Bean Festival & Out House Races!

This week was interesting, to say the least. The fall colors are awesome and the cold temperatures are not so awesome. It is getting down to the low 40's here. I haven't been this cold for almost 18 months. I hope it doesn't get much colder here or I will freeze to death! 

This last week we probably did 15+ hours of community service this last week. A lot of it was moving rocks. I now know why the county got the name Stone County. We also had a ton of people come into town. They have a bean festival here every October. It was nice because Elder Morton and I got some free beans. They had a ton of vendors out selling things like can-jo's and purse-guitars to high-quality wood carving. They normally have outhouse races, but due to the virus, we didn't have any this year. It was kind of a bummer not to see that. We did clean one for a nonprofit organization around here that sells Irises and donates the money for the community. It definitely was the best looking one out there. They also played a lot of folk music of course because this is the Folk Music capital of the world. Saturday was Elder Morton's birthday and a member just happened to buy us some stakes, Elder Morton's favorite food. We enjoyed barbecuing that up for his Birthday. Life is good here. I hope y'all are doing well. 

-Elder Garrison 

A different and fun week!

Last week will probably be the only one like it while I am on my mission. Tuesday we woke up at three and drove down to little rock. I met up with Elder Barrameda again and went to the office Elders apartments for about 2 days. We were able to work both the Moutain view and Blytheville areas via Facebook during that time. That was a sweet experience. I also had one of the other Elders there give me a haircut. It had been a while since I had one last and I definitely needed one. 

Thursday we had a meeting that was way shorter than I had expected. Afterward, I met my new companion, Elder Morton! He is from Roberts, Idaho. He seems to be excited to get to work. He lives on a farm and loves basketball and football. I am excited to spend the next few months with him. 

We have had a few miracles happen. Friday we started teaching someone named Kyle. He has a lot of experience with different churches and had a hard time excepting the Book of Mormon. He has recently been through some rough spots in his life. His Fiancee is a member and finally got him to sit down and read the Book of Mormon with her. I guess he had a spiritual experience while reading it and now he is open to learning more. It is amazing to see how the Lord can soften people's hearts so they can receive the restored Gospel. 

I guess the election is coming up. I am sure that things are pretty crazy with that. I am glad to be on a mission right now because I don't have to worry about any of that. I only know what people tell me which is not a lot. The bummer about not knowing what is going on right now is that I don't really know what a lot of y'all back home are up to. Let me know how you are doing! Anyway, I hope y'all have a great week!

-Elder Garrison 

A Great and Full Week

    Wednesday we had zone conference. It was on the Holy Ghost and receiving personal revelation. It was great, and I learned some new things that changed the way I think about the Spirit. One of the things specifically talked about was prayer. There are a lot of scriptures that talk about how prayer invites the Spirit into our lives. I had been thinking about prayer for a while before the conference. I read an account of someone who was praying with Brigham Young. At this time, he was the president of the church. The man said he needed to open his eyes to see if God or Jesus Christ was in the room with them because Brigham Young prayed with such power and intimacy. 

      Since reading this account, and another similar account about Joseph Smith and Sister Cahoon speaking on prayer, I have given quite a bit of time pondering about it. I also have been putting a lot more effort into my prayers. Thursday we had a woman who we prayed with tell me that there was something different about me after the prayer. We also had a conversation with a man after church yesterday. His brother in law was also there. He did not understand the importance of priesthood organization, nor did he seem to want a 20-year-old to open the Bible and show it to him. Afterward, he asked that all four of us hold hands and pray. He prayed first, and gave a long, emotional prayer and then asked us to pray so I offered it. My prayer was simpler and I did not display as much emotion as he did. Afterward, he told me that I, "had a head on my shoulders." Later that member that prayed with us, said that he could feel the Spirit in my prayer and the lack of it in the other. 

     I typically do not tell stories like these ones on here, because they are special and sacred to me. However, I felt that I should to illustrate the power of prayer. The intent is not to point out how great I think I am. Prayer gains its power as we use it to align our wills with God's, offer gratitude, and pray for divine assistance for ourselves and especially others. With that said, prayers are answered in the Lord's way and timing and I had another experience this week that made that point especially clear. 

     As far as other news, we have transfers tomorrow. Elder Olsen is leaving for Mississippi. I am glad for the time we had together and I will most definitely miss him. I am going to Little Rock for a few days to receive some training. I should be back in Moutain View Thursday night with my new companion. I will let you know next Monday who he is. I am crossing my fingers that I will get an islander or someone who had their original assignment to Ghana. 

     This must be my longest email I have sent in a while, and I am sorry for that. I love y'all and I hope that each of you are happy and safe! Let me know how you are doing. 

-Elder Garrison

A Week Full of Work

This last week we have done tons of service projects. Saturday we spent around 10 hours building stairs, a bed frame, tearing out carpet, painting, mowing, and weed whacking. With all the service we were doing for primarily nonmembers, we missed conference on Saturday. We have been slowly trying to catch up. So far it seems like General conference this year has been my favorite one that I have seen. This next week seems promising too. We are going to go to zone conference Wednesday. It will be on the Holy Ghost. 

We just found out that our restrictions for covid have become much more strict. I am a little bummed by it. I have faith that this work is the Lords and He can do it on His own if he needs to. I just pray I can have more of a part of it. I love y'all. Be safe and happy. Let me know how you are doing. 

-Elder Garrison