March 19, 2012

Dear Everybody,

Thanks for the random bits of US/World news mom. Except, no one told me that we pulled completely out of Iraq! I found out yesterday from this new missionary that lives with us and basically realized I am way out of the loop. Not that I care. But still, no one told me! Haha.

This week was great. Our investigator, Emilio Hernandez, got confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. We also had several other investigators in church that are progressing towards baptism. If all goes well, we could have 3 baptisms this Sunday. They are Felipe Alan along with Victoria and Gabriel Acuña. My area is great because there are 4 huge apartment complex neighborhoods that surround the church building which is well placed right on the corner of this big round-about. So it's like a 2 block walk to get to church for almost half the Branch and basically all of the investigators that we have. The members are still very excited about the missionary work. I have never seen so many members faithfully bring their friends to church! There is a new face in church almost every week!

But at the same time, they struggle because the members know very little about the church doctrine and even less about how the church functions. Imagine this: There were 60 people in church yesterday, and in spite of that, the missionaries prayed, blessed the sacrament, gave talks, and confirmed the new convert. It was a miracle that the Gospel Principles teacher came to church or else we would have taught that as well. In Pehuajò there were 25 of us in church and Elder Arias and I didn't ever do a single thing! So we are praying a lot for the members and trying our best to find the proper way to make those changes without stepping over our bounds. We're just the missionaries!

Well that's about it. Please pray for me and for my companion so we can teach with unity and also for our investigators so they can make good decisions according to what we teach them! Especially those that I mentioned that may be baptized this week. Thank you for your support and prayers :)

Hasta luego,
Elder Ryan Garrison

March 12, 2012

Dear Family,

This week went by super fast! We went to Bahìa Blanca and it was great. I saw all the other missionary leaders and the office missionaries (including Elder Howard my MTC companion who is currently spending his 5th transfer in a row in the office), did splits with one of the assistants to president, learned a lot about how to be a leader in the meetings, and got to see Elder Arias who told me that the couple that we were teaching who was going to get married, did in fact get married and then got baptized! And two kids from Paraguay that we were teaching named Juan and Manuel, were about to be baptized as well. It made me super happy hearing all the good news from Pehuajò.

Here in Viedma, we did splits with some of the missionaries as well. Our Zone sort of only half exists. Many missionaries that were supposed to arrive last transfer did not come because of visa issues. So we have a district leader on the other side of the mission waiting for a companion to arrive and unable to work with the missionaries of his district. So Elder Calarco and I have to work with them and help them. Which I like doing.

This upcoming transfer 6 more missionaries will come in and then we will really be a functioning zone.

As for our investigators, Emilio Hernandez got baptized yesterday! He is 11 and is the cousin of a kid in the branch who is getting ready to go on a mission named Kevin. Emilio lives with his grandma who goes to church so we had him start going with her and we baptized him! Kevin performed the baptism. Then after church we had a miracle. We passed by the house of this 12 year old girl named Victoria that went to church with her grandma. She isn't a member. So we taught her and her family and they accepted a baptismal date for the 1 of April. Then, at about 8 o clock, as we passed this house that had their curtains open and I thought about how we should knock on it because there was a man older than 18 inside. At the same time, my companion thought about knocking on it because we always walk by it. As we walked up, their little dog practically bit our feet off so we didn't knock on it! But then, we stopped, went back and knocked on it anyway, avoiding the little dog. It was the best lesson ever!!! They let us in just as half time of a huge soccer game hit. They turned off the TV; all sat down in front of us, participated, and accepted everything! There were 9 of them. They are the Leguizamòn Family. Pray for them so they can get baptized!!

Well that's it. I gave a talk in church yesterday about being humble and obeying the will of God. When we are humble, grateful for what God gives us, and recognize that we depend on Him, He will bless us. We are His children and we obey His commandments because we love Him. And as we share the gospel with others, we show our love for others. That is the best way to fulfill the great commandments of love thy God and love they neighbor. I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in these latter days by a prophet of God who was Joseph Smith. God in His love, like he has done for thousands of years, raised up a prophet to show us the way to obtain happiness in both this life and the life to come. I love Him for that.

Thank you for all your support and letters! We got to the internet cafe and had to wait forever for the computers to open up so I couldn't respond to anyone, I will next week! Chau,

Elder Garrison

March 5, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

So I am writing early today because the only bus to Bahia Blanca leaves at 1:15 in the afternoon. So much for having P-Day. Elder Calarco and I are going to the monthly Leadership Meeting. I am going to learn how to be a better Zone Leader.

BUT YEAH. I HAVE BEEN GONE FOR EXACTLY ONE YEAR AND THREE DAYS NOW. I can't believe it. Actually, I can't even remember life before the mission. It feels very far away. Yet at the same time I feel like I have been gone for a very short period of time. I really prefer not to think about it, though, so I didn't do anything special on the day I hit the one year mark. My companion started at the very same time as me, so he, as well, finished his first year the day after me.

This week was great; we found some really great investigators. The coolest thing that happened was that we found this family and taught them the first lesson about the Restoration. It went really well and they accepted the message quite well. They are Nilvia, Jennifer, Sharon, and Rodrigo (the dad stayed in his room) .The mother, Nilvia, had a lot of questions as to why so many churches lack so much of what is found in the Bible. It was perfect, because that is exactly what the first lesson explains! As we finished the lesson, we invited them to a baptismal service of the other two missionaries that was on Saturday morning, as well as to church. When we passed by Saturday evening, the 10 year old son, Rodrigo had read what we left him to read, as well as everything from the beginning of the Book of Mormon all the way to 1 Nephi 2!! The mother then explained that she felt bad because he had asked if they could go to the baptism and they didn't go!! So due to that, and the insane desires that Rodrigo, as well as his sister Sharon, had, they came to church together on Sunday!! Basically due to the faith of a 10 year kid, the whole family is committed and is much more interested! By the next day in church, Rodrigo had read through 1 Nephi 8 and the Nilvia and Sharon had also read.

They will be getting baptized on the 25th of March :)

The Branch here is amazing. They are getting really excited because the four of us missionaries have been working hard together, bringing new people to church, boosting the attendance, and working a TON with the members. They respect us a lot. In fact, we had Branch Council meeting last night and THIRTEEN of the Branch leaders came because they are so excited!!  I have never seen more than 3 or 4 come in my whole mission!! We took pictures it was so great. The members have amazingly strong testimonies of the restored gospel and are very willing to help out in the Branch with their callings.

Well, I have to get going! Thank you for your letters and support! I love you all and know without a doubt that what I am doing is the true work of our Heavenly Father. He loves us and has blessed us with the gift of His Only-begotten Son, who died, was resurrected, and lives. I know it.

Hasta luego,
Elder Ryan Garrison

February 27, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

I love Viedma. It's actually really cold here already. It has rained 3 of the 7 days I've been here. Rain like I've never seen. In Arizona, it pours for maybe 30 seconds at a time. But here in Viedma, it pours very hard for hours at a time. Thankfully, when it's done that, it's slowed down and cleared up by the time we leave the house in the morning.

Pehuajò was a very, very beautiful city. It was green, clean, and kind of rich. Viedma is really gray and dirty. My area is rather poor and has some super sketchy neighborhoods that we've been told to avoid at night. But the people are very nice to us. It is strange though, coming from Pehuajò where many people had literally never heard of the Mormons, to Viedma where they all know who we are. But Elder Calarco and I had a fantastic week all the same! We found 16 new investigators that are awesome and are working really hard to set up a baptism for every week. We started this week with finding a miracle lady named Marìa who has an amazing amount of faith. We didn't really think about the possibility of baptizing her this week until we were in our weekly planning session and I realized she had been to church several times in past years and could be baptized. So we did it. We passed by with the Branch President, and he himself committed her to be baptized on Sunday. She came to church and the members took her in quite well and all of them stayed after the meetings to see her baptism. She was super happy afterward :)

But we gained the confidence of the members very quickly and things are going to improve very rapidly here in America branch. The Lord has a lot in store for this little branch.

As for my zone, dad, There are 4 missionaries in Branch America, 4 missionaries in Branch Centro, 2 missionaries in Patagones, and 4 Sister missionaries in San Antonio Oeste. In my mission everyone travels in buses.

So no, we do not have a car. That'd be nice but it's actually not necessary.

The only baptism interviews that Zone Leaders do are those of the converts of the District Leaders. One of the District Leaders lives in my house and the other lives on the other side of the city so it's no problem; we just take a taxi using our Zone Fund.

I'm super grateful for having been with Elder Arias. He taught me things every day that have helped me change my outlook and understanding of the mission and of the gospel in general. I am here to save souls. Christ said that (this isn't going to be verbatim because I memorized it in Spanish not

English) "he that is not born of water and of the spirit cannot enter into the kingdom of God." It's simple. Unless a man is baptized by the proper authority of God in His church, he cannot receive salvation. It's not about numbers, it's not about looking good, and it’s not about anything personal. It's about teaching people and giving them the opportunity to enter into the Kingdom of God. Christ showed us His humble example when he, the Son of God, was baptized by the proper authority. I have a firm testimony of that.

Thank you for your prayers and supportful letters! I love you all, Elder Ryan David Garrison

February 20, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

The week in Pehuajò was fantastic. We had a lot of work to do and worked super hard on a daily basis half running all over the place to fit in all of our lessons. We had been teaching the husband of a member that attends church regularly since we arrived to Pehuajò. His name is Vicente. He has wanted to get baptized but had problems smoking. The other problem was that he works in another province for two weeks at a time and we rarely saw him.

But the last time we saw him, we talked seriously about his baptism and set a date for it for the 18th. At the same time, his grandson, Jonathan, was going to be baptized. We fasted and prayed like never before and had his wife do so as well. We passed by daily and taught Jonathan and kept them excited for the baptism. Monday was the set day that Vicente was to quit smoking.

Well, all went well and we had a miracle! Vicente and Jonathan were able to get baptized this Saturday and were confirmed members of the Church yesterday during church by the laying on of hands. Vicente got really attached to us and when he found out I was leaving got super sad and asked me if I would baptize him (that's what we had planned anyway because he is a big guy) and so I, for the first time, got to perform the ordinance of baptism! It was an awesome experience!

But for about two weeks, Elder Arias and I knew that President Detlefsen was going to turn the District of Pehuajò into the Zone of Pehuajò. He announced in the meeting that Elder Arias went to, that he was going to receive many more missionaries and was going to spread them out and create two zones out of two districts, one of those being Pehuajò. So knowing that, for two weeks I knew that I was either to leave Pehuajò or be a Zone Leader. Both of those possible outcomes scared me.

Well. I'm a Zone Leader now.

But I am not in Pehuajò! We received transfers on Friday and I was sent to Viedma.

So yesterday at 12:50, I left Pehuajò. It was really hard. I felt like I was leaving behind a part of myself there. I'm not sure I had felt in my life what I felt upon leaving that little town of Pehuajò. I grew so much in my time with Elder Arias, working harder than I ever have and seeing so many miracles and blessings from the Lord. I grew spiritually and learned valuable lessons in diligence, patience, obedience, love, and having the correct attitude. We could have easily arrived and gotten depressed about the situation. But we worked and worked and worked, trusting in the Lord.

I left behind several investigators that will be baptized this week and next week but here I am in Viedma after my 12 hour bus ride!! My companion is Elder Calarco, from Corrientes, Argentina. He has the same amount of time in the mission as me but has already been Zone Leader for two transfers so he will be training me. Elder Arias who had been a Zone Leader when we left Bahìa Blanca together to go to Pehuajò, also taught me on a daily basis valuable lessons in leadership but I feel rather unprepared.

Please pray for me and for the new zone of Viedma!

I love you all and thanks for the letters!

Chau,

Elder Garrison

Pehuajó Branch

with Elder Calarco in Viedma

February 13, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Thanks for all the letters! This week was interesting because Elder Arias and I weren't in the area very much due to all the traveling we did. I had some great experiences though doing splits with two younger missionaries in Olavarrìa and being able to spend the day helping them and working in their area. It was interesting because in the mission, I focus so much on progression and becoming better. So the neat experience was being with them and seeing a huge contrast.

On Saturday, our investigator, Nelida Isabel Bolaño was baptized! Our recent convert, Hector, received the Priesthood a few weeks back and has been passing the Sacrament in church each week. So we asked him to baptize Nelida seeing as now, having the Priesthood power and authority of God, he can do that. And we found Nelida because he sent us by her house! So it was a great experience for the both of them.

This week in my studies, I really enjoyed the teachings and testimony of Abinadi (I have no idea how to spell that in English anymore, I think that's right) that are found in Mosiah 11 through 17 in the Book of Mormon. He explains a lot of doctrine about the Law of Moses and bares an amazing testimony of the Savior and His role in fulfilling the Law of Moses and bringing salvation to the children of men. I have also been studying in Preach My Gospel about the key role of the Book of Mormon in the conversion of a person to the Restored Gospel and about the powerful witness it bares of Jesus Christ. So read it because it's true!

This week we have 3 people that could be baptized if all goes well! They are Vicente Mesias and his grandson Jonathan Castro. Vicente is having struggles quitting smoking but if he manages to do so for several days, he and Jonathan will get baptized on Saturday. The other is this 14 year old kid we found named Juan Gimenez. He is a STUD! He's super awesome. He is reading the Book of Mormon and is in 1 Nephi. He has come to church twice now so pray for him, and the others, so they can get baptized!

Have a great week!

-Elder Ryan Garrison

February 6, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm in Olvarría right now because my companion has a meeting in Bahía Blanca tomorrow. And so they're putting me in a trio with the companions of the other missionaries that are also going to the meeting.

I travel a LOT in my current area. I'll explain. Every Monday, we take a bus at 11 at night to Trenque Lauquen for District Meeting in the morning. We get there at 12 and I sleep on a mattress on the floor. Then in the afternoon, we come back to Pehuajó. Every two weeks, we come to Olavarría for a Zone Leader Meeting that Elder Arias has. We leave at 12:30 in the morning, get in at 3:30 and sleep...on mattresses on the floor. That's all regular traveling. Then there is all the unexpected stuff like right now.

This week was great though! There were 28 people in church and 6 of them were investigators! I have never had more than 3 investigators in church at one time. And here in Pehuajó we had 6. This next Sunday, Nelida Bolaño, a lady we found through our recent convert, will be getting baptized. She is very, very poor. She lives with her son, Juan, who has mental disabilities. They have several dogs and a bunch of chickens and they all share a bedroom, I think. But she is incredibly dedicated and faithful and is progressing very well! We are very happy for her. And Hector Pedalino, our recent convert that sent us by her, is going to baptize her!

And if all goes well, the following week we could have up to 7 people if they come to church and everything. So pray for María and Roberto so they can get married, for Vicente so he can quit smoking and get baptized together with his grandson Jonathan, and for Juan They all came to church yesterday. Then there is Antonela and Humberto. They didn't come to church, unfortunately. They are struggling to progress. Antonela is 17 and Humberto is the husband of Rosa who just got baptized. They both smoke and struggle to make it to church Sundays. But if they change that, they can get baptized.

It's so important that they can get baptized though! Christ said that nobody can come to the Father but by Him. He set the perfect example for us. He humbly obeyed the will of His Father in every moment of His life, including when we was baptized, regardless of the fact that he was sinless and perfect. How much more important, then, is our need to be baptized, being imperfect? Much more. That's why we work so hard to help our investigators develop their faith in Christ and get baptized like he did.

Thanks for the support and for the letters! I love you all!

-Elder Ryan Garrison