December 29, 2014 San Nicolas

Hey!

It was really fun to skype you guys! DID YOU HAVE FamilyHomeEvening!? do it tonight tooo please. Es algo que los profetas modernos nos han pedido a hacer, y sé que todos de ustedes van a ser más felices a dentro el hogar si lo hagan.

I´m trying to work out as much as I can. Thanks for the jump rope, this one is better than the one I bought here because It´s heavier and I have to hold my arms out farther, so It´s a better workout.

Davis testing out his new monocular for spotting birds.

Sounds and looks like Utah is really fun as always! Tell grandmas and grandpa that I say buenas!(rarely anyone says hola here, it´s always buenos dias, buenas tardes, buenas noches, or just buenas...sometimes my companion and I play a game where we´ll say buenos dias(good morning) in the afternoon, or buenas tardes at night hahahahaha, and then we´ll see what they reply) I haven´t checked walmart for journals. We got a sweet mission journal from the mission president as a gift though!(still need the moleskine ones though) I´m glad that the gifts got there on time and that you liked them. I´m kind of jealous of nathaniel´s [fixed gear bicycle] tires, I´think I´ll just buy some new type wheels when I get home hahahaha. That would be fun to ride around together.

A new bird guide for Davis - birds of Mexico and Central America.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM AND DAD! and happy new year. On Christmas here in Mexico they just go crazy. The 24th there were just so many fireworks, and most of them sound like gun shots (Some of them may have been gunshots [don´t tell mom that]) hahahaha. No, this is a safe zone that I´m in (Which is why there are a lot of hermanas in this zone)

 I don´t know what will happen on new year´s eve. My comp said that last year they went home early because everyone went crazy. My area is pretty nice though so that might not happen hopefully. I got a couple [local] recipies so far.

Davis with Elder S and the Stake President's son - showing off ties that were gifts from the Stake President.

This week has been a pretty hard week to find new people to teach and such. We lost those 3 investigators (we actually got the couple back just because their son O is super cool, they are kind of on standby though until they decide to get married) and not really any of the people we talked to wanted to talk at all. We had thought that it would be easier to talk to people in this season, especially since all we talk about is Jesus Christ! It wasn´t so however. No matter. One thing that I have learned while reading through the New Testament (Besides that Christ knows who Nathanael is) is that it a privilage to preach and work in his name. One thing that Christ tells the Seventy in Luke 10 is that when someone rejects them, they also reject him(Christ) and his father that sent him. Another thing that I found in Acts was that one of the apostles said(dont remember where) that it is a privilage to be worthy to suffer in the name of Christ. So I just need to remember, whenever we are just being rejected, and persecuted, That the Lord stands right there with us, just as our names are right next to his on our plaques. 

 

And THIS is why Davis' hair looks like that - The Stake President gave Davis some of his own personal hair product.  Note how shiny his son's hair is.

E was confirmed a member yesterday and is super duper happy! O comes early to church and is just a super good deacon, he might be in 2 nephi now, that´d be cool.

Mom I´m doing Swell! I hope you´re all doing swell! 

Here is your topic for FHE if you need one, this one is easy: John 13: 34-35 (As I have loved you love one another)

Tell everyone else that I´m doing Stellar!(Not Steller as in Steller´s Jay though)

Thanks for the gifts!!!! They´re awesome!

I love you

Elder garner

December 22, 2014 San Nicolas

Hey Mom!

Ok, I´ll wear it everyday, even if it´s foggy and rainy. No se preocupe. [In response to Mom’s request for him to wear sunscreen.]

Some quick requests: Can you send me that music that I asked for in the mtc? The stuff like Gimnopedie and bolero and all that stuff? Thanks. Also, can you send me a Moleskine journal, like the one I have now. If you want I can send you a picture of it next week. Its a really good journal but I probably have over 2 months left in it. Actually could you send me two? I write a page every day in my journal. Gracias.

Elder S, E, and Davis

E got baptized yesterday! and President and Hermana Swapp came! It was really awesome and I got to do the baptism! Hahahaha his elbow almost didn´t make it under the water, but I got it under. E bore his testimony at the end and he has changed a lot. I remember when we found him he was a pretty sad guy, but now he´s always happy. Except in the picture hahahahah! I don´t know why but mexicans just don´t smile in their pictures! ah no me importa. 

Hermana and President Swapp, E, Davis, Elder S., and another fellow.

It sounds like the house is gonna be crazy. I´ll be excited to see it. [In response to reports of new home improvement projects.]  I bet you´ll get an iphone 6. I saw one and it´s almost as big as an ipad.[In response to news that Mom’s phone was crushed and will need to be replaced with something way too big.]

Anyway. I AM GOING TO SKYPE YOU AT 4PM PACIFIC TIME. ok? Be ready for that. I don´t know what will happen if it doesn´t work. We are going to skype at the stake president´s house so if it doesn´t work on your side then I could probably use his cell phone or something. I´ll figure it out. I´m going to call Mom first ok, so be ready with that one. If not then Dad´s and then Thannys. I´m excited to talk to you!!

Also, I got your package and letter this Tuesday. Can you tell me again how your lesson went? I like the idea of it and all, That we have to be in the world but not of it. I haven´t opened the presents yet hahahah, Thanks for wrapping them. They wrote what was in the box so I know I got a book, legos, and the other thing was smudged so I guessed Moriancumer, the brother of Jared. hahahahah. [It’s a monocular – small enough to keep in his pocket for spotting birds.]

Vermillion Flycatcher

Oh, I did send a package home with a member who was visiting Texas and he was gonna send it. Tell me when it gets there.

I´ll send some pictures now. See you on Thursday!!! I Love you!

Elder Garner

December 15, 2014 San Nicolas

2014-12-15 San Nicolas

Hey Mom, Thanks for the hot chocolate instructions.

It sounds like everything is going well over there, I´m glad Nathaniel is doing well in school. If he goes to BYU though I don´t think we would ever be there together unless he went a year before a mission. That wouldn´t be the worst thing to do if I were still there.

Davis and 4 other missionaries pose for a picture with a nun.

We´re going to have a baptism this Sunday! We met this guy named E my on my first P-day in the mission field, and he told us to come visit him the day after. That lesson we had was so powerful; he had been jobless and such and our lesson just brought him so much comfort and peace. Right in that first day he wanted to be baptized. We promised him that he would have a lot of trials as he continued to follow the example of Jesus Christ and live the commandments that the Lord has given us, but that he would also be blessed very much and that he would be able to find work.

Well after about a week of teaching him, he did find a job, but then we could never see him because he was never home. We got really anxious and frustrated and two weeks went by where we didn´t see him. We finally saw him in the local market and made an appointment to see him. Phew, we found him. When we had the lesson, we were surprised of his faith, because we thought that he had lost his desire to be baptized and such. He told us that he had been praying everyday in the way that we taught him! Wow! That´s something that got us really excited! We had to talk to him about not working on Sundays because it is the Lord´s day and that we need to go to church. Not a problem, E changed so now he tries not to go to work on Sundays and he has been at church for the past two weeks. It was still a bit hard to find him on weekdays, and for a couple days he was working in a mechanic shop right by the church. We headed over there and talked to one of the guys who worked there. His name was A, and is he interested! We talked to him about the restoration and gave him a pamplet and at our next lesson with him. that pamplet was just marked up with questions and all, it was amazing. There was a concert at the temple yesterday for christmas (It was awesome ill tell you a bit about it during skype) and he came with us! He drinks, which is something we have to talk to him about, but he is almost always spot on with the commitments we give him!

Monterrey Mexico Temple

Anyway back to E, he´s doing really well now, still not having the easiest time with work, but he´s really happy. He does want to go work in the states (he has a visa and all so he wont be illegal or anything) but he asks us if he goes to the states if there will be an LDS church there, and of course we tell him of course! oh yea, E speaks pretty good english too because he worked in Vancouver with his brother for 2 years i think. I have seen how this gospel has blessed him so much, from the time we met him to now, he is so much happier. He´s laughing and smiling all the time and it´s great. I know that when we try our best to be obedient to the things our heavenly father has commanded us, and when we repent of our sins and constantly try to follow Christ´s example, we can find great happiness, even in the heart of trial and difficult times. I´ll send you pictures of the baptism next week.

For the Skype, I´ll probably skype on Christmas on the 25th from the stake president´s house because he´s in our ward. I´ll write down the skype addresses you sent me.

also...There´s AP BIOCHEM!?!?!?!?! WOAH. hey mom, after about a year in my mission when I´m super comfortable with all of my spanish, you´ll have to send my diagrams of biology stuff labelled in spanish so I can learn that in spanish (and multitask and review all of that stuff hahaha) My MTC teacher told me not to stop learning vocab after you have become comfortable speaking and such. Learn all you can while you have the gift of tongues!

I think that´s about it for today, here are some pictures and tell Nathaniel to email me next week, and dad, they send funny emails. [Mom's emails aren't funny?] I´ll send a letter soon.

I love you all (and have you been doing FHE and scriptures and prayer and all?)

I love you

Davis

P.S. a sneak peak? of a Christmas surprise? huh? what´s this? (I hope it gets there on time, it should’ve been sent last week...it might get there late) DONT WORRY YOU’LL STILL LOVE IT!

Is that the Christmas surprise?

P.P.S. Hahahahahah no way! I bet he likes three rooms though! [Davis responded to the news that we put a window in Nathaniel's room so he can sleep in there when it is hot instead of moving into the guest room, and Davis' room...]

December 8, 2014 Still San Nicolas (I think...)

How is everything!? quick checkup:

are you doing family home evening? Are you all reading your scriptures everyday and having family prayer? Is dad and nathaniel doing home teaching? (I feel bad about that question because i never did it)

If you were doing all that for this whole month, THAT would be an awesome christmas gift.

Still haven't gotten the package, but that doesn´t mean it´s not here. They hold onto it until a zone conference or interviews or the next time you go to the offices. So i´ll get it the 23rd because that´s when we have our mission christmas event. Don´t worry if it´s not a lot mom! Do you really think that it would matter to me? the best gift is going to be skyping you guys! oh, i´ll probably do that in the Stake President´s house, he lives in our Barrio (ward). a good thing to send me next christmas would be home made jams...yum! that would be awesome. But i think I´ll go buy some nice khaki pants.

HOW COULD I FORGET TO WRITE NATHANIEL LAST WEEK? I feel so bad. I´ll write him right after this.

This week has been well. O went to the temple this saturday to do baptisms for the dead already and he has already passed the sacrament! He´s really engaged in the church and it´s awesome because i remember being concerned about that a month ago where he didn’t want to go if his cousin wasn’t going. we have a couple of other investigators right now, but I still don´t want to write about them yet. 1 of them is progressing much though so I´ll probably tell you about him next week!

Gosh there´s so much to say in so little time! I´ll write a letter today about my first change that you can get in about a month hahahaha.

My companion got called as the district leader! hahaha isn´t that cool; to have your trainer be the district leader? I was reading grandpa johansen´s mission memories and his trainer was.

I made some banana pancakes, they were super good. We bought a lot of stuff last week so we could just make our own breakfast and dinner. We´ve been eating a lot healthier now, pretty healthy actually. :) I still wear my retainer every night and brush and floss everyday.

Oh, how do you make good hot chocolate with the abuelita tablets? We make it and its kind of particle-ish.

Hey! I finished the Book of Mormon again! 2 times already in the book of mormon, and now I´m already in 2nd nephi in spanish! The Book of Mormon is  the best!

I don´t know if the way I´m writing you is good or not, I haven´t looked at how C(ousin) or GK do theirs, but let me know.

I´m going to write Nathaniel now.

I LOVE YOU

Elder garner

December 1, 2014 San Nicolas

Sounds like Thanksgiving was fun. for our thanksgiving we ate some cookies!

I got Canadian brass last week. I don´t think Fantasia 2000 is on it, or if it is I can´t find it. I´ve scrolled through all of the songs on that SD card but maybe there are more songs on it? Can you send me the Charlie Brown Christmas music?

This week was an exciting week for O: He got baptized, he became a member and got the Holy Ghost, he became a deacon, he´s going to the temple this saturday! and he moved houses!(still in the ward, pheww)

  Davis looks like a giant in this group.

The baptism was a scramble at the beginning. I let the Brother baptizing him borrow my baptism clothes because he said he was a 32 waist as I am. Well it turns out that 32 waist in mexico is a bit bigger than 32 US! hahaha he had to squeeze into those things, it took a little while but he figured it out. Next, we had Pants for O and told him to bring a white shirt. Well he brought a white shirt...with pokemon on it or something hahahaha. We had to run to a nearby member’s house to borrow a shirt. It was super cool because I felt like James Bond running in a full suit. after we finally got all of the mischief settled, the baptism went smoothly and it was an awesome experience for O.

I´m getting more and more confident with my spanish each day. I have found that when I have confidence, I can say a lot more than I think I can. I have always been outgoing, but for some reason I get nervous to talk to people on buses and trains. Nevertheless, I went on divisions this past wednesday with one of the zone leaders, and I was in his very large area so we had to take a bus to the other side of it. Well, we split up and started contacting the whole bus! Oh goodness at first I was a bit anxious, but the Zone leader told me "It´s not important what anyone thinks, and it´s not important if you mess up. If you fail just try again, that´s how you´re gonna grow and get over this little fear you have." So I just went and talked to people, by myself, with only my knowledge of the language and the faith that I would be able to get enough to help them out in some way. Well it turned out great. I was kind of sweating from the experience but it was a great experience. I´m going to continue to work on talking to people on trains and buses so I can have the 100% outgoing personality that I should have.

Thanks for the recipes mom. We learned how to make some good food at a member´s house last P-day.

Davis is making gorditas.

Tell Thanny to check his email everyweek, especially this week for next week. cuz his Bday and I have some favors for him.

hmmm, I think that´s what I got for you this week. I´ll try to write another letter soon.

It´ll be fun to skype you guys!

I love you!

Davuuuuuuus Garrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnur

just downloaded the 6 canadian brass songs Grandma sent me. tell her  to send more of them. and all of the charlie brown christmas that´s the best.