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
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