Monday, August 15, 2016

2016.08.15 Nuevo Laredo

Dear Mom,

Well, we didn´t get that last baptism, but C got confirmed, and I confirmed him, so that´s the way to go out with a bang. We have the Zone Conference tomorrow, and then I´ll go down to Monterrey to visit my converts, and then I´ll see you guys on Thursday!

ALSO, there is going to be a world wide devotional for the young adults on September 11th in Salt 
Lake I believe with elder Cook, do you think you could investigate for me to see If I could go to that?

I love you guys, see you soon.

Elder Garner

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

2016.08.08 Nuevo Laredo

August Leadership Training

Singing during dinner (?)

C's baptism

Dear Mom!

Holy Mole how ya doin? This was a splendid week. We didn´t have so much time to work as we desired because we had to head down to Monterrey for the Leadership council. That is always pretty uplifting and we came out with a lot of good ideas to help the zone out and to keep working with them. This week we had a baptism! C, the blind man, was baptized, and it was a very special baptismal service. Actually, some members invited some non members, C brought his son, and a young woman brought a friend, and they were both there for the baptismal service. The service was so special, full of heart and the spirit of God, and following it we invited the two new investigators to be baptized, and they accepted! wow! how cool!

We also are totally going to have another baptism this week, we just have to work a bit more to help this person receive these great blessings. M V is who is going to be baptized, and she is all on board. She just needs to get married to he ¨husband¨first, but they almost have all of the things they need and they can get everything else ready before Friday, so we need to get everything else ready, such as the service and the clothes and remind them to get their medical check, and then they can get married and then she can get baptized!!! She´s really stoked too, because she has been waiting for a while to be baptized.

 LET´S GO!!!!

I am just going to do as much as I can this week. We are going to help out the other missionaries this week (We do that every week, but especially this week.) So Let´s keep working with all diligence, as Jacob councils: Jacob 1:19

 19  And  we  did  magnify  our  office  unto  the  Lord,  taking  upon  us  the  responsibility ,  answering  the  sins  of  the  people  upon  our  own  heads  if  we  did  not  teach  them  the  word  of  God  with  all  diligence;  wherefore,  by  laboring  with  our  might  their  blood  might  not  come  upon  our  garments;  otherwise  their  blood  would  come  upon  our  garments,  and  we  would  not  be  found  spotless  at  the  last  day.

Also, check out this Poem that my Mission President sent me:

SOMEBODY SAID THAT IT COULDN’T BE DONE
(Author Unknown)

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done, but he with a chuckle replied
That maybe it couldn’t but he wouldn’t be one to say so till he tried.

So he buckled right in with a bit of a grin and he took off his coat and went to it.
He started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn’t be done and he did it.

Someone scoffed, oh you’ll never do that, at least no one ever has done it,
But he took off his hat and he took off his coat and before he knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin, if any doubt arose he forbid it,
And he started to sing as he tackled that thing that couldn’t be done and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done, there are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one the dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin and take off your coat and go to it,
Just start to sing as you tackle that thing that cannot be done and you’ll do it.

Thanks for sending me the agenda [for the week between his arrival home from Mexico and his departure to college]. I´m going to try and gift most of my clothes (ties, pants, clean shirts, rain jackets, black suit, etc.)

I love you!

Elder Garner

p.s. Still a missionary Oh Yea!

Saturday, August 6, 2016

2016.08.01 Nuevo Laredo

 News report on Nuevo Laredo shooting.

Hey Mom, what´s going on!

Man this was a crazy week. I got two crazy stories and two awesome stories.

Crazy story number 1: I went to get all of the new missionaries tueday morning and bought the bus tickets and we left at about 2:30 in the morning. We got up to Tamaulipas and a Mexican Border official got on the bus to check Identification. Everyone except the new honduranian missionary had his, so the guy pulled him off of the bus! HEY! I got off and talked with him and he said that we was going to take him to the international bridge migration center. I tried to debate with him for about 5 minutes on him letting me go with the missionary, but he wouldn´t allow it. URG. So I got on the bus, we left him there. I called the secretaries and the financial secretary said that he would go up with the assistants to bring his identification and passport (which had stayed in the office where it usually is, but everyone in our zone has to have their ID or their temporary residence card, and no one had given him his card.) So once we got to our area my companion and I went to the international bridge and gave directions to the assistants so they could get there. A bishop had gone to the center to try and convince them to let him go, but because he was honduranian (there are many honduranians crossing illegally) they wanted to keep him over night. The secretary and assistants got there, and right when they got there with his ID and such, they let him out! It was a miracle because they WEREN´T going to let him out, but they said that his ¨boss¨ had called and told them to let him out. Who was his boss, it wasn´t the mission president. Maybe and Area Seventy, or the Area Presidency? Who knows!

Second crazy story: Last night there was a large shooting. RELAX! Everyone is okay. RELAX OK! anyway the story. It happened around 8:40 and ended at 8:50. We were already in our area. We heard it from our house, and I supposed that all of the missionaries were in their house. But I found out a bit after that the two missionaries in an area super far away from the city had just arrived from their town and were heading towards the house of other missionaries where they stay. They had an impression to go into one of the grocery stores and take money out of the ATM, something you typically wouldn´t do on a sunday. Right when they entered, the shooting started close by, and many people ran into the store and they shut the doors. The other missionaries had went to pick them up, but they weren´t supposed to leave their house! it was past the time! so they were outside when it happened and they ran into another store and hid in the bathroom. Everyone of the missionaries was fine and a member picked them up when everything cleared up. So why do I share this with you, not to scare you. RELAX. I´m probably one of the most precautious missionaries in the zone. No, I am, partially because it´s my responsibility make sure every missionary is ok, but also because that´s part of my personality. Also President told me that I could share this so you know what is going on. One pair of missionaries was warned and guided by the spirit, the other pair apparently wasn´t. Why not? Well the first pair had a late leaving bus and were just getting to the house, that´s what they´re supposed to do and there wasn´t any earlier leaving bus. They were obedient. The other pair left their house after 8:30pm to get the other missionaries. They disobeyed an important rule to do something that they didn´t need or had to do. The Lord gives us commandments and rules so we are safe, and when we follow them, we´ll have his spirit. When we don´t, how can we expect to listen to the still small voice when we don´t heed the written word of the Lord or his prophets. I´m grateful that those missionaries could follow the spirit. There is no doubt in my mind that it was the spirit that guided them into the store. I´m glad that the other missionaries were ok too, and that they weren´t that close to the danger, I believe.

Cool story: We have a baptism planned for this sunday!!! It´s a blind man named C, and he just has soo much faith! We need to continue teaching and strengthening him, but he´s really excited.

other story (sorry these ones aren´t really stories because I don´t have that much time.): We had a great lesson with a couple where the husband is a member, but the wife isn´t and the only thing blocking her from baptism is that they aren´t married. (so they aren´t really husband and wife.) anyway they got disencouraged after a while, we were working with them, but we had a great experience in a lesson and now they´re going to try again and this time we´ll have success!!! and she´ll get baptized!!!!!

Anyway, I love you guys


Elder Garner