Elder Seth Garner

December 18, 2014

Hey!

Another whirlwind of a week has flown right by, filled with miracles and excitement!  Gee, I sure do love being a missionary. I have been doing great, and I feel better than ever, happy, healthy, and just SO excited!  Elder Pimsuwan is doing great, Spring Valley is rockin', and life is good!  Our apartment isn't filled with TOO many cockroaches and rats, which is nice... Hehe,  I saw a rat run out from under the fridge last night and I about screamed like a little girl.

Elder Pimsuwan has been doing great. His English is incredible! I see him improve daily, and it still blows my mind that he has only been speaking for about four weeks now.  After we taught a Restoration lesson, Elder Pimsuwan was so excited and told me that he had never imagined being able to convey the Spirit that well speaking English! Haha, it was a sweet moment. The Gift of Tongues and Interpretation of Tongues has been such a blessing in sharing the gospel.  I try to help out as much as I can to teach him and help him understand the English language, but I know that I am not the main teacher on that one.  He was itching to speak some Thai though, and luckily we got permission to go with the Laotian missionaries to visit a Thai family they were teaching.  Elder Pimsuwan was spouting out the Thai like none other, and after we left, the Lao elders were able to get them with baptismal dates.  So, that was an interesting experience!  Not the first time I have sat in a lesson where everyone is speaking an out of this world language and I am the only one that can't understand!

There has been a man coming to church for the past couple of weeks that we hadn't been able to begin teaching. He is from Missouri, he is in the Navy, and he has been reading the Book of Mormon on his own for the past year.  His name is Zachary Sheperd.  We had been trying to get over there to teach him, but he just couldn't find the time with his schedule.  He finally texted us back on Saturday, and apologized for brushing us off, but wanted to know if we could teach him about baptism.  We gladly accepted the invitation, and met with him after church on Sunday!  As we taught the Doctrine of Christ, Zach accepted everything that we taught.  He was raised Baptist, but just felt that there was something missing in his church.  I do have one confession, and that is that Elder Pimsuwan and I have THE biggest man crush on Zach, because he is the coolest, manliest man I have ever met!  Haha, it sounds stupid, but I think it is safe to say, that he is going to be the next James Bond.  He dresses very nice, he is very proper, very sharp, drives a nice Porcshe, sounds really manly when he talks, and has a super cool battle scar on the brim of his nose from his ten months in Afghanistan... Haha, he is just too cool.  Anyway, when we were talking about the Holy Ghost with him, he said that he had, for the first time, gotten on his knees and offered a verbal prayer the day before.  He described his prayer as being the most sincere he had ever prayed, and he felt the feeling that we were describing.  He said that he received such a powerful witness from the Holy Ghost.  Zach wants to be baptized within the next month, and we are so excited for him, because his life is going to change so much! Not to mention, he would be EVEN cooler if he was a Mormon!

I did have a great experience this last week that was another good confirmation of why I am here, and that the Lord was inspired in sending me to Spring Valley.  Long story short, I learned of a friend that I had back home who joined the Navy and got married, and is now living in San Diego.  He actually moved to Spring Valley about the time that I found out I would be assigned there around a month ago.  I was so excited to see him, which took a very long time to actually get in contact with him.  I know that I can help my friend.  When someone feels the Spirit in their life, they always want more.  Some decisions can draw people away from that feeling, but when it is brought back to their remembrance, it is a comforting memory that they forgot they were in search of.

I truly am happy, and I couldn't ask for more. Sheesh, I do wish I had some more time out here... But I am thankful for the time that the Lord gave to me to serve Him.  I don't think I have given the Lord two years,  I know that He has given ME two years.  It has and is such a blessing to know that!  It cannot be wasted.  I look forward to this next week and finding the miracles that have been prepared waiting for us to happen upon them. Giddy'up!

Love,

        Elder Garner

    Elder Garner in Spring Valley