Mack and some cash money moments

 

Ahhh how is it Monday already?

     Truly, this week was one to never forget! It started off with my man Mack! He was someone who was progressing super well and we were calling him almost everyday. BUT...the classic Richmond curse came upon and right at the beginning of April he couldn't pay his phone bill and his phone got cut and we couldn't get in contact with him! We tried so many things but NOTHING. We finally put in time to stop by his house and knock real quick and to our surprise there Mack was to greet us! He said, "I had to get a new phone and didn't have you number so I prayed that you both would come by...and here you are!" It was a great testimony builder to me of being led by the spirit without really knowing we were.

     Also. We had zone conference which means I only have one left. Crazy thought. and....I'm done thinking about it now!

     Fun fact, we got an estimate for our car crash the other day and the guy at the shop said he could only estimate the damage done that he could see (aka he couldn't do any internal estimate). SOOOO looks like it was at least $4,000 of damage 

     To close things out listen to this miracle. My sister Aimee and brother-in-law Hughfasa went to Virginia Beach to celebrate their anniversary. I texted my President last week and they were able to stop by real quick and drop off some Cheez-its 🏼 and say hi! It was so amazing. It was surreal. They are so solid and I love them bunches. I think I have almost been fed by them more than I've been fed by this branch the past 2 transfers hahaha. I just think it's crazy how this quick hello made the past year feel like 0.2 seconds. It shows that life will become life again SO quickly and what a unique opportunity I have to be a missionary. You know, only .0009% have served missions out of God's children which is a pretty cool statistic. 

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." --Edmund Burke

-Elder Gardanier

  I can't express enough how much I love Richmond and how much I love the Elders I live with! Truly, the mission is so good right now. 

     This week I saw miracles rain down from Heaven. I know that God is giving me opportunities to increase my faith in Christ. I love what Elder Ballard said when hope is an EXPECTATION that will eventually come to past through our faith in Christ (or something along those lines...;)

     BUT. I have been doing something super simple to increase my ability to hear him. I felt the need to share it! 

1. Sincere prayer. I realize that my prayers are wordy. My prayers are vain. I needed to simplify my prayers. I needed to pray with my feelings rather than my words. So...rather than saying something like "Please provide me with the ability to accomplish thy plan in my work here through different means and ways..." it has turned into, "Father, I need help. Help me remember my studies so that I can teach with the Spirit." 

     I know that this is something SUPER obvious but it's just clicking. BUT...then step #2

2. I listen. I ask and then listen. I WRITE down my impressions. I am realizing the Spirit speaks to me SO subtly. He speaks to me in simple nudges of spontaneity. He speaks to me in stretching out of my routine and out of my comfort zone to do something good!

3. I reflect. I spend a little bit to reflect in my nightly prayers. I go through my prayer list and see exactly how God has answered the prayers that I have saying to him. I have been blown away to see that God DOES answer my prayers. 

     If you're like me, you have probably already hit a spot in life that you feel like God has stopped speaking to you. But I can testify that as I actually open my heart through FAITH and ACTION, I see that God is speaking to me...not only a few times a day but in ABUNDANCE. 

     I just had to share because this week was full of so many of those small nudges from the Spirit. I realized it was Him after I acted and saw the blessings or saw the end result. I am just grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Anyways. Congratulations if you have read this whole email. I want to know what patterns YOU have recognized to feel the spirit stronger in your life! How does He speak to you?

Love you all!

Elder Gardanier 

CAR WRECK...april fools?

Listen. I'm not a fan of click bait^^ SO read this:

1. BUT BEFORE. This Sunday was incredible. We got up at 6am and sprinted over to the church building to fill up the font for Adriana's baptism! We boiled a lot of water to make sure the font was extra warm. Adriana was precious. She had her box of tissues during the entire baptism. So many came out to support or even watch over Zoom. She gave the sweetest testimony at the end and can't stop talking about the temple! She is such an amazing example to me of courage and faith. She truly believes in Christ and is taking the steps necessary to follow even EVEN without completely knowing for herself...she walks by faith!

     Adriana even ended the service with her testimony and it was amazing to hear her conversion story all stemming from a missionary on Facebook asking how to make guacamole in group! God is good!

2. Also. I learned today that Bea Quicke (from a few months ago) decided to be baptized and got baptized this past Saturday as well! I love planting seeds! AND, I also found out this guy named Joao Vitor, from Brasil, got baptized as well! He was a youth we taught for a bit and he wasn't too interested but it's amazing what persistent work adds up to!

3. The 1st dose of the COVID shot. What. A. Blessing. Call me a goof ball or not, but I felt the spirit so strong as that little needle penetrated my skin and injected me with the COVID fluid. That tiny shot wasn't just a cure but it was a symbol of the billions of prayers said during the past year. It was a representation of the tears that God has been counting and promising to recompense from the past year. It was the worldwide fast. This shot was God's mercy. I am so grateful for modern medicine and the ingenuity that God has given to man to combat sicknesses, viruses, etc. In all reality, this shot was made possible because of Christ's Atonement. He knows how to succor us. At times, that succoring comes through the Holy Ghost, sometimes through Him directly, and other times through angels in the form of man and their inspired inventions.

4. Now. Here is some juicy stuff. Let me say that this has been a week of SO much protection. Here's one of those experiences:

     We had just pulled out of the McDonald's drive thru to celebrate the COVID shot with some vanilla ice cream (and yes, the ice cream machine WAS working). As we pulled away, we slowed to a stop at a red light...BUT our man Steve behind us didn't see that apparently and slammed into the back of our car. Luckily, the only casualties were the recently bought ice cream, a sore neck, and the back of our car. God still showed us that he is a God of miracles because right behind Steve was a cop and so he flipped his lights on, got the accident and paper work all sorted out within 30 mins and we were able to make our lessons that night! 

This was an incredible week here in Richmond! Here is the start of a new transfer and the last 12 weeks of my mission 

-Elder Gardanier