2-27-13

Good Morning!

Dad's giving me the guilt trip.  So is Elder McDougal.  I forgot my camera at the house I'm sorry.  We are doing a Zone Activity and a forgot to throw it in my travel bag.  I'll get you pictures next week.  Elder Afu is getting along decently well here.  The money we have is definitely not enough to keep him fed as well as he is used to, but he is surviving.  He came into the mission at 128 kilos and now weighs only 102.  He has lost a ton of weight.

This week has been full of nothing but business.  These weeks kill me but it's all for the good of the mission in the end.  This transfer has been cut to only 4 weeks in order to get us into the schedule with all these new missionaries coming in, so we are short on time from the get go.  Then on top of that, we learned that we have 6 new missionaries coming into our zone in 2 weeks and opening up 3 new areas.  This means that Elder Afu and I must find, rent, and furnish 2 new apartments, visit with all the other missionaries and inventory their furnishings, meet with missionaries and church leaders about assigning area boundaries, go to our Zone Leaders Council in Cebu, visit the temple with our zone (yay!), and teach the zone in Zone Training Meeting.  Not to mention our weekly DLC trainings we have with the District Leaders or the exchanges we must somehow find time to conduct with the other elders.  I have never been this busy in my life.

So that's the measure of my creation right now.  We do occasionally get to work in our area as well, and those who we visit are doing well.  Our greatest success is with the ward which we are helping become self sustaining.  We have about 115 members who come each week, with about 15-20 priesthood leaders.  We are getting every auxiliary up and running and the ward is taking off.  It's doing really well.

I think Alicia should do 1 semester of school before her mission.  That's the feeling I got while reading your email Mom.  Do all you can Mom to get Chris and I in the same apartment.  We have been dreaming about this since we were priests.  If you have to break into the dean's office in Idaho and hack the computer system, that is a sacrifice that must be made!  I love you Mom!

I've got to run.  I love you all so much!  Pass on my love to Crystal as well.

Love,
Elder Garver

To Chris:  We're going to college together!!  That's so awesome that you got in and that you can come in the fall with me.  I can't wait.  How are your last few weeks going in the mission?  I haven't heard from you in a couple weeks.  I love you buddy.  WE'RE GOING TO COLLEGE TOGETHER!!!!!!