Week of Changes 5/22/17

Well this week has been very interesting! one of the elders in the other branch here did something dumb and got sent home. So the other elder from that branch has been with us in a trio! its been pretty fun. He has been called as a zone leader in a different zone and  leaves on wednesday. its been interesting.  me and my companion will be staying here for another transfer. we still have a lot to do and not enough time! one thing i miss is real hamburgers, they have an interpretation of a hamburger here but it is very far from a true hamburger. as i was thinking about my hamburger problem, i came to a conclusion that this applies to the gospel. but how? the hamburgers here, from a glimpse appear to be all they should, and that you imagine would be. but as you take the first bite, you realize several things.. 

1 theres not enough meat on it, and they flavor is not what you expect. often times in our lives we think we have reached perfection, only to find out the hard way that imperfection is an easier goal. but it need not be! through the gospel we all can reach our level of perfection, through Jesus Christ. This hamburger, in this life may not be able to fulfil its level of tasteness that it deserves, but someday yes. other sidenote, maybe it might just be us that needs to change our perspective. in the meanwhile, all we can do is add more ketchup. 

2. well this one is more of an extension of the first problem, but here we go. its an insufficient bread ratio. there is twice the amount of bread than is necessary. in a sense, the bun is trying to make it appear more holy than it actually is. in our lives, often we say the words, but forget about the actual doing, which is more important than the words part. let us always remember to live the gospel and not just go through the motions, so that our bread level is something that the people can appreciate, and not just have to choke down. 

3..yeah theres definitely more, but ill leave the rest of this sermon for a different day haha. sometimes its fun to make examples out of strange things.

anyways heres a few photos from this week, hope yall have a good week. things are going fast here.

Love 

Elder Gardner

sounds crazy mom! tell Jarom not to worry, just learn what to do if you see a bear. I was within 30 feet of one at Philmont well actually there was one that walked right outside my tent., just stay calm and dont scare it, they usually are more scared of us. but  that sounds like a lot of fun! love you mom, i honestly dont remember a lot of what happened this week but i sent my other email with the main news. pretty interesting week for sure!  heres a story though that no one knows. so we were in the other elders house after he left, i was looking through some papers when i hear a thud.  i thought, what they heck would be in here that would that sound? so then i looked, and i found a smartphone!! i started freaking out, but very quietly. no one is allowed to have that, and it was very well hidden. i thought about the options i had and concluded the following.1 i can take it, and just keep it under lock for when i get home. or 2 pretend i never saw it and put it back. or 3  call president and let him know. the spirit told me to first talk to Elder Carballo to figure out whose it was. so at this point no one knew that i had found it.  so i ask elder Carballo if I can talk to him for a minute . i bring him into a different room and tell him i just found something in your house, and im going to call president right now about it. do you have anything you shouldnt? he had no idea what i was talking about so i showed him the phone.   hes a good guy so i believed him when he said its not his.  then i called president, told him i found a smartphone. he was super sad to hear that the elder he just sent home also had a smartphone. he told me to just hold onto it until interviews and give it to him then. so that was interesting thing that happened this week! right now only 2 people know i have it, and im going to keep it that way so that other missionaries dont try to take it from me., theres a lot that would try to buy it off me i know. but yeah that gave me a huge rush when i found it! until interviews, it is hidden deep within my suitcase, where it will stay. i aint touching that thing ! love you mom have a good week!