hellooooooooo! I hope everyone had a good week this week! (I
feel like I say that every week...but it's true!)
this week was a weird one....we are trying to get used to
having just us 2 again. a regular companionship. it is good but we have a lot
of adjusting to do!
the most exciting thing of this week: L WENT TO
CHURCH AND LOVED IT! He went to all three hours his first time! not a lot
of investigators are like that! he is one of the most prepared people I have
met on my mission. this week we had a lesson with him about the Plan of
Salvation and guess who came with us? O. it was the best. we are trying to
bring our recent converts with us to lessons. but O and him are friends now
and in the lesson O shared his testimony and L loved it. So for
church on Sunday, O picked him up and everything! seeing members care for
our investigators and welcoming them into the ward is the happiest thing as
missionaries. In every hour, L sat next to a different member and it was
awesome! He said he loved everything about church. We went and visited him last
night to just see what he understood and what he liked about church and it went
so well. We asked him about his baptismal date and if he was still good with it
and he said "I can't wait".
Also on Sunday, I had a lot of embarrassing moments like
always. But one of them was this. Hermana S usually directed the music
during Sacrament Meeting. But on Sunday we weren't thinking and when it came
time for the song, everyone was kind of just looking around and I didn't
understand why (I was talking to a member so I wasn't paying to close
attention) and I realized that someone needed to lead the music. so I ran up
there and started to lead. The funniest part was the pianist is suuuper good and
she does her own little thing sometimes. She does like cool intros and finishes
with a bunch of rolly chords so when it was just the piano and no one singing,
I felt kind of dumb waving my hand in the air, not knowing what to do. Let's
just say a lot of people came up to me after and said they enjoyed me leading
and they got a good laugh.
The weather has been amazing lately. In Missouri and Mexico
it has been freezing (I have heard) but it has been nothing but beautiful here!
We are so grateful for that because so many people are outside!
Without Hermana S everything has just been a little
harder. She is so great and really motivated Hermana R and I. We had a
couple of little incidents this week that twisted us around and we had to fall
on our knees. but everything is good. I made a little thing to put on the
wall the other day with the quote "come what may and love it" because
it is truly what missionary work is. we plan very intensely for the next day
every night, but as missionaries we never really know what is going to happen,
who we are actually going to see and what we will do. but we have to be
positive and happy through it all! I have learned that to be true on my mission
and I love that quote! I think it is from Pres. Hinckley? Not sure. But it
is a keeper. All of you artsy people out there, make a little thing of that
quote to put in your house. it is a great reminder.
One of the blessings on one of my sticky notes was
L's first prayer that he said with us. Yes I know I am going back to
him, but he is on our minds A TON and we love him a lot. But hearing the first
prayer of an investigator IN THEIR WHOLE LIFE is a very humbling experience and
I will remember it forever. Experiencing them talking to their Heavenly Father
for the first time in their life is incredible! L was super scared and
embarrassed (like everyone else) because he said that missionaries say awesome
prayers (everyone also says that). We explained to him that prayer is just a
conversation. Heavenly Father knows us so individually and knows our thoughts
and desires of our hearts, but he wants to hear from us. As missionaries we say
probably around 25 prayers a day. Not an exaggeration. I think sometimes I take
it for granted that prayer is such a privilege and we are talking to our
Father. He has the same desires as our earthly father: He wants us to be
successful, he cries with us when we cry and he is excited when we are happy,
He wants us to live with Him again because He loves us immensely! He wants us to
be happy and to live the gospel because He knows that is the only way we can be
eternally happy.
R is doing really well too. Because there's only two of
us, we can't go into a house with just one guy. So with R, we sat outside
under his lights in the front of his house and read the Book of Mormon with
him. It was such a nice night so it was amazing! He has a hard time reading the
Book of Mormon daily so we try to go over once a week and read it with him. He
told us that he read A TON the other day and that he loved it. He said he
learned so much from the example of Nephi and his faith.
Tonight after P-day ends, we are running to different
family's houses and dropping off little cards. So many people in our branch are
sick or are not doing well so we are spending the rest of our day visiting them
and sharing a scripture with them. Prayers for the Kemah Branch por favor!
I love you all and hope you have such a good week this week!
Hermana Garner
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