August 16, 2021 Email Chatter

Elder Garcia has a companion at the moment that is super controlling when it comes to the cell phone that the companionship has. That being said...I wanted to be sure to put in the blog the email conversation that I was able to have with Elder Garcia since there wasn't going to be a group email out today.

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Monday, August 16, 2021
Elder Garcia's reply to my email from August 14, 2021:
 

Hey mom!

Alright so I should be able to talk to you over a call later. My comp is somewhere rn, I don't actually know where though. He kinda just walked outside and I don't see him anywhere. Africa life is definitely something to get used to and it is definitely not fully what I expected. It feels weird thinking that it has already been a week here. Feels like I just started yesterday to be honest. I am still adjusting, my comp finally let me talk in a lesson this last week but only once because my French isn't the best. He is kinda getting on my nevres though, I'll have to tell you about it when I call this afternoon/morning time zone thingy. We are crazy busy but bc of how my comp handles things that's all that it is. Busy work. I have felt the spirit during teaching about 2 times in the past week and we teach about 5 times a day. And you can tell that the amis don't feel it either because they just have this look of "are you done yet?" in thier eyes. Elder Obeya is too robotic in my opinion. Unless it comes to rules, if it has to do with telling me something then he's fine. But then it doesn't apply to him, even when I say the same thing to him as he does to me (I just say it nicer so it's not like I'm controlling him). I sent that in my letter to my President so that I could hopefully get some help on thag but for now I am just doing what the Lord has asked of me. And what President Proudfoot has asked too. I hope that hy the end of 2 years I am like the other 2 Elders. I seriously go to bed thinking of ways to help our amis and how to answer their questions so that in the next lessons I can say something. There are fires here every day too haha. But it's just people burning their trash. The Braves aee coming in hot too sounds like, hopefully they don't get lazy now. And that sounds abiut right for the Yankees, they have judt been awful tjis year with all the changes. They can't seem to adjust properly. 

Regarding your pictures, that is a be6picture of Christ. I definitely love it. And the water feature looks like it just needs to be set on fire hahah. 

Also, I tried typing in that group thing but nothing showed up. I don't really know what is going on with that. Maybe you could walk me through it today over the call? Anyways, I love ya mom! 

Love,

Elder Garcia

 

*********** Mom's reply back to Elder Garcia  

I am sorry that things with your companion are tricky. That has to be hard for sure, but think about the story of the refiners fire and some of the refining fires you have been through in your life. I often reflect on my own fires and even though they are difficult at the time, and sometimes even for some time down the road, I really like the way things turn out in the end. I like who I have become and the lessons I have learned. Remember that and remember that you have your Heavenly Father on your side as well to help work through the sticky and not so fun. I am glad you mentioned it in your check in with the President as well. Hopefully he will have some insight for you too.

What are some changes you would like to see happen with your amis? What do you think you could do, even with a dominant companion, to help bring the Spirit into those meetings/lessons? Do you have an opportunity to at least bear your testimony? Maybe it would be a good chance to share with them that you know sometimes as you are learning, feeling the tender Spirit is sometimes harder than other times and that that is okay. Maybe you could help ease them into recognizing the Spirit as something small and tender as you yourself are trying to bring that in as you teach or even as you sit alongside Elder Obeya? Just some thoughts. I will be sure to keep you in my prayers and ask those here to do the same that things change some and that you are able to help facilitate the opportunities to have the Spirit join you in those lessons.

I want you to know that I know you have the workings to be better than the two  Elders I ran into at the grocery! You have such potential and are going to do amazing things there in Africa as you head out of your door each day. You are going to touch people's hearts and change lives just by being you. Your personality makes it so people are curious and want to know more of who you are. You carry a light that will burn even brighter as a missionary because the Lord knows that it will draw others to you, which in turn will give you an opportunity to teach them all about Him. We had a couple speak in church yesterday and you came to mind. They have been inactive for a long time. He served a mission, she did not. He had a girlfriend when he left and was super hung up on her but he also had a baseball scholarship (I was real interested in his talk as soon as he said baseball!) and a mission he had agreed to. He was torn on what to do. He knew in his heart he needed to serve and he knew that if he chose a mission the scholarship would somehow work out still for him. So, he prayed about it and went to the college to see what they could do with holding his scholarship until he returned. To his surprise, they agreed and he was determined to be the best missionary he could. He said the first few months of his mission were downright brutal. He was worried about the college baseball team at home, he was worried about his skillset and if it would fall apart and he wouldn't get to keep a full scholarship because they would cut him, he was worried about the girl at home, and he was worried about how he was going to make it all work when he got home. He said at this point in his mission is when he learned more about the word 'consistency'. He said that when he prayed to the Lord for help in getting through those troublesome days on his mission, he kept hearing the word consistent pop up in his thoughts. He would see the word on signs or it would come out a lot in lessons as he taught investigators. He recognized what the Lord was trying to nudge him towards and that was simply this...being consistent in being a full time missionary, putting the Lord and His work above all else, would bring peace to his heart as he served and he knew that in the end, the Lord would help make everything else fall into place when he got home. He said when he got home it wasn't without hard because when he had his epiphane on his mission he cut ties with the girl at home, he didn't open letters when they came in from his buddies letting him know about the college team and where they stood in the standings, and he really wasn't doing much to continue his skillset in baseball. But, he met his wife, he still went to college on a full ride baseball scholarship (even though he wasn't a starter), and now he has two sweet boys, a good job, a home, and him and his family are thriving. He shared that when they started to become inactive, every single Sunday he would get the impression of 'consistent' just like he did on his mission. And he knew he needed to talk to his wife about it and get things back on track. They are such a strong family and the testimonies they both shared as they closed out their talks were powerful and had many of us wiping tears in our eyes so they wouldn't fall. We have the greatest blessing of a loving Heavenly Father who wants only the very best for each of us in our lives. He knows what is in store for us if we choose to do what He has asked and as we choose the right in those things. The Woodwards were so much of what my heart needed yesterday and mostly I loved that it brought me to thinking of you while I was missing you on our bench during Sacrament meeting. :)

I don't imagine burning trash smells lovely at all. I think I will stick with what we have and just keep praying for rain to squash it all. I realize they are a seasonal thing that keeps the air quality gross but I don't think I could do trash. Baseball has been fun this weekend. I still cannot believe the games the Braves played in Washington. It was AWESOME! Tyler and I chatted briefly last night about the possibility of World Series tickets but I am too afraid to really talk about it because I sure don't want to jinx it. HA! That would be awesome though for sure. I love that the Mets who have dominated the division are now behind. That makes me so dang happy! The MLB hosted a Field of Dreams game that was seriously the coolest too. They built the most beautiful field next to the one from the movie. The Yankees and the White Sox played each other and Kevin Costner opened the game like a movie playing out. He came out of the corn field and looked around and then as he got to the edge of the infield the players from both teams came out of the corn too. I was seriously bawling my eyes out!!! It was so so good. And the Yankees played a great game that night. You would have been so proud. :)

As far as your email...you just need to open up an email like you are going to send it to me or anyone else. In the line where you type an email address just type "mission" and it will bring up the list of contacts that I created from your list on your drive. You shouldn't have to type in anything else at all. Then you can type in your Subject and then add in the body of the email. Hopefully that helps? I will keep my fingers crossed it does.

I love love you and hope we will have a chance at a phone call. But if not, I hope you can feel my prayers and that you know and feel it in your heart that I love you very much. I am so proud of you and all you are doing each day. I love you to the moon and back,

Mom