Birthdays and Hospital Trips

This past week was pretty great. On Monday after writing to you all, I decided that I was kind of bored of playing futbol every P-day, so my hijito and I went to José C. Paz to hang out with the zone leaders, Elder Hankins and Elder Vidal. I've come to be pretty good friends with them, because I have gone on exchanges with Elder Hankins and I went on an exchange with Elder Vidal when I was in Constitución and he was in La Boca. We went to the Coto, which is one of the biggest supermarkets here. In José C. Paz the Coto has a bowling alley and a bunch of pool tables, so we had a lot of fun. I told them before we started that I only went bowling maybe two times a year before the mission, but then I had a lot of luck and they ended up telling me I was lying... haha. I bowled a turkey (3 strikes in a row) and got a couple other strikes as well. We then played pool and I was humbled quite a bit as I don't really know how to play. We then took a few fotos on some couches, but Elder Hankins was the only one who had a camera, so I can't send you a foto. It was probably the funnest P-day I've had in the mission.

On Tuesday we woke up, exercised, my companion showered, and I got in the shower. As I was in the shower my companion went out back to wash a few of his shirts. As I left the shower, my companion called my name, and as I checked out the window I saw that he was bleeding quite profusely from his head, and his hands and arms were covered in blood. He had dropped a shirt on the ground, bent down to pick it up, and when he stood up smacked his head against this metal box where the water heater is. I made some quick calls to President, who didn't answer, the zone leaders to let them know, and then to a member to take us to the hospital. We just threw on some futbol jerseys and shorts because we didn't have time to tie ties, and headed out to the hospital. I then had to leave my companion at the hospital and return to the pension to search for his identification that we hadn't thought to bring. In the end, they just glued up his head because the cut was long but not very deep, but he had a really bad headache for a few days. It was quite the adventure.

This week it rained quite a bit, and my companion was pretty shocked when he asked me what we were going to do and I said that we were going to go out and work anyway. It was pretty funny.

We had a pretty awesome Zone Conference with President and the Assistants this week, and we learned a lot about faith. The Lord is able to do anything if we will but have faith in Him, however, we have to act. Everytime we push ourselves just a little bit further than we think we can go, the Lord will always bless us. We talked about and watched an awesome video of Lionel Messi, who was told he was too small to play futbol and wasn't good enough to play in Argentina. He never gave up and decided to go to Spain and they decided that he could play, and is now the best futbol player in the world. This life isn't about "winning the race", but getting up each time we fall and trying again. "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." I testify that if we will keep trying even when we think we've lost, the Lord will always bless us.

Stylin' with my companion

Yesterday was my birthday. We had an asado with Beto and overall I was gifted 4 birthday cakes, from the Irigoyen family, the Gomez family, Adrian and Fani, and Beto. It was pretty awesome... but we'll probably be eating cake for a couple weeks. My companion told everyone that I turned 23 and they believed him... then I told them I just turned 19 and everyone was shocked... oh well. It's kind of weird just barely turning 19... and already being out on the mission 10 months. I am so grateful to be here.

 

EE.UU. is the Spanish way to write U.S.A... also they call me batman...​

 

The World Cup started this past week, and it's pretty much impossible to enter a house where the people aren't watching it. Last night was pretty fun... Argentina played against Bosnia, and there wasn't a single soul in the street besides us. However, we could always tell when Argentina scored, because Pablo Nogués would erupt with everyone screaming "GOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!" We yelled it with them haha.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Aventuras con mi primogénito

On Tuesday I had to stick around in San Fernando most of the day waiting to pick up my hijo (greenie). At the end of the day there are only two of us who are training new elders, and one sister who is training a sister this transfer. Since there wasn't many of us, we went to the Mission Home with the assistants and President Ayre when they had the meeting with the new elders. President Ayre told them that when he was in the MTC, President Monson told him to always take care of his new missionaries that come in, and save the very best missionaries to be their trainers. I felt a little out of place there with the assistants and the other 2 missionaries who are trainers because they've already trained a few times in the past. I was kind of wondering if President made a mistake in me being there, but I am really humbled to have this opportunity to help out my primogénito. 

My hijo is Elder López (again right? who would've thought I'd have two Elder López' back to back?), who is from Rosario, Argentina and is 18 years old. He's my first companion that is younger than me! He's a pretty cool guy, and we get along well. He's here waiting for his visa to go to Ecuador, so I'm not entirely sure how long he'll be here. It's kind of different being a trainer because he follows and copies literally everything I do, even up to my morning exercises haha.

 

My primogénito, elder López

The orange sweater is from elder López, my last

companion... it's kind of ugly but I like it.

This week we had a great week and found a bunch of new investigators who accepted baptismal dates. Unfortunately none of them came to church, but we're staying positive and working hard. Adrian's sister-in-law is going to Santiago del Estero today to bring him his birth certificate so he can get married and baptized. The work is going really well, and I feel like we're going to have a lot of success here together.

I'm doing well, I've had a bit of a cold this week, but pretty much everyone in Buenos Aires does as well with the climate change. This week I will turn 19. It's weird to think that if the age hadn't been changed to leave on a mission I would still be at home and I wouldn't have experienced all the things that I have experienced in these 10 months. I'm so grateful fot this precious time that the Lord has given me. I know that Thomas S. Monson is His prophet on the earth today. It was an inspired age change, and I'm so grateful to have been able to help the people that I could during this time serving as an 18-year-old missionary.

I love you all.

Elder John William Garrett

I don't have a whole lot of time, so this'll be somewhat brief. This past week was pretty great. We found 5 new investigators. Beto's doing great. Today we had transfers, so Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I said farewell to all of the ward members because I have been in Pablo Nogués 3 transfers.

 

We moved to a new pension on Saturday, so I left my suitcases packed. Last night we got the call from the Zone Leaders and they told us that Elder Lopez was going to leave to go to Villa Lugano, and I'm staying in Pablo Nogués for a 4th transfer. I write to you all from close to the mission offices in San Fernando, because they let me know this morning that I would be training a new Elder... or in mission terms I will now be a "papá" with a "hijito" (child).  I have no idea where my companion is... if he's in the airport, the MTC, or the mission home. I don't even know what his name is. Right now I'm with Elder Garcia who is also going to be training this transfer. I'm really nervous but excited. I took a ton of pictures this past week with members because I thought I would be leaving... unfortunately this Internet café isn't the best and doesn't have the little connecting part to upload my pictures. I will send them next week. I wish you all a very happy week, and enjoy summer!

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Una semana de lluvia

This Tuesday I had the priviledge of going on exchanges with Elder Hankins, one of my zone leaders. I went to his area in Vucetich, and when we left his pension it wasn't raining, so we didn't bring an umbrella. Then it started pouring and pouring and rained all day. We left with just sweaters on and before long we were freezing. It was one of those really really cold rains. Luckily, we visited a recent convert who had an awesome heater in her house, so we were able to take off the sweaters, dry off a bit, and as we left, she lent us some of her husband's work coats. The funny thing was... her husband works for Bimbo, a bread company, and the coats she lent us were huge white marshmallow coats. They kept us warm enough alright. However, what calls more attention than two giant Yankees in brilliantly white marshmallow coats? Not much. We had a blast. Overall, we were pretty much freezing all day and all night because his pension is really cold, but it was probably one of the funnest days of my mission. I learned a lot from Elder Hankins about staying positive no matter what and giving the mission all we've got. Even when we give it all we've got, it may not be enough, but we should do it anyway, as it really is between us and the Lord and no one else. It was a miserable day, but I really enjoyed it and gained another new best mission friend in Elder Hankins.

This week we worked really hard to find and teach investigators. Unfortunately, Olga was working all week so we couldn't teach her, and then on Saturday when we finally found her she told us she wouldn't be able to go to church. Fortunately, a hermana in our ward brought a friend to church, and we were able to set up an appointment to start teaching her, so we're excited about that.

I had a pretty spiritual end of the week. On Wednesday my companion and I dropped by the church and while we were there we ran into the Bishop. I got slammed with a 20 minute talk for church yesterday. My subject was "Love thy neighbor as thyself." I prepared a pretty great outline with a lot of material including the atonement and a lot of great stuff, but in the end, the youth speaker and my companion each spoke for 15 minutes and I only had 10 minutes to talk. I ended up hardly even looking at my notes, and I don't remember what I said. When I sat down, my companion turned to me and asked, "did you get the feeling that when you were speaking it wasn't you, but was really the Holy Ghost?" It was a truly incredible experience, and one that I will not forget. 

Today we went to the Temple with the whole mission. Wooo!!!! Our zone had to be there at 8:10, and all the members told us we should leave at 5:00. We woke up at 4:00 and left at 5:00... and got there at 7:00 and had to wait an hour for the rest of our zone. Even though I'm exhausted, it was a really awesome experience again.
 

Next week I will be having transfers, so P-day will be Tuesday. Don't get worried when I don't write on Monday, I'm not dead.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Muchísimas empanadas

This week was a really great week. On Wednesday we had our zone conference/interviews with Presidente Ayre and it was really great. I really do have the best Mission President in the world, and I'm blessed to be in the best Mission in the world as well... so... sorry to all those who aren't a part of "La Gran Misión Buenos Aires Norte" haha. My Mission President is also really young, so I wouldn't be surprised if we all see him on TV some day during General Conference. One thing we talked about is that a successful missionary: 1- is exactly obedient, 2- is full of energy, 3- loves the people whom he/she serves, and 4- is a Christ-like teacher. My goal is to keep working on developing my teaching skills because I have the firm testimony that it is not only a talent that will serve me well in the mission field, but the rest of my life.

After the interviews, I had the opportunity to go on a companionship exchange and go to José C. Paz with Elder Núñez from Texas, a good friend of mine. We learned a lot together and had a lot of fun. He had a package from home stuffed with American candies, so that was awesome. One of the best parts of the exchange was the power of the Book of Mormon. It was really cool, because usually it takes a while to have chemistry as a companionship while teaching, but Elder Núñez and I in our first day together taught completely united. As we were helping the members in the ward participate in missionary work, it was incredible to feel the Spirit iluminate my mind with scriptures that touched me years ago, and see the affect that the Book of Mormon has on people. It truly is the word of God, and was revealed to a prophet of God.

Something funny on Friday was we ate lunch with a member and she made us empanadas. Your average person eats about 5 or 6. I ate 8... and my companion ate 16. Afterwards we were stuffed, and that night we had set up a Family Home Evening with the Montoya family, and she had prepared some food for us. Being stuffed already, we walk in and what had she made? Empanadas. We could only eat one more each and ended up taking quite a few home for breakfast the next day. It was hilarious.

Saturday night Hermana Montoya gave us 5 referrals. Unfortunately we weren't able to contact them before Sunday, but on Sunday we were able to contact one named Olga, who has had a lot of problems in her life. She accepted everything we taught her and accepted a baptismal date, and said that she felt a lot of peace in the Montoya home. About an hour after the lesson we went back to the Montoya house to go to the bathroom, and Olga was still there! She didn't want to leave because she felt so good!

Things are looking up in Pablo Nogués.

"Que la fuerza les acompañe."

Elder John William Garrett

Happy Mother's Day!

It was really great to see my family yesterday! One of the funniest moments for me was when Hannah asked me about a bike and a car haha... we walk all day everyday... and we walk A LOT. The craziest thing was seeing how big all of my nieces and nephews are! I was very impressed with all the words and animal sounds that Josie knows, and that Jackson is learning to walk. Liesel... well... doesn't do much yet... but she was born in November... so I guess it's okay that she's just cute for now. It was fun talking with you all! It was actually really hard to speak in English, and I found myself thinking in Spanish and translating it in my head to English haha. It was rough. My Hondureñan companion made fun of me afterwards because he could tell I was struggling. I've been teaching him some English and he was really excited to talk with you all, but when the moment to shine came... he froze... and had to ask me what you said haha.

This past week was a bit difficult. We're doing a lot of walking and having trouble finding people. We had a lot of people who weren't home when we had appointments. However, we're staying positive and we know that the Lord needs us in Pablo Nogués. Today in Companionship Study we read a scripture in D&C 95 that says something like the Lord chastens and gives challenges to those He loves, and I decided, "If I've been in Pablo Nogués 4 months, the Lord must love me a lot!" We're staying positive and working hard. Something interesting is that we are not only faced with the challenge of finding more investigators, but more inactive members, because most of the inactive members we were working with are now active.

There's a hymn that's been impacting me a lot lately, and I like to put it in terms of in my mission and life in general. The hymn is "O My Father":

1. O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured near thy side?

2. For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, "You're a stranger here,"
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.

3. I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav'ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I've a mother there.

4. When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I've completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.

In the spirit of Mother's Day, I testify that just as we've a Father awaiting us as we pass on from this life, we've also a Mother. I'm so grateful for them. I'm so grateful for my earthly parents and all they've done for me. I know that they were meant just for me.

Love,

Elder John William Garrett

Esta semana

It was a really spiritual week for me and I learned a lot. It's amazing to think how much taking notes as you study the Book of Mormon helps you learn more. I started reading it two weeks ago and I'm only up to the middle of 1 Nephi 8. It's been incredible the things I've been able to learn, and I am convinced that the Book of Mormon is the word of God.

We had an interesting experience this week with a brother from the ward who was going to accompany us in a few lessons, who called us and said he wouldn't be able to come because he was sick and wanted a priesthood blessing. We went to his house and gave him the blessing. I'm pretty sure I had one of the most spiritual learning experiences of my life. I know that the Priesthood power I hold is the power of God. I know that the Lord works according to the faith of men. How many times do we see people ask for priesthood blessings saying they have faith that they will be healed, receive the blessing, and retire back to bed saying "I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow." "How is it that ye have forgotten that the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him (1 Nephi 7:12)?" I have a firm testimony that if we have faith enough to be healed tomorrow, we will be healed tomorrow. If we have faith enough to be healed in an instant, we will be healed in an instant. When the Master healed, we read in the Bible that He often commanded someone to be healed, and then extended His hand to raise them up. Do we have faith to take His hand? "Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works (James 2:18)." I came to some very important conclusions from this experience and my scripture study, but I'll let you all come to your own.

Yesterday was a great day because Beto (Hermano Escobar) received the priesthood and was ordained a Priest. The Bishop invited Elder Lopez and I to participate in the ordination, and it was a really great experience. It is so incredible to see how the Gospel completely changes lives.

Yesterday was also Fast and Testimony Meeting, so I'd like to share my testimony. I know that God loves each and every one of us, because I pray to Him. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, because I read it. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore His church, because I have read and do read the Book of Mormon and I pray and ask Him if it is true. I know that we have a prophet in this day because I have listened to him. I know that missionary work is important because I'm doing it. I know that the Gospel is true because I am doing my best to live it. The Lord in the scriptures often asks us to test Him to know the truth of all things. "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself (John 7:17)." I testify that if we test Him, we can gain our own spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the Gospel and the reality that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church. However, don't take my word for it, I challenge each of you to find out for yourselves, and I know that "by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:3-5)." 

Love,

Elder John William Garrett