Attitude!

November 11, 2010

Mom and Dad,

This week has been great! Jessica (1) was baptized, so we are majorly trying to find investigators who want to learn more about the gospel. All of our present investigators either got baptized or stopped progressing, so we’ve been striving to find more.

Whenever we schedule a first appointment with someone we call them potentials then after our first appointment if we schedule another one they become new investigators. So a couple days ago we were working super hard and found five potential investigators! One of them was a student who we took on a tour at Temple Square. His name is Joon. He is from Korea, but is living in Wyoming. We have our first phone appointment with him tomorrow. The other four potential were found through the Referral Center. My companion, Sister Despain, found two and I found two, also.

One of the potential’s contact was amazing! This potential was a referral by a member of the church. We had talked to the member at conference. At first, he was pretty resistant about giving us his friend’s phone number, but he followed the promptings of the spirit and gave us the number. When I called the potential (Garrett) he was really chill. I just talked to him personally and shared my testimony without any reserves. The spirit was there and I invited him to receive the missionaries. He said, “Yes!” I was so excited. I began to testify of how happy the gospel makes me and will make him, then *click*. The phone went dead like he hung up! Oh-No! I called back and the answering machine picked up. I called again and nothing. I called once more and still nothing. I was so sad. I immediately started praying. I knew that he only agreed to see the missionaries because he was feeling the spirit. I didn’t know if I would ever get another chance to speak with him again. I walked into the other room and told some of the sisters what happened and how sad I felt. I walked back into my room and heard my phone ring! It was him!!!! He said the battery in his phone died as he was driving so he had to wait until he got home to call back. I got his address and he still wanted the missionaries to come to visit. We are calling him this Sunday to follow-up with how the missionary visit went! Hopefully he’ll turn into a new investigator.

I called the member who had referred and he was so excited to hear that Garrett has agreed to have the missionaries visit with him. He said he had just finished talking to his local missionaries in Provo and was trying to figure out how to get the missionaries to Garrett. He said it was so crazy because I got his referral over a month ago and finally got in contact with Garrett on the same day he met with his missionaries trying to find a way to introduce the gospel to Garrett.

Having the faith to find new investigators makes all the difference on the mission. That day Sister Despain and I really focused our efforts and attitudes on finding the people who are prepared to hear our message and Heavenly Father blessed us!

Our Mission President, President Holmes, always says he’d pick attitude over experience any day. It’s so true. I’ve been able to see that through my companion’s example. Even though I’ve been out six-times longer than Sister Dispain has, whenever she has the right attitude she is more powerful at teaching than I am. The Spirit works through the humble and diligent. I’ve seen miracles through her and I have learned so much from her!

One of the other potentials is a girl named Regina who we also met on Temple Square. She was here for a Chemical Engineering conference. We showed her around Temple Square and she was so prepared to hear what we had to say. She had lots of questions and was so eager to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ. She agreed to meet with the missionaries and was willing to have us call her. She has been reading in the Book of Mormon and praying and was committed to going to church. She is now a progressing investigator!

Heavenly Father is preparing those who come to Temple Square. We are so blessed to be part of this work! The returned missionary I talked to on the phone was a great example to me. I want to be the kind of return missionary he is. He said the last two-weeks of his mission was the best and I’ve set a goal for the last four-weeks of my mission to be the best!

This church is Christ’s church! I love you so much!

Love,
Sister Aubree Garbett

P.S. The pictures of the High School is the same school where the "High School Musical" was filmed. We had a lot of fun on our P-day just being silly and taking lots of pictures!

"Daughter of God"

November 4, 2010

Mom and Dad,

I’ve had a great week. Jessica (2) was baptized on Halloween! She was the exact definition of “golden”. I’m so grateful Heavenly Father allowed me to be a part of her life at such a special time.

Jessica (1) is still on date for this weekend to get baptized. She is ready. She doesn’t fully understand everything right now, but she doesn’t have to. She knows that she is a daughter of god and desires to follow Jesus Christ. She told us that the elders don’t really teach her anything and we are the only one who teaches her. I hope that’s not true, but I think we teach simply enough for her to understand. I’m grateful that I will have so many people to keep in contact with after my mission

I’m getting a cold and not feeling fantastic. We we’re talking to a man in the tabernacle. He was in his 70‘s. He was a member of the church but he asked a lot of random questions. After we had been talking for about ten minutes he asked me what was I doing about my cough. I told him I’m taking Dayquil. He said that treats the symptoms and asked what I was going to get rid of it. I told him I thought I probably had a virus so that’s all I could do for my cough. He then asked if he could smell my breath (Yes! Random!) I asked him what was his schooling and reasoning for wanting to do that. I have to admit, he caught me off guard. He told me he is in research medicine and if I had a bacteria infection it would have a certain smell. Well. I didn’t feel comfortable with him smelling my breath, but he said he works for the church. He told me if I don’t feel better in two weeks when the doctor visits the mission to be sure to make an appointment with him. He said he was going to call his boss to make sure that I am seen by the doctor. I told him I didn’t want my mission president to get mad at me for coughing around the guests. He said he would make sure I don’t get in trouble. So it was quite an interesting conversation.

The work is eventful; needless to say I’m loving it and having fun. Heavenly Father is wonderful for keeping it exciting. It keeps me working hard and staying focused! I’m excited to see you soon! I love you so much!

Love,
Sister Garbett

Farewell Talk

October 28, 2010

Dear Mom and Dad,

This week has been really good! I’m so happy I’m staying with my trainee, Sister Despain in the Chat Zone. This is the first time I’ve had the same companion for more than one transfer my whole mission! We did have to move into a new apartment, but it was only like two doors down the hall. When we first moved in, we rearranged all the furniture so it’s set up just like our last apartment. Our room looks so much the same that I fool myself in the mornings. :)

Our investigator, Jessica (2) is getting baptized this Sunday, October 31. I am so excited for her. She is really changing her life for the good. She accepts everything we teach her about the church and she knows it’s all true. Through reading the Book of Mormon, saying her prayers and sincerely asking God and going to church, she has received personal revelation and knows the truth. She is my first baptism that I found, taught and saw baptized. When we found Aksel from Norway he had already met with the sister missionaries in Chat. We just had to commit him to call the missionaries in his area. When Jessica (2) came online, I was the one mainly chatting with her because my companion was setting an appointment with someone else at the same time.

Our other investigator, Jessica (1), is still on date for November 6, for her baptism. Her local missionaries don’t teach her like they should. They haven’t taught her lesson two or three or gone over the interview questions. They only met with her once a week and her baptism is a week a way. Sometimes 19 year-old boys bother me. They didn’t even teach her the restoration thoroughly. They just had her watch the movie, so she doesn’t understand the apostasy or anything about it. Oh well, I guess it’s a good thing we keep teaching her. We were supposed to just pass her off, but that was not going to fly with me. She needs us to teach her simply because the Elders don’t.

Our new investigator, Jessica (yes that would make her Jessica 3) and her husband seem very golden. They live with her uncle who is a member along with his wife and daughter. They went to church last week and are eager to go this week. They want to be baptized on November 13. That means we should have three weeks in a row of baptisms. They were reading the Book of Mormon before we even had our first lesson! I’m really excited about them.

Our other investigator, Lisa, REALLY wants to go to church, but her husband won’t let her. We are trying to help with that, but we don’t really know what to do. She reads the Book of Mormon and prays and she says she knows the church is true, but her husband doesn’t want her to go to church. She says she thinks he doesn’t want her to leave the house at all. Although, she is able to go to her family and she has talked to them about it. Her super catholic dad even thinks she should go to our church if it’s what she wants to do. I’m going to keep praying for her.

We have a few more investigators, but they aren’t really progressing. Efrem is in Ethiopia. He has read the Book of Mormon five times, but can’t get baptized till he goes to church eight times. He’s only been three times because he lives 14-hours away from the nearest church. He has applied for a few jobs near the church, but hasn’t heard back from them yet. I’m praying for him, too.

We haven’t gotten hold of Yvonne, our investigator in Ghana, for some time now. We’ve been calling her, but she never answers. She hasn’t emailed us back in a while either. Hopefully we can get in contact with her soon. She seemed eager to learn about the church when we first contacted her.

Sister Despain and I are doing great. Lately, it seems harder and harder for us to get out of bed and exercise in the mornings. We started a new routine. In the morning we get up, make our beds, get on our knees and have companionship prayer. It’s been really great because we start off our day already focused. We pray for our investigators and the work. My mind is set on the day and I’m more focused as I exercise and study. We have personal prayer later, which is also great because I am more awake and my prayers make more sense. :)

I’m giving my missionary “farewell” talk on Sunday. I’m not really ready for it yet, but it will be good. I’m so happy that I get to speak the same day Jessica (2) is getting baptized. My talk is on forgiveness/atonement, which I think is very fitting because Jessica (2) has experienced forgiveness through the atonement, which gave her the desire to be baptized.

I am so grateful I have this chance to share the gospel with others. I know that I was sent here to help specific people. I’m grateful I get to stay in chat with Sister Despain. This work is incredible!

I love you both so much! I can’t wait to see you in a few weeks. I can’t believe it’s almost time to come home!

You’re always in my thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Sister Aubree Garbett