Monday, October 17, 2011

Hey Fam,
I wish I just had a ton of good news for you all today, but its gonna have to wait till next week when we have a baptism!!! Its been really really wet lately in the city, and supposidly even worse in the south... lots of rain. In fact the Elders in my old area.. Buena Vista... well they are trapped there, and have been for over a week now cuz the streets are completely fludded and so muddy that no one can get there. No busses or food can be delivered out there. It happens every year but its always a stressful time id imagine.
Nothing bad or good hapened this week so weve just been fighting to not get disanimated, we find new people and then somehting comes up and we have to drop them for one reason or another and the rain isnt working on our side at all. Its just like the snow in UT, when its there, we dont want it after about 2 weeks, and when its not there, we want it. What do ya know!!! My boots are no longer waterproof and just as it was last year in SabanaGrande... nothing ever dries cuz its so humid and if its not downporing, its a constant mist. The bright side is that this country is super green and super beautiful this time of the year.
Earlier in the week we had to take on a missionary from Honduras, and fresh right out of the MTC in Guatemala cuz his Mexico visa hadnt gone through yet. We took advantage of it and went on splits with other future missionaries in the ward and it was really good. Sadly though they took him away from us on saturday morning cuz they found him a companion but it was a good experience.
With Hosman, our investigator that gets baptized this next week, hes been pregressing like a charm, reading the book of mormon more then I do somedays and is always super animated to go to church. We are trying to get his wife to get in the water too but shes not completely recuperated from her surgery. Plus they have a little year and a half year old... cutest thing in the world.. is always really distracting when we really want her to focussed. We watched a movie about marriages and temples and it was really good, it was the most interested ive seen her but its gonna take her a while more.. .maybe next month.
Im praying for you guys all the time cuz this time of the year is never easy. But its been kinda hard for me down here too cuz I feel like Christmas is gonna be here before we know it, and the fact my comp is gonna be home for christmas, and thanksgiving and everything, well he sometimes likes to rub it in. Im trying to stay strong though... haha.
I got the little package too by the way and thank you all so much for the letters, I love you soooo much!!! Dont forget to let me know when you get my letters cuz im always waiting to find out if you got them.
Oh and of courst Happy Birthdays to Alexa and Tadd last week and this week. I love you too!! Letters are on the way and have been for a while!!!
Thanks to all of you for your love and suppport! Your the best family ever!!!!
Love your missionary
Elder Gardner


Baptism of Sarahi

Colton and Jaimie

18 Months down

Hey fam,
Ah this was an awesome week. So I wasnt able to let you guys all know last week cuz we didnt know either that we were gonna have a baptism this weekend. That girl Sarahi that randomly showed up to church a while back, we taught her everything, and she accepted baptism with us and then she moved away from us the same day that she accepted baptsim... well we got the other missionaries that live close to her new place to go meet with her. She told them... the missionaries already taught me everything and I wanna get baptized on the 8th... we didnt tell her to say any of that. But the good news is that in her baptismal interview she asked if either me or Elder Nielsen could baptize her. So friday night before the baptism they told us they wanted to go to the baptism. As you can see in the pic I baptized her. She is so awesome and has a testimony of gold of the athority and everything... even though she doesnt have support from her direct family she has that testimony that will hold her up.
With all of the great news of last week, I just might have spoken too soon. We have lost a couple of them, and had to drop others but we still have 3 maybe 4 planned for the 22nd. They arent 100% or anything but were hoping so. Were gonna have an awesome family home evening with the bishop and stake president tonight with these 4 people so we will see if that gets em. Not a whole lot happened this week, just a whole lot of rain and very little new people to teach.
Were still holding up, my comp told me he has only this P-day and 3 more, so he is getting baggy on me and im not too excited to be with him as he dies in the mission. Ive having to push a little harder then before but were doin good.
I wish I had more time today and I realize this is prolly the shortest email in along time but were super busy today and were headed to a multi-zone activity in a stake center that has a basketbal court... not very common... so were stoked about that!!!
I love you all very much though and thanks so much for the pics and good news about Noel! Im dyin to be able to write him.
Keep us in your prayers this next week, we need these investigators to stick in there!!!
Love Elder Gardner
PS that other pic is of Jaimer, the one you guys talked to on monday through skype. He just happened to be at the baptism of Sarahi so he told me to take a pic and sent it home to you guys. He remembers me from when I started the mission in that zone... hes a good guy!!