tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73789790067750394382024-03-13T23:00:12.403-07:00Called to Serve - Elder Tanner GibsonGarrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-34526064143134167362016-06-21T20:41:00.000-07:002016-06-21T20:41:12.438-07:00Tanner's Last Email!!!!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rQ-prXEVeoo/V2oHjKBi3bI/AAAAAAAAC7k/H7Y-sYU2V3AEGtLC1AaQr4CIeBOLqktngCK4B/s1600/FSCN6990%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rQ-prXEVeoo/V2oHjKBi3bI/AAAAAAAAC7k/H7Y-sYU2V3AEGtLC1AaQr4CIeBOLqktngCK4B/s400/FSCN6990%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tanner and the two missionaries he trained.</td></tr>
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Well this email will probably be my last official email. Next Monday I will check this email, but I doubt that I will write a full length email. We will see.<br />
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I am definitely gonna a need a good foot and hand spa treatment when I get home. :) Maybe Emma and Mick can help me out that Friday night. As you can see from the picture, my foot fungus has returned once again. I am guessing Mick and Emma would be overjoyed to help me... :)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PUnhDp4L5Y/V2oHjakJ8fI/AAAAAAAAC78/q1pM64QSGtA1GZ2iAfvjsWrA0uJVHDklgCK4B/s1600/DSCN6994%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2PUnhDp4L5Y/V2oHjakJ8fI/AAAAAAAAC78/q1pM64QSGtA1GZ2iAfvjsWrA0uJVHDklgCK4B/s400/DSCN6994%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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This week was a real good one. On Tuesday I was feeling pretty sick with diarrhea and vomiting, but by Wednesday I was feeling fine again. On Wednesday we had a multi-zone conference. Other than it being really long, everything went well and it was a good conference. I was sad to see a bunch of my favorite missionaries for the last time. That night we got back to Facatativa at 8:30. On Thursday we had to go back to Bogota to get my new cedula or Colombian ID. Luckily it was pretty easy and not too much of a pain in the neck. That day we also helped an elderly woman clean her couches. They are made of some sort of carpet/wool material, so we scrubbed them with soap and then with pure water. She was content with our work.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-osNY_H1kEOA/V2oHgqBJS1I/AAAAAAAAC7Y/RG8kahKUDIUemI-j15qn8ohbo25AeP-ngCK4B/s1600/DSCN6988%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-osNY_H1kEOA/V2oHgqBJS1I/AAAAAAAAC7Y/RG8kahKUDIUemI-j15qn8ohbo25AeP-ngCK4B/s400/DSCN6988%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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We also did another "Cine Mormon" activity this Saturday. This time we watched the Other Side of Heaven. It is a pretty decent movie. We had a good crowd show up. It was fun and everything enjoyed themselves.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRB6da2iGRc/V2oHjbePEMI/AAAAAAAAC74/k0dlJN96KIQWh-NRY7pEBAinMcYKoTPNgCK4B/s1600/DSCN6975%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRB6da2iGRc/V2oHjbePEMI/AAAAAAAAC74/k0dlJN96KIQWh-NRY7pEBAinMcYKoTPNgCK4B/s400/DSCN6975%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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So today we had our "flower tour." [Note from Brad - I have an employee who's parents are from Colombia and currently live in Miami. They operate a flower importing and distribution business. My employee arranged with her father who does a lot of business in Facatativa to have a tour of there facilities there. Her father was very pleased to be able to do it.] We met up with this guy named Felipe, some representative of a flower company connected with Sole Farms, or Mauricio Jaramillo´s company, at 10 AM. He and some woman drove us 30 minutes to Mountain Farms or Mountain Flowers, or something like that. Sole Farms has 45 farms in the Facatativa area. Each farm employs about 400 people. We arrived and were given a tour by Felipe, and 4 other staff members of Mountain Farm, including the main boss. They showed us the way flower are planted, maintained, cut, stored, packed, and shipped. It is a pretty legit scientific process. What I did not know is that they cut the flowers before they are fully developed so that when they arrive in store or your home they fully bloom or open there. They transport the flowers in very cold conditions right after they are cut until they arrive at Walmart, Costco, etc. The farm is all pretty well kept and well organized. Check out the link I will include below that shows pictures of the huge white tents under which all the flowers are grown. The tents are huge and the rows and columns of flower beds go on forever. Also, roses can take literally years to grow. They have some rose bushes that are 17 years old. Anyway, they treated us very well, got us free drinks and food at the cafeteria, showed us all over the facility, and even gave us two huge bouquets of flowers. These flowers were already packaged and I SWEAR the packaging had the Stop and Shop logo on it. Maybe SoleFarm is the provider of Stop and Shop flowers?? The bouquets would probably be dang expensive in the states. Anyway they then drove us back to Faca and dropped us off. Everyone was very nice and even though every single worker was staring at us the entire time, it was a cool experience. Mom would have loved it. I did not take any pictures, so look at the website for an idea of what it all looks like.<br />
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http://www.solefarms.com/farms.html<br />
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This is a run-down of my final week before I head home.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3FgjXN70Nks/V2oHjJjrguI/AAAAAAAAC7s/aBmsxhKrB5YCXrJlANmZRbjwnXBImMeFACK4B/s1600/DSCN6978%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3FgjXN70Nks/V2oHjJjrguI/AAAAAAAAC7s/aBmsxhKrB5YCXrJlANmZRbjwnXBImMeFACK4B/s400/DSCN6978%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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----This is my last week in the "field." On Sunday I will travel to Bogotá during the afternoon to stay with the missionaries in Quirigua overnight. Monday morning, I have to pick up Elder Henningson, my companion for the last week who is also ending his mission with me, from the bus terminal as he is coming in from Bucaramanga. Monday night we have a special fireside (a close knit meeting) in the mission home among all the missionaries ending their missions. There are 12 of us in the same group. 2 gringos, 3 Latin Sisters, and 7 Latin Elders. On Tuesday we have a program called PEF that lasts from 8AM till 5PM. PEF is pretty much a debriefing before they send us home. After PEF we will go to the temple in Bogotá. Wednesday I have my final interview with President Laney. Thursday I will have to wake up at 2AM to go to the airport on time to from my 7AM flight. Elder Henningson and I will both fly to Atlanta, but then he will head to Utah and I will head to CT. That pretty much sums up the last week of the mission. -----<br />
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I am out of time. I need to go. Love you all very very much.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-51883315564246955102016-06-21T20:37:00.004-07:002016-06-21T20:37:53.335-07:00Tanner's Last Zone ConferenceThings are well here in Faca. We had a good week four and are looking to have a good week five too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dog Tanner and his companion rescued.</td></tr>
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So the conference with Elder Rasband was pretty cool. We had to wake up so early, 4AM, to get to a chapel in Bogota by 7:30. We arrived and it was already packed. The entire Bogota North and the entire Bogota South and the MTC Colombia were all in the same chapel. Almost 450 missionaries in total. The meeting started at 10. Both Elder and Hermana Uceda gave good talks. Hermana Uceda spoke on not "playing" with sacred responsibilities or callings. She used D&C 8:10 and D&C 6:12 to back up her points. It was well done and right on point for these two missions.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XzhsJ8A5beE/V2oGsiZzeOI/AAAAAAAAC6s/RTEe_XZNIMYRCXDFmwvP0h8K1gKB_X3bgCK4B/s1600/DSCN6958%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XzhsJ8A5beE/V2oGsiZzeOI/AAAAAAAAC6s/RTEe_XZNIMYRCXDFmwvP0h8K1gKB_X3bgCK4B/s400/DSCN6958%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Elder Uceda talked about carrying out not only a change of heart in our investigators, but also a change in our own hearts. Although he did not cite the scripture, the classic Helaman 3:35 came to mind. I love the phrasing of "yielding their hearts unto god." The word yield, if you ask me, has a context of submission or giving in. We sometimes fight so hard to do what we want when we want with whom we want, yet if we just accept and submit to the wonderful gospel of Jesucristo, everything will improve. That is a promise in Mosiah 2:41. “And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XibCF1O0XKo/V2oGtq8X_iI/AAAAAAAAC60/ZUn116prEwoTf5525pjmmTJcxUtK4Ez3ACK4B/s1600/DSCN6937%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XibCF1O0XKo/V2oGtq8X_iI/AAAAAAAAC60/ZUn116prEwoTf5525pjmmTJcxUtK4Ez3ACK4B/s400/DSCN6937%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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All in all, I just love the use of the word "yeild." A change of heart is one of the many changes that I have experienced. My heart still has a lot of changing to do, but we are making progress.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wI3rjGMc1bA/V2oGpbANFtI/AAAAAAAAC6c/MBs4cAzMSeU-bHWj8e5AZ9cexTOtPut1ACK4B/s1600/DSCN6936%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wI3rjGMc1bA/V2oGpbANFtI/AAAAAAAAC6c/MBs4cAzMSeU-bHWj8e5AZ9cexTOtPut1ACK4B/s400/DSCN6936%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Hermana Rasband spoke about the Statue of Liberty and related it to the missionary work. She said some cool stuff, but what I enjoyed most was how she said that the Book of Mormon should be used, cared for, and given with the most absolute care. I agree. There are many missionaries that try to convert people using only the Bible. The Bible is great, yet to really be converted to the restored gospel, you must have a testimony of the Book of Mormon as well. My style of teaching has changed dramatically during my mission and while I am still no expert teacher, I have become much more refined.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K52sXbbc708/V2oG0Knw1iI/AAAAAAAAC7E/YOwbEkoNPcsxAxxRuitR_flHWvLx5GChgCK4B/s1600/DSCN6954%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K52sXbbc708/V2oG0Knw1iI/AAAAAAAAC7E/YOwbEkoNPcsxAxxRuitR_flHWvLx5GChgCK4B/s400/DSCN6954%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_V1i2-cfu6Q/V2oG8naMJfI/AAAAAAAAC7M/_fKb_rjdd28dti_8YJR_5Vpr76qhS8FYwCK4B/s1600/DSCN6949%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_V1i2-cfu6Q/V2oG8naMJfI/AAAAAAAAC7M/_fKb_rjdd28dti_8YJR_5Vpr76qhS8FYwCK4B/s400/DSCN6949%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-32575795228898746862016-06-21T20:29:00.001-07:002016-06-21T20:29:10.734-07:00Tanner has Rabbis? <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NrJAeRTlxVg/V2oFEsmzReI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/AxHZuAICzTkNJUkQ1Pq7RyEkwq4iXTYvACK4B/s1600/FSCN6902%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NrJAeRTlxVg/V2oFEsmzReI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/AxHZuAICzTkNJUkQ1Pq7RyEkwq4iXTYvACK4B/s400/FSCN6902%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This week was pretty good. We struggled getting lessons with investigators; however, we had a really good week when it came to less active members and recent converts.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Alexander and Martha are doing just fine. Alexander received the Aaronic Priesthood and was confirmed a Priest. He will bless the sacrament this upcoming week. That is good because here in Faca there are only two young men that attend. He is more than content with everything that is going on in the church. They are so good.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">All the other recent converts of the last 6 months were at church. It was good to see the people that I am specifically working with all at church. The Gospel Principles class was packed. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Also, the 4 less active members/families that we are specifically working with all came to church. They are good people and I enjoy teaching them. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Elder Wright and I are doing really well. I really enjoy serving with him. He is not only a good missionary, but a good friend. We get along really well and I will definitely miss him when I leave.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">So on Friday we were walking through the street and out of nowhere a dog came up and bit my right calf. I did nothing to provoke it. It literally came out of nowhere and took a bite. I did not really think much of it because it was not that bad, but on Sunday Night the health secretary called me and commanded me to urgently go to the hospital in Bogota the next day to get it checked by a doctor. So today we went to Bogota. After waiting a butt ton of time a doctor checked out of my leg, said that I probably did not have rabies, but said just in case I need to get the rabies shots. So right then are there they gave me some sort of shot in the arm, then used clothing detergent to clean the leg, then sent me to a different hospital to get the first of 5 shots over a period of one month. So I got the other shot in the other arm and I have to come back on Thursday to get the second shot. They give the shots on day 0, day 3, day 7, day 14, and day30. Also, I have to go back for a checkup later on in the week. I am not too happy about all this. We are gonna waste a ton of time and money traveling back and forth. I kinda got salty with the health secretary because I definitely do not need the shots, but he said that I had to. Whatever. Mom and Emma, I am fine. I do not have rabies and am totally ok. The bite kinda hurt though. haha</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I do not have many photos, just to scrubs selfie that I sent.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We met some gringo named John here in Faca this week. He came down here to Colombia to get married. After the marriage the wife stole over half of his money and bounced. He doesn’t really love Colombia. However, he bought a farm up in the mountains and he lives there in solitude. He is pretty much an alcoholic and smokes a ton of weed. He is an interesting character.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There is the tradition that in the last zone conference you get up and share your testimony. I am the only one ending my mission in the zone, so we will see what happens this Wednesday. I will base my testimony probably on three things, the cleansing power of the atonement, the reality of the Book of Mormon, and the true power in the Priesthood. My testimony is strong in these 3 things.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">This week we gave talks in church. Elder Wright was super nervous, but he did fine. My talk went well. I spoke on how we can prepare ourselves to share the gospel. Pretty standard. We give talks every 3rd Sunday of the month.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Things are well family. I love you all very much. Be safe and do good. The church is a blessing in our lives. We should do better to appreciate it. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I found a good scripture this week. Proverbs 26:11</span>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-74404428341375001682016-06-21T20:23:00.003-07:002016-06-21T20:23:54.668-07:00Alexander & Martha Get Baptized!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A8GYhrj_nw/V2oDj3El6RI/AAAAAAAAC6A/rN3BjoIMHSQkjF0n20Mhngp3mUierdWlgCK4B/s1600/RSCN6896%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4A8GYhrj_nw/V2oDj3El6RI/AAAAAAAAC6A/rN3BjoIMHSQkjF0n20Mhngp3mUierdWlgCK4B/s400/RSCN6896%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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So yesterday night we received the transfers and nothing changed. I will finish Elder Wright`s training here in Faca 1 and 2. In fact no one in the district was changed.<br />
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So as I mentioned in the call that Alexander and Martha were baptized this Saturday. It was a good service other than that is started really late. There was probably 40 in attendance. They were more than content. This Sunday Juan Jose was given the Priesthood and was ordained to the office of Priest. He is literally super smart. You can ask him anything that has to with the Old Testament, history, law, etc. and he is there with the answer. It was a joy to teach him and we will do our best to keep on helping him out on his conversion process. Everything has been picture perfect with him. Literally.<br />
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It was great talking to yall yesterday. It was fun, obviously too short, but great overall. Happy Mother’s Day again mom!<br />
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Well it is hekka weird to think that this is literally the last transfer. 6 weeks is gonna go by so fast. I am glad to be training to finish. I think it will keep me extra focused.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gve4u_c_Ej8/V2oDjqgegDI/AAAAAAAAC5w/Zh10i3x48CsoSoSQa4l2b0gGNZ536oSeQCK4B/s1600/RSCN6880%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gve4u_c_Ej8/V2oDjqgegDI/AAAAAAAAC5w/Zh10i3x48CsoSoSQa4l2b0gGNZ536oSeQCK4B/s400/RSCN6880%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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I don’t think that I spoke clearly enough yesterday when I commented on the Book of Mormon. What I was saying is that every time when I read it, it seems as if my mind just opens and I begin to watch the book, not just read it. The Book of Mormon is the base of my testimony. I would be lying if I said that my testimony is super strong when it comes to other gospel practices or principles; however, you are not gonna convince me that the Book of Mormon is false. It is one of the few things that I can say with certainty that are true.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fbgpBb-NxFQ/V2oDjd64vUI/AAAAAAAAC5o/ge74UbB0XZYBUS9VSYlZq4Qre0ojxDRuACK4B/s1600/RSCN6898%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fbgpBb-NxFQ/V2oDjd64vUI/AAAAAAAAC5o/ge74UbB0XZYBUS9VSYlZq4Qre0ojxDRuACK4B/s400/RSCN6898%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-16038315371916685082016-06-21T20:21:00.001-07:002016-06-21T20:21:32.309-07:00Tanner's Happy Surprise from Bucamaranga<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x-Nd8U7yE_c/V2oDLKEkbRI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/VAxpGTK3PJg5IQ8eVL5jBJ68-SyhfYF6ACK4B/s1600/DSCN6868%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x-Nd8U7yE_c/V2oDLKEkbRI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/VAxpGTK3PJg5IQ8eVL5jBJ68-SyhfYF6ACK4B/s400/DSCN6868%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Things are well here in Facatativa. Today we did not do much. Some old guy hustled me in ping pong. I lost and had to buy him a pop. I was pretty salty.<br />
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We had a good week. Alexander and Martha are progressing just fine. We will have the baptismal service this Saturday at 5 PM. This Sunday they both got up to share their testimonies. They are really good.<br />
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The family from Pueblo Viejo unfortunately did not go to church this week due to some legitimate reasons. We had a good lesson with them the other day and the daughter came out of the blue saying that she wants to get baptized. It was cool. Last night a member that we brought on the previous lesson with them called us and asked us if he could go visit them by himself. I thought, what could be the worst that could happen. I still have not called him to ask him how it went. Hopefully well. They are a good family. The dad kinda looks like Wolverine.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhR_BAxhcNs/V2oDLlgAFII/AAAAAAAAC5g/YODTHIVZdzI33QPrxWuniTll_se4z-gJQCK4B/s1600/DSCN6854%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhR_BAxhcNs/V2oDLlgAFII/AAAAAAAAC5g/YODTHIVZdzI33QPrxWuniTll_se4z-gJQCK4B/s400/DSCN6854%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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This Saturday we borrowed the big soul question cube from the zone leaders and put it up in front of the biggest mall that there is here in Faca. We were quite the spectacle. haha. It was so crowded that day and even though not a ton of people came up to us, we did get a TON of people that saw us and our spectacle. It was fun. I sent some pics.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_WBov8jOLc0/V2oDJGaqZLI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/8qD87KoXDwYu-hAjOo39MFLjFJRmEx8-wCK4B/s1600/IMG_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_WBov8jOLc0/V2oDJGaqZLI/AAAAAAAAC5Q/8qD87KoXDwYu-hAjOo39MFLjFJRmEx8-wCK4B/s400/IMG_0882.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: start;">This is Samuel from Bucaramanga. He contacted me in the street one day when I was in intercambios with Elder Calaway. It is cool that he got baptized. </span></td></tr>
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Btw, as dad commented, in the last 6 months I have gained some weight. I am guessing around 8 pounds. It has been fun. During the summer I will have to do some serious work to get back to what I was pre-mission.<br />
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Also, the last 15 chapters of Alma could make a SICK war movie.... just saying..... haha<br />
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<br />Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-68453157333485364632016-06-21T20:14:00.000-07:002016-06-21T20:14:03.583-07:00Alexander & Martha - and Tanner's Thoughts on Sin<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OgY2rghwfTE/V2n_YYSwrOI/AAAAAAAAC2k/JOfKLExRVekb0KlHw7b6e87O-IT0avb_QCK4B/s1600/DSCN0172.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OgY2rghwfTE/V2n_YYSwrOI/AAAAAAAAC2k/JOfKLExRVekb0KlHw7b6e87O-IT0avb_QCK4B/s400/DSCN0172.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Things are going well with Elder Wright. He is a really good kid. We get a long well and he is improving little by little. I am so glad I got him versus the other whites in his group. They were all way weird. Elder Wright is definitely a bro.<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAK9zJJHSuU/V2oBGQO8duI/AAAAAAAAC5A/o2Adq75B1cckXJHkDds-xhMTFnt1IUAlwCK4B/s1600/IMG_3015%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZAK9zJJHSuU/V2oBGQO8duI/AAAAAAAAC5A/o2Adq75B1cckXJHkDds-xhMTFnt1IUAlwCK4B/s400/IMG_3015%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Alexander and Martha continue to progress really well. They already have 4 back to back attendances of the three hours. The requirement is 3 attendances. Anyway, they are doing really well for the 7th of May. We are working on getting a lot of members to come to their house to befriend them. It is working and they are already inviting people from Bogota to come to the service. Their progress is a real tender mercy.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FXQmkVdGlZ0/V2oBFhmDCcI/AAAAAAAAC44/xvVS5-WQOGU-i5HGeID9PpLZuUw2lNkvQCK4B/s1600/IMG_3017%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FXQmkVdGlZ0/V2oBFhmDCcI/AAAAAAAAC44/xvVS5-WQOGU-i5HGeID9PpLZuUw2lNkvQCK4B/s400/IMG_3017%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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We are also seeing some unexpected progress from a family of 5. They are old investigators that came to the church 2 years ago and then stopped coming. They are a good humble family that live in this sketchy part of Faca that is on top on a mountain. It is a hike to get up there. I really want this family to do well. They are not married, but they are interested in the option. They came to church this week, all five of them, but only stayed the first hour. Hopefully we can put a fecha with them this week to help them progress towards sometime in June. Please pray for them.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqdR0hFgRPg/V2oBAja3TvI/AAAAAAAAC4g/ar9pPPp6qgosPcYcVTc3UODkjQlyb6tagCK4B/s1600/DSCN6724%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqdR0hFgRPg/V2oBAja3TvI/AAAAAAAAC4g/ar9pPPp6qgosPcYcVTc3UODkjQlyb6tagCK4B/s400/DSCN6724%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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We are having a lot of teaching opportunities here in Faca. We are already, even after opening two areas, teaching more lessons that the two prior companionships had combined. In the last three weeks we have found 13, 15, and 13 new investigators, when the average of our zone is 4 a week. I say this not to boast, because we still have a LONG ways to go; I am just excited about what is happening in the areas. Alexander and Martha, and then hopefully this family of 5 from Pueble Viejo show the most promise at this point.<br />
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Today we went to the Jehovah´s Witness "center" or "visitors center" thing. It was actually pretty dope. They have an army of workers that keep the place spotless. They print off all the magazines, books, etc for Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It was pretty impressive. Everyone was SO nice. Too nice though. The place is huge and cool.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xbTc9hWuXjk/V2oBEJ612_I/AAAAAAAAC4w/YcKR-kJsCYshVYkGsZX1-MjXpwxRbM_wQCK4B/s1600/IMG_3013%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xbTc9hWuXjk/V2oBEJ612_I/AAAAAAAAC4w/YcKR-kJsCYshVYkGsZX1-MjXpwxRbM_wQCK4B/s400/IMG_3013%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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One thing that I have thought much about lately in the severity of sin. I think sometimes we do not realize just how much damage sin really does. Satan is the great imitator, father of lies, and the son of the morning. He knows us well. He knows our faults/weaknesses, and even knows the scriptures. If we do not build up a good defense, we will lose, and the sin will stain us. However, the Atonement is real, and it is powerful. It erases sin completely. I have experienced its grand power. If all the world would come to a greater comprehension of the Atonement, things would be a lot different.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqdR0hFgRPg/V2oBAja3TvI/AAAAAAAAC4g/ar9pPPp6qgosPcYcVTc3UODkjQlyb6tagCK4B/s1600/DSCN6724%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EXaPifmXS58/V2oBDRPISII/AAAAAAAAC4o/a67mbbfdCgs2b7T3G-bF8ZwOwc6pPeDHACK4B/s1600/DSCN6843%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EXaPifmXS58/V2oBDRPISII/AAAAAAAAC4o/a67mbbfdCgs2b7T3G-bF8ZwOwc6pPeDHACK4B/s400/DSCN6843%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-85387250816155407232016-06-21T20:05:00.006-07:002016-06-21T20:05:49.911-07:00Tanner in the Salt MinesToday we went to one of the biggest tourist places in Colombia, the Salt Mines of Zipaquira. They were super cool. Look it up on the internet. We took some good fotos. I will send them next week. I was fun and really cool. The mines are HUGE. It was a lot of fun.<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a8bH3cbBPJE/V2n_dUG9ZnI/AAAAAAAAC20/cM6OJyNpIAUwV-LBNwryHCLce1wfOwmtACK4B/s1600/DSCN6787%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a8bH3cbBPJE/V2n_dUG9ZnI/AAAAAAAAC20/cM6OJyNpIAUwV-LBNwryHCLce1wfOwmtACK4B/s320/DSCN6787%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zTh5i2VVJSM/V2n_dUwgfaI/AAAAAAAAC2s/U0hY2mwEeRcNulxbZbMfhobhSx4QK3m9QCK4B/s1600/DSCN6793%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zTh5i2VVJSM/V2n_dUwgfaI/AAAAAAAAC2s/U0hY2mwEeRcNulxbZbMfhobhSx4QK3m9QCK4B/s320/DSCN6793%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FvBRZbJt7Gs/V2n_d9MsKtI/AAAAAAAAC28/wdmqePpAHDYBZ7UY7wfGhs0SL543LEmDwCK4B/s1600/DSCN6768%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FvBRZbJt7Gs/V2n_d9MsKtI/AAAAAAAAC28/wdmqePpAHDYBZ7UY7wfGhs0SL543LEmDwCK4B/s320/DSCN6768%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qPWaETReD9k/V2n_ePXCcZI/AAAAAAAAC3E/xNamskUcPtQdT1ByG0sBMDa5-7uA1oVBQCK4B/s1600/DSCN6792%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qPWaETReD9k/V2n_ePXCcZI/AAAAAAAAC3E/xNamskUcPtQdT1ByG0sBMDa5-7uA1oVBQCK4B/s320/DSCN6792%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0WkleBGEpc4/V2n_myecm-I/AAAAAAAAC3M/raETFo9tw8E9k9MaYUekd8gXxkJxcSFQACK4B/s1600/DSCN6755%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0WkleBGEpc4/V2n_myecm-I/AAAAAAAAC3M/raETFo9tw8E9k9MaYUekd8gXxkJxcSFQACK4B/s320/DSCN6755%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-anumpo-Y_MA/V2n_uZ2Bs2I/AAAAAAAAC3c/vjCsrAHrQhwM6qSLmNi28f8r2y_fe9j9QCK4B/s1600/DSCN6774%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-anumpo-Y_MA/V2n_uZ2Bs2I/AAAAAAAAC3c/vjCsrAHrQhwM6qSLmNi28f8r2y_fe9j9QCK4B/s320/DSCN6774%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JglHYswQvO8/V2n_tcg_9LI/AAAAAAAAC3U/-JsQCF6cdYwnO4nfOwFsuXga9rasSrO9ACK4B/s1600/DSCN6748%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JglHYswQvO8/V2n_tcg_9LI/AAAAAAAAC3U/-JsQCF6cdYwnO4nfOwFsuXga9rasSrO9ACK4B/s320/DSCN6748%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P5ZUcZ-709g/V2oADb77byI/AAAAAAAAC3w/TBkbEiLSt3IPBCk2YVHstiFN8tD6e_BdwCK4B/s1600/IMG_3019%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P5ZUcZ-709g/V2oADb77byI/AAAAAAAAC3w/TBkbEiLSt3IPBCk2YVHstiFN8tD6e_BdwCK4B/s320/IMG_3019%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JglHYswQvO8/V2n_tcg_9LI/AAAAAAAAC3U/-JsQCF6cdYwnO4nfOwFsuXga9rasSrO9ACK4B/s1600/DSCN6748%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N7PEvQTnOQU/V2oAHjkFbBI/AAAAAAAAC4A/nXdBpXEASKsjQcVTARBfRtS7w9TTh53CACK4B/s1600/IMG_3021%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-udWIKyROpzU/V2oAItIT0mI/AAAAAAAAC4I/tQx5NUYCITkd4hgwBlCzRCVUoBC6p8lUgCK4B/s1600/IMG_3022%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hjbStSr7KYo/V2oAKK4zq6I/AAAAAAAAC4Q/4fB5y_0gThsX-03BPbsrhg1o7WOlsUg9ACK4B/s1600/IMG_3023%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hjbStSr7KYo/V2oAKK4zq6I/AAAAAAAAC4Q/4fB5y_0gThsX-03BPbsrhg1o7WOlsUg9ACK4B/s320/IMG_3023%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-udWIKyROpzU/V2oAItIT0mI/AAAAAAAAC4I/tQx5NUYCITkd4hgwBlCzRCVUoBC6p8lUgCK4B/s320/IMG_3022%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N7PEvQTnOQU/V2oAHjkFbBI/AAAAAAAAC4A/nXdBpXEASKsjQcVTARBfRtS7w9TTh53CACK4B/s320/IMG_3021%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /><br />
Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-6843968961804980382016-06-21T19:56:00.005-07:002016-06-21T19:56:57.627-07:00Tanner's Thought on Ammon<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H6zmAmB8wpk/V2n95ArqHiI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/dktoy_6aGwozT1c5kUY_b02nqoJhHfRZgCK4B/s1600/DSCN6639%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H6zmAmB8wpk/V2n95ArqHiI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/dktoy_6aGwozT1c5kUY_b02nqoJhHfRZgCK4B/s400/DSCN6639%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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This week was really good. We had a lot of teaching opportunities, a lot of news, and we are doing really well with Alexander and Martha. They are great. Already have the 3 attendances necessary to be able to be baptized. They, well more especially Alexander, knows more about church history than the lifelong members. He knew that Joseph Smith prophesied the Civil War, and I thought I was special for knowing that. May 7th will be a good day. However, they are planning to move to a city called Tunja, which does have the church, but to be honest I hope they move after the 7th of May. It would be really nice to see them baptized.<br />
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Also, we are seeing progress with a man named Juan. He arrived to the church by himself one day and we have met with him just a few times. We will see where it goes, but he has some real potential. We hope to be able to put a fecha with him this week. He has an 11 year old daughter that he wants to bring to the church, but we have yet to meet her.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8I4RIewtcFc/V2n93kgxqCI/AAAAAAAAC2I/Dsb20oV-89kmuAmtukcj-rosbmt8C2MwACK4B/s1600/DSCN6692%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8I4RIewtcFc/V2n93kgxqCI/AAAAAAAAC2I/Dsb20oV-89kmuAmtukcj-rosbmt8C2MwACK4B/s400/DSCN6692%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Elder Wright and I are doing really well. He is a good friend and we are working hard. Faca is a good little city with prepared people. I enjoy training him and we get a long real well.<br />
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This week Elder Montoya of the 70 did a tour of the mission. It was good. He did a good job speaking and then afterwards we went to Chiles in Bogota. It was like being in the states. Weird.<br />
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Sometimes I feel similar to Ammon in Alma 17:23.<br />
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21 And thus Ammon was carried before the king who was over the land of Ishmael; and his name was Lamoni; and he was a descendant of Ishmael.<br />
22 And the king inquired of Ammon if it were his desire to dwell in the land among the Lamanites, or among his people.<br />
23 And Ammon said unto him: Yea, I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die.<br />
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I am not perfect, but I can say that I love Colombia.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-79625923164144613902016-06-21T19:52:00.005-07:002016-06-21T19:52:50.896-07:00Exciting New Friends in Faca<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpMketIZ1Z8/V2n8PAvxCPI/AAAAAAAAC14/u8mXLTP-CgsJQYWeISsAz2bN7y2b5LJ4ACK4B/s1600/DSCN6676%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HpMketIZ1Z8/V2n8PAvxCPI/AAAAAAAAC14/u8mXLTP-CgsJQYWeISsAz2bN7y2b5LJ4ACK4B/s400/DSCN6676%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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So this week was actually really great. We found a ton of people to teach aka new investigators, taught a good amount, had some good fun, and had the two baptisms. Carlos and Nini are a great young couple with lots of potential. It was an honor to finish up teaching them and then to carry out the baptismal service. All went well; no huge hiccups. The bishop baptized them both. On Sunday I confirmed Carlos. It was nice. I am looking forward to helping them strengthen their testimonies and keep them on the active path.<br />
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We also had some really great spiritual experiences this week. It was nice.<br />
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We found pair of new investigators called Alexander and Martha. They are mother and son. The mother having 82 years and Jose having 50ish. They are referrals from a member in Bogota. Never, in my almost 22 months in the mission, have I ever met people so "prepared." We met them for the first time on Tuesday and they immediately accepted a baptismal date for the 7th of May. They literally said that they are willing to do anything, be anywhere at anytime, and change anything to achieve the goal of baptism. Honestly, at first I thought that it was too good to be true, but it is not. They have already attended church twice, they attended the baptismal service of Carlos and Nini, etc. I cannot explain how ready they are. They are great people. They love us and we really have not done anything super special for them.<br />
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Alexander is a lawyer/historian who is unmarried living with his mom. They are collectors of antique items. Their house is FULL of antique stuff. He has a library, but it is a LEGIT library. He is an old book collector. I cannot express how much I think the value of his house is. His house is not very nice, just the items within. The books that he has are striking. I am not fanatic when it comes to old books, but he is, and I would not be surprised if his collection is worth a considerable amount. He has a SICK sword of the Colombia Navy whose handle is complete gold. I gotta take a picture with it. They are gonna be great converts that could help the church so much.<br />
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Today we did a bunch of errands that were necessary. Then we went to a park called Piedras de Tunjo. It resides here in Faca and is the only national park here in Colombia that is within a city. It has some ancient art on huge rocks. We had a good time checking it out.<br />
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Elder Wright is doing really well. I am trying to include him as much as I can in the lessons. His Spanish is struggling, but he is improving and gaining confidence. He is a real good kid.<br />
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We cleaned up the house we are staying in and I switched the beds from the vacant house to the apartment we are using. The apartment is great, just does not have water. We are talking with the land lord so don’t worry.<br />
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Just to answer mom´s question about if Faca is so safe that it is ok to put two whites together - no. President Laney has been changing some things up and putting whites together, but Faca has some really rough parts. They are currently doing "Social Cleaning." o limpieza social here in the city. Pretty much they just kill unwanted people. We are fine though. We live in a really safe building.<br />
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This week had some funny moments. My comp accidentally poured a TON of oil on a baby’s head when we were giving a blessing. Super funny. Also, during the baptismal service I accidentally started singing when I was not supposed to. Everyone heard... haha. Also, my comp threw up in a cardboard box last week. It is disgusting, but I still do not know why we have not thrown it out. Also, Elder Wright accidentally told someone that he was retarded even though he was trying to say something else. Classic.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-47924060858684447202016-06-21T19:43:00.002-07:002016-06-21T19:43:46.560-07:00Leaving Bucaramanga<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qPoZFYqJ2NE/V2n56dKCB8I/AAAAAAAAC08/AoZcOgD09SQfACTli7_6KrDNmWrFRVslACK4B/s1600/RSCN6584%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHAVytAjzFM/V2n57Zw71PI/AAAAAAAAC1E/jpgOrmf-P_cQiKuCjWxdQ1Iqkt29g59yACK4B/s1600/RSCN6583%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rbLXmIYuG3g/V2n58khyABI/AAAAAAAAC1M/X_onjeeTHYgE2fY-rIm5SurV-X6h2pQlQCK4B/s1600/IMG_0080.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rbLXmIYuG3g/V2n58khyABI/AAAAAAAAC1M/X_onjeeTHYgE2fY-rIm5SurV-X6h2pQlQCK4B/s400/IMG_0080.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">This week we had a multi-zone conference. I did well on the training that we did. We talked about conversion through the Book of Mormon. I think we brought our point across very well. It was a good day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Also, this week I had the opportunity to attend the baptism of a man that I helped teach here in Cañaveral. He never was living in our area, but would come to our chapel sometimes and ask us to teach him. Some of the other Elders did not pay attention to him, but I was glad I did, because he got baptized this week. It was cool to see.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">You all asked about Jonathan. Jonathan is a 22 year old that contacted us one day in the street. He works selling cellphones and stuff like that. He has a big heart and a good desire to learn. It was cool because this last Sunday he arrived late to church and we asked him why. He explained that his relatives arrived from the coast and wanted to spend time with him, but he told them he had an appointment with the Lord. Cool.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">We have spiritual experiences every single day and I love it. It is just the truth that we do the same thing every single day and we have the spirit with us all the time, so usually it does not jump out like it maybe did before the mission. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Transfers are coming up this Sunday. I do not know where I will go, but I mentioned to President that I want to train and open an area. We will see what happens. I could use some cold air though. Maybe Bogotá or Sogamoso or Duitama. We will wait and see.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHAVytAjzFM/V2n57Zw71PI/AAAAAAAAC1E/jpgOrmf-P_cQiKuCjWxdQ1Iqkt29g59yACK4B/s1600/RSCN6583%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PHAVytAjzFM/V2n57Zw71PI/AAAAAAAAC1E/jpgOrmf-P_cQiKuCjWxdQ1Iqkt29g59yACK4B/s400/RSCN6583%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">It is sad to think that this week will probably be my last here in Bucaramanga. I love this city so much. I also know the city inside and out. The people here are always fiery, like a true Santanderiano, but I love it. I has been hard to not see many "fruits" over the last 7 months, especially when the only 3 baptisms you have had are all inactive. There is not one day that goes by when I do not think about the Xiomara, Tatiana, and Giovannis and what happened to them. All in all though, I can look back at my time in Cañaveral and say with confidence that I tried hard, was obedient, led the zone like a champ, and loved every trying minute. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">A classic talk on Grace for dad. </span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-is-sufficient/&source=gmail&ust=1466648898715000&usg=AFQjCNFUredisRfoUG0h1cSosBlNI-TVoQ" href="https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-is-sufficient/" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;"><u>https://speeches.byu.edu/<wbr></wbr>talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-<wbr></wbr>is-sufficient/</u></span></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Personal study is very enjoyable. Companion study too, usually. haha</span>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-87934348670656692172016-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:002016-06-21T19:41:51.360-07:00Tanner's Birthday - Mission Style<br />
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My birthday was fine. Nothing special to be honest. We a huge lunch that a member gave us, HUGE, and then we went to start our fast at the apartment of our ward mission leader. When we arrived he have me a HUGE hot dog. I was SO stuffed. Started the fast and yeah, that’s all we did.<br />
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This week we had the leadership training meeting in Bogota. As usual, we flew in on Wednesday, had the meeting on Thursday, and then rode in bus back to Bucaramanga through Thursday night. The meeting was good, not great. This upcoming week we have to go back to Bogota for intercambios with the assistants. I cannot wait..... We also have the zone meeting tomorrow, zone activity on Monday, and then a multi-zone conference on next Tuesday. We got assigned to give a 30-minute training during the multi-zone conference. It is a busy couple of weeks to say the least.<br />
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We did our last intercambios with district leaders this week. It was good. It is a bummer that my real good friend Elder Calaway is going home in 3 weeks. He has been an excellent missionary, but his time is up. I will definitely be seeing him when I return.<br />
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Family Lopez was official reactivated this week. That is good. Everything went well during our zone meeting. We did a really good job in the training portion. They enjoyed it.<br />
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The problem that we had to fix the last week was that two elders fought, literally. It ticks me off that I have to deal with this type of stuff. They are children.<br />
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We went to Bogota again to do the interchanges with the assistants. It was a cluster. Our flight was supposed to leave at 7PM, but do to storms, they pushed our flight to 11:30 PM. We waited to only have it get cancelled. They said that if we waited in line they could get us a flight for the next day. We waited in line, along with literally 500 other people. We got a next morning flight at 7 AM. So at midnight we go down the mountain and arrive in our apartment to sleep. We then have to wake up at 4:30 AM to go back up the mountain to the airport. We arrive, only to find out it was pushed back to 10:30 AM. As Emma would say, "I did not crack a smile the entire time. I was POed."<br />
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We found this young adult called Jonathan this week. He is great and has a fecha for the 16th of April. Mark my words in April, Cañaveral will have many baptisms.<br />
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<img height="16" id="ggjudwm2r5k" src="data:image/gif;base64,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" width="16" /><br />
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The zone is doing well. By the way, during February we once again had more baptisms than any other zone. This month we already have 6 baptisms and 3 reactivation. We will see what we can do in the remaining two weeks.<br />
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I had the chance to go and visit Diamante this week and eat lunch with the Acuña family. Probably my favorite family in Bucaramanga. It was cool. Also, now going back to Diamante, I never really realized how dangerous some parts were. I was so ignorant walking through those streets with Elder Correa. It is funny to think about.<br />
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We had our zone activity today. We played some silly games like wheelbarrow races, water balloon throws, and the saltine challenge; then we played soccer. I love Colombia, but I still do not love soccer....<br />
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Tonight we have a meeting with President Laney and us. Then tomorrow we have the multi-zone conference.<br />
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I have been thinking a lot this week about the difference between an object and an agent. An object is what is acted upon and an agent is what acts for itself. As missionaries, we often times treat our investigators as objects. However, we need to help people act for themselves. To be a real follower of Christ there has to be sacrifice. People have to act, not be acted upon. That is when conversion occurs.<br />
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Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-42853702532885403362016-06-21T19:26:00.001-07:002016-06-21T19:26:30.883-07:00The Jumping Picture Was Tanner's Idea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Do not worry about me. Where we serve is not the "nicest" but I enjoy it a lot and feel comfortable. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">When it comes to being intelligent, I think that the biggest factor or indicator is one´s behavior. Many people know a LOT of information, but the do not know how to use it to better themselves or others. For example, many people "know" the bible, but are not putting in practice its teachings. So therefore who is more intelligent, the person that knows a lot and disobeys, or the person that knows a little and obeys? The glory of God is intelligence, or light and truth. I believe that when our behavior is in line with what God desires, there is more light/truth in our lives, thus making us more intelligent. Just my thoughts though...</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Marc flaked out of his baptismal fecha this week. It was frustrating. He is a really good kid with a real bright future; he just is really indecisive. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">We had a good work week. It was nice to not have anything strange in the week, just a normal day of companion splits. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Things are going well with a man named Andres. He is the uncle of a recent convert. He is a bit slow with everything, he is old, but has a good heart. We will see if he continues to progress.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Also, we are seeing progress with a woman named Julia. She is a worker lady in the house of a rich person. She is nice and reasonable. We have a lesson with her this night. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Also, we should be completing the reactivation of a family this month that is called the Lopez Family. They are a family of many years in the church, but due to soccer training schedules, stopped coming to church. Things are going well with them and they are good people.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This upcoming week is normal. We will have our zone meeting and splits, but other than that it should be normal. March is gonna be a crazy month. Trips to Bogota, multi-zone conferences, etc. Also, I am definitely leaving this area next transfer. That makes things feel different. That is a long way a way though.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This week was a good one when it comes to teaching. We had a good amount of lessons and found some cool new investigators. We are trying to focus more on member references and less on finding in the street. We have seen some fruits based on our efforts to follow the direction of our mission president.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Elder Montoya of the Quorum of the 70 is coming to visit the mission this week. We will have a multi-zone conference with him this Thursday in Bucaramanga. Should be cool. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">Marc is not gonna get baptized. I did all that I could, but I guess it wasn’t enough. Maybe he will get baptized later on in his life. I hope so at least.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The zone is doing well. We only have one week left in the month and we will see what we can pull out.</span>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-14659278776790322462016-06-21T19:16:00.002-07:002016-06-21T19:16:55.898-07:00Ceviche & Intercambios<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I ate a Peruvian dish call ceviche. It is cured fish that they cook with Lime. It is still cured when you eat it, but apparently the lime cooks it. I do not know how, but it was good. I enjoyed it and did not get sick.<br />
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This week was a good one. As you know, we do a butt ton of intercambios. This week we did intercambios with La Cumbre. It went well and we had a good day. It was fun to work with a gringo for a day. His name is Elder Allphin and he is a great young missionary. I like him.<br />
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These upcoming two week are gonna be ridiculous. This week we have intercambios with the assistants. The missions got changed up a bit by the first Presidency, so now the assistants do not go to the zones to do the intercambios, the zone leaders go to the assistants. It is the same thing with the district leaders. Before, we did exchanges with the district leaders in their areas. Now they come to our areas to work. It is new and different, but for right now I do not have any complaints. The only bad thing is that this week we will be out of our area for 3 days. We fly to Bogota on Thursday afternoon, all day Friday working, and then fly to Bucaramanga on Saturday afternoon. The flights completely kill our day though. 3 days with zone lessons. What is worse is that next week, we have concilio in Bogota, another 3 days gone. Literally. We are in Bogota week 5 and then in week 6. It is a lot of travel time. Gotta do what you gotta do though.<br />
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Things are well with Elder Ramirez. He is a real good missionary. He has a ton of confidence in himself. We get along real well and are on the same page. I have not felt like I have had a companion completely on the same page as I since Elder Gonzales. We are working hard despite the difficulties.<br />
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This week we found a golden investigator. Literally golden. She is young, wealthy, and smart. She read 1 and 2 Nephi in 3 days. We had two amazing lessons with her. I do not want to brag, but the teaching was flawless in those two lessons. The day after the second lesson she calls us in the morning, thanks us for being nice, and said she never wanted to meet with us again. Withholding my frustration, I was able to schedule another lesson with her that we have yet to have. She did not explain her reasoning, but I am guessing that her sister, who came for a visit, talked real bad about us. We will wait to see how the next lesson goes.<br />
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Companion study question from Chelsey. We sing a hymn. Pray. Read 3 pages of Preach My Gospel. We share our personal study, then usual prepare training that we have to do or prepare for lessons. We try to use our time effectively.<br />
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Also, President Laney is improving a lot. He still makes some decisions that I would not make, but then again I am not the President. He is getting better with his Spanish and management of the mission. I really like him and he is a really good man.<br />
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Today for preparation day we celebrated one Elder`s birthday. He made us food. It was good and free.<br />
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This week I felt really tired. It just hit me on Friday and on Saturday. I always feel a little tired, which is normal, but on Friday and Saturday it was weird. 19 months is catching up on me.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-67950022684081366582015-10-14T20:04:00.000-07:002015-10-14T20:04:06.205-07:00Tanner Considers Moving to Bucaramanga Post Mission Life - and Other Adventures<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week got off to a crazy start. As I told you, Elder Gonzales left for Suba Bogota. Due to difficulties in travel, my companion did not arrive until Wednesday at 2 AM. I hate not getting my sleep.....<br />
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I spent Tuesday with Elder Mamanchurra and Elder Mendenhall in Diamante II. It was a good day.<br />
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Wednesday things went back to normal. Elder Laura is from Peru. He is a cool Elder. I like him. Right now he just needs to improve on his authority. That sounds weird, but we just can´t get pushed around by other Elders. He is good though and like me and is willing to do the work in the good ways. No problems with him.<br />
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Xiomara and Tatiana were not baptized last week. They should be baptized this week on Friday. We are still trying to sort out some details, but they are good. A ton a stupid little things are happening in their lives right now. Pray that all will go well and that we will not have any substantial problems. They are really good people that need what we already have.<br />
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Andrea and Sandra continue to progress. They are good to go with baptism and such, just the papers aka divorce and marriage are getting in the way. We are trying to get them to do them as fast as possible, but you cannot drag people. We have had some great lessons with some great hidden messages to get them going. They just need to do it. Really great though and they make really good food.<br />
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We had a cool opportunity this week. A sister from Diamante, a sister that I knew very well, passed away from cancer this week. I had the opportunity to attend part of the funeral. The good part of all of this is that the stake patriarch contacted one of the people that works for the funeral service company. We had a really good lesson with him and he seems really interested. I really hope to be able to help with Alvaro´s spiritual progress.<br />
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Today we did nothing for preparation day. I have honestly been so tired these last few days. All we did was buy pizza, drink pop, and sleep. It was amazing. Then I went wild on my bathroom. It was getting pretty gross. It is clean now though.<br />
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I would easily be able to live here in Bucaramanga one day with my future family. It is sick here.<br />
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Tomorrow we will interchanges with the assistants and then Wednesday we will have interviews with President Laney. Should be cool.<br />
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What I am doing is truly the work of the Lord. It really is difficult. Anyone that thinks that it isn´t has not served a mission. One thing that I know is that the Lord knows his sheep, especially his missionaries. I like to think that we always are working in a threesome. Always remember that you cannot please everyone in the world, so please the people that count. Love you all very much. Always choose the right. Choose the right to get the blessings and choose the right to avoid negative consequences. That is what I try to do.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-78219199577447481212015-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:002015-10-14T19:59:01.619-07:00General Conference and Transfers<br />
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This letter is going to have to be short and sent late. Transfers were today and things are crazy.<br />
Elder Gonzales left to be a zone leader in the zone Suba in Bogota. He was honestly a great companion. I was wishing to have him with me for another transfer, but the Lord called him away. I was bummed, but I am at least glad to have served with him. Both he and I learned a lot.<br />
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I will be receiving Elder Laura. He is from Peru and will be my new companion. I knew him when I was in Yopal. He is cool and I am looking forward to being his comp. We have a lot to do in the next 3 to 4.5 months that we will have together. He has 2 weeks more than I do in the mission.<br />
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The zone experienced not too many transfers, and I think all of them were in our favor. We received 3 good Elders into 3 struggling areas. I hope that they can get things going. I am now Zone Leader 1. It is wild.<br />
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General Conference was obviously excellent. We were able to watch it in English without malfunction. It was a great spiritual experience. Mom I thought of you when Elder Holland spoke.<br />
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I love the Lord. This is His church. Salvation is not free. We must fight for it. I know that it will all be worth it.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-48538882668657181182015-10-14T19:53:00.001-07:002015-10-14T19:53:29.585-07:00Tanner's Tact<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Unfortunately we did not have the baptism of Tatiana and Xiomara. Everything went well in the preparation and such. Everything was good to go until Xiomara had to travel to a city called Pamplona for something with work. Long story short, she still isn’t back yet. It was a bit stressful and frustrating, but things happen. The worst thing is that this week is General Conference, so usually there are not any baptisms scheduled. We are gonna try and get approval and such to do it, but it is gonna be sticky. They are good though.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This week I had the opportunity to interview a baptismal candidate which required much care. I thought that I nailed it and did an excellent job handling the situation despite the circumstances. It turned out really well and she got baptized the next day. I was just real glad to have been led by the spirit to know how the handle the situation with care and much love.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This week was really tiring as we had to handle emergency transfers, interchanges, etc. I was super tired. It is all good though. I was glad to hit the sack every night. However, the time just goes by so fast.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">This week we also spent a lot of time contacting. Hopefully our efforts will bring fruits. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">I am sorry that my letter is real short. Things are crazy here. Time goes by so fast.</span>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-19309446480671637482015-10-14T19:29:00.002-07:002015-10-14T19:33:52.160-07:00Divorce and Belief in Colombia - Tanner's Take<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Things are good with the investigators. The Gonzalez family is doing well. We had a bit of a frank chat with them in order to have more lessons with them. It went really well and they are excited for their baptism this upcoming Saturday. It should be great. Carlos, the son of 18 years, will not be baptized this week because he lacks many of the missionary lessons. Plus, he has a special university class for the next 3 weeks that occupies his Sundays. If all works out well, he will be baptized in October. The baptism of Tatiana and Xiomara will take place at 5PM Colombia time on Saturday. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This week also went well with Andrea and her daughter Sandra. They are both super excited and have all the necessary elements to join the church and progress. Andrea works in the food business, so this week we had a multi-zone conference and we contracted with her to make the food for 45 people. It was good food, she made good money, and she was super happy. Alexander, the man that she is living with, is super great and has a strong testimony. They are working on their papers. Papers to get divorced here in Colombia can be sticky. If you have money, especially a lot of money, not problem at all, but it can delay a long time if you lack the cash. They are not that poor though. Marriage can be fairly easy. There is a member of the church that works in a Notary who helps with these types of things. We will see how they go down.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <span style="color: #222222;">This week we did 3 interchanges. 2 with district leaders, and 1 with the assistants. I had the opportunity to go back to my old area in Diamante II and see a few people that still love me. I was especially happy to see Sandra from my old area and her family. They are a family that is still marginally active, but they love me so much. I was super happy to see them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">The other interchanges were ok, though nothing too special. The Assistants are good.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;">The multi-zone conference that was held was ok. Honestly it was not that good because President and the Assistants taught literally the exactly same thing that they already had us teach during our individual zone meetings. I think that some of the ideas that the Assistants have are not good ones. It’s all good though.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">To answer Dad`s question. Everyone here has beliefs. I have met less than 10 atheists here in Colombia. Almost everyone is super devoted to their church or is convinced that all churches worship the same god, so then there is no need to associate oneself with a church. It is great that the Colombian people are a faith driven people, but they don't usually want to search for greater understanding of what God might want for them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;">Today we had a zone activity. Elder Gonzales and I planned to contract a bus to take us to this tourist place about an hour outside of Bucaramanga. It was cool with great sites, but not that cool. I can’t send the photos that I took. Sorry.</span></span>Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-22612709597123125572015-10-14T19:17:00.000-07:002015-10-14T19:17:06.189-07:00Creative Plumbing, Unpleasant Zone Leader Responsibilities, and Lots of Fun Teaching Opportunities <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week was a good one. It was nuts and went by too fast, but a good one.<br />
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Things are going well on the investigator side. We are not teaching a ton of people, but almost all the people we are teaching have baptismal dates. We went off this week taking out dates. It was good.<br />
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The Family Gonzalez is good. They have their baptismal date for this upcoming Saturday, but I think we are gonna bump it until the 26th. They are progressing well and all, but it is just hard to have lessons with them. We usually only get one or maybe two in a week. They lack a few lessons and I think that we are just gonna play it safe and have the baptism on the 26th. We will see though. I think that the baptisms will be with the Mom, Xiomara, and the daughter, Tatiana. Carlos is good and all, but he is even more behind on the lessons and will not be able to attend the upcoming weeks because of a class for university. He will be baptized sometime in October. They are good and really like us.<br />
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Arelis and Brayan continue to somewhat progress. They receive us, listen to us, and say yes to all our questions. The problem is that I do not think they are fully grasping what we are teaching. When people always say Si Señor to every question, to me it seems like they are not listening. However, they came to all three hours of church this week. We will see what happens.<br />
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We are also seeing progress in a women named Andrea and her daughter Sandra. They are living with an inactive member who is separated from his wife and kids and now lives with Andrea and Sandra. They are super cool and they are all trying to come back to the church. Obviously, Alexander has to be divorced and then married with Andrea until she can get baptized, but they really want it. We have a baptismal date for the 24th of October with them. There is a lot of paperwork to be done, but they are progressing well.<br />
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We are also teaching the uncle of a recent convert. The man`s name is Jorge. He is an old guy that is honestly a bit strange (doesn’t leave the house, doesn’t have too many friends, etc.). The uncle introduced us to him and we have been seeing some progress. He has come to church, but he leaves for a 10 day trip to Sogamoso to visit somebody. So that throws a wretch in the work. He is good though. We will see how he progresses.<br />
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Elder Gonzales and I are well. No problems. The skin on my feet is real weird. It doesn't hurt or burn or itch, just feels real weird.<br />
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Also, dad you would be proud. My toilet was broken so today I went plumber on it and fixed it. It is definitely jimmy rigged, but it works much better. I was proud of myself.<br />
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This week went by fast because of the Zone meeting and 2 interchanges. The zone meeting went well and we trained the Elders accordingly. We then did an interchange per the request of Pres Laney with a companionship that is really struggling. They are in an area and the area has nothing going for them. They are not working and are not happy with each other. I went with the worse of the two and tried to buoy him up and get him working. We had a good day. However, things got out of hand the next day. After the interchange with the problematic companionship, we immediately did interchanges with another companionship. This companionship is fine, but at 5 PM; we get a call that one of the Elders from the bad companionship had separated from his comp. So we had to go all crazy to get the Elder. He just left his comp and went back to the house. I arrived, without Elder Gonalez because he was with the other comp, and we had to open the door because the Elder wouldn’t open it. I was very frustrated to be honest. He told me that he wanted to go home. We talked him down and had him call President. Nothing else happened, just President asked us to watch them with a close eye. It felt like I was babysitting children. Ridiculous.<br />
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Also, the Wednesday of the Zone meeting we had emergency transfers in an area, so we had to pick up a new Elder from the bus terminal at 5 in the morning. So pretty much the first night I slept little, then the next two nights I didn`t sleep in my own bed. It was fine, just a pain.<br />
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Also, sleeping in others people’s beds is not difficult. At first I thought it was weird, but now it is whatever. People should wash their sheets more often.....<br />
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I think one thing that I have improved on as a missionary is trying to comply with Christ`s two most important commandments. They are in the order given for a reason. I am trying to become a better servant of the Lord, trying to put him and his desires, above mine and those of other missionaries or people. I am not perfect, obviously, but I am more and more fearless when it comes to saying what needs to be said when it needs to be said to the people that need to hear it. Not everyone is gonna like the truth, and I have just become more accepting of that fact. You can`t please everyone, so what I try to do is please the Lord. I still have a long ways to go, let me assure you.<br />
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About 18 years ago, the guerilla forces planted a bomb in the chapel that I used to attend in Diamante here in Bucaramanga. They blew it up, but the bomb only hurt a small section of the chapel. Apparently the bomb was huge. Anyways, some drunk in the street came up to me and whispered in my ear, "remember what happened 20 years ago? Watch out" and then laughed a very cruel laugh. He then began to call me all sorts of vulgar language. It was an interesting experience. I love Colombia and especially Bucaramanga.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-60734812115097522522015-10-14T18:56:00.002-07:002015-10-14T18:56:34.617-07:00Tanner Goes to the Temple and Meets the Gonzalez Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Gonzalez family continues to progress. We were unable to have many lessons with them this week because they have a tight schedule, but all went well at church this Sunday. The mother got up in testimony meeting and expressed her feelings about the church. It was cool. She said how she felt comfortable and good in the church and how the Elders are great. It was cool to see her do that. Her name is Xiomara, then the son Carlos, and then the daughter Tatiana. The dad is a strict Pentecostal, but is cool and ok that they are preparing to be baptized. The son, Carlos, has the most struggles of all. He is pretty much an ex-stoner. However, his mom desperately wants him to make positive changes in his life, etc. We will see how they continue to progress.<br />
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Diego Fernando is good. I guess that my comp and his previous comp didn`t explain the Law of Chastity real well with him because he moved back in with his girlfriend. They are planning on getting married, but you know how it is. He is good though and happy.<br />
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This week several people accepted our invitation to learn about Jesus Christ and his gospel. I hope they all progress.<br />
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We are seeing some cool progress with a couple called Arelis and Brayan. They are cool and have two kids together that are real cute. One is 1 and the other is 2. The kids are challenging, but cool none the less. They need to get married before they can get baptized, but we have hope.<br />
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Every month in Bogota Norte the zone leaders and AP and president get together for a big meeting called Consilio. Anyways, Wednesday afternoon we flew, yes in an airplane, to Bogota. The trip is less than 40 minutes. We arrived in the nighttime and ate pizza with other Elders. Then on Thursday the big meeting began. A lot of training, rules, etc. that we receive and then we are to later train our zone. It was cool and some good things were taught. However, then we had to travel back to Bucaramanga with all the materials, books, packages, that our zone needed. We obviously traveled back in bus. It was lovely...... 10 hours. Didn`t help that I was very sick to my stomach... Cool experience and there will definitely be more concilios.<br />
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Yesterday, Sunday, for some reason we went off on blessings. It seemed like everyone was calling us. We blessed a bunch of people. We even went to the hospital and blessed a guy that was losing circulation in his foot, so the foot literally is falling apart. It was not pretty.<br />
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Elder Gonzales is good. I like him and we get along well. He is chill, teaches well, works sufficiently hard, etc. No problems so far. <br />
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While in Bogotà, I had the chance to go to the temple. It has been over a year since the last time I entered. It was real good.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-21855458253251844162015-10-14T18:38:00.001-07:002015-10-14T18:38:48.028-07:00Bienvenida a Cañaveral!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week passed by so fast. Things are crazy and there is a bunch of small and big extra things that we have to do as Zone Leaders. Planning out the calendar is weird. There are literally hardly any days without something special happening. We have a lot of time taken out of our own working area. Lots of exchanges, meetings, trips to Bogotà, inspections, trainings, etc. Fun stuff.<br />
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I do not have too much information on the investigators in this area. We did have a baptism this week though. His name is Diego Fernando. He is a man of 40 years who is trying to become a better person. He has truly seen the effects of the Atonement in his life. The baptismal service was sweet and simple. The confirmation went well. All is good with him. He still needs help with a lot of things, but that is what we are here for.<br />
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A little about the area. The area is called Cañaveral. There is only our companionship in this ward. We share a building with the Bucarica ward. The chapel is pretty small, so on Sundays it is a bit crowded. Nonetheless, the ward seems cool and the members seem good. Part of our area is very wealthy, the wealthiest part of Bucaramanga, but we usually do not work in that area because we do not have people to teach there. The area is generally just normal people on the poorer side. There are some dangerous parts of the area, but we stay safe.<br />
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We have three people who want to be baptized for the 19th of September. They are a family, mom and two kids, who are good prepared for the Lord. We met with them today and they are excited. I had the opportunity to bear my testimony to them and it was a good lesson. We just need to focus more on the son. He has a lot of problems he needs to work on.<br />
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One thing that I have been meaning to write is that here in Colombia the youth are really lost. It is rough to say the least for the youth here. There are so many fatherless families and pregnant girls of 14 to 16 years old. It is sad. It is even worse in Aguazul. The attraction of drugs, girls, money, etc. is just so strong.<br />
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The zone is good. There are some really strong companionships and there are some companionships that have a lot of room for improvement. The good thing is that the somewhat lacking missionaries are ending their missions soon so they won`t hurt the work for that much longer. I like the zone and I hope they like me. But whatever.<br />
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Dad and Mom, congratulations with 32 years. That is a bunch of years. We are lucky as your children to have firm parents.<br />
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Update on the apartment. Our apartment is the only apartment with hot water. That said, you have to jimmy rig the heater with fire and then you barely get a minute of semi warm water. Honestly I have given up trying. I am used to the cold water by now after not having a hot shower for almost 10 months so it isn’t bad anymore. I shower fast too. That will be good for dad. Also, the apartment is real old despite being real big. It is old, ugly, and unclean. Everything is broken. My toilet doesn’t work. So I have to flush stuff with a bucket of water. Not the biggest deal in the world, just annoying. I usually just flush it once a day at night. I also spent a bunch of time this week trying to get some things organized. The amount of junk, old books, pamphlets, cards, etc. was amazing. We literally, LITERALLY, have roughly 5000 pamphlets of the lessons. It is absurd. I threw out so much stuff today. Young Women’s manuals from the 1970s, damaged books, etc. So much junk. The house literally has not been thoroughly cleaned in years. I will do my part. But the house is good though. I like it. A lot of space for activities. Just a lot of crap and disorder. <br />
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Last thing. The last week in Aguazul I was able to bless the son of Paola, another time. Literally the same thing happened. The spirit was strong and when we left, the fever left with us. It was sacred.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-52774078318302695402015-10-14T18:19:00.001-07:002015-10-14T18:19:24.276-07:00Tanner Just Got Transferred from Aguazul, And He's Pretty Sad About It<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Although it will be super hard to leave Aguazul, I have been called back to Bucaramanga to be the zone leader there. It is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, zone of the mission. I will be serving in a area called Canaveral. Despite being super bummed to leave my beloved Aguazul, I am excited to go back to my same zone and be the zone leader. I look forward to seeing some of the people super special that I left behind in Bucaramanga. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">I am writing this at 240 and have to travel to Yopal in a few minutes. Then from Yopal I take a bus to Duitama, a 5 hour ride, then a bus from Duitama to Bucaramanga, a 10-11 hour ride. Should be good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">I will be serving with Elder Gonzalez from Bolivia. I hope he is good.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Elder Pinoargote will stay and receive a comp. Elder Pinoargote is really great. I will miss him.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">I will really miss Aguazul. It is real special here. It was tough saying goodbye to many people. It is nice to know that I am loved here. I really love them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">I am sorry, but I do not have time to write a large letter this week. I am here in Bucaramanga after having a heck of ride to get here. I will update you all in a short manner.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">First of all, when I received the call to leave Aguazul, to be honest I was real bummed. I love Aguaul so much. The work in Aguazul is not easy. With only two families and a group of only 10 strong members, it is rough. However, I fell in love with the branch, the investigators, the people, everything. I so desperately want to go back. With the last hour that we had there, we borrowed some bikes from a member of the church (which is against the rules, by the way, and I am sorry) and I visited as many people as I could. It was really tough to say goodbye to some people, like President Cortez, and especially Alba and Melina. They have a special place in my heart. I will miss them so very much.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">Plus, Alba was officially reactivated this week. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">Despite the desire to stay, I had to leave. I was to travel to Yopal and then leave with Elder Palma for Duitama. The ride from Yopal to Duitama is normally 5 hours, but it took us 6. The road was horrible. In the bus we bottomed out many times. I do not get sick easily, but I was sick on that bus. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">We arrived in Duitama that night at 11, expecting to get on a bus for Bucaramanga. However, the bus never arrived so we had to sleep in the zone leader’s house in Duitama for the night. It was so cool and what made it worse was the mattresses were literally wet. As you all know, I can sleep in any conditions, but that night was long, cold, wet, and smelly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">Tuesday we left from Duitama for Bucaramanga. I was the trip leader and the ride went fine. It took about 10 hours in bus. We arrived and I went with my new companion, Elder Gonzalez from Bolivia, to our apartment. It is big, but old and gross. I will have to clean it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">This morning we had to wake up at 3 AM, after going to bed at midnight, to go to the terminal to pick up new missionaries. They look so lost. Needless to say I am tired.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">I am looking forward to serving here in Cañaveral. Elder Gonzales seems chill and hopefully we can get some big work done. I will probably be here for the next six months, but who knows. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.8px;">I will be a zone leader with Elder Gonzales. There are 22 other missionaries here in the zone Bucaramanga. We gotta whip some of them into shape. I look forward to helping them to become better, and learning from them. It will be wild.</span></span></div>
Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-58188730045004670912015-08-18T15:22:00.000-07:002015-08-18T15:22:00.324-07:00Melina's Baptism!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#Ibelieveinwomen</td></tr>
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I was a little bit bummed when I opened up my inbox and did not find a picture of baby Walter. No worries though. I am very excited. I am calling that he will pop out on Thursday. This week was a real good one. I will get started.<br />
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This started off normal. We had to travel to Bogotá Tuesday night for a zone conference Wednesday morning. It was fine. I enjoy traveling to Bogotá every once in a while, but not every other week. The trip was fine and the training was ok. When we were traveling back it was pouring rain and some of the road got washed away. It was nuts, but when got home fine.<br />
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So this week the main focus was on Melina. We met every day in the night time and did the final preparations for the baptism. She was prepared for the interview and passed it with ease. Despite being timid around other people, she actually is pretty smart and understands and remembers what we teach. Obviously, she is not at all timid around us, but sometimes she just is a bit nervous to speak up when she knows the answers more than long time members. She is great.<br />
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Thursday and Friday we spent a lot of time cleaning the baptismal font. It is outside of the building, it gets dirty real fast with the dust, bugs, and mice. We had some trouble, but after a lot of effort and stratigery (Bush Word), we got it done. It was really clean for Saturday night.<br />
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The baptismal service was at 6 PM Saturday night. It went real well. People arrived on time. Sufficient people arrived on time. One of Alba´s less active sisters came witch was a miracle. It was sweet and simple. It went well and I plunged her real deep<br />
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Melina asked me to baptize her. She shared her testimony afterwards. That was my favorite part. She didn´t say much, but the best part was when she said, "I can feel that this is what God wants for me." That moment was one of the happiest moments of my life.<br />
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I was able to share my testimony afterwards and others as well. Overall it was great. Simple, small, and spiritual. That night I bought hamburgers for Melina, Alba, Felipe, Pinoragtoe and myself. We had a little celebration.<br />
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As I have said before, I put more time, studying, effort, fasting, and care with Melina than any other baptisms that I have been blessed to participate in. It was oh so worth it. She is so special and I am just so glad that we had the opportunity to teach and baptize her. Saturday´s service really was one of the best moments of my life. My joy was immeasurable. The confirmation also went well. President Cortez did it. All went well.<br />
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Alba had to leave in the second hour this Sunday because the little tenacious son Felipe, who by the way is the biggest pain, fell in a huge puddle completely dirtying himself. It was funny yet frustrating at the same time.<br />
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We also had some great experiences with Santiago, the crazy man. (One thing that amazes me is that as missionaries, we have the power and authority to promise blessings. Obviously, one must do so with utmost care, but I know that I can promise blessings to people and they will come through.) After finding work that includes Sunday´s, I challenged him to talk to his boss and ask for Sundays off, promising that if he did, he would receive. (I actually did the same with Melina.) Long story short, he was at church this Sunday for all 3 hours. It was great. Plus, that night we had a great lesson with him. We touched a lot of things, but the greatest of all was when we somehow got on the topic of baptisms for the dead. He was caught. The best part was when I told him to image his happiness being baptized for himself, but then to image baptizing himself for people that can´t help themselves. It was the most spiritual lesson that we have had with him so far. I really hope to see him one day in white.<br />
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Next Monday the transfer cycle ends. We will see what happens. I hope to stay here in Aguazul with Elder Pinoargote. We will see. I gotta run. Not much time to write more. Sorry. I love you all. Send a lot of info and pictures of baby Walt.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-76882126843809378262015-08-18T15:06:00.000-07:002015-08-18T15:06:44.153-07:00Tanner's Mission Goals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So Melina and Alba continue to do well. We are at the point where we teach them daily. There was a little bump in the road as Tatiana found work in a tienda across the street from their "house." A tienda is a small place to buy food and assorted items. She works a ton and had the problem of working on Sundays. We had a really great spiritual lesson with her where I just laid it out to her of what God expects in terms of this commandment. I fasted the next day so that she could talk with the owner and be able to come to church. Everything worked out in the end.<br />
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We also had a fun experience with her father the other night. Her father does not live with them and really is not a part of her life. But he passes by their house whenever he is drunk. President Cortez, branch president, went to visit Alba and Melina. We passed by and found the dad super drunk trying to lecture President Cortez and such. He was just being a stupid drunk. It was clear that when we arrived, President Cortez felt really relieved. I took control of the situation so that the President and his wife could get out of there. I think that I have a good ability to take control of situations like that when he was being all angry and swearing and such. He babbled on and on. However, at one point he spanked Alba super hard when she was walking by. I got really angry and grabbed him by the shoulder and told him to never, ever do that again. I have never been so close to hitting someone on my entire mission. Anyways, nothing happened. I just was angry. Afterwards I proceeded to take off his head. He eventually left. I just won´t sit there and watch him do what he does. Alba and Melina don´t deserve that at all. I love them too much to let that happen.<br />
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I have seen the power of fasting. Fasting is not easy, especially as a hot weather missionary. It is tough. However, it works. I fast more than normal. I just find that I need the blessings more than normal. When in doubt, fast. I am so excited for Saturday. I am gonna fast Friday so that all can go well.<br />
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Friday we did a lot of service in the chapel. We, and a few others, worked on doing a deep clean. It was good. We also had a going away activity for Jessica Peña. She is leaving to serve in Costa Rica in a week. Aguazul has barely 25 truly active members, yet in a month we will have 4 in the mission field. I made cookies for the party. The members worship them.<br />
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We also had the opportunity to go to Cupíagua this week. A member lives there and he invited us for lunch. Cupíagua is a tiny town 30 minutes into the mountains from Aguazul. It is a lot more cool, temperature wise, and it was good to see the beautiful mountains. However, whenever we go into the mountains my senses go up. It is just more dangerous outside of the city, especially in the mountains. Nothing happened though.<br />
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Also, I think that yall give me too much praise. I am no knight in shining armor. I am just a normal missionary trying to do what the Lord would want.<br />
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Chelsey asked me what some of my goals are. I don´t have a ton, because I like to keep things simple. I have three. I think that I am a lot like Peter in a small sense. When Christ askes Peter if he loves him is one of my favorite parts of the Bible. I just want to be able to answer for myself if I really love Christ. Also, I want everyone that I meet to know that I just love them despite who they are. It is tough sometimes. The last, is just to be a light to the world. In short, love Christ, love the people, and be a light. Short and simple.<br />
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The last thing. I have observed the principle that if we apply ourselves 10 percent, we receive the blessings of 50 percent. The Lord wants, and is obligated, to bless us if we do what he asks. If we just try, even if just a little, he will and must bless us. The covenants we make, the commandments, everything is in our favor. Sometimes we just are too blind to see it that way.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-87152971220635163222015-08-18T14:45:00.003-07:002015-08-18T14:45:56.808-07:00Alba's History and a New Assignment <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Milena and Alba continue to progress very well. Just to clarify, Alba is an inactive member who is being reactivated, not baptized. Milenca is the fecha bautismal. They are good and continue to be better and better. Mom asked why can´t Alba walk. She can walk, but not well at all. After she gave birth to her 4th child, Felipe, she had problems with the bone that is huge and in your hip region. I forget its name. It is really important I just can´t remember how to say it in English. Anyways, she can´t walk very well for that reason. So she relies heavily on a very old bike to get her to work and such. One of her kids, Hermanita Numero 1 as I like to say, took it to practice and during practice it got stolen. This is a big problem because Alba can´t get herself to work. Anyways, to get them to church, one of the 3 members with a car picked them up. It was good. They both are good on timing and such for the 15th. All is well with them. Knock on wood.<br />
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Paola is good. She continues to receive dreams and such, but is having a hard time understanding what she needs to do. It is a bit frustrating, but she is special and we are letting her go. She and her kids and her sister and the sister´s kids came to church. This week. More on that later....<br />
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We have seen some real progress and desire in another investigator called Alberto. He is the son of Sandra, the sister of Paola. He is very different than his mother and has already attended church many times. He has expressed to us the desire to be baptized. Honestly, the first time he told me I didn´t take him seriously. A lot of people say that but when it comes to actually doing it and making the life changes necessary when creating that covenant relationship with God,... yea no. I told him very frankly that if this is what he wants to do, he needs to put it above all other things. He came to church early this week and although we do not have a fecha with him, I hope we will be able to take one out this week. From what I remember he has 15 years. Generally I do not enjoy teaching adolescents, so when I do, I put myself real serious and play a lot more “hard ball.” That sounds really weird; I am just trying to say that when I teach youth, I make sure that they know I am not going to waste my time goofing around. We will see what happens this week. The ward needs more active youth.<br />
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President Gomez, the first counselor of President Laney, came to Agauzul the other week and asked us to visit every single member in the ward every month. That is gonna take some time. We are just going to have to be even more smart with planning.Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7378979006775039438.post-8479339792819994052015-08-03T20:29:00.002-07:002015-08-03T20:29:52.511-07:00Branch Kindness and a Santiago<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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This week was a good one. I find that every week in the mission has many extremely frustrating moments, but the simple joyful moments make the frustrating moments unimportant.<br />
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This week was good and finally we had a full work week. We were able to teach a good amount of lessons and complete some goals we had been working for.<br />
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We were able to get a little bit of progress out of Paola this week. She has told us that she believes the Book of Mormon to be true, but the whole baptism thing is iffy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carlos</td></tr>
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We saw good progress with Alba and Milena this week. Through the branch council, we were able to obtain two outfits for Milena. She has expressed to us, the missionaries, that sometimes she feels embarrassed to go to the chapel without something more "elegant" to wear. We got it done and now she has two brand now outfits. The people don´t have a lot of money to give here, but when minds are put together, we were able to get it done. The two outfits are very good. They both attended church this week without problems. They are doing well. I think, and pray, that they will both reach their goal of the 15th. I am looking forward to that day.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kkUGjdOBXXs/VcAvfw7wXgI/AAAAAAAACfM/-RV7fRMAKtM/s1600/DSCN2102%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kkUGjdOBXXs/VcAvfw7wXgI/AAAAAAAACfM/-RV7fRMAKtM/s320/DSCN2102%255B1%255D.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The new investigator of this week´s email will be Santiago. Santiago is 27, looks like he is 40, has the life´s experiences of an 80 man, but acts very immature sometimes. He moved into the house of a member with his 2 year old daughter. Let’s just say his life has been very different than the rest of us. He is really interesting, smart, dumb, intelligent, idiotic, and all at the same time. He is honestly the strangest person I have ever met here in Colombia, and I assure you, I have met some really, really odd people. I have also heard some really, really good questions as a missionary; his, however, are the best. We have covered topics with him that I would never cover with other investigators, and maybe not even with members. He truly is one of a kind. His daughter is super adorable. She always hugs our legs. I cannot truly describe how different, yet cool, yet frustrating he is. However, he has attended church twice, and two of our ward activities. He is also turning 27 today. He loves us though and I really enjoy him as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santiago.</td></tr>
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My companion didn´t have Chickiguña. He was just sick for a day. I honestly think it is a literal miracle that I have not gotten Dengue or Chickiguña. I do my part to not get bit, but sometimes it is just unstoppable. I am not scientist, but the probability of me not getting sick verses the immense amount of bites that I have received is literally a miracle.<br />
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I had the best idea today. We don´t do much on PDAY because there is nothing to do, so I started thinking about the best way to have a swimming like experience. I instantly thought of our tank. Every house in Colombia has a tank sink. Image a large box, like a moving box, but made out of concrete. Half of the top of the box is covered in a down sloping wash board and the other half of the top is open revealing an empty box like structure. These boxes are used to wash food, prepare food, wash dishes, clothes, etc. I used it as a soaking tub. I cleaned it with Clorox, filled it, and soaked. It was the best idea I have had in 13 months. This would be considered another cochino move. It was great though.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hate animals.</td></tr>
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Juan and Diana continue to be great, but aren’t progressing much. They did invite us to celebrate Juan´s birthday this week. One of Diana´s brother got super angry when we arrived and refused to shake our hand, leave his room, etc. A little bit immature if you ask me, considering he is 27. I will just say that out of all of us super calm, he looked dumb. It was funny. Cake was good too.<br />
The Lord is obligated to bless us when we do what he commands, so just do it. It will be worthwhile. It is a promise.</div>
Garrett and McKenzie Missionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04741216259936731119noreply@blogger.com0