08/18/2013

Remember in Harry Potter how everyone could go from one place to another *snap* just like that? Transfers for missionaries are a lot like that. I've just reached three months in the field and three months in my first area. How could I be moving to my second area?? It's hard to say what I feel about leaving... I feel like we've had so much going for the ward and our investigators, and now it's time to just up and leave. I so so strongly felt Elder Evans would be leaving and I would be staying.  Elder Evans was here for six months and I for only three.  I thought I had more work to do here, but the Lord has other plans for me, I suppose. Saying goodbye to the ward and our investigators was a lot harder than I imagined.  Now it's all fitting, why missionaries feel so heartbroken when they leave for home. It's going to be everything felt in one area but with greater magnitude. Can't I just stay in Purcell until I baptize all our investigators?! We have three families we now have to give up to other missionaries.  Granted, I'm happy for the incoming missionaries, but can't I just stay until they get on the right track of following Christ?!  President Walkenhorst, you're killing me.... 

Elder Evans requested back-to-back exchanges with two sets of companionships in the Norman zone lasting from afternoon to night.  It needed to happen.  I guess he couldn't wait for transfers. Both exchanges were amazing, and I got some great advice from others and peace come to my mind. We got our transfer calls yesterday. Big shock: Both Elder Evans and I are leaving Purcell. He's going to The Village (the fancy area of OKC) and serving with (bigger shock) my MTC companion, Elder Hoddy. I am headed south to Pauls Valley with my new companion, Elder Kahawaii. I'll get back to you when I learn how to pronounce that. Pauls Valley is a large area, but it's a branch. Turns out the Pauls Valley branch and the Noble ward touch each other, so I guess I'm not too far from my first area :) It's going to be a pretty forlorn week.  Elder Evans and I are making our rounds and getting pictures with everyone in the ward before we say goodbye. Today is P-day, we pack up, and we get transferred.

The moment we were told we'd be separated, Elder Evans went back to square 1 with using physical force and insulting me and whatever else.  It was pretty disappointing.  I truly don't think he really changed.  It really reminded me of what you said back in my senior year. I think he's saying those things because he's insecure, so he puts others down to build himself up. I just feel bad for when he has to look for a soul mate and he has to realize this the hard way.  He'll be in for a rude awakening I'm afraid. I'm glad for the things I was taught from him as well as the things I was taught from being with him. I seriously think there's a reason this trio (Elder Hoddy, Elder Evans, and I) are all being partnered up together. Like I said, I'm anxious to find out... haha. From what I've heard, Elder Kahawaii is pretty cool, so I hope that comes true.

We both have gotten this feeling like one of us would leave. The ward and our investigators knew that, but now both of us are leaving.  I trust the new missionaries will take care of them, I just wish it could be me.  We have three families we were working with, and now we've got to turn them over to other missionaries.  I hope I'm not sounding selfish here, but man! We really had something going here in Purcell! 

I know my emails have been short lately, but be prepared to hear some news about Pauls Valley! I'm ready for a new adventure!

With love,

Elder Garner

We Can't Wait to Burn it to the Ground (08/11/2013)

Here in Purcell, America (as Brother Fishburn, one of our 80-year-old members, would say) we had a lot of fires. The first thing that burned down was the bridge my companion was trying to build with me after the many incidents that took place. On Monday he put his hands on me again. After making all those promises several weeks ago saying that he wouldn't do such a thing again and pleading me to not tell President Walkenhorst, it happened. Right now things are in limbo. The Zone Leaders, the mission president, and most likely my family is well aware of the situation. Transfers are soon coming up, and we will be told next week if we are staying together or not. There's no telling right now how long this will go on. President Walkenhorst will need to take this into consideration when the decisions are made. Stay tuned on that!
    
But let's move on to something else... I'm not here to have a pity party. The second thing that burned down was a house on Adams Street. It was struck by lightning.... Incidentally, we were teaching the Hoffmans, our investigator family, the plan of salvation, and they had a friend sit in on the discussion. That person happened to be the owner of the house that burned down. Amanda and her son Skylar were temporarily living with the Hoffmans, so they got just a glimpse of the gospel in their lives. Hopefully we see more of them.... We don't know where they went, other than Amanda went back to her abusive husband. The Hoffmans are being taught wonders and the mysteries of God are being revealed to them. Their 17-year-old son reads on a 3rd grade level (we had no knowledge of this), so when we asked him to read something, he did so willingly. The parents were shocked that he read in front of strangers!! We told them it was the spirit working in their home to help them understand the things we'd been teaching them! We're now starting to teach the commandments with them. They even came to church yesterday and enjoyed it! We've found the perfect fellowshipping family for them, and baptism is looking like a very real possibility!
    
This past week we also taught the Komers' children. With them we also began teaching them the commandments. Their baptism is scheduled for the 31st, and it's looking promising! Their parents are such good influences on them, and they need that considering everything they've faced with previous families that didn't want them.
    
Derrel, Terry, and Tucker had life thrown at them this week.... They got evicted from their house. Supposedly Derrel was spending his money at bars and brothels (we don't know if that's actually true though), and Terry wasn't making any progress. She kept smoking and cussing everyone out. Tucker hitchhiked to Norman to try to get a birth certificate to find a job. Not two days later, the third thing burned to the ground. Their house, the one which we brought the spirit, the one where we brought light, burned to rubble. Carol told us about it. Quick FYI, she's doing just great :) We encouraged her to talk to the bishop, and she's making changes in her life as well as in the gospel. Anyway, we drove by Derrel and Terry's old house the other day to have our fears confirmed: Their house was torched. There was caution tape all over it, and there was a sign saying "ARSON" in big red letters. I saddens me to see how some people choose to live...
    
Other than that, that's basically everything that happened. I appreciate all the updates about the Elders. I hope they're making some progress back at homebase. Glad to hear about the family events going on! I will definitely write Maddie and ask her all about DC. That's gotta be the coolest US mission ever!

As always, I love you guys.

--Elder Garner

A Day in OKC (08/04/2013)

This week was full of ups and downs. Thankfully, there were more ups. Last Monday we had an amazing day with one of our members. Just some quick background information, Bro. Komers was baptized a member in 2010 after rescuing himself from 18 years of meth and drug abuse. He recently adopted 5 kids!! He's had 2 boys since about May--around when I showed up--and he just barely adopted the rest of the family--3 girls--a few weeks ago. They've been coming to church, but of course none of them know about the gospel. He's a solid member of the church and desires to find missionary opportunities! Last Monday he picked us up for a dinner appointment (our Chevy Malibu already had too many miles, HA). We drove across the bridge into Lexington and around the bend to highway 77 and noticed a lady walking pretty briskly on the side of the road. We barely noticed her, but  the spirit kept poking all of us to ask her if she needed help. So we flipped around and picked her up. We came to find out she was released from the McClain County jail after spending 2 days in there for a speeding ticket. She thought she had paid it, but apparently there was one she hadn't paid for in McClain County. She happened to be carrying a Bible with her... Once she finished her story we introduced ourselves, Bro. Komers shared a little bit of his conversion story, and we got her introduced to the gospel! Her husband was coming from Wetumka to pick her up. So eventually we dropped her off at Pizza Hut, Bro. Komers gave her $20 for some food, and we gave her a Book of Mormon! The best part? She said, "I had no idea there were still people out there like you guys." Wow. Incredible, right? Unfortunately, she doesn't live in our mission--she's barely in the Tulsa mission--but a seed was planted! And we will refer her to the Tulsa missionaries that live near her.

 

When we arrived we had dinner, and Bro. Komers decided to drop a bomb on us and told us to "get down to the nitty and gritty." And by that he meant teach his kids the missionary discussions! We taught them the Plan of Salvation on Monday, the Restoration on Friday, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ yesterday! The three of them that are old enough to be baptized are being baptized on the 23rd and 24th! We could potentially fulfill 3 out of 100 baptisms this month for the OKC mission! Anyway, it was a super-spiritual lesson--Elder Evans even cried. I've never seen that one before! The oldest one who's 13 said at the end of the lesson, "I just want to be saved." It was amazing... So while we were still thick with the spirit, we took Bro. Komers out with us to visit another family, the Hoffman family, we ran into last week. They're a family that live in a trailer park just north of our apartment complex. Just use Google Maps if you need a visual ;) So there's 5 out of 6 members eligible for baptism, so pray that this happens!! We taught them the Book of Mormon and part of the Restoration! So the best part of the day? 2 member-presents and 8 new investigators!!! That's a record for the both of us. I went to bed with a smile on my face.   

     

Tuesday was one of those days... Again, I won't go into detail, but basically we didn't do anything that day. We spent the whole day (other than our dinner appointment) having a companionship inventory (that's the nice way of putting it). He called the Zone Leaders for help, but they sided with me. Even after he hung up with the Zone Leaders he kept fighting me on what we were to do. Anyway, it was basically a day wasted. Wednesday mulled things over though. We had our Temple Conference that day. The drive to OKC was amazing! It was like driving from Tremonton to Salt Lake. There were skyscrapers! Anyway, we had a wonderful day at the temple. Our zone, the OKC South zone, and the OKC zone all got to hang out, which brought some relief! We learned some great things from President Walkenhorst and discussed more about his vision for getting 100 baptisms this month. Turns out we had 28 in the month of July. It's going to take a lot of work to do this, but I know the Lord's opening up a way for us! Maybe these new families we've begun teaching will be part of that 100? The OKC temple is tiny! I don't you if you've gone to the temple to do endowments lately, but there's a surprise for you if you haven't seen it already ;) We basically spent the entire day doing that. We came home and had another great lesson with the Hoffmans. We'll be teaching them the Plan of Salvation in a few days. 

     

Thursday was when we began our 48-hour exchange. Elder Evans enjoys doing 3-day exchanges now. After our emergency exchange with our zone leaders last week, he wanted to do it again this week. I got to go over to Blanchard Thursday afternoon and spend time with one of the new missionaries and drive. his. CAR. Those 2013 Ford Fusions handle rather nicely. ;) Anyway, our exchange was awesome, and I learned so much from this new elder! He in no way appears to be only 3 weeks into the mission. It was fantastic. We exchanged back Saturday afternoon and finished off the day by planning for the next week. FastSunday was awesome. We fasted for member missionary work to increase and for our Ward Mission Leader to have his faith increased in member missionary work. I had a couple other personal things I fasted for! Anyway, we had a great Sabbath day. We got to visit Carol yesterday. She's still struggling financially--her car isn't working now... She is so bent on helping out other people that she doesn't remember to help herself out! That's how incredible of a convert she is. Anyway, we committed her to calling the bishop and talking with him about her situation. She gladly accepted. And here we are!

     

As of right now the transfer is halfway over. This Saturday we get informed if either Elder Evans or I will be training next transfer (which runs from August 26th to about October 6th). Training seems like a scary thought considering I will have just finished up being trained! But it seems so exciting at the same time!! We'll see what Saturday brings. 

     

I absolutely loved your missionary experiences. I'm proud of you for being so gusty with the Basses! Member missionary work is on the rise even in Utah! I love it. Anyway, it's good to hear from you guys. Make sure you slap me if I ever say "y'all" or "fixin to" or anything like that. I'm determined not to come home saying those things! Haha, anyway, have a wonderful week!

100 Souls Saved (07/28/2013)

At the present moment in Purcell, Oklahoma, we are trying very hand to leave July 2013 better than how we began it. This is proving to be difficult considering our area just got split, and the sisters took the majority of the members. Fortunately, our baptism is such a blessing for the month of July that maybe we will have left it better already! I am one-third through this transfer. Cameron told me just before I left that the first three months feel like a year and the last year feels like three months. All the missionaries out here tell me it goes by super fast. Being out for only two and a half months is already making that fact known to me. The days go by so incredibly fast... I can't believe it's already P-day... I can't believe July is almost over. I think about my friends in the MTC at the moment--probably a little more than I should--and it's strange to think some of them are out into the field already. All seems to be well with Sister Berrett. She's got a great companion and an amazing MTC experience under her belt. I heard from Elder Phillips today, and he's in the MTC until August. I'm excited to hear how things are going for him. So Melissa's getting married... TOTALLY called that one. I'm sad I have to miss it, but I'm very happy for her! I'll be anxious to get to know Ty a little bit better when I come home. I only hung out with him a couple times, so I didn't really get to know him before I left. Are the youth in our ward gonna write the missionaries for a mutual activity anytime soon?! We did that a few times while I was there... If I get one from the ward I'll definitely respond!

     

I will try to give a condensed version of what's going on with our companionship: Currently things have mulled over. President Walkenhorst challenged me to take a bullet for Elder Evans and make him look good every chance I had. Taking a bullet for Elder Evans and making him look good every chance I have is a lot harder than one would expect. Currently I'm trying to uncover the line dividing sincerity and sounding fake. I want to actually compliment him on something, and not just because the president told me to. I'm want to be sincere instead of sounding like I'm just trying to fulfill a job. I want to compliment him on something meaningful instead of telling him that he did a good job of putting his clothes on today. So I guess I'm trying to find meaningful praises instead of just simple things to say. When we had companionship inventory the other day, I was at a loss as to what I should say to him--I mainly thought about all the things he'd done to me throughout the past week. This past week hasn't been any better than previous weeks... When the conversation gives from being civil to yelling and condemnation I immediately and without hesitation move to the other room. Yes, the yelling has continued. One night I went into my closet to get ready for bed, and he slammed the door and sat in front of it and locked me in there... He then called the Zone Leaders and told them he had locked me in the closet. That probably wasn't the most wise thing he'd said to them. He was rebuked quite heavily. He immediately let me out!

At this point, the Zone Leaders have been called more times than I can count with my two hands. Every single call has been from Elder Evans. Calling them has turned somewhat into a dramatic act to cajole me into doing something. The Zone Leaders even agree. On Thursday, we had a disagreement about something. He called the Zone Leaders and asked for an emergency exchange, which lasted for part of Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday. I was with Elder Ravsten during the exchange. The difference in our work is so incredibly visible. Working with Elder Ravsten yielded so many more results! We got baptismal dates set, more potential investigators, more meaningful lessons, and much more fun together as a companionship. We both got to know a little bit more about each other. I really got to see him as a friend and not just some guy that's responsible for me. He even knew where I was coming from. He's siding with me—yet he's still trying to help out Elder Evans and being loving towards him.

We came to the core root of the why he's feeling the way he does. Now I want you to hear this, because this is something you've told me about other people: We both came to the conclusion that he is insecure. He was raised in a home where he claims that his siblings "walked all over him." As true as this might be, he compares me to his family, saying I walk all over him... He came out here because he wanted to get away from his family for doing those things. He believes I'm doing the same thing his family is doing. Now do you think I conspired with his family and the elders of the mission to walk all over him? No. I have much better things to do than that. The solution? Me trying to find ways to make him feel good and loved. Him recognizing that people are not out to walk all over him. Elder Ravsten and I both think he needs a confidence boost. So right now I am working on trusting him again and looking for ways to be loving towards him.

    

Okay, that wasn't really a condensed version... ha. But it is what it is. Let's move on to investigators since I haven't said much about them lately. So we have Derrel (65), Terry (40 and a female), Tucker (19), Jay (53), and Vanny (old). Derrel, Terry, and Tucker live under one roof. Tucker is Terry's son, and Terry is the housekeeper of Derrel. Fortunately there isn't a chastity problem between Derrel and Terry (with a 25 years' difference? NASTY NAST!) Terry, unfortunately, is the town ruffian... She's a troublemaker and a rabble rouser. We've been teaching Derrel and Terry for about a month now. Terry has gone downhill...she still smokes and cusses everyone out. Her son moved in just recently, and we began teaching him. There's an abusive relationship between mother and son... Not just that, but we recently found out that Derrel will more than likely be moving to Watonga to get away from her. He can't even get her out of his own house, and neither can the police. That's how bad it is. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is just love them and continue offering the gospel... Derrel was supposed to be baptized in a couple weekends, but that's looking pretty bleak. We may be dropping Terry and Tucker pretty soon as well. Just pray that their situation will get better. We've had to be very cautious when visiting them. Terry's a time-bomb about ready to go off.... Someone's going to be killed--her or someone else.

Fortunately, Jay (who happens to be best friends with a member - The Gowens Family!) came to church for the first time ever!! We had a wonderful gospel conversation with him on Thursday when I was with Elder Ravsten. We'll be teaching him the first discussion shortly. Pray that he will feel the love and support from Bro. Gowens, us, and the people of the LDS church! Now Vanny. She's been a victim of Terry's tirades... She actually told us everything about Terry, and then it was made known to us by her actions shortly thereafter. She's had a lot of crap thrown at her... Her father raped her, for one. She's struggling with forgiveness, but luckily she loves us!! Some missionaries back in 2011 actually ran over her dog with their bikes on accident, but she was kind to them and they felt really bad!! Funny experience.... Pray that she will want to take the step of baptism and be a part of the church!

    

We had interviews with President Walkenhorst on Friday. He asked me if I was ready to pull the plug on the companionship. I really had to think about that, but I'm glad to report that I've kept my head up and I'm fine with continuing with our companionship. Couple more things he got me thinking about: what is the vision you see for yourself? How are you going to help Elder Evans feel good about himself? And he then dropped a bomb on me (and the entire mission!) that he wants 100 baptisms in the month of August! Our average is usually 25. Crazy, huh?! We'll make it happen though! Fasting and prayer will happen frequently. Anyway, this letter is long enough, but I'm almost done. We get to go to the OKC temple on the 31st with the entire mission. SO looking forward to that! I'll tell you how that goes! To summarize things: My head is still on my shoulders, and it's up high!

Much love, Elder Garner

07/21/2013

Dearest Mother and captive audience,

In this day and age it is perfectly acceptable to wear American Eagle moccasins while playing sports! I only played volleyball anyway! Carol certainly is feeling the blessings of being a part of this church. At this point, we are working with the bishop to retain her in the church but teaching her the discussions over again and introducing the temples and the other saving ordinances. That's good to hear what Sister Spencer said!! She is the etiquette queen, so I'm glad she approves. It's funny because she teaches her kids a lot of the same things you did! :) And they have a very clean house, which is a plus. She is a very solid and dedicated member of our ward, and she's great to work with.

Glad to hear about the funeral (I mean the good parts, that is) and about the Nutts! That's gotta be AWESOME! I'm so glad you guys got to see Lindy and those guys! I'm getting pretty consistent letters from Olivia, so now I'm just waiting for Sydney, Hallie, and everyone else. ;) haha just kidding. Good for Ashlyn! She will probably come home around the same time I will! I wish I could have seen more of her before I left... I got an email from Kayla and Henry, and I barely sent one to Zach. Hoping to hear from all of them! Amazing friends right here... That's funny that you found Elder Munoz! He must have been in the same district as Elder Taten Evans!

Oh my goodness...the things I would DO to have Utah heat! It's not the high temperatures that bother me, it's the fact that your hands because a human forehead windshield wiper for your sweat... It's not pleasant. The muggyness and constant sweating is what I can't stand!

Well this week was kinda sluggish.... A lot of our members are/going on vacation, and we are almost out of miles. Plus it seems like the sisters took the majority of the people we were working with! One of our investigators is getting involved with the wrong things... She's not following the Word of Wisdom and she's known as the town ruffian, which we never knew about until recently. We are approaching the situation with great caution. We had an amazing exchange on Friday! I went with another elder (Elder Owen) and went over to his area in Blanchard while his companion went with Elder Evans in my area. We spent time trying out potential investigators. We had some AMAZING experiences! Elder Owen and I decided to say a prayer right before we knocked on someone's door. He had yet to say a prayer with these people. We said a prayer to get into the house, and we miraculously did just that! Not only that, but Elder Owen and I both experienced our first Heavenly Gift kneeling down in someone's home! They really felt the spirit, and I can only wonder what amazing things will happen when Elder Owen and his companion go back! Okay, so I don't know if I ever told you what a Heavenly Gift is, but basically it's when you go tracting, someone opens their door, and you offer to say a prayer with them on whatever they need in their life. Offering up a prayer for people is what the mission calls the Heavenly Gift. Most people accept it, so it works well. Most Heavenly Gifts take place on the porch, so the fact that we got to kneel down with a family inside their home meant a lot to us!! We ran into some other people while we were biking and picked up some potentials while trying potentials! We even got to talk to Elder Owen's downstairs neighbors, and they will be having dinner with he and his companion! Anyway, some great things happened, and I kinda wish it happened in my area... but at least Elder Evans and Elder Ott did some great things in my area.

Yesterday had an interesting path in store for us... We went to try one of our investigators (we were on bikes). We got a call from our Zone Leaders to try a new member family that had moved into our ward that lives on Southridge. Well, we came to find out that there's a Southridge road in both our area and in the sisters' area... The new member family is actually in the sisters' area! While biking back from our Southridge road, we biked under the overpass of I-35 to find a hitchhiker hanging out under the overpass asking us if we had any water! One thing led to another, we gave him some water (which we conveniently had!), and we had a gospel discussion! We gave him a Book of Mormon, some more water, and a Restoration pamphlet. He walked from Ardmore (which is southern Oklahoma) all the way here, and he's trying to get to Montana to find out his purpose and a place to call home. It sounded like he'd been through a lot... Eventually we sent him on his way and encouraged him to seek a new adventure in God when he finished his current adventure. I wonder if I'll ever see him again... In any case, seeds were planted there.

Keep praying for our companionship. Improvement is slow, but progress is being made. Yelling and talking down to me still occurs. We both got humility lessons from our Zone Leaders. I gained some amazing things out of that! It was made apparent to me that you won't be weak or walked all over if you choose to be humble. Never once did the humble guy lose. We both have things to work on, and I especially need to not put up my punching gloves when something is said to me! He's striving to let things go that bother him. I don't try to irritate him by any means, but he's working hard not to be frustrated and bite me over everything. Most of all, I'm still trying to warm up to him due to everything that's happened... It's something that doesn't happen overnight. He's aware of that fact, and he's working towards me being comfortable around him so I can perform to the best of my abilities when I'm around him. We are having a Zone Conference tomorrow, and we get to go the OKC temple on the 31st!!!! That's going to be amazing!!

OH! And funny story... Sister Pfister made it known to me that I look like a 12-year-old with a 30-year-old voice... hahahaha. It was hilarious! We have some amazing sister missionaries in our ward, though! They are doing some amazing work over in Noble! It's always fun to hear the great things they're doing!

I love my wonderful audience and my family :)

--Elder Garner

Into the Waters of Baptism (07/14/2013)

I just realized it's my two-month mark today... Can two months go by THAT fast?! As difficult as things have been, the mission really is accelerating. I can only wonder how much faster it'll go in the future months. I hope I didn't scare anyone with last week's update! It was an interesting week for sure...

The big events that took place this week begin with. We had transfers today. Even though Elder Evans and I are staying together for another transfer (which ends at the end of August), we had to go up to Moore and collect Sister Pfister (pronounced FISS-ter) and Sister Burnham, the sisters with whom we are splitting our area. We had to pack up their bikes and luggage and bring them to the mission office and put their stuff in their brand. new. 2013. Ford. Fusion. SO JEALOUS! Guess what else? We have another set of Elders in our district working in Blanchard. They used to be a bike area, and now they just barely became a car area. Yeah, they ALSO got a 2013 Ford Fusion! I love the look of those new Ford Fusions. Haha, but truth be told I'm immensely grateful for a car in which to drive in this summer heat. A 2011 Chevy Malibu isn't that bad! :) In Purcell they have a Chevy dealership with brand-new 2014 Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras. WOW those look good! We've had upwards of around 105 degrees throughout the day. It doesn't cool down much at night--maybe to about 80 degrees. It's been raining the past two days, so that's good. Anyway, back to the sisters. So now the sisters have Noble and all the addresses north of Slaughterville Road. Elder Evans and I cover Purcell and the town of Lexington. We have everything south of Slaughterville Road. Some Noble addresses eke into our area and some Lexington addresses eke into their area. The address system is so weird here in Oklahoma...

We have three new missionaries new to the mission, and about six or seven new to the zone. The work really is hastening... Maybe I will train someone next transfer? To answer your question we are assigned to a ward. Currently we have a set of Elders (us) and a set of Sisters in our ward. I gave a talk on missionary work in my ward (called the Noble Ward in the Norman Oklahoma Stake) this past. Kinda funny that I would give a talk the same day as Madelyn's farewell. I'm so glad you guys went to that! It's so weird to think the Taylor's are home... Mostly because I haven't had enough time to spend with them. The Walkenhorsts are great, and I'm looking forward to working more with them.

Next is the baptism. Surprise! I performed the baptism! The pictures should have given that away though. My first baptism performed, and my first investigator to be baptized in my mission--in my first transfer too! It was a standout. Super spiritual meeting and quite the entertaining baptism performance. Ha... we had to do it twice. The first time she didn't bend her knees, and she totally slipped! "I told you that you were baptizing a fat woman!" she told me. Hahahaha so funny... Luckily I was able to pick her up both times. The second time we just had her kneel down so she only had to bend her back :) I'll tell you though I thought I was going to be baptized again with her! Aside from all that, she had an amazing day, and we got a lot of ward support! She's got several people to turn to if she needs something. I have high faith that she won't be going anywhere--she's got a strong testimony. Not just that, but she got a new job which is not only higher-paying but will allow her to have weekends off--to come to church. She really has seen the work of God in her life and the doors He's opened up for her.

We lost a couple investigators yesterday... Oklahoma has some hardcore Bible bashers. Elder Evans handled the situation gracefully. We both bore our testimonies, wished him and his wife all the best, and exited the house with no desire to return. They weren't making much progress anyway, and he even told us we don't have faith in Jesus Christ. He told us we put a lot of faith in Joseph Smith. It's kinda funny...throughout the discussion he kept referring to Paul and the book of Romans... More than we were talking about Joseph Smith. We gave a cornucopia of scripture references from the Bible, but he had his own interpretation. It's totally okay though, because everyone has their agency and right to their own opinion. I just hope his heart will be softened.

Now for the companion. You will be relieved to know that things are getting better. Disagreements still come up every now and then, but luckily we're working things out a lot better than before. It's still taking a lot of courage on my part to warm up to him. Our Zone Leaders encouraged us to be more humble than we already are and to pardon each other of our faults and mistakes. I really feel we will both learn something from each other this transfer. He is warned. He knows what will happen if he oversteps his bounds again. He thought he would try stealing my stuff and ripping up the progress record I was working on, but he now knows that that's under the list of unacceptables. He is also very aware of my mother's character! He knows that you will not hesitate to say something to the mission president should the occasion arise. Hopefully it doesn't come to that--but he knows.

Happy two months.

Much love,

Elder Garner

Independence and Inner Penance (06/30/2013 and 07/07/2013)

Good to hear from you! I'm excited for the license plate updates! They're issuing out YYC? You know Scott's car's license plate is a ZYC! South Salt Lake was issued out ZYC, ZYD, and ZYE in about October-December 2011. Anyway, be prepared for a lengthy email, it's been a rather interesting week... The good, the bad, and the ugly. It's all there. Good to hear about the many events that have taken place with the relatives. Hey, did you ever send a package with my two pairs of sunglasses and the bandana and the other stuff? If not, just send me my blue-lensed sunglasses, my silver-lensed aviator sunglasses (both should be in my room), and the lime-green bandana in the basement dresser by the storage room. I just LOVE your packages!

What an interesting road this past week has taken me... My good friend, Abbey, was faced with a tragic accident in her family where her father passed away. What would my reaction be if mom or dad passed away? I am certain it would be the only thing consuming my thoughts. This certainly isn't something I need right now. This week was full of unanswered mysteries and floating thoughts mingling in my mind. July 5th was when Madelyn underwent surgery.  I remembered it on Friday. For the first time in months, I even read the entry I wrote down for July 5th, 2011.  Man, I sure thought about her a lot! I was surprised by how much compassion and charity I had towards her and that situation. If I haven't stated this before, being a missionary has brought out emotions I never knew existed.

This week was another replay of that statement. Carol, one of our investigators, is an elderly lady who's scheduled to be baptized this Saturday, July 13th. She's a widow who lives from paycheck to paycheck. She's currently facing a situation with social security, and to make a long story short, her social security check was given to the wrong person, and the check wasn't supposed to be transferred back to her for about three weeks. In the meantime, she had no money with which to buy groceries, gas, and pay her other bills. She asked a member of the ward to loan her $300. The member--with good reason--felt uncomfortable and was left in an awkward situation. On Tuesday we went to visit her with a different member named Thayne. She lost the light we see in her all the time over this one trial. She was frightened of what was to come, and she had no idea how she was going to make ends meet. She didn't even want to talk to the bishop because she didn't want him to get involved. Thayne, our member, was with us during this discussion with her. We were about to leave, and out of nowhere, Thayne whipped out three Benjamin Franklins and planted them right on her lap. Her reaction was beyond humble and grateful. It put me to tears. Carol and I, crying together... My respect for Thayne increased just as much Carol's gratitude for the Lord increased. I was so grateful for Thayne and his generosity. To say the least, it was the highlight of my week. I'm so looking forward to baptizing this investigator this Saturdayand to see what blessings the gospel will bring to her.

The 4th of July was a difficult day... Very few people were available to do anything, and it was hard to get any work done. Luckily we were assigned to help move in the second set of missionaries we're getting in our area. That took up most of the morning and afternoon along with our studies. My companion was very distracted later that night when the fireworks were going off. We were in the midst of planning and couldn't watch them. He's been struggling with homesickness...

At the present moment, transfers are almost over. I was assigned another transfer with Elder Evans, and I'm remaining in the Purcell area. We have sisters coming into the ward!! Sister Phister and Sister Burnham are their names. It's exciting news! Plus we'll still be able to work with our investigators! It's good stuff...

I FINALLY HAVE PICTURES FOR YOU! The first one is of the Tornado on May 30--that was my third day in Oklahoma! The rest of them are at one of tornado cleanup sites near Newalla, Oklahoma. See how horrendous it looks?! I promise I'll send you more pictures soon :)