Elder Garrett (in Zion)

Elder Garrett (in Zion)

Monday, December 5, 2011

December 5, 2011

Hey Everyone!

Woah! Another week down, woot! What a week it´s been! We´ve found some great new people contacting this week, and it´s been a week of learning new lessons for sure!

My comp. decided to bible bash earlier this week... and I learned some great lessons from that. It´s okay to defend our religion, but never okay to be on the offense. The second you do that, the spirit won´t be there. Also, as a representative of Jesus Christ, I have to be an example in everyway I can be. Christ never attacked anyone, if anything he was the perfect example for everyone around him, and if needed, he took the beating. So bible bashing is never good, but what is good is that you should always listen with love to whoever is talking and follow the promptings of the Spirit... because this is the Lord´s work, and through the spirit he can convert, not us as missionaries! We are just here to help and invite people!

Our golden family that we have, Maria Luisa and Felix, are doing great! We had a family home evening with them this week, and made Mexican Tacos! Yum! Hopefully we´ll be able to solve the little concerns they have before thier baptizm for the 17th this month! Hopefully it will be a white christmas here! Haha!

Also, a drunk guy that we found in the street last month is actually starting to change a little more everytime we find him. I doubted that he really had interest in the church, but I guess I should just eat my foot now! This gospel is for everyone, It doesn´t matter the circumstance! I think he´ll be a very strong member one day! We´ll continue to teach him and help him out in anyway we can!

The Chilean culture never ceases to amaze me. It´s really hard to teach sometimes, because the majority of Chileans never want to stop talking. But this is where patience comes in! I´m glad that I have a lot of patience! But more than anything this week, I´ve been learning how to listen to the spirit more closely, and to follow the promptings I recieve from the Spirit. We´ve had some great experiences this week, all because of the Spirit leading us. This really is the Lord´s work, and without the spirit, nothing much is going to happen.

It´s almost Christmas! I´m glad to hear that Southern Utah got some snow! How fun! It´s been crazy weather here, super hot, super cold and rainy, but always windy! It´s fun though! You have to be prepared for whatever Chile throws at you!

I love and miss you all, and I hope you are all doing well. I miss you too Caralyn, I always will, you are my greatest strength while I´m out here! I hope you´re proud of me! We´ll always be okay! Through Thick and Thin Forever, just like we have always said! Take care always, all of you! Stay out of trouble everyone!

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Scott Garrett

Monday, November 28, 2011

November, 28, 2011

Hey everyone!

Another week passed already? I never think that the week is going to end, and then suddenly it´s Sunday! Woah! But of course today is Monday! How was everyones Thanksgiving? I hope it went well for everyone! Thanksgiving was great here, but it was just working working, and more working! ^_^ But that´s a good thing for a missionary! This week contacting was really slow... especially yesterday. For the first 3 hours of contacting, we only contacted 13 people!!!! No one was in the street and nobody was at home.... or they just didn´t want to answer the door. But we pushed on and made sure to work as hard as we can... like always!

This week we´ve found some really good people and shared plently of spiritual thoughts and first lessons with people we´ve found. It´s so amazing to see the spirit working in people. There have been some people this week that don´t want to talk to us and definitely don´t want to hear our message... but after a minute or two they change their mind! I know it´s because they feel something!

So, I don´t get why people drink.... it smells so gross and it makes people act really strange! We find numerous drunk people everyday and WOW! They always love to talk. Sometimes it´s extremely hard not to laugh at what they say... and other times I have no idea what they are saying. But they always like to talk, no matter if I can understand them or not.

It´s always windy where I am, and in the mornings it´s still pretty cold here. But it´s nice! I hear the weather is cooling down quite a bit in Southern Utah! You´ll have to let me know if it snows anytime! I hope all is well at home, things are great here for me!

Yesterday in Church was our ward´s Primary Program. It was so amazing, I cried! Those little kids have a special spirit about them. I felt amazing yesterday after church. And I was so excited because we were going to have lunch at the Bishop´s house... but he was out of town. His wife always cooks amazing food... I was so excited, but since he was out of town, we couldn´t have lunch there obvoiusly, so we went home to make some food. Well, we ran out of Propane a few days ago, so we didn´t have a stove or anything... and I was starving. So I had the idea to try to make eggs in a grilled cheese sandwich maker!! It turned out great! I think another name for missionary is "Improviser". Haha!

Aside from that, this week was just a lot of working! It´s a good work. We have an amazing family we are still teaching, and tonight we are going to have a family home evening with them and make tacos! The whole family has interest, but only the parents have a baptizmal date. But we are hoping that we can get the kids to church! They are 20, 21, and 22 years old, so it´s going to take some work!

I love you all so much and thank you for all the love and support always! I hope all is well at home! I love you too always Caralyn! I can´t believe it´s almost Diciembre! errr... December! I´m excited for the holiday´s, but it´s going to be weird that it will be hot here and feel like summer time! Who knows... maybe a freak snow storm? I can only hope! Take care everyone!

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Scott Garrett



Monday, November 21, 2011

November 21, 2011

Fancy toilet! The note above the toilet says: Do it happily, do it contently... but please, do it inside the toilet!


Scott's study area.
Lovely shower...yikes!
Scott's area.
Living quarters.
Living quarters.
John Deere...Dallin!
Elder Lusk trying to tame the wild ox....Scott..hahaha
Missionaries too busy preaching the Gospel to keep up on the housecleaning!
Hello everyone! Another week has passed, but this last week was the end of my first Cambio.... err, transfer! Haha! A whole 6 weeks in Chile... it doesn´t feel like I´ve been here that long at all. I´ve learned so much while I´ve been here, and I´m glad that I have a lot more to learn! It will definitely be a process, but I can do it! So with the end of one cambio, there are changes in where missionaries serve and changes with who you serve with... but since I´m still a newbie and getting trained for 12 weeks, I´ll be with Elder Lusk for another cambio in the same ward! Yes mom, I´m in a ward, not a branch. There are a lot of members and a lot of youth too. Like with any place, there are some really nice youth, and some that are a little annoying, but all is well here.


Speaking of the youth, this week the youth in this stake had a "mini mission" and for two days missionaries had an intercambio with the little missionaries. My companion had a little missionary, but I didn´t, so I was a companion with Elder Walker for 2 days. It was really fun. Elder Walker came to Chile at the same time as me, so it was fun for two greenies to go out and preach the gospel! We actually set a baptizmal date with one of my investigators, but she didn´t go to church, so now the date fell. Sad day! And I was so certain she was going to come to church because she was so excited about it! I don´t know why she didn´t come. This week we also played some soccer with one of our investigators who plays on a college soccer team here in Chile. He was pretty good!


The work is going well here, and with a new cambio, my companion and I really want to work hard to set this ward on fire before this next cambio is over. We are focused and working as much as we can every day to find new people to teach. We do a lot of street contacting and knocking doors to try to find new people, and we try to ask for refferals from everyone we meet. Sometimes the referals are really good... and other times non existant or some crazy drunk person. The drunks here are hilarious, and there are a lot of them. Yesterday we entered a house of a referal... he was a drunk and could barely walk. He wanted us to sit down and drink and smoke with him, but when we tried to leave he started to cry... we left anyways, in a very polite fashion though.


Aside from that, we are just working hard and trying to find new people to teach. I hope all is well in the States. My spanish is coming along a little more every day, and I´m so thankful for the power of prayer in my life, especially as a missionary! Pray is super powerful! I wish you all a happy thanksgiving here! There is kinda a thanksgiving here... it´s called "El Dia de Acion de gracias" I hope you all are well! I love you all! I love you too Caralyn!


Con mucho amor,
Elder Garrett

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

November 14, 2011

Hello everyone!

Another week has passed, and wow does P day seem to sneak up! Every day does because the days never feel like they are going to end, and then BAM! The day is over and it all starts over again! That´s just the life of the mission I suppose.

So how is everything at home? I hope all is well with everyone! Things have been great here in Chile. I definitely miss gallons of milk and inexpensive cereal! Haha!

This past week we didn´t find too many people, but we tried doing a lot of contacting with little luck! We have some really great investigators though. The family of Maria Luisa and Felix. They have 3 sons, ages 20, 21, and 22. They are so receptive to the message and the parents have been coming to church the past two weeks. The kids really want to but they have had work the past few weeks on sunday so far, so hopefully soon! I always leave thier house with a big smile on my face because I feel the spirit so strong during our lessons! It´s been a pretty great week overall.

On Wednesday Elder Cook from the Quorum of the 12 visited our stake here in Chile! It was awesome! He talked about the importance of Family Home Evening and preparing to enter the temple! Make sure you are all having your family home evenings! I´m guessing they are rather important! Also, as missionaries we had the opportunity to listen to the second counsoler in the presiding bishopric of the general authorities. He bore a strong testimony and pumped us all up for the mission some more!

Every day it is still rather weird to see fences around everything, I don´t think there will be a day that this isn´t weird to me. Oh well, that will be my life for awhile longer.

Hmmm.... what else happened this week.... Well, officially I´ve been in Chile for one month! Woot! It doesn´t seem like it at all, time is rather weird on the mission in case I haven´t mentioned that before. So, how is everyone doing at home? I hope all is well with everyone, whether it is with work, school, or just life!

This next week might be a little bit interesting... we might have intercambios with the youth here, every missionary might be with a youth for 3 days O.o I´m kinda hoping we don´t do this, our house is so small even with 4 missionaries.... we have like the worst house in the mission, that´s what I think anyways!

I´m starting to understand a little more of what people say everyday, good thing I´m a pretty patient person! These next few months or however long it takes to get spanish down will always be very hard, but I know with faith and working hard every day, I will learn! I´m doing my best everyday, you can count on that! Besides that, not much has been happening this week. Just work work, and more work! I get home everyday very tired! I suppose that´s a good thing! I just wish there was more time to sleep! But somehow I make it through everyday! It will be a lot easier once I get spanish down, but I´m enjoying every moment of learning. I know I´ll learn spanish, but it will be a process, as with learning anything! So I just keep my head up and know I´ll make it!

I love and miss you all! Thanks for all your love and support! Take care always! And Caralyn, I love you so much! Thanks for being an amazing girlfriend to me! Hehe!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Scott Garrett

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Nov. 7th, 2011

Hello Everyone!

So I´ve been in Chile for a month now! Crazy!!!! Time is flying by already, before I know it, It will be Christmas! Things are going great here.

This past week has been a very difficult week for me. I got sick halfway through the week and one day I couldn´t work at all because I felt so sick. I had a fever, my stomach wasn´t doing well, but don´t worry, I´m okay now.

Happy Halloween again! Hahaha. On Halloween we had a big mission conference where all the missionaries from our mission met in custom tshirts and we had competitions and played soccer and had relay races and stuff. It was fun!

We´ve met some really cool people prosyliting and working. And in fact, I had my first Baptism this last Saturday! It was awesome and I didn´t mess up or anything! Most of all, I´m glad I had the opportunity to help one of God´s children get on the path to Eternal Life. She is an 11 year old girl, Rocio. Before I baptized her she told me not to hold her under the water too long. I don´t blame her, the water was gross and greenish because the pipes had rust in them or something, but all went well!

Guess what else finally happened here for me? I had a completo! And guess what?!?!?! They really are only one dollar! That´s right! $1 only! So if I wanted two it would only be $2! Haha.

Oh Chile, it´s filled with so many experiences. Aside from being really sick and having a baptizm, My companion and I also destroyed a house for service one day! It was super fun! We have 4 more baptizm dates set, so the work is really moving along, and hopefully it will continue to get better.

I love you all so much. Yes, I have recieved letters from you Mom and meh family, but I haven´t been able to send you all a letter yet, so be patient! I love you all so much! Oh, and Caralyn? I forgot to tell you.... Happy Our Hope Day on the 25th of October! I love you so much!

Anyways, things are great here, this next week we get to hear from a general authority.... who knows who it could be!? It could even be one of the big 3! So I´m pretty excited! I love you all so much! Take care always!

Con mucho amor,
Elder Scott Garrett


Taking down a house!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN (orange style)!


Homemade sprinkler...super fancy!


This is 1 completo...and it only cost $1! BUT...if you buy 2 completos it will only cost $2!



Baptism for Rocio!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

November 2, 2011

Hey everyone!
I don´t have time to write anything this week! It was crazy and we had a big mission conference! Also we are having a baptizm this weekend with one of our investigators, Rocio. I´ll send pictures of it and everything else that happened this past week!

I love you all! The work is great here! I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! I miss you all, but the mission is so much fun! Take care always!

With much love, Elder Garrett!
Sorry again for the short email!
These pictures were sent from Steve Gardner (Scott's Uncle) who had them sent from a missionary companion when he was on his mission in Chile!

This is one of my missionary companions in Chile with my nephew. Juan Carlos Aranguiz Saez was my companion in 1982 in Talca. Here he is today with Scott Scott Clinton Garrett, son of Debbie Fyffe Garrett, my wife's sister, in Talcahuano, Chile, where Scott is serving his mission. The other guy is the son of my companion.