Doing Well at 5 months out 2/13/17

Yah

Well its been another week past and gone. We've made lots of good connections with people in the ward and are working on gaining trust.This week we had our zone conference with Presidemt Carlisle, about the new changes in our daily schedule and also about the new focus for the mission, teach repentance and baptize. A great meeting, followed up this morning by a meeting with our entire mission, and the mission of san pedro west, with Elder Christianson and Elder Alonzo. Close to 300 missionaries.  I guess last year this mission had a lot of problems and elder alonzo spent the whole time chewing them out and sent about 50 missionaries home. The story is he looked everyone in the eyes and either took their plaque off and put it in a sack, or shook their hand. But today it was a great meeting and a special experience to be able to shake their hands and receive personal instruction from them. 

We lost most of our investigators, but its ok. Our job is only to invite, the decision is theirs. They need to gain a testimony, as my comp says they need to be converted, not convinced. We also get an hour to write now instead of 30 minutes so hopefully i can start sharing more stories and things with you guys. and also responding to emails hopefully. Anyways its going good here and I have progressed a lot in my spanish and in general. Also don't feel obligated to but if anyone wants to send me a hand letter that would be awesome, shout out to Bro Moyes for being the first of my mission a few weeks ago haha. I don't know if they will make it through the mail, some that my family sent 2 months ago never showed up. Honduran mail is sketchy. Today is my 5 month mark, it sure has gone fast, but great. Its awesome to be here with these people and I will be very sad when I leave this area. 

Love

Elder Gardner

this picture is of this morning with all my buddies from the CCM, good times with these guys with more to come.

heres the mailing address

12 Calle, Avenida Circunvalacion, S.O.
Edif. Yude Canahuati, 3 Nivel, Oficina 4
San Pedro Sula, Cortés
Honduras

Hey Mom sounds crazy. haha I had to teach elders quorum this week but it went pretty great, I just split everyone into groups and divided up the lesson, so for a  40 minute class I only had to talk for maybe 5 minutes haha. but the language is going a lot better now since I hit kind of a breakthrough with understanding. That is sad news for me about Brennen, just 6 months longer that I won't get to see him. 

(Brennen got a scholarship to ASU and has to do at least 1 semester before they will defer it)

I miss you guys a lot but we have been busy here. My companion likes to talk and has made lots of connections with people who before didn't really have an interest. We've been working with menos activos and our recent converts, members who have nonmembers living in the home. a super cool week, we had a meeting today with elder Christianson and Elder Alonzo of the 70. We all got to shake their hands so that was awesome. My old comp was really good, we just had some bad relations and connections in the ward that made it hard for me I think. but we've fixed everything now. I miss you guys. ha just a reminder that you don't know what you have until it's gone. I miss all the things I used to do in my free time and with work and all. But it's ok, I will return in only 19 short months haha! love you and happy valentines day, I didn't even think about that until now. Time is weird in the mission. love you!

Hey Dad     It's going good here, glad to hear its pretty much the same at home. We get an hour to write now!! so I'll either finish this transfer for 2 weeks and then get changed, or have another transfer here. but my time in this area is almost up. Most of the missionaries are in La Lima, Progresso,  and San Pedro area basically, but there's a few zones farther out in the boonies. in Olanchito , Trujillo, and some others.

 All the missionaries don't like my comp and feel sorry for me haha. He has some flaws but in the work itself he is a good worker so I can live with him for now. haha. We get along pretty good anyways. he and his family are lifelong members. he has 11 siblings, his parents split and had more kids. He supposedly was a pro soccer player but had an injury when he was deciding to serve a mission or to play.  I don't know what he tells is true, others have told me not to believe any of the stories he tells. I don't know what he wants to do for school, I don't understand the careers in spanish haha. but things are going good here. ha I wish I could work out here, we only have our small apartment. Tell Brennen he can have and use my creatine in the pantry if he wants it, just to research it before he starts using it so he can use it safely. 5 months has gone fast for sure dad. I think with my new comp I hit the breakthrough for understanding, and now I understand probably 80 percent of what people say. 70 or 80. love you and miss you pops.