The One Where My Family was the Most BEAUTIFUL SIGHT

HOLA!

So this week was basically the best week in the world because it was MOTHERS DAY!!! The nicest members let us use their massive t.v. and computer so when we Skyped the family I could see everyone’s beautiful faces!!! Wow just hearing them talk and laugh brought so much joy to my heart! The only thing missing was a big family hug so if anyone is reading this, GO HUG MY FAMILY FOR ME!!! Thank you thank you thank you!

But really I was looking at my beautiful family and the scripture came to my mind, where much is given, much is required. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN SO MUCH. Like I realized that I owe every second every moment of the rest of my life and beyond to my Savior and Heavenly Father for giving me those humans for eternity. I promise that seeing them made me want to work so hard and live my life forever serving God and proving to Him through how I live how grateful I am and how much I love him for giving me my family. Ah how wonderful this gospel is. WE GET TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER!! I am so lucky to be down here in Chile spreading this amazing news that brings me so much joy! 

Also this week I was reading a talk I stole from Lindsay’s room a few months ago (sorry I was planning on giving it back, but I guess it made it into my mission pile of things in my room), but I was reminded of the amazing gift our Savior has given us. The Atonement. The talk is called Believing Christ and I think it is a book or something so if you have the chance go look it up or read a little bit of it because it is AMAZING, but I just have this talk and I HAVE to share my thoughts.

 I was thinking about our investigators and the people here and life is just so hard sometimes. We all are trying to be the best we can be but the sad news is we will always mess up and fall short. We all want to be the best students, daughters, missionaries, disciples of Christ that we can, but we never can be exactly what God has asked us to be, perfect. But here is a wonderful quote from this talk, “We all fail at living the full celestial level. That’s why we need a Savior. The Lord says, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled (matt 5:6). WE frequently misinterpret that verse. WE think it means blessed are the righteous. It does not. When are you hungry? When are you thirsty? When you don’t have the object of your desire. It is those who don’t have the righteousness that God has but who HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER IT who are blessed, for if that is the desire of their hearts, the lord will help them achieve it.” 

To me, this is the best news ever. We all will fall short. We all will mess up and sometimes it is so frustrating because we know our potential. But as long as we are trying our best every day to be the best we can, we are doing exactly what we are supposed to. So if you are hungry and thirsty to be the best you can be, YOU ARE DOING EXACTLY WHAT GOD WANTS. Just know that even though we aren’t perfect and we make mistakes, just keep trying to be the best you can be. Keep trying to let go of things of this world that don’t matter. Keep trying to live the principles of the gospel. KEEP WALKING TO CHRIST. He is a lot closer than you think! And then once you find him and feel his hand, grab it and NEVER LET GO OF HIM. There is so much joy in living the gospel. So come and enjoy the beauty of the gospel!!! IT IS WONDERFUL! 

Oh and hug your family because you can :)

Con MUCHO AMOR!
Hermana Gardanier

 

Here is some additional emails to family:

 

Oh my YOU GUYS ARE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE ON THE EARTH!! Ah seriously my companion has been telling everyone in our district how beautiful you guys are! She thought Lindsay was my older sister and she DIED when Ryan was talking. Like all last night she was like OH HE’S SO CUTE WHEN HE SPEAKS ENGLISH! hahah it was adorable. THANK YOU FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR VACATION TO TALK TO ME!! 

Not going to lie, I was nervous because I didn’t know if it was going to make things hard here, but NOPE not even a little bit. It was perfect and you guys recharged me and reminded me of why I am here and that the gospel is so much joy and happiness and just thank you for being amazing!!!! I love all of those pictures!!! Wow ahhhh you are all so amazing. I hope you know that that was the best thing ever and I want to work so much harder more than ever so THANK YOU for recharging me! I can’t wait to get back to work! Last night wasn’t hard. Except for my companion was a little sick so I was up taking care of her and then I told her to rest this morning while I cleaned the whole house. But I was happy and singing while I served trying to be like you mom. You are so amazing and your smiles just light up my world. Thank you for everything.

I love you and I forgot to tell you HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Some of the things she told us on our Skype call:

Aimee hasn’t spoken English since April 19^th. Most of the Elders in her Zone are native, and the ones from the US speak Spanish to each other. They will help her translate a couple phrases, but then they go back into Spanish. There are 6 missionaries in her District, and about 16 in her Zone. Her trainer, Hermana Revolo has been out on her mission for 10 months. Here is a funny nugget, many of the native missionaries in the MTC thought that she looked like Katey Perry.

Hermana Revolo is teaching Aimee how to cook Peruvian food. They eat chicken, rice, and pasta. They drink Ecco which is a coffee tasting warm drink. When Aimee first saw it, she thought it was hot chocolate, and put two giant scoops in her hot water. She choked it down after realizing her mistake.

When she first arrived to the mission home, she saw on the program that she was to conduct the music. She couldn’t translate which hymn, so she opened up her book to the page listed. While she was leading, she noticed the Mission President was laughing pretty hard and pretty soon the Assistants were as well. Turns out she was on the wrong page. She was able to get to the correct page before the song ended.

Here is a typical day schedule:

7 AM- Wake up

7:30 – Shower and get ready
8:30 - Personal study
9:30 –Comp study (This also includes language study, and her 12 week newbie studies)
12 – Leave apartment
1:30-3:30 – Lunch with members (Includes a scripture and thought)
3:30-9:30 Proselyte and contacting. They do a bunch of work with less actives
9:30-10:30 – Planning (Every ½ hour has to be planned)
11 – Lights out

Every Saturday at 7 PM, they teach an English class, and then 8-9 PM they play soccer with members. Aimee has gotten to teach the girls soccer (those years of soccer are paying off).

Aimee says her 1 hour on Pday to write home goes crazy fast. She is able to print emails, but can’t read them until later. She has asked if you send email, to do it in a small font and don’t space between paragraphs. This saves her the cost of printing paper.