LIFE IS CRAZY.

 Me with Sariel y Camilia my favorite investigators

 The missionaries of Barrio Estacion! And Leidy our soon to be missionary!

This week was quite the week! I experienced every different emotion but at the end of every day I could easily say that I saw the hand of the Lord in this work!

Trifon, who was set to be baptized, was traveling the weekend before the week of his baptism. When we went to visit him after his travels he told us that he has a major problem and can't meet with us anymore and thus, won’t be baptized. Needless to say we were devastated. I have never felt so sad. I love him so much and was so excited for him to make this covenant, but I know the Lord is in control of things and that his time will come when he is ready to be baptized. But before we left he said something beautiful "I'm sorry Hermanitas, but know that I will never forget my Heavenly Father." I know that our Father in Heaven is looking out for him and that it'll all work out in the end. As we were walking down the street Hermana Bolaños and I both had tears streaming down our faces, but just 30 minutes later the Lord blessed us! We were able to teach a family that we have been trying to contact for months. They were so prepared for us and asked us how they can be better parents for their children. The spirit was so strong as we testified of the strength the teachings of the Church bring the family. We were so blessed to find this family and I have faith that they will progress in the gospel as we teach them more! Trifon may have not been ready to be baptized, but the Lord knew exactly who we needed to talk to and who is ready to progress by putting this family in our path!

Some funny things that happened this week... I was saying goodbye to an investigator in the street and as I turned around to leave I smacked my face with a cable thing that stretches from the light posts. Super funny. I was also walking close to the edge of a curb and my foot that was the furthest away from the curb slipped off and I ended up doing a 90 degree turn and fell perfectly in a sitting position on the edge of the curb. It was hilarious. We were dying. My companion also had the opportunity to almost step on dead mice in the street three times. So funny.

So the part you all are waiting for... My first change of area!!!!!!! I am going to the area Colcapirua 3 (I definitely can't pronounce this area haha) in the zone Alamos in Cochabamba. It is a new area for sisters. Hermana Burton and Hermana Perez opened this area this last transfer. Hermana Burton is finishing her mission tomorrow. Hermana Perez is from Guatemala and is new in the mission so I will be finishing her training, which I am super excited to do! It is a lot of responsibility, but I am excited for what I am going to learn. I was talking with Hermana Burton (who is my "sister" in the mission) and she told me it's a lot more rustic than the area I am in right now... haha so that will be fun. It sounds like I will definitely be putting the bug spray I brought to use. I am excited for this area--it sounds more like the "Bolivia" I was expecting cause right now, for the most part I feel like I could be in the USA. I am so sad to leave everyone here. I have so many beautiful memories and friendships, but I know the Lord has more in store for me in Cochabamba. My companion is super sad and is not happy with the transfer, but it'll all work out. I'll be leaving tomorrow in the morning to Cochabamba. I am sending one of my suitcases with all my heavy stuff by bus to Cochabamba because now we can only have 30 kilos of stuff to fly... I am excited to see what the next couple months bring!

I love you all so much! Have a great week! I'll be praying for you!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Gardiner

Hey fam!

I can't believe another week has come and gone! I hope December is treating you well! Here in Sucre it is super hot. Muchismo calor. But it's great. My favorite thing though is that there are random days that are cold and rainy. I love them for some reason. The weather is crazy here.

The work is moving along here! There is a new member in the ward named Tresea, she just moved here to start studying at the university. She was baptized a month ago in Villason (right by La Quiaca). She wants to share the gospel with everyone and has helped us teach some lessons and one day wants to be a missionary! It is cool to be able to help her learn more and prepare for the mission! Also, Pablo who was baptized in October blessed the sacrament yesterday! It was so great to see that and watch him progress in the gospel!

We were walking past some stores and I felt like we needed to talk to a man that was behind the counter in one of these stores. It turns out he has many friends that are members and has come to church before too! He was super receptive and wants to learn more! We have a lesson set with him for this Saturday so hopefully that goes well! I have learned the importance of never dismissing a thought to talk to someone. Sometimes we get straight up rejected, but most of the time the people are much more receptive than I was expecting! This work is so amazing and it is so beautiful to have the opportunity to devote all of my days to talk about the gospel!

I had a cool experience with prayer this week. One day I was feeling a little off and didn't know why. I ended up going into the bathroom and praying out loud. I really just talked to my Heavenly Father and told him everything that was on my mind. It was amazing how I felt the comfort I needed and received the strength I needed as well. I know that Heavenly Father is always listening to us. He is always there ready to help us. We just need to do our part and pray! There is so much power in prayer!

Oh something funny. I am really missing running for some reason. Weird I know. My comp doesn't want to leave the house to work out in the mornings so I ended up running in figure eights for fifteen minutes in our study room. It was quite hilarious.

I love you all so much and hope all is well! Thanks for all your love and support!

Hermana Gardiner

Sucre for life!!!!

Hey Fam!

To start off, I don't have a transfer! Hermana Bolaños and I are going to be together one more transfer which I am super happy about. We have been working hard and are just starting to see the fruits of our labor. I hope that I'll be able to see the baptisms of many of our investigators that I have been working with for so long!

We are teaching Andrea who has a fecha for December 21 and she is progressing super well! She came to church yesterday with her friend that gave us the reference. I have a strong testimony of references and working with the members. It is definitely the most efficient and successful way to do missionary work! We also taught our couple again. This week the husband told us how he wants to get baptized so badly. The wife still lacks on having a testimony, but we have set to teach her every morning this week and help develop a greater understanding of the Book of Mormon. They have also worked out many of their problems in their relationship and are working with the bishop to get married! I hope and pray that they can continue to progress and one day have an eternal family. I have the faith that they will get baptized this transfer! The father of Shirley and Rilber will return from work in Santa Cruz this week or the next and Nelby told us that when he arrives they are going to get married so she can get baptized. The mom Nebly, is incredible. She brings her kids to church every week without fail and has a super strong testimony of the gospel and wants to be baptized so badly!

I am grateful that I have another transfer here! I love Sucre so much and the people (both the members and investigators) are amazing! The work here is moving along! We have lots of lessons planned with members this next week which I am excited about and we have been working hard for them. It was cool, yesterday we literally had 4 people tell us how they want to teach with us this week!

Yesterday was Hermana Bolaños' birthday which was fun! She turned 26. She is so funny. We get along super well and work well together as well. It'll be good to be together one more transfer.

I just read this week about the anti-nephi lehites and how they buried their weapons of rebellion. I love this story so much! They are such great examples of their desire to follow Christ and change their lives! Here in the mission I have realized how many weaknesses and faults I have. I have many "weapons of rebellion" that I need to bury! I am so grateful for the atonement and the opportunity I have to partake of the sacrament every week and try to be better. I have realized that that is really what "endure to the end" means. To continue to do your best to be better and more like Christ every day.

I cannot believe that it is December! We can Skype on Christmas for 40 minutes:) so I need a Skype account that is attached to one of yours! If you could give me the info to log in one that would be great. It will be so good to talk to you guys! I love you all so much! Thanks for all your love and support. I pray for you guys every day! I am doing well and I love this work so much!

Con mucho amor,

Hermana Gardiner!

It's almost December and transfers...Loco!

Hola Familia!

Life is good here in Sucre! Holy cow! I am so so excited for Molly and her mission call! AH! The mission is the greatest most amazing thing in the world. She is going to love it and be so amazing!!! We worked hard this week and it was hard but we have a handful of new investigators so hopefully we can see some progress with them! We taught one family this week, the Familia Copa. The father, Edwin, is inactive. He was baptized when he was 10 because at that time to use the soccer field you had to be a member. He didn't even have a Book of Mormon which was super sad! His wife, Nohelia, and daughter, Leslie, are not members. We taught them the parable of the Ten Virgins. This is definitely one of my favorite parables. The spirit was so strong in this lesson and they have the sincere desire to do what is right. They just need to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration and I have faith that this can happen! I already have a great love for this family and want so badly that one day they can get sealed in the temple!

Mom mentioned that she wanted to know what my everyday life is like, so here is my average day:

6:30 wake up, say my prayer, work out (which consists of jump roping or ballet haha)

7:00 get ready, eat breakfast (this week was strawberry yogurt, oats, and bananas)

8:00 personal study (Book of Mormon, New Testament, Preach my Gospel)

9:00 companionship study

10:00 language study--right now were reading the ensign, me in Spanish and Hna Bolaños in English and are working on our pronunciation.

11:00 go out and work and teach. The mornings are a little hard because we rarely have set appointments but it's good:)

1:00 eat lunch which always is soup with a second course of rice and meat and veggies and with a postre which can be fruit or yogurt or flan or jello

2:00 leave to go teach some more and bring the people of Sucre unto Christ:)

8:30ish eat dinner

9:15ish plan for the next day

10:30 go to sleep!

It's pretty excited I know....:) but really it is great! I love having a schedule to follow and I know that it is divine! I love studying in the morning and it prepares me for the day and for what we are going to teach!

This week we had a special training with the president and his wife. It was exactly what I needed. They talked about using our time wisely and this is definitely something I need to get better at. I have never been super great at using my time well so I am excited to get better at this! President and Hermana Dyer are so great and I am so grateful for them!

Yesterday we had a special training about ward counsel for the area and they showed a training with Nolan Taylor as the mission president. So that was cool! haha.

I'm sorry my emails aren't super exciting or funny haha. I'm not good with words, but yeah, all is well! And I am happy. Hermana Bolaños and I get along super well and laugh all the time!

I love you all! xoxoxoxox

Hermana Gardiner

Hola!

This week was good! We worked really hard to work with the members and find new investigators. Unfortunately saw little success but we're having the faith that we will be blessed for our efforts one day! haha. We have 3 contacts that will hopefully become investigators that will progress as we teach them this next week. We've been working hard with inactive families this week and had three FHEs. They were all super spiritual and hopefully we can start seeing progress with them. We are teaching one family, the familia Loayza, that has the goal to go to the temple. They are so great and the mom, Hna Lourdes, is working on reading the Book of Mormon for herself for the first time. It is so great to see her excitement and she recounts what she has learned and studied. There is so much power in the Book of Mormon! I love this book so much and it is so amazing to help others realize the power of it.

This next Friday we have a dinner for all the leaders in our ward mission plan. Hopefully this will help them be more excited about our plan and working in the work of salvation. It is a lot harder that I thought to animate the members to work with us, but nothing worthwhile is easy, right? I have such a strong testimony of member missionary work. All of the converts I have had the opportunity to teach have been references from members. I think many times the members don't realize the power and ability they have to share the gospel. I know that the Lord is always with us when we are trying to spread the gospel!

I love Alma 8:14-15! Alma is sad because nobody wants to hear what he has to say, but then an angel comes to comfort him and tell him that because he has been faithful in keeping the commandments he will be blessed and has reason to rejoice. This scripture brought me a lot of peace as appointments were falling through this week. As long as I am doing my best to be obedient and working my hardest I have a reason to be happy and continue in the work! Sometimes life is hard and we don't always see the success we want to, but I know that as long as we are doing our best to be better every day and continue to follow the example of Jesus Christ we will be blessed for our efforts!

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your love and support!

Hermana Gardiner

LIFE IS GOOD.‏

dear familia.

 

Roberto is the one without the tie

I have had a good week! The baptism of Roberto happened and it was quite the event becasue the baptismal font is broken... haha so I ended up bailing out buckets of water so we could clean it and then refill it just in time for the baptism! It was super cool because Roberto's friend, Eduardo, baptized him and his cousin, Ismael (who had been baptized in June), shared a simple but very powerful testimony. It is cool to work with the young adults and watch as they change their lives and find happiness in the gospel. In our ward we have a lot of young adults that are here for school that are inactive so we are going to plan an activity with them to get to know them better and hopefully we can start working on reactavating them.

This weekend we had stake conference and President and Hna Dyer were there along with the new temple president, Pres Jensen. It was so awesome and I felt the Spirit so strongly, especailly in the Saturday evening session. Hearing their talks made me so grateful that I am here on the mission and what a wonderful opportunity it is to be a missionary. Words cannot describe the joy that comes as you watch others realize the happiness that is awaiting them and the look on their faces as the truths of the Gospel "click" and make sense.

Yesterday we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators, Carlos. He has ALOT of questions all the time and it is really hard to connect with him. We were teaching him the Plan of Salvation and he had a lot of questions to begin with so when it was my turn to teach about the three degrees of glory I was worried what his response was going to be, but I just followed the spirit and did my best to teach clearly and simply. When I asked him if he had any questions about the different kingdoms he replied, "no, I'm just imagining how beautiful the Celestial Kingdom is." When he said this the Spirit was so strong and testified to me that yes, the Celestial Kingdom is real and beautiful and where I want to live one day! I know that it was not my words that touched his heart, but the Spirit. I may not know the scriptures super well or can speak the language well, but with the Holy Ghost helping me I know that I can do anything. Sometimes it is hard to trust that the words I need will be put in my mouth and sometimes my faith is week and I am alone to try to talk. But when I trust in the Lord and His promises miracles happen. This work is full of miracles and I feel so blessed to see them everyday.

 We have five investigators that have come to church more than the three times they need to be baptized and continue to come every week but for some reason they still are not ready to be baptized. Juan Jose and Gladys are two of these people. They still need to get married... but they are happy and their relationship is much better than it was before and they want to get baptized. They just have to work out some problems with their extened families. Gladys was even fasting on her own without us saying anything to her, so cool! Trifon is also one of these investigators. He is ready to be baptized, but feels like he needs to know everything before he gets baptized. Hopefully this week we can set a date for his baptism! He is so great. He studies the scriputres everyday and truly wants to follow Christ. Another is the mom of Rilber and Shirley, Nelby. We are just waiting on her husband to come back from work in Santa Cruz so they can get married and she can get baptized! The fifth investigator is Fernando Torelio. His wife is a member and he has come to chruch MANY times. He just needs to start reading the Book of Mormon. Until he starts doing this he really can't progress much more. Hopefully he can find the desire to do so! Hopefully things can work out with all of them. I love them all so much and pray that they will follow Christ and be baptized!

I am so happy and am excited to see what this week brings. I love you all so much! Thanks for all your prayers and support!

 Hna Gardiner

Hello my dear family!

 

It sounds like all is well! I had a good time in Cochabamba, but it is good to be back and working. I felt so useless while I was there haha, that being said I did get the opportunity to teach with Hna Hill and Hna Cordava, which was awesome! It is so cool to teach a lesson as a missionary with one of my best friends! It still feels unreal at times that we are both here in the same mission! I definitely am the happiest when I am working hard and teaching! Everything went well with the tramites and hopefully I'll get my visa soon. While we were in Cocha Hna Adams received a call for an emergency transfer to Potosi so she is no longer here with me in Scure which is super sad. Also, while in Cocha I lost my camera.... but  Heavenly Father answers prayers and a lady at the clinic found it and I was able to get it back! What a huge blessing!

 

I got back to Sucre Thursday and then next two days were Day of the Saints and the Day of the Dead. They have quite the customs here for these two days and it was nearly impossible to find people in their houses, but we tried our best to teach and the Lord blessed us yesterday with the opportunity to contact future investigators, teach a new investigator, help two sisters that struggle to come to church (Andrea-who was my comp for two days and her sister Belen), and plan the baptism of Roberto for this Thursday!

 

Roberto took all the lessons with the Elders a couple months ago and been to church many times but wasn't ready to be baptized. Hna Moscoso and I taught him a couple times and then he stopped showing up for our appointments. Two Mondays ago we ran into him as he was entering a house of a member whose sons he is friends with. We asked him when we could teach him and he said "right now!" So we taught him. haha. And when we extended a baptismal date for a day in November he asked us if he could be baptized the next day which shocked me! He was going to be baptized the following Saturday but had some problems with keeping the Sabbath day holy so we decided to wait until he figured it out. This Saturday night we received a text from him saying that he wanted to be baptized before church yesterday; we called him and explained that we had to fill the font and he needed to have his baptismal interview. So tonight he'll have his interview and Thursday he'll be baptized! I am so excited for him. He sincerely wants to change his life and REALLY wants to be baptized. This whole experience this past weekend strengthened my testimony of the fast. We started fasting Saturday after lunch that we would be able to set dates for our investigators and that they would follow through with their commitment to baptized and then 6 hours later we got the text from Roberto. I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers and is looking out for us!

 

Things are great with Hna Bolaños! I am excited for our first full week together and we have a lot of good things planned! There is a lot of work to do with the members and with our investigators! One thing I have learned is that we have to rely fully on our Savior. There is no way I could do what I need to without Him. It is because of Him that our weaknesses can be made whole and we can become a little better every day.

 

I love you all so much! Have a great November!

 

Hna Gardiner