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| New Mission President: President Cooper |
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
July 4, 2016
Happy Birthday America!!!! Let Freedom Ring!!!!
Well happy 4th of July to all of you friends and family! It has been a pretty good day for us here in Florida as well. We had a ward pancake breakfast in the morning that we went to and had a lot of fun. Ward activities are my favorite. It is just a fun time with the ward members.
Our Mission President, President Cusick, got replaced this past week. The new Mission President is President Cooper. We had a meeting where we got to know him and he is a really good guy.
We had a really good week. I felt like either the work had been slowing or the enthusiasm was slowing because the past week was a little difficult for us as a companionship. We went on an exchange with the Zone Leaders and I was able to speak spanish again for a day. It was a great exchange and we were both able to improve. After that we have been really doing some great work and seeing miracles.
Kevin who we had been teaching for a while got some anti information from friends and got stuck on revelations 22:18 and wouldnt drop it so we had to drop him. It is so sad because he has been to church and felt the spirit and he has felt the spirit reading in the Book of Mormon but doesn't care anymore. It all hinges on the Book of Mormon.
Before I had mentioned a family that we found through the non member husband who we met in a parking lot. Well turns out that the ward can not find Coral's, the mother of the 6 kids' records. We will have to re baptize her so that will most likely be within the next couple weeks.
Miracle time! Anytime we see someone walking down the road and we are driving in our car we just pull over and yell at them to come say a prayer with us. We did that to one lady and she came over to our car and prayed. After the prayer she was in tears because she had prayed the night before to have God put someone in her life that would help her improve her life. It was powerful testifying that we were put in her path for a reason. Miracles like that happen all the time. Unfortunately satan works really hard on them after that and it is usually hard to get in contact with them again and then they forget the miracle that happened. Really though they are not much different than all of us. We all forget the miracles God gives us when the stresses of life come in. We are too busy with work or think we dont have time for God or some thing bad happens and we complain. It is sad but we all do it. I would say every day even. I am really working on not complaining to God and really giving Him the respect that He deserves.
June 27, 2016
Family and Friends! Here we are again, the close of another month and I can not believe it!
I'm not going to lie this week was a little rough but I am not complaining because we have been super blessed recently with baptism and people progressing. We had a lot of things fall through this past week and a lot of rejection but we are still keeping our heads held high. On Saturday we actually had a couple hours of finding time so when we have some spare time we go to parking lots of shopping plaza's and talk with everyone there since we meet a lot more people there than tracting. We got kicked out of 3 different shopping centers and rejected a lot more than normal but we are still going to go back because the work of the Lord never stops even when we are rejected. When we are rejected we know we are doing things right because Christ was rejected His whole life.
Alex was not able to get baptized due to his depression hitting him hard this past week. He went into the hospital on Friday and has been in there since. I will give you more updates as we get more information since we don't know much currently.
Fred, who we have been teaching since I have got here finally got off of probation so now he is ready to be baptized! He has his baptismal date set for the 16th of July and really needs your prayers because he still needs to stop smoking. He has not missed a sacrament meeting since he has showed up here and everyone that meets him thinks he is already a member. He volunteers to help people move and all that good stuff. He is really a dry Mormon.
My testimony this week is that of true Happiness. In 2 Nephi 5:27 the people "lived after the manner of Happiness." How is this done? It is done by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
My least favorite word in the English dictionary is the word "try". We are not here to try and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ we are here to live it and if we truly do live it we will live after the manner of happiness. Jesus Christ didn't try and die for all of us, He DID die for all of us. My encouragement to all of you is to eliminate the word try out of your vocabulary and do, or do not.
I love you all and thank you all for your love and prayers!
Elder Gardner!
June 20, 2016
Hello Family and Friends!
This week will be a little bit longer than last week. Last Preparation day was really great we all got together as a mission and had a get together at the Beach. We all were fully clothed which made it really easy to spot our group. It was a hot day and most of all the missionaries im sure got sun burned on their calves from wearing shorts as well as on their necks from the dress shirts! I know we did.
We had a great week and ended the week of great with Cheryl's baptism on Saturday. Brother Peterson who is the member that we teach Cheryl with was able to baptize her and then she asked me to confirm her. She was super excited and it really was a great baptism. There was quite a few people at the baptism as well. We had 3 investigators at the baptism and they all loved it.
We should have another baptism this weekend of a guy named Alex. He lives in our apartment complex and the previous missionaries were teaching him but he had to go to the hospital due to a lot of depression issues he has. He got out and has come to church the past couple weeks and he brought up to us that he wanted to be baptized on the 25th because that is his birthday. He was at the baptism and loved it! Good things are happening! Keep him in your prayers that he doesn't have any depression problems that make him go back into the hospital so he can be baptized.
A couple weeks ago we found a guy in a parking lot and got a return appointment with him and went to that and found out that his wife and mother in law that live with him are both members! They are the best. They Him and Coral (his wife) Have 6 kids all under the age of 6... and the last 2 are twins. After we met them they have been coming to church since and they were at the baptism as well. They got up and bore their testimony of how they know that this church is true. It almost brought me to tears knowing that it was because of a simple contact that we brought a whole family back to church and they love it. That is what being a missionary is all about! There are so many miracles is we just talk with everyone and be obedient! I have a huge testimony of that.
During the baptismal program the kids that she has were a little rowdy and then when we went to the actual ordinance when we opened the doors to see the baptism the room was completely silent. The spirit was so strong and you could tell the kids felt it too.
Sorry its just a tadd late but I would love to say Happy Fathers Day to my father! I am extremely grateful for the many lessons I have learned from my Dad. He has been a great role model as to how to laugh, how to work hard, how to have fun, how to be an example, and most importantly how to love. He has always been my number one fan in anything that I do and he always wants me to be the best at everything I do. Happy Fathers Day Dad.
Much love from your favorite Elder,
Elder Gardner
June 13, 2016
Family and Friends!!
Sorry this email is going to be short but I promise it is with a lot of love! We are having a mission summer party and going to a beach! I am really excited! We get to wear shorts with our white legs!
Elder Gardner!
Sorry this email is going to be short but I promise it is with a lot of love! We are having a mission summer party and going to a beach! I am really excited! We get to wear shorts with our white legs!
We got a text from Alex who was supposed to get baptized on Saturday and he said he had his father in town so he couldnt get baptized... That fell through but we have a baptism of Cheryl this weekend and I am really pumped for that! She is so prepared.
We have had a great week and I am looking forward to this one!
Elder Gardner!
June 6th, 2016
Greetings Family and Friends,
There is a tropical storm that is coming into Florida today so we have to stay indoors for the rest of the day. We have to cancel all the appointments we have set. This should be exciting!
Alex has been doing great as well. We have been meeting with him quite frequently to teach him everything. He is not sure if he wants to have the baptism this weekend or next but we could have another one this weekend and then Cheryl's baptism on the 18th as well. The Lord has been blessing us a lot and I am really grateful for that.
This week I learned a valuable lesson. We had Bill's baptism on Saturday and that was fantastic but then after the baptism the appointments that we had set all canceled out. We parked the car and then got on our bikes to try and visit people and talk to everyone on the way. Everyone was rejecting us and it was hot and sweaty and I was wearing a shirt and tie and a goofy helmet that no one wears except missionaries. I just got to the point that in my head I complained to God and said "really God?! Come on!" I had forgotten that we had a baptism earlier that day. I had to repent of my ungratefulness.
Its sad to say but how often does that happen to all of us? How often do we all have something so great happen to us which is a blessing from God and then right when something bad happens to us we are already complaining to the very Creator that gave us those blessings? We need to always examine our thoughts and make sure we are not falling into being ungrateful for the things we have. God is great to all of us we just need to open our eyes and realize it.
I love being a missionary!
Elder Gardner
May 30, 2016
Hello Everyone!
Weeks are flying by in the service of the Lord! I love it but hate it at the same time! Missions go by so quick because we are constantly doing something. From the moment you wake up til the time your head hits the pillow you are constantly doing something and if you are not then you should be. I love being productive.
We have seen a lot of good things happen this week which is good! Bill came to church yesterday for the 2nd time so he is going to be baptized on Saturday! Hallelujah! He asked if I would baptize him so that pumped me up! We will send pictures of that next week.
Alex has been doing good as well. We met with him quite a bit and he loves learning more. He wasnt able to come to church but he is still on track to be baptized next month. If everything plays out as planned we should have 3 baptisms in a row. Bill, Alex, and then Cheryl. The Lord is blessing us big time!
Miracle time! We teach Bill every night at Mcdonalds and the other day we walk in and see a guy about to leave wearing MMA shorts so I talk to him a little about his life and turns out he is a pro MMA fighter. He then asked us about our life and he said wow I have been looking for a church with the name Jesus Christ in it and I had a dream about going to McDonald's this morning... Miracles Never cease! Unfortunately people forget all about those miracles when they hear that we are Mormon's...
This past week in my personal study I read a scripture that stuck out to me. 1st Corinthians 11:28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
How often when the Sacrament is passed around do we just eat of the bread and drink the water and not really focus on what is important? We are to examine ourselves and focus on what we need to improve to become better disciples of Christ. That is my challenge to all of you is to in Sacrament meeting this week examine yourself and see how much more uplifting your Sabbath is.
God is good! I love being a missionary!
Elder Gardner
pics
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| Companion's first time in the hot Florida sun |
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| New companion Elder May at the Gladys Knight concert |
pics
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| Cheryl and the Peterson's |
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| Ward BBQ fundraiser |
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| WML - Brother Rossell and his wife |
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| Alfonzo, Faith, Godtime and I |
May 23, 2016
Hello Anyone and Everyone! Family and Friends!
This week was great!!! First of all we had transfers this past week and I got a new companion and when I say new companion I do mean it. He is fresh from the MTC. I am training him to do missionary work. My new companion's name is Elder May. He is from Gilbert Arizona and is really white. His first full day we were biking around and he got really sun burnt. You will see a picture of that.
Elder May's first day we were biking to an appointment and talked with everyone on the way. We met one man named Alex, he is 21. We yelled at him from a distance and offered to say a prayer with him and he accepted so we went and sat down at a table by where he works and taught him the restoration and set his baptismal date. We met with him the next day and committed him to come to church and he did. He loved it too. he is another one on the radar.
Bill wont be able to be baptized this weekend either due to his work causing him to have to miss church. It will have to be pushed back another week. June looks like a good week for baptisms!
Cheryl is doing great still, she loves the Gospel so much. We had a lesson at the Petersons home again and they cooked dinner for us. Ill tell you what there is nothing better than a home cooked meal and then teaching a lesson at members home to a really solid investigator. That is the missionary dream right there! Next to baptisms.
Gladys Knight came to Florida!! She came to our mission and our stake and did an event with her choir she conducts. I had never heard of her until now but wow that was one of the coolest experiences I have had on my mission. I have never really heard too much Gospel music but it was great! It was like Motab but a little more exciting so it got me pumped up! She gave her testimony as well on how she came into the church. Her kids started investigating the church before she did. They got baptized and then told Gladys about the things in the church so she came and it all went uphill from there. It was a HUGE missionary tool. In order for members to get a ticket they had to invite a friend. We are excited to see the effects from her testimony.
We may not be famous but we all do have a testimony that we can share. It is the most valuable thing that we posses, more valuable than anything that money can buy. I would advise you all to share that. You better believe that I am! I love being a missionary!!!
Elder Gardner
May 16, 2016
Heeeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllllll
What a week! This week was great. It felt like a long week but it wasnt a bad week at all. We had a lot of things happen. We had a zone conference this past week and got trained on the basics of missionary work and how to teach repentance and baptize converts. Literally the basics are so key! We are teaching people what we learned in Primary. And still people cant understand it which is frustrating but its ok. He pulled pulled out the missionaries going home within the next 6 months and trained us all on how to use the tools we have learned here. He explained how we need to go home and be pro active and be adventurous not comfortable! There was so many things I learned from the mission president it is crazy.
Elder Farr left this morning, he is going to the mission home for a day and then flies home tomorrow so I am with a temporary companion for 2 days and then I get my next companion Wednesday. We will see what the Lord has in store for me now!
As for the people we are teaching Bill who was planning on getting baptized this weekend got sick and couldnt come to church so we have to bump his baptism back to the 28th. Keep him in your prayers his health is not doing so well right now. He is continuously growing and learning it is great to see.
Cheryl is always so solid. She loves learning about the gospel and it blows me away. Meeting people like her makes me realize how much Heavenly Father prepares His children. She is really looking forward to being baptized. We have a lesson a week at a members home who picks her up and brings her to her home for the lesson. They love having us over and teaching her in their home so its a win win situation.
The Africa family has been doing ok. They tried coming to church this past week but their car was not starting so they couldnt make it. We are going by later today to talk more and meet the wife/mother who we havent met yet.
I gave a talk this past week in Sacrament meeting as well so Dani and I gave a talk the same day! I didnt give a end of mission address though. I talked on how we can come unto Christ. I explained how we can do that by living the Gospel. As a missionary we invite other to come unto Christ and how they do that is by the restored Gospel! I explained how enduring to the end is key. In 1st Nephi chapter 8 Lehi talks about the Tree of Life. He talks about 2 types of people that ate the fruit, those that tasted and those that partook. The ones that tasted fell away but those that partook stayed and desired others to partake. We need to partake of the Gospel not taste of it. Each week we Partake of the sacrament and we need to make sure we don't just taste.
I love learning new things and having new experiences!!!
Elder Gardner
May 9, 2016
Family and Friends!!!
First off HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all you mothers out there!!!!!! You will never know how much good you do.
Well family I feel like it was just yesterday that I was able to see you all... Oh wait!!! It was great to see the Gardner Gang and some other faces. It blows my mind that that is my last time skyping home for the rest of my 2 years.
As for this week in Florida it was great! Luckily it wasnt too terribly hot this week but it will be really picking up soon. We have been able to teach a lot of people this week, Elder Farr doesnt like thinking about going home next week so we are just going to work just as hard if not harder this week because he goes home next week. With my lovely sister going home and my companion going home it has really helped me realize how fast time goes. I am sprinting to the end there is no other way to put it.
We have been teaching a guy named Bill who was a media referral that we got a couple weeks ago I am not sure if I have explained much about him. He has met a few members recently and has a real desire to be baptized. He is actually homeless currently but he does daily labor and gets money so he hopefully wont be homeless for too much longer. He came to church yesterday and loved it. He looked really good too. His baptism is going to be on the 21st and he is really excited for that. We had a little issue with the Bishopric but we were able to talk with them about the situation. My advice is to not judge. Everyone needs the Gospel. We are to find, teach, and baptize and that does not mean everyone except homeless. They need it just as much as anyone else if not more.
Godtime had a track meet this past weekend and since he is really the leader of the family they were not able to come to church. We did have a good lesson with Alfonzo, the father, and he said he does want the family to be baptized. We will have more information next week.
My testimony will be that of Joshua 3:5. "Sanctify yourselves for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you". Throughout my mission I have gained a testimony of that. If we Sanctify ourselves by being obedient to Gods commands then the Lord will do wonders among us. Repentance and Change is not just a one time deal. Change is something that needs to happen every day. If you are comfortable then the devil has won. Constantly Sanctify yourselves and watch the Lord do wonders among you.
Thank you all for your support. I love being a missionary.
Elder Gardner
5-2-2016
Family and Friends!
This week had its good and had its not so good but that there is usually no bad week in missionary work, I mean we share the best message on the face of the earth so how bad could it be?! We continue to see miracle after miracle and I am grateful for that. It is due to our exact obedience.
We ran into quite a few people that were somewhat nice but they just wanted to argue the Book of Mormon. I will tell you what, not much gets my blood boiling but when someone rejects the Book of Mormon or puts it down because they have read something on the internet or heard something from someone about it that gets me going! We ran into quite a few bashers and had a argument that we should have walked away from at the start but we didnt. The sad part is they had never read the Book of Mormon but read the internet to find out information about it rather than going to the source.
The family from Africa has been doing well, we were not able to meet with them this past week due to their aunt going into the hospital. They did come to church and enjoyed their time there. We will be going over Saturday to share more with them.
We have been teaching a guy named Bill who has been progressing well. He was actually a media referral. He talked with a member in Arizona when he lived there and the member encouraged him to read Moroni's promise and pray about it. He did and then moved here to Florida and ran into another member who referred him to us. He knows the Book of Mormon is true and has a sincere desire to change his life. Its amazing to see people change. I am so blessed to be able to witness and help someone to change their life.
Cheryl has been doing great as well of course. She is insanely prepared. Literally. We teach her at members house once a week and we give her pamphlets in advance to read and she reads the pamphlet and takes a ton of notes. She has already read most of the Gospel principles book. I dont even do that on my spare time.
I am really excited to see you my family on Mothers day! I can not believe Danielle is coming home this week. It makes me realize how precious this time is and how short it really is. I am going to do everything I can to bring the Gospel to everyone here. I have come to realize throughout the year and a half I have been how important this message is and how much God wants to bless us if we only be obedient. I will be eternally grateful for the Gospel and for my family.
Much Love,
Elder Gardner
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