Week 90: I Love Puerto Rico, I Can Feel I'm Going to Miss It

Mom - Well... I'm sorry you had a rough time at the thing. It'll all get better with time, though. I know that's not much consolation, but... that's all I've got right now haha.. :S Anyway, I love you Mom and I hope you have a better week.

Dad - Well it sounds like Utah has gotten pretty hot… wow. Knowing my luck it'll be like 30 below this December. I'm resigned to the fact that I will be basically crippled the first few days back home haha... It gets down into the 70's here and I get a little chilly, so... the 20's of winter may be the death of me ;) Just kidding haha... I'll get used to it again.

Elder Gardner, Pres. Smartt, Sis. Smartt

Anyway, a rather normal week. We had a few really cool lessons, and there's this one investigator who is preparing for baptism on the 31st! We had a cool lesson on the Word of Wisdom, and we invited her to give us all her coffee to throw away, and she did! We then fasted this weekend so that she would have the strength to overcome that addiction. That was pretty cool. Other than that, we pretty much just need to find new investigators. The next couple weeks will be interesting, and we'll know the transfers this weekend, so I'll let you know those next week. I probably won't be going anywhere, but Elder Mello's been AP and in Guaynabo for a little while, so there might be changes there. Hopefully not though, he's awesome!

I don't really know what else to say... it was a rather uneventful week haha. Oh, Elder Peacock is going home, so you may run into him haha. But I think I'm going to try and end all my letters from here on out with a short testimony of some gospel truth.

I guess this week I'll testify of the power of the Holy Ghost in our learning. I didn't take it seriously before, even though I did it, but scripture study and prayer have become one of my favorite things. I love the morning hours to study and search the scriptures. I learn so much, and it's all little by little. "Line upon line and precept upon precept." The thing is, if we don't show the Lord that we treasure that light that He gives us, we can't continue to receive it - He won't provide it any more. I testify that the Holy Ghost truly can teach us the truth of all things (John 16:13-NT, Moroni 10:5-BoM), and that if we really try to listen to His voice, He can guide us and teach us. He gives us light, and He keeps us safe from the darkness. I know that revelation is true. There's nothing that separates us from the source of all truth, Our Heavenly Father, and we can turn to Him always to help us.

I love you all so much, and the time here on the mission has gone by so fast. Too fast. I love Puerto Rico and I can already feel that I'm going to miss it so much. It will always have a piece of my heart (especially Guayanilla!), because this people have touched me in a way that I can't explain. :)

Anyway, thanks for everything, and know that my prayers are with you always.

Love,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

PS: I have a picture with Pres. & Sis. Smartt!

Week 87: Another Week Gone. They Go By so Fast Nowadays :S

Well family, another week gone. They go by so fast nowadays... :S

Mom - Well... it's been an interesting first week as AP, but I'm sure it'll start to feel more normal soon haha… Anyway, it's been fun, and Elder Mello is great. But I'm glad you have been having fun in Yellowstone! It looks like it's a good time of the year to go, so I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves up there. :)

Dad - Well I'm glad the garden is doing well! Honestly I didn't realize how great of a blessing that really is to have a garden, and one of my goals for when I get home will be to help out with that more, and then to have my own once I can. I need to stay busy though, with whatever I can. That's pretty much the main goal for me I think.

 

Celebrating E. Ortiz' 1 yr Mark
E. Caballero, E. Ortiz, E. Gardner

Anyway, before I write anything else, I do want to clarify that the rules for email have changed, and it's a lot more open now to family and friends, so pretty much anyone can email me now if they want. :)

But yeah, so it was a pretty good week. Kind of weird just because we had training meetings all over the island on Wednesday and Thursday, and all the missionaries that I've known for a while were all asking me what it's like and how it's been since I got the assignment and stuff, and it was just kind of weird. But the meetings went really well and I liked them a lot!

We're also having a great time teaching our investigators. There's a guy getting baptized this weekend, and he's really cool! There's also this other lady who is going to get baptized on Sunday, and they're both progressing super well and they're pretty ready I think. :) But one of the best pieces of news I heard came from Guayanilla. Elder Hammer, my trainer, is finishing out his mission and training a new missionary down there for his last transfer, and he told me about one of the people that I had taught there... he's now the EQP!!! :) I was SO happy to hear that. :) 

But yeah, so other than that, not too much going on in the life of Elder Gardner. Hopefully we'll be trading out our Corolla this week for a new Chevy Cruze! (It's crazy how much things are changing since the Hastening the Work of Salvation Broadcast.) All missions are now going to use the Chevy Cruze.  Also, the iPads are going to be coming out soon. President has ours and is configuring it right now, so we'll get it soon I think. Anyway, I love you all so much, and it's always great to hear from you. :) No pics this week because of the computer, but I'll try next week! :) Anyway, love you all so much!!!

With love,

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 58: Dia de Reyes (Sunday)

Sigh... I don't know when I'll ever have a normal Pday again. :( It's frustrating. I only have 10 minutes today to write you guys, so probably no pictures, unless I can swing some kind of miracle. Anyway, to respond firstly:

Mom - Thank you so much for sharing that post from the blog, that really touched me. Guayanilla is a great area, and it will probably end up being my favorite one. :) I can't wait to take you there when we can go exploring the island together. :) Anyway, besides that, the changes sound interesting, and I hope everything works out all right.

Dad - Well, I can say I do not miss the cold! Here it averages about 80 degrees right now, so it's pretty nice in balmy Santurce haha :) I hope you are doing great with all the changes going on. And yeah, a journal is pretty sweet, and I've been trying to keep mine going on since I started, and I've only missed like 3 days in all, so I'm doing pretty good I think. :) Anyway, I hope everything works out and things start looking up. :\

Anyway, my first week as a zone leader, and we had zone council (meeting with all the ZLs) on Thursday. It was really good, and I learned a lot, and it was a really spiritual meeting. We talked a lot about how things in the mission are changing with all the current leaders getting ready to go home, including President in 6 months, and how we have to get ready for what's coming. It was really intense, but it was really good. It helped me open my eyes up a bit as zone leader. I still have a lot to learn, but it's been a good learning experience so far, and we'll see what happens as things keep changing and moving forward. 

Besides that, Elder Peacock and I have been having a really good week, and we have had some really good lessons. Sadly, our investigators haven't really wanted to progress, and we've been having some problems with them.

Also, last night we had the closing devotional for the choir thing, and it was SO spiritual. I was seriously just left weak afterwards, and then had to come back to the office to do numbers for the week. But it was really great, and that's the reason I don't have much time today to write you, because we have to be in the mission home at 1 for an activity to close the whole choir things.  But yeah, I'm supposed to get off right now, but I may have a bit more time in the mission home, I don't know yet. But know that I love you very much and thank you for everything! Things will start looking up I'm sure, if we just trust in the Lord. 

Anyway, I love you very much, Happy 3 Kings Day, and I'll look forward to hearing from you next week. :) Love you!!!

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 39: Isaac and One Angry Dog

My dear, dear family!

Well, it's been an eventful week, to say the least haha... lots to say!

Mom - Thank you so much for your testimony and for your words of support and strength. Thanks for all that you do, mom. I love you!

Dad - Well I sure look forward to seeing what you've got planned for Halloween this year! You'll have to take pictures and everything and let me see how it all works out. It's just around the corner! And thank you for the notes on what Elder Bowen said, that is really enlightening.

Marilee - I will write you back separately.

The sky the night before Isaac was supposed to hit.

Well, what the week. Wow. Ups and downs and... kind of tough. But this last week Puerto Rico was put on "Storm Warning" for Tropical Storm Isaac. We were told to make sure we had enough water bottled in the house, that the car had gas in it, and that our phones were charged. I was excited to see this storm, since I'd never seen one. There was a big hulabaloo about everything, and... the storm never hit. It was out like 80 miles haha.. we caught the tail end I guess and got a ton of rain and a little wind, but it wasn't at all bad. Ernesto, from a month ago, was worse than this and we hadn't even heard about that storm. So that was a bit of a let down haha.

Well, our investigator with a baptismal date, Josué, is no longer living in Puerto Rico. :( We passed by on Saturday to teach him and follow up on his baptismal date, but when we got there, his grandma told us that he had moved to New York with his parents. I was just crushed. We finally, after all our work, got a little success, and then he moved away. Oh man... it was rough. But it's all good now, and we pushed forward and keep pushing forward, and are working with some other investigators to help them progress. But that was that.

And then yesterday. Mom, be warned, what you're about to read may contain material upsetting for missionary mothers. So we were riding our bikes through the pueblo, or the main area of Guayanilla, and were about to cross this bridge. There's always a dog there that likes to chase us, and we're usually fast enough to outrun him. Sometimes I'll try and kick him away because he's close at my heels and is trying to bite. Well, this time, we were stuck behind some cars and could therefore not move at all. I was actually completely stopped, and this dang dog just stares at me for a minute, and then attacks! Before I could react it had bit my leg. Wow. So I kicked it off, got another kick in its face, and then rode away as fast as I could (the cars had moved by this time). When we got to a stopping place, I called Hna. Visker, the mission nurse, as to what I should do, and she helped me through all the steps on what to do and everything, and that she needed someone to send a picture of the bite to her and Hna. Alvarado to see if it needed stitches.

So we went to this one lady's house, Rosie, to see what she could do for us, because she had offered to feed us. Her husband wasn't home though, so we had to stay outside the house. But we got it all cleaned up with the hose and some soap, and then we took a picture and sent it to Hna. Alvarado. Rosie then cleaned it with some alcohol and then put gauze on it, and then she gave us food, by which time her husband had come home. Anyway, long story short (too late, right?), no stitches, no rabies, no nothing. Just an ugly looking wound that a member, Hno. Caraballo, said would leave a nice scar. :) I've got a picture of it I'll be sending soon, and we'll see what Dad thinks about it.

Hna. Visker just said to keep it clean, keep it covered, and then to keep her updated on everything and how it goes. Her biggest concern is infection, so we'll keep an eye on it. But no worries, I'm fine, and actually have felt pretty good since then. I'm in good hands, and everything is going okay. :) I'm happy, content, and really, loving the mission. Even with dogs chasing us and (in my case) biting me, it's all good. I'm doing great. :)

Besides all that, we had some really good lessons with our other investigators, Ishmael and Edison. Ishmael is amazing, and is SO close, but has that one little doubt. And with Edison, we taught about church attendance, and we were so close to having him come, but he didn't show up.

Anyway, things are going great, and the leg is healing up. It's not too bad, really, I was pretty lucky. :) Transfers are on Wednesday so I'll let you know what happens next week. Thank you for everything and for all that you do. I love you all so much and keep you in my prayers always. You are GREAT and just think... 4 months and we get a phone/skype call! :) Take care my dear family, and I look forward to next week!

Con mucho amor

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission

Week 38: Nothing Short of a Miracle

Mi querida familia,

Well, another week has come and gone here in Guayanilla! And boy was it another tough week haha.. wow. But a great experience, especially yesterday. Basically nothing short of a miracle to me. :) We'll get there in a second though.

Mom - I'm sorry about your braces situation and for what happened at Kohl's haha, but I'm glad everything worked out okay! It's weird to think that a year ago I was walking around in Kohl's as an employee. Whoa. But I hope that all worked out for you! :)

Dad - That is a great talk, I enjoyed it! It really applies to the members here, too, because in this ward at least, they have a hard time wanting to do missionary work. Ugh. So that talk was really interesting to me. And yes, keep me posted on the Halloween stuff!! Oh, and let me know how the BYU Football team does!! If I'm right, they start this weekend, yes? Anyway, just the scores and who they played and stuff. :) Thanks!

Marilee - I will write you separately.

Well. This week was also kind of rough in the sense that our investigators just couldn't meet with us, and we therefore couldn't get many member present lessons. As a mission, the goal is to have 10 each week, and it was just so hard to even teach our investigators, let alone with a member present. Basically all week we were contacting and trying to find people, and we did finally find a couple of people to pass by and start teaching this week. There's this one guy, named Antonio, who really seemed interested and seems pretty prepared already. He wants his family to be raised in righteousness and wants to follow Christ, and that's exactly what we're here offering! So hopefully we'll be able to teach him more about this Gospel and how it can help his family.

Sign at the beach: Entering Danger Zone - Tsunami

But really, the great stuff happened yesterday. At church, after a couple of weeks without an investigator in church, we had some there!!! One was the husband of a member, who we haven't taught yet, another was Rosa, an investigator we've been teaching for a little while, and then Doel and Narayan, the husband and son of a member in the ward. It was awesome!! Then after church, we went to go teach Josué, another investigator. And it was a really great lesson. We read 3 Nephi 11 with him, and at the end, after he had told us that he wants a new beginning and to start over, we promised him these blessings through baptism and repentance, and then invited him to be baptized. And he accepted!! He has a baptismal date set for this 15th of September!! It was great. :) Then we went and taught another guy the first lesson, and he was really accepting and open, although he didn't want the Book of Mormon just because he doesn't read much. We'll work with that. But overall, it was a great lesson, and he accepted pretty much everything! So yeah, yesterday is when all the success came, after much prayer and pleading with the Lord. I had been feeling pretty down because we ride our bikes around all day every day looking for people to teach, and trying to teach our investigators, but it just feels like sometimes we're not doing anything. Nobody wants to listen and nothing happens. So when yesterday happened and we finally had some fruits of our labors, it was really nice. It was an answer to my prayers, and I was just so happy and thankful to my Father in Heaven who has heard my prayers and is giving us success now in Guayanilla. Like I said, nothing short of a miracle. :)

Oh, another interesting thing from this week, we had a FHE at the bishop's on Friday, and you know what movie they showed? 17 MIRACLES! And they don't make it in Spanish, so it was in English with Spanish subtitles. I was in heaven. :) I love that movie SO much, and to be able to see it here reminded me about everything about the pioneers from back home, especially Trek. Such a powerful movie, and a powerful message. It was great to be able to watch it here. :)

Anyway, a bit of a difficult week, but we're starting to see progress here in Guayanilla. We are getting a bunch of investigators now, and I'm hoping to see the members help us out a bit more in the coming weeks. It's hard hard work, but it's so rewarding. :) Oh! And I got the package with the slime and stuff, thank you so much. :) I put the slime in my tires, so they're good to go now! Anyway, thank you so much for all that you do, and for all your support and love. I love you all so very much, and hope that you all are doing great!!

Con mucho amor,

--

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 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 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 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

Week 23: Transferred!

My dear family, today marks officially my 5 month mark here in Puerto Rico! Crazy, eh? It's been quite the crazy week, and I'll get to all that in a minute, but I do want to say that I did get your package, thank you! I appreciate everything that is in it, and thank you so much for your love and support. Anyway, to reply to your emails first.

Mom - Well I must say, your news about Elder Reed is great. I bet he's doing great up there. What you were saying about the ballroom festival/event thingy sounds pretty crazy. I hope Braydon decides to go on a mission, because no matter what happens, the mission will make things so much better for him. There's an elder here who got a scholarship to play basketball at Duke University. DUKE. That's like, one of the best basketball programs in the nation. And he came on a mission. I hope that Marilee makes it to the DC Ballroom, that would be really great for her! And thanks for the tips for the rust stains, I'll be trying that as soon as I can haha. Also, thank you for sending me the parts from my setting apart, that was really cool to read through again, and helpful as well. So thank you Mom, I love you. :) And a week from this coming Sunday I'll be calling!
Dad - Thank you for the answers to those questions, and I will watch for the package! Thanks for that, it will help a lot I think. And I hope you enjoyed your stay in Park City and that your conference went well, even if it wasn't too enjoyable haha. And I can't believe the Jazz actually made it! It's too bad that they ended up playing the Spurs, because they always lose to the Spurs, but maybe they'll pull off some kind of miracle... but I doubt it. I'll look forward to next week's update on them! And good luck with the garden, I hope it does well this year and that there's a good harvest this fall.
Marilee - I'll respond to your email separately.

And now the craziness of this past week!

I'll start with last Monday. That wasn't too bad. We didn't go bowling or play basketball or anything, and kind of just cleaned the house and did a few other things until we went out to work. We then visited the Gonzalez family, and then came home to some interesting news! The Zone Leaders, who lived with us, got the transfer information from the AP's, and so told us everything. We knew that Elder Hammer was going to San Germán to be a district leader, but I figured I would stay in Caguas to keep the area going and everything. Nope. I got the word that I was being transferred to Guayanilla, an area in the southwestern area of the island, next to Ponce. Basically, I was being moved to one of the hottest parts of the island. Ponce is the hottest, and Guayanilla is pretty close there. Also, one of the ZL's, Elder Campbell, was being transferred back to Ponce as well, so he's still one of my ZL's. But since we don't live with the ZL's anymore, I won't have easy access to the mail anymore unfortunately... so I'll get my mail whenever I can now. Besides that, the Ponce zone is far away from the office in Bayamón, even more so here in Guayanilla. But it's all good. More details in a bit about Guayanilla.

Tuesday though, I was still in Caguas with Elder Hammer, and we started out the day with studies and everything, and then had our ward correlation meeting. After, Elder Hammer and I went out and basically said goodbye to all our investigators, and passed by and either gave them the new missionaries' number in person or else wrote it on a card and left it for them. That night we went out with the bishopric and everything, and then came home to pack up. That's how the night finished.

Wednesday was transfer day, and I spent my morning packing everything else up. Around 10:30 we met at the Caguas Stake Center with a bunch of other missionaries, and transferred. My new companion is Elder Mangelson, and he is great! He's from Sacramento California, he's been out a year and a half, and he's the district leader here in Guayanilla and Yauco. He's a great missionary, and I think I'll be able to learn a lot from him. We also live with Elders Morrison and Williamson, who have been out 9 months, and work in Yauco. But we got here to Guayanilla (we also cover the pueblo next to us, Peñuelas), and then went out to work. What's cool is, I finally got to use my bike! However, since I hadn't used it, my rear end has been sore since Wednesday haha… but it's getting better. We also don't have a car in this area, which makes it hard to visit Peñuelas, because the only ways to get there are up twisty, curvy, mountain roads that are really skinny, which makes it dangerous to bike up. We walked most of the way on Thursday, and then got a ride from a member the rest of the way up, but it's hard to work over there without a car. Anyway, still with Wednesday, we visited the ward mission leader, and then took our investigator, Zondy, to institute that night. He's a really great guy, and he's got a baptismal date for the 12 of May! He is trying really hard to quit smoking, and once he gets that done, he'll be ready. He's a really great investigator, and is more proactive than any other investigator I had in Caguas. But yeah, that's basically how Wednesday was.

Thursday, like I said, we walked most of the way to Peñuelas, and then got a ride there from a member, after feeding us some Chinese Puerto Rican food (really weird stuff). We visited a recent convert up there, and then visited some of the members there. Then the high counselor over missionary work gave us a ride back down to Guayanilla, and that's basically how that day went.

Friday, we walked for most of the day, passing by some investigators and less actives and such, but nobody was home for whatever reason. So that day was kind of long haha... We went back out on the bikes later that night, and passed by a few more people, but weren't really able to teach many lessons.

Saturday was kind of the same deal, although we did go biking up in the hills at night for a little while, and found a pretty cool guy named Miguel. He couldn't really meet that night, so he said to come back on Sunday.

Sunday, we had the Ponce Stake Conference, so we had our meeting over in Ponce, where Pres. Alvarado was and everything. Also, we heard him speak, as well as the Ponce Stake President, and from the Santo Domingo Temple President. So overall, it was a good meeting. Afterward, we came home, ate, and then headed out to work. We passed by some people, and then later that night, we were able to visit with Miguel. We taught him a pretty decent lesson, but he said he wanted to learn "poco a poco" and didn't want to rush anything. So... that will be interesting to work with. But he's a pretty cool guy, and I think there's some potential there. Then we biked back in the dark! Don't worry, I have lights and everything, and the roads aren't too busy here, especially at night. And there are street lights, which help.

And now today. We found out from Salt Lake that there's going to be a delay on putting money on the cards, which means that today, after transfers, when none of us really have food, and we need to do laundry, we're all pretty much completely out of money and can't buy food or do laundry or anything haha. So... that will be an adventure. We'll hopefully get money soon though, and we may go shopping on a day that isn't P-day because we're going to need food. We'll see what happens though!

Anyway, Guayanilla is pretty crazy. It's definitely different than Caguas. Caguas was a big city, and Guayanilla has one main road. The rest is campo. It's a pretty agricultural area, with orchards of banana trees and such. We're close to the ocean, but we can't really see it from where we typically work. There's an urbanización called "La Playa" where we did some service the other day from where you can see the ocean, but the beaches aren't very nice or anything. It was cool to see the ocean though. Also, it's pretty dang hot here, and it's going to get hotter as we move into summer. However, I'm getting a nice tan, so that's a plus. :) It's definitely different biking everywhere, since before I was always just in the car because Elder Hammer couldn't ride; but it's been good, and it will help me lose some weight I hope.

But thank you again for the package (I can't listen to the CD's right now because we don't have a car... we have a DVD player in the house though, so I might listen to them there), I really appreciate it. The ties are great, and it's good to have a few more pairs of gym shorts and everything. But again, thank you so much for all your support, and it was so good to hear how you're all doing! I love you all very much, and pray for you every day. I hope you are all doing well, and I look forward to hearing from you again next week. I love you very much!

NOTE: So I forgot to mention that during my last day in Caguas, the sister missionaries wanted us to help them with a project that President had asked them to do. He wanted a statue or something of Jesus sitting on a bench with a sign next to it that said "This seat is for you" with www.mormon.org underneath, so people could take pictures with it. A pretty cool idea if done right. So we show up to the Caguas plaza that morning to help them, and I guess they had a less active lady help them out, and she had sculpted the head, hands, and feet out of clay. To be honest, I think it looked a little creepy. So then they made the body out of boxes, while Elder Hammer and I made the sandals haha. And then when it was all put together, we all got pictures with it. So that's what that is supposed to be.

From Puerto Rico with love,

--

Elder Kimball Ray Gardner

Puerto Rico San Juan Mission