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
Monday, March 30, 2015
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
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