Day 17

First of all, thanks for writing letters to me. It's really nice to hear what's going on in the "real world." Ha, just because we are kind of in our own little world where we just study and we don't ever leave the gate except for when we go to the temple!

This has been a pretty good week. We taught three new "investigators" this week. The first one wasn't too great... because we only had about 10 minutes and so we felt really rushed and didn't have much time to talk about anything. The other two however were fantastic. Since I'm the senior companion, I've had to be the one who leads the lesson and does more of the talking I guess, and these two lessons were wonderfully. They felt so natural and I was able to just talk with the people and get to know them and feel the spirit and figure out the best message for them. Both times I was able to pretty easily communicate my thoughts and share my testimony and ask questions in the Spanish language. It is incredible to think how much I have already learned and accomplished in just 17 days! I feel really good about how I'm speaking and understanding... and then a missionary whose native tongue is Spanish comes up and talks to us and I have no idea what they say... oh well, it'll come.

 

 

Well, this is the district! From left to right: Elder Borchert (Colombia), Elder Zollinger (Buenos Aires North), Elder Garrett, Elder Stout (Buenos Aires North), Elder Valdez (Argentina Resistencia), Elder Webster (Resistencia), Elder Mossman (Resistencia), Elder Buckles (Resistencia), and Elder Stratford (Resistencia)

 

Well... the food here is actually fantastic. I had heard that it wasn't good, but whoever said that clearly should not begin a career as a food critic. We are fed so well here. I usually eat cereal for breakfast... but don't worry mom, that is the only meal that I eat cereal. Lunches are usually sandwiches or hamburgers, and whenever it is something I don't want to eat I just go to the custom made wrap bar and get anything I want. It's like Subway but... tortilla style haha. Dinners are usually fantastic as well, we've had steak a few times and stuff like roast beef and pasta and all sorts of good stuff. Hopefully I don't get fat here... I haven't weighed myself... and I don't think I've gained weight... but I'm scared to check. We usually play basketball or volleyball for our gym time so that's really fun and a good cardio workout I guess... walking around in Argentina should keep my in shape right?!

My companion is pretty great. Like I said, he's 20, and spent the past two years at West Point in the army so... he walks really fast and he just assumes I'm right behind him. He has a much easier time getting out of bed in the morning than I do, and he says that's because I don't sleep "hard enough"? I'm not really sure what he means by that... but whatever. He also sings nonsense words all the time... sometimes in Spanish... and sometimes just in English... which is fine, but it's just the same thing over and over and over and over again. 

This past Tuesday Neil L. Anderson came and talked to us and it was so incredible. The spirit that that man brought into the room was unbelievable, and I know that he is a special witness of Jesus Christ. He talked to us about love and sacrifice and it was an incredible talk. One of the memorable quotes was, "we sacrifice for the things we love, and we love the things we sacrifice for." It's a thinker for sure! Probably the best part of the devotional however was when he bore his testimony. He said something along the lines of, "I bear witness that he lives because I am his special witness." It was just really incredible and it gave all of us a big boost for the week. After the devotional got over, these security people came in and said something to our Mission President and then the Mission President got up and said we couldn't leave yet. We were all thinking, "oh no, is there a bomb or something?" Turns out it was just raining really hard and there was lightning all around us, so we sang about 5 hymns and Elder Andersen walked around and shook peoples' hands. He left when he was about 3 feet from me, so I didn't get to shake his hand, but you could definitely feel how strong his spirit was. They let us go when the lightning stopped... but it was still pouring outside so we got completely soaked. None of us thought about bringing umbrellas because it was a beautiful day when we left.

Anyway... something interesting happened this last Sunday. Our Branch President asked my companion and I to be the next zone leaders because the current zone leaders are leaving on Tuesday. We've only been here 17 days and there is another district that has been here a whole week longer than us... so... I'm not really sure why we have been called to be the zone leaders, but I am definitely humbled and excited for the opportunity to serve and try and set a good example for the other elders in the zone. 

That's about it for this week.  Everyone keep writing and tell my friends to write!

Elder Garrett

 

First P-Day

Wow, life in the MTC is pretty different from what I thought it would be. As soon as I got dropped off we took our luggage to our rooms and then went to class. The teachers only talked in Spanish. I was totally lost for the first couple days, and I really wish I had studied Spanish in high school. Oh well! On the third day we were told that we were going to teach an investigator... in Spanish. I studied pretty hard the first two days, and then when we sat down with the investigator, I didn't understand anything that we talked about. The next four times we taught him however, I was able to understand a lot more of the conversations, and I was able to answer questions and add my thoughts to the discussion. I feel like there is so much I need to learn in the language, but looking back I have already learned so much and I just need to be patient with myself. I've definitely received a lot of help from the Lord. We've been speaking Spanish as much as we can ever since day one, and it's just incredible how much growth I have already accomplished.

My companion's name is Elder Stout. He is 20 years old and he's spent the past two years at West Point. He's been taking me to the gym to lift weights a lot, so maybe I'll be muscular when I get back? Haha, I guess we'll find out. We get along really well together. The only problem is he walks really fast since he was in the army, so often times he takes off and assumes I'm right behind him when I'm not. He also sings random phrases in Spanish all the time that make absolutely no sense... haha... oh well. We work great together, and we've been learning so much. I have loved studying the gospel all the time, and it seems as if when I really study the gospel hard, the Spanish comes easier for me.

On Sunday we went to a devotional with Vai Sikahema. He played football for BYU and in the NFL, and is a sportscaster in Philadelphia. He talked about all he has done in sports and all of his achievements and his awards, but the best thing he has ever done is going on a mission to South Dakota. It was a really cool experience and really made me appreciate the importance of the work even more.

The food here is actually really good, but I still get cereal for breakfast most everyday, haha. I've seen many of my friends here. Elder Day and Elder Anderson's classrooms are in the same building as mine, so I see them quite frequently. I've also seen Elder Mollinett, Elder Rian Lucas, and Sister Smedley a couple times. We don't really get to chat for long, because we're always studying, but it's nice to see them anyway.

Since we're studying so hard all the time, it's nice to get out and exercise, and P-day today has been really nice. We got to go to the Provo temple today, and it was a really special experience.

After our devotional on Sunday we had the opportunity to watch a video called "Character of Christ," which was a talk by Elder Bednar. It is an incredible talk. It is all about how Christ was constantly turning outward and never inward, and how we should do the same. During the talk I received some great revelation as a result of the scripture in Ether 12. I came to the realization that if I could speak Spanish right away like I would like to, there would be no trial of my faith. My faith has grown a lot in the short time that I have been here, and I know that I will be able to be an effective missionary if I work my hardest. At choir practice on Sunday the choir director said something that really impacted me. He said something along the lines of, "If you're afraid you can't do your work, you're right, you can't. Thank goodness it is God's work and he is only asking you to help Him do it." It was quite eye opening for me, and I know that I can do anything with God's help. 

My district is pretty cool.  There are 9 of us and 5 are going to the Resistencia Argentina Mission, 3 to Buenos Aires North, and 1 to Colombia. We work hard and have a lot of fun together. We do our best to follow all of the rules all the time so that we can be blessed with the gift of tongues. I think it's working, because we have all improved a lot, and many of the other missionaries here are shocked that we've only been here 1 week.  If we work hard and follow the mission rules we'll be blessed.

I know that the Spirit and the gift of tongues is real, because I have definitely felt both in my short time at the MTC. The teachers told us that the MTC is second in spirituality next to the temples, and I really believe that.

Yo sé que José Smith es un profeta verdadero, y nosotros tenemos un verdad profeta en la tierra hoy. Yo sé que por medio de Jesucristo y su Expiación, nosotros podemos volver a vivir con nuestro Padre Celestial. Yo sé que Dios tiene mucho amor para nosotros, y él quiere ayudar nosotros. Se amo!

Elder Garrett

Augusto 17

Well, yesterday we taught an "investigator" for the first time in Spanish.  I didn't understand anything that my companion and he talked about.  I was pretty disappointed, because I had been speaking really well in practice.  The problem is when the investigator talks to us... ha ha.  Today we taught him for the second time and this time I understood most of what we talked about, and I was able to communicate a lot of my thoughts to him.  Whenever I get discouraged with my Spanish, I have to remind myself that I knew none before, and I've been here for 4 days.  I know I can do it and I know the Lord has been and will continue to help me be the best Spanish speaking missionary I can be.  My companion has been helping me a lot and I have been improving quite a bit.  Every night my head hurts because of all the studying.

I know that serving a mission is what I should be doing and I know that I will receive much help from God.  I mostly just need to be patient with myself.  This is very hard, just like Dad said, and I'm really grateful for his letter.  After tomorrow, I can only write letters/emails on P-Day, so I won't be able to write again until  Friday.  However, I can receive and read letters every day.

August 15

Wow, this is really hard.  I've only been here two days, but boy is it hard.  I'm quite nervous about the language and teaching.  We're supposed to teach an "investigator" tomorrow in Spanish.  I'm going to need so much help throughout my mission and really rely on Jesus Christ to help me because I feel like I know nothing, basically, because I have to teach in Spanish.  I have faith, however, that I can learn quickly through His help in order to be the best missionary I can be.  Today I learned how to pray in Spanish and bear testimony, so I have started learning quite a bit.

August 14

Well, first day is over.  After I got all of my stuff and dropped off all my stuff, I went to a classroom where my teachers were only speaking Spanish.  I almost felt bad for not understanding and speaking it back to them.  Hopefully I will learn more Spanish tomorrow, because we didn't spend much time there.  We spent the rest of the day going to orientations and such and meeting all sorts of people like the Branch Presidency and Zone Leaders.

My companion is Elder Stout.  He's 20 and he's spent the past 2 years at West Point.  He's a cool guy and he'll be good for me because he's already volunteering me for all sorts of stuff... ha ha.

Leaving for the MTC