Full Send Mode

Hola muy buenas!

Oh my goooooodness. What a week!

Elder Calderon and I have been in what we call FULL SEND MODE.

Jaja its been fantastic.

We set up and made a birthday happen in less than 10 minutes.

We weren't sure even if the birthday boy was going to be there until the very last minute, we invited less actives, friends of the church and recent converts and we just flew to the market trying to purchase all that is required for food, and I some how taught an English class during all of this, it was a blur, but some serious miracles have come from it. The friends of the church came to church as well as the less active. Waaaahoooo! And The birthday boy got enchiladas. We've been really trying to put into practice some of the teaching from this most recent zone conference. Its way out of my comfort zone all this member meetings and activities, but wow we're just sending it.

We had one of those lessons that just makes all the mission worth it.

We met with S

, he was just recently baptized now preparing to receive the priesthood, and it was as if he was just glowing. I couldn't believe it. His lessons always just turn into powerful testimonies from him testifying of the truths we teach him. They are powerful because he is completely and absolutely sincere.

Some great one liners from him.

"[In response to our asking how he felt know with the spirit] It works! I used to worry always worry about tomorrow, where am i going to get the money for food, what am i going to give my family, how will I get work? But now I worry about tomorrow, I am comfortable, I have hope for tomorrow."

"Jesus exists, and he is working."

^^ That one was really a game changer for me. I felt the spirit working bringing this gospel and its truth in even more clarity into my life. I love it.

We also met with our dear mission leader this week for correlation and it just turned into a mission question and answer and then just the most amazing opportunity for Elder Calderon and I to testify about our mission preparation and the amazing things the Lord has done for us. We all were crying and he thanked us. "You may not have any investigators outside, but you just helped a kid who has been in this church for 18 years and has had a really hard time feeling the spirit."

Maybe just maybe God knew I would need to tell my story to help him get off on his mission, maybe just maybe that's why I made my way across the world. I don't know, I just have been thinking a lot about that scripture that speaks about the worth of a soul. I think for a moment at least a millisecond I felt just how great.

We also had a full send contact. We met a man from china we got about half way through the contact and we went to get his number and he had to take a bus. We had to let him go, but Elder Calderon was not let that happen.... he just we full send and he started to chase the bus... we crossed the bridge and managed to cut it off and get on the same bus that we had let him take. We boarded and paid for tickets just to get this mans number. It was crazy, and worth it because he came to futbol.

That's another story, Elder Calderon and I the next day were contacting and I sometimes do thing just because its exciting. So I walked up to a couple of south Americans and started a conversation with one of them about his hat... haha and all of the sudden there little biking group became a large biking gang as more from there posse pulled up, we invited them all to come to futbol.

That night they all came, and destroyed everyone.... just murdered them all, they were all so good at futbol it was ridiculous. So good and so many that all the members got fed up and left... muy bien... but Elder calderon and i sat there alone, as all of them played, and we realized that everyone on the field was not a member. Not one... all were "investigators..." and it was amazing. We told them all to come over after playing and we straight preached to them all at the end of the match. It was great just testifying to these people, and they were really quite nice, maybe a little rough around the edges, but we had a great spiritual moment. And a few were interested afterwards. Sooo... big wins.

We had a thanksgiving dinner together as a zone and just had an amazing night. I miss you all, but I don't want to leave. Keep working hard and love the Lord.

Elder Gardner