February 28, 2011

I'm sorry i don't have a lot of time. we had a tough week, but we learned big on it.  so this is the last week of the change, dang that went by so fast, I'm hoping a can stay.

three things that have hit me hard this week.

henry b Eyring his talk "adversity"

"we become what we want to be, by continually being what we want to become" 

"our faith is in Jesus Christ and it is not dependent on outcomes" 

we had a tough week that had little visible fruit, but when we have trials in our life, I've found we should stop for a moment and think about our situation. there is nothing in this world that will change our faith that Jesus is the Christ he is our savior, he knows the weight we bear, and he never will leave us.  i love you all so much, and i pray that you all are doing well.,

Elder Gardner

February 21, 2011

Hola

I´m not sure how to transfer those recordings, but hopefully i can get bro. Vasquez to help me out.  i think i can do it though.  well, how are are things going?  I was thinking a little bit more about things you could send, I'm not sure if you already sent anything or not but here are some other ideas: Primary song book, those Reese's peanut butter Easter eggs, chewy jolly ranchers, Pepto-Bismol tablets, and my old thumb drive in my room.  just some things that came to mind this week.

We had a hard fought week that ended like a car wreck.  we had the promises of having one of our biggest Sundays, but instead 2 of the families that we solid to come to church fell, and one of our baptisms didn't show up for his confirmation.  I felt so horrible, we have to go straighten some things out.  we defiantly did some things wrong, and the good thing about it was we learned what not to do or we learned what to do.  brutal day, but sometimes that's how we learn best. i can promise you that i will never make the same mistake again.  the thing was we worked hard and this week we are going to work even hard and a lot smarter.  Its getting closer and closer to the transfer and I'm almost positive that I'm going to be changed. in some ways I'm a little glad, but for the most part its going to kill me.  I've definably grown more this transfer than any other. its so true that when you get stretched to the point where you don't think you can handle it, that is when you grown the most.  

I wanted to follow up with my thought last week. not sure if you read the last talk i gave, but this is elder Uchtdorf's sequel.  

"You are my hands"  April 2010   you got to reread this talk

"Christ did not just speak about love. He showed it each day of his life. He didn't just teach a class about reaching out in love and then delegate the actual work to others.  he not only taught but also showed us how to succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees..... As we extend our hands and hearts, toward others in Christ like love, something wonderful happens to us. our own spirits become healed, more refined,  and stronger.  we become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the holy spirit."

I have a testimony of this, when our life's are not going great and we are just in this rut of muck(unhappiness).  its because we are missing this love in our life's.  when we forget about our self's and worry about loving others we with find happiness in this life that heavenly father planned for us to have. i love you all so much, try and find that love in your life. its hard but it make life so much easier. take care   I want you to know i love every single one of you.

Elder Gardner

February 14, 2011

That's awesome!  I cant tell you how much I'm dying that i cant be there for all these crazy once in a life time events.  why saint George? crazy about valentines day, i had totally forgot, i don't think people even know what that is here. about the b day package, I've been craving a calendar, i was thinking a sweet one of the church would be cool or maybe a Utah one, or maybe one of Brittney´s special home made ones. also i have been thinking of how i could get a bunch of the church pictures laminated so i can always have them to put up in the house. pictures like the classic savior with his red shirt of, sweet ones of Nephi, alma, Ammon, and joseph smith, and not just the every day ones that we always see like some sweet unique pics. i don't know just some ideas. 

well we had a very interesting week, were we put some time in on the pavement.  each night we would come home just exasperated. up it turned out to be a huge let down of a week.  yesterday we had Giermo and Maria Guadalupe´s baptism and it was awesome. the zone leaders who serve in our same ward all so brought 7 to the baptism. and then one of our old investigators showed up and wanted to get baptized, i guess the bishop has been working with him. i was really close with family, so it was awesome to see him there. i hoping they will invite me to the temple in one year.  I'm sending pics of all of them individually and then the whole thing. i think the coolest thing was that after the baptism, the bishop came up to elder marsh and me and told us that he has a golden reference for us. i felt so good, because i took that as he is starting to trust us more. when i first got here he had a sour taste for missionaries, but now were are getting better at working together, that how heavenly father planned out the work to go down:)

so, I've noticed that I'm just a big blob of orgullo.  its been killing me, and a read elder Uchtdorf's talk about pride and how he talks about the way to over come it. i read this other talk this week that hit me like a ton of bricks. check it out

"my dear brothers and sisters, don't get discouraged if you stumble at times. don't feel downcast or despair if you don't feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all time.  the first step to walking unrighteousness is simply to try. we must try to believe. try to learn of got read the scriptures study the words of his latter-day prophets choose to listen to the father and do the things he asks . try and keep on trying until that witch seems difficult seems possible and that which seems possible becomes habit and a real part of your life"

i love you all

Elder Gardner

February 7 2011

Craziness!!!

halo de Santiago,

wow, what a letter.  Marcus what a stud. how about some pics? may that's super soon, no?  i cant tell you how disappointed i am that I'm going to miss it.  ok, let me just get this straight this i not the same McKenzie from Boise, right? i mean its cool either way, but i definitely need some clearing up.  i got the Christmas tree, and i look at all of your pretty faces all the time.  but the one that was throwing me off was the one where marc is sitting next to a girl who has a little darker skin.  i was preparing me self for that girl to be the next entry to the family. wait, is that the same girl. I'm super confused.  matt going to Paris, tell him congrats for me.

well we had a tough week, we worked our tails off and didn't get very far.  but we are going to have 4 baptisms this week and the other companionship in the ward is having 6. so there will be a total of 10 new additions to this ward.  the ward is psyched out of their minds, its awesome to be a part of their fire.  that's crazy about elder marsh, i love the kid, and am learning so much from him. 

i wanted to share this line from elder Scott, something that has made an impact on me this week.

"satin's increasing influence in the world is allowed to provide an atmosphere in which to prove ourselves.  while he causes havoc today, Satan's final destiny was fixed by Jesus Christ through his atonement and the resurrection.  the devil will not triumph. even now he must operate within the bounds set by the lord.  he cannot take away any blessing that has been earned. he cannot alter character that has been woven from righteous decisions. he has no power to destroy the eternal bonds forged in a holy temple between a husband, wife, and children. he cannot quench true faith.  he cannot take away your testimony.  yes, these things can be lost by succumbing to his temptations. but he has no power in and of himself to destroy them.....  if you have determined to live righteously, don't become discouraged. life may seem difficult now, but hold on tightly to that iron rod of truth. you are making better progress than you realize. your struggles are defining character, discipline, and confidence in the promises of your father in heaven and the savior as you consistently obey their commandment.  may the holy ghost prompt you to always make decisions that fortify your character and yield much joy and happiness. in the name of Jesus Christ, amen"

i love you so much, and how all is well

Elder Gardner