Jan 31,2011

Hola de Santiago

how are you doing? o boy what a crazy week, elder marsh and i have been tarring it up.  we both know little about running a brand new area, but we know missionary handbook and how to be obedient.  we are not the best teachers but we have the spirit, and it paid off for us this week.  this is defiantly stretching us both more than before, but that is good because we are learning.   it good to hear that you all are doing good, i got the Christmas tree yesterday, o man that beard of marcs is pretty gnarly. i hope you all are doing well. i love you all. 

Elder Gardner

I'm so glad to hear that you made it back safe and sound. well, what a crazy email. im so confused. i got the biggest pit in my stomache when i read about michael kendall. i hope they find what ever they are looking for. you can tell garrett that i feel bad for him cause he got so close to going to the best mission on this planet (dont tel marc i said that). who is andy getting married to?

sorry this week has been crazy and i have not had time to do anything, i had the crazies week of the mission thus far. i will sent a recording next week explaning. i was wondering if you could send garrison and aaron mailing adress. and emily and annies email.

well, today is the first day of the a new change. i said goodbye to my dad today, because im staying in tepotzotlan kind of. so they are spliting this ward in to two areas. I was sent to open the new area, and be senior comp, and my new comp, Elder Marsh only has 6 months on the mission. this is the most humbliing expirence ive every had in my life. my spanish is still so rough, and elder marsh is about the same as me. its time to put my money were my mouth is. im out here telling people all day about how this message can help anyone in any situation, if you will put all your faith in him. we are all going to be figurativly put up against the ropes, and you can either sit down and give up, our you can fight back. i can promise you that when we fight back and you do it the lords way you will not fail. God loves us, o boy he loves us. thanks for all you have done for me, remeber me in your prayers cause i going to need the help. no dout you all are in mine. As for the ward tell them i love them and that im so grateful for all they have ever done for me. this mission has all ready changed my life completly and i wish i could be there to tell all the boys in our ward about how much this mission means to me, and they better not think of missing out of an oppourtunity like this. i love you so much. up ward and onward.

Love
Elder Gardner

January 23, 2011

I'm so glad to hear that you made it back safe and sound.  well, what a crazy email. I'm so confused.   i got the biggest pit in my stomach when i read about Michael Kendall.  i hope they find what ever they are looking for.  you can tell garret that i feel bad for him cause he got so close to going to the best mission on this planet (don't tell marc i said that). who is Andy getting married to?

sorry this week has been crazy and i have not had time to do anything, i had the crazies week of the mission thus far. i will sent a recording next week explaining. i was wondering if you could send  garrison and Aaron mailing address. and Emily and Annie's email.     

well, today is the first day of the a new change.  i said goodbye to my dad today, because I'm staying in Tepotzotlan kind of.  so they are splitting this ward in to two areas.  I was sent to open the new area, and be senior comp, and my new comp, Elder Marsh only has 6 months on the mission.  this is the most humbling experience I've every had in my life. my Spanish is still so rough, and elder marsh is about the same as me.  its time to put my money were my mouth is.  I'm out here telling people all day about how this message can help anyone in any situation, if you will put all your faith in him. we are all going to be figuratively put up against the ropes, and you can either sit down and give up, our you can fight back.  i can promise you that when we fight back and you do it the lords way you will not fail.  God loves us, o boy he loves us.  thanks for all you have done for me, remember me in your prayers cause i going to need the help.  no doubt you all are in mine.  As for the ward tell them i love them and that I'm so grateful for all they have ever done for me.  this mission has all ready changed my life completely and i wish i could be there to tell all the boys in our ward about how much this mission means to me, and they better not think of missing out of an opportunity like this.  i love you so much.  up ward and onward.

Love

Elder Gardner

January 3, 2011

I´m not sure what holidays you are talking about.  this has been a different holiday season (not a big surprise), because i haven´t been with the family, but it was good and the work goes on.  i miss the food and the staying up late with the fam. 

we had a great week, not sure what changed but golden investigators are popping out of the woodwork.  we were walking down this street and saw this lady up on this latter trying to keep her balance while she painted her house.  we asked if we could help and she tried to be polite and tell us no but we helped her anyways.  it ended up talking the whole day and I'm pretty sure i ruined my pants and my shoes are covered in orange paint, but it was all worth it.  she kept telling us that we were angels sent from heaven, we went back the next day and taught her the next day.  we taught her and her neighbor, and after the lesson her neighbor told us she attended one of our church's with her friends when she was younger and felt so peaceful and happy.  she told us she felt the same feeling when were painting the house and during the lesson.  another experience, we were knocking doors, and this lady answered and told us to come in, she told us that she had been waiting for us to knock her door. the next three days we taught back to back to back and she is getting baptized on the 16 of enero.  we had an awesome domingo, and had 9 investigators attend church and next week we are hoping for double that.   things are going great. 

thanks for sending garrisons and Aarons letters through dear elder, its always good to hear from them.  that's crazy about garrison reaching one year and having a little boy. what a stud.  could you get me garrisons and Aarons mailing address. good luck mom in san frantic, that should be pretty fun. don't worry about the girls you have the boys to look after them:)

I hope you are all doing well, and are as happy as can be.  sorry I'm so terrible at writing letters, hopefully i will get better.  good luck and do work.

love you

Elder Gardner

I cant tell you how much i missed you all this chrismas time. but its something i dont regret because i know like you do, that i´m in the place our loving heavenly father wants me to be. i wanted to appoligize about how the phone call went down, i want to talk a lot long, but thats just how it goes. sorry about cutting everybody off. i love you all so much, your support means more then you know. tell ryan good luck, and that he is perfect for the mission, tell him also that corey jackson got here the other week and is doing awesome, he actully turned out to be my Zone leader in the mtc. i was wondering if you get aaron and garrisons mail address for me again. Thanks for everything that you have done for me, and the examples you all set.

Les Quiero
Elder Gardner

Dad, i wanted to appoligize to you for how the phone call went down. i felt so ungreatful after we talked. you mean everything to me, you have always been the best for me. i love you so much, and i appreciate all that you do for our family. i know ive alread shared this with you but it has been on my mind again these last couple days. its Elder hollands talk, a highpriest of good things to come, or something like that. i reread this talk over last night and i want to reshare a part of that talk.(highly recommed a reread).

Some blessing come soon, some come late, and some dont come until heaven but for those who embrace the gospel of jesus christ, they come.
Dont give up, boy. dont you quite. you keep trying. there is help and happiness ahead. you keep your chin up. it will be allright in the end. trust god. and believe in good things to come.

i dont know if you remeber the blessing me and evan gave you before i left. but the words from that blessings have been in my head these last couple of days. "there is light at the end of the tunnel". Dad i know that is true, with every thing i feel. I love you. please let me know if there is anything i can do for you.

LOve your son
Elder Gardner

Hola de Tepot

That is insane about andrew, how are they doing? nothing happened to them, not a scratch? so i haven{t recieved those pictures yet not sure whats going on. but i have recieved the dear elders, please keep sending those through dear elder, i love to hear form those guys. i know ive asked like a hundred time, but could you get me garrisons and aarons letter address once more. so for christmas i can either call on the 24 or the 25, im not sure what works for you guys, but i was kind of feeling like like christmas day would be better, its tradition, but if that doesn{t work we can do the 24. there is a family here that is going to let us use their phone, i guess they have a phone plan that they can talk to the estados unidos for free. should i still use the phone card? ask me about this family when i call.

well this has been i feel a monumentous week for me. last week was the last week of transfers, it turns out i staying in tepo with elder rosales for another transfer. im excited. this past week i dont know why but i had a poor attitude and i could get out of it. it was crazy but i decieded to flip the switch and be happy and its made all the differnce. i read two talks that put it all into perspective for me. Come what may and love it" Elder Worthlin, and finging joy in the journey" Thomas s monson. i not sure what happend but the mision is so much easier when your happy. we have beeen teaching this selene for three weeks and she has a testimony about joshep smith and the book of mormon but her only hold up was she didn{t beleive in thomas s monson. crazy i know. we kept asking her to explain her self but she just kept telling us its jsut that "es encreible". ive though alot about that. that right this gospel the knowlege that we have the prophet that leader are church today, "es encreible". we have no reason to be in a bad mood or to be angry, or feel we have been treated unfairly. we have this knowelge that god lives and that he has a plan for us. nothing else matters.. i love you all

Elder GArdner

Things are still going here in mexico. i´m sorry i dont have a lot of time, and every thing seams insignificant to the message i want to share with you.
all i can say is that i´m still going through the pains of learning a language and that i still have many lessons to learn. I came across this talk by elder Jeffery r. holland intitled "the ministry of angles" nov. 2008. I want to share this snip it from that talk,
"I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the lord has said he would fight our battles, our children´s battles, and the battles of our children´s children. and what do we do to merit such a defense? we are to search difilently, pray always, and be beiliving. then all things shall work together for our good, if we walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith we have covenanted. the latter days are not a time to fear or tremble they are a time to be beleiving and remember our covenants. I want to recommend this talk to you. God loves us. we go through trials, but we do not go through them alone. with faith in our heveanly father we will have miracles in our lives. "God never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face" i love you all so much and want you to know that things are going to work out. we are on the right team. keep the faith, be beleiving, and know that he loves you.
Thanks for every thing
Elder Gardner

"the simple secret is this put your trust in the lord, do your best, then leave the rest to him" joseph b worthlin