29 July 2013

Hi

Well this week was really busy, I felt like I was out of my area more than I was in it, but a lot of cool things happened and I had a lot of fun!!

First of all I went up to Lake Isabella with Elder Hatch, he is really funny! We worked really hard. I think the weirdest part of it all was we went and did some service for this guy, what we ended up doing is cutting a motor home in half. We took the top off so he could use it for a trailer. It was really cool!! It was something I have never seen before, it felt pretty cool ripping the top off! haha. Other than that the exchange went really well, we taught a guy who has a baptismal date for September 14th!! His name is Chris, he has been trying to quit smoking for a while and is down to one cigarette a day, so we challenged him to not smoke at all for one day to see how it went. I guess he did it and said that he loved it and felt really healthy!!! It was an awesome feeling to see someone succeed in something they have been trying to kick for a long time.

Friday at the temple was amazing!!! I learned so much and felt the spirit really strongly!! We had a chapel session with the temple president, he talked about the priesthood and what it really is. Of course he said the priesthood is service, but he also said that the priesthood is the Holy Ghost. I have never really thought of that before, that the way that we serve others with the priesthood is really the spirit, whether it be a blessing or an ordinance or advice. It all comes from the Holy Ghost!!  It’s been really nice thinking about this this past week and trying to come closer to the spirit so I can use the priesthood more often and bless others through it. 

Yesterday was really good, we saw so many miracles ... first the Young Women’s president came up to us and told us that there were two girls who went to girls camp who asked her if they could get baptized and told her that they are going to ask their parents if it would be cool. The second was the first counselor in the YW presidency came up and said hey there is a girl here that has been coming to church for three months and has gone to girls camp the last four years who wants to be baptized and her parents gave her permission ... my jaw dropped!! haha  So to make sure this was for real we gave her a permission slip to have her parents sign to make sure they really gave her permission. We told her we would come by the house at 3:30 and if it’s signed we will start the lessons. So 3:30 rolls around and we go to the members home and she hands us a paper signed and dated with permission to teach her. I almost started laughing cause it seemed too good to be true!! We taught the restoration and the girl (Emily) basically taught us the lesson because she had been going to church for so long. We asked her if she was reading the Book of Mormon and she told us that she was almost done with 1st Nephi and that she felt it was true. So we asked her to get baptized and she accepted, so she is going to get baptized August 17th. It was an awesome Sunday!

So that referral that we got from the other elders I guess has dropped off the radar and isn’t getting baptized any more ... It’s kinda sad that we don't know where she is or how to find her because she was doing so great and making progress ...

Other than that everything was great!! I had a fun week!!

I love you all and hope that you are doing well!!!

Elder Garrett

22 July 2013

Hi family!!!

Well, how is it going?

My week was great!!  It was a little long and stressful for some reason but other than that, great! 

We went by this part member family’s house a lot.  The wife is a member and has been one for a while.  The husband isn’t a member and never has been interested in joining ... but I guess he had some realizations about his life.  He wants to make his marriage work, so he is actually willing to learn and do stuff that will help him.  So he came to church and brought his non-member daughter with him!!!  It was so cool to see him there.  We have been going over there since I got in this area, and I have come to love him and his family!!  They are awesome!

I also found out that I will be going to the temple this week on Friday!!!  I’m so excited about it.  I guess since I’m a short timer now and they are going to take me and all of my group that I came out with so that we can go to the temple at least one more time before we get home!!  When the assistants called to let me know I was freaked out first of all and then when they told me the news I was stoked!!! 

Also another cool thing that has happened is that I got permission to go up to Tehachapi today!!  I really miss that place and have been wanting to go back so bad.  So later today we are heading up there!!!

We weren’t able to see Ellwood and Caroline this week because they were out of town, but they are gonna be back tonight so I hope that we get to see them!!!  They are the coolest people in the world!! 

I’m going on an exchange tonight up in the mountains of Lake Isabella, I have heard that it is a very nice place!  I’m excited about it because I’m going with Elder Hatch, he came out one transfer after I did. And he is 6'8!!! So I look like a child next to him haha.  But I’m excited to see how he does the work and what I can learn from him!!

The baptismal interview went really well!!!  He passed and is planning to be baptized on August 10th!!!  I’m so excited for him!  During the interview it was really spiritual, I was surprised a little actually haha.  It was almost like I was looking through Gods eyes to see if he was really ready for the covenant that he is about to make!!!  It was a really humbling experience!

Life under the new mission president is really great, he is a great leader and shows his love!!  It’s really cool. I respect him a lot!

Well family, I love you and hope all is well with you!!!

Elder Garrett

15 July 2013

Hey fam,

HOW IS IT GOING???????

So the week went well, kinda long with its ups and downs but all in all it went really well. We were busy all the time so can’t complain too much!!!

We still didn’t get to meet with that referral that we got last Monday, but she still wants to meet with us and still wants to get baptized so that is exciting news!!  We are going to be meeting here tomorrow night!  In the district we all should be having a baptism on the 27th, I get to do two baptismal interviews this week!!!!  I’m really excited about it!!! 

I got to go on an exchange this week with Elder Maluenda, he actually serves in the same ward as I do but the other half of it, so it was cool to see the other side of the ward.  He is awesome, he is from Chile and has only been in America for almost a year, he knows English really well!  He actually lived in Sandy over by Grandma and Grandpa Pierson!  He goes to the same church as them or I guess went to the same church.  His parents just started their mission as presidents a few weeks ago.  He is a very spiritual elder and knows his stuff!  No one happened to be home but it’s all good we still tried our hardest. 

We found a new investigator, Chris, he had met with missionaries a long time ago!  He asked us to come back and meet with his whole family, I’m not even sure how many kids he has but I’m excited about it all!! 

We met with Ellwood and Caroline, they are reading the Book of Mormon!!!  They still don’t want to come to church because they believe Saturday is the Sabbath day, so we are working on it and trying to help them!!  I’m really excited about it.

Well it’s been a good week!!  I’m doing great.  Sorry I actually have some more to tell you but we ran out of time cause the library is closing . . .

I love you and will talk to you in a week!!

Elder Garrett

8 July 2013

Hi family,

It’s been a really busy week!!! 

We got a referral last Sunday, we went to go contact it Tuesday.  It turns out the referral was actually really interested, it’s an older couple that lives by a member, Elwood and Caroline!  They are the nicest people in the world!!!!  We ended up teaching the restoration and the plan of salvation and the word of wisdom.  They asked all the questions that led us to teaching about it.  It really went well!  We are meeting with them Wednesday afternoon.  I’m really excited about it!!!

We went on exchanges with the zone leaders, I went with Elder Wadsworth.  He has only been out around a year but it was cool.  We saw a lot of miracles though.  The first one was that we were walking to an appointment and it fell through so we started walking the streets looking for people to talk to.  We saw this man named Juan and started talking and all of the sudden he started crying and asked us for help, he wants to get closer to God.  So we told we could and how he could.  Then about an hour later we had the same sort of situation happen.  We were walking around trying to find someone to talk to and all of the sudden this lady yelled help me!!!  At first I thought she was getting jumped or something like that, but then we noticed that she was crying and sitting on her front porch.  So we asked her what she needed help with.  She told us that she needed to be baptized and that she knew that we were a good church so we should do it, so we taught the restoration and told her we could do it.  She was so happy and so was I!!!!

We just got a referral from another set of elders today.  They had been teaching this lady. Jackie for the past 4 months, she had been coming to church and been reading the Book of Mormon, she is getting baptized on the 27th of this month!!  I’m really excited about it all, that was a huge blessing!!!

I also found out that some other elders in the district will be having a baptism on the 27th, so I get to perform a baptismal interview!!!  It was really cool to hear about it!!

Well other than that not too much has happened!!  I love you all and hope you had a great 4th of July!!!!!!!!!

Elder Garrett

2 July 2013

Hey family!!!!!

Sorry that I wasn’t able to email you all yesterday, it was kind of a hectic and weird pday.  We had some car problems.  We had to take it to the dealership and have them work on it. So we sat there in a different zone for 4 hours, then we get a call from the mission office asking if we were still there.  They realized that the dealership had some cars waiting for the church to pick up and they told us we could go get one of those and go on our way.  So yesterday we got a 2014 Chevy Cruze!  It was really cool!!!  But by the time we got back the places to email were all closed so we had to wait til today to do it.

The week was really good actually!  We spent a lot of time with part members and less actives.  I really felt like we were able to accomplish some good!  We got two of the less actives out to church!!!  That is a miracle!!!!  I have never really had too much success with less actives so seeing them at church was really cool!!!

We also went and saw a potential investigator named Toni, she is a single mother of two.  She was given a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet about the restoration.  I guess she read the pamphlet and felt that it was true and she instantly started reading the Book of Mormon. H er face was glowing as she was talking about how she felt about it.  The spirit was there! I just hope that she continues in her reading and prayer.  She really needs the gospel in her life, she comes from a rough back ground, this would help her and her kids have a stronger relationship with each other and the Lord!

So about the new mission, we don’t know too much about it yet, we are meeting with President Wilson tomorrow for the first time.  I’m really excited about it.  I guess from what I’ve heard is that he is a fun and laid back kind of guy, but I don’t know how true that is! haha  It’s going to be really cool.  We also found out that next transfer there are going to be 50 new missionaries coming to Bakersfield.  That means about half of the missionaries are going to be training ... It’s going to be really cool to see all of those new missionaries and see how that changes the work and how much the attitude of the work is going to change with all of those new missionaries!!!

Oh if you want to send me mail (and I know you do!!!! haha) Send it to:

California Bakersfield Mission

3512 Coffee Road Suite B

Bakersfield CA 93308

This is the new mission office address and it is pretty close to our apt, so I should get the mail really fast.

Any way family I love you and I’m grateful for you all!!!! 

MISS YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Elder Garrett

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!