December 19, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Yeah no worries I recovered from being sick really fast. And now I tell everyone I get sick from tap water. Then they give me soda. I feel guilty because that makes me happy. Haha.

Anyway, Christmas is coming! You can hardly tell here. Because it's ridiculously hot and humid at all hours of the day. Including night time. Our fan broke last week so we're currently suffering as the office sends us money to buy a new one. This week was great. We didn't have very many lessons but we found several people that could very easily start coming to church and get baptized.

Like this little 10 year old girl named Fernanda Arce that came to church with the Branch President's family last Sunday. We taught her last Sunday and set a baptismal date. She was super excited and we were going to work with that family to help her.

Then out of nowhere her family moved.

So we did everything possible and had the Branch President's family do some calling and they found out where she moved to! We passed by Friday and asked her if she'd like to get baptized on Sunday and she said yes. So we taught her everything else super fast, had our District Leader travel in for the interview Saturday and she was baptized yesterday! We were very happy.

All the members are seeing changes. It scares us though because now they now want changes they are definitely not ready for. Like change from 2 hours of church to 3 hours of church before they even have someone to teach primary (the primary kids current spend the first hour watching videos and drawing on chalk boards and they are a third of the attending members). But we're working with the leaders, helping them understand the vision as well as the need to take certain steps before achieving that vision (like finding a primary teacher).

This week is going to be sweet because on Thursday, we'll be in Mar del Plata for SUPER P-DAY. To celebrate Christmas. And on Sunday, we're going to try and baptize the granddaughter of a member that brings her almost every Sunday. We finally had a chance to teach her this week!!

I am excited and the Lord is truly blessing Pehuajò. And all of your prayers are definitely helping us! Thank you all so much for your letters and I apologize if I didn't have time to respond to a couple! Mom, I will call on Saturday to set up a specific time for Sunday. We get 15 minutes to do that the day before. So if some strange number calls, that's me. I AM FREAKING EXCITED. My companion and I are trying to not get "trunky" thinking about it hahaha. I would also like Jake, Maddy, and Carly to come listen! So someone, tell them when I am going to call.

I love you all!

Talk to you Sunday!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

December 12, 2011

Dear Everyone,

I'm sitting here laughing because you all said that you hoped I had a great birthday...let me explain... This week, everything came against us all at once. I think Satan is a little unhappy with the success we've been having here in Pehuajó.

It started with me finding a FROG in the shower Thursday morning. I basically shouted because I stepped into the shower and something on the floor started jumping toward me! Obviously I had no idea what it was at first because I didn't have my contacts/glasses but after I realized, we chased it out of the house with a broom. After I showered, my companion was afraid of catching some sketchy frog disease and started pouring chlorine everywhere!! And then he showered!! The problem was is that with the hot steamy water he started to inhale chlorine vapor!! Smart move. So he got super sick and slept all day. Then, we went out in the evening even though he still wasn't feeling so great because we felt like huge sinners not having worked all day. Well we went to see these investigators that we have that almost got baptized a few years back but never could because they are living together but not married. (I believe Jesus was quite clear about not doing that).

We taught them the Plan of Salvation.

They gave us water.

I drank the water.

THAT WATER WAS TAP WATER!! Which here in Pehuajó has arsenic and like 50 bazillion other harmful chemicals. So I woke up on Friday morning at 4 am more sick than I have ever been in my life. Long story short, I ended up having to call President Deletsen's wife, and then the mission doctor, and then go to the hospital where they put me on one of those drip things that flows into your blood stream, and then take all kinds of medicine.

I drank water all day and then for my birthday I ate plain crackers all day and stayed in the house.

But the Brustle Family loves us so Sunday morning when we passed by to go pick up investigators together in their car (we go each Sunday morning an hour before church and drive all over with them to invite investigators to church) they pulled out a cake and sang to me! So I did eat Argentine cake after all :)

Well that was my week! Thank you all for the birthday wishes, I am 20 now and feel the same. My week was sad but this week we are going to work super hard and find more people to baptize!

As for skype, yes it is available here. I have to find out if it's allowed. I have heard of missionaries using it in my mission but that doesn't necessarily mean anything! Anyway, I'm super stoked to be able to talk to everyone because it sounds like you'll all be there! :D :D :D

BYE

Elder Ryan Garrison

December 5, 2011

Wow. She sent me a package?! That's the coolest thing I've ever heard. Tell her thank you so much and I will let you know when I get it! I have very little time again but this time because I was reading Tanner's letters. They are super funny and it's hilarious to hear about his experiences in the same country as me. His English is terrible! I can see when he uses Spanish grammar to speak English!

This week was fantastic here in Pehuajò. The Pedalino family got married! Well the parents haha. And then the Branch through them a party and there were tons of people there! They were baptized Saturday evening and confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands yesterday during church. The Branch is getting really excited and we are seeing a lot of progress in the weaker members as their testimonies are strengthened and a lot of progress as well with the leaders in the Branch. The Brustle family (from Bahia Blanca) goes out with us for 5 hours every Sunday to visit people with us and share their testimonies of the church. They are incredible and help so much in the lessons we teach.

I turn 20 this week and my companion completes a year in the mission field. So yes we will be doing some celebrating :D And the members found out about my birthday and are going to make cake :D Argentine cake is so much better than dry american cake so I am pretty stoked.

Anyway, thank you all for your support and your letters. Mom and am excited for your success in your new job! The Lord blesses us always when we patiently bear our trials. I know He loves us and that is why He restored His church and His authority through a prophet.

Dad, I got your email, thanks for the update! I am super stoked to talk to everyone on Christmas! You'll have to call me Elder Garrison though because I am not entirely sure I'll respond to Ryan anymore...

I love you all!

Chau

Elder Garrison

November 28, 2011

Dear everyone,

Argentina had another holiday on a Monday and we spent a half hour searching for an internet cafe that was open! Ridiculous. Ask any Argentine why they got the day off and they won't even know. Hahaha. It cracks me up. The more I'm here, the more I love it!

I have had so much to say recently I'm not sure if I have talked about Marcela, the lady we have been teaching here in Pehuajó. Well regardless, she was baptized this Saturday in a super old, portable baptismal font by the first counselor in the Branch Presidency. It was incredible. She went from a completely different life beforehand full of several life styles that can make even the strongest person feel worthless, identityless, and a lack of self-confidence, to a happy, shining light to all those around her. The baptismal service was incredibly spiritual and I could literally see the light in Marcela's eyes after she had been baptized. The Lord is constantly blessing us here in Pehuajó with miracle after miracle. Elder Arias and I struggle to believe it at times.

This week on Friday, a couple that we have been teaching is getting married in the morning. There little daughter got baptized in July and then they stopped going to church. But we passed by and they are very prepared. The whole Branch is going to come and support them at the wedding and throw a party later on in the night. I am going to lend my suit to the man, Hector, and the member that moved in from Bahia Blanca who is now Relief Society President is going to dress up the lady, Alejandra. And Saturday night, we are going to have a baptismal service for them!

Dad, my mission has 9 zones. Three in Bahia Blanca, three in Mar del Plata, Santa Rosa, Tandil, and Olavarría. I am part of the Zone of Olavarría which yes, is 3 hours away in a bus. Super far. My district is Trenque Lauquen, Pehuajó, and Carlos Casares. We are the farthest from anything here in Pehuajó and practically part of the Buenos Aires South mission! For that reason, Pehuajó has a bad reputation amongst the missionaries for being a place where very disobedient missionaries get sent to end their missions alone hahaha.

Being with Elder Arias is great. I literally do speak Spanish all day long. I have no choice. I am learning a lot and my accent is improving too. And my English is hurting! The only problem is that his silly Chilean accent rubs off on me.

We thankfully, we have a good relationship and talk about everything and anything that happens. We try to stay on the same page in everything and support one another so we don't go crazy here all alone in Pehuajó!

Mom, you are right about change. The thing Elder Arias helped me understand the other day is that if I don't progress individually here in the mission, if I don't give it everything I've got while I'm here to become a stronger person, when I am released and the authority of being a missionary goes away, I will go back to being who I was when I left. And if that happens, it will be too easy to fail in the future when life throws some change at me. But if we are spiritually prepared, our temporal circumstances will never affect our testimonies. And if we are spiritually strong and obedient, the Lord will bless us both spiritually and temporally. We just have to exercise faith. And if we do, we will always have the strength to cope with change.

Well, that's about it. Mom, I'm working on getting my rain gear from Bahia Blanca so we'll see. As for Tanner's letters, yes, send me a few!! Everyone gets to read about me but I feel like I know nothing about anyone else!

And I can't believe it either! December already. I am almost 20 years old and like Dad said, almost a year ago, he came and got me from BYU and I opened my mission call. Y así es.

Thank you all for your letters! I love you all and will continue writing and sending letters as soon as I get money.

Chau!

Elder Ryan Garrison

November 21, 2011

Hey,

I love Pehuajò. It's officially my favorite area so far. In Bahía Blanca the people are really cold and stiff. It's sort of a rich city. And I don't know, more than that, the people are just really closed. They like their house and their ideas and minding their own business. It's like the Dursley's. Everyone in Bahía Blanca was like the Dursley's. Here in Pehuajò, we asked a lady who was mowing her lawn, the name of a street and she turned her lawn mower off, walked over, said hi, gave us directions, and sent us on our way. It was incredible. I was so used to Bahía Blanca I got very confused that someone could be so helpful and kind! And not just her, everyone!

Long story short, I like it.

Elder Arias and I are working really hard here too. On Saturday, it rained all day. Somehow, in my hurried rush to pack and leave, I left my rain coat and my umbrella in Bahía. So I got soaked. Drenched. But we worked anyway and I at least had my winter coat. And it turned out to be the most productive day in my mission!!! We found 5 new investigators in one day, had 3 other lessons with members present and taught 9 lessons overall. It was incredible. But the whole week was that way. We also had lunch with the members every day! And there are only like 10! Hahaha. But things are changing. We are training our Branch President. The other elders tried to confront him and point out his flaws. But he only got defensive and they lost the Spirit, fighting. Elder Arias and I realized quickly, though, that President Uriona knows absolutely nothing about the Gospel. And even less about being a Branch President. He was called just as they were about to close Pehuajò because he was the only Priesthood holding, active member!! We started by having a meeting with him and his counselor and the family that recently moved in from my old area who are the Branch Secretary and Relief Society President. We explained what needed to change and that we are all in it together to support one another.

It was interesting because we talked about little things like saying hi to everyone at church, arriving on time and stuff like that. But President Uriona got so animated, it was great!

Yesterday at church there were 19 of us instead of 13. President Uriona did all the little things we asked him to do and the environment was so much different. There was so much more order and the spirit was so strong that our investigator Rosa, who has known about the church here in Pehuajò since 1994, said she had never felt what she felt in church yesterday. And went on for like 5 minutes about how nice it was that the "director" came up and said hi to here and gave her a beso (kiss on the cheek, it's what they do here).

So things are changing slowly. God does the same with us. He pushes us through hard times so we can struggle and grow. But he never makes us overcome that which we don't have the ability to overcome. He does it because He loves us and wants us to progress. He is doing it with me, with Elder Arias, with Branch President Uriona, and with each one of us. His plan is so huge and perfect; it's literally incomprehensible for us. We just have to trust in Him and trust that He has our best interest at heart.

Elder Arias has already been my most influential companion so far. He has baptized more people in his 11 months here in Argentina than any other missionary in the mission. He is about to break the record of most baptisms in the mission and he isn't even half way done. He has baptized almost every week of his mission. Yet he does it because he is incredibly humble and has the deepest love for the people: he desires nothing more than their salvation. That is the pure love of Christ. Christ suffered and died to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He desired nothing more than our salvation and for that He gave His life. I, on the other hand, am struggling with that but for that reason, I am grateful to be with Elder Arias because he helps me by pushing me to grow and learn.

Thank you so much for always writing and praying and helping! Happy Belated Birthday, Mom, you're 29 again! I love you all and will be talking to you on the phone very soon! Weird.

CHAU!

 Elder Ryan Garrison 

November 14, 2011

Life is crazy in the mission.

On Friday, I was stressing hardcore about the packages I send weekly because I didn't have enough boxes of the Book of Mormon to send to everyone who wanted them (not that Elder Howard didn't have the money I needed to send the shipments anyway he needed to go to the bank) and thinking about the investigators in my area, Villa Mitre Alto. We were working hard with Rodolfo and involving the members as much as possible so he could find his desires to progress by coming to church. But then, at about 3 in the afternoon, Elder Johansson, the secretary and my District Leader, got off a phone call and shouted, "emergency transfers!!" He looks at me and says, "Garrison, you're headed to Pehuajò with Elder Arias, go buy a ticket in the terminal, teach Elder Sancho how to work with Materials, and pack your stuff. You're leaving. Tonight." And just like that, I was gone. I literally did all that in hours and hopped on a bus at 8:00 to go to the tiny city of Pehuajò, Argentina.

Pehuajò (Pay-wa-ho) probably has about 40 to 60 thousand people I would guess. It's a ton like Balcarce. And beautiful. The only thing is, there is no church. They rent a tiny little house and currently have 10 active members. The church here is very fragile, the attendance is quite low, and they were going to close the area completely about a year ago but Elder Aidukaitis of the Seventy felt the prompting to not close it. But what happened this week is that the missionaries here had an argument with the Branch President and President took them out and was going to close the area. But instead, he decided to send Elder Arias and me here.

Elder Arias is amazing. He has two more transfers than me but is on the verge of breaking the record of baptisms in the mission. He was a zone leader in Bahìa Blanca just recently and got pulled out like me before the transfer ended. He has incredible faith and determination. As well as a full understanding of his purpose as a missionary. He loves the people with all his heart and is the most obedient companion I have had. He is humble and wants to succeed so that the Lord's church here on the earth can grow. He is 24, from Chile, and studied Law before the mission. And he is hilarious. We are going to be great friends.

We are going to change Pehuajò, though. We plan to triple the attendance by the end of the year. And we are going to work as hard as possible to do it, too. Oh and the one strong member family that lives here, happened to move here about 4 weeks ago FROM Villa Mitre Alto. So I already know them very well!

Anyway, I'm already out of time because I took so much writing President, but I am super excited to be here even if I will miss the office. I know the Lord has a purpose in everything and He is constantly involved in this work. Because it is His work. I may be here for a while but I am going to do all I can to constantly serve to my best ability so that the church in Pehuajò can grow. Thank you all for your letters, I'll do better at responding next week. I love you all!

-Elder Ryan Garrison 

November 7, 2011

HEY

So I went to get all the mail downtown with Elder Howard on Thursday. I always drive. It's legit. Anyway, Elder Howard is in charge of money but was running out so he only brought 300 pesos. Turns out we got 14 packages in the mission!! Which was going to cost about 2000 pesos and take hours to pay for, etc. (Everything is super slow in this country) So, what did we do? We paid for mine and left the rest for another day! Hahaha. So yes, I got my package. It only took like 3 weeks, mom! That's what I thought anyway. I think I should have explained the tax system on packages though...They make you claim the price of the contents like you did. Then they convert it into pesos and make you pay half the price as a tax. So I now owe the mission 202 pesos. But I don't care because that package was the best thing I ever got!! And I am really impressed with the ties you picked out, too. The other office elders were really jealous of them. So thank you so much for everything in it and for getting all those letters together! :D I realize that's my birthday present but I don't mind opening it early. Every day is the same here. On the other hand, I WILL wait for the Christmas one so no worries.

As for the news thank you for that too, mom. The Argentines always ask us about politics for some reason when they find out I'm American. I am still going to tell them I know that I don't discuss that as a missionary but I like knowing some of what is going on!

As for this week, it was super hectic with office things like normal but it's really fun. All the leaders came into town for big meetings and as the materials missionary I had to give a presentation. I mostly liked seeing all my friends though. As for the investigators, Rodolfo still didn't come. I don't understand. We managed to teach his girlfriend who is equally as smart but knows nothing about religion except her own with is Catholicism. She understood well and we tried our best to apply the message to her current needs and struggles. So we were hoping that instead of being an impediment to Rodolfo that she'd actually help him get there. But nope, he'll come to anything we set up during the week but somehow it is impossible for the guy to get out of bed and come to church on Sunday mornings!

Our other investigators are this couple that one of the ladies in our ward introduced us to named Cesar and Miriam. She is so determined to help them that she is going to help them get married so they can get baptized! It is quite the miracle! The woman is amazing too and always gives us food. 

Well that's all I've got. Thank you so much for the letters and the package and the support. I know what I am doing is right. I love you all!!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween? They don't celebrate that here. Sad.

Thank you all for the letters!!  Thanks for the emails from Tanner too! He still is Tanner and still terrible at writing letters. Hahaha. You can send me the rest too that'd be cool. All the others manage to write me though so no worries.

This week was cool. We did divisons within my district with the focus of finding new investigators. Our district leader wanted us to all stay in divisions until every companionship had found a new investigator.. My district is all the office elders and the assistants. So I was with Elder Acosta from Mendoza, Argentina. He is the new assistant to President because the other one, Elder Bills, finished his mission. Elder Acosta is really cool. He is a fantastic missionary and super obedient. And super Argentine haha. The way he speaks is awesome; his accent is very Italian sounding. I liked working with him because he's smart and he helped me a lot with ideas for my area, ideas for becoming better personally, and is a great example. I do like being in the office a lot because I get to know a lot of the missionaries like that and I get to be around a lot of leaders which is fantastic. Tomorrow, all the leaders in the mission come in for their monthly conference with President and the Assistants. It's going to be another hectic week in the office.

Our investigator Rodolfo is awesome though. He reminds me of Martin who was baptized in Balcarce. He is rather timid and struggles to express himself a little. But he understands everything and always retains the information (unlike most people that we teach). I think he is very prepared. The only problem is his girlfriend, Romina. She has a tight hold on him and she is very catholic. They don't live together (BIG surprise in Argentina) but she seems to be around a lot. I'm worried that she might continue holding him back. He didn't come to church again this Sunday and when we passed by to see if we could acompany him, guess who answered the door? Her. Ugh. Pray for Rodolfo if you could. It's going to be tough.

Other than that, we don't have very many people to work with. The area has been beaten to death by other missionaries and the members are colder than ice to us. Not sure why. But we're trying our best to show our love for them and to motivate them to get involved! In Balcarce, the members asked US when they could go out with us to teach investigators! I had no idea back then that that was a huge blessing.

Well, that's all I’ve got. Thanks for all the support! Send more pictures, though!

As Tanner said hahaha, chau vagos!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

October 24, 2011

HI.

So yeah. This Sunday was election day in Argentina. It was strange to me because in America, people always talk about how few people turn up to vote for our President even though everyone complains about the political/economic situation of the country. There is a lot of political ignorance and there are far too many people who like to talk and do nothing about it. Well in Argentina, it is the law that each citizen must vote in the elections. Or they get nailed with a huge fine. Yet these people are a hundred times more ignorant than Americans!! They just go and vote for whoever they want because the government is so corrupt, it's all the same to them. That's just a random thing I noticed this week.

This week was a blast though. Being in the office, I get to see all the missionaries who go home as they leave, and then all the new missionaries as they come in and begin the next 22 months of their lives. The week was relatively stressful though because we were busy non-stop all day long making sure everything ran smoothly with all the meetings, meals that were fed to the new missionaries, taking care of luggage as it was delivered in vans, explaining procedures and rules, and dealing with the trainers and all their requests all while managing our own assignments in the office. And then we spent all of Thursday moving houses. (We left the dark, dim, dirty old house we lived in before to live in a brand new house that belongs to a member of the church that currently lives in Cordoba. We're renting it now because it's huge and has space for new missionaries/leaders that come into Bahia Blanca each transfer for meetings). So on Friday I had only a few hours to get 20 boxes ready and shipped off by 5 o clock to all the zones in the mission! I am sure you all find this super interesting but that's all I did all week!

As for teaching the gospel, we found some cool investigators this week but most of them have already told us not to come by anymore for some reason or another! And as for Rodolfo, the man we have been teaching for a week or so, he could not come to church because he had to go vote (which is a complicated matter here I suppose). But I'm sure he'll continue progressing and investigating because he actually went to Institute on Wednesday night! Just not church on Sunday, like I said.

Elder Araya and I continue learning a lot together about how to teach, how to live together, how to study and learn from each other. I have really learned the importance of good planning each night for the following day, and the importance of doing our daily practices to improve our teaching. We try to help and motivate each other as often as possible (and trust me that's necessary with the circumstances in our area) because we know that we can have success no matter where we are. Its interesting living with a whole new set of people at all times. It allows me to really see who I am as a person because I have to learn to react in new situations away from the comfort of home and those who I already know.

As for driving stick shift, I've got it down. I like it a lot actually, it's really fun. And Mom, you would be scared to death were you to drive in Argentina. It's basically void of traffic laws. Except one: don't get hit or hit anyone else. So yeah, I'll be able to return and drive the Mustang with no problem at all :D :D :D And hey, it's good to hear that Angela's chocolate business is going well. Tell her to send me some, that'd be super cool of her. And Christian's email made me laugh a lot because I hear the same thing all the time from the Argentines!! "Chicos, I'm currently bathing my baby!" Lies. Oh and that reminds me, Mom you haven't managed to forward any Tanner's emails to me in months! If you could, that'd be great. I would like to hear how he is doing. I wrote him but he's Tanner so he has yet to respond. And if you could also get a hold of Jordan Wheeler's address for me, I'd like to respond to the letter he wrote to me from the MTC. But now he's in Mexico I'm sure.

Anyways, I am done with this letter now! Thank you for all writing me! And thank you for reading. Chau!

-Elder Garrison

October 17, 2011

Dear everyone,

Well here I am in the office. There are currently 18 missionaries here waiting to go to President's house to have a BBQ before they head off to Buenos Aires and then go home. It's been a hectic day. And tomorrow, 18 more missionaries come in from the MTC to take their spots. Every transfer (or 6 weeks), this happens. Normally it's not so many missionaries at once but this group is huge! It is super interesting to see the old missionaries and their attitudes and behavior. I can tell which ones have worked hard and which have not.

But this week has been good. Elder Araya and I had some pretty good lessons with our investigators. So we're very excited to see how they progress. One of them is this man named Rodolfo. He's super cool! He is about 30 years old, lives alone, works in an office Monday to Friday, 8AM-4PM, and has a tiny two month old golden retriever. We found him in the street in front of his house last week and gave him a pamphlet. He told us that he had a Book of Mormon already and had read some of it. The second time that we passed by, he couldn't attend to us but asked for another pamphlet because he liked that first one. So we talked a bit. Turns out, this guy didn't read just some of the Book of Mormon; he read almost all of it! He's been studying theology in his own time for about 5 years now. He's probably the first person I met here actually educated on religion. So anyway, we told him that we're always in the church building if he wanted to pass by after work any day of the week and see the building on the inside. And he popped up on Thursday! He liked it and then we taught him on Friday. But not after my companion and Elder Howard saw him in the bank and talked to him for two hours while waiting in the huge Argentine bank lines. The lesson later on went super well. I have never taught someone who understood so well the first time.

Unfortunately, he could not come to church Sunday because here in Argentina it was Mother's Day. But he's coming this Sunday! I'm super excited for him and we're going to try and pass by tonight.

I'm struggling here to find more to say. I swear I have nothing to talk about because I'm always in the office! I suck at driving stick shift but I'm getting better. The other day I drove in downtown traffic and had to get the car moving over and over because we were in stop-and-go traffic. I killed it a lot. Oh, and we had Mexican tacos with a member family the other day because Elder Howard told them he had taco seasoning. They were soooo good.

Alright, thank you all for writing! I'll try to have a more interesting week this week so I can say more in my email!

Bye!

-Elder Garrison

October 10, 2011

Dear everyone,

Thanks for all the letters! I like hearing what's going on at home. Sometimes I forget that there is life besides missionary work. Speaking of missionary work, I don't think I was ever under the impression that it would be easy, but now that I am actually doing it, it turns out to be sort of hard. We get laughed at a lot. And yelled at. And people don't treat us like human beings. Half because they hate the United States and half because they don't want to talk to us about religion. But it reminds me of a talk that we watched in the MTC one day. Hermano Gneiting, my MTC teacher, was explaining a point he reached in his mission in Buenos Aires West when he was doing everything possible to be obedient, work hard, and seek the guidance of the Spirit. He explained that he was so down, kids were chucking rocks at them, it was raining, and he just felt like crap. But as all that happened, he thought of this very talk. It was a talk that Elder Holland gave in the MTC. He told the missionaries to never dare even think about going home. To not even dare complain before thinking about what Christ had to do for each one of us.

We had interviews with President Detlefsen this week (the man is amazing), and he said something similar to me. That even the Son of God was rejected. He was perfect, did everything He possibly could have, and they killed Him for it. I am very grateful to be able to even relate to Christ in the very smallest way possible. He really did everything for us and all because He loves us.

Lately I've noticed how aimless and lost the people here look. Their life goal is literally (and I am honestly not joking here) to build their house. Everyone builds their own house here and they are ALWAYS doing construction. They work their whole lives to feed their family and buy supplies, which are then used to continue building or expanding their house. Then they die. That's pointless!!! I want to help them so bad but they just shut out the chance of being happy! It's unfortunate because I really have seen the Book of Mormon change people's lives in every way possible.

But I know there are people out there waiting. I just have to reach them. God's test for us is whether we will open up and be humble. We have to understand that we don't know everything! He does. Like it says in Mosiah 4:9.

That's all I've got. The week flew by! And now the transfer is about over! I am stoked for all the newbie missionaries to come in. And I get to see all the old ones leaving before they go. I need to meet more missionaries here. Everyone I know keeps leaving!

Well, bye!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

October 3, 2011

Dear Family,

I'm super stoked for Dad and Jen that they now have jobs! And seeing the house again makes me cringe sort of. For a couple reasons. Not only because I won't be returning to it, but mostly because seeing a house like that here would surprise me because so many people live in tiny clay brick and cement houses the size of our living room and something like McDonalds or an iPod is completely expensive and practically out of reach of the common citizen. Kind of like Christian said, leaving the country really makes me appreciate what I have there. There are everyday normal items that we have in the States that only the richest of the rich can get a hold of here.

But yeah. October. I JUST GOT HERE. Elder Howard and I try to fathom the fact that we were apart from each other for a time of 4 months but it seems like the blink of an eye! I feel like yesterday we said goodbye and good luck. Yesterday was our "cumplemes" because it was the second and we started on March 2nd. Seven months ago. It really helps me realize how insignificant two years of my time is and how it is seemingly not enough time to do what we have to do! But the Lord has given me 2 years and I have to make the most of it. Elder Araya and I are trying our hardest to be obedient and just open our mouths. I have learned not to be ashamed or awkward and instead to just TALK to people! In the store, in the street, in someone's house. Part of it of course is the fact that my language abilities have improved. But in Balcarce, I wouldn't have thought twice about stopping someone in the street and talking. Now I can't pass up an opportunity.

Unfortunately we have very little support from the members here in the Villa Mitre Alto area. The church here in Argentina is fragile and the people are very lazy. Both culturally and, perhaps, unknowingly because they think it's the missionary's job to knock doors all day. So we are starting to work with the ward mission leader to put together ward activities (because there are none) to animate the members and help them bring friends and feel the support of one another. It's tough work and we only have 4 hours a day but I know the Lord will bless our efforts. Kind of like you said, mom, with your daunting task of cleaning out the house that we've owned for 14 years, it seems overwhelming and impossible to do. I'm here, a simple missionary who has a completely different cultural background, trying to animate 75 Argentines to share the restored gospel with their friends!! So please pray for me and I know the Lord will help.

Anyway, Conference was amazing. I absolutely loved it. It went by so fast I couldn't believe it! It wasn't too bad with the time change, just really late. And we watched Priesthood session on Sunday morning. But we had two investigators come to watch a session on Sunday! They are great!!

I think my favorite talk was Elder Uchtdorf's because of his incredible emphasis on the fact that we are children of God and although we are nothing COMPARED to Him, we are everything TO Him. As well, I enjoyed Elder Tad R. Callister's talk about the Book of Mormon. Clear cut and simple! Through my scripture study each day, I have found it easy to logically prove that the Book of Mormon is both truly the word of God, but also necessary in these modern days. But no matter how logical it is, we need to READ IT and gain a SPIRITUAL testimony. So we can KNOW it is true.

I know it is. And am grateful for the opportunity to share it with all around me.

Thank you for your letters and support! I love you all!

Until next week!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

September 26, 2011

Dear family,

Well, maybe I should tell you nothing about my investigators. It seems like every time I mention in my email someone who seems to have legitimate interest in our message, they change THAT day!! Last Monday, Elder Araya and I passed by Horacio's house and he sat down and just said, "I am not going to continue with this." I was absolutely stunned. We didn't even know what to say. We talked to him about his interest, what he thought of church, his feelings, whether he had specifically asked God to know if it was the truth or not, etc. And he just contradicted himself over and over and told us he had made the decision to continue with his church. So we told him to pray that night and ask God if he should continue listening to our lessons and attending church with us and he said he would. The next day, we were on divisions (two elders left again to check houses in other parts of the mission) and I was with the Assistant, Elder Bills, and when we passed by, the same thing.

His problem is that he has no real interest in changing. Even if God wants him to. The interesting thing is, we're not going to get an answer if we're not ready to accept what it is. Why would God answer if he wasn't willing to change upon receiving the answer? And logically, it could possibly just be the fact that Horacio DID receive an answer from God but was so comfortable with what he already believed, that he was unwilling, or unable, to recognize his answer. If he could understand that he can be as comfortable as he likes in his church but that it doesn't matter because God doesn't direct his church through a living prophet and twelve apostles who have the Priesthood authority like He did in ancient times, he could maybe understand that God wants him to continue listening to us and attending His church. So hopefully someday, he will feel the desire to listen to the missionaries again when they pass by his house.

For now, Elder Araya and I are having trouble having success because we never work together!! I worked three days this week without him because of the crazy office things going on this transfer. BUT the other two missionaries in the Ward had an amazing baptism this Saturday. They had been teaching this family for 5 months now and the parents finally got married and got baptized this weekend!! They use to be SUPER anti-church, anti-everything that has to do with the missionaries. What happened was that they allowed their children to all go and get baptized. A couple of children three years ago, and two more two months ago. So over time, Elder King and his companion taught them and they began to come and read the scriptures and they are now the most amazing, strong, changed people I have ever seen in my life. The man went from being the most proud man ever who 5 months ago beat his children daily, to the most humble, kind, faithful, and amiable man in the ward! It's great. And now the members are super animated and we're going to work really hard to help them all understand that we can continue to help people in this way if they start to share the restored gospel with their neighbors, their families, and their friends. Because anyone can change. And it's not the missionary’s job to find them. It's the members.

The church campaign in Arizona sounds super legit Dad. We are constantly giving out cards to everyone we meet that have the mormon.org website link on the back. I think that'll be great for people to actually develop some interest or at the least, curiosity. Too many people are very ignorant about what we believe and why we do! As for gringos (or yankees as they say here) and Latins, it's about half and half in my mission. I am ALWAYS speaking English. It's pretty bad haha. Of the 8 of us that live in the house together, Elder Araya is the only native Spanish speaker. So he's learning more English than we are Spanish. Yes it was pretty gross in the house mom but if you saw Argentina, you would see that their definition of dirty is far below ours. But we've cleaned out a TON of garbage and junk that had piled up so the house is much nicer now!!

Anyway, I was going to add things to that list, mom, but failed to write them down so now I can't remember!! But if I remember during the week, I'll make a list! Thank you all for your letters and encouragement!

Until next week,

Chau!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

September 19, 2011

OKAY.

Dad, that's a depressing turnout in the BYU - Utah game!

And I hope you guys don't force the missionaries to eat more food than they can handle!

So I am actually still companions with Elder Araya. Elder Howard came in though which is LEGIT because we get along really well. He is new Finance Elder who deals with all the money and is companions with the Elder who is training him in all that. But get this, there are actually 8 of us living in our house! With one bathroom. All 6 of us office Elders and the Assistants to President. They had us all move in together because the old house in which half of us were living before was too far away. Now we live all together and get to know everything that's happening in the mission! It's pretty special...Anyway, the Elders who lived in the new house before us were pigs. So we spent all day today cleaning. Fun.

This week was tough though. The assistants left with the elder in charge of all the houses in the mission to go check them and clean them out of "distractions." Which left us in a companionship and a triple every night. In other words, two groups to work in three areas.  As a result, we had less results! But hey, our investigator came to church! His name is Horacio. He's blind. And 33. And the most humble, nice, loving person ever. He LOVED church. He has few friends, few pastimes, and must get bored often. But the new experience of a million nice people saying hi and caring about him, hearing the hymns, and feeling the Spirit really helped him. It was funny because before, he never memorized names or anything. But in church he finally did. I explained to him how we dress every day as missionaries to represent the Lord, how we wear little tags to distinguish us, and everything else about the missionaries, members, etc. It was great. We had some members take him home and he asked me (using my name) when we were coming by again!

He's getting baptized for sure in 2 weeks!

The church is kind of weak in Argentina. So we're doing our best to motivate the members in every way possible! I got to speak in church yesterday (just like Kimberly!) and I spoke about the Doctrine of Christ (3 Nephi 27:20-22, 2 Nephi 31:19-21, etc.) and explained how it is necessary that we all repent and are baptized by the proper authority so that we can receive the Holy Spirit and present ourselves cleanly before God after we die. That is the gospel of Christ and the only way we can be saved in the kingdom of God! And then I shared in 3 Nephi 17:7 and 9 when Christ heals the sick Nephites but it is the clean people that help the sick come under Jesus to be healed (something I learned from Elder Blackhorse). It is our duty to share the restored gospel with ALL those around us! Whether we are missionaries or not! Everyone needs to be "healed" through Christ by baptism.

Unfortunately, a lot of the members here think that it is the job of the missionary to knock doors all day but that's wrong! The members find. The missionaries teach.

I love being here and doing this work. It's an incredible and rewarding experience to help someone find the restored gospel of Christ and come to receive the blessings of it. And I learn a lot each day about my own self, how to teach and interact with others, and how to learn in a more effective way. I'm so thankfully every day for the experiences I have.

Thank you all for your letters and encouragement! I hope everyone is doing well back at home. And if you haven't written in a while, or said you would and haven't at all. Please write me!

Chau!

Elder Ryan Garrison

September 12, 2011

Dear Family.

Wow. The office is literally insane. I don't even know where to begin. First off, President is never here. He is always in the mission home. But the assistants are here all the time. This week the new missionaries came in and the old missionaries went home so that was crazy. I have been learning all my duties in the office as well. We get to drive the mission van which is awesome. We basically don't follow the rules of not leaving your proselyting area because we always have to drive all over Bahïa Blanca to run errands. The missionaries are ALWAYS calling me asking about their things, ordering materials, etc. And I am really getting to know a lot of them (by their voices at least haha). Oh and my P Day basically doesn't exist now because we spent all day doing errands and other things that had to be done. Today we went to Walmart! It was weird.

But I love it.

And as strange as it may seem because I am in the office all day, my companion Elder Araya and I still managed to find more investigators this week than I ever have in my whole mission. Our goal each week is to find 15 investigators. And we actually did it! We don't know the members, the streets, the area, anything. But the week was amazing! Elder Araya is an amazing missionary. He is a fantastic teacher, very obedient, and at the same time, friendly and talks to EVERYONE. We wander the streets and talk to everyone in sight, knock doors randomly, and have found such great people! He has taught me a lot about following the Spirit and searching the guidance of the Lord. Yesterday, we were in this little area between two houses with absolutely no desire to knock doors. And he says, "We need to pray and ask the Lord for a new investigator to teach." So we did. We walked out from that area to the street and look over, and recently, a man had walked out of his house and was just enjoying the nice weather while leaning against his fence (we are finally able to work all day long in just short sleeve shirts because the weather is nice). So we contacted him and went inside and taught him! Later, we found 6 more investigators the same day!!

And my Spanish has improved a ton in this week. We talk a lot about it and practice in the street both English and Spanish. But the unfortunate thing is that two new missionaries are coming in today. They couldn't come last week because they hadn't received their VISAs. So President did some last minute transfers and what is happening is Elder Whipple (my trainer as Materials) is leaving to train a new missionary and Elder Howard (MY MTC COMP!) is coming in to replace the Finance Elder. Elder Whipple was the Finance Elder's companion but now he will be with Elder Araya and I will be with Elder Howard. AGAIN!

Well I have to go now! We´ll see how things go. I know I am going to have success in this area. A lady Elder Davidson and I were teaching in Balcarce is getting baptized this weekend so I am happy!!

Thank you everyone for your letters! I get to go and pick them up from the post office myself now haha.

I love you all!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

September 5, 2011

Dear everyone,

So in the mission we have transfers every six weeks. Transfers start on Monday and end six weeks later on Sunday. The Friday before, the Assistants of the Mission President call the Zone Leaders who then call the District Leaders who then call the individual companionships in their districts. So I'm obviously explaining this because...I got transferred! After finding out I was leaving, we did our best to say goodbye to everyone for me and still have lessons at the same time.

It was super hard to say goodbye to Balcarce. I had grown really attached to the city, the members and all they did for us, the people I had taught so many times, and especially the people that were baptized in my time there. I lived there for four whole months! So saying goodbye to Martin and his cousins Franco, Leonardo, and Matias was incredibly hard. It basically sucked. Because maybe it's not goodbye forever, but I won't be seeing them every little while like I have been. Martin was super sad so he and Natalia, his "girlfriend," made us this awesome lunch on Saturday and it was freaking awesome. They made these things called Cantelones that are kind of like lasagna ravioli things. And on Sunday he showed up to church in a suit!! It was legit. I am confident that he will be a very faithful member of the church in the future. He has never missed a Sunday. My hope is that he and Natalia can get married in the temple some day!!

But anyway, last night I said goodbye to Elder Davidson and left Balcarce with Elder Guzman (the Chilean missionary that had lived with me for 3 months) because he as well was transferred. And now I am in Bahia Blanca, the capital of the mission (which isn't as pretty as the Mar del Plata area but I'll live). AND I am the new Secretary of Materials in the Office of the Mission!! Which was a big surprise for me. I had been joking with Elder Guzman for a week or so saying he was headed there (we basically knew we'd be leaving because of how things work out with timing, etc.) but it turns out that I am the one here now! So what happens is I spend my day from 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon working in the office and then at 5 o clock I leave the office and go work in my area until 9 at night. I am getting trained by Elder Whipple from California who has been the Materials Elder since I arrived until 3 weeks from now when he'll be transferred away. My companion, however, is Elder Araya, a Chilean elder that arrived in the mission with me (he is going to be the Pensionero which is the office elder that deals with all the missionaries housing contracts and rent, etc.). He is super legit, wants to work really hard, and speaks 

only Spanish!! So finally I am going to be able to learn a ton more of Spanish!!

What I do as the Materials Elder is take orders from the missionaries in the mission, order the materials, receive them, send packages all over the mission, take care of cell phones, pick up and distribute mail to the missionaries, order and stock the materials of the office itself, etc.

So I am not exactly sure how I feel about spending my day in doors all day every day for the next 4 to 6 months (or even more) instead of being outside working in the mission field but I know that the Lord called me to the office for a reason and that there are things here that I need to learn. So it's all good!

Thanks for the letters and news about what's going on at home! I love you all!

Chau!

-Elder Ryan David Garrison

Pictures sent September 5, 2011

Pictures sent August 29, 2011