Who Do You Love? (09/22/2014)

As circumstances would have it, I didn't have enough time to report on the events that happened last week. My time was occupied discussing matters with my mission president about the area. I'll try to make up for last week!

So Monday (September 8th) we drove up to Norman and stayed the night with the Norman 2nd Elders, one of which is Elder Birch, formerly in Altus. I am so jealous he's in the "waters of Norman." He's probably having so much fun... Ahhh the good old days! The next day we attended our mission tour with Bradley D. Foster. We learned about prayer and how to work with ward leaders to create a vision for them and for the wards/branches we serve in. And guess what? No iPads...yet. Everyone in the mission was holding their breath to hear if we were getting iPads, but sadly, that is not the case. Yet. 

We had some great finding miracles this week. We talked to a a guy named Brian and his girlfriend, Courtney. Courtney's dad, as it turns out, is a member up in one of the Moore wards. A couple days later we found out that she got baptized at age 8. So...she's a member! We got her birthday and her info, and we requested her records that Sunday! I love finding those kind of people. The lost sheep. Saturday was the Altus Air Show, the first air show Altus had ever done! It felt like walking around Lagoon all day! My feet were so tired by the end. We got permission from our president to go to it since we figured hardly anyone would be home. AND! A part-member family from Mangum stopped us and told us to come by and visit them! And they have a daughter that hasn't been baptized yet! Their names also aren't on the rolls. The bishopric is going to be so proud of us. The three other elders got sunburnt from the Air Show, but I got a pretty sweet tan! With all the fighter jets and airplanes, I fit right in with my aviator sunglasses. 

Last Tuesday, the 16th, we went over to Lawton and had our Zone Conference. Meetings after meetings, I'll tell ya. We learned about our teaching skills as a missionary and how we can ask questions to allow the spirit to teach our investigators rather than us just lecturing them. The previous day the zone leaders challenged me to bear my testimony to my district. I decided to take it step further by bearing my testimony during testimony meeting after the zone conference. It turned out I had a lot more to be grateful for than what I was planning on saying! But oh, how grateful I was for the opportunity to allow others to feel the same spirit I'd felt all throughout the meeting. I loved it. Bearing my testimony to other missionaries is something I don't do enough.

On Thursday, Elder Garcia and I got to go to Mangum to visit the family that we ran into at the Air Show. Unfortunately only two of their kids were home. The mom was at Parent Teacher Conferences with her other daughter. Man, remember those?! But we had a fun visit with their kids. Their house is full of chaos and entertainment, I love it. They are rapidly becoming a favorite of mine in this area. The kids haven't been to church in a long time, so it's going to take us some time to get them reintroduced to the gospel and rekindle the testimonies they gained long ago. They loved having us over, and we're looking forward to going back!

Then Saturday came "Hollis Day." We experienced the same thing we did in Mangum, but in Hollis! We had plans to tract out part of the town, but we spent the whole time meeting the two families there and getting to know them better. We also have plans to go back there this Saturday. I just love road-trip days when we can go to outlying towns.

Last Friday I randomly heard a song that I listened to back at BYU. It was after our District Meeting during lunch at Taco Bell, of all places. It brought on some fresh memories. Some of you may recognize the song lyrics, but it goes something like, "who do you need? Who do you love when you come undone?" At such a time when I've felt like coming undone, I kept asking myself "Elder Garner, who do you love?" Was I turning to the Savior enough? Was I trusting in others to let them help me? I kept reflecting on that as I was sitting in the chapel in Lawton listening to everyone's testimonies. As the pounding in my chest got heavier and heavier I knew the spirit was testifying of the words that all the other missionaries had spoken. I felt prompted to share likewise. And how grateful I was to have not missed out on that opportunity as well as the opportunity to serve here. 

Elder Garner

One Door Closes, Another Door Opens (09/08/2014)

Recently I've been reading in the scriptures about the stories of Alma preaching the word of God to the people in the land of Ammonihah. Often throughout our lives we have a plan to accomplish something, but then it doesn't turn out quite the way we expected. Sometimes it fails altogether, we start over, and another opportunity arises. Alma had plans to preach the gospel to the people of Ammonihah, but was reviled and cast out. When told to go back to the city through another door, he ran into Amulek, who then became his comrade in crying repentance to the people. Zeezrom's livelihood as a lawyer becomes threatened by Alma's influence to do good, he bashes with Alma to try to confound him and catch him in his words. Such subtle notions did not work in Zeezrom's favor. Alma and Amulek remain diligent and persistent throughout women and children being burnt, them being incarcerated, and going several days without food or water. 

I'm sure it was not Alma and Amulek's plan to go through all that, but no matter what happened, God had a plan for them, and he opened a door for them to enter. Ultimately, God's plan worked out.

With a new transfer upon me I got to witness that in my area as Elder Wilkes left and Elder Garcia came in. Vince and Shelby, our investigators, shipped out to Dallas, Texas with little notice. We were sad to see them go, but we have opportunities for missionary work waiting for us here in Altus. 

With transfers taking up most of our week, here's what else happened: We helped NOT Sister Thomas with moving, but rather we helped Sister Nelson, the sister that introduced us to Vince and Shelby to begin with. When we finally finished moving her out/in, we took a break, and I gave Sister Nelson a high-five. I forgot she has bad arthritis! I felt so bad...it was a pretty hard high-five... When she clutched her hand in pain I thought she was going to fall over and croak! Luckily she was cool about it, and she even said her wrist felt better after all the pain was gone! What a relief... 

On Thursday we went over to Operation Care to introduce the new guys to the staff. They decided to play a joke on the new guys by acting mean and rude to them... Angela got up in our face and started chewing us out for not arriving on time, and Shirley even brought her taser! But we couldn't keep straight faces, so all that lasted for about 60 seconds. Finally we gave up the joke and went right into meeting everyone and doing service. Oh goodness... I love Operation Care and all their hilarious staff members.

On Saturday we biked and tracted in the rain for a couple hours. It was my first time using my winter jacket since last winter! We met a lady named Wanda that invited us right on in to talk with her! We couldn't actually go inside, but it was a great finding miracle for us. The rain was well worth it. I know more doors will open up this transfer. New companion, new ward mission leader, new transfer, something's bound to open up. Let's see what happens!

Elder Garner

Weaknesses on Public Display (09/02/2014)

Mmm, mmmm. What an excellent week. I promised this week would be a good week, didn't I? Some events of this week include: A road trip to Oklahoma City, A Pizza Hut discovery, a turning of the month, meeting Miss Gibby the cat, "The Purge," 8 hours of hard-knock manual labor, a newbie attempting to play Risk, and all cards getting put out onto the table.

Starting at the top, on Tuesday we helped a couple named Paul and Shirley in Altus get some stuff ready to move in preparation for their move to Rapid City. Shirley does service with us at Operation Care, and she's real fun to hang out with. She has a kid that's a member, so she knows a lot about the church already. After we helped them move they took us to Pizza Hut, and the waiter there gave us a discount. Turns out she knows the missionaries and happens to be a member! We have no idea who she is or where she lives, but we pray she will make her way back to church one day. After that we said goodbye to Paul and Shirley. They're a great family, and I'm kinda sad to see them go...but people have to leave Altus at some point. 

And once again, you get to hear about good old Sister Thomas. We helped her move her stuff out of her house. She introduced us to Miss Gibby, her cat. And Miss Gibby introduced us to her hairballs...nasty! We found a lot of those under Sister Thomas' furniture...ha. Later on that night the elders from Seymour, Texas (literally the lowest corner of the mission) drove up to Altus and stayed the night at our place. Remember Elder Davis? My old roommate in Mustang back in February? He was in Seymour. All six of us had a sleepover and got to watch Ephraim's Rescue. Man, I haven't seen that movie since I was in Sulphur! 

On Thursday Elder Park in Seymour, Texas, and I drove up to OKC for our leadership training meeting. We learned plenty about how to be better leaders and better examples to the missionaries we serve. The best quote that came from the meeting: "Therefore...what?" When you've performed an action, what comes next? Why do we do the things we do as missionaries? Our focus should be working towards achieving our goals and knowing why we perform our duties. 

Saturday morning we helped Sister Thomas move--get this, not her house, but we moved instead--her garage. She had a multi-car garage jam-packed with boxes upon boxes of quilting, food storage, antique stuff, odds and ends, old clothes, and what have you. What was originally supposed to be a 2-3 hour project turned into 8 hours of moving and hauling stuff from the old garage to the new garage! In 100 degrees, that was a nightmare. We were blessed temporally with a lot of goodies from Sister Thomas' storage, and physically with stronger muscles and endurance to the heat! Miss Gibby lucked out...big time. All she had to do was sit there and lick her paws.

Later on that night was the night of "The Purge." You outside-the-mission-field people probably know more about the purge than I do, but apparently there's a movie called The Purge where the people in the movie are allowed 24 hours of committing any and all crimes they want without getting punished as a way to "purge" society and eliminate the weakest links, so it becomes a survival of the fittest competition. Apparently something similar was supposed to happen Saturday night from 7 PM to 7 AM the next Sunday morning. OKC police were taking it seriously, so when President Walkenhorst got wind of it he had all missionaries in their apartments by 7 that night. So what did we do? Played Risk! I'd never played Risk before until last Saturday! Any game with a map of the world automatically piques my interest. And my, what fun I had! Even though I lost! Ha... My brothers back home know how to play Risk, so when I return we'll have to play 5-player.

And finally, backtracking to Friday. District Meeting day. Another memorable quote from the leadership training meeting from Thursday: "You are called to be a leader because of who you will become. You are called to put on public display all your weaknesses for all to see." I decided to take a leaf out of the leadership training meeting and "put on public display my weaknesses for all to see." I put all my cards out on the table. Later on the other elders in my district did the same. We went around the circle and fessed up our weaknesses for all to hear. Anyone see Pitch Perfect? The part where all the Bellas share their struggles to everyone? We did something similar to that, but it was much more serious and spiritual. And what a huge act of humility that was for all of us. When we admitted all our mistakes, some of us were more honest than others, some were more embarrassed than others, but no matter what emotions we felt we understood quite vividly what judgment day would be like. Our bond with each other was markedly strengthened that day. Of that, I am sure. I'm so grateful that no one is perfect... myself included.

Elder Garner 

Joke's On Me (08/25/2014)

What an eventful week full of travelling and attending meetings. The four of us drove down to Wichita Falls, Texas for our Specialized Training and Zone P-day. For dinner we ate at none other than Texas Roadhouse! How appropriate for the Burkburnett, Texas zone. Apparently it's a tradition to eat there on Zone P-days. We stayed the night over at the Wichita Falls elders' apartment complex, where three sets of missionaries reside! It was a slumber party, to say the least. Don't worry, we still went to bed at 10:30! 

And the whole reason for the sleepover was for our DLC (District Leader Council) Tuesday morning with the zone leaders. We normally do these over the phone since we're all so spread out, but President Walkenhorst let us stay the night and do an in-person DLC Tuesdaymorning. After a very informative and spiritual discussion, we left for "home" in Altus. 

Wednesday the 20th we helped Sister Thomas once again with painting and moving. Her house is going to look like one big tub of mint ice cream when all her walls are finished being painted mint-green. Later on that night we ran into some trouble... The dolly we used to help move her stuff got stolen. Elder Wilkes left it in her backyard...but it wasn't his fault, at least. 

Thursday was interesting. The APs called to inform us that an inactive member from Hollis found the Elk City elders and asked them where the closest church was to them. After talking with the APs for a little bit I decided to play a little joke on the other three elders. I told them that the APs called me to inform me that I would be training a new missionary coming out of the MTC next transfer! Without any intention of it happening, one elder had a devastated look on his face. A couple days later I come to find out he felt like the mission president had forgotten him and that he was destined to be "banished" his whole mission and never have leadership opportunities. For a slightly competitive elder like him, it led to some emotional grief for him. Fortunately the elder and I are buddies, so it's all good :) That night at the member's house we had cheesy potato soup for dinner, and whoever had the "magic bean" got a surprise! And guess who got the bean?? I did. The surprise? DISHES. The members had me do the dishes after dinner! So now the joke's on me....oh well. Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure.

Sunday we got to go to Lawton for a priesthood meeting with all the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthood holders in the stake. There were some very good talks given from stake and ward members about exercising our priesthood and using its power righteously. Lately I've been reading in Alma about Nehor and Amlici and their persecutions towards the people that were part of the church. It was interesting to me how all the church members came together. It talks about in verse 26 of chapter 1 that the preacher was no better than the hearer, and the teacher was no better than the learner, and they esteemed one another as their brethren. I love that scripture! No matter what role you have, you're important! Everyone has their role in spreading the gospel, and it's all part of the mosaic of the Lord's work. Next week should be exciting. I am graced with the opportunity to go up to Oklahoma City for--you guessed it--more meetings! Read about it next week!

Elder Garner  

(With apologies from the proprietor of this blog for posting late: the school year began a week ago.)

One Shade Different (08/18/2014)

Throughout this week I've really felt like I've gotten to make a difference. Of course missionaries are always trying to make a difference in someone's life, or in our own life. But this week I made a conscientious effort to notice the differences around me and be of good cheer for the chance I have to adapt to current circumstances. Did I change Altus? In my dreams! The differences aren't anything huge, just a little bit here and there. 

The first difference? The way I responded to almost eating the most outlandish thing I could have eaten on my mission (so far!). We celebrated Sister Thomas' birthday on Monday. She's a sweet older lady in her 70s. We had pork chops for dinner...cooked in a panini maker. That's a recipe for disaster! And it almost was. I ate several bites into mine, and the next cut I made into it there were gut remnants and a nice shady spot of pink right in the middle! Fortunately, they had baked potatoes there as well, so I grabbed an extra one to make it look like I was enjoying the food :) For dessert we had chocolate cake. All was well with that. Luckily I didn't get sick or anything, but if I did I would have started singing "Master The Tempest is Raging!"

On Tuesday we taught Vince and Shelby! YAH! And they committed to be baptized! Then on Friday I went on exchanges in the other elders' area, so I wasn't personally there, but my companion and the elder I exchanged with conducted a church tour for Vince and Shelby, which they reported as successful. 

On Thursday we tracted in a little town called Granite that hadn't really been touched by previous missionaries. We received a less than favorable welcome from its residents. The last house we knocked on, however, was a miracle. We tracted into a member whose name isn't on the rolls. I always love it when that happens! She was so grateful and astonished that we ran into her. We gave her a Book of Mormon since she didn't have one. We're hoping to fellowship her and get her back to church. Those little differences we make in other peoples' lives... We're hoping she'll recognize that and want to make a difference in herself.

Back to the lovely Sister Thomas. We helped her box up some stuff that she wanted moved into her new house on the south side of town. After we helped her with that, we got to PAINT! I got to paint her bathroom a shade of minty green! For those that know me, you'll know that color represents me so well... 

We had ward conference on Sunday, and members from the stake came out from Lawton and Wichita Falls, Texas and spoke to the ward about hastening the work. I really think the ward needed it. It's good to know that the stake's working alongside with us trying to make a difference. 

Anyway, that's all folks! I guess what? I finally have some pictures to show y'all of God's little slice of pie in southwest Oklahoma! Have an awesome week!

Love, Elder Garner

Crossing Lines (08/11/2014)

I am thrilled to say that I now have one more state to add to my list of states traveled. This week I got to go to the bottoms of the mission in northern Texas! 

Tuesday and Wednesday were killer days for me and Elder Wilkes. We both got allergies... It completely took over us. Elder Wilkes got really bad bloodshot eyes and I got hives that looked like leprosy! A member family asked us to clear out the weeds from their alleyway, so that's what attributed to the leprosy-allergies. The member had me sniff some lavender and melaluca for about 20 minutes. I swear, I was almost high. After that I washed the the rivers of our home bathtub....once. It didn't take seven times ;)

On Friday I entered the mega-state of TEXAS! I now see what all the hype of Texas is all about. Wherever you go....it's Texas. You go down for 500 miles you're still in Texas. You go over 1,000 miles...and you're probably still in Texas! Oklahoma must feel invaded having such a massive "mini-country" below them. I got to explore Burkburnett, Texas with one of my zone leaders. We had a great exchange, and I got just a little dab of the Lone Star State.

On Thursday and Sunday we had dinner at a member's home, the Hull's. They are an awesome family that moves around from place to place due to being in the Air Force. They have a kid about six years-old that likes to do magic tricks. The poor kid... He tried doing a magic card trick with me, but when he did it wrong and he guessed the wrong card... When I told him it was the wrong card he almost started crying! I felt so awful... As if that wasn't enough, he tried redeeming himself on Sunday with another card trick, this time more elaborate. After about 20 minutes of doing the trick he predicted that I had a 3 of hearts. It was a Jack of Spades... I paused for a good five seconds trying to decide if I wanted to dash his hopes and confidence again by telling him I picked a different card, or if I should just fib a little and tell him he'd picked the right one. It wouldn't have really mattered, right? I ended up telling him it was the Jack of Spades. The same results happened. I hope me and this kid are still friends! I think we are... 

Sometimes I wonder if we are brimming over with confidence and we think we know what we're doing only to find out that we did things wrong. Sometimes as a missionary it feels that way. Enduring to the end sure is an important step in all our lives as we make mistakes and learn to pick ourselves back up and try again. And someday, with the help of the Lord, we'll know the tricks so well that our performance will be perfect in God's eyes. And we'll be able to dwell in His presence. 

One last miracle for this week: The Hoffman family. They live just north of the elder's apartment in Purcell. Me and my trainer, Elder Evans, had found them and taught them July and August of last year. After a year of being taught by missionaries, they finally got baptized!!! The seeds have finally harvested! Unfortunately, I was informed after the baptism, but had I known it was going to happen I would have been there. This is quite possibly the greatest moment on my mission of seeds being sown. It gives me a lot more reassurance that what we do as missionaries is far-reaching and impacting--we really do make a difference. I can only imagine what comes in the next nine months...

Elder Garner 

Road Trips Across Oklahoma (08/04/2014)

In the corner of southwest Oklahoma, the missionaries of Altus West are exploring the land and meeting the citizens and latter-day saints of Jackson, Greer, and Harmon county. All starting off the week with a good trip to the temple and paying a visit to my old turf: Mustang and Yukon. Our zone had our temple trip on the 29th. While there, I had lots of time to think about the recent changes that have been taking place in my life. I had lots of time to reason with myself why things have turned out the way they have. After a good session in the temple, lots of questions and prayers were answered. I'm so grateful for the temple and for the peace it brings.

Then to Mustang. The four of us payed Elder Watkins and his new companion a visit in my old apartment. The sisters got moved in to their new apartment just this past week. They all seem to be enjoying living and serving there just as I have. We got to see Wyatt get baptized. It was so sad having to turn him over to the Mustang 2nd ward missionaries, but it was all for his own good. And no matter which set of missionaries taught him, he still got baptized.

Most of the remaining week was spent meeting people, getting to know the area, and exploring our massive area. On Thursday we went to Mangum for the first time, where we met a couple members and got a map to find our way around. We had an amazing finding miracle just 15 minutes before we were supposed to turn in for the night. We were walking around just a few blocks south of our apartment when we got followed by a guy riding a motorbike. He pulled over, stopped to talk to us, and introduced himself as Rocky. He had missionary experiences before. He knew who we were and what we do. He was fascinated by the Church and the gospel. He used to live in the Middle East. He almost died (from causes we aren't aware of) and apparently he was saved by a Christian. He then came to the United States and become converted to Christianity. He'd moved out of Altus, and the missionaries, as a result, lost contact with him. And he finally ran into us just the other day! And wow, it's the best thing that's happened since I got here...

On Saturday an older couple that the other elders had been teaching got baptized, and they asked me to give the talk on the Holy Ghost. I'd never given a talk at a baptism before, but nonetheless it was a great experience to see them come to gospel and enter into the waters of baptism! 

And today--you'll never guess this--we went hiking! in Oklahoma! We hiked up the Wichita Mountains near Lawton. They're the tallest "mountains" Oklahoma has to offer. And afterwards we went to Meers, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that's been around since 1901! And I ate a Seismic Burger that was as big as my head! Hoping to gain a couples pounds from that...

My apologies for the short update, I don't have as much time as I would like. But let me just say I am incredibly antsy for good things to start happening in this area. There is so much potential that has yet to be explored. Eventually, I'll understand the reasoning for me being down here in Altus. With every area I've been that same question always gets answered. Hope all of you have a great week. The gospel is true!

Elder Garner