Week 35: Changes, Again!

Well my goodness, it has already been 8 months. Wow. Anyway, another crazy week with a bunch of changes (when will they stop??) and I'll get to them in a bit! But it sounds like you had a pretty good week and a fun 24th of July! I hope the Batman movie was great! Haven't heard a lot about it here except that it's really cool haha. Anyway, to reply to your emails:

Mom - First off, it appears as though facebook has made some changes, judging from that picture you sent me. Goodness. But yes, feel free to update my facebook, now that you know how to use the facebook, I think that would be fine. I like that idea of making the ocean picture as that background picture, and the other one there as it is. And maybe if you could post my address, maybe I'll get a bit more mail haha, so that would be a cool idea too. So yeah! Feel free to do that, just don't make any huge changes or anything. Anyway, it sounds like it was quite the adventure taking Sunshine to Bear Lake! Whose idea was that?? Haha.. oh man, I can only imagine. But I hope you have a great birthday and anniversary in Las Vegas! Did you get the package I sent home?? I hope so, and I hope you like what's inside! :) Anyway, happy birthday Mom and have a great week. :)

Dad - That's so cool about the Dibbles! And those notes on what Elder Bowen said.. wow. Powerful. I hope they helped people, and I hope we can start seeing some change back home! And for the package... some Argentine food? I don't know if you already sent some and I just didn't get it, but maybe some of that? Um... and just whatever you want to send haha, I don't know. Cereal? Cereal would be good. :) Anything you think I'd like or you think would be useful! Oh, and if you could start watching out for BYU football updates...? I think they start later this month, and all I want are who they played, if they won, and what the score was. :) Thanks!

Marilee - I will write you separately :)

Anyway, so another crazy week, like I said. Wow. It started out normal enough, and Elder Mangelson and I were contacting a bunch and actually finding some cool people. We taught a cool investigator last Monday, and she's the friend of a member in the ward. It was a good lesson, and I think she can definitely progress! The crazy stuff happened on Thursday. Elder Mangelson had a meeting up in Bayamon for the district leaders, and Elder Lopez from Ponce came to work in Guayanilla with me. That wasn't crazy, that was normal. We had a pretty good day, and picked up a former investigator again and taught a SWEET first lesson with a man named Ishmael and his wife. It was a GREAT lesson. It was afterwards that the craziness started haha... I get a call from Elder Mangelson saying that he needs us back at the apartment because he needs to pack his stuff. He's been transferred to Mayaguez to train. What?? So we go back, and he gets all packed, but now Elder Lopez needs to go back to Ponce, so the ZLs come to pick him up, leaving me with Elder Mangelson and his new companion. So they take me to Yauco with the Yauco elders and leave me with them, and Elder Mangelson leaves to Mayaguez. So since then and up until now, we have been working in a trio (one of the hardest things ever, mind you), and we are covering the 2 areas once again. No district leader again, and ... GAH! Crazy! We've been running all over the place again and we have felt scattered and disorganized and stuff, but it's all good. We had a good planning session today, and so this week should be a good one!

Also, we were supposed to move today to a new apartment, but there's no water or electricity in the new house yet, so it may be tomorrow or Wednesday. Also, one of the senior missionaries, Sis. Whitaker, caught dengue and has been in critical condition for the past couple of days. We've been praying and fasting for her, and she is doing better, but still not feeling too good. Scary stuff.

Anyway, we have a few good investigators who are really progressing or who have some really good potential. Yesterday we visited a younger guy named Josue with the bishop, and he could really progress. He has a desire to learn about God and to fix his life around. He's great! Also, in Guanica, we're still trying to make progress with Eric, and trying to help him, and there's 2 brothers in Yauco that we're teaching right now that have a sincere desire to learn and do what is right. Jose, one of them, came to church yesterday, so that was good (in Yauco). Jonathan, his brother did not though. :( OH! That reminds me! I gave my first talk as a missionary here yesterday in Guayanilla. :) I spoke on how to prepare for a temple, and talked about the principles behind each law that is learned in the temple, namely the Laws of Obedience, Sacrifice, Chastity, and Consecration, and applied it to missionary work. I think it went alright. Anyway, besides that, we just work hard and do our best to help people come unto Christ. We have a lot to do this week, and a lot of people to visit, and even though it's a bit difficult to work in a trio, the work will still progress!

I love you so very much my family, and I hope you are all doing great! July is just about over, and now we begin August. I remember this time last year I started working at Kohl's and I was just so anxious to leave, and now I'm here in Guayanilla helping the Lord's Kingdom to grow! Mom, I hope you have a super happy birthday tomorrow, and a great time in Vegas! I love you all so much! I look forward to next week!

With much love,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 34: Plenty of Work to Do

Well family, it has been quite the week, and it has really flown by! There have been some more changes haha, and I'll get to that in a second.

Mom - First off... WHAT in the world happened to Sunshine??? My goodness!! Poor dog!! That parade looks like it was great, though. I bet is really cool to see all those kids there! Thank you for the pictures, and I did get the one with Marilee in the garden haha... funny funny Mom! Sounds like you're really enjoying facebook now! And we didn't have a district leader until just recently, and I'll get to that in a second.

Dad - I got the package with the insect repellent and stuff! And thank you for the two new tie clips, those are great! I love them, thank you. Also, I don't know if you sent a package before this one with Argentine food or whatever, but if you did I didn't get it. So.. yeah. But thank you so so much for this one, I am definitely enjoying the gummy candy! And thank you for doing that for AOL. And Michael Watson is going to Taiwan? Wow! That's pretty sweet, he'll do great there.
Marilee - Also by the way, thank you for the picture of Rex! I love it! And I already wrote you back. :)

Anyway, so it's been kind of a crazy week! What President said about being a leader hit me hard too, and Elder Durfee and I worked hard this week to be exactly obedient and to do an extra hour of study and everything. We were really really busy, and we visited with investigators in all 4 pueblos of Guanica, Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas. It's been crazy! We didn't have a boring moment during the week all week, and we've been seeing the blessings of the Lord start to come.

The members are starting to care more about us and trust us, and we're really working to gain back that trust from them. Anyway, this week was pretty crazy, and on Saturday, Elder Durfee and I were in Ponce with Felipe, the High Councilor of the Stake over missionary work, because Saturday was Elder Durfee's birthday, and Felipe took us out to lunch at Ponderosa Steakhouse. :) It was great!
*

During that time though, we also got a call from Sis. Stecker, one of the office missionaries, and she was wondering if we could go open the apartment up, because there were two missionaries there waiting to be let in. Then who should be on the phone but... Elder Mangelson! He and Elder Morrison returned after 12 long days (especially for them, because they had been living on 3 changes of clothes for the whole time), and so they are back!

Elder Mangelson and I are now companions again in Guayanilla and Peñuelas, and working hard to help this area grow, and he is the district leader again. Elder Morrison is back with Elder Durfee in Yauco and Guanica, and we also received news that we are moving to a new apartment, probably next P-day. I don't know how that will work yet, so I don't know what will happen with emailing and whatever, but.. yeah. Poor Elder Mangelson just had the worst time haha... I guess he got a cold sore, his shoes broke, his socks wore through, he crashed the mission van, got sick and was throwing up in the mission office, and didn't talk with President until last Friday. Anyway, those two had a pretty rough time, but we are now all together again! And according to them, President said that he's moving us into the nicest apartment in the mission, and that it's basically a palace. We'll see next week when it happens.

Anyway, besides that, this week was pretty good, and I have really loved my time with Elder Durfee. We learned a lot together, and I was really enjoying being companions with him. He's a great missionary! We visited Eric and Erica, investigators in Guanica, and we picked up a few new investigators, one being the sister of a less active member! It was just a good week overall, and I'll miss being his companion. But yesterday Elder Mangelson and I had some success, we contacted some cool people, and I am sure that with some faith, we will be able to really help this area grow. Especially since Bishop wants Peñuelas to have its own branch.

Anyway, a lot happened this week, but it was really all a blur. There was a lot of teaching and a lot of work, and I have been learning and growing a lot. Thank you so much for all you do. :) You are so great, and I hope you are all doing well! I pray for you always!!

Con muchísimo amor,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 33: Good News

My dear family, 

Well, it has been quite the week. It has basically flown by. I'll get to why in a little bit, but it's been good.  

Mom - Mom, mom, mom. You fell down again? I'm glad it's nothing worse than a bru though! It could have been much much worse, I know. And I can only imagine the heat, I'm glad I don't have to deal.... oh wait, I do. Ha ha and the rain doesn't help at all here, it just makes it more humid. And that bottle looks great! So does Dad! Ha ha, but I'm glad you're doing all right, and thanks for the pictures! I love pictures of you guys. :) (Though I did not get the one of Marilee in the garden...?)

Dad - I was able to open July letter, but not the May one. I liked the July one, though! I'm sorry it's been kind of hot over there, but I feel your pain, just like I was telling mom. Everything's all right, and it's been quite the adventure! But know that I'm doing all right now.

Marilee - no email this week?? What?? Anyway, hope you're doing great little sis! Only a month and a half left of summer!

Alright, here we go. So last week I was in the mission office in Bayamon with hardly any sleep and writing to family. After that, we... waited some more. Pres. Alvarado didn't show up until about 5:00. And what happened was Elder Morrison and Elder Mangelson went out to work in Guaynabo with the APs. Elder Durfee and I stayed to talk to President. Basically in my interview we talked about how I needed to stop being a follower, and start being the leader he wants me to be, and the one Heavenly Father knows I can become. He also talked about that with Elder Durfee, who was Elder Morrison's companion. Then he talked to us together, and told us to pack our things back into the car (just ours), to take the car to Yauco, and then once we got there, to break down the bunk beds so that there were only two. So now, us 2 are working in Guayanilla AND Yauco. A ward AND a branch. 4 pueblos: Guanica, Yauco, Guayanilla, and Peñuelas. Wow. He also said we are to only speak Spanish to each other, and that we need to get up at 5:30 every morning to have an extra hour of study time for the 12 week in-field training program. So that's what we did. So this whole past week has been crazy trying to work in 2 units, especially since the Bishop of Guayanilla just got back from his temple trip this past weekend, and the ward mission leader moved to the States. So it's been kind of crazy!

Anyway, just know that President always wants to help us grow, and even though it was a big move and a big change, ultimately I think it will help. In the past week it really has helped. Pres. Alvarado is a great man, and I know that he holds the keys to this mission, and as we follow his counsel, we'll see growth and change.

But it's been a great week, because Elder Durfee and I have been learning and growing together. He's from Grantsville Utah. Oh, that reminds me, Pres. talked to us about that, and how he doesn't want us to just be another couple of missionaries from Utah. He wants us to stand out, because he knows we can. So anyway, we've been learning and the apartment is now spotless ha ha. Working in Yauco has been great, because there hadn't been missionaries there for like a year, and so in the past few months it has been exploding. Also, the members there want the branch to grow, and they help a TON. We have like 8 or 9 investigators. Here in Guayanilla, we are going to be seeing some growth also I think, and we're meeting with the Bishop Wednesday night to make some plans.

There's a man named Eric, and his daughter Erika, who live in Guanica, with whom we are trying to focus. He's a really cool guy, and we're trying to set a baptismal date with him.

Also, Efrain in Yauco is a pretty cool guy too. He's had the Book of Mormon for like 30 years, and knows it's true! All that is stopping him from being baptized is the fact that his wife is Catholic, and he doesn't want any problems with that.

There is a young man in Yauco named Yan Garcia who just came back from the States, and we haven't met him yet. But we've heard that before he left for the States he was really excited and at the point of baptism! Also, a young guy in Guayanilla is the same way, so we're hoping to work with the both of them. Anyway, there's so much going through my head at the moment with all our investigators that I can't keep them straight! But we now have a car, which is good, and next week I'll hopefully finally be getting my Puerto Rican driver's license. Oh and by the way, I was wrong about how no amount of cleaning could help the apartment. It looks much better now. :) It's still an ugly place, but having it clean has helped a lot. And it feels different. There's a more peaceful spirit in the apartment now, which is I think part of the goal.

Anyway, know that I am doing well. :) I love you all, and thank you all for everything. You are truly the best family ever, and I couldn't ask for any better! It's been a pretty good week, and really, really busy. There's not a moment where we're not doing something. It's good, and the work in Yauco is growing greatly, and will be soon also in Guayanilla. I love you all so so much, and I hope you're all doing well! I pray for you every night!

With much much love,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 32: Denghe and Other Illnesses

My dearest family,

Wow! 7 months! it's amazing how fast time is flying by. It's hard to believe, to be completely honest. I can't even think about how 7 months ago we were driving down to Provo. And then to think of all the changes I've made and how much my life has been changed for the better in just these past 7 months, it's amazing. Anyway, a pretty decent week this past week, and I'll get there in a second!

Mom - It's interesting... I've had that same discussion with people on facebook about trek. People just don't understand the point behind it. I really like what Dad had to say about it, and I completely agree. And the thing about the concentration camps, are you serious?? My goodness. As somebody who has actually tried Trek, and done it, it is one of the best things ever, if you do it right. Just like anything else in the gospel, we have to do OUR part. We can't just read the Book of Mormon and expect to get an answer. We have to read, ponder, and then pray. We have to act. We can't just ask God for something, and then just sit around waiting for it to happen. Like Pres. Alvarado shared with me last week, Gordon B. Hinckley tells us to pray, and then get up off our knees and go to work. I say this to tie it into Trek in the sense that we can't just go on Trek to just go. We have to go and do OUR part and remember what the Pioneers did, and we have to try and learn from it. Not doing so is like reading the scriptures while listening to rock music, or praying with a vain repetition, or going to church because it's expected. If you didn't get something out of trek, it's because you didn't try. Faith is action. There is no witness until after a trial of our faith (Ether 12:6). There's a reason faith is the first principle of the Gospel: because it is absolutely necessary for our salvation, and is necessary to bring to pass other principles (such as repentance), and ordinances (such as baptism). Thus, we must show our faith and always be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and always be wanting to learn, from ALL righteous and uplifting experiences (i.e. Trek), and that is when we receive revelation, and truly understand what we must do in this life to return to Our Heavenly Father. :) Whew. Anyway, that's my thoughts on all that! And I didn't know the date of your anniversary as a member, that's really cool. :) And Mom, I want you to know that I feel like I can stand with the 2060 stripling warriors in saying that "we do not doubt, our mothers knew it." I don't doubt either, because my mother knows it. :) I love you Mom! Thank you for everything. :)

Dad - your Halloween ideas sound awesome. I'm sad I'm going to miss it... but I can't believe it's only 3 months until October! I expect some pictures from how things are going, and especially from Halloween night! I would definitely love to see how everything turns out, and what everything looks like. And that would be great, having some goop. As far as other stuff I'd need... probably a couple cans of mosquito repellant, because they're wanting us to wear that stuff all day now, since three missionaries have caught Dengue. It's a pretty bad disease, and can be fatal. Not commonly fatal, but can be. It's basically like the worst flu/fever ever. Body aches, vomiting, all that good stuff. So, maybe some mosquito repellant? And if you're wondering about any food or anything to send... just whatever gummy candies you think I'll like. :) I have discovered a great love for gummy candy, like Lifesavers gummies and stuff, so anything like that would be great! Thank you so so so much! Also, what I said about Trek above also applies to what you said. I totally agree, and I will keep doing my best to keep building my foundation. Anyway, know that I love you too, Dad, and that I wouldn't be the person I am now without all your support and all your help. You've always been there to turn to, and I feel like I can compare myself to Nephi or Moroni, because while they weren't as clear as the stripling warriors, by reading their words, they had a deep respect and love for their fathers. Likewise, I love you very much, Dad. :)

Marilee - I will reply to your email separately, sis!

Whew! Long one today! Haha, but this week was just kind of normal, although I had the beginnings of an ingrown toenail... However, Elder Morrison, who lives in our apartment, has had them before, and so he helped me out. He lifted up the edge that was going into my toe, and put some cotton under it, so now I just have to wait until the toenail grows over that, and I should be good! Any tips, Dad? Anyway, besides that, we spent a lot of the week over in Peñuelas, because we worked a lot in Guayanilla. We finally found some cool people, who are willing to talk to us, so hopefully we'll be able to start teaching them soon!  

On Friday, we had tradeoffs, and I went with Elder Morrison to Peñuelas, and we found a cool kid named Hector. He's 19, and we asked him if he wanted to learn more about Jesus. He said yes, so we'll be seeing him on Wednesday! He seems like he could really progress. Besides that, my bike has been behaving better this week, and both tires are still pumped up. However, my brakes (in just 2 months!) on the back tires got a little worn down, so I had to buy new ones. Oh well, such is life.

To be honest though, we basically focused on contacting this week, since we really don't have too many investigators. We literally only taught one investigator lesson. The rest were recent converts or with members. We taught Radames and his family, and they are just full of confusion. They need the Plan of Salvation, especially the Atonement, and they need it bad. They are just so worried about what happens to people after death, and who are the people who are going to el infierno and everything, and it's just frustrating, because the dad, who was baptized 11 years ago, but wasn't truly converted, has a deep knowledge of the Bible, and uses it (to the best of his understanding), and it just confuses everyone. They won't read the Book of Mormon, or come to church, so it's just frustrating. Anyway, the Tesch's, the senior couple here, said they'd love to help us out, and Elder Tesch is extremely knowledgeable. I think that will be good. :)

Other than that... not too much has happened this week. :\ A lot of dogs chased us around, and I got a good kick in on one! We were riding, and this dog started chasing me, and I kicked it good right in the face. :) Victory. And lots of other dogs like to chase us, and there's seriously a ton of them here in Guayanilla. Goodness. Um... and that's about it!

I'm sorry, it wasn't the most interesting week haha.. OH, we did get wet yesterday, because we got rained on a lot. And we taught Hno. and Hna. Caraballo, who are amazing members. Truly converted. Incredible. They gave us a lot of food, too, so that was nice. :) Anyway, besides that, nothing too interesting. Keep an eye out for tropical storms and hurricanes for me! And know that I love you all so very much, and keep you in my prayers always. I thank you for everything you do for me and for all your support. You are the best! Have a great 4th of July, I'll be out working, but I hope you guys have a blast! Take pictures and tell me how it goes! Let freedom ring!

I love you all so very very much, and look forward to hearing from you next week!

Con muchísimo amor

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 31: Routines

My dear family!

Well, tomorrow the 26th marks my 200 day mark… already. Don't think I'm counting down or whatever, it's just a cool milestone, and the time is flying by! It's been an interesting week, but I'll get to that in a second.

Mom - I have kind of felt like that too since I got to Guayanilla - the weeks are a bit longer here than they were in Caguas, I don't know why. Maybe it's because I spend most of the days just biking all over the place. This last week was just tiring though haha.. I remember yesterday I just had no desire to do anything, because this past week I got a cold. :( Ugh. Anyway, I had a nice runny nose and sore throat for a few days in there, so I think I was just a little bit more tired than usual when Sunday came around, and had absolutely no desire to go out in the heat. But we did, and it all worked out. :)  I love you Mom, and I hope you are doing great. :) And by the way, don't go too crazy on facebook… ;) Haha oh my goodness, sounds like you're having a great time with it!
Dad - That's really too bad about what happened there... That kind of stuff shouldn't happen, and like you said, especially not with a non-member there...Was the Avengers good though? What you saw? Because I've heard it's pretty good! And I'm glad that work is going well for you, and I hope it keeps getting better! Also, Mom is going crazy with facebook, huh? Haha goodness gracious, good ol' Mom. :) Anyway, I look forward to your mission experience next week, and know that I love you too Dad. :)
Marilee - I will email you separately.

Anyway, so a pretty interesting week! Besides getting sick, we had interviews on Tuesday. The way it works here, is it's basically like a Zone Conference, because Pres. Alvarado speaks to us, and then all the office missionaries and everyone speaks and stuff like that. So it was good. Originally we were going to go to Bayamón, but we ended up only having to go to Ponce for it. It was a good meeting, and my interview was really great! Pres. and I talked about a few things, and he said I was doing great, and that I was looking good. :) So it was a pretty good meeting, and a good interview. Also, Hna. Alvarado started getting everyone mormon.org profiles, and since mine was already done, she talked about it, and now everyone in my zone knows I've written a book haha, so... publicity I guess? Anyway, if you haven't checked it out already, you can search my name at mormon.org and check out my profile. :)

Besides interviews, it was a pretty rough week. We went up to Peñuelas a couple of times, and we contacted up there and stuff, but we didn't get any new investigators or anything. We're teaching the niece of a member couple up there, who is visiting from the Bronx. She's only going to be here for a couple more weeks until going to Ponce to be with her family, but she's really receptive, and said she'd read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She understands really everything we taught about the Restoration and Joseph Smith, and any doubts she had, we were able to clear up. Besides that, we're working with a part member less active family, but this past week they were too busy for us to talk to them, so now we have to wait until this Thursday when they're available again to teach. But yeah, it's just been a little frustrating, because we're not really getting anywhere with new investigators. However, the bishop said he'd help us out this week, and that he'd go out to visit with us to some people he knows, so that will be good!

Also, this week included "La Noche de San Juan," which is an event where everyone on the island, on Saturday night at midnight, went to swimming pools or went out to the beaches, and fell into the water 3 times backward, and then 3 times forward, to get rid of all their bad luck. Weird Puerto Rican traditions. Luckily we were back in our apartment and asleep by then haha.

Oh, and yesterday my back tire decided to go flat, bringing the number of patches I have used on my bike up to 3.

Besides all that, nothing too crazy happened this week. The main things were interviews, getting sick, the Noche de San Juan, biking to Peñuelas, and getting a flat tire. But I hope you're all doing really well, and know that I love you all very much and pray for you always! Thank you, as always, for your love and support. :)

With love and many prayers

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 30: Happy Pedaling

My dear family –

First off... WHAT?? Both my parents have a facebook account?? Wow. How are you liking it? ;) Haha...
Mom - Yeah, there's a lot of randomness on there, most definitely. Have you gotten the hang of it and stuff though? And thank you for the comics! Those are hilarious haha... I can picture both of them. But I'm glad the card got there. Did you get my package too? And yeah, I figured she'd be happy if I sent a picture. And the birthday sounds like it was good… lots of chocolate! Here (on Father’s day) we had another lunch thing after church for the fathers, so that was good.
Dad - I'm glad you got the card, and I hope you had a great Father's Day!! We stay pretty safe on our bikes. This week has been a bit crazy, because we finally found a way from Guayanilla to Peñuelas on our bikes, and the way down is down a windy hill road. It's not too windy, but we get going a little fast. :) We don't ride down that at night or anything, so don't be worried, it's a pretty safe ride. And thank you for cleaning out my emails! I was actually wondering about that, and how many I would have there. So thanks!
Marilee - I will respond to yours separately. :)

In Peñuelas

So… a bit of a crazy week with LOTS and LOTS of bike riding. Like I said earlier, we found a way to Peñuelas from Guayanilla on bike. It takes about 30/40 minutes of riding to get there, but we get there! We take water with us too because it's a good distance away. Anyway, so while we were there during this week, we passed by a lot of the members who we hadn't been able to visit, and also Ramón, the recent convert who baptized Zondy (news on Zondy to come shortly!). So it was good! The members up there like us a lot more it seems, because I think the members in Guayanilla get a little sick of us passing by all the time haha.. they're still nice, but it seems like the ones in Peñuelas are happier to see us, since they haven't seen us in a while, they're very receptive and very nice! Anyway, we're planning on working up there a lot more since we haven't been there for a while, and we've basically been through Guayanilla every day since I got transferred here and it's not all that big. Anyway, so that was the great discovery of the week!

We also picked up a new investigator this past week. She's from the Bronx and she's visiting with her aunt and uncle who live in Peñuelas, and so we started teaching her! We taught the lesson in Sunday School yesterday, and she said she liked it a lot and would like to learn more! So I don't know if we can baptize her here, but we can at least teach her so that when she goes back to New York in a couple of months she'll be ready for baptism. So that was pretty cool!

Also, news about Zondy. So I told you last week that he received the Priesthood and everything. Well, we walked into the chapel yesterday and guess who was wearing a suit?? ZONDY! We had also taught him about piercings, since he had the one in his eyebrow, and you know what he did? He stood up there on the spot, walked out onto his back porch, and THREW his piercing into the jungle! Amazing! So he was there on Sunday in his suit, without his piercing, and then he passed the Sacrament. :) It was so great to see, and he's only going to keep growing. Hopefully we can get him to the temple this November with the group that's going to Santo Domingo so he can do baptisms for the dead. But he's such a great guy and I think the ward will be able to help him out. :)

Anyway, besides that, it was basically a "get to know Peñuelas" week. It rained yesterday and we got kind of wet. Hurricane season is starting, and since I can't really watch the news or anything, maybe you could keep an eye out for any hurricanes coming our way? They say that since it's been so hot lately (it's been up in the 100's plus humidity), the hurricanes are going to be worse. We'll see. Anyway, other than that, we have interviews tomorrow up in Bayamón, but we're driving up there tonight. That'll be cool, but we lose a whole day of working, plus tonight, so we basically start our week on Wednesday. Oh well, it's all good. :) Puerto Rico is hot, but great, and I'm loving every minute!

Thank you my dear, dear family for all that you do for me and for all that you have ever done for me. Thank you for your support, and as always, I keep you in my heart and prayers! I love you all so so much!

Con muchísimo amor,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

PS: this picture is all for Dad for Father's Day! In Peñuelas I saw this train statue and immediately thought of Dad. And since it was Father's Day weekend, I had to take a picture. :) Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!!

Week 29: Baptism

My dear family,

First off, WOW! Elder Perry and two Seventies? That's incredible. It must have been a fantastic learning experience. It's interesting, I was actually just thinking about the priesthood activity of our ward and stake this past week, and wondered what could be done to make it better. I guess sending a member of the Twelve over there to rattle up the ward a bit is a great way! That's incredible! Wow. Just reading about the experience blows my mind haha.. wow.

Mom - So you got a facebook, huh? How do you like it? Once you get a hang of using it and stuff I may just let you take over my page until I get home. But we'll get there once you feel more comfortable with it and stuff. :) Anyway, that's so crazy. I can't get over the fact that you had Elder Perry speak in our ward. That's so crazy. And your new calling! Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate with that class haha... but I hope it is going well for you.
Dad - That sounds so intense. I can't even imagine what it was like to be instructed by Elder Perry about how to improve and rescue the priesthood holders. My goodness! I'm sure it was wonderful though to be able to listen to him and learn from his experience and everything. I hope the work progresses quickly back home and that the Stake is able to reactivate members and prospective elders.
Marilee - I will respond to you separately.

Well, getting to the week here, it was a little bit crazy, but I want to start off with the best news of all, I got my first baptism!! :) Zondy was baptized on June 9, which was also his birthday. :) It was a wonderful program, and he felt so great. What made it even better was that he was baptized by another recent convert, Ramon, and they have already started up a little friendship. On Sunday, Zondy was confirmed a member and received the Holy Ghost. Also, he was interviewed by bishop, and was found worthy to receive the Aaronic Priesthood, and that was conferred upon him as well. He called us last night and said he felt different, in a good way. :) It was amazing! Absolutely amazing, and I know that he's going to do great things, if he just stays on the path and remains active. He wants to help so much, and has been spreading the gospel among his friends and everything, so that's a great start! This Sunday we hope to have him bless the Sacrament, which would be amazing. So that was definitely the highlight of the week. :)

At Zondy's baptism

Besides that, on Wednesday we had our transfer meeting up in Trujillo Alto. The whole mission met and there were a few changes. Elder Mangelson and I stayed here in Guayanilla, though, so it didn't really affect us. It was cool to see the other missionaries though, and I was able to talk to Elder Hammer again which was really cool. Also, Tuesday, President Alvarado wanted everyone to stay inside to catch up on reading for the 90 day challenge I told you about. I was caught up and a little ahead, but Elder Mangelson was a little behind, so we spent a good portion of the day inside reading. So I basically just got more ahead. Right now I'm in Jeremiah 32 or something like that, which is a good 5 days ahead of schedule haha. It's been really cool to read the Old Testament, especially Isaiah. There's a lot of things in there about the Temple and everything that was really interesting to read about.

But basically other than that, it was just a normal week. A lot of contacting, riding around and stuff on the bikes. OH, I almost forgot. On Friday I think it was, we decided to ride our bikes up to Consejo Alto, which is an area here in Guayanilla. Basically, it's all mountain, and there's a member family with some less-active mission age boys up there, and we wanted to visit them. So we basically almost died because of the heat and the uphill struggle haha.. but we made it, and it turns out they weren't even there. :( So after our hour, hour and a half quest up there, we rode all the way back down in like 5 minutes. It was a bit crazy.

Anyway, nothing too cool besides the baptism and confirmation and everything, which was AWESOME!! But yeah, just a normal week with normal lessons and everything.
Oh, by the way, I did get your package! Thank you so much for everything. :) Just one little note... you sent the angel Moroni tie clip, and I was actually hoping for a Captain Moroni tie clip.. so I'll send a picture of it in another email. I just like it better because in my opinion it looks better. BUT I thank you so much for the angel Moroni one, and I have been wearing it too. :) I do like it, but I just like the Captain Moroni one a bit more. So if you don't want to buy another one I'll completely understand and use this one, because it still is really really nice. But yeah, thank you again so much for the package! You are definitely the best family ever. :) I sent home a package with a few things in it, and I may be sending home another one shortly.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing really well, and you are always in my prayers. :) I love you all and thank you so much for all your support and everything. I'd be nothing without you guys! I look forward to hearing from you again soon!

Love you!

Con mucho amor

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 28: Possible Transfers

My dear, dear family.

It has been a pretty interesting week, especially Saturday, and this week promises to be even crazier. I'll get to that in a second though.

Mom - First off, it is so good to hear that you made it home safe and sound. I'm glad you had a good time with your family down in Argentina. I bet it was great to see them all again! And I hope everything went well for you all. I was praying for the whole family down in Argentina, so I hope it was all okay. But I'm glad you made it home safe and that everything seemed to work out alright. I love you Mom, so much! And don't worry Mom, there are some really great members here that take care of us really well. The whole bishopric is always great to us, and they each usually feed us whenever we pass by them. There are some other members that are really great too, so we're taken care of here. :) And that picture... I'll be honest, it brought a tear to my eye when I saw the last box. Thank you for sharing that. :) But thank you for everything Mom. I wouldn't be the person I am without all you do for me. I love you.
Dad - She's from Ponce? Really? That's awesome! That's also where Pres. Alvarado is from, so that's cool. Ponce is huge though, so it doesn't surprise me. A lot of people are from Ponce. That's pretty cool though, that I live just 30 minutes away from where she's from. About the shirts though, the ones I have are good for right now, they're just going to be pretty ugly by the time my year mark rolls around I think. So I don't know, maybe if you want to wait until October-ish to send them or something? And do you need the sizes or whatever? And as always, thank you for your mission experience. It's great to read about every week!
Marilee - What?? No email this week? Why you little... GOOFNUT! :) You're a great little sister and I hope you have a great summer! Make it the best ever! And let me know how all your camps and activities and everything go! Love you!

So now on to the craziness. Almost. I'll talk about Zondy a little bit first, and then I'll talk about our crazy experience on Saturday. So Zondy has his baptismal date set for this week, on the 9th! That is really awesome. He has not smoked thus far, since we last asked him to stop, and he seems to be pushing forward strong with the faith that he can do it. We'll be reviewing the baptismal interview questions with him this week and setting up an interview with the Zone Leaders for him, and hopefully after transfers on Wednesday, we'll still be here to be a part of his baptism and confirmation! He is so humble and so ready to be baptized, and the ward loves him. I hope he can just keep pushing forward and reach his goal this Saturday. What's even cooler (I can't remember if I already told you) is that this Saturday is also his birthday. What better day is there to be baptized and born again than on the day you were born for the first time? :)

Anyway, NOW the craziness. So on Saturday Elder Mangelson and I went out to work after our morning studies, and then the Zone Leaders came to our house to drop off a car report, and called us to go home so we could just talk about that and stuff. When we get there, they were talking about how Pres. and Hna. Alvarado's kids were in the States, which meant that they are now full-time missionaries free to roam the island and that they would be doing interviews and apartment checks randomly. About 20 minutes after the ZL's left, Elder Mangelson gets a call from Pres. Alvarado saying he's outside the apartment. We all just froze and our hearts just stopped, because President is one intimidating man. So we go and let him in, and he walks in and then starts interviewing us. He pulled me aside first, and asked if I was happy, to which I responded that I hadn't been this happy in a long time, and he smiled and just said "that's all I needed to know." And then we talked a little bit about the state of the apartment (it's one of the worst in the mission), and he said that we could be doing better on keeping it clean. That is true, we aren't the most diligent on cleaning it all the time, but at the same time, the apartment is not a very nice place to live to begin with. Anyway, he interviewed everyone, and then said that we need to spend our P-day cleaning the house and everything. Also, I will be sending home my pink ties and some other stuff in a package soon, because President doesn't like pink ties, and kind of got after me for having them haha... oh well.

A view of a Guayanilla street

So yeah, that was the morning. Later that day, as we were going out to a part of Guayanilla, we passed some old lady who asked us to help her with her son who was out cold on the ground. Elder Mangelson ended up calling 911 while I tried to calm down the lady and talk to her, and then the ambulance and some cops showed up, and it just turned out that the guy was drunk and that the lady was crazy, and that the cops knew her really well haha. Goodness sakes. Saturday was probably the craziest day of my mission as of yet. 

However, this could all change this next week. We got a call from the Zone Leaders this morning telling us that P-day is from 9 to 5 today, and that after emailing and "light shopping" (I'll explain that in a bit), we are to clean the apartments as if we were leaving them to the owners, because on Wednesday, the entire mission is supposed to be packed up and meeting in Guaynabo for a transfer meeting. The trainers will know either tonight or tomorrow and they will need to be up in Bayamón tomorrow night for the new missionaries, and then everyone meets on Wednesday for the transfer meeting. Talk about crazy. So I technically don't even know if I'm going to be staying in Guayanilla right now haha. I'll let you know everything next week though. Oh, and that's why we can't buy too much today, because it's very possible that we could be being transferred and whatnot this Wednesday.

Anyway, so that's what the craziness was and is. Besides that and Zondy, we also met a 13 year old kid named Esteban who has been coming to church all his life and now wants to be baptized! Basically, we just need his mom's permission, but he is so ready. He says he's received an answer, and that he wants to have the Priesthood so he can pass the sacrament and everything. Amazing!! Other than that, just a normal week full of contacting, visiting members and less actives, and trying to teach investigators. We'll see what happens as we move forward this week, and I'll make sure I let you know what happens this week!

Anyway, it's always great to hear from you all, and I love being able to read about what's going on back home and to write about the mission life here in Puerto Rico. I pray for you always, and I hope that you are all doing very well. :) I love you all so very much, and look forward to hearing from you again next week!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 27: Six Months Ago

My dear family - It's hard to believe that almost 6 months have passed, just like Dad wrote to me! In two days I celebrate my 1/4 mark. I can't even believe it. It still feels like we drove into Provo just last week. Unbelievable. It's crazy how fast the time has been flying, and it's almost June already.

Mom - I'm so sorry to hear that about your dad. :( I hope all is going well down there, and that everything gets taken care of. I hope and pray that you have a safe trip, and that all works out there. I will keep praying for you. I love you, Mom!
Dad - A solar eclipse?? That's awesome! Did you get any pictures or anything by chance? Either way, that's really cool... The members here sometimes give us food, sometimes not. There's a couple families that we pass by, and when we do, they usually feed us, so that's nice. But overall we're pretty much on our own here haha. How did money and stuff work back then for you guys? And were transfers the same way, every 6 weeks? It's so cool to read about your mission, and I always look forward to it!
Marilee - You already know, but I'll respond to yours separately.

Anyway, this week had its low points, but overall, it was a pretty good week! We were able to work with Zondy really well, and he's gone like 9 or 10 days now without smoking, so he's on track for his new baptismal date of June 9! That actually turns out to be his birthday also, so what better day to be born again than on the day you were first born? I just hope I'm here to see it, since it's three days after transfers. I have a feeling I'll be staying in Guayanilla, but really nobody knows except President and the Lord haha. But we had a really great lesson with Zondy and a couple of members this past Thursday. The high councilor over missionary work and the first counselor in the Stake Presidency came down from Penuelas to this lesson, and it was an amazing lesson. They bore such powerful, sweet testimonies, and the Spirit was definitely there. Zondy is still progressing, and he's making the changes he needs to so as to be ready. I'd love to stay for his baptism because it would be my first! But the important thing is that he gets baptized, and keeps following on the path to exaltation.

Besides Zondy, we were able to go up to Penuelas on Saturday. The old Stake President, Hno. Doel Irizarry, is one great man. He drove all the way down from Penuelas to take us up there, then stayed with us all that afternoon as we contacted a referral and set up an appointment with him the next day, and visited a less active and a recent convert. Incredible. He then brought us back home later that day. And then on Sunday, he drove back down to pick us up, and take us to our appointment which he offered to hold in his home! Sadly, the man was busy, and said he'd call us... so hopefully we'll be able to get into contact with him and teach him, because he is looking for the truth, and I firmly believe that once we start teaching him and helping him come unto Christ, he will know that this is the true church. It's so good to start seeing some changes here in Guayanilla. :)

On top of that, we got a ton of referrals from the members this past week! So now we have a bunch of people to contact, and it's even better because the members are more willing to work with us, since they are worried about their friends. Also, one member brought a couple of her friends to church yesterday, and we were able to set up an appointment with them for this Thursday with the ward mission leader. So really, miracles can happen when the members truly put in a little effort to help out the missionaries. That's when the real growth comes, and it's been so great to finally see the changes and blessings that come when we work with the members, and seek to truly strengthen them and help them. While there were slow days, and days where we had to just contact and visit less actives, it was really good, because we started to see a little bit of change in the way we work with the members here. An overall good week. :)

Anyway, I'm doing pretty good here! It's getting hotter every day, and I get burnt a little bit, but it's all good. Puerto Rico is beautiful, and I'm loving it here. It's hard work, and every morning I wake up a little more tired, but it's good. :) Oh! Before I forget, one day this past week, I think Tuesday, my bike decided to start acting up on me. The back tire just deflated when we were far away from the apartment, so I tried pumping it back up, but it just deflated again. So I found the hole (the seam on the inside of the tube had just split) and tried to patch it. It held for a bit, but didn't really fix the problem, so I ended up having to buy another inner tube. That was obnoxious. So basically I had to take off and repair my back tire twice. Such a pain. But it's all good. Life is good, and keeps pushing forward. :)

I love you all so very much my dear family, and I hope you're all doing well. I keep you in my prayers morning and night, and I always look forward to hearing from you on Mondays. :) Mom, again, I hope all is going alright for you and everyone in Argentina, and I will keep them in my prayers as well. Thank you for your support and prayers and for everything. :) I love you!

Con mucho amor,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 26: There's Much Work to Do

Well, another week has come and gone already. Time just keeps pushing forward and we keep doing our best! It was great to hear about all your experiences this week, although the painful ones were not as nice to read haha.. but I'm glad you're all doing relatively well! 

Mom - First off, I am sorry you twisted your ankle! It's no fun... you know as well as I do the times where I rolled/twisted my ankle, so I completely understand what you're going through right now. But I hope it's getting better for you, and that you start feeling better soon! It's crazy to hear about what's going on down in Argentina, and I hope that's all working out well and everything. And Elder Paxman's lost 20 pounds?? I'd say that's about how much I've lost, but I don't have a scale or anything, so I don't know for sure. That's great though, I'm sure he's doing some great work down there. :)

Dad - Don't worry about not sending the package yet. I don't know when the next time is I'll be going to the office, but if you are looking for ideas, maybe you could send the new For Strength of Youth pamphlet? Elder Hammer got one and it's really cool, and the mission hasn't gotten them yet, so I think it'd be cool to have a copy if you could? Also, my Captain Moroni tie bar is getting pretty beat up (it was old before I left), so if you want or whatever, maybe you could send a new one? Thank you again for your experiences. It reminds me so much of my first few days here... and it's great to be able to read about your experiences. I really do look forward to reading them every week! And that Stake Conference sounds like it was incredible. You'll have to update me on that as well!

Marilee - I already wrote you back, sis. :)

Anyway, the week! I think I'm going to start writing about my week differently, since writing about it day-by-day gets a bit slow, since a lot of the days are the same with just riding around contacting or trying to find people. Basically I think from now on I'm going to just talk about our investigators and how they're doing, and anything cool that happened. But if you like the other way better, let me know! That way is more organized and everything so if you like it better, I wouldn't mind keeping it that way. We'll just try it out this way this week and see how you like it. 

So starting with Zondy, our prime investigator, we were able to teach him a few times this past week, and on Saturday morning he gave us a call and said that he didn't smoke that morning! We were very excited, and happy for him because it's a step in the right direction. We had to cancel his baptismal date for this coming weekend, but we're going to set a new one for him in June to work for. He did come to church yesterday, and didn't smoke yesterday either, so that was awesome. He really wants to change, and I know he wants to do the right thing, and he is such a humble young guy, and I just want the best for him. He's so close, but Satan is working hard on him. But he's going to come play basketball with us today, so that will be good for him to get out and everything.  

This past week was kind of rough because we weren't really able to work with the members very much. It's been difficult getting members to come with us, but this week we're going to try really hard to get members to come out with us, because it's when the members come out with us that the miracles start to happen. Something interesting from this week was on Wednesday, Elder Mangelson had a district leader meeting in Bayamon, so Elder Keller from Ponce came here to Guayanilla, and we worked for that day together. That night we had a meeting with the bishop, and he gave some good ideas to work better with the members, so that was really helpful. The problem was, on Sunday, al lot of the members were up in San Juan for some Army testing thing, since a lot of Puerto Ricans are in the Army. So yeah, it's been difficult working with the members, but I think we'll see some change in a bit here. 

With other investigators, we don't have a ton of other investigators right now... :( We found a really cool lady though, who has a family and everything! Her name is Priscilla, and I guess she's talked to the Sister Missionaries in Ponce, but lives in Guayanilla, so we're planning on talking to her and teaching her family. She seemed really cool and pretty interested, so I think there's some potential there. There are also a couple of other families we found, and we offered to help them move this past weekend, but when we passed by there, they weren't there. So that was too bad... but hopefully we'll be able to find them on another occasion and start teaching them. 

But yesterday we had a cool experience in Yauco. The Tesch's, which are the senior couple in our district, invited us over there (they work in all of Ponce), and we taught a less-active family, the Feliciano family, and we and the Yauco Elders helped in the blessing of the mom who was sick, and the dad who needed some strength. But it was a really cool experience and I think it will really help them progress.

Anyway, besides that, nothing too crazy happened this week. :) We keep progressing with Zondy, and helping him, and I think we'll be having a good week this week! I really hope that all is going well for you, and know that I love you very much. Thank you for all your support and all that you do. Thank you for everything my dear family! I love you!

Con muchisimo amor,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission