La primera semana de un nuevo traslado...

This week we worked really hard with my new companion. On Tuesday when we got to work after Pday ended we went to the Ramirez family's house and to our surprise found them having a Family Home Evening with the Bishop's family, and two other families from the ward. Elder Núñez got to know half the ward the first day... haha. Julio and Laura taught the lesson and it was pretty incredible. They are the best. After the FHE we got about 10 referrals to contact, so that was pretty cool. 

Bicicletas

This week we worked very closely with the members to contact a lot of referrals and met a lot of new people. We taught a lot of lessons this week.  Sometimes it can be hard because sometimes we don't have very many investigators, but I know that as we show the Lord that we want to teach people that will really progress in the Gospel, He will put us in the paths of those people.

On Saturday we decided to try something new. We were with our Ward Mission Leader, and, due to the new Church initiative "Because He Lives", we've got some new pass-along cards. We decided to go out with Guadalupe (age 13) and Abril (age 9) and have them give a few cards to whoever came to their mind. Abril wasn't scared at all and brought us to her neighbor Mariela's house. She came out and accepted everything, and on Sunday came to church. She is really great.  We could't talk with her husband very long on Saturday because he had to go to work.

On Sunday Laura Ramirez gave a talk in church and it was fantastic. She is such an example to me. If she was nervous you couldn't even tell. 

Les amo a todos, gracias por todo lo que hacen y por siempre apoyar a los misioneros.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte

Lots of Changes

Wow, what a day. What a week. Last week I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with my hijo Elder Lawyer in Campana, and with Elder Lanas in Zárate 2. It was a really great experience to be with and work with them and especially learn from them. What I love most about being a zone leader is getting to work with more missionaries and learn from them. It's the best. It was especially fun to be with my hijo again and see the progress that he has had since I took him back to Pacheco with me on his first day in the mission field. I spent a lot of time away from my area this week, so I'm excited to get to know the people that Elder Fabila met last week. 

On Friday we (Hermana Hemi, Hermana Carter, Elder Sanchez, Elder Lanas, Elder Fabila, and I) made tacos with the Ramirez family and Brenda for a family home evening because it was Elder Sanchez's last week in the mission, and he is from Mexico, so he just had to make us tacos. It was a lot of fun. The Ramirez family has progressed so much. On Sunday Julio gave the opening prayer in sacrament meeting and Laura gave a talk. It was really special. 

Saturday was a really special day as we did two service projects in the morning. We helped a sister in the ward put up a roof, and we helped another family shovel out a lot of gravel that they had behind their house. It was fun, but I got a little sore the next day. That night the Sisters had a baptism and, like always here in Zárate, us missionaries did a special musical number. It was a really great baptismal service.

On Sunday we went to the Missionary Farewell in San Fernando. Hermana Hemi signed herself, Hermana Carter, Elder Fabila and I up to sing a musical number. We had to sing in front of about 1000 people. I was pretty nervous. It's been a long time since I've sung in front of so many people. It was fun though and I felt like we did a really good job. After it was over a few people that I didn't know came up to me and asked for autographs and fotos... it was weird. This transfer 27 missionaries went home, and I knew almost all of them. It was bitter-sweet as a lot of my friends went home. Elder Cruz (my Mexican trainer), Elder Popoca (my Mexican friend from Constitución), Elder Sanchez (my Mexican friend from Zárate), and Hermana Hemi (my Australian friend from Chacabuco/Zárate) all went home. It made me cry when Elder Cruz hugged me and gave me one of his name badges so that I'll remember him. He was a great trainer and a great friend throughout my whole mission. This Farewell I was able to see a lot of members and converts from my old areas that I hadn't seen in a long time. It was so great to see them and know that they are still active in the church.

Yesterday morning we got a call from President Ayre asking Elder Fabila to be his new Asistant, so he left at about 11 o'clock and I spent the rest of the day with Elder Sanchez and Elder Lanas. Last night I had a really special opportunity. Hermana Hemi, who finished her mission today, asked me to give her a blessing before going home. I was her District Leader in Chacabuco and her Zone Leader here in Zárate.  It was one of those really really special blessings for me where I felt like a tool in the Lord's hands.

Today was transfers. I'm staying in Zárate as a Zone Leader with Elder Núñez. He is from Houston, Texas, and I've known him for a long time. We were in the MTC at the same time, we were companions on the airplane, and we've been in a couple zones together. It's going to be a lot of fun to work together and I'm excited for this transfer. This transfer half the zone was transferred out, and in every area someone was called to train or to be a zone leader in another area or to be a sister training leader. I'm really happy for the zone and the time that we were together. We're excited for another great transfer! I love you all!

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

This week was really good. On Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Vasquez in Lima and I learned a lot. That day we fixed two main goals: to teach 10 lessons with a member, and to find a complete family. We worked really hard that day and found many new investigators, but we didn't find a complete family until we taught our 10th lesson at about 8:00 pm. It was pretty incredible that in order to find that complete family we had to complete with our daily goals such as lessons with a member. It was a really fun day and I enjoyed learning from Elder Vasquez.

On Friday we had the first ward activity in the Zárate 1st Ward in probably many years. When I first got here the relationship between members and missionaries wasn't that great, but we've seen a lot of progress lately. To make a comparison, my 2nd week here we had a ward activity and only 2 people other than the missionaries came. On Friday we had about 60 people come, which was a smashing success. The Relief Society President taught the lesson and we were in charge of the games. Everyone had a lot of fun and on Sunday everyone was talking about the activity. It was a really great activity for the recent converts and investigators, as well as they were able to interact with the members. We were really happy with how it turned out.

Saturday night Brenda was baptized. She is a super family friend of the Ramirez family that was baptized a couple months ago. It was a really special service, because Julio gave the talk on baptism and testified that he knew that this is the truth. Laura gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and her testimony was really powerful. Then Hermana Hemi, Hermana Carter, Elder Fabila and I sang "Señor, te necesito" (I Need Thee Every Hour). We started off extremely shaky, but after the first part we pretty much nailed it and everyone was crying. It was great. After the baptism we went to Brenda's house and ate pizza with the Ramirez family and Mati Gonzalez (our Ward Mission Leader). 

Yesterday we met a taxi driver who is really interested in the church, is married, and has 3 kids... we have an appointment with him tomorrow.

I love you all! Thanks for writing me! Thanks for your support! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

"Sigueme"

The weeks are flying by!! It is so crazy to be once again in an internet café writing home! Today I hardly have any time because we had to travel to capital so our companions who are finishing their missions could buy souvenirs, and we have to go back to Zárate in about 10 minutes. 

Brenda is progressing really really well. She is going strong with every commitment that we have given her and accepted the law of chastity and the word of wisdom very well.. Yesterday at church she was telling everyone that she is getting baptized this Saturday and she was really excited.

On Sunday morning we found some people in the street and invited them to church and they came with us! They had gone to church before in Jujuy (Provincia de Argentina) and really enjoyed it. We are going to be working with them this week.

This was a very spiritual week for me as we had a leadership council meeting with all of the zone leaders in the mission and had a zone meeting. We had an incredible experience in the zone meeting where the Sister Training Leaders of the zone did an activity. We were all blindfolded and we had to follow Sister Hemi's voice who was saying "sigueme" while Sister Carter was trying to lead us astray. At the beginning we were all in a pack and it was really hard to hear Sister Hemi and I didn't want to be led astray just by following my friends, so I decided to separate from the group. When I did I felt really alone, but after awhile I could hear Sister Hemi's voice telling me to follow her and step by step I did and made it to "the Celestial Kingdom." Everyone felt the Spirit very strongly and we learned a lot. In order to follow the Lord in this life, we need to pay very close attention, because he isn't going to shout at us to follow him. Many times we will feel all alone because our friends or those around us aren't doing what we are doing. However, if we will but have the courage to be different and to follow the Good Shepherd, he will always come looking for us. He doesn't want a single lamb to be lost. It was really hard, but when I made it to the desired destination I was so grateful for my patience and courage to be alone and I imagine that that may be what it is like in the end. This life is hard, because it is a time of trial. The Lord is testing us to see if we will but be faithful to Him. However, in the end, every sacrifice will be worth it. I love the Lord. I love His work. I love being a missionary.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Todo miembro un misionero

This week we had a special zone conference with Elder Zeballos from the Presidencia del Área Suramerica Sur. It was a really great conference. He mentioned that if you can speak English and Spanish, you can communicate with 80% of the members of the church, and if you speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese, you can speak with 90%.  Good thing I've got my friend Scotty, who can teach me Portuguese. I think what I most liked about the conference was something that he and his wife talked about. They cut an apple open and asked us what half an apple has to do with missionary work. When you cut an apple, it is when you can see that an apple has seeds and you can count them, but you will never know how many apples can be grown from the seeds of the apple. It's interesting that in missionary work we can see and measure some of the results of our labor, such as the number of lessons we teach, how many investigators come to church, or how many baptisms the Lord allows us to participate in. However, we will truly never know the impact that our small actions may cause. The Lord uses small and simple things to accomplish His grand purposes. I feel like a very very small and simple thing as a missionary. It amazes me that the Lord trusts so much in an imperfect, small, simple 19 year-old like me. It is such a privilege to serve the Lord full-time.

This week the Ramirez family has helped us a lot with the work! They invited their friend Brenda to their house to listen to us. She is 20 years old and has a 2 year old child named Jazmin. She is progressing really well and has a baptismal date for the 14th of March. We also met Juana, the mother of Brenda, who we feel will soon accept the message. We still need to contact Nico, Guadalupe's 14 year-old friend, and his family. The Ramirez family is progressing so well in the gospel. Julio blessed the Sacrament for the first time yesterday and it was so humbling for me to see. We met the family almost 2 months ago, and Julio has already blessed the Sacrament, they are doing family history work, and they are inviting their friends to come to their house and learn about the gospel. They are a very special family and hold a very special place in my heart.

Saturday was an interesting day. Elder Vasquez and Elder Jones called us because Elder Vasquez had had a problem and needed to go to the hospital, but they were supposed to have a baptism in a few hours. Elder Fabila ended up going to the hospital with Elder Vasquez and I went with Elder Jones to the small Lima Branch. When we got there, the pool (because they don't have a church, they meet in a house) was only half-full, and the water wasn't coming out of the hose. We ended up having to fill up the pool with buckets of water. Then it was 7 o'clock and the investigators were no where to be found. We waited and waited and finally went out to try and find them. We found them and got back to the church at 8 o'clock. Laura (28) and her daughter Sabrina (8) were baptized. Elder Vasquez was going to baptize Sabrina, and so Elder Jones asked her if it was alright if he baptized her. She didn't want him to. She wanted me to. So I ended up baptizing her. It was a fun experience.

Muchísimas gracias a todos por lo que hacen por mí. Les amo mucho y siempre los tengo presente en mis oraciones. Cuídense mucho. 

Con amor,

Elder John William Garrett