Gratitude List

 Let me just give you a quick list of things I was grateful for this week:

-finding on Facebook

-in person interviews with President

-President and Sister Droubay

-My high school days

-Brazil

-Quesadillas

-The piano

-Latroy, Lisbet, and Fola (what fun names, right?)

-LIFE

Anyways. Why am I so grateful? Well maybe my man Elder Uchtdorf can say it better than me "When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation...we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven's embrace."

And that is exactly what happened this week. I felt of heaven's embrace and an extra witness that this is God's work.  

To illustrate this principle again, let me tell you how Facebook finding has gone from 

"trying to open a can with no can opener" to "cans with the little tab that come right off." BIG DIFFERENCE. BIG MIRACLES.

I have been struggling to find on Facebook and especially trying to find people in my area to teach. It seems like no one responds to my personal messages (which I probably wouldn't either if I were them!), and we haven't been able to see giant miracles as far as finding. But through this drought, God refined my abilities and opened my mind to His "mysteries" regarding Facebook and now I am in conversation with a solid chunk of people in my town and have set up a few appointments to meet with them to discuss the gospel! Facebook has become such a tool rather than a distraction! God is hastening the work!

(By the way, if you are curious to find out some cool tactics on Facebook (super simple!) send me a quick email. I don't want to bore the rest of the crowd (aka my mom and grandmas) who are reading this haha)

But it was just another testament to me that God will reveal his mysteries to us if we seek diligently! They aren't plainly laid out before us so we gotta put in the "spiritual wrestle" to obtain the prize!

One last story or thought I wanna end with comes from my man Latroy. He is my favorite. He is just so blunt and funny and he sounds like the zebra (Marty) from Madagascar (you better know Elder Taylor!) We have been teaching him and we called to have our lesson yesterday but it turned out really awkward within the first 5 mins as his dog was walking on the phone that was lying on the ground of the car as we saw them eating fried chicken and driving AND talking about how skinny some of the girls walking around the outlets outside looked. We didn't necessarily feel the spirit. But we learned they were on their way to the branch president's house, who invited them for the sacrament! We were so surprised and happy so we called them later that night to discuss how it went! He said some of the most pure and precious words that we all can internalize! (Remember, voice of Marty):

     "It made me feel different! It made me feel good! It feels like the Lord is moving in me. All the trials and stress I'm going through are gone. It’s like starting over." 

So true Latroy. The gospel feels great, relieving, fantastic, healing, soul-reviving, and amazingly good! 

Love you all!

Elder Gardanier 

(PS, no one is cool enough to have a relationship with David Archuleta but that is okay. Maybe one will turn up;)