My third change in Centenario

Well it looks like I've got at least a month left in Los Andes. Today there were changes, and we recieved a new companion, Elder Alvarez, from Ecuador. We are a trio again.

This week was an exhausting one. I don't think I have time to explain to you all of our experiences this week. But I can say pretty easily that it was the most spiritual week of my mission. We have 9 people preparing for baptism.

I'll just share one experience for now. We have an investigator who has recieved many witnesses that the message we share is true, and that she should follow it. She was almost completely sure of herself. God has answered all of her prayers, in some form. On saturday, she had an incredible dream. When she woke up, she felt like she should get baptized, but was a little afraid to go through with it. Knowing we would have transfers on Monday, she prayed. She told God that if He would leave us here for one more change, to be there to support and help her when she gets baptized, she would get baptized. We didn't know about this until afterwards.

That afternoon, president called my companion. He told him they were going to pull us out of Centenario to put sister missionaries in. My companion told him about the success that we are having and that we have 9 people preparing for baptism. He said he would think more about it and let us know. 

That night we were teaching a lesson with that very investigator. While were teaching, president called us again. He told us he decided to keep us here. (The family laughed at my joyful reaction.) When the mom heard that we would be staying, she got up and walked out to the front gate for a few minutes. We were a little confused about what was going on. When she came back, she said "This means I will be getting baptized on March 10." She told us what had happened to her that day, and how God has answered her prayers time and time again.

She asked us who chooses what happens with transfers. We told her that we have a president who decides them. She asked if God was involved, and we testified to her that He has been involved in the entire process she has lived to prepare her for this moment in her life, including that our mission president has the right to recieve inspiration with respect to transfers. I have no doubt it was because of her prayer that president called us. If he hadn't called, we would have left the sector today.

A lot more happened this week, but I'm out of time.

Cuídense
Elder Garrett  



Me dressed up like a Chilean cowboy with the Aburto Family.

 

Elder Glazner and I on Sunday

Tengo 20 años‏

Hello people living on the other side of the world.

 

I had a great birthday this year. I am now 20 years old. I got to spend my birthday with a lot of really great people that I have really grown to love... members Ana Vasques, her daugther-in-law Priscilla, and investigators Graciela Rocco, her children and niece, and the Aburto Navarro family. I was surprised with three birthday cakes. I sent some pictures... that´s why I don't have tons of time... sorry. But enjoy the pictures.

 

We had a great week with lots of great experiences. In church on sunday, Graciela's son Tomas kept yelling "¡Mormones!" and Graciela told him that she thinks they are going to be mormones. He said "¿Yo?" and she said "¡Si!". It was really great. I have loved watching the changes in the lives of the investigators, and the happiness that it brings them.

 

Thank you for the birthday wishes and all the prayers.

 

Cuídense

Elder Garrett

 





Lunch on my birthday

 



Cake #1 during lunch

 

Cake #2... blowing out the candles





Cake #3

New tie

En mis tiempos como joven......

Well, on Wednesday I will turn 20 years old. That's pretty crazy, right? My investigators laugh when I tell them stories from my youth and I say "when I was young" or "In my times." They get a kick out of it. 

I don't have tons of time left today, but I wanted to thank everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I will try to write you back next week. 

Lots of great things have happened, but I'll just share a short story.

We are teaching a really awesome family. I'm pretty sure the mom already has a testimony, and the dad, too, but he's more stubborn. He keeps coming up with lots of doubts. They recently had robbers try to break into their house during the night, and the children are a little disturbed. The other day the mom told us that she was dropping off her 10 year old in town, but he was really worried about her safety, because she'd be home alone. He said "wait!" and bowed his head and said a prayer and then told her that she would be safe, and he ran off completely content. She went home and cried because she was so touched by his faith. She thanked us, because she said that we have helped her children develop much more faith than they'd ever had before. I felt that I should share a scripture in 3 Nefi 11 when Jesus says that unless we get baptized and become like a little child, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. We talked about how much faith their child has and how as adults we confuse ourselves with too much doubt, and we need to have the faith of a child. It impacted the dad very deeply. 

Que podamos volvernos como niños pequeñitos y poder vivir con nuestras familias para siempre

Elder Garrett

La Noche de la Batalla de las Cucarachas

 

Well I guess the big news this week is... we got a new fridge. It's much bigger, much colder, and much appreciated.

The other news would be that I have a new companion. I am still in Los Andes, but I have a new companion, Elder Glazner.

The other night, we found a cockroach in the house. We expelled it from the house, to find about eight more outside of our house. We searched them out in the backyard for quite a while to get rid of all of them. Then we had an invasion of ants that ate the dead cockroaches. By the next morning, there were only a couple coackroach shells. Pretty exciting right? 

Also, yesterday during the sacrament, a baby that was something like one and a half years puked. It sounded like someone dumped a pitcher of water on the tile floor. It was quite exciting, and several people almost had to leave the chapel because of the smell. I was at the piano, and couldn't quite see it or smell it. But I sure heard it. 
 
On a more spiritual note, the Aburto Family came to church yesterday for the first time other than the baptism. They also brought one of the neighbor boys with them. Afterwards, they told several members they would be there next week, too. It was fast and testimony meeting. Something happened that I don't think I've ever seen before. Only men were bearing their testimonies. They were really great testimonies, but I was starting to worry that the mom of the family was going to feel uncomfortable and think that women were not allowed to speak at the pulpit, as no woman had spoken during the whole meeting. Maybe I was just being silly, but I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to touch the heart of some woman so that she would feel the need to get up and bear her testimony. When the man who was speaking finished his testimony, three women basically jumped out of their chairs to share their testimonies.

This is one of the many examples of answered prayers I've had this week. One of our other investigators was really happy that her daughter (14 years old), of her own free will and choice, was starting to listen to us. She really wanted her son to listen (about 10 or 11 years old), but he was disinterested. She asked us what se could do, and we told her the only thing we could do was pray. So together we prayed that God would touch his heart in some way so that he would feel the desire to listen to us. Two days later, my new companion arrived, and her son has been joining us ever since, participating actively, and is excitedly reading the Book of Mormon. Not only was it a testimony to me that God answers prayers, but to her as well. She knows with certainty that God answers prayers.

We were teaching an investigator, who felt a weight in her heart when she would try to pray. She was very frustrated and confused. I felt prompted strongly to ask her a specific question, explain something, and share a personal experience with her. Afterwards, she told us that night she started praying, and she felt her cargo just leave her.

Sé que la expiación de Jesucristo es algo tangible. Como seres humanos no lo podemos entender completamente. Pero lo he visto en las vidas de investigadores, obrando en ellos. Lo he sentido en mi propia vida. Jesús vive. Él es el Hijo del Dios viviente. Dios nos habla. Sus palabras jamás cesarán.

Cuídense
Elder Garrett