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
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