Week 96: 2 for Alma and Amulek

M0m - It sounds like you're having a fun time back home with all the drama and everything haha... Marilee did write me; hey, it's better than nothing, so it's a step in the right direction! :) Haha anyway, I hope you're doing okay Mom. Hang in there! Hopefully soon you'll be able to get away a bit and enjoy some Caribbean sunshine. :)

Dad - Well, I looked at the BYU website and I'll try and get it all organized. THANK YOU so much for talking to a counselor haha.. they know better. Please stay in contact so I can get this all figured out and stuff.  Anyway... yeah! The Lord knows better than all of us, so hopefully He'll help us out here.

Anyway, it was a pretty sweet week this week. We had a lot of cool lessons and stuff. We spent a lot of time just out, talking with everyone, and we got a bunch of new investigators as a result. The Lord really helped us out. We prayed to see miracles and to be able to recognize them, and He really blessed us. We were contacting in a caserio and we found this guy. We found him last week but went back this week, and as we taught him and his wife, we discovered that she is a member of the church, baptized years and years ago! He is a really cool guy and he says that right now he doesn't have a religion, and that it is very possible that he may decide to join our church. He's got great potential, and we're hoping to visit him a few times this week and invite him to be baptized on November 2.

We also had a great lesson yesterday with an investigator we've had for a while. We took a member with us, and we invited her to choose her own baptismal date. We gave her a calendar and asked her which day she would like to be baptized. She said November 2, and then we started to make plans so that she will be ready by that day. It was a great lesson, and she now has a pretty solid date for the 2nd! So that's awesome.

The sign says: "It's our right to decide who we're accepting into our home.
No to Jehova's Witnesses."

We had a lot of other great lessons with some other investigators, but I want to talk a bit about a less active that we are teaching. He's possibly one of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. He went out of his way to get us some ceviche this week. He's just... awesome. We taught him in the church one evening, and we're hoping to bring him to General Conference this weekend. Also, with respect to recent converts, Berto was interviewed and found worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood!!! I was pretty ecstatic about that. It was just a good week I think.

We also had the wonderful opportunity of teaching the ward for the 5th Sunday, and we talked about family home evenings, the Atonement, and then Hastening the Work of Salvation. The Spirit was so strong and I wish we could have had more time, but I think we got what needed to be said out, and the ward members really enjoyed it. It was great.

Anyways, I love you lots, and I try not to think too much about going home... the world is a scary scary place, and I don't know if I'm ready to face it just yet. Still got time. :) Thank you for everything you do! Have a great week. :)

-- 

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 93: Rise and SHOUT!

So for church we meet in the same building as the metro ward (the English ward) and one of the members talked to me at their linger-longer and asked me if I'd heard about the BYU game. I said no, and then he told me that they SMOKED Texas!! Ranked 15th in the nation! YES! Anyway, returning to normal Elder Gardner mode.

Mom - Thanks for the pic :) Sounds like you're working hard with the canning! I've been thinking about food and how fun it will be to cook you some real down home arroz y habichuelas Puerto Rican style! And tostones and all that stuff. It'll be great. That's pretty interesting that Matt and his friend Aryn leave the same day. It's great though to hear about all the missionaries coming out to join the ranks! I heard we'll be topping off around 100,000 in the field by the end of the year!! Awesome. :) There's a kid here who just sent in his papers, so we're all guessing where he's gonna go. :) I remember those days...

Marilee - Hey! Now I have your email address so there's no excuse to not write me! ;) I'd love to hear from you and how you're doing. Love you!

Dad - Oh man… the best time of year: Halloween, football, and basketball seasons starting. That's really cool about that missionary fireside! It sounds like you had a pretty good experience with that.:)

A Utah plate in Puerto Rico

Anyway, it was a pretty sweet week this week. We did a lot of contacting, and we had this great experience. We were contacting in an urbanization in our area, and we saw this guy sitting outside his house. We talked to him and found out that he was a less active of a few years! We talked a bit more and he invited us over again later in the week. Then, not 3 minutes later, we talked to his neighbor, who is not a member, and he said he'd love to hear our message! Oh man that was really awesome. We were both super happy, and we were able to teach that less-active again. His neighbor was home but then had to leave for an emergency, so we'll hopefully be seeing him again this week. We also talked to the less active's neighbor on the other side, and she was really cool and so was the guy that was visiting her there. Besides that, we had some really spiritual lessons where we just taught pure doctrine and saw peoples' hearts start to change. We taught a less active about covenants and repentance, and he just straight told us what was stopping him from coming to church, as if it had been bothering him for a while and once he understood the doctrine, he decided to move on. It was really great. We had similar experiences with our investigators, too, and it's been great to be able to find some new people to teach this week.

It's really fantastic to be a missionary. :) I'm thankful that I have had this time to serve and that I have a little bit of time left. It's been a great adventure, and this week I want to testify of the Restoration. I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. After Christ's death and the death of His Apostles, the authority was lost, and for the children of God to return to Him, there needed to be a restoration of the authority. Without the authority, no ordinances can be done. I know and testify with all my heart that in the spring of 1820, a young man's humble prayer was answered, and Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. They told him that none of the other churches were true, and so in time, the priesthood was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, along with the ability to receive general revelation for the children of God. 12 apostles were also called, thus reestablishing the Church of Jesus Christ once more upon the earth. I know that this is true. Joseph was a prophet. He translated the Book of Mormon, which is the convincing evidence of the divinity of his calling and this church. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that He leads and guides His church today through President Thomas S. Monson. He loves us. :)

Thank you for everything! I enjoyed the package, and I'm sure Elder Mello will love his once he gets it out there on Dominica. It's here in the office for right now, but it'll get out there at some point haha. Thank you, I love you all so much. Talk to you soon. :)

--

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 71: Conference!

Well, I think it was a pretty good Conference, don't you? I think there were a lot of talks that applied, like Dad said. I went in with some questions I wanted answered, and some guidance, and I got it! Each one of the talks highlighted something that I wanted answered, some doubt that I had, and I really, really loved it. There were a lot about hope and peace, but Elder Cook’s was one I particularly enjoyed. :) I love Conference so much now, and I was just so sad when it was over; but it was good to hear the talks and all they had to say. :) And thanks for your experience Mom, that's really incredible. That's what the words of the prophets do. :)

It sounds like you had a decent time there in Four Corners area, and I hope you were all able to enjoy yourselves! It was a pretty crazy week, with a crazy Zone Leaders' Council on Thursday, Marilee's birthday. Some weird changes coming up, and I'll probably tell you next week when they all happen, but... yeah! Haha anyway, still in the Metro zone, and still watching great things pass. Each day I come to love Puerto Rico more and more, and it's amazing to see the miracles in some peoples' lives. For example, we had a great lesson with M… G…, who came to Conference for Sunday morning. She loved the message from Pres. Monson, and when we asked her if she believed that he was a prophet, she said yes! We then also taught about the Word of Wisdom and everything, and invited her to live it, and she said that if it's a commandment, then she has to live it. That was amazing to me, and her faith is what is going to help her through this process. She's so close to accepting a baptismal date, and I'm confident that she'll accept one shortly.

Easter Egg Hunt at the church

We also had a great lesson with N… and M…; we watched the Restoration video and kind of reviewed it with him to help him really understand it, and he loved it. We left it with him and he said he'd watch it again and again.

Also, we got some new investigators, who are actually old investigators, and it looks like they're going to be getting married this coming week! They have a weird situation where he went to jail for a bit and now they can get married and baptized like they wanted to before. We are also going to set a goal for them to come to church 3 times again before they're baptized, just to see if they're committed.

With less actives, Hno. F… came to Conference and even fellow-shipped Marta a little bit! That was really great, and he gave her a ride back home. We also taught J… H…, and he said he'd be going to Conference, but again, didn't follow through on his commitment. I'm not really sure what more to teach him. We've had a lot of really powerful lessons, but he hasn't really showed many fruits of repentance. We'll keep working though, and hopefully take the Elders' Quorum President to our next visit with him.

Anyway, that's kind of what we did this past week, besides Conference.

Anyway, just know that I love you all so very much, and I know that everything will work out for the best. Just remember what one of them said (I can't remember which) that the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives us the ability to find peace even when everything seems to be going wrong. I love you all so much, and I look forward to hearing from you again next week! :) And Mom, if I can, I'd like to skype on Mother's Day also, but I'll get back to you on that when I know. :)

Love you so so much!!

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 68: I've Never Been Happier

Hey y'all, it sounds like you've been having a pretty interesting week haha. I hope everything's all right, and that you're all doing great!

Mom - Well it sure is interesting to see how things are and have been changing back there. I hope you're doing all right. I'm glad you had a good time with Marilee at the movie. We've seen the posters in the streets here in Santurce, so I know what you were talking about. It looked weird. Anyway, Puerto Rico doesn't celebrate St. Patrick's, so Elder Durfee and I were the only ones in green on Sunday haha ... it was interesting. Know that I love you very much! And know that I keep trying to send pics, but the computer won't let me here at the university... I should be able to next week. :) Anyway, I love you Mom!!
Dad - I haven't gotten a letter from the Stake in forever haha.. like 8 or 9 months. I've only gotten like 3 in all. In fact I don't get much mail at all, but I don't mind - it's less for me to have to reply to haha. Anyway, so that's that. :) But yeah, moving to what happened this week...

We still are teaching R… who is preparing for Saturday to be baptized!! :) We had a great lesson with him last night with the bishop, and he is still committed for that date, and he says that he has been preparing for this day for a lot longer, and that he's been guided to us at this time so that he can change his life. I'm humbled and grateful that the Lord has been so merciful to me that I've been able to be a part of this process in teaching R…. He's a great young man with a very bright future. He will be a very firm member as he continues learning and growing in the gospel.

Also, M… G… is SO close, and we had a great lesson with her as well. We invited her to pray specifically about the Book of Mormon, and as we finished the lesson, she offered one of the sweetest, most sincere prayers I've ever heard. She asked in such a humble way to know if the Book of Mormon was true, and I was praying right along with her so she could get her answer. After the prayer, we sat in a silence for a few moments, and she said she felt great. She still doesn't feel as though she's gotten her answer, but I know that she will. She'll be faithful once she does get baptized. She walked to church because her car broke down! If that's not dedication, I don't know what is. 

We had a really great lesson with the Familia B…, and they're wonderful, and they're really receptive, but they just don't have a way to come to church. They don't have a car, and they don't live all that close to the church; and the bus that goes out to where they live doesn't serve on Sundays. Go figure. That makes it difficult for them to come to church, but we are going to be focusing on that particularly this week, on finding a way for them to come to church.

Also, N… A… came to church with his future wife M…l!! They're working toward marriage right now, and little by little he's coming along. We want to find out a way to help him progress faster, so we're probably going to help him focus more on the Book of Mormon.

It was a pretty good week, of course with its challenges. I'm exhausted, and feel more tired every day, but I've never been happier and more content in my life. :) There's a peace that comes from the Gospel, and I just feel good about life. I'm optimistic again, which is something I wasn't before I left, and so I really am thankful for everything that's happened here in my mission. :) I just have this feeling that it will all work out in the end. :) I love you all very much.

Sending you hugs also, con mucho amor,

--

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 66: 9 for the Miles we Ride Our Bikes!

Hey family! It sounds like you've been having a pretty good week, and I think it helps with the weather turning for the better, right?

Mom - Mom! Hey mom! Little by little (by small and simple things) things will keep getting better. Marilee’s  room looks great by the way! It looks very soothing to the soul. I love blue so much, because I think it's just so peaceful. That's why it's so nice here, especially when we ride past the ocean on a nice sunny day, because the ocean is a beautiful deep blue, and then the sky is its normal sky blue.

Dad - Dad! It's good to hear about the things improving, including the weather! Hopefully things will be nice and thawed in time for Easter haha. :) PR is gearing up for Holy Week again (it feels like that just barely happened), so that will be an interesting time haha. 

Marilee - HEY!! :)  Your new room looks great, including that great looking TV you got from somewhere familiar ;) Haha. And I like your llama! There aren't any here in PR but I know there are in Peru where Elder Hill is serving! However, if I see anything that has anything to do with llamas while I'm here, I'll make sure to get it for you, alright? :) Anyway, hope you are doing alright Marilee. Love you!

With Elder Durfee

Anyway, we had a great experience with a man named R... D... this week. He is SO receptive!! He is a fruit of the train contacting project, and he is just amazing. The sisters found him in the University, and he lives in Santurce. We taught him in the chapel twice this week, both times with members, and he's just so receptive to what we teach, accepts it all, and accepts him finding us as a miracle and a sign in his life that he should change. He has a baptismal date for the 23 of March, and he's set to go. He's already leaving drinking coffee and everything, and he's just so fantastic! I'm so grateful and excited to work with him!

We did have a cool experience on Sunday though, as we got off the train going to church. This guy named Mark started talking to us around the Las Lomas station, and he talked with us the whole way to Santurce, and then as we got off, he said he'd come to church with us! So he walked with us up to the chapel, and he stayed there and told us to pass by again on Tuesday! He's a pretty cool guy, but I don't know if he's really willing to hear things that aren't his opinion; but we'll definitely be passing by to see what we can do for him. He's already got a great testimony of the Atonement of Christ, so if we can help him see that His Gospel is how we can apply that Atonement in our lives, he'll come around.

We also had some other great lessons this week with investigators, such as N... A.... He and M... said they would get married, but didn't tell us a date in specific. However, they did say that they wanted it to be soon, so we're hoping for the best there! M... won't be here this week, but we're hoping to still teach N... .

A... G... also came to church this week, and we have a cita with him on Thursday. It's been a while since we've taught him, so we'll be verifying how their marriage plans are coming, and if he's been reading the Book of Mormon.

Other than that, we've been passing by some other new investigators and starting to teach them. There's a lot of potential, and a lot of great things happening in Santurce!

And PS, a fantastic coming home present for me would be a new quad of the new 2013 edition of the scriptures!!!

http://www.lds.org/scriptures/adjustments?lang=eng

They look fantastic, and so (hint hint) maybe a birthday/Christmas present? I'd like it in blue and silver if you can. :) Anyway, that's not for a little while, but look into it - it looks pretty sweet!!

Anyway, love you all and I hope you're all doing well. I pray for you always!

--

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission