Hahaha I have no idea why but Sydney's ability to speak English really took be by surprise in her email. I don't know what I was thinking... I think I was picturing her as my little baby sister still. Haha Syd you need to email me more!
Dad, there are pluses and minuses to college before a mission. College is less strict, and more fun, and Alicia will be able to find good friends and learn to be more independent. On the other hand, Alicia is already quite independent, and would do fantastic jumping straight into the mission. She can definitely handle herself, and will be a blessing to every companion she is with. The mission will teach her things she can't learn at college. She would do well with the spiritual training before getting into that game. 1 year of college before the mission would be a lot more benefit for the independence aspect, which she already is going to be fine with. I suggest that she go on a mission first, and then do her schooling afterwards with a greater vision of what Father in Heaven has in store for her.
Mom! I still eat tons of rice. I have just started getting into omelets though, and that is now what I eat with my rice every day. Super delicious. We also eat out a lot here. My favorites are siomi (little noodle pocket things filled with pork and spices) and foot long hotdogs from Angels (a fast food thing... not really a restaurant, more like a little stand). I can't really remember what would be weird for an American to eat anymore, Dad. I just eat whatever is given to me. Goat is nothing weird right?
Work is going great, and we should have a baptism coming up shortly. Sister Epifania is doing great. We witnessed a miracle this week. She came to conference but had to return after just one session because of pain. She cannot sit or stand for any length of time without unbearable pain in her back. She must lay on a pillow on her stomach in order to gain relief. We visited her last week and she expressed to us concern that she would not be able to endure church for 3 hours the following week. I promised her that if she had faith and trusted the Lord by coming to church, He would take away her pain for the whole time she was at church. She was so excited to come to church that week, that she walked to church at 10:30am to be early for our 12:00 sacrament. She then joined the Relief Society of the earlier branch while she waited for us to get there, attended all 3 hours of our branch, and then went home. She told us her pain vanished and she was cured for 4 1/2 hours. She expressed her joy and gratefulness for the Savior and knows it was He who is working miracles in her life. So amazing.
Lots of great work in my Zone as well. It is seriously so much fun being a zone leader. There is a whole lot more freedom, because the entire zone is your area, and we spend a lot of time in other Elder's areas as well helping them out or conducting exchanges and stuff. I also get to drive now so that is sweet.
I love you all! Keep up the missionary work back home. I'll be home eventually to help as well.
Love,
Elder Garver
Sunday, October 28, 2012
10-17-12
Hey everyone!
Well transfers are over and nobody got lost. Great news. My new comp is really cool. He is quiet, but awesome. We now have 3 Americans in the house, so that's pretty crazy.
Conference was awesome, and I gained so much from it. I loved Elder Holland's talk and Elder Oak's. I also really liked Elder Gay's talk, and the first few sentences of Pres. Uchtdorf's talk sounded awesome too. Satan was working hard this weekend. More of that in a second.
Last week we taught a great group of college students. The Spirit was powerful. We testified of the restoration and every investigator was silenced. They could only sit and feel the truth of Christ's message. We then promised them if they came to conference with a prayerful heart, the Lord would confirm to them the truthfulness of this church, and they would know, upon seeing the face of President Monson, that he was called of God. They all promised to come. When Saturday morning arrived, they all showed up. They sat down and I prayed for the Spirit to be upon us. Then, the power went out. There was nothing for 20 minutes, and then someone finally got the generator turned on. This only powered the sound however, and we listened to part of a talk in the sweltering heat (all fans and air conditioning down), before the sound broke and cut out again. We finally got some picture and sound going just in time to hear President Uchtdorf start what sounded like an amazing talk, before it all crashed again. We ended up getting to hear the last speakers remarks, and then all our investigators had an exam to take at school and left. What a great first impression! I knew however, that we had done all we could, the investigators had shown forth their faith, and that no matter how hard the devil worked, he could not affect a promise of the Lord. I prayed hard during the hour break, and when it came time for the next session, all our investigators came back! They attended all 4 sessions, and all got testimonies of the truthfulness of Christ's church. It was such a great miracle to see true seekers of light feeling the Spirit despite all the worldly things that failed them.
I'm drenched in sweat right now by the way. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I've got to run, but I love you all. Keep on doing FHE and family scripture study and prayer!
Love,
Elder Garver
Well transfers are over and nobody got lost. Great news. My new comp is really cool. He is quiet, but awesome. We now have 3 Americans in the house, so that's pretty crazy.
Conference was awesome, and I gained so much from it. I loved Elder Holland's talk and Elder Oak's. I also really liked Elder Gay's talk, and the first few sentences of Pres. Uchtdorf's talk sounded awesome too. Satan was working hard this weekend. More of that in a second.
Last week we taught a great group of college students. The Spirit was powerful. We testified of the restoration and every investigator was silenced. They could only sit and feel the truth of Christ's message. We then promised them if they came to conference with a prayerful heart, the Lord would confirm to them the truthfulness of this church, and they would know, upon seeing the face of President Monson, that he was called of God. They all promised to come. When Saturday morning arrived, they all showed up. They sat down and I prayed for the Spirit to be upon us. Then, the power went out. There was nothing for 20 minutes, and then someone finally got the generator turned on. This only powered the sound however, and we listened to part of a talk in the sweltering heat (all fans and air conditioning down), before the sound broke and cut out again. We finally got some picture and sound going just in time to hear President Uchtdorf start what sounded like an amazing talk, before it all crashed again. We ended up getting to hear the last speakers remarks, and then all our investigators had an exam to take at school and left. What a great first impression! I knew however, that we had done all we could, the investigators had shown forth their faith, and that no matter how hard the devil worked, he could not affect a promise of the Lord. I prayed hard during the hour break, and when it came time for the next session, all our investigators came back! They attended all 4 sessions, and all got testimonies of the truthfulness of Christ's church. It was such a great miracle to see true seekers of light feeling the Spirit despite all the worldly things that failed them.
I'm drenched in sweat right now by the way. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
I've got to run, but I love you all. Keep on doing FHE and family scripture study and prayer!
Love,
Elder Garver
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
9-26-12
Hey all!
Time is flying by at such a scary pace... It actually scares me. I'm not kidding. I don't like how fast it is going. Anyway...
Yep, I withdrew money dad, and I am hoping that will be the last time I ever need to do so. I am still, however, trying to fit time into my schedule to actually get to buying the things that I need. Even P-Days are now filled with things that need to be done, and I really don't ever have even a little "me-time" anymore. I was able to buy some pant material and send it into the tailor shop. The plan is to have enough time to swing by and pick them up after we eat lunch. Making pants is pretty fun. You go to this huge mall called SM and pick our whatever kind of fabric you want, then take it to some guy who sews and he measures you up then asks if you want anything special done. You can have them put in secret pockets or whatever, and then you pick them up after a few days. It's pretty cool. Too bad a lot of sweet fabric wouldn't make appropriate missionary slacks. I still haven't gotten to get shirts yet. Maybe I'll have time next week...
The biggest Fiesta they have here is Sinolog, which is done once a year in Cebu city. I missed it, being off-island last year, but I might be there for it this year. I hear it is nuts. Each little town also throws individual smaller fiestas all the time (That sounded like bad English... Oh well), and I get to see those all the time. They are always thrown for mamy mary or some other saint figure. They feature native dances and really good food. Unfortunately a lot of the dances consist of men and women dancing while holding false idols above their heads and singing prayers to them. Never-the-less, there are others which are just cool, and don't involve any idol-worshipping. No matter poor or rich, everyone gets into the party. There are spit roast pigs lining the road and everyone you walk past shoves a plate of food in your face. That part is nice. Roast pig is sooooo gooood.
Mom, you definitely need to save some money to go shopping when you get here. There is so much to buy it's ridiculous. It's all crazy cheap too, if you can speak the language, so I've got your back there.
This week was another crazy one (go figure). We are dropping in for surprise visits to each companionship in our zone this week to evaluate their morning studies. We are then bringing this back to ZLC where we will discuss what needs are and such. We also moved out all the furniture are things from the Sister's old apartment and closed it out, and now are going to begin looking for a new house for other sisters in a different area in the zone. The senior missionaries are lending us their car, and I will finally be able to drive again in the coming weeks. So. Awesome. I'm pumped. This is a dream come true! No speed limits in the Philippines. Maybe I shouldn't have reminded you of that, but you all know all be responsible! Then ZLC again this tuesday and Zone training on Thursday. It never ends.
We had a great last Sunday. Amidst many more meetings with branch and district leaders, we got to attend and teach a gospel principles class with 3 of our investigators. We showed them the Restoration dvd and then discussed it afterwords. The spirit was really strong and they all expressed how good it felt. I'm sending a couple pictures of our Plan of Salvation lesson we taught to George this week. He wants to be baptized really bad, but we are working on getting him married first.
I love you all!
Elder Garver
Time is flying by at such a scary pace... It actually scares me. I'm not kidding. I don't like how fast it is going. Anyway...
Yep, I withdrew money dad, and I am hoping that will be the last time I ever need to do so. I am still, however, trying to fit time into my schedule to actually get to buying the things that I need. Even P-Days are now filled with things that need to be done, and I really don't ever have even a little "me-time" anymore. I was able to buy some pant material and send it into the tailor shop. The plan is to have enough time to swing by and pick them up after we eat lunch. Making pants is pretty fun. You go to this huge mall called SM and pick our whatever kind of fabric you want, then take it to some guy who sews and he measures you up then asks if you want anything special done. You can have them put in secret pockets or whatever, and then you pick them up after a few days. It's pretty cool. Too bad a lot of sweet fabric wouldn't make appropriate missionary slacks. I still haven't gotten to get shirts yet. Maybe I'll have time next week...
The biggest Fiesta they have here is Sinolog, which is done once a year in Cebu city. I missed it, being off-island last year, but I might be there for it this year. I hear it is nuts. Each little town also throws individual smaller fiestas all the time (That sounded like bad English... Oh well), and I get to see those all the time. They are always thrown for mamy mary or some other saint figure. They feature native dances and really good food. Unfortunately a lot of the dances consist of men and women dancing while holding false idols above their heads and singing prayers to them. Never-the-less, there are others which are just cool, and don't involve any idol-worshipping. No matter poor or rich, everyone gets into the party. There are spit roast pigs lining the road and everyone you walk past shoves a plate of food in your face. That part is nice. Roast pig is sooooo gooood.
Mom, you definitely need to save some money to go shopping when you get here. There is so much to buy it's ridiculous. It's all crazy cheap too, if you can speak the language, so I've got your back there.
This week was another crazy one (go figure). We are dropping in for surprise visits to each companionship in our zone this week to evaluate their morning studies. We are then bringing this back to ZLC where we will discuss what needs are and such. We also moved out all the furniture are things from the Sister's old apartment and closed it out, and now are going to begin looking for a new house for other sisters in a different area in the zone. The senior missionaries are lending us their car, and I will finally be able to drive again in the coming weeks. So. Awesome. I'm pumped. This is a dream come true! No speed limits in the Philippines. Maybe I shouldn't have reminded you of that, but you all know all be responsible! Then ZLC again this tuesday and Zone training on Thursday. It never ends.
We had a great last Sunday. Amidst many more meetings with branch and district leaders, we got to attend and teach a gospel principles class with 3 of our investigators. We showed them the Restoration dvd and then discussed it afterwords. The spirit was really strong and they all expressed how good it felt. I'm sending a couple pictures of our Plan of Salvation lesson we taught to George this week. He wants to be baptized really bad, but we are working on getting him married first.
I love you all!
Elder Garver
10-10-12
Uhhh... Yeah. So. I haven't seen conference yet. I always forget to tell you. We watch the rebroadcast out here a week late. We'll see it this weekend. ALCIA IS SERVING A MISSION?! All of a sudden huh? Just like that! Well. She is going to kick some booty I tell you. Wow. I don't really know what to say.
I did hear the news of the mission age change last Sunday. There was a viral text going around the Philippines as soon that was announced. It never even crossed my mind, however, that Alicia was a part of that. Holy Moly. Then Mom just kind of casually throws that out there, "yeah, so Alicia is super excited and is getting ready to go." What!?! I don't know what to think, but I know that Alicia is going to be a killer missionary. She won't be gone when I get home though will she? I don't know what to tell you about the college thing. I would sure like to spend a semester with her in college before she heads out, but it is really up to her, and the Lord.
So this are my thoughts on the new changes. Boys will go younger, and less matured, but they will be able to get out the door with a little less temptation, which is great. They will also be able to mature on their missions and then come back ready to build up the church from an earlier age, get married sooner, and do better in life because of it. For the Sisters, this will eliminate the "I turned 21 and still wasn't married so I thought, 'eh, why not? I'll serve a mission," thought. Many more sisters will be serving out of a pure desire to serve God, and due to the influx of sisters, spirituality of the mission field will soar, and work will increase greatly. They will also be able to return sooner, smarter, and more ready to lead a family into exaltation. This is sorely needed. A mission teaches both men and women what kind of eternal companion they need, and thus, the quality of marriages inside the church will become much better because of this. I think this is great!
About the Muslims, there are no foreign missionaries presently assigned in Mindanao due to the fact that they seem to mysteriously disappear. A few years ago a couple baptist missionaries where kidnapped and held for ransom before being killed. White skin is associated with dollar signs in the Philippines, and the southern, more Muslim populated areas make it a lot more dangerous. So there are no Americans in Mindanao now, and there aren't many Muslims in Region 7 where I am at so that news doesn't effect us at all here. I hadn't heard about it until now. There are a lot of rebels down south though.
This week was good. But super fast paced. We didn't get to work much in our area, but we were able to check up on Nany Efepania. She is doing well, and is always ecstatic to see us come over. She didn't come to church last week because she was in another part of Cebu doing some family business, but promised that she is coming this week, and that she understands the terms of her blessing depend greatly on her diligence to fulfill her part of the deal to be baptized in a timely manner. ZLC was again, absolutely amazing, but I mentioned that last week. Maybe the prophet will come out next session and announce that Sister missionaries will also be able to become Zone Leaders so that Alicia can experience how amazing ZLC is. Zone Training went well and Elder Barcellano were able to rearrange our area a little bit. We are focusing now on finding those chosen from before the foundation of the world, due to their faithfulness, to receive this gospel on the earth. Most people we visit don't and will not accept what we tell them, and it is our job now to focus on those who are ready and will. We have seen great success as well have dropped the natural, and found the elect this week.
We also found out about transfers this morning. Elder Barcellano is leaving for City Zone, and I am getting Elder Olojan as my new companion who is coming from Negros. We now have a bust day ahead of us as Elder Barcellano and I have to organize how all the transferring Elders are going to make it to their new areas and how the new ones will make it here. This is completely the zone leaders responsibility, so we'll be making a lot of phone calls today to make sure everyone knows what to do, what buses to ride, where to get off, and who to meet and when.
We're off! I love you all! I want an email from the girls next week telling me what they think of this new mission age thing. Especially Alicia.
Love,
Elder Garver
I did hear the news of the mission age change last Sunday. There was a viral text going around the Philippines as soon that was announced. It never even crossed my mind, however, that Alicia was a part of that. Holy Moly. Then Mom just kind of casually throws that out there, "yeah, so Alicia is super excited and is getting ready to go." What!?! I don't know what to think, but I know that Alicia is going to be a killer missionary. She won't be gone when I get home though will she? I don't know what to tell you about the college thing. I would sure like to spend a semester with her in college before she heads out, but it is really up to her, and the Lord.
So this are my thoughts on the new changes. Boys will go younger, and less matured, but they will be able to get out the door with a little less temptation, which is great. They will also be able to mature on their missions and then come back ready to build up the church from an earlier age, get married sooner, and do better in life because of it. For the Sisters, this will eliminate the "I turned 21 and still wasn't married so I thought, 'eh, why not? I'll serve a mission," thought. Many more sisters will be serving out of a pure desire to serve God, and due to the influx of sisters, spirituality of the mission field will soar, and work will increase greatly. They will also be able to return sooner, smarter, and more ready to lead a family into exaltation. This is sorely needed. A mission teaches both men and women what kind of eternal companion they need, and thus, the quality of marriages inside the church will become much better because of this. I think this is great!
About the Muslims, there are no foreign missionaries presently assigned in Mindanao due to the fact that they seem to mysteriously disappear. A few years ago a couple baptist missionaries where kidnapped and held for ransom before being killed. White skin is associated with dollar signs in the Philippines, and the southern, more Muslim populated areas make it a lot more dangerous. So there are no Americans in Mindanao now, and there aren't many Muslims in Region 7 where I am at so that news doesn't effect us at all here. I hadn't heard about it until now. There are a lot of rebels down south though.
This week was good. But super fast paced. We didn't get to work much in our area, but we were able to check up on Nany Efepania. She is doing well, and is always ecstatic to see us come over. She didn't come to church last week because she was in another part of Cebu doing some family business, but promised that she is coming this week, and that she understands the terms of her blessing depend greatly on her diligence to fulfill her part of the deal to be baptized in a timely manner. ZLC was again, absolutely amazing, but I mentioned that last week. Maybe the prophet will come out next session and announce that Sister missionaries will also be able to become Zone Leaders so that Alicia can experience how amazing ZLC is. Zone Training went well and Elder Barcellano were able to rearrange our area a little bit. We are focusing now on finding those chosen from before the foundation of the world, due to their faithfulness, to receive this gospel on the earth. Most people we visit don't and will not accept what we tell them, and it is our job now to focus on those who are ready and will. We have seen great success as well have dropped the natural, and found the elect this week.
We also found out about transfers this morning. Elder Barcellano is leaving for City Zone, and I am getting Elder Olojan as my new companion who is coming from Negros. We now have a bust day ahead of us as Elder Barcellano and I have to organize how all the transferring Elders are going to make it to their new areas and how the new ones will make it here. This is completely the zone leaders responsibility, so we'll be making a lot of phone calls today to make sure everyone knows what to do, what buses to ride, where to get off, and who to meet and when.
We're off! I love you all! I want an email from the girls next week telling me what they think of this new mission age thing. Especially Alicia.
Love,
Elder Garver
10-3-12
Oh man... Alicia is 18... What the heck.
Well. Happy birthday Alicia :) You are so old! You're and adult! Stay careful! Filipinos think you are super gwapa, and I hate to think of what New Jersians think of you. Have fun though being 18! Where are you wanting to go to school? Do you have a car that you can drive everywhere like I had my truck, or do we still only have 2? I got you and all the girls some awesome gifts that I think you are going to really like, and I'm sure we'll get more when Mom and Dad come out here.
My (custom-made) pants are awesome. They did a super good job on them. The material is also cool, but not overbearing at all. I honestly don't know what I would do with crazy pants back home. I'm not really going for crazy in my wardrobe when I get home either. "Let thy garments be plain..." That's what I'm going for. I've acquired some pretty sweet ties though on the mission that I'll probably be giving out when I go home. Anybody want any?
This week is "crazy week." Every week is crazy, but the first week of every month, I wake up on Monday, and think, well it's time for next week. Time hits light speed on these weeks. We have District Meeting on Monday, and go into Cebu, then ZLC all Tuesday, P-Day on Wednesday, Zone Training on Thursday, Weekly Planning on Friday, Zone Business/Splits on Saturday, and Church with full day meetings on Sunday. Then after you blink, it's Monday again! Oh man. ZLC was awesome yesterday though. It always is. It is my favorite meeting in the world. We have an extraordinary Mission President that opens the windows of heaven and pours out knowledge upon us. Yesterday we learned about the Plan of Salvation and Satan's plot to rob us of exaltation, as well as how obedience and full dedication to Father in Heaven brings freedom.
Christ taught a truth when He said "the path is straight and few there be which enter there-in," and when he revealed to Joseph Smith in Doctrine & Covenants: 76 that those who inherit the Telestial Kingdom are numbered as all the sands of the sea and stars in the heavens. We need to pick up our slack, and we need to completely dedicate and consecrate all we have and all we are to Christ, if we are to be found worthy of His Father's Kingdom. It is not easy, and we need to straighten ourselves out, and then help every one we possibly can to do the same. I am so blessed to have been born into such a solid, faithful family. I love you Mom and Dad. I love you Alicia, Rachel and Sydney. Even you CJ, though you're quite a bit different than the rest of us in terms of obedience and salvation... and fur. Keep up the missionary work back home, and continue consecrating everything you have to Christ. Covenants are so wonderful.
I had a great lesson/experience I want to share before logging off. Last Sunday we had time for 1 lesson after we got out of Church and all our meetings. My companion suggested that we go visit an older woman whom we had contacted the week previous, as she hadn't come to church. When we got to her house, all the windows and doors were shut. We shouted, and we heard her exclaim, "Oh! It's you! You came back!" The door was then flung open and we were welcomed in. We talked to her a bit before teaching and found out why she hadn't come to church earlier. She had been admitted to the hospital for some serious problems. She then got choked up while telling this to us and explained how her life was hopeless and she had no idea what to do. She was told she had cysts in both her kidneys, her lungs were deteriorating, and her heart, which should be beating at 80 beats per minute, is only beating between 38-40. She can't have anything fixed without both other things completely failing. She is dying, and has nothing she can do to stop it. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and the restoration of the Authority to make this plan come into effect in our lives. She knew that the church was true, and committed to be baptized that same lesson. She expressed a concern however, that she feared she would not live long enough to be baptized. We shared with her that with the restoration of Priesthood authority, blessings and miracles were also restored, and offered to give her a priesthood blessing. She gratefully accepted, and in the blessing, she was promised that she would live long enough to fulfill the measure of her creation, and that she would be baptized a member of the true church of Jesus Christ. After the blessing, she looked up at us with an amazed smile, and said through teary eyes, "It's...like I'm not even sick anymore!" It was a great experience, and we are looking forward to her baptism this Nov. 3.
It's time for me to go! I want to express my gratitude for you all, and especially for the ward. I got your love package! Thank you so much! I am touched to know that I am thought off and cared for by even those who have never met me. You are all the best.
I love you all!
Elder Garver
Well. Happy birthday Alicia :) You are so old! You're and adult! Stay careful! Filipinos think you are super gwapa, and I hate to think of what New Jersians think of you. Have fun though being 18! Where are you wanting to go to school? Do you have a car that you can drive everywhere like I had my truck, or do we still only have 2? I got you and all the girls some awesome gifts that I think you are going to really like, and I'm sure we'll get more when Mom and Dad come out here.
My (custom-made) pants are awesome. They did a super good job on them. The material is also cool, but not overbearing at all. I honestly don't know what I would do with crazy pants back home. I'm not really going for crazy in my wardrobe when I get home either. "Let thy garments be plain..." That's what I'm going for. I've acquired some pretty sweet ties though on the mission that I'll probably be giving out when I go home. Anybody want any?
This week is "crazy week." Every week is crazy, but the first week of every month, I wake up on Monday, and think, well it's time for next week. Time hits light speed on these weeks. We have District Meeting on Monday, and go into Cebu, then ZLC all Tuesday, P-Day on Wednesday, Zone Training on Thursday, Weekly Planning on Friday, Zone Business/Splits on Saturday, and Church with full day meetings on Sunday. Then after you blink, it's Monday again! Oh man. ZLC was awesome yesterday though. It always is. It is my favorite meeting in the world. We have an extraordinary Mission President that opens the windows of heaven and pours out knowledge upon us. Yesterday we learned about the Plan of Salvation and Satan's plot to rob us of exaltation, as well as how obedience and full dedication to Father in Heaven brings freedom.
Christ taught a truth when He said "the path is straight and few there be which enter there-in," and when he revealed to Joseph Smith in Doctrine & Covenants: 76 that those who inherit the Telestial Kingdom are numbered as all the sands of the sea and stars in the heavens. We need to pick up our slack, and we need to completely dedicate and consecrate all we have and all we are to Christ, if we are to be found worthy of His Father's Kingdom. It is not easy, and we need to straighten ourselves out, and then help every one we possibly can to do the same. I am so blessed to have been born into such a solid, faithful family. I love you Mom and Dad. I love you Alicia, Rachel and Sydney. Even you CJ, though you're quite a bit different than the rest of us in terms of obedience and salvation... and fur. Keep up the missionary work back home, and continue consecrating everything you have to Christ. Covenants are so wonderful.
I had a great lesson/experience I want to share before logging off. Last Sunday we had time for 1 lesson after we got out of Church and all our meetings. My companion suggested that we go visit an older woman whom we had contacted the week previous, as she hadn't come to church. When we got to her house, all the windows and doors were shut. We shouted, and we heard her exclaim, "Oh! It's you! You came back!" The door was then flung open and we were welcomed in. We talked to her a bit before teaching and found out why she hadn't come to church earlier. She had been admitted to the hospital for some serious problems. She then got choked up while telling this to us and explained how her life was hopeless and she had no idea what to do. She was told she had cysts in both her kidneys, her lungs were deteriorating, and her heart, which should be beating at 80 beats per minute, is only beating between 38-40. She can't have anything fixed without both other things completely failing. She is dying, and has nothing she can do to stop it. We taught her about the Plan of Salvation and the restoration of the Authority to make this plan come into effect in our lives. She knew that the church was true, and committed to be baptized that same lesson. She expressed a concern however, that she feared she would not live long enough to be baptized. We shared with her that with the restoration of Priesthood authority, blessings and miracles were also restored, and offered to give her a priesthood blessing. She gratefully accepted, and in the blessing, she was promised that she would live long enough to fulfill the measure of her creation, and that she would be baptized a member of the true church of Jesus Christ. After the blessing, she looked up at us with an amazed smile, and said through teary eyes, "It's...like I'm not even sick anymore!" It was a great experience, and we are looking forward to her baptism this Nov. 3.
It's time for me to go! I want to express my gratitude for you all, and especially for the ward. I got your love package! Thank you so much! I am touched to know that I am thought off and cared for by even those who have never met me. You are all the best.
I love you all!
Elder Garver
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