Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Emergency transfer, differences, YOU SPEAK SPANISH!

Hellooo family and friends! Como estan.

Okay, so there have been many a change in the past 7 days! Remember how I told you I lived in Kirkland and had two companions(Goodrich and Steed)? That only lasted about a week or two. All the way up until August 7. 
 
Once upon a time, a sister missionary in our mission had to go home because she has arthritis in her back and it got really bad. That left a young lady named Sister Thompson companion-less! Sister Thompson's new companion is now, me! Now I'm serving in Edmonds, WA, right next to Puget Sound! CRAZINESS! I just barely got all settled in to my apartment with my two companions and then I got a call at 9:30 at night to start packing and be "emergency transferred" by 7:30 the next morning. It was so sad. I LOVED my companions. They were the Sister Training Leaders and SUCH great examples to me. 
 
So the next morning I showed up to another apartment about 40 minutes away, and that's that. My companions took the arthritic sister to the Airport and I took her place. Imagine my disappointment. 
BUT I soon realized that Sister Thompson is super awesome and I love working with her. She's already been a blessing in my life. 
 
She's been out for 10 months. Let's just say I've had to rely on the Lord more than I ever have in my entire life in the last week. Our definitions of working hard are different, so that's been a major struggle for me. Sleeping in and slowly/lazily moving from investigator to investigator, house to house, less-active to less-active is not an option for me, and I'm trying to make it not an option for her. We have to meet in the middle somewhere. I have so much built up enthusiasm and energy for this work inside of me and I often feel like I can't put it to use in the situation I'm in. I've been praying so hard to be able to help as many people as possible, as much as I can. But I'm realizing that the reason I am here is to help my companion. I literally can see that is one of the major reasons I'm here. I'm here to serve her and love her and build her up. Help her with her conversion especially. She's the first investigator. I love her so much, and I can see the Christlike attributes she has and is working toward. I love her. 
 
We're teaching a man named Chris that is interested in the LDS church simply because of the fact that he sees LDS people actually living what they preach. Like serving others, being good and kind, etc. He met a man that gave his kidney to a total stranger that he had met once, and that in and of itself made him interested in the church. He is so great. We're teaching him about the Word of Wisdom because he loves to smoke and says that "It doesn't say anywhere in the bible that I shouldn't smoke." We're also teaching him about modern revelation. 
 
Oh! Anddddd I'm the "designated driver" haha! It's fun. We drive a Toyota Corolla. It's a nice car. I'm used to Honda '96's and PT Cruisers. hahahhaha :) 
 
Thank you for being such amazing people! Here's my new address:

Hermana Gardner
7311 210th St. SW #E201
Edmonds, WA 98026

If you sent letter to my old address, I'll get them soon :)
 
Oh! Here are a couple of funny things that have happened in the past week. hahahaha
 
Sister Thompson and I were walking up to a door of a trailer while we were tracting, and she was | | <--- this close to running into a GIANT SPIDER in a giant spider web, so I basically threw myself around her and pulled her away from the darn thing. We were cracking up laughing as we hobbled away, and then to our surprise a car came zooming by in that trailer park street and almost ran her over! We both screamed and then the guy in the car laughed at us. It was ridiculous. hahaha :) 

Another time we were tracting, we came up to a door and Sis. Thompson said: "Hi! How are you? ... We're sister missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have a message about Jesus Christ and how He can help you and your family in any trial you're facing or..." and then the lady said "No hablo ingles.." then we both looked down and were sad and were about to say Oh, Okay, and walk away. But then Sister Thompson said WAIT! YOU SPEAK SPANISH! And then I was like, "Oh, right!! Hablo Espanol!" hahahaha Then I went on to explain to the lady about the Restored Gospel and how she can live with her family forever. hahaha Sister Thompson had to remind me of the fact that I spoke Spanish! haha it's hard serving in an english area, not gonna lie. hahahaha It was SO funny. We still laugh about it.

There are literally spiders everywhere. If you park your pickup truck in the driveway and leave it there for 12 hours, there will be a spider in a huge web sprawled out across your trunk. There are huge webs with a single giant spider in every single tree, bush, sign on the road, doorway, porch, and lawn chair. It's SO CRAZY! hahahaha. I like, am still in shock. They're everywhere. I think I'm getting less scared of them though. haha :) 
 
This is Sister Thompson and I. We're in a public library. haha

Okay now I have to go. 
 
Write me letters, yeah? :D

I love you all.
and remember Kari, Ahhhh Sevenya.
And Lindsey Fritz, Secret Handshake.

Con mucho amor,
 
Hermana Gardner
 

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