BACK AT IT AGAIN with the Acai!

E ai gente? What's up everyone? Well let me tell you what when down here in Richmond. I found my favorite Facebook group. "Brasileiros de Richmond." That's right, I have been chatting up a storm with all of my Brazilian friends on Facebook. I even asked if there were any authentic acai places in Richmond and I got a ton of responses. Long story short, this Brazilian man came to our house with some of the most REAL and AUTHENTIC and delicious acai. I got major feels and flashbacks as I was on the road chattin' to him a bit in Portuguese and even turned it into a gospel discussion (us missionaries are pretty good at that hehe). But eating acai was the perfect celebration this last week with my companion to celebrate the time I had in Brazil. It's been 1 whole year since I've returned from Brazil and that is blowing my mind! Transfers are this week...so is Easter, General Conference, and ADRIANA'S BAPTISM. She is amazing. Just blows me away. She sent us a text talking about her Book of Mormon study highlighting 4 main points and covenents she found in the Book of Mormon: 1. The Priesthood 2. The Sacrament 3. Obedience 4. The temple WHAT A PROFOUND THOUGHT. Not to mention, this is her 2nd language and 1st time reading through the Book of Mormon! We even taught her about the law of the fast and she totally crushed it yesterday to see if she could even do it. I have never seen someone so prepared for baptism. This next Sunday will consist of us getting up around 5:30am to fill the font for her baptism before conference! God is soooooo good! To end, read this scripture from Alma 31 about how stellar of a missionary Alma was. He truly desires the salvation of his brothers and sisters. "O Lord, their souls are precious...give unto us, O Lord, POWER and WISDOM that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee." How amazing, right? Instead of asking from instant conversion for the Zoramites, or even fire and brimstone to rain down from heaven, Alma asked that he can have power and wisdom to then help his brethren recognize the truth. That is faith! God can work through those who are willing to work! Love you all! Elder Garda

Teaching a lesson but minus the teaching

Great things are happening down here in RICHY!! I'd say that one of the only things greater than that us missionaries are eligible to get the COVID shot soon is that I made and ate brussel sprouts and actually enjoyed them. I have now awarded myself with the sous-chef award despite my burnt quesadilla. To report, Adriana is progressing so well for her baptism on the 4th of April (Easter, General Conference, her son's birthday, and her baptism... shall there be a better day than this?). AND we had a stellar lesson with Nichole to prepare her for her baptism on the 17th of April. We decided to teach the law of chastity and we invited this AMAZING member to help us out. Before we got on the lesson, the member had a conversation like this with us: Member: "So I have been studying, reading in Preach My Gospel, and even researching on the churches website. I am going to teach Nichole the Law of Chastity, read some scriptures, and then I will turn the time over to you all to decide what the next move is and to wrap things up." Us: *jaw on the ground* And that is exactly how the lesson went. The member taught one of the greatest lessons on the Law of Chastity and we were able to testify to what the member said. Infact, last minute the scripture 1 Nephi 3:7 came to my mind. This is a classic scripture and I felt that Nichole NEEDED to hear it. I pulled it out and I had no idea how impactful and powerful that scripture is. I guess it's because I see it with new eyes but listen to this line... "The Lord giveth NO commandments, save he SHALL prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." What a promise? What does that mean for us then? It means that if you have no money to pay your tithing, PAY IT. The Lord will provide a way. It means that if you need to decide between living with your boyfriend or finding out a way to live separately to keep the law of chastity, DO IT. And it means that if the world thinks it's cool to disobey and disrepect your parents--backstabbing, gossiping, etc--reread through the 10 commandments and LIVE THEM. I love that we are invited by modern day prophets and apostles to "choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong." Love you all! Elder Gardanier

"A Woman that Feareth the Lord, she shall be Praised"

Did mother's day come early this year? I feel like every day this past week I found myself so grateful for all of the women in my life. I have thought about so many specific people (at home, in Brazil, in Virginia, church history, etc) and even just women as a whole are amazing haha. swear their energy is nonstop and their ministering abilities are incomparable. In fact, here is the sweetest story you will read this week about 2 amazing women here in the Richmond Branch: We are teaching Adriana who is scheduled to get baptized on April 4th. 2 short months ago, she lost her husband after he got the COVID shot...so suddenly. They had just opened up a Mexican food truck which sells the yummiest burritos and smoked meat. (My mouth is salvating just thinking about how amazing her food is). Well Adriana works 15ish hours a day every single day. She is nonstop. We even called her this last week to check up to see how she was doing and she couldn't talk for long because with the limited food, time, and money she had she decided to make food for the homeless. Amazing, right? BUT. My companion and I got a Sister from the branch on a video call with us and Adriana--her name is Sister Edwards. We decided to teach a commandment that is difficult for some and even more difficult for those struggling financially: Tithing. As we explained this sacred and amazing commandment, Adriana with NO hesitation said "oh, I love paying tithing! I even pay more than 10% when I have the money." 😮 Sister Edwards then talked about her recent struggles as she has been laid off twice and traveling coast to coast to find a job. They both related with their struggles to keep their feet under themselves financially. However, the part that touched me the most as these two amazing women just cared for each other was when Sister Edwards learned about Adriana's sacrifice everyday. With no hesitation, not thinking twice, or even contemplating, Sister Edwards asked Adriana if she could help her clean her taco truck each night to take that burden off her back. While Adriana declined, Sister Edwards has gone 2 times this past week for lunch to support the taco truck and even is bring all 4 of us missionaries this week. What an amazing example to me. This was just one of A TON of experiences of how women truly are needed in this gospel. I am so grateful for them all!!! And in the spirit of downtown Richmond and recent shocking events...J. Edgar Hoover perfectly sums up the antidote for animosity: "The cure of crime is not the electric chair but the high chair." Love you all! Elder Gardanier

Brazil, Bullying, and BOOYAH

So. The answer I have been waiting for for 9 MONTHS now concerning my fate of going back to Brazil or not. I received a text from my President that I have been permanently reassigned to the Virginia, Richmond Mission which I am super excited about. Of course I have bitter sweet feelings but I know the work is the same in any part of the world and any side of the veil. I love being able to represent Christ to my brothers and Sisters. So now that is out of the way...I have this crazy cool story about getting bullied BUT how God turned it into a missionary moment: To start off this story read this amazing scripture in 2 Corinthians 12:10 "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." ^This is how I feel right now because this past week I was cruising doing some Facebook work. My tactic is friend a bunch of people and message all of them too...it works quite well I might add. Well some lady got offended at my friend request and instead of simply "declining" it, she decided to make me a public example over social media! She screen shoted my profile and warned all of her friends of guys like me. She said "Why? Lol no I'm not accepting a friend request from a dude that's gonna try and tell me about Joseph Smith." I mean, that's fine because she's right...but then the comments got super nasty and it was crazy seeing people talk so bad about the church!

BUT then there was a friend she has on facebook who started standing up for me in the comments. She was so surprised that he was because he is this tattooed, rough looking drinker, who admitted to a lot of things in the comments. However, he stood up for me. He is a member who has lost activity and any more direction in the church for many years now. And not only that, we started messaging back and forth and he said that when he saw his friend post about me and ugly comments going off, he had "an awakening." He felt like he needs to pursure the course with the missionaries again because he felt God guiding him. Fast forward a few days, I passed his number and profile to some missionaries who live in his area and they were so amazed because he had already gotten in contact with them previously and wanted to start things up again with the missionaries and the church do to "some recent events" that caused this awakening in him. I just think it's so neat that God uses our persecution and trials in order to move forth his work. If anyone walked away with a bigger smile from some cyberbullying it was me!!! I'm willing to take that beating everyday in order to be a representative of Christ and reap the blessings of his gospel!! We learn about this same example (but on a much higher scale) in Alma 14 where innocent children and women were being burned in Ammonihah. However, Alma testified saying "the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day." Love you all! Take care!! Elder Gardanier

Who's Your Beverly?

Downtown Richmond is where the party is at. I started out this transfer SUPER great by losing one of my suitcases at transfers, my driving card, and the charger to my razor so I'd say I'm off to a good start!! The area I am in now is COMPLETELY opposite to my last area. We are in the downtown branch with a bunch of married college students from Utah so I feel like I'm at BYU! Our friend Adriana has a date to he baptized for the 4th of April but we are going to try to move it up tonight! We are blessed by lots of teaching appointments and willing people who recognize their need and dependence on the gospel and Christ. I couldn't help but share this AMAZING and powerful lesson we had with Beverly. We found her through our Area Book and turns out she is struggling! She had to cut the heat to her house because she is poor and will stop her phone bill too in March. She is looking for any source of strength. We taught the Restoration and as a missionary, I always get worried that the person we are teaching isnt liking it or understanding or even feeling the HOLY Ghost. However, I took comfort from D&C 50:21-22 which promises that the teacher and the learner will be edified TOGETHER through the Spirit. I also love In Alma 7:17 which mentions the same principle--"I know that ye believe them; and the way that I know that ye believe them is by the manifestation of the Spirit which is in me." Back to Beverly...my companion shared with her the First Vision and I always feel the spirit strong when I imagine those we are teaching hearing this message for the first time in their lives. I then remembered these scriptures and knew that Beverly was feeling the spirit--because I had felt Him. As we continued, I had felt very strongly to relate WHY the First Vision will bless Beverly specifically. I felt that I need to emphasize WHY the Book of Mormon is such an immediate answer to her prayers. I shared with her that because of Joseph Smith's vision it means that we can live as families forever; it means that Christ will strengthen us as we obey the things he teaches in his church; and it means that God loves us individually. I then did the same thing with the Book of Mormon and said "Why is this book important to you? It's important to you because in the introduction it says that men may 'gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.'" I asked her if that was something she wanted for herself but the answer we received was silence. We sat for a few mins and heard her crying on the other end. She composed herself a bit and told us how she now feels warmth can finally see a light through the dark years of depression she's dealt with. She stuttered and tried to convey what she was feeling but ultimately gave up and said It all through this single statement that she exclaimed to herself: "You have been listening to my prayers Lord. Thank you." What a humble statement. I cant even imagine the hard days, weeks, months, and even YEARS that she has been going through just needing the message of the gospel. She was in need of God's love and I couldn't been happier to have been part of that process. Beverly is just an example of the millions of God's children who are looking for truth and dont even know it themselves until the Gospel presents itself. We could almost physically hear a hole in her heart being filled that she never knew existed! I invite you all to go to churchofjesuschrist.org/share and find just ONE idea of what you can simply do to find your Beverly. To find THE ONE. Love you all!! Elder Gardanier

"ALEXA, play Downtown by Macklemore."

As you probably guessed, my transfer news came and I will be heading to the Richmond zone to serve in a branch in downtown Richmond! I'm so excited to see what God has in store especially because of all the reactions people have given me when I told them I was being transferred there. Here are some things they said: -"Why would you go there?" -"I'm so glad that I don't live there anymore!" -"Be safe out there." -"Make sure to bring a sub machine gun." So obviously, lots of positive feedback!!!!!! I'm excited to get a taste of Brazil again and to have a bunch of crazy adventures in Richmond! CAUTION: If you read this next story, you will have just another testimony that God sends angels to help His Children: I vividly remember this past week praying to God and strangely asking "Please help my companion and me to be angels to someone this week." And then I went on with my day. Didn't think too much more about that specific prayer. Well long story short, we had done our daily planning and listened super intently for a few minutes after the prayer to see if what we had planned was God's will. We sat there thinking about our schedule and it felt right! That night, we had scheduled to call random numbers and try to share the gospel with the people that answered. We have done this before and we usually call around 100 numbers and a handful answer and only a few actually let us share a scripture. Well, only a few calls in, this guy answered (who we later found out was named Norman). I asked if I could share Alma 34:32 with him. He consented and I shared my spiel about how this life is the time for man to prepare to meet God. I asked if we could share a message with him about how he could prepare to live happily with God. And to our surprise, he said "SURE!." We got talking and it wasn't long after that he cut us off and asked "How did you get this number?" We explained that we dialed these numbers at random and called him. We then proceeded on with our message and he stopped us again and asked, "but who gave you my number? What directory are you looking in?" We again, told him that God inspired us to call his number! As we continued, he finally cut us off a third time and said, "I'm not sure how you got my number, but my best friend died today and I'm in need of comfort and peace right now." How is God so good and mindful of us? My little mind was saying, "But I didn't even feel the strongest feeling to call this specific number at this specific time. Why wasn't it an overwhelming feeling?" And I am concluding that this situation is an even stronger testament to me that God works through us without us even knowing. When we obey the commandments and live the gospel standards and obey the prophet, a lot of times we will be following the Spirit without even knowing...just like the Lamanites after their conversion in 3 Nephi. (Back to the story now). We then went on to teach him a 15 min version of the Plan of Salvation. This was the perfect story...the Preach My Gospel story example we read about. Norman said this during the lesson: -"You are answering so many questions that I have had about God and Jesus Christ." -"Now this is the question that I have been wanting to hear the answer to." -"I am listening because I will later pray to know if the things you all are talking about are true." ^^these are just a few quotes that I could scribble down during this amazing lesson. Norman is a rock star and he even mentioned at the end how he thanks us and also his other friend who came in halfway during our lesson and sat in to listen. I'm going to miss Norman, but I'm grateful for the quick 30 minute life changing call I had with him this past week! I have a firm testimony that although I am not perfect and don't follow the Spirit perfectly, God still allowed my companion and I to be the literal angels to Norman this week. I know that God loves us, and more often than not, answers our questions through angels that we walk with us here on earth! Love you all! Elder Gardanier

Ice Skating Rink

This is the 3rd week that Virginia has pranked us. There was a GIANT ice storm. I have never seen so much ice before! When I say everything was layered in a sheet of ice I really mean it. Even down to the smallest leaves had a shell of ice around them. It was so pretty to look at and fun to skate around but it sadly shut down church...again...for the 3rd time in a row. However, we are faithful that the last week of the transfer will be golden. We will have church. We even bought steaks to have an ending transfer barbeque and we are excited to see the Lord's hand in our week this upcoming week! This week was fun being able to teach a few lessons in Portuguese. I definitely am still in need of the gift of tongues because it gets tough to express myself completely. I have noticed the Lord putting words into my mouth and really increasing my ability to communicate. It's been a tough week for sure but I know the sun is rising in Virginia on missionary work! -Elder Gardanier