The One Where Hermana Gardanier Forgot to Give Her Mom a Title

We went to Santiago for my companion’s doctor’s appointment. She is always such a good sport even though secretly she is in pain. We drove up to Santiago with Elder Kemp, Elder Estrella, and Hermana Christiansen (the nurse). We had a long time to just think in the car. I thought a lot about the talk dad sent me, “Living after the Manner of Happiness” by Elder Holland. Wow, I absolutely LOVE this talk! Especially what dad said about it, “you may not convert everyone you meet, but you can have the goal to leave them better than you found them.” Wow, it’s so powerful. Just imagine how much better this world would be if we all just tried to leave people better than we find them? I thought so much about this, and I can do this with my companion, other missionaries, family, friends, and even random people on the street in a split second by smiling. Ah how simple yet so meaningful. So out of the 100,000,000 things I want to improve on and fix in my way of life after reading this talk, I decided to start with a few small simple things and then I’ll build on that foundation.

                I am going to smile at everyone, EVERYONE. The people on the streets, the grocery store cashier, the construction workers, the police officers, the homeless men… EVERYONE. Because smiles are free to give and it’s a win-win situation.

                I am going to make the best effort I can at learning, remembering, and USING people’s names. It’s hard because Spanish names are challenging for me, but it’s so important to them so I’ll make it important to me!

                And I’m going to more fully forget about myself and invest all of my energy on showing my interest in everyone else. I want to help people feel loved and important and valued. I am going to work to understand people deeper than just listening, but to feel what they feel.

                There are so MANY things I want to improve and develop and learn. In fact, I feel like it is going to take my whole life to begin to develop the skills and abilities I wish I had. But that’s the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We don’t have to be perfect. We should aim towards perfection, but our Heavenly Father knows we will fall short. Again and again. That’s why we have a Savior. That’s why we have the Atonement. That’s why we have repentance. To get back up. Again and again.

                I’m so grateful for the long trip we had today because I had so much time to just think and ponder and pray. Everything went well at the hospital and my companion is doing well. Things are getting better!

                We ate at a Chinese restaurant on the way home, and got back to the house safely and exhausted. And I am so ready and excited to start leaving people better than I find them.

                Ah today was wonderful! My companion had leadership counsel so I went to Machali for the morning. I was with Hermana Brown. Oh my- she is absolutely one of the strongest people I have ever met. Her conversion story is so incredible and her testimony is so strong. She’s here on a mission and her parents hate the church. She left everything behind and gave everything up to be here. She is so amazing! She has 3 months in the mission (one transfer behind me), and she was so sweet asking for advice. We were together for 3 hours and I walked away with a list of amazing things she taught me. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have such deep conversations after just meeting. We were just so honest with each other and it was so healthy and so good.

                She taught me how if we bring the Spirit to the lessons, the Spirit will take over and everyone will have their time. Some will catch the Spirit sooner than others. Some will take longer to click. But there’s something to be said about how the Lord “softens the hearts of the people.” It’s not always all at once. Sometimes it’s over time, little by little, but everyone will have their time. It was such a good reminder that without the Spirit, we are nothing. I don’t have to have a plaque and a missionary lesson to bring the Spirit and soften the heart of someone. It’s something I can strive to do my whole life.

Also today we brought like 20 people to play soccer and it was SO FUN and now we have 3 new people investigating the church and 2 less active families excited to come to church on Sunday! I love that people crave the joy the gospel brings.

                We had family night with Ana and Enrique. Randomly they had a moment of celebration for July 4^th and had me sing the Star Spangled Banner. It wasn’t the same without Lindsay harmonizing, but it still was kind of strange singing our national anthem with a microphone being videotaped in a family home evening in Chile. But hey, God bless America right?

FHE Star Spangled Banner

We had a lesson with Eileen (the lady who was in a super bad car accident). We taught the Plan of Salvation, the Spirit was so strong that she opened her heart to us. God has honestly prepared a perfectly detailed plan for our lives. I know we met Eileen now because God has prepared her to receive the Gospel. She is searching for hope and I am so blessed to be the arrow pointing her to Christ. I hope to prepare in every way possible to help her accept the Restored Gospel.

                Also, we visited Mina (a lady who had an accident, lost an eye, and is bed-ridden for 3 months.) We sang to her and I shared Romans 8:18 with her. She insisted on saying the closing prayer. I just about lost it when she thanked Heavenly Father for what happened. She literally thanked Him for her suffering. Because she knows it is part of His plan for her and she knows that these sufferings are not worthy to be compared to the glory that will come.

                I realized that sometimes we are so focused on what we can’t control, that too often we forget that in the hardest moments, we grow the most. Have I ever stopped to thank my Heavenly Father in the midst of my sufferings for these opportunities to grow and progress?

                I Love this ward! The people are so nice and generous and loving. Always so kind. I am the only one who plays the piano, so I play every week in sacrament meeting. I have no time to practice or play beforehand, I just show up and try to play the songs the lady chooses. I love playing because it’s a feeling I have never felt before. I do my best but I can sometimes feel hands over mine guiding me. It’s so amazing to play songs I’ve never played before. I know it’s not me because at home it would have taken me months to learn these songs. It’s so amazing, in Spanish, in teaching, and even playing the piano, God is helping me.

               

P.S. Today a family told me I look like Lindsay Lohan and I’m not sure how I feel about that…

 Hermana Flores dropped the keys and it was like Pirates of the Caribbean when they were trying to get the keys from the dog. My favorite thing about this is the helmet ;)