Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 1:32 PM
So life is hard out in the field. My companion is driving me crazy. It's been two weeks and I still haven't mastered Spanish. But the thing that's discouraging me most is everyone who's disappointed in me because I haven't mastered Spanish in two weeks. I feel like I'm the only one who understands that I'm not going to pick up Spanish anytime soon so I'm going to take my time learning it. Because I'm not stressing out about learning Spanish everyone thinks I'm unmotivated to do the work or that I don't have enough faith to receive the Gift of Tongues and the Gift of the Interpretation of Tongues. So needless to say, I feel like everyone is against me once again because I don't work according to their will.
I laugh sometimes about it though because I'm pretty sure this investigator of mine is progressing so rapidly because of my lack of understanding. In Preach My Gospel there's a story about Brigham Young saying that he didn't join the church until someone who wasn't eloquent with words got up and bore their testimony that it was true. I feel like that. My prayers are short and I can't say anything other that broken fragmented sentences like, "I know that Jesucristo was our Salvador." I can only understand a couple words. I'm still progressing.
So, with this new companion of mine, my letters are probably going to be a lot like this. It stinks but just know that I know these things are true. I'm going to do all that I can no matter how hard things get. I cannot give up. Otherwise, what kind of man would I be? I know a lot of you back home miss me and wished I were back, but if I came back because things got too hard, I'd come back someone other than who I was when I went out. Return With Honor. There's no honor in quitting.
I know I'm not alone out here. I have a lot of support by those I can't see. I know what's right. I know who I am. I know who cares for me and who isn't worth my friendship. So to all my friends, thank you for being there for me.
Elder G (aka Elder Awesome)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
14 Jan 10 - 20 Jan 10
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2010, 1:29 PM
Hey, this is going to be a shorty. Things are going slow with the Spanglish. As if I could master it in 8 days. My companion can't seem to understand that among other things. This might be one of the longest or shortest transfers that I'll ever have.
I know that this gospel is true. It's true what Joseph Smith said: "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing." Satan is playing me so well right now but I'm not listening to him. I think I've finally found that courage to stand up for truth that a good friend of mine told me to find. It's funny how our mission motto is Firm, Steadfast, and Immovable and yet from what I've seen, I'm the only one to get the meaning behind the words.
I wish that everyone knew what I know. I wish everyone could see what I see. But then again, if everyone could do that, what use would I be? To me this email seems like such a downer. Maybe that's because I'm feeling pretty low right now. I've always had a hard time hiding my emotions. I wear them right there on my sleeve because I hate being fake. There has been so many people who have noticed my odd look on life. I've been told that I can find humor in anything. I always seem to find the positives (even though I think I'm a realist).
I don't know what I'm rambling on about. This church is the true church. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith is a true prophet. If you gain a testimony in these things then there's no way you would ever turn away from God. If you pray, read your scriptures, and go to church, then you'll learn so much. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Here a little and there a little. It a process as long as you continue to seek the Spirit. Therein lies success.
I love you all. And hopefully next time my email will be happier.
Later
Elder Garcia
Hey, this is going to be a shorty. Things are going slow with the Spanglish. As if I could master it in 8 days. My companion can't seem to understand that among other things. This might be one of the longest or shortest transfers that I'll ever have.
I know that this gospel is true. It's true what Joseph Smith said: "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing." Satan is playing me so well right now but I'm not listening to him. I think I've finally found that courage to stand up for truth that a good friend of mine told me to find. It's funny how our mission motto is Firm, Steadfast, and Immovable and yet from what I've seen, I'm the only one to get the meaning behind the words.
I wish that everyone knew what I know. I wish everyone could see what I see. But then again, if everyone could do that, what use would I be? To me this email seems like such a downer. Maybe that's because I'm feeling pretty low right now. I've always had a hard time hiding my emotions. I wear them right there on my sleeve because I hate being fake. There has been so many people who have noticed my odd look on life. I've been told that I can find humor in anything. I always seem to find the positives (even though I think I'm a realist).
I don't know what I'm rambling on about. This church is the true church. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. Joseph Smith is a true prophet. If you gain a testimony in these things then there's no way you would ever turn away from God. If you pray, read your scriptures, and go to church, then you'll learn so much. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Here a little and there a little. It a process as long as you continue to seek the Spirit. Therein lies success.
I love you all. And hopefully next time my email will be happier.
Later
Elder Garcia
Thursday, January 14, 2010
06 Jan 10 - 14 Jan 10
Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 1:55 PM
First things first. Today is my daddy's b-day. He's old. Wish him a happy birthday everyone!
Second thing. STORY TIME!!!
So me and Elder Doucette met this family made of gold. The mom's name is Shelly Davis (LA) and her two unbaptized daughters Felisha (13) and Crystal (12). This isn't actually a story but it's funny to hear all the same. These two girls are infatuated with me. My first meeting with them was two weeks ago Monday. The lesson went really well. Shelly, Felisha, Crystal, and Shelly's brother and sister-in-law were there. At first it was crazy because Felisha acts like she has ADD (I don't know if she actually does) and Shelly's sister-in-law and brother acted like they were kind of anti. We taught Jesus Christs' Earthly Ministry, the Great Apostasy, the Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost. By the end of the lesson, the Spirit was super strong and the two girls accepted to be baptized on the 23rd. So the next appointment was Wednesday but I went over there last Sunday because our original appointment on Wednesday canceled. Shelly was sick. I asked when we could come back and Felicia shouted, "Tomorrow!" So we came back on Monday and taught them all of lesson 3 (check your PMG's if you don't know the lessons). During the lesson, Felicia stared at me the whole time. Plus she would ask me things that didn't pertain to the lesson. For example:
Felisha to Doucette: "Did you just call him Garcia instead of Elder Garcia!?" Doucette: "Uh... yes?" Felisha in a breathless voice and a tiny wave of the hand: "Hi Garcia..." Me: "Uh.. Hi. Anyways..."
Felisha: "Did you sing in High School?" Me: "Yeah." (I never took a class in high school but that doesn't mean I didn't sing.) Felisha: "You should sing for me!" Me: "If you really want me to I'll do it at your baptism."
Felisha: "Your hair looks really nice. Did you do it the same way yesterday?" Me: "Yes..."
So after the lesson we ask them what time they would like us to come by again. And again Felisha shouts out "Tomorrow!" Doucette tells them before we leave that we'll go over with them the baptismal program next time. So on Tuesday, Felisha does those weird things again. She touches my hand. She wants to read out of my scriptures etc etc. Finally, at the end of the lesson I ask them who they want to baptize them. Felisha says, "YOU GARCIA!" I say, "Okay... and who do you want to confirm the Holy Ghost upon you." Felisha responds, "Oh, him..." to Doucette. I say, "Okay... Well what about you Crystal? Who do you want to baptize you?" Before Crystal can even speak, Felisha nudges her and says, "You want the same, right?" And in an airy tone, Crystal responds, "Yeah..."
Okay, so that was a story. I still laugh about it. Why is it always 12-14 year olds who are always infatuated with me?
Anyways, my new companion is Elder Gonzales (I don't remember how to spell his name). We're in the Spanish program. I don't speak a lick of Spanish. But I will. Hopefully I'll be able to hold a conversation by the end of the Mission.
Speaking of which, there's a Tie Lady in my zone. She sells really nice quality ties for four bucks each. Just thought I'd mention that (hint hint wink wink nod nod).
Oh, and free bowling at Fat Cats. I need to work on my skills.
I can't remember anything else. Later.
Oh, and I'm beginning to wonder if all my friends died...
Elder Garcia
First things first. Today is my daddy's b-day. He's old. Wish him a happy birthday everyone!
Second thing. STORY TIME!!!
So me and Elder Doucette met this family made of gold. The mom's name is Shelly Davis (LA) and her two unbaptized daughters Felisha (13) and Crystal (12). This isn't actually a story but it's funny to hear all the same. These two girls are infatuated with me. My first meeting with them was two weeks ago Monday. The lesson went really well. Shelly, Felisha, Crystal, and Shelly's brother and sister-in-law were there. At first it was crazy because Felisha acts like she has ADD (I don't know if she actually does) and Shelly's sister-in-law and brother acted like they were kind of anti. We taught Jesus Christs' Earthly Ministry, the Great Apostasy, the Restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost. By the end of the lesson, the Spirit was super strong and the two girls accepted to be baptized on the 23rd. So the next appointment was Wednesday but I went over there last Sunday because our original appointment on Wednesday canceled. Shelly was sick. I asked when we could come back and Felicia shouted, "Tomorrow!" So we came back on Monday and taught them all of lesson 3 (check your PMG's if you don't know the lessons). During the lesson, Felicia stared at me the whole time. Plus she would ask me things that didn't pertain to the lesson. For example:
Felisha to Doucette: "Did you just call him Garcia instead of Elder Garcia!?" Doucette: "Uh... yes?" Felisha in a breathless voice and a tiny wave of the hand: "Hi Garcia..." Me: "Uh.. Hi. Anyways..."
Felisha: "Did you sing in High School?" Me: "Yeah." (I never took a class in high school but that doesn't mean I didn't sing.) Felisha: "You should sing for me!" Me: "If you really want me to I'll do it at your baptism."
Felisha: "Your hair looks really nice. Did you do it the same way yesterday?" Me: "Yes..."
So after the lesson we ask them what time they would like us to come by again. And again Felisha shouts out "Tomorrow!" Doucette tells them before we leave that we'll go over with them the baptismal program next time. So on Tuesday, Felisha does those weird things again. She touches my hand. She wants to read out of my scriptures etc etc. Finally, at the end of the lesson I ask them who they want to baptize them. Felisha says, "YOU GARCIA!" I say, "Okay... and who do you want to confirm the Holy Ghost upon you." Felisha responds, "Oh, him..." to Doucette. I say, "Okay... Well what about you Crystal? Who do you want to baptize you?" Before Crystal can even speak, Felisha nudges her and says, "You want the same, right?" And in an airy tone, Crystal responds, "Yeah..."
Okay, so that was a story. I still laugh about it. Why is it always 12-14 year olds who are always infatuated with me?
Anyways, my new companion is Elder Gonzales (I don't remember how to spell his name). We're in the Spanish program. I don't speak a lick of Spanish. But I will. Hopefully I'll be able to hold a conversation by the end of the Mission.
Speaking of which, there's a Tie Lady in my zone. She sells really nice quality ties for four bucks each. Just thought I'd mention that (hint hint wink wink nod nod).
Oh, and free bowling at Fat Cats. I need to work on my skills.
I can't remember anything else. Later.
Oh, and I'm beginning to wonder if all my friends died...
Elder Garcia
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
17 Dec 09 - 6 Jan 10
Date: Wednesday, January 6, 2010, 10:23 AM
Okay, I have no clue when I did this last. All I know is that I've been out on my mission for 39 weeks now (just under 10 months). Scary huh.
Wow. There's so much that I want to say and yet my mind is blank. And my hand hurts. I injured it last night playing dodgeball with one of the wards that I cover. I'm happy to report that I got the most people back in. Not by catching though. I did it by making half court shots into the hoop. "Yeah, I was getting a lot of attitude after I put out that grease fire with my face." - Weird Al
As for how the mission is going. It's going pretty well. I was white washed into this area, plus the holidays, plus me getting sick before Christmas really sucked. But Monday, we were booked every hour of the day with teaching appointments. Yesterday sucked except for a teaching appointment with someone on date for baptism this week. But today and tomorrow, we're booked again. Running from appointment to appointment. It's crazy.
There's a lot that I want to say to everyone; family, friends, everyone else who doesn't fall into those two categories, but I actually don't have enough time to do it. And of course, it has everything to do with the gospel. Course I can relate everything to the gospel... like Halo, but I won't do so now.
Here's one story though before I end this. Last Tuesday, we get a text refferal for a girl named Vincentia Morrison. We knock on her door and it's opened by her cousin or nephew. We ask him if Vincentia's home. He said he would go check and slams the door on us and locks it. We knock again and her brother answers. We ask him the same thing and he gives the same response. A slam and a lock. We knock one last time and this time Vincentia answers the door. She's suprised to see us so soon because she had just reffered herself not even five minutes earlier.
She used to go to church when she was younger but had since stopped coming. She's not a member and when we commited her to be baptized on the ninth, she readily accepted. Vincentia has had a really hard life. She's only sixteen. I seem to have a knack for meeting people who's lives suck. But then again, I've never met anyone who's like [life] was great. I've never met anyone who didn't need me in their lives either, not to sound concieted or anything.
Vincentia believes everything that we tell her. She feels the peace in her life that the gospel brings. To her, going so long without it, it's distinctly noticable. I've never met anyone who's hungered after the gospel as she has. And yet I think to myself, 'shouldn't we all try to be like her?'
I know this gospel brings happiness. I know because my own life hasn't been all that great. Yet I'm able to find laughter in anything, as my sister so kindly pointed out. Why is that? Maybe it's because I know the spirit when I feel it. As it says in Gal 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace... I've felt that overabundance of love when I prayed to know if this church is true. It's that same feeling that I seek every moment of every day. It's that feeling I know I'll have when I'm with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ after this life.
In James it says: Faith without works is dead being alone. A man may say, "show me thy faith without thy works and I'll show you my faith BY my works." I can't sit around and wait for happiness to come to me. I need to go and do for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save He shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which He commandeth them. I want to be more like Vincentia and search for that happiness, that joy, that peace that the gospel brings. The Lord has given us all the things we need to be happy. 2 Nephi 2: 25: Adam fell that men might be, and men are, that we might have joy.
As I said in one of my many testimonies, "if you're not happy, you're not living your life the way Heavenly Father wants you to live it." I've seen it time and time again, when we put Heavenly Father first in our lives, EVERYTHING falls into place. And why wouldn't it? Heavenly Father wants to bless us. He wants to help us. We just need to trust in him.
I miss all of you. I want the best for all of you. I've always wanted it. I want to spend the rest of forever with my family and friends. We're one big family. I don't want to lose anyone.
Take care (and write me!)
Elder Garcia (nobody likes me cause I'm 23...)
Okay, I have no clue when I did this last. All I know is that I've been out on my mission for 39 weeks now (just under 10 months). Scary huh.
Wow. There's so much that I want to say and yet my mind is blank. And my hand hurts. I injured it last night playing dodgeball with one of the wards that I cover. I'm happy to report that I got the most people back in. Not by catching though. I did it by making half court shots into the hoop. "Yeah, I was getting a lot of attitude after I put out that grease fire with my face." - Weird Al
As for how the mission is going. It's going pretty well. I was white washed into this area, plus the holidays, plus me getting sick before Christmas really sucked. But Monday, we were booked every hour of the day with teaching appointments. Yesterday sucked except for a teaching appointment with someone on date for baptism this week. But today and tomorrow, we're booked again. Running from appointment to appointment. It's crazy.
There's a lot that I want to say to everyone; family, friends, everyone else who doesn't fall into those two categories, but I actually don't have enough time to do it. And of course, it has everything to do with the gospel. Course I can relate everything to the gospel... like Halo, but I won't do so now.
Here's one story though before I end this. Last Tuesday, we get a text refferal for a girl named Vincentia Morrison. We knock on her door and it's opened by her cousin or nephew. We ask him if Vincentia's home. He said he would go check and slams the door on us and locks it. We knock again and her brother answers. We ask him the same thing and he gives the same response. A slam and a lock. We knock one last time and this time Vincentia answers the door. She's suprised to see us so soon because she had just reffered herself not even five minutes earlier.
She used to go to church when she was younger but had since stopped coming. She's not a member and when we commited her to be baptized on the ninth, she readily accepted. Vincentia has had a really hard life. She's only sixteen. I seem to have a knack for meeting people who's lives suck. But then again, I've never met anyone who's like [life] was great. I've never met anyone who didn't need me in their lives either, not to sound concieted or anything.
Vincentia believes everything that we tell her. She feels the peace in her life that the gospel brings. To her, going so long without it, it's distinctly noticable. I've never met anyone who's hungered after the gospel as she has. And yet I think to myself, 'shouldn't we all try to be like her?'
I know this gospel brings happiness. I know because my own life hasn't been all that great. Yet I'm able to find laughter in anything, as my sister so kindly pointed out. Why is that? Maybe it's because I know the spirit when I feel it. As it says in Gal 5:22-23: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace... I've felt that overabundance of love when I prayed to know if this church is true. It's that same feeling that I seek every moment of every day. It's that feeling I know I'll have when I'm with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ after this life.
In James it says: Faith without works is dead being alone. A man may say, "show me thy faith without thy works and I'll show you my faith BY my works." I can't sit around and wait for happiness to come to me. I need to go and do for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save He shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which He commandeth them. I want to be more like Vincentia and search for that happiness, that joy, that peace that the gospel brings. The Lord has given us all the things we need to be happy. 2 Nephi 2: 25: Adam fell that men might be, and men are, that we might have joy.
As I said in one of my many testimonies, "if you're not happy, you're not living your life the way Heavenly Father wants you to live it." I've seen it time and time again, when we put Heavenly Father first in our lives, EVERYTHING falls into place. And why wouldn't it? Heavenly Father wants to bless us. He wants to help us. We just need to trust in him.
I miss all of you. I want the best for all of you. I've always wanted it. I want to spend the rest of forever with my family and friends. We're one big family. I don't want to lose anyone.
Take care (and write me!)
Elder Garcia (nobody likes me cause I'm 23...)
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