward. I was completely out of sync with the other elders...it was great. If you're curious, just look on Facebook.
On Wednesday my companion had to go to the dentist, so I got to go with him. The dental lodge we went to happens to be in one of my old areas--Noble! I had no idea this dentist office even existed! It must be new or something. So as I waited outside I got to talk to a lady from Noble. We talked about random stuff for about an hour. She lives in Noble, so I got to tell her a little bit about the experiences I had when I served there almost two years ago. Finally when our conversation was over, I invited her to the Lamb of God and to attend church in Noble. Surprisingly enough, I remembered the church building address. Whenever that seed grows, she will be attending the most noble ward in Oklahoma. #NobleMemories
On Thursday we spent most of the day with Brother Starnes. We did some service for Sister Duffy, one of our recent coverts. She has a non-member husband that's a trucker and does about 25 days on and 5 days off. She asked us to mow her lawn. It took forever even with two lawn mowers and an edger. I even found a dead snake in the backyard! After that project we got cleaned up, had dinner, and saw Dayton, a referral from the Bunners. He's 13-years old and hangs out with the Bunner's 14-year old daughter. He told us up front that he wanted to join the church, so we got him started on the discussions and even got to teach two of his siblings, Amya and Eva. They are way smart for their age. We see amazing potential in them.
Saturday we saw the Lamb of God concert. What an explosion of spirituality! We had a pretty good turnout there as well. Lots of members and non-members. It's done by the Central Saints Chorus, so if they make a soundtrack, y'all should check it out. And to finish the week we saw Memery and Zavior. They have officially moved out of their duplex and moved across town into a house. Their living situation is so much better now. It truly is a blessing for them. We shared Mormon 9 with them, the chapter we did in Book of Mormon class. We talked about how miracles happen today. It was pretty interesting. Earlier that day after church we had lunch with the Sweeneys. They asked me to give some parting advice and share some miracles I'd seen in my mission. I shared some stories and miracles I had seen in Purcell/Noble. Meeting lady on the side of the road and helping her make her way back to Wetumka, watching Thayne give $300 to Carol, and meeting the Hoffmans. All those happened so long ago, but I remember them like it happened not so long ago. I'm grateful for the miracles that confirm and build my faith. I know that Heavenly Father is willing to bless us as long as we have faith in Jesus Christ, nothing doubting. Everyday of your life is a miracle!
Elder Garner
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Loosing the Bands (04/27/2015)
There are going to a lot of "lasts" these next couple weeks. With my last General Conference on the mission just finished, a couple more P-days, a couple more district meetings, things are getting wrapped up in Oklahoma. I don't think I've had this many mixed emotions since I left for Oklahoma. I can adapt pretty easily to new settings and environments, and feeling the way I have lately is proving to me that I've grown pretty used to Oklahoma! #ComfortablyBound
And one of the last things I got to do on Monday was go to our Zone P-day and Specialized Training in Pauls Valley. It may just have been my last time in Pauls Valley! But who knows. I may get President to work some of his magic and let me go over there (or at least to Sulphur) and see some people. We had a fantastic P-day at the Boger's house and had an awesome training on having effective member-present lessons: pre-game and post-game tips to making a lesson with an investigator the most spiritual and effective as possible. It was funny... We received bike safety training, and all the while I smiled...I kept thinking, "A bike, a bike, I have no more need of a bike!" I will sure miss P-day activities with the zone. #BoundToHaveFun
It was our turn this week to teach Book of Mormon class. We studied Mormon 9 about faith and miracles. Moroni gave us some pretty neat advice on miracles. In verse 20, it explains that people back then didn't see miracles because they dwindled in unbelief, they departed from the right way, and they didn't know the God in whom they trusted. But the next verse promises all that whatsoever we ask for in the name of Christ will be given to us if we believe and doubt nothing. #MiraclesAbound
A couple miracles of our own that we had this week: We got back in contact with Stephanie, our investigator referral. She's breaking up with her boyfriend, who is the brother of the member that referred us to the couple. She's had a history of being more humble and receptive when times are rough. When we first met her a couple months back, she'd had a death in the family and was more receptive then. We'd taught her the plan of salvation and committed her to read and pray. This time we read 1st Nephi 7 about Nephi going back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael and his family. Shortly after that goes down, Nephi gets bound with cords by Laman and Lemuel. He prays for the strength to burst the bands, and they're loosed from him. We talked to her about the things in life that bind us, and recommitted her to pray, and pray specifically to overcome her challenges and have the things that bind her to be loosed. #BreakingTheRelationshipBands
Our other investigators are doing well and continue to be taught the gospel. Memery is for sure moving, but she's only moving across town, luckily. Rusty promised us that he'd be at church for my departure talk in Ada. Man, if that's what it takes, then that's a miracle right there. We also saw Bro. Frazier, our less active that teaches bible study for his wife's church. We got to know him a little better, and he knows more people in the ward than we thought. His last wife was a member, and after they divorced he fell away. He still has a testimony of Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon. We read "His Grace Is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. Man that sunk into him good. He felt the Spirit!
This next week will be fun. We have the ward talent show on Friday and the Lamb of God the next day. And we Elder Corbridge next Tuesday! With those events in mind, my days of actual proselyting are numbered. I'm praying to remain focused and to have my thoughts zeroed in on teaching and testifying. It's going by so fast!
Elder Garner
And one of the last things I got to do on Monday was go to our Zone P-day and Specialized Training in Pauls Valley. It may just have been my last time in Pauls Valley! But who knows. I may get President to work some of his magic and let me go over there (or at least to Sulphur) and see some people. We had a fantastic P-day at the Boger's house and had an awesome training on having effective member-present lessons: pre-game and post-game tips to making a lesson with an investigator the most spiritual and effective as possible. It was funny... We received bike safety training, and all the while I smiled...I kept thinking, "A bike, a bike, I have no more need of a bike!" I will sure miss P-day activities with the zone. #BoundToHaveFun
It was our turn this week to teach Book of Mormon class. We studied Mormon 9 about faith and miracles. Moroni gave us some pretty neat advice on miracles. In verse 20, it explains that people back then didn't see miracles because they dwindled in unbelief, they departed from the right way, and they didn't know the God in whom they trusted. But the next verse promises all that whatsoever we ask for in the name of Christ will be given to us if we believe and doubt nothing. #MiraclesAbound
A couple miracles of our own that we had this week: We got back in contact with Stephanie, our investigator referral. She's breaking up with her boyfriend, who is the brother of the member that referred us to the couple. She's had a history of being more humble and receptive when times are rough. When we first met her a couple months back, she'd had a death in the family and was more receptive then. We'd taught her the plan of salvation and committed her to read and pray. This time we read 1st Nephi 7 about Nephi going back to Jerusalem to get Ishmael and his family. Shortly after that goes down, Nephi gets bound with cords by Laman and Lemuel. He prays for the strength to burst the bands, and they're loosed from him. We talked to her about the things in life that bind us, and recommitted her to pray, and pray specifically to overcome her challenges and have the things that bind her to be loosed. #BreakingTheRelationshipBands
Our other investigators are doing well and continue to be taught the gospel. Memery is for sure moving, but she's only moving across town, luckily. Rusty promised us that he'd be at church for my departure talk in Ada. Man, if that's what it takes, then that's a miracle right there. We also saw Bro. Frazier, our less active that teaches bible study for his wife's church. We got to know him a little better, and he knows more people in the ward than we thought. His last wife was a member, and after they divorced he fell away. He still has a testimony of Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon. We read "His Grace Is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. Man that sunk into him good. He felt the Spirit!
This next week will be fun. We have the ward talent show on Friday and the Lamb of God the next day. And we Elder Corbridge next Tuesday! With those events in mind, my days of actual proselyting are numbered. I'm praying to remain focused and to have my thoughts zeroed in on teaching and testifying. It's going by so fast!
Elder Garner
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Coming to an Understanding (04/20/2015)
Ada Ward had some special guests from Norman drive down for our sacrament meeting on Sunday. We had a family of three come down and speak on gratitude, and had a fantastic turnout. As they spoke, I looked around the audience and counted all the blessings, one person at a time. And Sister Caster from Sulphur came to Ada sacrament! My favorite bronx lady in the world! Ada was the place to be on Sunday.
But I have so much for which to be grateful. We had a lot of great things happen this week. The biggest one was with Memery. A few weeks back we'd given her a copy of "Come and See" by David A. Bednar. This talk works miracles, especially once you get to the Elder Bednar's story of his son getting a scrape on his arm and having dishwashing soap and ointment put on his arm. We compared the dishwashing soap to the oftentimes painful process of repentance and the cleansing effect it has on our lives. We then compared the ointment to baptism and its cleansing effect and the beginning of renewed life. She discussed her fears about coming to church and taking the missionary discussions. She has things in her life that she needs to change, and after some pondering on her part, she realized that she was dreading the repentance process. She fully admitted she was making up excuses and trying to put off changing. She also realized that she has greater fears (like the 2nd coming) that are far greater than little things like crowds and feeling too sick to come to church. She recited to us our purpose (we hadn't even told her!) and brought the spirit into her own home. She told exactly what we were thinking. And the Spirit was way beyond powerful. She even identified those feelings without us even having to tell her. I'll tell ya, my friends, she taught me something.
She asked us if our sins could be forgiven, even when repeated throughout our lives. We explained to her that God wasn't looking for perfection, but that He is looking for progress is each of us. That progress comes from following the example of Jesus Christ, and as long as our deepest desire is to follow Him, strive to change, and improve ourselves, the Lord will forgive us. It was quite possibly the most spirit-filled and productive lesson we've had with her. The gospel is going to fill that home!
We found a less active this week named Bro. Frazier. We were told that he lived in the other elders' area, but a member ran into him at Walmart and got his new address, and he lives in our area! We went over to meet him, but his wife answered the door. She invited us to her church's bible study. She goes to the Faith Baptist Church. We decided to attend, and the less active was running the bible study! We started with a prayer, and he gave the most Mormon prayer a less active could give! He's totally a Mormon deep down! Of all the chapters to choose from, he chose James 1. How perfect for missionary work ;) We were told to read two verses each. Of all the verses I got assigned to read, I read the famous James 1:5-6. I made sure to read it in an extra deep and pronounced voice ;) And after that he asked for the group's thoughts and insights on the chapter. We were the first people he asked for our thoughts. HA, he knows the significance of this chapter in the restored gospel. Eventually we had to leave, and when we got up, he goes, "See y'all? Baptists and Mormons can study the Bible together!" I laughed inwardly. How funny. Funny people. Funny experience. #TheGospelIsSoTrue
On Thursday we had a church tour with our investigator, Paris, who goes to ECU. We brought the Lemmerts with us, and they helped explain some of the different rooms in the building. Sister Lemmert also explained the role of Relief Society to her. After the tour we read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and read Mosiah 18. Then we committed her to be baptized! On May 30th! That's two weeks too late! Oh well, that will be one fruit that I won't be able to partake.
Saturday was exciting! Sister Lemmert the sister missionaries left for a stake women's meeting up in Norman, so Elder Lemmert and all of us elders had the brilliant idea to plant a garden for Sister Lemmert and surpise her :) So we had a bachelor party at Lemmert villa. We planted corn, cilantro, and other exciting edible vegetation. #OkraIsForOkies
Well, the countdown is now just like counting the 25 days until Christmas. Yikes... The trunky jokes have commenced. There's a song from the Anchorage, Alaska Mission Soundtrack that I keep singing that's about not admitting that you're anxious to go home. So now I've got the end the transfer with a bang and prove to everyone that "I'm not trunky!!"
Enjoy yourself this week :)
Elder Garner
But I have so much for which to be grateful. We had a lot of great things happen this week. The biggest one was with Memery. A few weeks back we'd given her a copy of "Come and See" by David A. Bednar. This talk works miracles, especially once you get to the Elder Bednar's story of his son getting a scrape on his arm and having dishwashing soap and ointment put on his arm. We compared the dishwashing soap to the oftentimes painful process of repentance and the cleansing effect it has on our lives. We then compared the ointment to baptism and its cleansing effect and the beginning of renewed life. She discussed her fears about coming to church and taking the missionary discussions. She has things in her life that she needs to change, and after some pondering on her part, she realized that she was dreading the repentance process. She fully admitted she was making up excuses and trying to put off changing. She also realized that she has greater fears (like the 2nd coming) that are far greater than little things like crowds and feeling too sick to come to church. She recited to us our purpose (we hadn't even told her!) and brought the spirit into her own home. She told exactly what we were thinking. And the Spirit was way beyond powerful. She even identified those feelings without us even having to tell her. I'll tell ya, my friends, she taught me something.
She asked us if our sins could be forgiven, even when repeated throughout our lives. We explained to her that God wasn't looking for perfection, but that He is looking for progress is each of us. That progress comes from following the example of Jesus Christ, and as long as our deepest desire is to follow Him, strive to change, and improve ourselves, the Lord will forgive us. It was quite possibly the most spirit-filled and productive lesson we've had with her. The gospel is going to fill that home!
We found a less active this week named Bro. Frazier. We were told that he lived in the other elders' area, but a member ran into him at Walmart and got his new address, and he lives in our area! We went over to meet him, but his wife answered the door. She invited us to her church's bible study. She goes to the Faith Baptist Church. We decided to attend, and the less active was running the bible study! We started with a prayer, and he gave the most Mormon prayer a less active could give! He's totally a Mormon deep down! Of all the chapters to choose from, he chose James 1. How perfect for missionary work ;) We were told to read two verses each. Of all the verses I got assigned to read, I read the famous James 1:5-6. I made sure to read it in an extra deep and pronounced voice ;) And after that he asked for the group's thoughts and insights on the chapter. We were the first people he asked for our thoughts. HA, he knows the significance of this chapter in the restored gospel. Eventually we had to leave, and when we got up, he goes, "See y'all? Baptists and Mormons can study the Bible together!" I laughed inwardly. How funny. Funny people. Funny experience. #TheGospelIsSoTrue
On Thursday we had a church tour with our investigator, Paris, who goes to ECU. We brought the Lemmerts with us, and they helped explain some of the different rooms in the building. Sister Lemmert also explained the role of Relief Society to her. After the tour we read the introduction to the Book of Mormon and read Mosiah 18. Then we committed her to be baptized! On May 30th! That's two weeks too late! Oh well, that will be one fruit that I won't be able to partake.
Saturday was exciting! Sister Lemmert the sister missionaries left for a stake women's meeting up in Norman, so Elder Lemmert and all of us elders had the brilliant idea to plant a garden for Sister Lemmert and surpise her :) So we had a bachelor party at Lemmert villa. We planted corn, cilantro, and other exciting edible vegetation. #OkraIsForOkies
Well, the countdown is now just like counting the 25 days until Christmas. Yikes... The trunky jokes have commenced. There's a song from the Anchorage, Alaska Mission Soundtrack that I keep singing that's about not admitting that you're anxious to go home. So now I've got the end the transfer with a bang and prove to everyone that "I'm not trunky!!"
Enjoy yourself this week :)
Elder Garner
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
04/13/2015
Some good news is that Memery and Zavior aren't moving to Holdenville anymore. They've decided to move to Oregon in about a month from now. They've been changing their plans a lot lately, so we'll see if that actually happens. All is well over there! #FalseAlarm
We had a good discussion with one of our drunk investigators, Robert. We happened to catch him sober, and we talked about some of his goals in life and what he wants to accomplish. We've decided that Robert is a good resource for finding new people, so we're going to keep finding new investigators through him. Robert doesn't seem to remember me, but he remembers my companion and one of the other elders really well and always asks where he's at. #TheOtherGuy
We did a lot of finding and street contacting this past week. We felt like we needed to spice things up in our area, so we talked to some new people. The weather over here's been amazing, so lots of people are outside. We met a new investigator named Paris. She goes to ECU and used to live in Maysville, close to Pauls Valley. We also had a member invite one of his friends to church on Sunday. His name's Jimmy. Apparently he had a heart attack outside and his neighbor called 911. He lived through it, and the member helped pay his water bill and invited him to church. Member missionary work!!
We were walking down main street earlier this week, and this massive guy with tattoos everywhere pulled up on his motorcycle. We thought we were about to get jumped, so we kept walking unto he beckoned us over. Then we found out his name was Jerry and that he was a member that moved from San Diego. He's extremely less active, but it was neat miracle! We talked to him about his upbringing in the church and his friends and family that are all members. The missionaries in San Diego used to live next to him. He's had a lot of Mormon influences throughout his life. He's a pretty neat guy all around.
Friday was really neat. I went on exchanges to my old branch of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. I had the opportunity to meet some people that I'd never really met before while I was there. I wasn't in Sulphur, but I recognized some people that lived there, and they even remembered me! One family in particular was the Bishops. The mom had been less active since age 17 and had been in and out of the military with her husband. Both are now on disability, but they own an antique consignment shop in Pauls Valley. Back when I was in Sulphur, we called Sister Bishop to see if we could get her address and visit with her. "How did you get my number?" she asked us. We told her that her number was simply on the roster. She agreed and gave us her address. We referred her to the Pauls Valley elders and they began teaching her husband and two kids and reactivating her. They are now getting sealed on May 23rd. It's pretty incredible how much growth there's been in that branch from when I first got there till now. They are bursting at the seems for a new building and to become a ward. #FruitsInTheValley
Saturday was when I exchanged back to Ada. On the way back we stopped in Stratford and said hi to the Kelleys. I love that family :) When we got back we got called up to do lots of service. We helped a member mow his yard and help a recent convert's non-member husband put up a wall for a shed.
Sometimes I think nothing exciting happens in my week, but then I look at everything I just wrote and realize that so much stuff happens every week! I remembered that today was the day I got baptized! It's been 13 years to the day! I'm now a teenager in the gospel. Ha, let's imagine me repeating those years. Elder and Sister Lemmert showed up to Ada and started their mission not long after I got to Ada in October last year. After being around them for six months now, Sister Lemmert informed me I look and act more mature. What a compliment! If there's been a noticeable difference in six months, I wonder what differences two years will show.
Y'all can be the judge of that. For now, enjoy your April showers!
Elder Garner
We had a good discussion with one of our drunk investigators, Robert. We happened to catch him sober, and we talked about some of his goals in life and what he wants to accomplish. We've decided that Robert is a good resource for finding new people, so we're going to keep finding new investigators through him. Robert doesn't seem to remember me, but he remembers my companion and one of the other elders really well and always asks where he's at. #TheOtherGuy
We did a lot of finding and street contacting this past week. We felt like we needed to spice things up in our area, so we talked to some new people. The weather over here's been amazing, so lots of people are outside. We met a new investigator named Paris. She goes to ECU and used to live in Maysville, close to Pauls Valley. We also had a member invite one of his friends to church on Sunday. His name's Jimmy. Apparently he had a heart attack outside and his neighbor called 911. He lived through it, and the member helped pay his water bill and invited him to church. Member missionary work!!
We were walking down main street earlier this week, and this massive guy with tattoos everywhere pulled up on his motorcycle. We thought we were about to get jumped, so we kept walking unto he beckoned us over. Then we found out his name was Jerry and that he was a member that moved from San Diego. He's extremely less active, but it was neat miracle! We talked to him about his upbringing in the church and his friends and family that are all members. The missionaries in San Diego used to live next to him. He's had a lot of Mormon influences throughout his life. He's a pretty neat guy all around.
Friday was really neat. I went on exchanges to my old branch of Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. I had the opportunity to meet some people that I'd never really met before while I was there. I wasn't in Sulphur, but I recognized some people that lived there, and they even remembered me! One family in particular was the Bishops. The mom had been less active since age 17 and had been in and out of the military with her husband. Both are now on disability, but they own an antique consignment shop in Pauls Valley. Back when I was in Sulphur, we called Sister Bishop to see if we could get her address and visit with her. "How did you get my number?" she asked us. We told her that her number was simply on the roster. She agreed and gave us her address. We referred her to the Pauls Valley elders and they began teaching her husband and two kids and reactivating her. They are now getting sealed on May 23rd. It's pretty incredible how much growth there's been in that branch from when I first got there till now. They are bursting at the seems for a new building and to become a ward. #FruitsInTheValley
Saturday was when I exchanged back to Ada. On the way back we stopped in Stratford and said hi to the Kelleys. I love that family :) When we got back we got called up to do lots of service. We helped a member mow his yard and help a recent convert's non-member husband put up a wall for a shed.
Sometimes I think nothing exciting happens in my week, but then I look at everything I just wrote and realize that so much stuff happens every week! I remembered that today was the day I got baptized! It's been 13 years to the day! I'm now a teenager in the gospel. Ha, let's imagine me repeating those years. Elder and Sister Lemmert showed up to Ada and started their mission not long after I got to Ada in October last year. After being around them for six months now, Sister Lemmert informed me I look and act more mature. What a compliment! If there's been a noticeable difference in six months, I wonder what differences two years will show.
Y'all can be the judge of that. For now, enjoy your April showers!
Elder Garner
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
A Lightning Strike In A Summer Storm (04/06/2015)
General Conference week! What amazing talks that were given! We spent a lot of time inviting people and handing out #BecauseHeLives cards to people. We had a great turnout and had a lot of less active members and recent converts watch and enjoy General Conference. Memery even tevoed it and told us she would watch it. Zavior loved the Priesthood Session.
Well Monday was rather...shocking. Trust me, it gets punny. We had dinner at the Schuette's house. Somehow we ended up getting on the subject of getting tortured, and getting tazed came up. One thing led to another, and the member decided he wanted to show us what it was like to get tazed.
I was volunteered to be tazed.
So Elder Swensen, then Elder Tanner, then I got tazed. It was like a got a pinched by a giant. Definitely the most painful pinch I'd ever felt! All three of us got tazed right in the rear! #PhasedByTheTaze
The next day we did more service at the boot shop. We rearranged the store to fit more merchandise they'd ordered. I used a price tag gun for the first time! Really, I've had a lot of firsts this week. That evening we taught Book of Mormon class on Alma 42 about justice and mercy and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, preparatory for the Easter weekend we just had. I shared the covering up of the nicotine analogy as part of the lesson.
On Wednesday was April Fools! We got the sisters and the Lemmerts sooooo good :) We scared the sisters and all four of us elders knocked on their apartment windows all at the same time and then run off. It was a lot more exciting than I'm making it sound! And then we doorbell-ditched the Lemmerts, but they saw us pretty quickly. Older people are so vigilant... #ToCoolToBeFooled
That evening we met with Rusty once again. He's still working on paying off his debts and hopefully avoiding jail time. He has a friend and her two daughters currently living with him. His friend, Jamie, was a friend we'd met back in November around Thanksgiving time. She and her now ex-boyfriend, Tony, were the ones that my old companion and Bro. Bunner taught and testified to while I was pep-talking Rusty into choosing not to get drunk anymore. Funny enough, the pep talk worked...about three months later. We haven't seen Tony at all since then, but Jamie talked to us for a little bit, and we got to meet her two daughters, Patience and Cetieva. We taught them about the Book of Mormon and answered questions. Rusty even had questions about it, so we got to teach and testify to them of the Book of Mormon and taught them how to receive an answer to praying about the Book of Mormon. We told them they needed to pray and wait patiently to receive an answer. Patience enjoyed that :)
On Friday we had a pre-General Conference district lunch. I made pancakes and bacon, and Elder Tanner made scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. They turned out pretty yummy! Saturday morning the sisters and the other elders got a turn to make US lunch :) The elders bought the food, and the sisters, of course, cooked the food. It was perfect food for conference.
Which by the way, General Conference was fantastic and so enlightening. I kept getting nudged during the talks on marriage and post-missionary life. It's like that stuff's going to happen soon or something... And I don't understand what would get someone to oppose sustaining the prophet if they don't really mean to do it. 3rd Nephi 13:5 and 16 give us a good answer though: "...thou shalt not do as the hypocrites...that they may been seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward."
And wow, M. Russell Ballard's talk on raising the bar. I remember hearing that talk for the first time as a youth, and he followed up on it years later! And he told perspective missionaries and RMs to keep the bar raised! A couple conferences ago he even gave a talk on following up, and he did just that. Good job, apostle.
So, one last story. We got invited to a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses for their Easter services on Friday. None of us had ever been before, so we thought we'd check it out. It was very interesting, and it was an overall spiritual service. They passed around the bread and wine in remembrance of the last supper. Only 144,000 people (the Anointed Ones) are allowed to partake of the bread and wine though. Respecting their beliefs, we passed it on. This made me so grateful for the sacrament and the renewal of covenants. Funny enough, we found a less active and an excommunicated member at the service. We hadn't seen both of them in a couple months, so I'm pleased that there was a purpose in all that. We got tons of fellowship after the service, and they gave all of us a New World Translation of the Bible. They were very respectful, and I have a lot of respect for them.
Okay, one last story pertaining to the work. Some interesting events took place with Memery and Zavior. They got attacked by their neighbors... The cops have been involved for a while now, but now they've decided to get out of the situation. They are moving to Holdenville this week, and they will be attending the Seminole branch. They are both on board with the Church still, and they're excited to watch their recording of General Conference. It'll be sad watching them leave, but this will allow them to live in a better situation, and it'll get the ball rolling for Memery.
Not to leave this update on a sad note or anything--this week really was fantastic. A lot of great things happened, and it's going to keep up! We'll work through the mess, even when lightning strikes in a summer storm. God will lift us higher than ever before. I know it.
Elder Garner
Well Monday was rather...shocking. Trust me, it gets punny. We had dinner at the Schuette's house. Somehow we ended up getting on the subject of getting tortured, and getting tazed came up. One thing led to another, and the member decided he wanted to show us what it was like to get tazed.
I was volunteered to be tazed.
So Elder Swensen, then Elder Tanner, then I got tazed. It was like a got a pinched by a giant. Definitely the most painful pinch I'd ever felt! All three of us got tazed right in the rear! #PhasedByTheTaze
The next day we did more service at the boot shop. We rearranged the store to fit more merchandise they'd ordered. I used a price tag gun for the first time! Really, I've had a lot of firsts this week. That evening we taught Book of Mormon class on Alma 42 about justice and mercy and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, preparatory for the Easter weekend we just had. I shared the covering up of the nicotine analogy as part of the lesson.
On Wednesday was April Fools! We got the sisters and the Lemmerts sooooo good :) We scared the sisters and all four of us elders knocked on their apartment windows all at the same time and then run off. It was a lot more exciting than I'm making it sound! And then we doorbell-ditched the Lemmerts, but they saw us pretty quickly. Older people are so vigilant... #ToCoolToBeFooled
That evening we met with Rusty once again. He's still working on paying off his debts and hopefully avoiding jail time. He has a friend and her two daughters currently living with him. His friend, Jamie, was a friend we'd met back in November around Thanksgiving time. She and her now ex-boyfriend, Tony, were the ones that my old companion and Bro. Bunner taught and testified to while I was pep-talking Rusty into choosing not to get drunk anymore. Funny enough, the pep talk worked...about three months later. We haven't seen Tony at all since then, but Jamie talked to us for a little bit, and we got to meet her two daughters, Patience and Cetieva. We taught them about the Book of Mormon and answered questions. Rusty even had questions about it, so we got to teach and testify to them of the Book of Mormon and taught them how to receive an answer to praying about the Book of Mormon. We told them they needed to pray and wait patiently to receive an answer. Patience enjoyed that :)
On Friday we had a pre-General Conference district lunch. I made pancakes and bacon, and Elder Tanner made scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. They turned out pretty yummy! Saturday morning the sisters and the other elders got a turn to make US lunch :) The elders bought the food, and the sisters, of course, cooked the food. It was perfect food for conference.
Which by the way, General Conference was fantastic and so enlightening. I kept getting nudged during the talks on marriage and post-missionary life. It's like that stuff's going to happen soon or something... And I don't understand what would get someone to oppose sustaining the prophet if they don't really mean to do it. 3rd Nephi 13:5 and 16 give us a good answer though: "...thou shalt not do as the hypocrites...that they may been seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward."
And wow, M. Russell Ballard's talk on raising the bar. I remember hearing that talk for the first time as a youth, and he followed up on it years later! And he told perspective missionaries and RMs to keep the bar raised! A couple conferences ago he even gave a talk on following up, and he did just that. Good job, apostle.
So, one last story. We got invited to a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses for their Easter services on Friday. None of us had ever been before, so we thought we'd check it out. It was very interesting, and it was an overall spiritual service. They passed around the bread and wine in remembrance of the last supper. Only 144,000 people (the Anointed Ones) are allowed to partake of the bread and wine though. Respecting their beliefs, we passed it on. This made me so grateful for the sacrament and the renewal of covenants. Funny enough, we found a less active and an excommunicated member at the service. We hadn't seen both of them in a couple months, so I'm pleased that there was a purpose in all that. We got tons of fellowship after the service, and they gave all of us a New World Translation of the Bible. They were very respectful, and I have a lot of respect for them.
Okay, one last story pertaining to the work. Some interesting events took place with Memery and Zavior. They got attacked by their neighbors... The cops have been involved for a while now, but now they've decided to get out of the situation. They are moving to Holdenville this week, and they will be attending the Seminole branch. They are both on board with the Church still, and they're excited to watch their recording of General Conference. It'll be sad watching them leave, but this will allow them to live in a better situation, and it'll get the ball rolling for Memery.
Not to leave this update on a sad note or anything--this week really was fantastic. A lot of great things happened, and it's going to keep up! We'll work through the mess, even when lightning strikes in a summer storm. God will lift us higher than ever before. I know it.
Elder Garner
Monday, March 30, 2015
Painting Over Our Sins (03/30/2015)
This is it, fellas. My last transfer of the mission officially begins this week. Elder Tanner is staying with me in Ada, so I will be finishing my mission here! And what a blessing that is....because I can't take anymore surprises.
But here's one for you: Oklahoma got tornadoes this week! But good thing none of them hit Ada. One touched down in Moore near Oklahoma City, and another one hit somewhere southeast of Tulsa. We were told to have a tornado shelter and keep in contact with members of our ward so we'd be aware if a tornado was coming. On Wednesday, Ada received heavy rain, lightning flashes, and high wind speeds, but nothing close to a tornado. It was pretty entertaining watching all the Okies standing out on their porches looking at the clouds. Okay, we were doing the same...
Aside from all the crazy weather, we have transfer news! Y'all already know I'm staying in Ada to finish my mission, but everyone else in Ada stayed the same as well. We had six areas in my mission close... Sad news. The missionaries of the age-change era are leaving! We were all pretty nervous about one of the Ada areas closing, but the Lord shed His mercy all over Pontotoc County.
This week we did a lot of service. I got to help paint a large wooden work table with shelves, about as big as my entertainment center back home. All the paint was lumpy, was when it dried there were lumps all over the work table #PaintClots And then on Thursday we helped one of the sister's investigators paint the domed section of his wall that touches the ceiling. There were nicotine marks all over the walls. Fortunately the entire room is covered in cabinets, so we only had to paint the section of wall that was between the cabinets and the ceiling, but it took a lot of work to cover up those stains. All throughout service I was being taught a spiritual lesson about forgiveness and repentance, and I wasn't even realizing it. I thought about how we can remove our sins without having to cover them up. I kept thinking, "Is there a way that these walls can be washed? And then have them repainted in white?" Though it may be appealing and convenient for us to simply cover up our sins, at one point or another those sins will show up again, weather from memory or from temptation to do them again. The white will most likely disappear and you will need to do it all over again. Wouldn't it be so much easier just to get rid of the sin once and not have to keep covering it up over and over again?
And lately Elder Tanner and I have been attracting all the town drunks. We got two new investigators this week. We met them a week before last, but we finally taught them on a day that they didn't happen to be wasted. So now I'm taking a look at the Addiction Recovery Program that the Church puts out. I've never looked at it before, but just from the little bit that I've read, it's powerful even for those that don't have an addiction. The closest ARP class the Church has around here is in Norman, so we want to teach it to people here to the best of our ability. We'll probably get the Lemmerts involved since they're older and are more mature in these matters :)
And for the most part, Ada is only 100% amazing, and so is this work. It's time to wash away our sins and not just cover them up.
Elder Garner
But here's one for you: Oklahoma got tornadoes this week! But good thing none of them hit Ada. One touched down in Moore near Oklahoma City, and another one hit somewhere southeast of Tulsa. We were told to have a tornado shelter and keep in contact with members of our ward so we'd be aware if a tornado was coming. On Wednesday, Ada received heavy rain, lightning flashes, and high wind speeds, but nothing close to a tornado. It was pretty entertaining watching all the Okies standing out on their porches looking at the clouds. Okay, we were doing the same...
Aside from all the crazy weather, we have transfer news! Y'all already know I'm staying in Ada to finish my mission, but everyone else in Ada stayed the same as well. We had six areas in my mission close... Sad news. The missionaries of the age-change era are leaving! We were all pretty nervous about one of the Ada areas closing, but the Lord shed His mercy all over Pontotoc County.
This week we did a lot of service. I got to help paint a large wooden work table with shelves, about as big as my entertainment center back home. All the paint was lumpy, was when it dried there were lumps all over the work table #PaintClots And then on Thursday we helped one of the sister's investigators paint the domed section of his wall that touches the ceiling. There were nicotine marks all over the walls. Fortunately the entire room is covered in cabinets, so we only had to paint the section of wall that was between the cabinets and the ceiling, but it took a lot of work to cover up those stains. All throughout service I was being taught a spiritual lesson about forgiveness and repentance, and I wasn't even realizing it. I thought about how we can remove our sins without having to cover them up. I kept thinking, "Is there a way that these walls can be washed? And then have them repainted in white?" Though it may be appealing and convenient for us to simply cover up our sins, at one point or another those sins will show up again, weather from memory or from temptation to do them again. The white will most likely disappear and you will need to do it all over again. Wouldn't it be so much easier just to get rid of the sin once and not have to keep covering it up over and over again?
And lately Elder Tanner and I have been attracting all the town drunks. We got two new investigators this week. We met them a week before last, but we finally taught them on a day that they didn't happen to be wasted. So now I'm taking a look at the Addiction Recovery Program that the Church puts out. I've never looked at it before, but just from the little bit that I've read, it's powerful even for those that don't have an addiction. The closest ARP class the Church has around here is in Norman, so we want to teach it to people here to the best of our ability. We'll probably get the Lemmerts involved since they're older and are more mature in these matters :)
And for the most part, Ada is only 100% amazing, and so is this work. It's time to wash away our sins and not just cover them up.
Elder Garner
Thursday, March 26, 2015
The Golden Birthday (03/23/2015)
Oklahoma had their Spring Break this past week. Unlike Utah, they get an entire week of vacationing and partying. It wasn't just the schools, the university had theirs as well. Utah should emulate Oklahoma's example. It made missionary work pretty tough this week, but we had some amazing miracles.
We got back in contact with Memery. Apparently Zavior got a virus that made him pass out whenever he stood up. We gave her David A. Bednar's "Come and See" to help her get a better idea of why members of the Church share the gospel. We also had an amazing miracle with our investigator, Mario. He's been working as a manager at a casino/gas station for the past couple months, and he's been swamped with working overtime hours. He can't come to church on Sundays because of it. We can barely meet with him because we have to catch him home at just the right time, and even if we set an appointment he gets called into work sometimes. So our appointment with him on Wednesday was a miracle in and of itself. We taught him the Ten Commandments. Since keeping the Sabbath Day Holy is one of the commandments, we had a good discussion about his work life. In the middle of the lesson, he stopped us and told us that the next time he went to work he would get on his knees and pray about the Book of Mormon and pray to have a good day at work. Our Spirit radars shot way up!!! It was a super powerful lesson.
Things with Rusty are going well. He's still sober. He went to Book of Mormon class and brought up some concerns about the devil. Those are the best kind of concerns. Everyone should worry about him! But when we apply the steps of the Doctrine of Christ we can overcome those temptations. Rusty pointed out to us that all that is definitely easier said then done. One thing I learned from that lesson is that we always need to be watching ourselves and being careful that we don't fall into Satan's temptations. The phrase that comes to mind is "Watch, therefore, that ye may be ready."
All right. It's time. The birthday: It's almost been like the birthday celebration that never ends! The day of, the day before, and the day after the 21st didn't seem like it was going to end. On Friday I got a birthday card signed by all the Ada missionaries and a gallon box of Goldfish from the sister missionaries. I'm "The Goldfishinator" according to the sisters :) Then after district meeting we went out to lunch to Prairie Kitchen, and afterwards the waiter gave me a chocolate brownie with ice cream and fudge. Gosh it was yummy! And the fudge was BUBBLING hot! On the 21st we went to the church to do some stuff while the other elders took the car to Stratford. After that we got back to our apartment to find balloons taped all over the front door--another surprise from the sisters. We went over to the bishop's house to visit some of his kids while he was in Utah. They found out it was my birthday and they served us sparkling grape juice. Later on we had dinner with the Schuettes, and for dessert they made a massive chocolate ding-dong cake with white filling in the middle and gaunache on the outside. #CheckSpelling. And it was TASTY. We went to a baptism afterwards and on of the counselors in the bishopric got everyone in the ward that was there to sing happy birthday, and then he gave me a cake, which we ate the next day during ward correlation. And the package from mom was amazing!
So the past week has been pretty good. Transfer calls are this Sunday, and President tells us that six areas will be closing this transfer with 7 or 8 more areas closing my going-home transfer. Guess which area in the Oklahoma City Mission has the most sets of missionaries? Ada. So pray that none of us have to close an area!
Elder Garner
#ThePlotThickens #21AndLegal
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
How Far's that Airplane? (03/16/2015)
Like, 10 miles? Nope! Anyone that's served a mission has heard this joke. It's a trick question. The airplane isn't measured in distance, it's measured in time! This question kinda got thrown in my face earlier this week when I opened the letter from the Church telling me that I would be flying from Oklahoma to Salt Lake on the morning of May 14th! That news came two months too early!
This week we had a Specialized Training on teaching about our purpose to those we meet. We learned about finding the elect and setting expectations with investigators. Earlier that day we got to go to the Boger's house in Pauls Valley and spend our P-day there as a zone. It was a lot of fun. The next day we got to eat dinner with a less active member. He took us to Chili's. In his own words, he told me "you're learning so much right now, and soon you're going to EXPLODE with knowledge!" So I guess Oklahoma hasn't totally fried my brain yet? But Bro. Johnson made a good point. I'm learning a lot, and it's going to continue to be that way.
We had something come up with a family in the ward. They're struggling financially, and after basically cutting off contact with us and the ward for two months, they're finally ready to have us come by on a more regular basis again. They made some mistakes, and now they recognize the need to get back into church and reading the scriptures and strengthening their family relationships. We got the whole family to church on Sunday, and the bishop is helping them out as well.
On Thursday, I was separated from my companion as he went up to Oklahoma City for a meeting. I stayed behind to do exchanges in Seminole, a branch just north of Ada. I got to see Elder Faulkner, one of my buddies that I served around while I was in Mustang. He flies home on the airplane with me! I spent the day with Elder Murphy and worked in Seminole and Wewoka. I always love going to new places in Oklahoma. We taught some of their investigators and did some finding in their area. I found out that Wewoka is the black capitol of Oklahoma. Pretty sweet.
Friday it drizzled, then rained, then downpoured. While walking outside, we were stopped by two Indian men, and they asked us for some cash. We gave them something more valuable: the Book of Mormon! We told them what it is about and how it could bless their lives. They were about to leave, but once we gave the book to them and talked about it, they wanted to learn more!
And Sunday was crazy. We got the struggling family in the ward to church, and a few others that hadn't been, came to church. We had a great turnout! Later that day we went to visit a less active member.
I'm so grateful for missionary work and for the gospel. It's a way for each of us to become the best people we can be and a way to recognize all the God has done for us. It's such a blessing to be with the people of Oklahoma. To learn about them, learn with them, and help them receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Elder Garner
This week we had a Specialized Training on teaching about our purpose to those we meet. We learned about finding the elect and setting expectations with investigators. Earlier that day we got to go to the Boger's house in Pauls Valley and spend our P-day there as a zone. It was a lot of fun. The next day we got to eat dinner with a less active member. He took us to Chili's. In his own words, he told me "you're learning so much right now, and soon you're going to EXPLODE with knowledge!" So I guess Oklahoma hasn't totally fried my brain yet? But Bro. Johnson made a good point. I'm learning a lot, and it's going to continue to be that way.
We had something come up with a family in the ward. They're struggling financially, and after basically cutting off contact with us and the ward for two months, they're finally ready to have us come by on a more regular basis again. They made some mistakes, and now they recognize the need to get back into church and reading the scriptures and strengthening their family relationships. We got the whole family to church on Sunday, and the bishop is helping them out as well.
On Thursday, I was separated from my companion as he went up to Oklahoma City for a meeting. I stayed behind to do exchanges in Seminole, a branch just north of Ada. I got to see Elder Faulkner, one of my buddies that I served around while I was in Mustang. He flies home on the airplane with me! I spent the day with Elder Murphy and worked in Seminole and Wewoka. I always love going to new places in Oklahoma. We taught some of their investigators and did some finding in their area. I found out that Wewoka is the black capitol of Oklahoma. Pretty sweet.
Friday it drizzled, then rained, then downpoured. While walking outside, we were stopped by two Indian men, and they asked us for some cash. We gave them something more valuable: the Book of Mormon! We told them what it is about and how it could bless their lives. They were about to leave, but once we gave the book to them and talked about it, they wanted to learn more!
And Sunday was crazy. We got the struggling family in the ward to church, and a few others that hadn't been, came to church. We had a great turnout! Later that day we went to visit a less active member.
I'm so grateful for missionary work and for the gospel. It's a way for each of us to become the best people we can be and a way to recognize all the God has done for us. It's such a blessing to be with the people of Oklahoma. To learn about them, learn with them, and help them receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Elder Garner
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Declaring in Sobriety (03/09/2015)
Fellas, we had a breakthrough this week. A couple, actually, but I'll tell you about the Ada gang's little breakthrough we all had on Friday night.
We all got food poisoning...
There was one sister that lucked out, but the other five of us younger missionaries partook a slice of the forbidden pizza (which I ordered, oops!). For Sister Moore's birthday we went to Mazzio's, an Oklahoma pizza joint, and ordered a meat lovers and a chicken alfredo pizza. I ordered the chicken alfredo...ha. Sister Drinkall only ate the meat lovers pizza and avoided the food poisoning completely. So the next day we all felt the effects of it, and you could say that our insides made a breakthrough...on both ends. Poor Sister Moore, she threw up in the waiting room of the ER--in front of elders! But we won't hold it against her :) And just so everyone knows: We didn't go into the ER because of our food poisoning, we went to help minister to someone that needed a blessing :)
So before all that yahooness happened, we had a legit breakthrough with one of our long-time investigators. Rusty is generally drunk and cussing and emotional about his life whenever we come over, so we usually just read a scripture and give him a pep talk about repentance and how he can change his life. One random visit, however, and come to find out he gave up the desire to get drunk. Now we just need him to give up beer and smoking completely. We got him a ride to Book of Mormon class that night, which was on Moroni 7 about charity. He enjoyed the chapter. Afterwards we taught him a lesson in the church on prayer and set a baptismal date for the 18th of April.
Wednesday was once again another snow day. We were able to spend some time with the Walls though before our cars got grounded, since we knew they would be grounded. The Walls are the main fellowshippers for Memery and Zavior. Sister Walls and her kids all got baptized in December of '13, and she does missionary work like crazy. The next day on Sister Moore's birthday they invited us to their house for cupcakes for Sister Moore's birthday. Sister Walls and her daughter-in-law, Ashley (our recent convert) got in a huge cupcake fight and splatted each others' faces with cupcake! So darn entertaining ...
Thursday we focused a lot of our day on finding. We found a few potentials, and afterwards went out with a member to teach Memery. She had some questions about how to handle overly suggestive men her age, so we helped out with that and threw in some gospel advice. That's kinda the most important ingredient. We're plugging along with her and Zavior. Our next goal is to help Zavior get the priesthood and get him up there passing the sacrament with the rest of the deacons.
Friday we had the opportunity to go to Mercy Hospital and give someone a blessing. It was after the blessing that Sister Moore lost it in the ER. Later on we got to teach another recent convert's brother and his fiancee. We taught about the Plan of Salvation since they recently experienced a death in their family. We testified of the importance of God's eternal plan for us and the peace that it brings to all humankind. We received the biggest tender mercy from Heavenly Father that day, because as soon as we got out of that lesson we went straight back to our apartment. After that lesson was when things really started going downhill with the food poisoning. Saturday consisted of us recovering and eating at Bishop's house.
All safe and blessed though! We feel a lot better, and now that the sun's coming out our proselyting shouldn't be hindered anymore :)
Elder Garner
We all got food poisoning...
There was one sister that lucked out, but the other five of us younger missionaries partook a slice of the forbidden pizza (which I ordered, oops!). For Sister Moore's birthday we went to Mazzio's, an Oklahoma pizza joint, and ordered a meat lovers and a chicken alfredo pizza. I ordered the chicken alfredo...ha. Sister Drinkall only ate the meat lovers pizza and avoided the food poisoning completely. So the next day we all felt the effects of it, and you could say that our insides made a breakthrough...on both ends. Poor Sister Moore, she threw up in the waiting room of the ER--in front of elders! But we won't hold it against her :) And just so everyone knows: We didn't go into the ER because of our food poisoning, we went to help minister to someone that needed a blessing :)
So before all that yahooness happened, we had a legit breakthrough with one of our long-time investigators. Rusty is generally drunk and cussing and emotional about his life whenever we come over, so we usually just read a scripture and give him a pep talk about repentance and how he can change his life. One random visit, however, and come to find out he gave up the desire to get drunk. Now we just need him to give up beer and smoking completely. We got him a ride to Book of Mormon class that night, which was on Moroni 7 about charity. He enjoyed the chapter. Afterwards we taught him a lesson in the church on prayer and set a baptismal date for the 18th of April.
Wednesday was once again another snow day. We were able to spend some time with the Walls though before our cars got grounded, since we knew they would be grounded. The Walls are the main fellowshippers for Memery and Zavior. Sister Walls and her kids all got baptized in December of '13, and she does missionary work like crazy. The next day on Sister Moore's birthday they invited us to their house for cupcakes for Sister Moore's birthday. Sister Walls and her daughter-in-law, Ashley (our recent convert) got in a huge cupcake fight and splatted each others' faces with cupcake! So darn entertaining ...
Thursday we focused a lot of our day on finding. We found a few potentials, and afterwards went out with a member to teach Memery. She had some questions about how to handle overly suggestive men her age, so we helped out with that and threw in some gospel advice. That's kinda the most important ingredient. We're plugging along with her and Zavior. Our next goal is to help Zavior get the priesthood and get him up there passing the sacrament with the rest of the deacons.
Friday we had the opportunity to go to Mercy Hospital and give someone a blessing. It was after the blessing that Sister Moore lost it in the ER. Later on we got to teach another recent convert's brother and his fiancee. We taught about the Plan of Salvation since they recently experienced a death in their family. We testified of the importance of God's eternal plan for us and the peace that it brings to all humankind. We received the biggest tender mercy from Heavenly Father that day, because as soon as we got out of that lesson we went straight back to our apartment. After that lesson was when things really started going downhill with the food poisoning. Saturday consisted of us recovering and eating at Bishop's house.
All safe and blessed though! We feel a lot better, and now that the sun's coming out our proselyting shouldn't be hindered anymore :)
Elder Garner
Friday, March 6, 2015
Last Will and Testimony (03/02/2015)
I'm looking outside in the vast expanse of Oklahoma and those winter clouds sure look menacing. Winter decided to hold off on the snow until the last month of winter I guess. This update's going to be pretty short. Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all snow days. The two biggest things that happened this week was our Zone Conference on Thursday and our lesson we had with Memery and Zavior on Wednesday.
On Tuesday we helped a guy named Hugh, who owns a boot and saddle shop in downtown Ada. He's good friends with the bishop and other members of the ward. He and his sister, Carolyn, have started coming to church recently. The bishop introduced him to the sisters, who then introduced them to us. Hugh lives south of Ada in the outer areas of the county. His boot shop is the only shop in all southern Oklahoma, so he stays pretty busy. We've had a couple opportunities to help him around his shop doing service. We're getting to know him better and better and--in his words--"polishing" him up for the discussions.
Wednesday was really neat. The zone leaders from Pauls Valley came to Ada for exchanges. I got to stay in Ada and work with one of the zone leaders. He served in Altus about a year before I was there, so we had a lot to talk about. That brought back a lot of memories. It's interesting to see how a missionary can build on another missionary's work, especially when that missionary was in the area before you. The more I keep hearing about the success stories that are occurring in Altus, I think about how I helped lay the groundwork and helped indirectly contribute to that success. It fills me with a lot of joy to hear the good news of things like that.
Later on that night we visited Memery and Zavior. Some things had happened a few days ago. Zavior's birth father suddenly contacted him for the first time in a few years, and then dropped back off without explanation. Zavior's hurting for his father, and Memery's hurting for her son. We went over there with the intent of teaching the Restoration, but, as led by the Spirit, we addressed some concerns that Memery had. She expressed how she had a "love/hate" relationship with God. She wanted to know why she was going through all the trials she had and why God wasn't stepping in more. Before any of this happened, we gave Aiden, a member friend of Zavior's, a blessing. He's recently experienced increased seizure activity and had to go to the Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. Memery was able to witness a blessing for the first time. We shared Alma 14 where Alma and Amulek witness the burning of the innocent women and children and explained to her how God helps us no matter what trials we face, even if it happens to be the worst card we're dealt--death. By the end of the discussion, Memery admitted that she'd just had a rough day and thanked us the next day for the visit.
For Zone Conference we discussed the importance of the Book of Mormon and planning. We also received a pleasant visit from a member in Utah who introduced us to.....the Black Boxes. The little devices that are now affixed to our car's windshield and yells "CHECK YOUR SPEED" if you go too fast. The little device also tells you if you brake too hard, turn too sharp, take a bump too fast, or drive too aggressively. It can also tell if your seat belt's not on. Oh my, it's like having a mom in the car with you... ;) Oh, but that's not the best part. The Tiwi (I prefer the term 'Kiwi') has a built-in GPS that knows every speed limit of every road in the WORLD. We have to swipe a card in front of the box to log in, and it sends a report to Salt Lake City and to the mission president if you're driving like a maniac! That's like having Heavenly Father in the car with you! It's a real test of virtue, I'll tell y'all.
Aside from all the fun gadgets our mission is now getting (besides iPads of course), we received some pretty excellent trainings about the topics mentioned above. We now have a challenge to carry a Book of Mormon in hand wherever we go and to keep track of how many Books of Mormon we place in the month of March. It's Book of Mormon shark month! And we also have a challenge to be more aware and to incorporate the five aspects of the Work of Salvation into our everyday planning: Member Missionary Work, Activation, Convert Retention, Temple/Family History Work, and Teaching the Gospel. Our goal is to try to align our vision with the bishop's vision in these five aspects.
And then the testimony meeting. Zone Conference usually happens every three months, and at the end of each one the departing missionaries get to go up and bear their testimony. We have Lawrence Corbridge coming to our mission at the beginning of May, just before I leave. I had just assumed I'd be giving my testimony then, but my MTC group and I were surprised to hear our names getting called up to bear our departing testimonies! It really was quite the rude awakening. I wonder if the Lord is trying to sing to me, "The Time Is Far Spent." Anyway, it's all about enduring the to end, right?
Every other day this week was a snow day, so I'm grateful to finally be out of our apartment long enough to email and get some things done today. Keep Utah pretty while I keep giving everyone in Oklahoma the taste of the gospel. Love ya!
Elder Garner
On Tuesday we helped a guy named Hugh, who owns a boot and saddle shop in downtown Ada. He's good friends with the bishop and other members of the ward. He and his sister, Carolyn, have started coming to church recently. The bishop introduced him to the sisters, who then introduced them to us. Hugh lives south of Ada in the outer areas of the county. His boot shop is the only shop in all southern Oklahoma, so he stays pretty busy. We've had a couple opportunities to help him around his shop doing service. We're getting to know him better and better and--in his words--"polishing" him up for the discussions.
Wednesday was really neat. The zone leaders from Pauls Valley came to Ada for exchanges. I got to stay in Ada and work with one of the zone leaders. He served in Altus about a year before I was there, so we had a lot to talk about. That brought back a lot of memories. It's interesting to see how a missionary can build on another missionary's work, especially when that missionary was in the area before you. The more I keep hearing about the success stories that are occurring in Altus, I think about how I helped lay the groundwork and helped indirectly contribute to that success. It fills me with a lot of joy to hear the good news of things like that.
Later on that night we visited Memery and Zavior. Some things had happened a few days ago. Zavior's birth father suddenly contacted him for the first time in a few years, and then dropped back off without explanation. Zavior's hurting for his father, and Memery's hurting for her son. We went over there with the intent of teaching the Restoration, but, as led by the Spirit, we addressed some concerns that Memery had. She expressed how she had a "love/hate" relationship with God. She wanted to know why she was going through all the trials she had and why God wasn't stepping in more. Before any of this happened, we gave Aiden, a member friend of Zavior's, a blessing. He's recently experienced increased seizure activity and had to go to the Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City. Memery was able to witness a blessing for the first time. We shared Alma 14 where Alma and Amulek witness the burning of the innocent women and children and explained to her how God helps us no matter what trials we face, even if it happens to be the worst card we're dealt--death. By the end of the discussion, Memery admitted that she'd just had a rough day and thanked us the next day for the visit.
For Zone Conference we discussed the importance of the Book of Mormon and planning. We also received a pleasant visit from a member in Utah who introduced us to.....the Black Boxes. The little devices that are now affixed to our car's windshield and yells "CHECK YOUR SPEED" if you go too fast. The little device also tells you if you brake too hard, turn too sharp, take a bump too fast, or drive too aggressively. It can also tell if your seat belt's not on. Oh my, it's like having a mom in the car with you... ;) Oh, but that's not the best part. The Tiwi (I prefer the term 'Kiwi') has a built-in GPS that knows every speed limit of every road in the WORLD. We have to swipe a card in front of the box to log in, and it sends a report to Salt Lake City and to the mission president if you're driving like a maniac! That's like having Heavenly Father in the car with you! It's a real test of virtue, I'll tell y'all.
Aside from all the fun gadgets our mission is now getting (besides iPads of course), we received some pretty excellent trainings about the topics mentioned above. We now have a challenge to carry a Book of Mormon in hand wherever we go and to keep track of how many Books of Mormon we place in the month of March. It's Book of Mormon shark month! And we also have a challenge to be more aware and to incorporate the five aspects of the Work of Salvation into our everyday planning: Member Missionary Work, Activation, Convert Retention, Temple/Family History Work, and Teaching the Gospel. Our goal is to try to align our vision with the bishop's vision in these five aspects.
And then the testimony meeting. Zone Conference usually happens every three months, and at the end of each one the departing missionaries get to go up and bear their testimony. We have Lawrence Corbridge coming to our mission at the beginning of May, just before I leave. I had just assumed I'd be giving my testimony then, but my MTC group and I were surprised to hear our names getting called up to bear our departing testimonies! It really was quite the rude awakening. I wonder if the Lord is trying to sing to me, "The Time Is Far Spent." Anyway, it's all about enduring the to end, right?
Every other day this week was a snow day, so I'm grateful to finally be out of our apartment long enough to email and get some things done today. Keep Utah pretty while I keep giving everyone in Oklahoma the taste of the gospel. Love ya!
Elder Garner
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Ordinance Jackpot (02/23/2015)
The suspense is over y'all, Zavior got baptized this week! We were pretty worried about the baptism going through after last week's throwdown, but Memery checked and double checked with her mother to make sure she would be there. They both enjoyed his baptism a lot. One of the sister missionaries sang a solo for Zavior, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," and both his mom and his grandma starting sobbing! What a moment. Elder Tanner did a great job baptizing him, and Zavior was ready to jump in there. That same day we got to go up to the Oklahoma City Temple and watch one of Ada's recent converts go through the temple for the first time. She had family out from Utah and several sets of missionaries that served in Ada in attendance--something like 20-30 missionaries. It was almost like a zone conference! We spent all of Saturday going to the temple and then watching one of our investigators getting baptized. It was quite the day of seeing the fruits of our labors. It was fantastic.
On Monday we spent most of the day driving around looking at different shops in Ada. Elder Owen wanted one last look at Ada before he left. That night we drove up to Seminole to have dinner with a family that used to live in the ward one last time before Elder Owen went home. Their house is incredibly nice, oh my... the house tour was pretty amazing. Their tacos were super delicious :)
Tuesday, Elder Tanner and I taught the Book of Mormon class on Helaman 5, which talked about the words and advice that Helaman gave to his sons, Nephi and Lehi. He told them to remember to keep the Lord's commandments, the words that King Benjamin spoke during the first few chapters of Mosiah, and the words that Amulek spoke to Zeezrom pertaining to God's mercy and His salvation. He also told them to remember the names of their families and forefathers and their works. Sound like family history to anyone? Later on the chapter talked about the feelings of the Holy Spirit and how he whispers to us. This was key for Memery and Zavior, who, thankfully, both showed up for the class. Memery learned a lot from that class, so we were both grateful that we were the ones teaching the class that night!
Wednesday was transfer day. We went up with Elder Owen and said goodbye to him. Sister Chappell took us there, and afterwards we went out to Golden Corral. I miss food from the city. We picked up Elder Owen's replacement, drove back to Ada, and afterwards gave a blessing to a member over at the hospital. Bishop told us a little bit about her. She's been living in Ada all these years and doesn't have her records in the ward. Once she starts feeling better we'll be able to learn more about her story.
Thursday we taught Anna the Gospel of Jesus Christ lesson. We drew it out all nice and neat for her to understand. The next day we taught her the 10 commandments out of Mosiah 13. She got a kick out of that. We're starting to think that we're preparing her for the spirit world. We'll see how it goes with her. Elder Tanner also gave Zavior a haircut because Memery wanted him to get one before his baptism. He looks much older than he did before. Then we got his baptismal program figured out again all in preparation for Saturday.
Sunday got shut down for us. It started snowing over here, so bishop called off church. Tender mercy though: Zavior was able to make it to church and I got to confirm him before all the snow hit! But after church our cars got grounded...and the four of us elders were stuck inside. Thank goodness for church buildings that are so close to our apartment. It really has been quite the week. Much better than the setbacks we were having a couple weeks back. Next step: Teaching Memery her discussions along with teaching Zavior his recent convert discussions along with teaching Zeffa, Zavior's grandmother. Have an awesome week!
Elder Garner
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Breaking the Bands of Death (02/16/2015)
This is a pretty good quote: "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
Our mission is seeing a lot of death right now. Starting with transfers news: Elder Tanner and I are staying in Ada! Which basically means I'm finishing up in Ada! Until then though we have lots of work to get done. This was the news I'd been anticipating for a while now, so my worries have now been alleviated. We're getting a new elder in Ada that goes home six weeks after I do. Ada's going to be a burial ground for "dying" missionaries. There's me in three months, then this new elder goes home six weeks after I do, then Elder Tanner goes home six weeks after that. In district meeting on Friday we had the Noble Sister Training Leaders and the Pauls Valley Zone Leaders come to our district meeting in Ada. Since it was their last district meeting, two elders and a sister had their "funerals" and they had eulogies written for them. Pretty hilarious.
It's been an interesting week. Zavior was supposed to be baptized this Saturday, but Memery cancelled the baptism an hour and a half before it happened. We were about to fill the font and everything. We tried talking with her and convincing her to change her mind, but she wouldn't go through with it until Zavior's grandma could be there. Zavior was pretty bummed about it. At least we only have to wait a week for it to go through. And now that Elder Tanner and I are staying together there's no worry about one of us leaving before he gets baptized. Memery talked with her mom and made sure she would be there this Saturday, so everyone pray that this baptism happens this Saturday!
Last Monday was out of this world crazy. A couple months back all eight of us missionaries went to dinner at a member's house in Latta. While walking up to his door, a man came up to us and starting talking to us about Mormonism. Come to find out he lived just across the street from the member and found out he was baptized at age eight in Ada! But his records were elsewhere, so we got his info and got his name in the roster. Fast forward to Monday, we went to Prairie Kitchen (Ada's equivalent to iHop) with Brother Chiles, the less active. Remember the story last week with the sisters regifting the dessert we left at their apartment? Well, the plot thickens. During dinner this member just so happened to be talking about the pranks he'd pulled, and so we asked him if he had any ideas on how to get back at the sisters, and one thing led to another, and we ended up going to his brand-new consignment shop in downtown Ada that he opened that day. We got a three-foot diameter smiley face balloon, a bunch of flowers, a couple bottles of bubble-bath mix (because the sisters need to take baths ;) a brand-new cake that hadn't been eaten at all, and a Valentine's Card that said: #SorryYoureIt! Oh my, best charity war. The best part? The trust level with this less active skyrocketed that night. We have an appointment with him to help him change some things that are going on in his life right now. He even wants to take us to downtown OKC for a P-day, so we may take him up on that offer. So we're planning to visit with him and help him make the steps to come back to church and get active again!
Tuesday was a little on the sad side. Ashley, our recent convert, had a miscarriage. It's got her down pretty good, but she's doing a lot better now because of her knowledge of the Plan of Salvation. We did service for a guy named Hugh. He owns a saddle and boot shop on Main Street Ada, pretty close to Bro. Chiles' consignment shop. We may start teaching him pretty soon. For Wednesday night FHE we read in 1st Nephi and played Powergrid. Awesome game. That night we finished up all of the laws and ordinances with Zavior. Marnie, his friend's mother, bore a powerful testimony to him. He said he would pray before he went to bed and that he would even fast! This 12-year old's amazing!
Thursday was our temple trip with our zone. I absolutely loved it. We even got to drive past my old area in Mustang #ThrowbackThursday. On our way home we took the Shawnee exit off of I-40 and on the exit was this car completely stopped in the middle of the exit! So we pulled up next to him, got him to roll down his window, and told him to pull off the side of the road so he wouldn't get it. When he responded there came the smell: alcohol. He was drunk as a skunk. We made it home safely with no other mishaps.
With all that happened with Zavior, we're sure grateful that the baptism isn't getting pushed off too much. He's ready, and he's excited. Memery's ready to start making changes in her life as well. This week should be good!
Elder Garner
Pictures:
1) Companions... Too bad it's not our eternal companions. Kidding
2) Y'all should know who's taking this picture.
3) Ada District... Minus the Lemmerts. They had to go shopping I guess
4) The bear rug! Taken at Sister Chappell's house in Ada
5) The missionary funeral. They will be amazing in the Spirit World ;)
6) The zebra room! Also at Sister Chappell's
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
02/09/2015
I really don't have one word or phrase to sum up the things that happened this week, so this week will have multiple titles I think... Yeah, let's go with it:
Battle Scars
That's a GREAT title. Mom it's okay, I'm alive. I'll just put it like this, we had a tough week! The Lord was definitely testing us and seeing if Elder Tanner and I could get out alive. Our wheels kept spinning and spinning as people kept getting sick and telling us they couldn't meet. This lasted for a few days, but the week got better as the days passed. But the battle scars! Here's what happened: On Wednesday the sisters enlisted our help (the two skinny elders, of course) to help one of their investigators uproot the tree roots in his front yard. We got to use an ax, a pickax, and a shovel. The pickax was so fun, I truly represented Bingham High School. We should be going back there some time, and when we do I'm getting pictures! Anyways, we hacked and pulled out those roots for two or three hours! I got blisters! And the investigator accidentally swung the ax and hit Elder Tanner's leg! Good thing it wasn't chopped off. Anyway, nothing hospital worthy at least.
Go Tigers... I Mean Cougars
On Tuesday we went with the sisters inside one of the dorms over at East Central University. MAN, it reminded me so much of Heritage Halls at BYU. My thoughts were spinning everywhere! The sisters are starting up a club/institution over at ECU and need signatures and officers for their club. Elder Tanner happened to know a college student going to ECU from one of his old areas, so he got the sisters hooked up with the signature and they got their club all squared away. The Norman Stake wants to show The Lamb of God at the Kerr Center at ECU, and having the club there will get that up and going come Easter time.
On Friday we took a road trip with the Lemmerts to Roff, a little town just southwest of Ada. It was my second time going there in four months. We met a couple people we hadn't met before, but we probably won't go back there for another four months. We were exceedingly Roff...ha.
Dumpster Burning
So even though the middle of the week wasn't that grand, Saturday was glorious! We got called by four or five people that legitimately wanted us to see them! No one just does that! I guess a lot of the excitement was stacking up for the weekend. It started with the Buckmasters asking us to help them clean up their front yard. Their trash services got turned off...so they're been burning their trash in their dumpster. We helped them get rid of bunches of garbage. We watched a lot of random objects burn. They had a little Tow Mater toy truck that we watched burn. It was sad, but kinda funny to watch at the same time. Watching his teeth and eyes and truck bed melt... It reminded me of scout camp. I have the Church to thank for that! After that we helped with: interpreting someone's dreams, installing a car stereo system, reminding people about church, and giving a blessing to someone ready to move to Utah.
Sunday was amazing. We had a great turnout and Zavior came! He even stayed for the potluck afterwards! He's set for getting baptized this Saturday on Valentine's Day! So this next week we'll be working feverishly with him to get him prepared for baptism this Saturday. He bore his testimony again in Deacons Quorum. He talked about how he'd been praying to find answers to the Book of Mormon and about the church. His mom helped him recognize the answer! She told him, "haven't you noticed the missionaries coming over more to try to help you out?" and that was the game changer. Thanks, Zavior's mom. A little update with Zavior's mom, Memory. She got a job at AutoZone and got Sundays off! Yes! And she's expressed a desire to be baptized, so that should happen sometime within the next month of two.
And that was our week. This week should be crazy and fun. We get transfer news this Sunday. Pretty confident I'm staying in Ada. However, rumor has it I may be getting moved to another proselyting area in Ada, which never happens hardly. The new elder that just came in has only been in the area for two weeks, and his companion is finishing his mission next week. President's thinking about sending me to the other area to help out the new elder in learning the area. I'll be sad to leave Elder Tanner if that's the case. We'll know by next week. Anyway, love y'all, and have an awesome week!
Elder Garner
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
"Moving Swiftly" Warfare (02/02/2015)
We've had so much happen this week, it was wild. On one particular day while waiting for someone to answer their door, I buried my face in my arms and leaned it on the support beam of the person's house and said sarcastically, "these really are the best two years!" Elder and Sister Lemmert laughed. To them it's just the best eighteen months.
There's a quote in Preach My Gospel where the Lord is talking to Joseph Smith that goes, "It is not needful for...mine elders to be moving swiftly...whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." --D&C 61:3. Basically, that quote was us this week. Luckily, a guy named Gary that we found on the street won't be perishing in unbelief because we stopped to talk to him! On Sunday (everything that happened this week is going to be very shuffled and not chronological) we taught Gary and his friend Deanna the Restoration. They both are very receptive and seem to love learning about the gospel. We set a baptismal date for the 21st of March. Haha, that's my 21st birthday, go figure. Their spiritual birth is on the day of my physical birth! That should be a good birthday present. If not them, then someone else will be baptized that day. I'll make it happen.
On Thursday we had five appointments back to back to back... I don't know how I made it through that day because we were running around in different member's cars all day and calling up people to confirm appointments and rides and meals, down to the wire! We took a huge breath once that day was over. Things are still doing well with Zavior. We taught him the Law of Chastity to him. It seems like I always teach that lesson to pre-teens. That was a rather interesting lesson because the people in that household weren't always the most...chaste people, so we heard ALL kinds of stories of their past lives that we had never heard until then! Zavior should be well prepared for the evils of this world.
Anna, our 83-year old investigator, already claims us as her grandchildren. She's a riot. She forgets things a lot. We taught her the Plan of Salvation this week, and we spent a whole lesson just on reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon. We had to explain to her on three different visits the purpose of the Book of Mormon and why we have it. We had an amazing miracle with her though. She asked us this question, which induced the following conversation:
—Anna: "Now do you boys ever get that lovely, peaceful feeling right in here (she points to her chest)?"
—Us: "Yeah! That's the Holy Ghost!"
—Anna: "Well I get that feelin whenever I do what's right!"
—Us: "That's right, Anna, that's the Holy Ghost! You can feel that as you read the Book of Mormon!"
—Anna: "Well I think I already have."
—Us: "Did you pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true?"
—Anna: "Why yes."
—Us: "And what did you feel?"
—Anna: "Oh I already know it's true!"
And there you have it. No matter how many times we have to explain to her a certain concept, she can at least recall the feelings she's felt in her heart. On Friday we got to do some service for her. We raked her leaves--in January, haha.
We had an elder from our district go home early... He'd been fighting anxiety and depression for a while now. It was sad, but on Thursday we got a new elder to work alongside with. He's awesome and he'll mesh well with the rest of the Ada group. That threw everyone's schedule through a loop. It was craziness that added to what we already had. But we pulled through and made it.
On Wednesday for FHE we played Castle of Mad King Ludwig with the Buckmasters. The game's all about designing your own floorplan for a castle! That's my kind of game. It was pretty fun.
On Saturday we went with the Lemmerts to try some people in the outlying town of Stonewall. We met one of our investigators, Jolynda, for the first time. Elder Fuller and I had tried her a few times, but to no success. We finally met her and have an appointment for Tuesday! We'll see how that goes. More of the puzzle pieces of outer Pontotoc County are coming together it seems like.
And with that, that was our week. I'm so grateful for the downpour of blessings we've been receiving in this area. It sure makes Elder Tanner and I grateful for what we have and for the blessing that it is to serve a mission. We should hopefully be seeing some fruit this coming month and hopefully for the next few!
Elder Garner
There's a quote in Preach My Gospel where the Lord is talking to Joseph Smith that goes, "It is not needful for...mine elders to be moving swiftly...whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in unbelief." --D&C 61:3. Basically, that quote was us this week. Luckily, a guy named Gary that we found on the street won't be perishing in unbelief because we stopped to talk to him! On Sunday (everything that happened this week is going to be very shuffled and not chronological) we taught Gary and his friend Deanna the Restoration. They both are very receptive and seem to love learning about the gospel. We set a baptismal date for the 21st of March. Haha, that's my 21st birthday, go figure. Their spiritual birth is on the day of my physical birth! That should be a good birthday present. If not them, then someone else will be baptized that day. I'll make it happen.
On Thursday we had five appointments back to back to back... I don't know how I made it through that day because we were running around in different member's cars all day and calling up people to confirm appointments and rides and meals, down to the wire! We took a huge breath once that day was over. Things are still doing well with Zavior. We taught him the Law of Chastity to him. It seems like I always teach that lesson to pre-teens. That was a rather interesting lesson because the people in that household weren't always the most...chaste people, so we heard ALL kinds of stories of their past lives that we had never heard until then! Zavior should be well prepared for the evils of this world.
Anna, our 83-year old investigator, already claims us as her grandchildren. She's a riot. She forgets things a lot. We taught her the Plan of Salvation this week, and we spent a whole lesson just on reading the introduction to the Book of Mormon. We had to explain to her on three different visits the purpose of the Book of Mormon and why we have it. We had an amazing miracle with her though. She asked us this question, which induced the following conversation:
—Anna: "Now do you boys ever get that lovely, peaceful feeling right in here (she points to her chest)?"
—Us: "Yeah! That's the Holy Ghost!"
—Anna: "Well I get that feelin whenever I do what's right!"
—Us: "That's right, Anna, that's the Holy Ghost! You can feel that as you read the Book of Mormon!"
—Anna: "Well I think I already have."
—Us: "Did you pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true?"
—Anna: "Why yes."
—Us: "And what did you feel?"
—Anna: "Oh I already know it's true!"
And there you have it. No matter how many times we have to explain to her a certain concept, she can at least recall the feelings she's felt in her heart. On Friday we got to do some service for her. We raked her leaves--in January, haha.
We had an elder from our district go home early... He'd been fighting anxiety and depression for a while now. It was sad, but on Thursday we got a new elder to work alongside with. He's awesome and he'll mesh well with the rest of the Ada group. That threw everyone's schedule through a loop. It was craziness that added to what we already had. But we pulled through and made it.
On Wednesday for FHE we played Castle of Mad King Ludwig with the Buckmasters. The game's all about designing your own floorplan for a castle! That's my kind of game. It was pretty fun.
On Saturday we went with the Lemmerts to try some people in the outlying town of Stonewall. We met one of our investigators, Jolynda, for the first time. Elder Fuller and I had tried her a few times, but to no success. We finally met her and have an appointment for Tuesday! We'll see how that goes. More of the puzzle pieces of outer Pontotoc County are coming together it seems like.
And with that, that was our week. I'm so grateful for the downpour of blessings we've been receiving in this area. It sure makes Elder Tanner and I grateful for what we have and for the blessing that it is to serve a mission. We should hopefully be seeing some fruit this coming month and hopefully for the next few!
Elder Garner
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Okie Talkers FTW! (01/26/2015)
Oklahoma is such a wonderful state to have an interesting and entertaining conversation. This week is going to consist of mostly funny stories, but I promise there's spirituality in there as well.
Monday was a little different. The Ingrams couldn't do our usual FHE, so we did it with another family, the Priens. That was pretty fun. We talked about Helaman 5 and about the things their father wanted them to remember. And good news! Two out of the four Ingram household came to church Sunday! YEAH! That was a miracle. Not just that, but we got Sister Ingram's twin, Sister Duffy, to come to church as well! She's a recent convert of about a year, and she hadn't come in quite some time because of medical problems.
My bad, I'm getting ahead of myself. I have to build up this week before I start getting into the miracles. Tuesday was interesting. I figured out that I curse every single mission vehicle that I drive. We had to take our car to three different tire shops in town because the first two couldn't service the car and get done what was supposed to be done. Even the Mazda back home didn't have this many problems, and I took less care of that car than I do the mission cars! Anyway, we finally got to the dealership and set an appointment for Friday. That day we took the car in right after district meeting and lunch. We were there for three stinkin hours...and no one was in the waiting room so we couldn't preach love and peace to the fellow Ada-ites that had malfunctioning vehicles. But at least the car got fixed!
On Wednesday we talked about the refiner's fire with the Buckmasters. We discussed it for a long time. After that we got introduced to Long Shot, a board game about horse racing. Are we in Oklahoma? After that we had a neat lesson with an investigator named Genan that we met some time back after showing "He Is The Gift." We talked about the Restoration, and while we were there the member we brought suddenly talked about eternal marriage. It was interesting talking about that, but it piqued her interest.
Thursday we helped a member move some stuff to her shed. Did I ever tell yall about Priscilla, the needy cat that likes to meow constantly and follow us around everywhere? Anyway, we did some service for Priscilla's owner, Sister Harvey. That was fun. Later on that night we went to visit a less-active part-member family, the Ardens. The husband is a member, but the wife isn't. Interestingly enough, the wife's mom is a member that lives here in Ada. Normally Sister Arden is very turned off towards missionaries coming over. However, when we went to their house Brother Arden wasn't home, and when Sister Arden answered the door she stood there and talked to us and joked with us for half an hour! And she gave us free food! It was a miracle. I'd never seen her like that before. Missionaries have taught her multiple times, maybe we'll be the set that makes it happen?
Saturday was a weird day. We were enlisted by the other set of elders to go to the Chickasaw hospital to give one of their investigators a blessing. We were there for three hours. That was not supposed to happen. She ordered food for us and the food took forever to get there! She was hilarious. We would talk about the priesthood with her and about the restoration and she would pretend like she knew what we were taking about but didn't (it was her medication, we think). And whenever she cracked a joke she'd open her mouth really wide and go "uh-HUH uh-HUH uh-HUH!" and it made us all laugh. Later on we taught on older Baptist lady named Anna. We talked about the Restoration. We're like, "So how did you know that Moses was a prophet?"
"Oh he was just such a good man, and I read it in the Bible!" she says.
"Okay, so how are you going to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet?" we ask.
"Well I don't know!"
"The same way you found out Moses was a prophet! Do you remember how you found out Moses was a prophet?"
"Well you just told me he was!" she said. HA. The Holy Ghost is definitely going to have to bring some things back to her remembrance! Ahhh funny... #80YearOldBaptists.
After the hospital trip and before that lesson we tried visiting a single sister with the other elders, but she wasn't home. So we decided to run and jump across her hay bales. I have pictures to prove it. Probably the most thrilling hillbilly thing I've done.
But the most thrilling thing that happened this week was getting Zavior to come to church! He came once before, but only for sacrament meeting. But this week he was stuck, he couldn't go anywhere! So he had to go to second and third hours of sacrament. We spent all three hours with him so he'd feel comfortable. His School teacher wasn't there, so we ended up teaching the 12-14 year old class. We had each of the other kids talk about their baptism and give Zavior advice for preparing. After that we brought him to Deacons Quorum. He loved it! And he made so many new friends! He decided right then and there that he wanted to come to the Priesthood broadcast at the church that happened later on that day, and he decided he wanted to go to mutual on Wednesdays, join Boy Scouts, and go on the campout in a couple weeks! His attitude towards church made a complete 180 in the course of three hours.
To end our event-filled week, we gave the sacrament to three families in between church and between the priesthood meeting. Pretty neat experience. I haven't given the sacrament to that many homebound people before. It was awesome. Didn't I tell you last week that the next week would be exciting and amazing? Look at that, y'all.
Elder Garner
Oh and P.S., here's our hay bale jumping. This is Oklahoma at its finest.
1) I tried taking selfies while jumping. Not recommended. You can see my shadow doing it.
2) It's-a-me! Elder Garner!
3) Elder Tanner's ticklish!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
What A Flu(ke) (01/19/2015)
If December's colors are green and red and February's colors are red and pink, then January's colors are queeziness and vomiting!
And man, you can color me unimpressed!
What's with the stomach bug that's going around Ada, Oklahoma?? Has Ebola hit Oklahoma yet? I pondered on that very thought while I was groaning in the bathroom in church. I can't tell if my immune system will be shot by the end of my mission or if being in Oklahoma has vastly strengthened my immunities. Heavenly Father, with all these afflictions there better be some good blessings! Starting with an improved immune system!
Anyway, it's been a while since I've been THAT kind of sick. It took a lot out of our week, but regardless we still had lots of good things happen.
On Monday we drove to Ardmore and through—wait for it—SULPHUR. But we didn't have time to do anything there, so we only drove through it...sad. Once we got to Ardmore we went to Confetti's new building (which was hard trying to find because I only knew where the old building was!) and played "walking football," which is pretty much football on floor pads with no running allowed. It was quite hilarious. Since we couldn't run we all looked like zombies as we screamed and tackled each other trying to grab the football. The end zones were the yellow-colored floor pads and the bouncy slide. Oh my, I loved it. That's skinny man's football!
The next day we had a two and a half hour long lesson with an investigator family. They had lots of questions. I never thought someone could have so many questions about the Plan of Salvation. It sure gave us a lot to think about afterwards. For the Buckmaster FHE on Wednesday we played Sheriff of Nottingham to get Elder Tanner introduced to it. Along with it we taught about missionary work, and it turns out they are really good about sharing the gospel with their old-time cronies. No updates on their 9-year old's romantic crush. That's a GOOD thing, y'all.
And Thursday was when all the sickness came crashing in. Fortunately I made it through our Ingram FHE and a lesson we had with Zavior. On Friday our district leader gave me permission to come to district meeting in my sweats and moccasins. By the end of the meeting I felt a little ridiculous and out of place, but it sure felt comfortable! Later on that day we got dropped by a new investigator named Dennis that we found on Wednesday. We texted him to confirm a follow-up appointment, but he told us to not waste our time with him. In response we invited him to church and told him to try it out, then we asked him if he knew of anyone we could teach. In response he told us he had a friend and his daughter that are looking for a church that he wanted us to visit. Here's the kicker: When he told us he wanted us to see them, he said his reasoning was, "I think y'all's church is the best!" I mean WHAT THE HECK?!
Why was Dennis exercising his agency so poorly?? If he likes it so much then why doesn't he come?? That's one I won't be able to understand. Hopefully his friend will want to act on our message. Too bad Dennis got axed.
On Saturday we went out with the Lemmerts to see a couple families living on the outskirts of Pontotoc County. It was wild. Listening to old people talk is so amusing. They talk about the funniest things sometimes. They talk about black and white TV shows, their first and second marriages, their careers they had for 50 years, the conversations they had with so-and-so 30 years ago, on and on. It's one part of life I haven't experienced yet! Anyway, fun times. Sunday I stayed home all day. My stomach pain spiked, so I went into recliner-rest that day (the other elder didn't want me to sleep in his bed!) and Elder Tanner killed it with our appointments that I couldn't be there for. Elder Tanner and the member he went on splits with had an amazing lesson with Zavior and his mother, Memory. We'd been trying to meet with both of them, but scheduling conflicts kept coming up, so we could only meet with Zavior. She confessed the she was the reason Zavior wasn't at church that Sunday. She wanted to spend time with him (spend time at church! Haha), but she sat in on the lesson and felt the spirit very strongly and wanted to learn more about the gospel and about what Zavior was learning. She's making this more of a priority now, which is good.
And I'm getting better, which is also good. Our upcoming week should be eventful as well. Have an awesome week!
Elder Garner
And man, you can color me unimpressed!
What's with the stomach bug that's going around Ada, Oklahoma?? Has Ebola hit Oklahoma yet? I pondered on that very thought while I was groaning in the bathroom in church. I can't tell if my immune system will be shot by the end of my mission or if being in Oklahoma has vastly strengthened my immunities. Heavenly Father, with all these afflictions there better be some good blessings! Starting with an improved immune system!
Anyway, it's been a while since I've been THAT kind of sick. It took a lot out of our week, but regardless we still had lots of good things happen.
On Monday we drove to Ardmore and through—wait for it—SULPHUR. But we didn't have time to do anything there, so we only drove through it...sad. Once we got to Ardmore we went to Confetti's new building (which was hard trying to find because I only knew where the old building was!) and played "walking football," which is pretty much football on floor pads with no running allowed. It was quite hilarious. Since we couldn't run we all looked like zombies as we screamed and tackled each other trying to grab the football. The end zones were the yellow-colored floor pads and the bouncy slide. Oh my, I loved it. That's skinny man's football!
The next day we had a two and a half hour long lesson with an investigator family. They had lots of questions. I never thought someone could have so many questions about the Plan of Salvation. It sure gave us a lot to think about afterwards. For the Buckmaster FHE on Wednesday we played Sheriff of Nottingham to get Elder Tanner introduced to it. Along with it we taught about missionary work, and it turns out they are really good about sharing the gospel with their old-time cronies. No updates on their 9-year old's romantic crush. That's a GOOD thing, y'all.
And Thursday was when all the sickness came crashing in. Fortunately I made it through our Ingram FHE and a lesson we had with Zavior. On Friday our district leader gave me permission to come to district meeting in my sweats and moccasins. By the end of the meeting I felt a little ridiculous and out of place, but it sure felt comfortable! Later on that day we got dropped by a new investigator named Dennis that we found on Wednesday. We texted him to confirm a follow-up appointment, but he told us to not waste our time with him. In response we invited him to church and told him to try it out, then we asked him if he knew of anyone we could teach. In response he told us he had a friend and his daughter that are looking for a church that he wanted us to visit. Here's the kicker: When he told us he wanted us to see them, he said his reasoning was, "I think y'all's church is the best!" I mean WHAT THE HECK?!
Why was Dennis exercising his agency so poorly?? If he likes it so much then why doesn't he come?? That's one I won't be able to understand. Hopefully his friend will want to act on our message. Too bad Dennis got axed.
On Saturday we went out with the Lemmerts to see a couple families living on the outskirts of Pontotoc County. It was wild. Listening to old people talk is so amusing. They talk about the funniest things sometimes. They talk about black and white TV shows, their first and second marriages, their careers they had for 50 years, the conversations they had with so-and-so 30 years ago, on and on. It's one part of life I haven't experienced yet! Anyway, fun times. Sunday I stayed home all day. My stomach pain spiked, so I went into recliner-rest that day (the other elder didn't want me to sleep in his bed!) and Elder Tanner killed it with our appointments that I couldn't be there for. Elder Tanner and the member he went on splits with had an amazing lesson with Zavior and his mother, Memory. We'd been trying to meet with both of them, but scheduling conflicts kept coming up, so we could only meet with Zavior. She confessed the she was the reason Zavior wasn't at church that Sunday. She wanted to spend time with him (spend time at church! Haha), but she sat in on the lesson and felt the spirit very strongly and wanted to learn more about the gospel and about what Zavior was learning. She's making this more of a priority now, which is good.
And I'm getting better, which is also good. Our upcoming week should be eventful as well. Have an awesome week!
Elder Garner
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Our Journey in the Wilderness (01/12/2015)
Another transfer has come and gone! President Walkenhorst described this transfer as an "atomic bomb," and it really was. He informed us that transfers on Wednesday was the largest transfer he's ever had. I got to see all, but one of my old companions there, so I got to catch up with a lot of them.
On P-day we played our usual game of Risk Legacy. Today we get to go to Confetti in Ardmore! I haven't been there in over a year! And I am so looking forward to the drive through Sulphur. Sister Moore, one of the new sister missionaries that got transferred to Ada, and I have been talking up Sulphur so much. We both miss it there. Such a memorable area. Later on that Monday we got to meet Zavior's mom, Memory. Kind of an interesting name... She's really neat though. She's a hard-working single mother, and loves the Lord.
Tuesday we spent most of the day saying goodbye to people that Elder Fuller wanted to see. We ate at the Schuette's home for dinner that night. It's a tradition that every Tuesday before transfers the Schuette's feed the transferring missionaries their favorite meal and dessert. I got in trouble though because I ate the dessert first! Sorry, Mom, I should have abided by your health guidelines!
Later on we taught Book of Mormon class on 1st Nephi 17 about Lehi's family's journeying in the wilderness. Nephi's attitude and outlook on life is so much different and stark than Laman and Lemuel's point of view. I learned a lot just from teaching about the chapter. Their journey in the wilderness is very similar to our walk in life. We can take things in stride and make the most of our situations, or we can gripe about our circumstances and be miserable. It's really up to us on what we want to think and become.
Transfers were fantastic. This was my favorite transfer yet. I met my new companion, Elder Tanner, from Centerville, Utah. He's going to BYU this August, which thrills me. I've only had two other companions that went to BYU with me. At transfers I got to see all but one of my old companions that are still out here in Oklahoma. I got to talk to Elder Zeyer and Elder Hoddy about their leadership positions--Elder Zeyer as an Assistant to the President and Elder Hoddy as a Zone Leader. They're such great examples for the mission. I got to catch up with Elder Bolan about his area following Mustang 1st. He got transferred to Anadarko and replaced Elder Tanner, who came to Ada to be my companion. Elder Garcia is training a new missionary down in Altus. The dry desert of Altus is getting some fresh missionary blood! And Elder Wilkes still singing it up while going to a new area...all good things going on with them.
Two of our recent converts got their new member discussions all finished up. Zavior, our twelve-year old, is progressing rather well. His baptismal date for the 31st of January is still on. We've been trying to teach Memory, his mother, but things have kept coming up, so we haven't as of yet had the chance. Funny story... On Saturday we had FHE at the Buckmasters. Elder Tanner got initiated into the Buckmaster home by playing a game of Lifeboats with us. It was pretty epic. But then I found out that I have a secret admirer. Their 9-year old daughter gave me a note that said "You are the 'won' I had a 'crosh' on." Oh my goodness, it was hilarious more than anything! She told me she had a crush on me, but then had to switch to Elder Fuller. As soon as he got transferred she switched back to me. Haha the way she explained it to me just made me laugh. Pre-decade logic...ha.
It was a very eventful week, and this next week should be the same. This Wednesday I get to talk to President Walkenhorst about BYU stuff. That should be interesting. Elder Tanner should be having some baptisms in Anadarko soon, and when he does I'll get to see Elder Bolan again! I'd love that very much. Anyway, I hope each of you have a wonderful week filled with miracles!
Elder Garner
On P-day we played our usual game of Risk Legacy. Today we get to go to Confetti in Ardmore! I haven't been there in over a year! And I am so looking forward to the drive through Sulphur. Sister Moore, one of the new sister missionaries that got transferred to Ada, and I have been talking up Sulphur so much. We both miss it there. Such a memorable area. Later on that Monday we got to meet Zavior's mom, Memory. Kind of an interesting name... She's really neat though. She's a hard-working single mother, and loves the Lord.
Tuesday we spent most of the day saying goodbye to people that Elder Fuller wanted to see. We ate at the Schuette's home for dinner that night. It's a tradition that every Tuesday before transfers the Schuette's feed the transferring missionaries their favorite meal and dessert. I got in trouble though because I ate the dessert first! Sorry, Mom, I should have abided by your health guidelines!
Later on we taught Book of Mormon class on 1st Nephi 17 about Lehi's family's journeying in the wilderness. Nephi's attitude and outlook on life is so much different and stark than Laman and Lemuel's point of view. I learned a lot just from teaching about the chapter. Their journey in the wilderness is very similar to our walk in life. We can take things in stride and make the most of our situations, or we can gripe about our circumstances and be miserable. It's really up to us on what we want to think and become.
Transfers were fantastic. This was my favorite transfer yet. I met my new companion, Elder Tanner, from Centerville, Utah. He's going to BYU this August, which thrills me. I've only had two other companions that went to BYU with me. At transfers I got to see all but one of my old companions that are still out here in Oklahoma. I got to talk to Elder Zeyer and Elder Hoddy about their leadership positions--Elder Zeyer as an Assistant to the President and Elder Hoddy as a Zone Leader. They're such great examples for the mission. I got to catch up with Elder Bolan about his area following Mustang 1st. He got transferred to Anadarko and replaced Elder Tanner, who came to Ada to be my companion. Elder Garcia is training a new missionary down in Altus. The dry desert of Altus is getting some fresh missionary blood! And Elder Wilkes still singing it up while going to a new area...all good things going on with them.
Two of our recent converts got their new member discussions all finished up. Zavior, our twelve-year old, is progressing rather well. His baptismal date for the 31st of January is still on. We've been trying to teach Memory, his mother, but things have kept coming up, so we haven't as of yet had the chance. Funny story... On Saturday we had FHE at the Buckmasters. Elder Tanner got initiated into the Buckmaster home by playing a game of Lifeboats with us. It was pretty epic. But then I found out that I have a secret admirer. Their 9-year old daughter gave me a note that said "You are the 'won' I had a 'crosh' on." Oh my goodness, it was hilarious more than anything! She told me she had a crush on me, but then had to switch to Elder Fuller. As soon as he got transferred she switched back to me. Haha the way she explained it to me just made me laugh. Pre-decade logic...ha.
It was a very eventful week, and this next week should be the same. This Wednesday I get to talk to President Walkenhorst about BYU stuff. That should be interesting. Elder Tanner should be having some baptisms in Anadarko soon, and when he does I'll get to see Elder Bolan again! I'd love that very much. Anyway, I hope each of you have a wonderful week filled with miracles!
Elder Garner
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