Another Week Down

This week went faster than the last few. We found several people to teach earlier this week so we have been a little busier. The joy of a missionary is in the work and seeing the fruits of living the gospel in other people's lives. 

I have been enjoying Elder Barrameda's cooking. Who knew that I would get authentic Filipino food in Arkansas! We also sang in a choir Saturday, and I have a lot more respect for choirs now! We sang some hard songs which took a long time to get down. We were there from 11 am to 6 pm. I think it will turn out good. Yall can watch it once they finish editing the video. We were all standing six feet apart by the way. 

President Hansen leaves this week and we will be getting President Cahoon on the first. This will be my 3rd mission president and I am excited to meet him. So far I have been very impressed by the first two. I might even finish my mission with him. 

Well, I hope yall are doing good. Email me and let me know what you are up to.

 

-Elder Garrison

Elder Barrameda and Elder Garrison

A new week, companion, and rules

This week went by pretty quick. Tuesday I dropped off Elder Webb and spent the next two days in a trio with my district leader. Those two days were full of calling people and getting hung up on. Nothing really came out of it which was a little disappointing. It is hard doing work for your area when you aren't in it. 
Late Thursday night I picked up my new companion Elder Barrameda and the other two Elders for our area. An extra set of Elders will make the work here better. Elder Barrameda had to go all over the world to come here. He was raised in the Philippines, served in Australia, moved to California, and now serves here in Arkansas. He is a really good guy! Friday was full of running around and speaking to the members. Saturday we did some service for a member. It felt really good to go outside and get my hands dirty. They call Arkansas the natural state because it is illegal to kill reptiles here or something like that. We rolled over a log and found a snake trying to eat salamander eggs so that was cool. We have to keep our eyes open for snakes here because a few of them are pretty dangerous. 
Anyways, life here is good. I hope y'all are safe and happy. I am pretty disconnected from what is happening in the country right now but things sound pretty bad right now. I know that no matter what happens right now, Christ has already overcome it all and he can give us the peace we need. God bless y'all. Email me and tell me how you are doing!

Elder Garrison

Facebook Post: Bound Together for Eternity

Elder Garrison shared the following post on Facebook today:

Matthew 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven...

This scripture has a lot of meaning in my life right now. Today was Father's day, and I couldn't help but think of my own Christ-like father during it. The 19th was my sweet little sister's birthday and just recently my grandfather passed away.

I am so grateful that my family is bound together throughout all time and eternity. This means that no matter what happens if we remain faithful, we will be together forever after this life. This brings me so much comfort in times of loss and added joy to times of happiness!

If you want this in your or your children's lives PLEASE MESSAGE ME.

Transfer News!

Weekly email update from Elder Garrison:

This last week was pretty slow, but the work is progressing more and more. I am excited to see Blytheville really pick up the pace in the next few months. We got a single mom and her daughter to meet us at the church yesterday. We sat 6 feet apart and had masked on, all according to the rules, with some members there. That counts as coming to church if we do that on Sundays. It is really great to see people progress and become better versions of their selves. I have said this before but the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful tool for changing you into your best version of yourself. I am impressed by it every time and I can't wait to see where this all goes.
I am also super excited because the restrictions are also beginning to lift around here. We can finally start doing outside service! This is really going to help us stay busy. Today we just found out we can teach and meet in homes. No knocking on doors yet, but it is a great start. 

On a sadder note, Elder Webb is getting transferred tomorrow. He will be missed. With that said though, I am going to train a reassigned missionary on how to do things here in Arkansas. I was surprised to hear that because I just got here 3 weeks ago and I'm still figuring out little rules all the time. We are also getting another set of Elders in the downstairs apartment, so that will definitely give us something to do. Well, that's all that is new here in little Blytheville. We went to the Memphis zoo today! It was awesome. I saw more African animals there than when I was in Africa lol. Anyways, I hope y'all have a great week! 

A Good Week

Conner's weekly email:

This last week was a little long. We are not allowed to go outside for very long and are expected to find people to teach mostly online. Blytheville is a very small town, and has a lot of unique challenges that make finding people hard. The branch here has a lot of people who have stopped coming to church so we have also been trying to make contact with most of them. The people here are all very kind and offer to feed us. It was great to get out of the apartment to go to zone conference last Thursday. It was President Hansen's last zone conference with us so it was very emotional for a lot of the missionaries. He has done a lot for this mission and will be remembered for a very long time. He taught about the Atonement and setting goals. There is not a whole lot going on but I am sure that things will get more exciting soon. I hope y'all are safe and happy! 

Elder Garrison

First Week in Arkansas!

This last week has been awesome! I left for the airport early Tuesday morning and was in Little Rock by 3 in the afternoon. The flight felt like it went by really fast. When we got there, we met our new mission president (President Hansen) and his wife. We then started a 2-day mini MTC before we left for our areas. It was very spiritually uplifting and we learned a lot about how to teach people online. On Thursday I was able to go to my new area, Blytheville Arkansas. It has the highest crime rate in Arkansas, with more murders per capita than Chicago. This is the third biggest area in the mission and the only area to run into Missouri. I also crossed the Mississippi River into Tennessee so that adds three states to list of places I have been. We have a very small branch out here, and I look forward to helping it become stronger. The people here are really nice for the most part, I guess southern hospitality is a real thing. I haven't met too many people yet, but I look forward to as the restrictions here begin to lift. 

        My new companion is Elder Webb. He is from a small town in Arizona and is amazing with a yoyo. My whole district already has yoyos and have been learning from him. I think I already have one shipping out here. Elder Webb has been serving here in Arkansas for the last 9 months and has been doing a great job helping me figure out how to be a missionary out here. This mission is very different than Ghana. We have cars, dryers, washing machines, and a lot more rules than in Ghana. I really do like the mission culture and vibe here. It seems like there is a lot more unity and love between the missionaries out here. Anyways, that is pretty much what is new for me. I hope y'all back home have a great week! 

Conner with President Hansen

Entering Missouri