Elder Seth Garner

Tue, 24 Jun 2014 16:45

Hello hello! I'm sure it has been awhile since you have heard from this guy. My apologies! Life tends to be a bit crazy. Especially the past couple of weeks. Transfers are tomorrow, which means we have been crazy busy getting missionaries on their way, orientating new missionaries, and figuring out who is going where and all of that jazz! It has also been a bit crazy because President and Sister Clayton are going home on Saturday, which means President and Sister Schmitt will arrive on the same day. That day is going to be WILD! Elder Myler and I will be meeting with him that day and he will come out with us for a few hours to do some good old missionary work! So, things are just nonstop insane, even as I write this email, so I don't have much time at all.

Just a little experience I had this past week: While at the MCRD there was a big group of new recruits that were brought in by a drill instructor. I was a little confused because we had already received a new company that day, and it didn't make sense that we were getting another one. The drill instructor quickly found out that he had led his recruits to the wrong place, when he was originally looking for the Buddhist service. He yelled at his recruits to file out of the auditorium, but there was one recruit who decided to stay. He came up to me and, very straight forward, asked me what "Mormonism" was. We sat down and I asked about his life. He had had a very rough family life; both parents are drug addicts and disregarded he and his sister when he was fifteen. He finally turned old enough to join the marines and he did! He had no religious background at all, only a belief in a higher power. Well, this recruit and I talked about the very basics of who God is, and eventually got down to the Restoration. Everything I told him he believed. There was nothing doubting his knowledge and testimony which was growing very quickly. He accepted a baptismal date for the 3rd of August when he gets back from Edson range. He is one of the most genuine sincere people I have ever met! His name is Recruit Watts. SO, besides the fact that he wants to get baptized, his story of how he walked into the LDS service was a huge miracle! While attending the Buddhist service, Recruit Watts walked out to go use the head. When he came out, there was a drill instructor who had a line of new recruits in front of where the Buddhist service met. The drill instructor immediately thought that Recruit Watts was apart of this new company, and tore into him, telling him to jump in line and to stay quiet (in a very impolite manner). Searching for the Buddhist service, the drill instructor shoved all of these recruits into our auditorium. When he found out that he had led them to the wrong place, he immediately corrected his mistake by making the recruits shuffle out again. Recruit Watts felt very impressed to stay. He asked the drill instructor if he could stay behind to come to our service. Recruit Watts had no idea where he was or what "LDS" was. He just had a feeling to stay. When he had told me that before I left the MCRD that morning, I knew that the Spirit had done quite a bit of micromanaging with Recruit Watts - he was in the right place at the right time, felt a strong impression to stay and not go back to what he had been doing in the past, and found what he didn't know he was looking for.

Woah, I am about to get booted off the computer to go do some more running around. I hope that I am able to send off a more detailed email next week, as I am sure I will have much to say!

Love,

        Elder Garner