So Happy!

November 10, 2009

Dad,

I'm so happy! The spider man came yesterday :) Now I can sleep at night.

My p-day is today. I will be on at about 10am your time! So if you are on at that time, we can talk. I am in park city all week working in the Family Tree Center. It is so pretty here, but it is cold. We are downtown on mainstreet and there are a lot of cute shops and a place that has amazing carmel apples(so I hear).

I will be on in an hour or so! I love you! Thanks for your letter! I was
laughing out loud when I read about the nija girl inviting you to go to war with her and you guys could "eat fish guts for dinner!"

I love you,

Sister garbett

Happy Halloween

October 31, 2009

Dear Stacy,

Hey Happy Halloween!

I’m at our Halloween “party”. We just finished watching Emma. Have you seen that movie? You really need to see it. It has the same actors from the Joseph Smith movie we play here. It is so good. But it’s pretty depressing. I really recommend you see it, but it made me cry because it was so good.

I haven’t had much of a P-day to day. We had zone conference this morning. Then I printed off pictures, did my laundry and then I came here to the party. We ate pizza and watched the movie. Now we are going to watch a movie about Gordon B. Hinckley.

I hope your Halloween is more fun than mine. I heard you’re going to Michael and Donna’s house. You’ll have lots of fun there! This time next year I’ll only have a couple months left of my mission. I can’t believe how quickly time is going bye. Halloween is already over. November is tomorrow. Happy 1st Birthday, Lucas! Thanksgiving is just around the corner and next is Christmas.

I can’t believe how fast time is flying. Sometime I happy that time is going by quickly. But other times I’m sad. Sometimes I feel like a mission is something I have to do before I can move on with my life. Kind of like high school, I didn’t’ want to always be there but I knew I would learn and grow so much from it if I went. Plus, I couldn’t do anything with my life if I didn’t go. When I’m freezing and I don’t want to get out of bed, I sometimes think I just have to do this for a year-and-a-half and then I can move on with my life. Did you ever feel that way when you were on your mission?

But then there are lots of days when I just love being a missionary. It’s usually on the days when I see lots of success (and days when there aren’t spiders all over my apartment). We have spiders EVERYWHERE in our apartment. They are ugly and scary. I pray every night that the spiders won’t crawl on me. So when you pray for me you might want to mention the spiders and ask God to keep them off of me.

The other day I saw Joseph W. Sitati, from the seventy. He is the one from Africa who spoke during the Sunday afternoon session. Speaking of conference, my picture is not in the Ensign, but my Mission President is!

This church is so true! I know Joseph Smith was called of God to bring back Christ’s church on the earth. I know that Thomas S. Monson is called of God today to lead and direct us. We are so lucky to have that guidance given to us from God through his prophets. We really are God’s children and He really loves us all. I love it when I tell people this and they understand and want to learn more. This is why I’m here.

I love you! Take care, write me!

Love,

Sister Garbett

Photo shoot on P-day

Lots of Spiders

24 Oct 2009

Mom & Dad,

Hello! I’m so happy I got to talk to mom online today! My companion and I had a photo-shoot today for our p-day. It was a lot of fun, but we were in p-day clothes. Next time we’ll have to do it before we change.

We had a really good wek. We worked really hard and we’ve seen a lot of success so far. Sister Basurto still teaches me Spanish. I’m learning the days of the week now. She is super nice. Today sand said she really likes me being her companion. She always makes me food and gives me little notes. She is so cute.

There are lots of spiders in my house. They are really icky! I pray that they won’t crawl on me when I sleep. We have sticky traps for them all over the house.

I still love being a missionary. I’m working really hard with my companion I love when I go home exhausted from working so hard. Although lately I can’t fall right to sleep at night, I’m super tired, but I lay in bed for like a half-hour before I actually fall asleep. Our room is really dark. I wonder if it’s too dark for me. Especially since there are probably spiders crawling on me. Maybe it’s a good thing I can’t see. I would feel like Peter Brady, in the Hawaii episode, when he opened his eyes and saw a huge spider crawling on him! Man, I miss watching the Brady Bunch on DVD. When I get home we need to have a Brady Bunch Marathon. But I have about 14 months till I’ll get to do that.

I can’t believe how quickly time is going by I love sharing the gospel. It’s cool to learn new ways to teach people, especially since I’ve been in family search. Speaking of, I want to do some of our family history. I’m getting birthdates and places so we can get their temple work going. I’m sharing the gospel with people from all over the world, but my family hasn’t even heard it yet. I’ll send you a pamphlet on temples so you can share it with your siblings who aren’t members, yet.

This church is so true something my Mission President always says is if we don’t invite we are taking away their agency. That was Satan’s plan. I love this church. I am so grateful for the faith of the pioneers who came here so we can worship in freedom.

I love you so much you’re always in my thoughts and prayers!

Love,

Sister Garbett

A Fever of 102.6!

October 12, 2009

Mom and Dad,

I'm sorry I didn't get a long letter out to you this week. Thank you for the package! We had tranfers today. I'm moving into a different apartment in the same house. However, I'll be in the basement. It's suppose to be the worst apartment, everyone says it's always freezing and there are lots of spiders! Pray for me! I'm still in the extended zone and I'll be working in Family Search.

Here are the answers to your email questions...

How was the VIP tour?
It went well. It wasn't actually people who are deciding right now if they want missionaries or not. They are like lawyers and stuff who have an influence on those types of decisions. The tour couldn't be religious in any way so it was a very historical tour, which actually made it a little less stressful. But it was pretty cool to see all the people from different countries.

How was conference?
Conference was busy! We got 2,421 potential referrals from members! I'm still calling people on my list. I actually talked to three people on the phone today whose friends I met at conference and they referred them. Those three people accepted to have the missionaries over! I'm waiting for the Ensign to come out so I can see if my picture is in it. :) Tell Steven thanks so much for making cd copies of the conference talks for me. I've been listening to them all week. And I loved the package you had Christina deliver to me!!! Thank you!

What was the best experience at conference?
I actually really loved seeing people that I know. For some wierd reason it doesn't distract me, it motivates me! But also, the next day we got to sleep in till 9:00am!!!!

Did the boots fit?
Yes they do! They are really comfortable, too! Thank you so much!

How's your new companion?
Good, Sister Basurto is from Texas/Mexico. She and I are in the same class, which means we came out together. We are both in our 3rd transfer. I am supposed to be the senior companion, but this week I have been really sick. The flu/cold is going around! I've had to stayed home for two days this week with a fever of 102.6! I am getting better now, but I sound like a man. Sister Basurto has made me breakfast every morning since I've been sick. She is very kind. I think we'll get along well.

How's the weather?
Beautiful!! Today and yesterday has been clear and just a little chilly! It feels like fall! I am warm enough with just a light sweater, but it is supposed to be getting much colder very soon.

I've been feeling a little sad that I won't be home for Halloween! Please go to the pumpkin farm for me! I would absolutely love it if you would buy me some pumpkin cake or muffins from the Bishop's Pumkin Farm and send them to me! I'm have to admit that I've been feeling very homesick this week because I was so ill. I am going to send a tape to Stacy soon, and it is kind of depressing. There is like 20 min of me complaining about how sick I was and how I felt nobody cared! I wanted to call home so bad! I've decided I hate being sick on the mission cause it just makes me want to go home!

Well, I love you! Hopefully I will hear from you soon! I didn't get your letter this week. Hopefully, I'll get it on Monday. I love you so much! You're always in my thoughts and prayers!

Love,
Sister Garbett

V.I.P Tour

30 Sept 2009

Mommy,

I was so happy to email with you online today! I miss you! You made my day so much better! It was so cold today. We were walking home and it started snowing! It didn't stick or anything but still, it was cold!

Thank you so much for putting money into my account. It is so nice to have that extra little security. I bought a nice sweater that will keep me warm, but I didn't find any snow boots that I liked enough to spend $70.00 on! So I will keep looking. My companion said I can borrow a pair of her boots for conference this weekend if I need them.

The work has been good. We are always working but we aren't always seeing success. But we continue to work. I love being a missionary. It's amazing to testify of the truthfulness of this gospel and to have the spirit confirm it every time I do. I love being part of this work.

Sister Green and I are taking part in a V.I.P. tour next Wednesday. Basically, a bunch of people are coming from a country that doesn't allow missionaries to proselyte in their land. They're here to decide if that will change! So my companion and I were asked to take a group of them on a tour. The organizers said that Sis Green and I were one of the first chosen by the office sisters (they are the ones who make our schedules). So this is a pretty big responsibility. I will need your prayers.

This weekend is conference! I only get to go to one session, Sunday afternoon. During the other sessions I will be working on Temple Square. You will have to let me know how it is. I asked Steven to copy the talks onto a CD for me so I don't have to wait to read them in the November Ensign. Speaking of conference, wouldn't that be cool if I was in the Ensign!?! I think that's what all the Temple Square sisters hope for.

Well, I should get ready for bed. It's late. I love you so much! Thank you for everything you do for me. You are an amazing mom. You really are such a strong, spiritual woman. You are an amazing example to me. If it weren't for your incredible testimony. I wouldn't be here today. This church is absolutely true! Keep up the good work. Go to the temple often. I'm going tomorrow. I love you so much!

Love,

Sister Garbett

"Is It A Thong?"

Sept 19, 2009

Mommy,

I love you! I was so glad that I got some e-mails today. It sounds like things are going pretty well for you all. I heard you and daddy got to be the witness couple at the Temple last week. That is so special. I miss going to the temple with you. We have had a lot of schedule conflicts, so I haven’t gone to the temple in about a month. I am having withdrawals.

How is the cabin? I heard about you sleeping all day at the cabin and I got really jealous. I miss sleep. I never feel fully rested. I never wake up in a good mood either. I feel sorry for my companion. I have to remind myself every morning that obedience is better than sleep.

We had a really funny experience this past week. We were on a tour in the Beehive house. We were in a very small room with about 15 people. One of the group members was a woman who was probably over 60 years-old. She asked us why the men in the church wear special underwear. My companion, Sister Green, explained that not only men but women, too, who have gone through the temple wear special under garments. She added that we wear them to remind us of the promises we made to God. All of the people were asking lots of questions about the garments. They asked what do they look like and Sister Green answered they are white. They then asked why the underclothing was white. Sister Green said to symbolize purity. Then the older woman asked in complete sincerity, “Is it a thong!?” HA, HA, HA!!! Both Sister Green and I couldn’t help but laugh. If they weren’t so genuinely curious, I would have probably gotten very upset. But Sister Green handled the situation very well.

We definitely get every question you could possibly think of. A mission is a very interesting experience, but I love it. Going on a mission really was the best choice I’ve ever made. I have grown so much already.

I’ve really been learning how much Heavenly Father loves us. He really does want to bless us and answer our prayers, but we need to have faith enough to act. Just like Nephi, the brother of Jared and even Joseph Smith. We need to have faith, but faith is an action word. That’s what separates the prepared and those who are not yet ready to receive the gospel. If they are not going to act, why should they receive that knowledge? I think that’s why sometimes our prayers aren’t answered.

Heavenly Father’s plan is absolutely perfect. I am so happy to know about His plan. Sometimes as I testify that we lived with Heavenly Father before we came to earth and that we can live with him again after this life, I feel so close to the veil. Thank you so much for raising me with this knowledge and understanding of who I am. We really are all children of God. This is why I’m here, to help everyone find their way back home.

I admire you so much for your ability to find the church and your willingness to act and to stay strong in the gospel. You are my rock. You have such an incredible testimony. Thank you for your example and support. You and dad are the BEST parents in the whole world!

I LOVE YOU!

Love,

Sister Garbett