TIME JUST KEEPS FLYING BY...

Hola a todos...


Another week has blown away and sadly I can already feel that the time is speeding up compared to the last year of my mission!  We are excited for another week here in Pan de Azucar.  We have found a few new great investigators and are still pushing and fighting along with the others to reach their baptisms and we have a baptism this Saturday of a young man named Alvaro, but he still has to learn a few things and not work this Saturday (his job is a little inconsistent with the days and hours that he is asked to work) so please keep him in your prayers this week so that he can make the necessary time he needs to get baptized this Saturday!  We have a baptismal goal for the month of March of 4 baptisms and in my district a goal of 13.  We are all excited and working hard to accomplish this goal that we have set and need your prayers, Thanks. 

Summer is coming to an end and the heat is dying down and it feels great now!  The summer wasn`t as bad as I thought it would be -- not nearly as hot as Arizona but it was quite humid at times.

Elder Thompson`s birthday is coming up on the 13th and we are going to eat an Asado with one of the families here in the branch!  Things are improving in my district... the sister missionaries in my district had 4 baptisms in February and have a goal for 5 in March.  The ground breaking of the chapel has been postponed to the 26th of March (for reasons unknown) and so it is possible that one of us won`t be here to see it because the next changes are going to be on the 22nd of March.

That`s great that Colin had great success and few injuries in his Eagle Project and that Mason has received a calling already in the Deacon`s Quorum!  Keep waiting with patience mom, you are almost there to your recovery!  Sounds like things are going great down there in the AZ.  That`s awesome that Colin wants to go to EFY this year.  When he gets back from EFY can you send me the music from this year`s EFY CD?

On Wednesday I get to go to Montevideo for another leadership meeting and I`m excited because I always feel really animated and learn a lot from these leadership meetings.  It`s weird to be in the older group of missionaries now and see that there are a lot of younger missionaries that are still learning and that I`m one of the ones that has to help them learn.  I remember when I just arrived and I saw everyone else as being so old and experienced and I really looked up to them and now I`m the one being an example for the younger missionaries now.  I love the mission and am sad that it is half over but very grateful that I get another year to keep serving and growing.

This church is true and the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ.  I was thinking today about the importance of the gospel in my life today and I saw and felt something strongly and simply about the commandments that have been given through the prophets and Christ himself... Lots of times we can find ourselves thinking of a commandment as a restriction or something that limits us but the commandments are really just a way that Christ and our Heavenly Father invite us to be happy and to avoid or overcome the temptations and trials that we have in this life.  Every day from the people here I hear people say... I always pray for health and my family and nothing else.  He is answering our prayers through His commandments.  If we want health we need to obey the Word of Wisdom.  If we want a good family, we need to obey the Law of Chastity.  If we want what we need to support our families we must pay our tithing and keep the Sabbath day holy.  Each commandment is an answer to somebody`s prayer and Satan just wants us to think of these answers as restrictions or limits on our freedom so that we won`t take them seriously.  I know that Christ lives and that He loves each and every one of us.

Love,
Elder Gardner