March 25, 2013

Hey there everybody!!!

Well, can you believe that another cambio has ended and I´m entering my final 3 of the mission? O.o I really can´t believe that time is passing by so quickly... but the good thing is is that final fall time is here! The leaves are changing colors, it rained a few times this week, and it is getting nice and chilly during the nighttime and not nearly as hot during the day, so I´m quite excited that the summer is finally going away. It´s been so hot here in Los Angeles during my stay here!

So this time I´m getting right to the goodies and I´m going to let you know about my cambio! NOTHING IS CHANGING!!!! Looks like I get to stay in another sector for 6 months! The Lord really likes to keep me in one place for a long time! Haha, I´m happy about this cambio though, it is going to be amazing being with Elder Swensen for 6 more weeks and to be able to finish all the hard we have been doing with our investigators... the only lame thing is that we have to split the sector in half and give the other half to 2 other missionaries who are going to share the sector with us. It is a really hard decision to know where we need to divide the sector and where we are going to work... it is like splitting your heart in half and making you only choose one half of it.... I love all of the people here in the sector of Galvarino... sigh... what to do? Haha, actually I have an idea of how we are going to do it already, so no worries!

This past week we saw a lot of miracles occur and it just boosted my testimony that the Lord will always do his part and his work when we do our part... and the fact that he prepares people for us to find and teach. I have been a little worried that when the new missionaries of the sector came that we wouldn´t have very many investigators in the two halves of the ward boundary to teach, but we found so many new investigators of gold that just kinda showed up from nowhere and it has just been amazing to see the Lord´s hand in his work. We really are just his instruments and we need to follow the spirit to be able to help out with his work. We basically give knowledge to the people and we do our best to edify them and to invite the spirit into thier lives so that the Holy Ghost can do the real work and convert the people. The Lord works through us to help us progress and so that we can be able to bless the lives of others. We have an amazing new investigator named Angí who accepted the challenge to be baptized super quickly and she is just ready to do everything to be able to change her life. One of our investigators who never ever prayed with us started to pray with us. A family that has been recieving missionaries for about 2 years has decided to start progressing again... they are doing the most important things to be able to invite the spirit into their lives to be able to change! Woot! And so many other amazing things have been happening this past week... it has just been super impressive.

Saturday we also had a fun experience to move! We had to move where we are living so that we have enough room to be 6 missionaries in the house... it is going to be really crazy... but I´m almost 100% sure that we have the nicest house in the mission now. What a blessing! Elder Swensen and I are really excited... all day this morning since I got up until about 12 in the afternoon... I was the only one who cleaned and organized and just yikes! that was a lot of work.... but our room and the main room, the bathroom and the kitchen are all clean and spiffy! I really feel like it is a house from the U.S... It´re really weird! So, I´m still continuing as District leader... I´ve been district leader for a long time! Haha, it is something super normal to me now! I like it, it is fun being able to teach every week, and I feel like I get a lot more out of it than the other missionaries in my district!

So things are just progressing like always, I´m super happy and just super excited to keep working as hard as I can to help others come unto Christ. This week is going to be crazy because the Catholic Church is going to have thier "semana santa" or Holy week... and no one is going to want to talk to us... they are all going to be partying and watching religious movies and such! How fun! But we are going to make sure we just blow them away with the spirit and we are going to convert the world!!! That´s just how we do it here in Chile when we are working with the Lord and depending on him with everything!

I love you all so much! Let us truly remember the reason for Easter and that we can remember our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ and his resurrection! He resurrected and so will we one day! :) He lives! I know that with all of my heart and I know that through him and his Atonement we can change and have an eternal family! I love you all so much! Take care!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Garrétt

March 18, 2013

Hey there everybody!

This past week flew by really quickly... time doesn´t seem to want to slow down for me! But, I´m just making the best of the time that I have left here in Chile. I´m going to miss this place so much when I have to return home!

Well, weather update... It is still hot but things are starting to cool down a little bit. At least in the mornings it is nice and chilly! It makes working all day in the sun a little more bearable. Now I can go outside without sunscreen on and I won´t burn! So things are starting to change here! The leaves are even starting to change colors a little bit! Woot! I´m so excited for the Fall Time to get here! ^_^

This week has been pretty awesome! Elder Swensen and I were able to talk with our bishop about some of the goals that he has in the ward and he has a goal to have at least 130 people in church every week. Last week and for the past few months, we have had a maximum of 56 members in the church... but we did all we could to change that and to help the members get more excited about visiting the less active members and this week we were happy to see that 74 showed up to church! WOOT!!!! ^_^ It was so wonderful! We are also helping prepare a few fathers of families to recieve the priesthood! We have also been working hard this past week to help the Seminary program and to help all the youth understand the importance of going to Seminary. We were able to help one more youth show up to Seminary. That´s an increase from 2 people to 3! Not to mention a lot of youth promised that they would start showing up this week to Seminary too, so hopefully that continues to grow. We are working so hard to help the ward out and to prepare the land for the two other missionaries that will be coming to the ward. That will be 4 missionaries in the ward! Woot! This week we will find out our cambios... I really have no clue if I´ll be staying or going, but all I know is that I have been enjoying my time with Elder Swensen. We are working so well together!

This past week we have been working so hard to help our investigators find the truth and to feel the spirit. With one of our investigators I´m so happy for the progress we have made this week. Since I´ve been her she has never wanted to pray in the lessons... and this past week we were able to change that. I had the idea to invite her to say a prayer like a little kid... or in other words, I would say the things in the prayer and she would repeat my words. She did it!!!! Hahaha! It was so much fun and rather silly because she is like 50 years old, but still, I was so happy that she is starting to pray with us. We are working hard with the members to help our investigators out so that they can progress.

We have seen some miracles happen in the Lord´s work here through the members. A few members are starting to share the gospel and it makes finding prepared people so much easier! ^_^ The work really progresses so much more when the members take the initiative to share the gospel with the people they know! Make sure you are all sharing the gospel and sharing your testimony in any moment that you can! You´ll be so blessed and you´ll feel the spirit so strongly in your lives!

Well, I love you so much, it is so fun and amazing to see the work of the Lord progressing here in the Ward. I love the mission! It is so amazing! You´d have to live it and love it to understand it! I hope you are all doing well! Until next week! See ya!

con mucho amor,

Elder Garrétt

 

(I took a picture of the expression all missionaries make when people randomly hang up on you.... Thanks Elder Phelps!)

March 11, 2013

Hey there everybody!!!

I really can´t believe how fast this last week passed by... I feel like my time here in the mission is just going to end far too quickly... but I´m loving every moment of it.

I´m really excited for when the weather is going to decide to change it´s mind and start being cold... why is it so hot here in Los Angeles? It is an exciting adventure every day being able to leave in the heat to go work! But I am so ready for the cool wet weather to arrive here in Chile.

This last week was a lot of fun, and a lot of really random things happened. Well, for one thing, yesterday while we were at church we had 3 investigators show up, so that was a happy site! But then while we were in our Gospel Principles class, there was a man there that always goes to church that I´ve talked to before and I was almost certain that he is a member... but it turns out that he isn´t a member! Haha... and it turns out that he is really interested in knowing about the church and he had a lot of questions for us! In the end, we were able to visit him in the evening after church and he is an amazing investigator. If I had known before hand that he wasn´t a member we would have been teaching him already! Haha! How silly!

With another one of our investigators that is preparing to be baptized, we are seeing a few miracles in her life. Carolina wants to be baptized, but her husband is an alcoholic and he doesn´t really like when people mention baptizm... or at least that is what I think. He is really fun for us, with all of the things that he has said in the past about who he is. He claims to be "Job" from the bible... but call me crazy, I don´t believe him. :P The good news is that he has been soberish this entire last week so we could make some progress with Carolina... but her brother is really sick and is probably going to die, so that has complicated the situation. But we are pressing forward with faith and the spirit so everything will turn out just fine!

In the ward there is another person who leaves on the mission... Tomorrow. That bumps up the number of missionaries in our ward from 5 to 6, and there is another sister in the ward who has started her papers to be able to leave on the mission. The ward is being so blessed for the service of all of these missionaries! It is amazing to see the excitement in the youth in the ward and that they are all excited to be able to go on missions in the future. Even though the ward is passing for some trails, I know that things are only going to progress. We just need to always be doing our part to help out in the Lord´s work! Our Heavenly Father requires a willing mind and a dedicated heart in his work! I´m glad that I can be doing that.

This past week we were also able to participate in our Ward´s talent show. It was a lot of fun! Elder Swensen and I thought of 2 fun ideas to do, and everyone loved our acts! We first sang a hymn with fake hilium balloons. We sang with funny voices and the members loved that. Our second act we put on a small magic show! We did some mind reading tricks, card tricks, and Elder Swensen showed off his magic skills! I´m really enjoying my time with Elder Swensen, we have grown pretty close in these past 2 weeks and it is weird to think that we have already completed half of this cambio already. It turns out that we have a lot in common and he is a lot less awkward now, I think he just needed time to be able to get comfortable with the missionary field and to be with a crazy comp like me! ^_^ Haha. Anyways, our magic act was a lot of fun and we were able to enjoy the expressions of the members and our investigators who went to the talent show.

Well, aside from a lot of little miracles that have been happening every day, nothing too huge has been happening here. I´m just happy and more than content to be a missionary to be able to preach the gospel. When I think of home it just feels weird... I honestly can´t imagine myself being back in the U.S. Chile feels like my home even though I miss you all so much. I´ll be excited when I get to come home in about 5 more months, but until then I´m going to try to avoid those thoughts of home.... IT´S JUST SO WEIRD!!!! haha. My normal life is the missionary life! Anyways, I love you all so much! I hope you are all doing well and that you enjoy your spring break!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Garrétt

 

March 4, 2013

Hey there everybody!

Wow, these past few days have passed by quite quickly... it feels like I haven´t writen forever! :P

Given the short amount of time that has passed from the last time I wrote, a few things actually have happened!.... so.... STORY TIME!!!

Well, first of all... I´m exhausted from the activity and also from the heat of L.A.... just when I thought it was starting to get a little cooler, the heat has picked up again... It really is a trail going around all day in the heat. But good thing I´m like a lizard... right?... Okay, I´m not like a lizard at all. I don´t like the heat and my skin isn´t all scaley either.

Well, on Saturday, we had a really fun service project. We had to move more than 1,800 pieces of firewood and stack it all. Wow that took a lot of energy... a lot of energy that I didn´t have, but I was able to do it anyways. :) I always love service projects, they are so much fun! We helped a less active family, my comp and I and Elder Phelps and Elder Camargo. It took a lot of manpower and a few hours, but we were able to accomplish the task and the family thanked us a lot. In the end, we were all cut up and bruised, really tired, and the family showed up the stake conference! ^_^ Hooray! It made all of the work worth it in the end. Well, when we were finishing up stacking the wood and such, some punk kids tried to rob a few houses down. The neighborhood got involved quite quickly and there was almost a chilean gang fight with the neighborhood... it was intense! The cops showed up, they through on of the gangsters in the van and before they could leave, about 8 others showed up and started beating the van and in the end they were able to free their friend. It was pretty amazing to see it all happen, quite a fun story! I´m just glad that they weren´t able to rob the house in the end and that no one was really hurt.

Yesterday was super hot... and on top of that, there were a lot of houses that caught on fire throughout the day just in our sector. The most lame thing about that is that almost every house is connected to another house, so if one house catches on fire, perhaps both of the houses will catch on fire. So all the volunteer firefighters here in Chile had a lot of excitement yesterday. So make sure you count your blessings that your house isn´t on fire, because that wouldn´t be very fun at all! Yesterday we had a special stake conference. We were able to hear from a few general authorities, including Presidente Monson. They spoke specifically to the Chilean people... and they talked about a lot of things about families and temples... so maybe that means that soon the temple in Concepción will start to be built? I hope so! But the Chileans need to do their part paying their tithing and enduring to the end... but they are a people so loving and filled with faith.

Yesterday we were also able to find one of our investigators that was preparing to be baptized but in the end she wasn´t. She is a mother of two super super active members in our ward and she is such a great person. She lives all the commandments of God already and she doesn´t have any religion. Carolina wants to be baptized but last week we weren´t able to teach her at all because one of her brothers is deathly ill and her husband is starting to get a little angry. Her husband is an alcoholic and when he drinks he doesn´t like to hear a single word about religion and especially the word baptizm. We were able to find her yesterday (thanks to a miracle and one of her sons) and all she wants to do is follow our Saviour. It was an amazing experience to see the faith in her eyes grow sharing a story about Nefi. We were able to give her a blessing of strength and confort and we are going to be praying and fasting so much so that her husband will open his heart a little to stop being such a meanie when he is drunk! I feel so bad for the people and for some of the things they have to deal with in life, but I´m greatful for the faith of the people and the sacrifices they make to choose the right. How blessed I am in my life and that I don´t have any huge problems like that!

Well, those were some fun experiences from these past 2 days. I love you all so much! Pray so that it starts getting super cold here.... with a side of snow if possible! ^_^ Haha. Take care everyone! I love you all!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Garrètt

March 2, 2013

 

Hey there everybody!

Sorry that I wasn´t able to write yesterday, it was a crazy day! I hope that you aren´t too worried!

Anyways, so first off, Cambios!!! Usually I wait until the end to inform you about my cambios, but almost 2 weeks have passed by since writing, so I´ll just get right to the good stuff. Well, I get to stay in my sector here in Los Angeles, for at least one cambio more. I love it here even if it is still pretty hot. But it has started to cool down a little bit... I can feel the fall time coming in my bones! Well, my comp, Elder Manzanos got changed out of the sector after only one cambio... that was a really random cambio given that I´ve been in the sector for more time than he has. I enjoyed my time with him a lot, but I´m also glad for a fresh start here in the sector, because he was holding back the progress for not being so obedient... sad... but now I´m here with a new missionary that only has 6 months in the mission, that has been in the mission office for about half of his time here in Chile. He is so excited to be back out in the mission field working and it looks like I get to retrain him a little bit because he is very unexperienced, but he has the spirit so I know things will work out perfectly!

My new comp is named Elder Swensen. He is super great and super excited to work and to learn and everything. He is a little socially awkward, but that´s okay! It is kinda awkward sometimes, but I jsut get to live with that, but I don´t have a single problem with him! He is super kind and looks for the good in everyone. So we are going to see what we can do in 4 weeks... well 3 weeks more together. This cambio is only 4 weeks long instead of the usual 6 weeks... so it is going to fly by so quickly! We have already seen a few miracles together, it seems like everyday something amazing happens. So I´m quite excited to see what the Lord can do to help us in his work. I love missionary work so much!

The things here in the ward of Galvarino are growing a little more everyday, we are getting excited because in a week more this ward is going to have a 6th missionary in the mission field during this time! What a great blessing for the ward and the families of those missionaries. We are also getting a lot of support from the members to help us out with the missionary work. That is going to be the key to everything that we are doing, we need the help of the members so that the spirit in the sector can skyrocket! I´m so happy to see that the ward is getting over the little problems that supposedly have been passing and that everyone is getting more united and we are able to have activities to help the members grow in the faith. So, that is the update on what´s been happening. We are in search of investigators while we try to work with the few people that we are teaching. But we are going to find someone who really is ready to recieve the gospel and baptize them! Who knows, maybe even a big family! That would be super! :) So wish us luck!

In other news, yesterday we had a huge mission activity. It was so much fun! We went to a small city called Renaico and we rented a huge soccer stadium and played lots of games, relaxed, played, played, and I played some more! It was so much fun to relax and just play. It was super great to see a lot of my old comps who are still here in the mission. It was amazing to see the progress that my kid, Elder Hughes, has been having with everything. He is growing up!!! I´m so proud of him! Is this what it is like to be a parent? They just grow up so fast, right? Jajajaja. As a zone we presented a talent... we all danced the EFY dance, it was a lot of fun! On the bus ride home a bunch of us sang hymns for about an hour and a half, we left with a great spirit and exhausted.

I love you all so much! I hope that you are all doing great! I hope that you have all accepted the Book of Mormon Challenge, to read it in 3 months! I promise you that it will be more than worth your time! The Lord always completes with his promises! :)

I also want to extend the invitation to read the book of mormon to all the young men in the ward, especially those that are in the Priest Quorum (those future missionaries! WOOT!) Reading the book of mormon and gaining a firm testimony about it will help you to prepare to serve a mission and when you are in the mission field, you will be able to really understand the importance of it in your own lives, so you will be able to know how to help other people. So you priests, please take the Challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 3 months and find out what your Heavenly Father can teach you. Who knows, maybe you´ll find a bigger purpose in your life and grow immensely in the Spirit! Just do it! You´ll thank me and more importantly God, our Saviour, and the Holy Ghost in your life and you´ll appreciate so much more!

I love you all so much! Take care everyone!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Garrétt

 

And why yes, Elder Phelps and I did make carvings out of Spam!!! :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 18, 2013

Hey there everyone!

Well, this week Elder Phelps and I ended up finishing up the doodles of the rest of the missionaries in the house... or in other words, Elder Phelps and I! Haha, how fun for us!

Well, the weather is finally cooling down here... the weather I think is super confused and bipolar. The majority of the week it has been pretty cold with rain and lots and lots of wind. I´m hoping that the Summer is finally getting the hint that I´m done with the heat and I need the Fall time! Hooray! So now it is a little more comfortable walking outside all day.

In other news, this week has been kinda crazy with everything. We had little time to do anything the first half of the week because we had a lot of meetings to go to and a mission conference. The mission conference was super great, Presidente Martinez talked about how the second coming is definitely getting closer because the Lord´s work is speeding up and the need for more missionaries has increased drastically. He also talked a lot about the Gathering of Isreal and the othere promises that the Lord gave to Abraham. It definitely made me reflect more about the many promises that God has made and the many profecies that are being fulfilled in our time... but nothing to get scared about! :) How great a time to be a missionary to help the work of the Lord progress!

Well, apart from a lot of meetings and a mission conference that took up an entire day, we have been hunting for a new house to be able to hold a total of 6 missionaries. Presidente Martinez informed us that we need to find a house because this next cambio 2 more missionaries are coming to Galvarino.... so we have been house hunting! We just might of found a house... and today we are going to stop by to look at it from the inside... but from the outside it looks like it will work just fine! So we will have to see how that goes for us!

Well, in the mission we have all taken an oportunity to recieve a blessing super grande! And I´m extending this invitation to all of you, friends, family, whoever reads this big email bloggy thing. The challenge is to read the Book of Mormón in 3 months. It is possible if you read at least 3 chapters every single day for 3 months, now that isn´t too hard is it? Nope! If you read more than 3 chapters a day you´ll be able to finish it faster! Okay, here is the really great part... the blessings that you´ll recieve if you do accomplish reading the Book of Mormón in three months.

The blessings are as listed:

1. A more profound testimony of our Saviour and a greater love for him.

2. A renewed desire to keep the commandments of God.

3. A greater portion of the spirit will be poured upon you in your life!

I don´t know about you, but I think those are some great blessings to recieve... Please do it!! I´ve taken the challenge and already I feel so blessed in my life!

Well, I have to go to a special meeting on Wednesday this week with Presidente Martinez, the assistants, and a bunch of other random missionaries from all of the mission... so I´m guessing it has to do with this next cambio that is going to happen in the next week. I have a few guesses of what is going to happen... but I will just have to wait and see! Elder Manzanos is getting a little more excited about working everyday, so progress! Woot!

I love you all so much! I hope you are all doing great! Until next Friday!!!! Take care!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Garrétt

February 11, 2013

 

Hey there everybody!

I hope you have all been well and enjoying the cold still! I imagine that things are starting to heat up a tiny bit... but not too much! Here things are going great, and 2 days ago we were delited to find that it got really cloudy and then it started to rain and rain and rain! Today it is still raining! SIGH!!!! Such a nice relief from the hot! The rain makes everything seem so much nicer and cleaner here in Chile! :)

So this past week I have still been battling the opposition, but the good thing is that things are getting better and a little more easier with my comp. I´m helping him to be a little less lazy everyday... so there is progress even if it isn´t as instant as instant oatmeal... but so much more satisfying... (I don´t like oatmeal....) So things will just keep continuing to progress, because if we aren´t progressing in this life we are just going backwards and nothing good comes out of that! :P

So, this last week we were able to have a few really nice things happen. We are seeing an increase in the excitement of a lot of the members to share the gospel and to help us visit people that we are teaching. Although in this moment we only have one investigator that has accepted a baptizm date, I´m so excited that everyone else we are teaching are right at the edge of accepting and that is really all they need to do! But that is the hard part, helping them see the blessing that they can recieve and to help the spirit be there in the lessons so that they have a real conversion that takes place in the hearts of the people... those types of conversions are the best!

So our convert Sheryl who was baptized in January, she told us a few days ago some awesome news! She is moving a little more down south in Chile! That is really good news and I see it as a blessing from God because she said that before being baptized everything was just going wrong in her life, but then after, the things just seemed to get easier and she felt God´s love. She´s been looking for a job for quite a while and right after getting baptized, and then finding an amazing job? I don´t think that is coincidence and neither does she. She is so happy and was bearing her testimony to us about that. It is great to see the promises in the scriptures come to life! When we follow our Heavenly Father´s commandments, he starts blessing us in our lives!

Well, so yesterday I reached my 18 month mark in the mission... wow... time is just flying by so quickly! I want to make the most of my mission everyday! I don´t want to stop and take a break and break the rules because that makes no sense to me... isn´t it better just to be happy that we can be serving God? The rest of our lives happen afterwards and I know that much more is waiting for me after... but now is the time and the place to do what I am doing and I have seen so many blessing in my life and in the lives of others that I am so excited to keep on going! So here I am, just working and loving the Lord´s Vineyard... and there is no stopping me from enjoying the Lord´s work, I´m going to miss it in 6 months more, I´m sure of that!

I love you all so much, and I hope you are all doing well! Keep sending the cold weather, I´m loving the rain! :)

Con mucho amor,

Elder Garrett

 

Doodles of Elder Camargo and Elder Manzanos... Elder Phelps and I drew them together!