Joy is not the absence of sorrow but the presence of Christ

The pressure to sum up my whole mission into 1 email is daunting. I might as well just send you pictures of my daily journal if I want to even scratch the surface from these past 2 years. 

Actually.

It is impossible and I won't even try...BUT I can leave you with something even more important than my journal....(after a quick update of my week!;)

1. JARED GOT BAPTIZED. That was such an amazing miracle. There were many rocky experiences and challenges along the way but it was worth every single drop of sweat. He was elated to take upon himself the name of Christ. He literally introduced himself as "Jared Jesus Christ." I love the enthusiasm to literally take upon himself the name of Christ.

2. For those wondering, Dajuan is still getting baptized this week. In fact, he will get baptized Wednesday morning at 8am!!! Hahaha we will have to up at 5am to fill the font and then we are gonna skirt right after the baptism to transfer meeting. 

3. I hit 24 months as a missionary on June 25th. I can't believe 2 years ago I was hugging my family goodbye and hopping onto a plane to Brazil...can I say it feels like yesterday or would that be blasphemy to my mom who thinks it was at least 2 decades ago? 

I'm so grateful for the Virginia Richmond mission. I'm grateful for its inspired leaders and loving examples. I'm grateful for the opportunities. Although I'm extremely grateful, that is not why I chose to serve a mission or even why I chose to come back out and stay out. I came because of Jesus Christ. He is the reason I made the small sacrifice to serve a mission. 

Someone told me this past week that "Joy is not the absence of sorrow but the presence of Christ." That is my mission in 12 words. It is completely true! I think it would be fitting to end with my testimony of Christ. And to throw a spin on it, I know that the Book of Mormon is the best way for us to learn about and come unto Jesus Christ. Therefore, I wrote my testimony of Christ ONLY using direct quotations straight from the Book of Mormon. (Is that plagiarism? I'll ask Nephi for forgiveness in the next life) 

"He shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of Heaven and earth.¹            

Christ shall come among the children of men,² for he shall grow up...as a tender plant³ born of Mary.⁴ He dwelleth in flesh...having subjected the flesh to the will of the Father⁵ in all things from the beginning.⁶

And He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world, for He loveth the world.⁷ And lo, he shall suffer temptations and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer⁸ to bring about the bowels of mercy.⁹

Because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men,¹⁰ an atonement should be made¹¹ to deliver from that awful monster, death and hell.¹²

And behold, he cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on his name¹³ and the reception of the Holy Ghost.¹⁴

And he inviteth...all to come unto him and partake of his goodness...black and white...male and female.¹⁵ And he knoweth their prayers...and he knoweth their faith...¹⁶and through his infinite goodness and grace, will keep you through the endurance...to the end.¹⁷

He saith: 'Come unto me all ye ends of the earth.¹⁸ Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you.¹⁹ I have compassion on you.²⁰ I am he that comforted you.²¹'

Wherefore, my soul delighteth concerning Him.²² Yea, come unto Christ and be perfected in him;²³ turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put you trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind...and he will...deliver you out of bondage.²⁴

Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.²⁵"

I love this church and I love this gospel. They are true! 

 Elder Gardanier  (one last time) 

¹Mosiah 3:8  ²Alma 34:8  ³Mosiah 14:2 ⁴Alma 7:10  ⁵Mosiah 15:2  ⁶3 Nephi 11:1     ⁷2 Nephi 26:24  ⁸Mosiah 3:7  ⁹Alma 34:15

¹⁰1 Nephi 19:9  ¹¹Alma 34:9  ¹²2 Nephi 9:26

¹³Alma 9:27  ¹⁴3 Nephi 27:20                     

¹⁵2 Nephi 26:33  ¹⁶Moroni 8:24  

¹⁷Moroni 8:3  ¹⁸2 Nephi 25:13  

¹⁹3 Nephi 9:14  ²⁰3 Nephi 16:7  

²¹2 Nephi 8:12  ²²2 Nephi 25:13  

²³Moroni 10:32  ²⁴Mosiah 7:33  

²⁵2 Nephi 2:6

Seeing the End from the Beginning

Do you know how life would be so much easier, calmer, and full of more patience if I would just see the end from the beginning? 

I've found myself asking myself (hehe) this exact question multiple times throughout the week. I've been reviewing a lot of my journal entries during my mission and I wish I could so badly leave a note, or reach through the papers to give myself a pat on the back and encouraging words to myself 2 years ago. 

Or even, this week we have been going through a lot of ups and downs with Jared as he is preparing for baptism. I just want to grab him by the lapels of his collared shirt and tell him "Trust me! This is what you will want not only now but well into the future and for eternity." But I can't. Or I get impatient when we have a few appointments fall through and I want to kindly embrace these people and say, "You don't realize what you're turning down! You need this gospel and you need it now!" And I especially want to help less active members see the end from the beginning as they kindly tell us to never come back and that they aren't interested. 

How can these people not see what I see? In fact, I'm sure this is what God thinks daily. However, he IS patient. He IS perfectly loving and forgiving. He ALWAYS IS willing to forgive us even though he knows there is an easier way. 

Elder Uchtdorf explains this principle perfectly as he explains the concept and godly virtue of patience:

     "Often the deep valleys of our present will be understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future experience...

...patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace...

...Our Heavenly Father knows what good parents come to understand over time: if children are ever going to mature and reach their potential, they must learn to wait."

Another lesson I learned about patience and preparation came through Anitha and Venkat. Anitha was going to get baptized this Saturday on the 26th but due to the language barrier and her wanting to be more prepared, we are pushing it back! But we found some missionaries who speak Telugu and now are teaching her! However, yesterday was a great day as Venkat came to church and we had the opportunity to confer the Aaronic priesthood to him!! He is all set to baptize his wife when her time comes!! (Soon) 

Love you all and I can't believe this is my last full week as a missionary!! Time to soak up every moment 

-Elder Gardanier 

Pt 2, Is Jared actually on date for Baptism?!

Funny story. Remember last week how Melissa put her husband on date for baptism for June 26th without him knowing?! Well, we went into our lesson this week with guns a-blazing and taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ and really emphasized the role of the Holy Ghost. To end things, we slid a paper over to him and invited him to make a pro and con list for being baptized. 

Immediately, Melissa busted up laughing and I thought I had messed up 🤦‍♂️BUT turns out, this is the exact thing that Melissa did to Jared when they were deciding if they should get married or not...a pro/con list. Jared received just another witness that this is the right path.

Fast forward, Jared looked at us and let out a sigh of frustration and said, "Well, there are no cons to baptism, how do you expect me to write something down?" We all kinda smiled and looked at him as he processed what he just said! 

Long story made short, Jared decided to be baptized on July 10th! (But wait, there's more). We were so excited for him and this date but then Melissa said "Elder Gardanier, when do you go home?" I responded the 1st of July and told them that I could zoom in! Jared then shouted, "Nope! That isn't going to work. You need to be here. How about the 27th of June then?" 

So. Moral of the story. Jared is going to be baptized the 27th of June!!! He has had quite the journey and so many missionaries to prepare him for his baptism. I'm so grateful to be one of many influences that has helped him towards the covenant path! 

     

Also, funny story. We were doing some street contacting this past week and I was looking at my phone to get us to an address and low and behold, I stepped in a pile of horse poop. I was so scared that I jumped super high with a little unintentional karate kick and then let out a scream. When I turned around this lady sitting on her porch in a rocking chair just stared at me in disgust and completely horrified. I felt bad for making a scene...that might've been why she wasn't interested in hearing our message. 

Have such a good week!!!! 

Elder Gardanier 

 

P.s, if you all could keep Anitha (June 26th) Jared (June 27th) and Dajuan (June 29th) in your prayers, that would be AWESOME!! They all are in need! 

The time I got a million dollars

 Okay...^^that might've been click bait BUT let me tell you how this week was even better than a million bucks:

So. Many. Things. Happened. This. Week. 

     First off, I'm not a fan of Bible or any type of bashing. We went into a lesson with our friend Steve and that is exactly what he did. I'm not exactly sure how he didn't even pass out because he talked so much that breathing was a burden for him! Well, knowing that our meeting was cutting into valuable time to find new people to teach and other lessons, the Spirit pricked me in a rather unusual way. Before I knew it, I had raised my hand and immediately Steve stopped talking and called on me. I told him that we admire his devotion to the Bible and he knows it so well; I then proceeded to tell him our goal as missionaries and how it's different than his agenda. We ended in prayer and got on to finding more people!! 

     And catch this miracle...we are working with a part member family. The husband just was baptized and his wife hasn't learned much about the gospel because of a pregnancy and health issues the past few months. Well, she has finally recovered and we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and invited her to be baptized for June 26th! We are excited for her...the only struggle is she speaks Telugu and her English is still improving. Catch me on the Duolingo grind!!! 

     Christian's baptism happened!!!!! It was spectacular. His family brought a few people who weren't even members and they were able to participate! Christian enjoyed the baptism and really loved the Taco Bell afterwards too. Nothing is better than being a new member of the church and a cheesy Gordilla crunch!! 

     ^^Not only did the miracles stop there...his mom is married to Jared whom we are teaching. She wants him baptized so badly and texted us today saying "That's it, what do we need to do to get Jared baptized for June 26th?" I love the determination!! Let's just hope that Jared knows his wife signed him up for his baptism on the 26th  

     But in all seriousness, I've learned this past week that discipleship and conversion is an active and personal process. No one can force you to follow Christ despite how much you desire it. Even Alma the Older exhausted his resources to aid his son. However, his efforts weren't in vain! The angel told Alma the younger "Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth..." 

     I'm discovering that being a converted disciple of Christ is not one big decision...in fact, it's made up of thousands of daily decisions that are Christlike. It's getting up at 6:30 as a missionary, it's choosing to spend 30 mins in the scriptures rather than your favorite TV show, it's choosing to take time to listen to the Holy Ghost after you pray, and it's every other fiber-like decision that is woven together to create a tapestry of conversion. It takes diligence--steady, consistent earnest, and energetic effort. 

Love you all!

-Elder Gardanier