Week 80: The Fun Never Stops in the Caribbean

Haha well the fun never stops here in the Caribbean (hard to believe, right?) But yeah, a pretty good week I think. :)

Mom - It's weird to think about graduation... that was 2 years ago! Agh! Haha but yeah... wow. And yes, I am so happy that things worked out the way they did, because I'm just so content with life. Anyway, I love you, Mom, and I do miss mowing the lawn and bagging the grass, so that makes two of us ;)

Dad - Well it looks like things are kind of boring back home! I bet you're loving the new calling though, I sure would! It would be like right now being relieved of my ZL assignment and becoming a normal senior companion somewhere... if only... Anyway, I'll keep watch for the packages; we're going to the office today, so I'll see if they're there. :) Thanks for everything dad, and I hope you have a happy Father's day on Sunday! I'll try and send a card as soon as I can. :)

18 month picture

Anyway, so a pretty good week I think. A member last Wednesday took us out to eat at Sizzler, and that's the first time in a while I've actually felt "trunky" haha... oh wow. Eating American food again... wow. It was good. But bad. But good, because I wasn't too trunky for too long haha ;) But yeah, then on Friday we had a Mission Leaders' Council, which was Pres. Alvarado's last one. To be different from all the others, we did it in the mission apartment, which used to be the mission home, before they got that one. It's on the 15th floor of this beautiful apartment building in Guaynabo, and from there, you can see all of San Juan, Carolina, Trujillo, Bayamón, and Guaynabo. It was great. Basically, you can see all of the San Juan Zone. Yay! But it was good, and it was a good meeting. 

Besides that, we taught a lot of good lessons, and there's a couple of our investigators who are progressing toward baptism. One, his name is Modesto, came to church, and we set date for the 23rd with him. He wasn't all that sure about it, but we're going to push our faith and make it happen.

Also, Francisco is doing great! He loves the church and he comes out with us all the time to lessons. He's progressing so much and learns so much, and he now participates in lessons, bears his testimony, and just ... is great! My most active convert to be sure. :) I'm so thankful to have gotten to know him, and I can't wait to see the kind of missionary that he'll be a year from now. He's a stud.

But yeah, other than that... just the same old missionary routine and worrying about the zone. Really tired, and sometimes overwhelmed, but always happy. :) Thanks to the Atonement, I don't have a reason to be sad.

Anyway, I love you all so much, and I hope you're doing great! I hope the summer's not too hot for ya, and that you enjoy it! I think it's gonna be a hot one here, but we'll see. I think there are some storms a-brewin' out in the Atlantic, so we'll see what happens there. But yeah, love you lots!

Con mucho amor
 

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 62: 10 for the 10 Commandments

This wasn't the very best week over here. Nobody is accepting the invitation to be baptized, and we didn't have anybody in church either. We have some really great investigators, but nobody who's willing to take that next step. 

However, we did have a really cool experience yesterday I want to share. We were out in Old San Juan on Saturday morning, doing a plaza cleaning with the church group (a bunch of groups were invited), and we even got a picture with Carmen Yulin, the San Juan city mayor! Big whoop. Haha anyway, after it was over, this guy called me over and introduced to me as Hno. Feliz, a less active we had been searching for for a very long time. We talked a bit, and he told us we could go by his house Sunday morning. We went yesterday with the EQP, and we taught about coming to church. He said he was going through a really hard time, losing his wife and kids (divorce) and stuff, and he just didn't want to go to church. But we were persistent, and at the end, he took a quick shower, got all dressed (suit and all!) and came to church! Afterwards, we talked, and he told me that he felt great, that he was going to buy a new triple combination, and that he would be going next week to the special Stake Conference in Trujillo. It was a really great experience, and a testimony that miracles do happen for less active members.
Besides that, we had our zone council on Friday, and a bunch of the DLs were invited. No changes, but it was interesting to see which district leaders were invited, because a lot of the ZLs now are going home soon, so some changes are on their way. Elder Durfee was there, which was cool, as well as Elder Duclos. They're both pretty great. :) Oh, and one really cool thing, remember C... and R..., from Guayanilla? They got married and baptized on Saturday!! I wasn't able to go, but I was just so happy that they came unto Christ. It was marvelous to hear about that. :)
Elder Andersen will be coming this weekend on Saturday, so that will be amazing!! He'll also be in the Stake Conference in San Juan on Sunday, so I get a nice double dose of Elder Neil L. Andersen. It will be great.
My prayers are with you. I know the Lord is mindful of you. Just know that I love you all so very much. You too stay strong and true!

With much much love and care from Puerto Rico,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission